Meghan McCain—a former conservative voice on The View—shared a warning to former President Donald Trump and his campaign on X, formerly Twitter, after Vice President Kamala Harris publicly challenged Trump to debate her in a fiery speech in Atlanta.
After initially agreeing to a second debate with President Joe Biden in September, Trump announced in a statement via spokesperson Steven Cheung that he was backing out of the commitment, claiming that "general election debate details cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee."
Trump had previously claimed he "would debate “ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE" but has reneged on that pledge now that Biden has dropped out of the race. Cheung himself said "it would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds."
Harris directly challenged these statements in a speech she gave during a lively rally in Atlanta on Tuesday night, which drew a crowd of around 10,000 attendees. She said Trump "won't debate but he and his running mate [J.D. Vance] sure seem to have a lot to say about me."
She called on Trump to "meet me on the debate stage" and stressed that if he's "got something to say, say it to my face," a remark that prompted those in attendance to roar enthusiastically and wave signs emblazoned with Harris's name and campaign slogans.
Harris' performance clearly impressed McCain, who issued the following succinct warning:
"They're underestimating her."
You can see her response and a video of Harris' remarks below.
Many agreed.
Harris's campaign has indeed proven effective in its messaging—frustrating the Trump campaign in the process.
In recent days, Harris and her Democratic allies have introduced a new angle of attack against Republicans, labeling Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as "weird."
Democrats appear to have gained a messaging advantage since President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 race and endorsed Harris to be his successor. Trump's campaign, which typically dominates the political narrative, has spent days attempting to counter this unsuccessfully.
David Karpf, a strategic communications professor at George Washington University, praised this "weird" line of attack in an interview with The Associated Press, noting that it "frustrates opponents, leading them to further amplify it through off-balance responses.”
Harris' impact on polling has been undeniable, with many showing the Vice President tied or ahead of Trump in head-to-head match-ups. A poll conducted by Leger from July 26 to July 28 reveals that when third-party candidates are included, Harris leads Trump by 7 points, with the presumptive Democratic nominee at 48 percent and the former president at 41 percent.
Only 5 percent of likely voters said they would vote for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Third-party voters have shifted towards the two main political parties since Leger's last poll in June, with Democrats gaining 4 points and Republicans gaining 3 points.
The number of voters who would support a candidate other than Trump or Harris has decreased since the previous poll, with only 5 percent indicating they would, down from 12 percent in June when Joe Biden was still in the race.
In a direct matchup, Harris maintained her lead over Trump, securing 49 percent of likely voters to Trump's 46 percent, representing a 4-point increase in her lead since Leger's June poll.
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