‘Old, weird’ Donald Trump and ‘far-left radical’ Kamala Harris trade barbs as campaigns take off

Donald Trump has savaged Kamala Harris as a ‘radical-left lunatic’ while his new opponent warns Mr Trump will return America to a ‘dark past.’

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have savaged each other as their rival campaigns get going. Picture: AFP.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have savaged each other at campaign rallies and television appearances, with Mr Trump attacking Ms Harris as a “radical-left lunatic” and Ms Harris warning her rival would return America to “ a dark past.”

Ms Harris made her remarks during a speech at an American Federation of Teachers convention in Houston. “We want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books,” she told the crowd.

Ms Harris’ campaign also attacked Mr Trump over an interview he gave to Fox News, in which he described Joe Biden’s speech from the Oval Office about his decision to quit the race “terrible” and described the president’s exit from the race as a “coup.”

“I think it was a coup. They didn’t want him running. He was way down in the polls, and they thought he was going to lose,” Mr Trump said. “They went to him and they said, you can’t win the race, which I think is true, unless I did something very foolish, which I wasn’t going to do. And I think he was so far down and they said, ‘You’re not going to win, and you’re not in great shape, and you did poorly in the debate.’ I think the debate started everything.”

In a statement entitled “Statement on a 78-Year-Old Criminal’s Fox News Appearance,” the campaign said: “After watching Fox News this morning we only have one question, is Donald Trump ok?” adding that Americans must wonder if “Trump is old and quite weird” and that “this guy shouldn’t be president ever again.”

Earlier, in his first campaign rally since Ms Harris became the presumptive Democrat nominee, Mr Trump delivered a blistering attack on her ideology and her record, claiming she would “destroy our country in a year,” warning she would be the “most far-left radical extremist” ever to occupy the White House.

It came as President Joe Biden gave a sombre address to the nation in which he portrayed his decision on Sunday to quit the race for a second term as putting personal ambition behind the needs of the country.

“The defence of democracy is more important than any title,” Mr Biden said from the Oval Office. “I believe my record as President, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term.

“But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy – that includes personal ambition.

“So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation.

“I revere this office, but I love my country more.”

In a short speech, in which he frequently stumbled over his words, the 81-year-old defended his record and pledged that “over the next six months I will be focused on doing my job as President. That means I will continue to lower costs for hardworking families and grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights – from the right to vote to the right to choose”.

Mr Biden, who still has six months left of his first term to run, said the fact that a kid with a stutter from the working-class town of Scranton, Pennsylvania could become president showed the promise of America.

“My fellow Americans, it’s been the privilege of my life,” he said.

Mr Biden’s family and staff – including his controversial son and convicted felon Hunter – were at the White House watching him give the Oval Office speech, some with tears in their eyes.

Without naming Mr Trump, the President said democracy was at risk in the coming election and that “the idea of America lies in your hands”.

“Does character in public life still matter?” he asked.

“America’s going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division.

“We have to decide: Do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect? Freedom, justice and democracy?”

Mr Biden lauded his endorsed successor Ms Harris, saying “she’s experienced; she’s tough; she’s capable”.

His speech came as Ms Harris was preparing to face one of her biggest tests of the campaign.

The Vice-President was due to meet with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday (Friday AEST) and, fresh from failing to turn up to his speech in congress, will reportedly tell Mr Netanyahu that he should bring an end to the war against terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Mr Trump said the 59-year-old Vice-President was more dangerous for America than the President because Mr Biden was a “fake liberal” whereas Ms Harris was a “real liberal”.

“Lyin' Kamala Harris is the most incompetent and far-left vice-president in American history,” he told a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. “A vote for her is a vote for dishonesty, incompetence, weakness and failure.

“Kamala, you’re fired, get out of here.”

The attack sets the scene for an acrimonious election campaign at a time when early polling shows the new Harris-Trump contest as neck and neck.

Ms Harris has portrayed the 78-year-old Mr Trump as a relic of the past, saying she is a candidate for the future who would pursue an aspirational agenda for middle-class America.

Early polls suggest she has improved the Democrats’ chance of retaining the White House in November but she continues to trail Mr Trump by a few percentage points at most, reflecting betting market odds that put her at a 30 per cent chance of winning the election compared with Mr Trump’s 58 per cent.

Mr Trump’s speech came just days after Ms Harris clinched her party’s nomination quickly and without a contest, forcing Mr Trump and the Republican Party to pivot quickly from Mr Biden to develop a plan of attack for Ms Harris.

Telling the crowd “I’m not going to be nice”, the former president said Ms Harris was to blame for Mr Biden’s record, including the border crisis and inflation.

The Republican nominee described her as a “radical” on abortion, who would drive up energy costs and take away the right to own guns. “As Border Tsar, Kamala threw open our borders and allowed 20 million aliens to stampede into our country from all over the world,” he said.

Mr Trump said Ms Harris was responsible for a “cover-up” of the extent of Mr Biden’s frailty and infirmity, saying the President had to quit the race because otherwise senior Democrats would have removed him from it.

Mr Biden said that in the next six months he would seek to end the war in Gaza, keep Russia in check in Ukraine and continue to stare down China.

Former Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned that Ms Harris, whom she described as a “savvy former prosecutor and a successful Vice-President”, would face withering criticism during the campaign. “I know a thing or two about how hard it can be for strong women candidates to fight through the sexism and double standards of American politics,” Ms Clinton wrote in an op-ed.

She said Ms Harris’s “record and character will be distorted and disparaged” as she runs against Mr Trump, adding that “she and the campaign will have to cut through the noise”.