Oct. 15, 2024, 4:50 p.m.
With less than three weeks until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris enters the stretch run hitting hard at former President Trump’s fitness for office, pouncing on both his refusal to release his medical records and his often erratic comments and behavior at recent campaign events. At the same time, even amid a steady stream of rhetorical detours, Trump’s campaign keeps trying to come back to the same issue he emphasized in his very first campaign in 2015—what he sees as the threat of immigration.
That came into sharp focus over the holiday weekend, particularly at a Trump event in Pennsylvania Monday. It was supposed to be a town-hall-style Q&A. Instead, it ended up an awkward half-hour journey through the candidate’s playlist, from "Hallelujah" to "YMCA" to "Memory" from Cats. To put the crowd in the mood for the music, Trump, who tries to bring everything back to immigration, commanded aides to “put up my favorite chart” on border crossings “and let’s listen to Pavarotti sing 'Ave Maria.'”
The strange episode played right into Harris’s effort to cast the former president as not up to a return to the job. On Saturday, she released her own medical records and invited the public to contrast that with what she called “his lack of transparency" in failing to do the same. Talking to reporters before boarding Air Force Two for a campaign swing, she repeatedly talked of him being “unstable” and “unfit,” while stopping short of saying he has “declined” since earlier campaigns.
“I invite the public to watch his rallies and be the decision-maker on his acuity,” she said. On Sunday, she returned to that theme, releasing a letter from more than 230 doctors, nurses, and health care providers.
“Donald Trump is nearly 80 years old,” the letter said, adding that “age can also come with cognitive changes that affect our ability to function well in complex settings."
"We are seeing that from Trump, as he uses his rallies and appearances to ramble, meander, and crudely lash out at his many perceived grievances.”
At her own campaign events, Harris focused more attention on Trump’s behavior and statements, for the first time playing video from those rallies, saying they make the point that he is “increasingly unstable and unhinged.”
As if on cue, Trump made his rally Monday a case study in erratic behavior, unwilling to resume the event after it was paused for two medical emergencies. Appearing bored by the pre-approved questions, Trump blurted out, “Who the hell wants to hear questions?” after paramedics helped the two people. “Right?” He then ordered music to be played from his own playlist, one he often has played at Mar-a-Lago during dinners.
The Harris campaign immediately panned the musical interlude, tweeting, “Tonight, Donald Trump … told his supporters to go out and vote on ‘January 5th’—Rambled about Hannibal Lecter, a cannibal serial killer who is not real—Acted confused when asked if they should end the event and play a walk off song—Stood frozen and silent on stage as music play for 30+ minutes and the crowd poured out of the venue.”
The campaign also retweeted a comment by former Trump aide Sarah Matthews, who said that “it’s abundantly clear to me that he’s lost his fastball. … And they’re not releasing his medical records.”
At a campaign stop for Harris in Philadelphia Tuesday, President Biden took note of the episode. “I would argue he’s gotten worse,” he said. “He’s become unhinged. Look at his rallies. Last night… he stood on the stage for 30 minutes and danced. I’m serious. What’s wrong with this guy?”
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell called the night “very sad for our former president," adding: "Donald Trump appears brain dead. I hope his family steps in to find him help.” Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg called Trump “unfit, unhinged and unwell.”
The Trump campaign tried to cast the criticism as insensitive to the two supporters who had medical emergencies, suggesting the switch to music as a sign of Trumpian empathy. Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt retweeted a supporter calling the rally “A TOTAL LOVE FEST.”
But the constant replaying of the video of Trump swaying to the music was damning. Late-night tweeting by the former president revealed that the criticism may have stung.
On Sunday, he demanded in a Truth Social post that Harris “pass a test on Cognitive Stamina and Agility."
"Her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her,” he wrote, adding that she was “slow and lethargic in answering even the easiest of questions.”
He raised questions about the allergies reported in the vice president’s medical report, calling them “deeply serious conditions that clearly impact her functioning.” In a post early Tuesday morning, he insisted, “I’ve put out more Medical Exams than any other President in History and aced two Cognitive Exams.” The oldest candidate ever for president—other than President Biden before he dropped out—Trump added, “I am far healthier than Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, but especially, Kamala.” He said he is “far too busy campaigning” to release his medical report.
Harris also has begun tying Trump’s physical condition to what Biden liked to call the Republican nominee’s “existential threat to democracy.” Since replacing Biden atop the Democratic ticket, Harris has talked less about that. But in recent days, it has surfaced at her rallies.
At the same Erie rally where she called Trump “unstable and unhinged,” she said that “a second Trump term would be a huge risk for America.” At the same time, her campaign has pounced on Trump’s threat last week to use the military against his domestic critics.
