His suggestions that political enemies be prosecuted are particularly notable for their departure from norms in the US in which the judicial system is supposed to be protected from political influence. In recent weeks, he has threatened prosecutions of Google for allegedly giving priority to “good stories” about Harris, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and anyone he deems to be “involved in unscrupulous behavior” related to the coming election.

His derision of the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to lead a major party ticket as “stupid”, “weak”, “dumb as a rock” and “lazy” is also a sign of how nasty and personal the final stretch of the campaign may be.

His allies have pushed him publicly and privately to talk instead about the economy, immigration and other issues.

“I just think the better course to take is to prosecute the case that her policies are destroying the country,” said Senator Lindsey Graham on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked about Trump’s comments. “They’re crazy liberal.”

When asked whether he approved of the personal attacks on Harris, Representative Tom Emmer sidestepped during an interview on ABC’s “This Week”.

“I think Kamala Harris is the wrong choice for America,” said Emmer, who is helping Trump’s running mate JD Vance prepare for Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate. “I think Kamala Harris is actually as bad or worse as the administration that we’ve witnessed for the last four years.”

When pressed, Emmer said, “I think we should stick to the issues. The issues are, Donald Trump fixed it once. They broke it. He’s going to fix it again. Those are the issues.”

Former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, running for the Senate as a moderate Republican, brought up Trump’s false claims that Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, had previously played down her Black heritage. Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black college, and has identified as both Black and South Asian consistently throughout her political career.

“I’ve already called him out when he had the one interview where he was questioning her racial identity, and now he’s questioning her mental competence,” Hogan told CBS’ “Face the Nation”. “And I think that’s insulting not only to the vice president but to people who actually do have mental disabilities.”

Harris has not commented on Trump’s recent attacks but has said when asked about other comments that it was the “same old show. The same tired playbook we’ve heard for years with no plan on on how he would address the needs of the American people”.

Ahead of the rally, some of Trump’s supporters said he often makes offensive remarks. Still, they support his proposals to restrict immigration and said he would have a better handle on the economy.

“He says what’s on his mind, and again, sometimes how he says it isn’t appropriate,” said Jeffrey Balogh, who attended the rally with two friends. “But he did the job. He did very well at it.”

Tamara Molnar said she thinks Trump is very strong on immigration. As for his insults, Molnar said, “I think everybody has to have some decorum when speaking about other candidates, and I don’t think either side is necessarily innocent on that. There’s a lot of slinging both ways.”

At the rally in Erie, Trump said the “invasion” would end and deportations begin if he took office.

“Thousands of migrants from the most dangerous countries are destroying the character of small towns and leaving local communities in anguish and in despair,” he said, talking about communities in the battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Last month, the GOP leader said he was “entitled” to personal attacks against Harris.

“As far as the personal attacks, I’m very angry at her because of what she’s done to the country,” he told a news conference then. “I’m very angry at her that she would weaponise the justice system against me and other people, very angry at her. I think I’m entitled to personal attacks.

First Published: Sep 30 2024 | 7:32 AM IST