Donald J. Trump’s campaign is preparing a major effort to attack Vice-President Kamala Harris if President Biden steps aside as the Democratic nominee, including a wave of ads focusing on her record in her current office and in California, according to two people briefed on the matter.

The Trump team has already prepared opposition research books on Harris, and has similar dossiers on other Democrats who could become the nominee if Biden were to drop out of the race.

But the bulk of the preparations so far have been focused on Harris, including a recently concluded poll testing her vulnerabilities in a general election contest, according to the two people. The Trump team’s attention on Harris is based on its assumption that if Democrats were to bypass the first Black woman to serve as vice-President, it would drive even deeper divisions in the party and risk alienating their base of Black voters.

Trump allies have also begun examining the records of Democratic governors who are considered potential running mates for Harris. Advisers to the former President are paying especially close attention to Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania — the state the Trump campaign is most focused on winning to block the Democrats’ path to the White House.

Brian Fallon, a campaign spokesman for Harris, said in a statement: “After tanking the bipartisan border deal, Donald Trump has resorted to lying about the Vice-President’s record. As a former district attorney and attorney general, she has stood up to fraudsters and felons like Trump her entire career. Trump’s lies won’t stop her from continuing to prosecute the case against him on the biggest issues in this race.”

Since Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27, Trump and his political operation have softened their criticisms of the President, hoping he stays politically viable until the party formally nominates him and it’s too late to replace him without major legal hurdles. Trump’s senior team would prefer that Biden remains in the race, believing his low approval numbers and voters’ widespread doubts about his age and cognitive fitness represent the former President’s best chance at reclaiming the White House.

After the debate, the Trump team decided to hold back advertising that could further damage Biden, according to one person briefed on the Trump campaign’s internal discussions, who wasn’t authorised to speak publicly. A change at the top of the ticket could throw a remarkably stable race into chaos — particularly if Harris, who would be the first Black woman elected President, were to become the nominee.

Shortly before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this past week, as a growing number of Democrats called for Biden to leave the race, the Trump team prepared anti-Harris signs and videos to show the delegates in the arena and the television audience at home, according to people briefed on the plans. But they scrapped those plans after a young man tried to assassinate Trump.

New York Times News Service