3 months ago
24
In an unprecedented moment in modern American history, the 2024 Republican and Democratic presidential candidates faced off this week in their first debate after just seven weeks of campaigning against each other.
The New York Times analyzed what the two candidates have said about each other on social media from July 21, when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Kamala
Harris
became the front-runner to replace him as the Democratic nominee, through Sept.
6. (For the most part, their statements on social media mirror their public comments at rallies and other events.)
While both candidates attack each other, the Times found that former President Donald
Trump
targets Harris much more frequently, an average of more than three times per day, and his posts (on Truth Social) almost always include a personal smear.
Harris' posts about Trump (on X) tend not to go for the jugular. A handful of times, she has drawn attention to his history of legal trouble, saying, for example, that she knows "Donald Trump's type" because she "took on predators, fraudsters and cheaters" as a prosecutor.
By contrast, Trump's attacks on Harris resemble the name-calling insults of a sexist schoolyard bully. He frequently drops personal slights into political attacks, but he has also attacked Harris numerous times in personal terms without making any particular reference to her policies or political record. Some of these posts have touched instead on her racial identity or included generic insults referencing her authenticity or capability.
Trump told rallygoers in North Carolina last month that he'd had trouble coming up with a "name" for Harris but that he was settling on "comrade."
"I think that's the most accurate name," he said.
While both candidates also criticize each other on policy matters, Trump nearly always sprinkles in a personal jab (or two or three) about Harris.
Trump's posts about Harris frequently include spelling mistakes, falsehoods and his distinctive style of grammar and capitalization. He spent a few days in August frequently calling Harris "Kamabla," though he has since abandoned that moniker. Harris' posts are more typical of a traditional politician.
In making immigration a central theme of his campaign, Trump repeatedly and falsely calls Harris the Biden administration's "border czar." Harris notes that Trump pressured Republicans to oppose a bipartisan immigration deal.
Harris ties Trump to Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals that Trump has recently tried to distance himself from. Trump (falsely) claims Harris is a "communist" who will "destroy America."
The vice president regularly reminds voters that Trump appointed the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Trump rarely mentions reproductive rights.
Harris accuses Trump of only caring about wealthy Americans. The former president blames Harris for inflation.
