His announcement sparked angry outbursts from former President Donald Trump and his supporters, some of whom called the sudden switch in candidates a "coup."
"So, we are forced to spend time and money on fighting Crooked Joe Biden, he polls badly after having a terrible debate, and quits the race," Trump wrote on his social-media platform, Truth Social. "Now we have to start all over again."
Trump added that he thought the GOP should be "reimbursed for fraud."
Ian Miles Cheong, a conservative blogger and friend of Elon Musk, reposted a screenshot of Trump's post, saying: "His campaign was forced to waste money against Biden for as long as it did only for the Democrats to pull the rug out from under him by pulling Joe out of the race."
Madison Cawthorn, who used to be a North Carolina congressman, echoed Trump's demand for a refund from the Biden-Harris campaign.
"Someone sue the Bidden Harris campaign for a refund and request a preliminary injunction," Cawthorn wrote on X .
"That campaign should not be allowed to spend a dollar on Kamala's behalf until this is fully litigated," he added.
Trump's former senior advisor Stephen Miller also went on Fox News and raged about how the Republican Party had "spent tens of millions of dollars running against Joe Biden."
"Now they just woke up one morning and said, 'Never mind, we're canceling the entire primary, we're getting rid of our candidate,'" he added.
With Biden stepping down, Trump is now the oldest person from the two major parties to run for president . And to be sure, Trump's camp may well be incensed because they've spent months — and a considerable amount of airtime at the Republican National Convention — hammering Biden for his advanced age, an argument they can no longer use with Harris, who's 59.
But Biden stepping down probably wasn't a complete surprise for the GOP. The Trump camp had anti-Harris attack ads at the ready, which they released within an hour of Biden backing out.
Signs that the GOP has been prepping for a Harris vs. Trump showdown have also been there for weeks.
Following Biden's disastrous CNN debate performance in June, Trump posted a video on his Truth Social account on July 3 discussing the possibility of running against Harris rather than Biden.
"I got him out the race, and that means we have Kamala," Trump said in the clip.
Trump was also already trialing nasty nicknames for Harris long before Biden quit, including "Laffin' Kamala Harris" and "Cackling Copilot Kamala Harris."
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Comments / 0