Please subscribe to Fox News to access this content
Plus, with your account you get exclusive access to handpicked articles and other premium content for free.
By entering your email address and pressing “Continue”, you agree to Fox News' Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, including the Financial Incentive Notice.
Please enter a valid email address.
Having problems? Click here.
As Vice President Kamala Harris gathers momentum heading into next week's Democratic National Convention, former President Trump and his campaign appear to be stepping up efforts to slow her down.
The Trump campaign told Fox News it plans to air a rival show during the Democratic national nominating convention, which begins next Monday in Chicago.
“We're going to be implementing some measures,” a senior Trump campaign adviser told Fox News.
The adviser, who requested anonymity to speak more freely, said the campaign plans to send a “cohort of people” to the field next week, including surrogates for Trump and senior officials.
Trump claims Harris is more liberal than Bernie Sanders – what the Vermont senator told Fox News
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
“We will definitely have key figures on the battlefield and the media available to develop a counter-strategy,” the adviser said.
And one of those key players is Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, Fox News has learned.
In the past, it has been traditional for presidential candidates to continue their campaigns quietly while other parties hold their national nominating conventions.
Harris vs. Trump: What the latest polls show in three key battleground states
But last month, when the Republican Party held its convention in Milwaukee, President Biden campaigned briefly in the key battleground state of Nevada before cutting his trip short after contracting COVID-19.
Days later, Biden boldly announced he was ending his reelection campaign following his disastrous defeat in a debate with Trump in late June, thus overturning the results of the 2024 election.
President Joe Biden addresses the nation about his decision to forgo reelection as Democrat from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Evan Vucci via The Associated Press)
During a more than hour-long press conference last week, Trump insisted he wasn't currently running up and down the campaign trail because he was leading in the race, even though the latest polls show Harris closing the gap nationally and in key battleground states.
Trump tries to define Harris as ultra-liberal
Trump defended his pace of the campaign, saying he was “very competitive,” and adding that he would step up the pace “after the convention.”
Trump political insiders told Fox News that he is trying privately to persuade him to refrain from insulting Harris or questioning the vice president's racial identity, and instead to position her as an ultra-liberal and highlight her stances on the border, crime and inflation.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Trump's allies have also publicly pleaded with him to refocus his attention.
“This race shouldn't be decided by character,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday in an interview on Fox News' “America's Newsroom.” “Stop questioning the size of her support and start questioning her positions.”
McCarthy stressed that Trump has a “short time to act, so don't just sit back. Get out there and start making your case.”
Trump is expected to press his economic case against Harris at a campaign event on Wednesday at Thomas Wolf Auditorium at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
This will be Harris' second visit to key battleground states in the Southeast in the three and a half weeks since she replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential candidate list for 2024.
The Trump campaign announced earlier this week that the former president would hold a rally on Saturday in Pennsylvania, another key battleground state.
Republican vice presidential candidate Senator J.D. Vance criticized Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz during a Trump campaign event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 6, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
And Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, will campaign in Michigan on Wednesday, Pennsylvania on Thursday and Wisconsin on Friday.
The former president returned to Twitter on Monday, posting a series of campaign videos in the lead-up to his interview with Elon Musk hours later. The investor, considered one of the world's richest people, owns the social media platform and publicly endorsed the former president earlier this summer.
Click here to get the FOX News app
After being banned from Twitter for several years, Trump briefly returned last year to post a photo of his face and a link to a fundraiser, before disappearing again until Monday.
But the Trump campaign has said a return to X will not be a one-off.
A senior adviser to the Trump campaign stressed that “you're going to continue to see a lot of effort on alternative platforms” going forward.
“You're going to see him on X speaking to millions of people. You're going to see him on all sorts of conversational podcasts and streaming throughout the election. And he's going to continue to do press interviews and rallies and large special events, as he always has,” said the adviser, who asked not to be identified and wanted to speak freely.
“The president is not afraid to have unscripted conversations about important issues, whether it's about X or anything else, which is a stark contrast to Kamala Harris,” the adviser added.
Trump also gained more than 900,000 new followers on X as of Monday night, despite a notable technical issue that delayed his interview with Musk by more than 40 minutes.
Dan Eberhart, an oil-drilling CEO and prominent Republican donor and fundraiser who donated heavily to Trump's 2020 reelection campaign and is backing Trump again after backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary, told Fox News, “You have to constantly evaluate where the race is. I'd like to see more aggressive action from the Trump campaign. Trump the person is their best asset. Put him at the forefront.”
“I want to see Trump campaigning in full force as soon as the Democratic Convention concludes,” Eberhart said.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital's Election Hub.
