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Republicans issue warning to Trump over his campaign strategy after Elon Musk interview... and tell him what he needs to do while the 'window is closing' on 2024
Republican strategists have a stark warning for Donald Trump and his campaign regarding effectively attacking his political foe Kamala Harris.
The GOP presidential nominee has struggled to stake out a clear line of attack against Harris after the shake-up at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket.
He recently caused controversy when claiming he 'didn't know' that Harris is black and has also focused on comparing her crowd sizes to his own at campaign rallies.
His top allies have told him he needs to focus on Kamala Harris' record as vice president, and ignore the other nonsense, in order to bring her down in November.
Trump joined X's Elon Musk for a rambling interview on Monday night where the pair discussed a variety of topics, but strategists believe it did little to change minds in a close race with just months to go before Election Day.
'Every day that Trump doesn't spend in a battleground state, defining Kamala Harris on issues like the economy and border security, is a lost day,' said Republican strategist Kevin Madden, who worked on the Mitt Romney presidential campaign.
'The key to winning swing voters right now is to persuade them with a message focused on the economy and be relentless about it,' he added.
Former President Trump held a rally in Bozeman, MT on August 9. It was his only stop on the campaign trail last week. He will head to North Carolina on Wednesday and Pennsylvania on Friday
The latest polls show that Harris has wiped out Trump's lead from when he was running against President Joe Biden. The Real Clear Politics average has Harris up in a head-to-head matchup by just over one point - a statistical tie.
Recent polls out of battleground states also showed Harris closing the gap and in some states leading the ex-president as she ramps up her ground campaign.
But Trump has been largely off the campaign trail over the last two weeks. On Friday, he traveled to Montana for a rally. The state is considered a safe red state, not a battleground.
On Wednesday, he will return to North Carolina, a swing state he won in 2016 and 2020. He will also head to Pennsylvania to campaign on Saturday ahead of the Democratic National Convention next week in Chicago.
Former President Donald Trump joined Elon Musk for an interview on X that went for two hours after a late start due to tech issues. Musk is a supporter of the GOP presidential nominee
GOP consultant Mike Madrid suggested Trump is running out of time to turn things around. The anti-Trump Republican strategist shared his views in a post on X.
'Trump has two essential objectives to get back into a stronger position: 1. He has to define Kamala and they’re losing that battle. The window is closing. 2. He has to redefine himself. Good luck,' he wrote.
Madrid said if Harris goes into her convention next week with continuing positives and momentum, it is going to be 'really tough' for Trump to turn it around.
'Public opinion will start to cement in place,' he wrote.
While not on the trail, the 78-year-old Republican presidential nominee has taken to social media for a series of posts as well as online interviews like the one he did on X with Musk on Monday.
His interview with the tech billionaire lasted for two hours with the ex-president going off over crowd sizes, immigration, crime and repeated his false claims about the 2020 election.
Trump also went after Harris as 'a radical left lunatic' and 'third rate' while praising her looks from a new Time magazine cover, comparing her to his wife Melania Trump.
Kamala Harris is headed to North Carolina for a policy speech on Friday before Democrats head to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention next week in Chicago
'Unfortunately, if you were somebody who tuned in and maybe were on the fence or if you were just somebody that was curious to hear what he had to say, but you've already made up your mind, I don't think really it changed too many minds,' said Amy Tarkanian, a Republican strategist and former GOP Nevada state chairman in an interview in CNBC.
She suggested the one positive for the Trump campaign was the two free hours of advertising as more than one million people tuned in to listen.
But Tarkanian noted that Harris is leading among women voters and young voters. She suggested some of Trump's running mate J.D. Vance's comments have also not helped with the Trump ticket there, so the former president has an 'uphill battle.'
'Whether if you agree with Vice President Harris' policies and stances or not, unfortunately what we're now dealing with are you're going to have voters who are going to rely heavily upon either single issues like abortion, or you're going to have voters who are more concerned about how do you make me feel, and it's going to be an emotional vote,' she said.
Tarkanian said Trump is not exuding things that make people feel good such as hope and joy.
'He's still coming across as somebody who is angry,' she argued.