There was a time when campaign politics wasn’t as harsh with rhetoric from either side. I know it’s hard to believe, but as recently as 16 years ago, you had the candidates from both parties complimenting the accomplishments of their opponent, not calling names, and even correcting supporters when they spouted untrue nonsense.

That time has passed. Trump has ushered in an era in which all campaigning involves making up unflattering nicknames, constantly throwing shade, and outright lying about opponents.

That doesn’t seem to be working in the campaign against Kamala Harris, the presumptive nominee (it’s not quite official yet) for the Democratic Party.

It doesn’t help that Trump uses outdated terms, but when he called Harris a “bum” at a Turning Point summit in Florida on Friday, it sparked more than a little outrage.

“She was a bum three weeks ago. She was a bum. A failed vice president in a failed administration, with millions of people crossing, and she was the border czar,” said the former president last weekend.

Trump was attempting to paint Biden stepping down as something Democrats forced him to do. In reality, Biden fully intended to stay in the race, and laid out the circumstances under which he might drop out.

Those circumstances then came to pass. He was diagnosed with COVID at the height of the time in which he needed to campaign to be successful, and he bowed out gracefully.

Most Democrats are no longer hung up on the transfer from Biden to his Vice President, and have embraced her as the candidate.

Trump was not ready to campaign against her, however. His team has been single-mindedly focused on defeating Biden, a man they thought they could easily outwit in the general election, given the relative success of the smear campaign they’ve been running against him since before he ever officially locked up the nomination in 2020.

“I see they’re still working hard to get the female vote,” said one user on X. That’s been at issue since footage surfaced on a 2021 interview with Trump’s VP pick, JD Vance, showed the candidate calling women who haven’t given birth “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives.”

Yeah, that stuff isn’t going to fly these days.

Others pointed out how “hateful” Trump is in his campaign against the candidate who would be the first multi-racial female — heck, first female — president ever elected.

“He’s feeling the heat. His pathetic rhetoric gets more hateful when his back is against the wall,” said another commenter.

“He’s scared. You can hear it in his voice. It’s over Donald,” chimed in yet another.

It’s true. At this point, Trump looks like he’s regretting his choice of Vance to be his running mate. He appears to be getting desperate. And in a campaign that is panning out to be one between a current felon and a former prosecutor, desperate is not a good look.

Watch Trump’s appearance at the Turning Point event:

Trump: Kamala Harris was a bum three weeks ago. She was a bum. pic.twitter.com/XV8Y3M5hzT

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 27, 2024