STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Seems like longer, but Vice President Harris has been the likely Democratic presidential nominee for barely a week. We heard enthusiasm for Harris among Democratic voters in Pennsylvania last week, and her campaign raised hundreds of millions of dollars in donations.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Former President Donald Trump is trying to reclaim the spotlight. In recent days, he told a gathering of Christian voters that if they just support him one time, he would have things, quote, “fixed,” so they, quote, “won’t have to vote anymore.” He also attacked his new opponent, whose name is pronounced Kamala.

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DONALD TRUMP: If a crazy liberal like Kamala Harris gets in, the American dream is dead.

INSKEEP: So how is Trump trying to claw back attention? NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez is covering the Trump campaign. Franco, good morning.

FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: He’s in our studios here, Studio 31 in Washington, D.C. How is Trump recalibrating to a new opponent?

ORDOÑEZ: Well, he’s still looking to tie Harris to Biden’s most unpopular policies, including inflation, and especially the border, which is a vulnerability for her. But as LeIla mentioned, he’s also escalating his attacks and getting personal. He’s calling her sick and unhinged. He’s attacking her past, her time as a district attorney in California, and charging that she would impose San Francisco values on the country.

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TRUMP: Kamala Harris was the original Marxist district attorney. She destroyed San Francisco, and she will destroy our country. She will be the worst president we’ve ever had. She will be worse than crooked Joe Biden.

ORDOÑEZ: And Steve, listening to that, I’ll just point out that Harris was criticized on the left as well for her time as a prosecutor. You know, and she’s not hiding from the fact that she was a prosecutor, even framing the race as one between prosecutor and convict. She’s emphasizing how she took on predators, including predators who abuse women, which is a clear reference to Trump’s multiple convictions.

INSKEEP: I am thinking about how the former president was said to have a unity message for a minute after his assassination attempt. Has that lasted?

ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, it really didn’t last that long. I mean, Trump seemed to kind of joke about it, actually, you know, how people thought he’d change after the assassination attempt two weeks ago.

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TRUMP: No, I haven’t changed. Maybe I’ve gotten worse, actually, because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day.

ORDOÑEZ: On Friday, he called Harris a bum and went into detail about how he didn’t care about mispronouncing her name.

INSKEEP: Now, the Harris campaign, however you pronounce her name, has raised $200,000,000 since she emerged as a likely Democratic presidential nominee, which I guess we should just note that that’s a lot. How does that affect Trump, though?

ORDOÑEZ: I mean, I don’t think he’s happy about it. I mean, it is a lot of money. But the Trump campaign will tell you that it is simply a honeymoon period. I spoke with Bryan Lanza, a former campaign official who is in still in contact with the team and Trump. He says Democrats are experiencing a sugar high.

BRYAN LANZA: And what do we know about sugar highs? That the crash eventually happens. When the sugar runs out, when the sugar high evaporates, as it always does, they’re gonna realize they’re even in a worse position than they were with Joe Biden.

ORDOÑEZ: You know, most polls taken after she entered the race show her about even with Trump. At the same time, this is not territory that Trump is so familiar with. I mean, he doesn’t like to give up the spotlight and usually doesn’t have to. And they’re also having to play some defense as some of JD Vance’s past comments have drawn controversy. And Trump had so much momentum after the debate, as well as after the Republican National Convention. There was this feeling of inevitability across the campaign, and right now it’s just a whole different dynamic.

INSKEEP: Franco, thanks very much for the insight. It’s always a pleasure to see you.

ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Steve.

INSKEEP: NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez.

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