- The Washington Times - Friday, July 5, 2024

Former President Donald Trump is set to return to the campaign trail next week.

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee plans to hold rallies Tuesday in Miami and Thursday in Pittsburgh’s suburbs.

The events will mark Mr. Trump’s return to the trail for the first time since last week’s rally in Virginia a day after the debate.

Mr. Trump had a strong showing in the CNN face-off and appears to be gaining momentum after President Biden’s incoherent debate performance, which heightened concerns about whether he can perform the job at 81.

This week’s New York Times/ Siena College national poll showed Mr. Biden trails Mr. Trump by six points among likely voters and nine points among registered voters, marking a three-point swing toward the former president since before the debate.

Democratic Reps. Loyd Doggett of Texas and Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona have called for Mr. Biden to let someone else lead the ticket amid concerns that the president would hurt down-ticket Democrats in competitive states.

There is a mounting sense that Mr. Biden has a short window to regain the party’s confidence and diffuse the mounting calls for him to step aside.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has been happy to kick him while he’s down, even sharpening his attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Ms. Harris could be best positioned to replace Mr. Biden if he leaves the race.

In a recently leaked video, Mr. Trump predicted Mr. Biden will quit running and referred to him as an “old broken-down pile of crap.”

“Now we have Kamala,” Mr. Trump said. “She’s so f—king bad.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.

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