Trump struggles to change his tune against his new opponent Harris : NPR

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign speeches have plenty of phrases that get repeated so much they get stuck in your head, like an earworm.

Those catchphrases include the vows for the “largest deportation effort” in history, boasts about his poll numbers and attacks on “Crooked Joe Biden.”

But since Biden dropped out of the presidential race a month ago and Vice President Harris became his new opponent, Trump hasn’t really remixed his message to keep up with an audience clamoring for new material.

“I think, frankly, I’d rather be running against somebody else,” Trump said at an August press conference at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. “But that was their choice. They decided to do that, because Kamala’s record is horrible. She’s a radical left person at a level that nobody’s seen.”

In rallies and social media posts, Trump has settled on “Comrade Kamala” as a moniker for his new opponent, trying to tie the Democrat and the policies of the current administration to communism.

But even then, the presidential putdowns have lost their edge since his first run for office in the 2016 election and are increasingly buried by Trump’s nonsensical asides.

One example came during his rally last week in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., just before the Democratic National Convention.

Trump still commands capacity crowds, and shows why Republican voters have him in their hall of fame, but lately he’s sounded more like an aging rock star stuck in the past, and whose new riffs aren’t always in tune with the moment.

“But soon we’re going to fix every single problem Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, ‘Crooked Joe,’ have cre–what happened to Biden?,” he said, breaking from his speech. “I was running against Biden, all of a sudden, I’m running against somebody else. It’s true! You know, it’s interesting, I said… ‘Who am I running against? Harris?’ I said, ‘Who the hell is Harris? You know. Who the hell is Harris?’”

Who is Harris?

That’s a question that both campaigns are trying to answer quickly before voters head to the polls in the coming weeks.

Frustratingly to some Republicans, while Trump has been known for his improvisational skills on the trail, since the switch up he’s been slow to strike a chord with his policies or hit the same high notes attacking the vice president.

Take the Pennsylvania rally, where one top takeaway was a tangent about a TIME Magazine cover featuring Harris.

“I say that I am much better looking than her,” Trump said. “I think I’m much better – I’m a better looking person than Kamala!”

There’s still time for Trump to remix his pitch, as the GOP emphasizes immigration and the economy as two issues that they hope resonate more with voters.

As Harris is set to take the stage tonight to close out the Democratic National Convention and the presidential campaign enters its final weeks, though, Trump is still rewinding to the past.

At a counterprogramming event in Michigan Tuesday, a lower-energy Trump turned an attack on Harris and immigration into a refrain, once again, about Biden.

“I said, close the border: I didn’t have a bill, I didn’t need a bill, she doesn’t need a bill,” he said. “Biden doesn’t know where he is. So where is he? Whatever happened to him? He got out. He got out. He’s now sunbathing. He’s in a beach someplace.”

Beyond the metaphors, Trump’s actual rally musical selections have also brought unwanted headlines.

Celine Dion objected to “My Heart Will Go On” being used before a Montana event, writing online that its use was unauthorized and asked “really, that song?”

Plus, the family of songwriter Isaac Hayes filed suit this week over the use of Trump’s frequent outro song “Hold On, I’m Coming” which Hayes co-wrote for the group Sam and Dave.

Trump’s next big rally will be in Arizona Friday.