Donald Trump has shifted his focus onto Vice President Kamala Harris as he unleashed a barrage of attacks labelling her as his “new victim to defeat”.
The convicted felon also accused Ms Harris of deceiving the public about President Joe Biden’s ability to run for a second term.
Speaking at a rally for the first time since the 81-year-old dropped out of November’s US elections following a series of high profile blunders, Mr Trump focused all his energy on insulting Ms Harris, who is expected to become the Democrat’s nominee for President.
Mr Trump said: “As you know, three days ago we officially defeated the worst president in the history of our country, crooked Joe Biden.”
He quickly took aim at Mr Biden’s likely replacement adding: "So now we have a new victim to defeat: Lyin' Kamala Harris."
Mr Trump followed up by labelling Ms Harris as "the most incompetent and far left vice president in American history".
Mr Trump later adapted a selection of his favourite rally phrases to attack Harris, declaring: “Kamala, you’re fired. Get out of here. You’re fired,” – a reference to his reality TV show, The Apprentice.
The former president repeatedly took aim at the Vice President, who has secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates.
Mr Trump also told crowds he “became nice” after he was nearly shot in the head during an assassination attempt earlier this month.
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He said: “Something happened to me when I got shot. I became nice and when you are dealing with these people, they are very dangerous people, and when you are dealing with them you can’t be too nice.”
During the rally Mr Trump called Ms Harris a "radical left lunatic" and called her "crazy" for her positions on abortion and on immigration. He also mispronounced her first name repeatedly.
Ms Harris is expected to make abortion a key part of her campaign, looking to present herself to voters as someone who will fight against abortion restrictions. Earlier this week, she said she "trusts women to make decisions about their own bodies".
Mr Trump also accused her of being just as responsible for Mr Biden's policies at the US-Mexico border, which saw illegal crossing arrests reach record highs at the end of 2023 and repeated his pledge to conduct mass deportations with the help of local police.
"Kamala's deadly destruction of America's borders is completely and totally disqualifying. She shouldn't be allowed to run for president with what she's done," Mr Trump told supporters.
The former president's stop in North Carolina shows he is concerned about keeping the state in his column this November, even as his team reaches for wins in traditionally Democratic-leaning states like Minnesota, which he is set to visit on Saturday.
Mr Trump has hedged on plans for an expected debate with Ms Harris, first saying that he wanted Fox News, not ABC, to host the event he had originally scheduled for September with Mr Biden.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump appeared to tweak that message again, saying on a call with reporters that he would like to debate the Vice President "more than once" but not committing to appearing at the debate currently on the books and saying he had only agreed to debate Mr Biden twice, not Ms Harris.
Ms Harris spent Wednesday in Indiana, telling members of an historically black sorority that "we are not playing around" and asked for their help in electing her president in November.
She characterised the election as "a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past".
Mr Trump's Charlotte event was his second campaign rally since a July 13 assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally. Like the one scheduled for the weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it was held in an indoor arena.
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