Donald Trump may lose the US election if he continues to act as a “provocateur” and a “showman,” a senior Republican ally has warned, as calls increase for the former president to “reset” his campaign.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a friend of Trump, advised that he should focus on the “policy debate” with Kamala Harris instead of making personal attacks.
Trump’s campaign is under pressure from some of its strongest supporters to implement significant changes in the final 80 days of the campaign.
The 78-year-old has been criticized for calling Ms. Harris “stupid” and claiming she has used her ethnicity as a campaign tool.
On Sunday, Graham joined Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran for the Republican 2024 nomination, and former advisers in urging a shift towards policy discussions.
“President Trump can win this election. His policies are beneficial for America, and if it comes down to a policy debate for president, he wins,” Graham told NBC. “Donald Trump the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.” He added: “I’m hoping President Trump will make a strong showing in the final 80 days to define his plans for our country, to fix broken borders, and to lower inflation.”
Latest national polls indicate that Ms. Harris has pulled ahead of Trump by about two points, reversing the lead Trump held over Joe Biden prior to the president’s decision to drop out of the race on July 21.
A poll by USA Today and Suffolk University released on Sunday found that Ms. Harris had strengthened her support among Black voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
This comes after Trump alleged that Ms. Harris had downplayed her Black heritage in the past and then exaggerated it to gain support as a politician. The vice president’s father is Jamaican-American, and her mother is Indian.
