New focus Trump targets 'cackling Kamala'

For Barack Obama there was "birtherism" and a name they said sounded like a specific Middle East terrorist. For Hillary Clinton there was "Lock her up" and merchandise that said, "Trump that bitch", "Hillary sucks but not like Monica" and "Life's a bitch: don't vote for one."

- David Smith

Rightwing playbooks from past election campaigns are being dusted off for an all-out assault against the vice-president, Kamala Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee aiming to be the first black woman and first person of south Asian descent to be US president.

"It's obvious the Republicans are going to play the race and gender card, which we've seen already in some of the attacks on social media," said Tara Setmayer, a black woman who is co-founder and chief executive of the Seneca Project, a female-led super political action committee. "It may be catnip for their Maga [Trump's slogan Make America Great Again] base but it will be a turnoff for the moderate voters in the battleground states that will determine this election."

Harris's sudden ascent after 81-year-old Joe Biden's decision not to seek re-election has upended the race for the White House, giving Democrats a much needed jolt of energy and instantly turned the tables on Republicans on the question of age: Donald Trump, 78, is now the oldest presidential nominee in history.