Trump courts crypto backers, Harris says she is ‘underdog’ in presidential race

By Tim Reid, Stephanie Kelly and Jeff Mason

(Reuters) -Vice President Kamala Harris cast herself as an “underdog” in the presidential race against Donald Trump on Saturday, despite polls showing the rivals in a virtual tie, and said much of the rhetoric coming from her Republican opponent and his running mate, JD (NASDAQ:) Vance, was “just plain weird.”

Harris, speaking at a private fundraiser headlined by singer-songwriter James Taylor in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, also hit many of the themes she evoked this week during a blitz of campaign appearances since ascending to the top of the ticket after Democratic President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.

She again contrasted her background as a prosecutor with Trump’s record as a convicted felon and said her campaign was about the future, while Trump wanted to return the country to a “dark past.”

Her use of the word “weird” to describe her opponents was part of a new strategy from Democrats. The Harris campaign called Trump “old and quite weird” following his appearance on Fox News on Thursday, prompting at least one supporter to show up at the event with a sign proclaiming “Trump is weird.”

Trump was scheduled to rally alongside Vance in Minnesota later on Saturday after addressing a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville, part of a broader Republican effort to court crypto holders ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The party has promised lighter regulation for crypto, while Trump recently slammed Democrats’ attempts to regulate the sector.

Trump’s campaign event in St. Cloud, Minnesota, will take place in an 8,000-seat hockey arena, an indoor venue that complies with the U.S. Secret Service’s recommendation that he avoid large outdoor events following an attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania two weeks ago.

But Trump said on Saturday in a post on his Truth Social site that he would continue to hold outdoor rallies and that he believed the Secret Service was capable of protecting him.

Minnesota has not chosen a Republican presidential candidate in 52 years, but it had seemed to move within reach in recent weeks as Biden’s poll numbers dipped following his disastrous June 27 debate performance.

After Biden’s exit on Sunday, however, Harris, the first Black woman and first Asian American to serve as vice president, swiftly consolidated Democratic support.

Her rise has reenergized a campaign that had faltered badly amid Democrats’ doubts about Biden’s chances of defeating Trump, 78, or his ability to continue to govern should he succeed.

Harris raised more than $100 million in the 36 hours after Biden’s departure. Saturday’s fundraiser brought in more than $1.4 million from some 800 attendees, her campaign said.

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun safety group with about 10 million members, told MSNBC on Saturday that more than 200,000 people joined a Zoom (NASDAQ:) call on Thursday to build support for Harris among white women, raising over $11 million.

Trump and Vance, 39, have attempted to tie Harris to what they say is the Biden administration’s failure to corral high inflation and stem a surge of migrants at the southern border with Mexico. Republicans have also portrayed Harris as more liberal and extreme than Biden.

Trump’s rally on Saturday follows his remarks at a conservative gathering on Friday, when he told Christians that if they vote for him in November, “in four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”

It was not clear what the former president meant by his comments, but Democrats immediately seized on them as evidence that he remains a threat to democracy four years after his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump was scheduled to host a fundraiser in Nashville prior to his remarks at the conference, with tickets ranging from $60,000 to over $800,000 per person. Donors were able to contribute via digital currency as well, according to an event invitation.