Democrats have unveiled a new attack line, labeling MAGA Republicans as "weird," which has enraged some of them.
Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat from Minnesota who is among the front-runners to be Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate in November, appeared to originate the use of the description while appearing on MSNBC last week.
"These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room. That's what it comes down to. And don't, you know, get sugarcoating this. These are weird ideas," he said.
After President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21 and Harris became the likely nominee, Democrats appear to have pivoted their messaging from high-minded warnings about threats to democracy to a more relatable and direct approach, simply describing their opponents' ideas and values as "weird."
Harris' campaign has homed in on the descriptor, repeatedly calling Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, "weird" in campaign ads and emails.
Steven Cheung, a representative for Trump's campaign, told Newsweek in an emailed statement: "Kamala Harris and Democrats are actually projecting their weird and creepy vibes. The fact remains that Kamala is weak, failed, and dangerously liberal, and no amount of gaslighting from her moronic, too-online campaign will erase her despicable record. We're going to beat the brakes off them and there is nothing they can do about it."
Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, criticized the new attack line on X, formerly Twitter, calling the argument from Democrats "dumb & juvenile."
"This is a presidential election, not a high school prom queen contest," he said. "It's also a tad ironic coming from the party that preaches 'diversity & inclusion.' Win on policy if you can, but cut the crap please."
Vance himself responded by sharing a video of Harris introducing herself with her pronouns, quoting the phrase in the caption, "JD Vance is weird."
Florida Representative Matt Gaetz also weighed in, writing on X: "The party of gender blockers and drag shows for kids is calling us weird? Ok."
Texas Senator Ted Cruz shared a post that said junior Harris staffers were instructed to not look her in the eye, adding, "This is...weird."
The X account Libs of TikTok, known for its anti-LGBTQ+ stances, shared multiple photos and images of drag queens or gender-nonconforming people, quoting the attack line in captions such as "JD Vance is weird" and "Republicans are creepy and weird."
Another X account wrote: "This whole Democrat trend of calling conservatives, Trump & Vance weird is the biggest projection I've seen yet.. Democrats of all races & genders are some of the weirdest mfs I've seen in America."
As Democrats roll out the "weird" description, the Trump campaign seems to be scrambling to work out its messaging and best attack lines against a new opponent, after spending months focusing the campaign on Biden's age and cognitive abilities.
Update 07/30/24, 8:12 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign representative.