What Harris and Trump Say About Each Other on Social Media

In an unprecedented moment in modern American history, the 2024 Republican and Democratic presidential candidates will face off in their first debate after just seven weeks of campaigning against each other.

The New York Times analyzed what the two candidates have said about each other on social media from July 21, when President Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris became the frontrunner to replace him as the Democratic nominee, through Sept. 6. (For the most part, their statements on social media mirror their public comments at rallies and other events.)

While both candidates attack each other, The Times found that former president Donald Trump targets Ms. Harris much more frequently, an average of more than three times per day, and his posts (on Truth Social) almost always include a personal smear.

What Harris says about Trump in personal terms

Ms. Harris’s posts about Mr. Trump (on X) tend not to go for the jugular. A handful of times, she has drawn attention to his history of legal trouble, saying, for example, that she knows “Donald Trump’s type” because she “took on predators, fraudsters and cheaters” as a prosecutor.

She has also described him in the following ways:

What Trump says about Harris in personal terms

By contrast, Mr. Trump’s attacks on Ms. Harris resemble the name-calling insults of a sexist schoolyard bully. He frequently drops personal slights into political attacks, but he has also attacked Ms. Harris numerous times in personal terms without making any particular reference to her policies or political record. Some of these posts have touched instead on her racial identity or included generic insults referencing her authenticity or capability.

Here is how he has described her:

Mr. Trump told rallygoers in North Carolina last month that he’d had trouble coming up with a “name” for Ms. Harris, but that he was settling on “comrade.”

“I think that’s the most accurate name,” he said.

What the candidates say about each other on the issues

While both candidates also criticize each other on policy matters, Mr. Trump nearly always sprinkles in a personal jab (or two or three) about Ms. Harris.

Mr. Trump’s posts about Ms. Harris frequently include spelling mistakes, falsehoods and his distinctive style of grammar and capitalization. He spent a few days in August frequently calling Ms. Harris “Kamabla,” though he has since abandoned that moniker. Ms. Harris’s posts are more typical of a traditional politician.

The border is an especially contentious issue.

In making immigration a central theme of his campaign, Mr. Trump repeatedly and falsely calls Ms. Harris the Biden administration’s “border czar.” Ms. Harris notes that Mr. Trump pressured Republicans to oppose a bipartisan immigration deal.

Both accuse each other of being extremists.

Ms. Harris ties Mr. Trump to Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals that Mr. Trump has recently tried to distance himself from. Mr. Trump (falsely) claims Ms. Harris is a “communist” who will “destroy America.”

Ms. Harris attacks Mr. Trump over abortion rights.

The vice president regularly reminds voters that Mr. Trump appointed the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Mr. Trump rarely mentions reproductive rights.

Their barbs on the economy are more classically partisan.

Ms. Harris accuses Mr. Trump of only caring about wealthy Americans. The former president blames Ms. Harris for inflation.