Kelly is not the first former high-ranking staffer to turn against his old boss, or the first military veteran.
His comments are significant, however, given both the timing and Kelly’s reputation as someone who has traditionally believed that men and women in uniform should not get overtly political.
Donald Trump, left, speaks during a faith town hall with Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones at Christ Chapel Zebulon in Zebulon, Georgia.Credit: AP
While he has not endorsed a particular candidate, he told the Times that Trump’s recent comments about using the military against the so-called “enemy within” were so dangerous that he felt he had to speak out.
The reports have nonetheless given the Harris campaign a chance to reinforce a message they have been sharpening in the last stretch of the campaign: that Trump is increasingly “unhinged and unstable” and should not be given a second term.
But Trump has ramped up his attacks against the Democratic nominee in recent days, too, telling a rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday that Harris was a “shit vice president”, followed by a roundtable with Latinos in Miami on Tuesday that she was “slow” and had “low IQ.”
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“This woman is the worst. I mean, it’s just unbelievable,” he said at the roundtable event, in which participants repeatedly praised Trump.
With Harris in Pennsylvania for the town hall, the Republican candidate headed to Georgia – the Deep South state that was a Republican stronghold for years until Joe Biden flipped it in 2020.
Asked how Trump’s personal attacks on Harris, coupled with his increasingly lewd commentary (such as his recent remarks about golfer Arnold Palmer’s genitals) might play out with women – the very demographic Trump is struggling with – Georgia GOP communications spokesman Richie Stone told this masthead: “I will never pretend to speak for women voters here; that’s something that might get me into some trouble.
“But I think you have to look past the mirror of you know, ‘I’m this and I’m that’ because I think it goes right back to those kitchen table issues: inflation, the economy, gas prices,” he said.
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“Also it goes both ways. I mean, have you seen the polling about where Vice President Harris has been (with men)?”
The latest polls show the gender gap between Trump and Harris is significant. A new USA/Suffolk University poll shows former president Donald Trump is leading among men (53 per cent to 37 per cent) while Harris’ lead with women is 53 per cent to 36 per cent).
Nationally, the race remains neck and neck: the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate has Harris at 49.1 per cent, while Trump support nationally is 48.5 per cent – all of which is within the margin of error.
As Trump rallies in Georgia, Harris will get the chance to make her case by taking questions from voters Chester Township, Pennsylvania, which is likely to be the most consequential battleground in this year’s election.
The town hall will start at 9pm (l2pm AEDT) and comes on the date CNN proposed a second debate between Harris and Trump, which the former president declined.
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