Trump is already trialing nicknames for Kamala Harris, who he'll have to face off against if Biden drops out

• Joe Biden insists that he's still running for reelection.
• But his rival, Donald Trump, seems to be preparing for his running mate, Kamala Harris, to replace him.

President Joe Biden may still be the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, but former President Donald Trump doesn't seem to think he will be for long.

Trump has been lasering in on Vice President Kamala Harris in the weeks following Biden's stumbling performance at their debate on June 27. Harris is widely seen as the most likely replacement for Biden if he were to step aside — as his second-in-command, who will also have access to his campaign war chest.

Trump did address the possibility that he might be up against Harris in a video he posted on his Truth Social account on July 3. In that clip, he heaped scorn on Harris' chances of beating him.

"I got him out the race, and that means we have Kamala," Trump said in the clip.

"She's so bad. She's so pathetic. She's just so fucking bad," he added.

But Trump didn't stop there. On Independence Day, he referenced Harris again in another Truth Social post slamming his opponents.

"Respects to our potentially new Democrat Challenger, Laffin' Kamala Harris," Trump said, using a new nickname for the vice president.

"She did poorly in the Democrat Nominating process, starting out at Number Two, and ending up defeated and dropping out, even before getting to Iowa, but that doesn't mean she's not a 'highly talented' politician!" Trump continued, referencing Harris' performance in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.

In fact, "Laffin' Kamala Harris" isn't the only nickname he's coined for her. Trump's campaign used a different nickname for her in a statement released the day before.

"Every Democrat who is calling on Crooked Joe Biden to quit was once a supporter of Biden and his failed policies that lead to extreme inflation, an open border, and chaos at home and abroad," Trump campaign advisors Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said on July 3.

"Every one of them has lied about Joe Biden's cognitive state and supported his disastrous policies over the past four years, especially Cackling Copilot Kamala Harris," the statement continued.

Harris' campaign communications director, Brian Fallon, told Business Insider that Harris is proud to be Biden's running mate.

"We know Donald Trump is prone to unhinged rants against prosecutors who hold him accountable, but the Vice President will keep making the case against his support of abortion bans, violent insurrections, and more tax cuts for billionaires," Fallon said.

For what it's worth, Trump has a fondness for giving his political opponents unsavory nicknames. In most cases, the derisive nicknames poke fun at a person's physical traits or quirks.

In 2016, he ripped his primary opponents, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, calling them "Little Marco" and "Lyin' Ted" respectively. He also dubbed his former protégé, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, "Ron DeSanctimonious."

Trump has applied his penchant for name-calling to his Democratic rivals too, dubbing Hillary Clinton "Crooked Hillary" and Joe Biden "Sleepy Joe."

In Harris' case, Trump appears to be honing in on how she laughs.

To be sure, Harris has brushed aside calls for her to run for president. The former California senator has instead chosen to double down on her support for Biden and has repeatedly insisted that Biden is fit to lead.

"We always knew this election would be tough, and the past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy," Harris said at a campaign event on Tuesday, per The Washington Post.

"But the one thing we know about our president, Joe Biden, is that he is a fighter and he is the first to say, when you get knocked down, you get back up," she continued.

July 10, 2024, 11:34 a.m. — This story has been updated with a statement from Harris' spokesperson.