Analysis-Trump campaign switches gears to confront a Harris challenge

FILE PHOTO: Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump wears a flesh-colored bandage on his ear as he holds a campaign rally for the first time with his running mate, Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

(Reuters) - Donald Trump boasted on Sunday he would easily defeat Kamala Harris if she becomes the Democratic nominee in the Nov. 5 presidential election, but her entry would reshape a race that had appeared to be going Trump's way.

Democratic President Joe Biden’s sudden decision to exit the race and endorse Harris, his vice president, upended an election that was still reeling from the attempted assassination eight days ago of Trump, the Republican nominee. Sources told Reuters that Trump's campaign had for weeks been planning for Harris to be his opponent should she win her party's nomination.