BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he believed he had “the right to personally attack” his Democratic rival and said he was “very angry” at Vice President Kamala Harris over the criminal charges brought against her.
Trump responded to a question about whether his campaign needed more discipline during a press conference at his New Jersey golf club, seeking to pin President Joe Biden’s unpopular economic record on Harris.
“As far as the personal attacks go, I’m very angry at her for what she’s done to the country. I’m very angry at her for using the justice system as a weapon against me and other people, very angry at her. I think I have the right to personal attacks,” Trump said.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, August 15, 2024, in Bedminster, NJ
AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson
“I don’t have much respect for her intelligence and I think she will be a terrible president,” he added.
Trump stuck to his succinct economic message for more than half an hour, reading from a folder in front of him during a press conference at his golf club in New Jersey. He later referred to familiar stories that he likes to tell at his rallies. A day earlier, in a rambling speech that his campaign team had announced as a major political address, he had struggled to provide a lasting justification for his economic policy.
“Kamala Harris is a radical liberal from California who has ruined the economy, destroyed the border and, frankly, ruined the world,” Trump told reporters.
Trump stood next to popular grocery items, including instant coffee, sugary breakfast cereals and pastries laid out on tables as he highlighted the cost of everything from groceries to car insurance to housing. At one point, while discussing the 2020 election, which he lost, a box of cereal caught his eye.
“I haven’t seen Cheerios in a long time,” Trump said. “I’m going to take them to my cottage.”
The US Department of Labor announced a day earlier that inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July, another sign that the worst price increase in four decades is easing.
MORE | Biden and Harris were greeted with shouts of “Thank you, Joe” at their first joint event since he dropped out of the race
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held their first joint event since Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed her as his successor at the top of the Democratic ticket.
But consumers are still feeling the effects of higher prices – and Trump’s campaign team is relying on voter motivation this fall.
Harris plans to give her own economic policy speech in North Carolina on Friday, in which she promises to push for a federal ban on price gouging in the food sector.
A small group of Trump supporters watched his press conference from the periphery, occasionally cheering him on. But without a crowd of thousands to regale with crude attacks on his enemies, Trump tended to stick to his prepared remarks.
Hours before the press conference, Trump’s campaign officials announced that they would be expanding his staff, officially adding a number of former employees and outside advisers to the team. Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz and Tim Murtaugh will advise the campaign’s leadership.
Lewandowski was Trump’s first campaign manager during his 2016 campaign. Budowich and Pfeiffer move from MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC. Bruesewitz produces pro-Trump content for a large social media following. And Murtaugh was the communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign.
Summer has traditionally been a time of upheaval in Trump’s previous two campaigns. This year’s change comes weeks after the campaign itself was transformed by President Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign and endorse Harris.
Trump expressed his confidence in his top advisers on Thursday, writing on his social media platform that his management team, led by Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, was “THE BEST.”
Trump spoke to the press while also intensifying his criticism of Harris for not holding a press conference or making herself available for interviews since Biden made way for her.
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