Trump defends attacks on Harris as allies urge focus on economy, policy

I think I'm entitled to personal attacks, Donald Trump said at a press conference

By Hadriana Lowenkron

Donald Trump said he believes his strategy of personal insults against Vice President Kamala Harris is boosting his campaign, despite pleas from his own party to focus on policy as polls show he is losing ground in the race for the White House.
 

“I think I’m entitled to personal attacks,” Trump said at a press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. “I don’t have a lot of respect for her. I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she’ll be a terrible president.”

The Republican presidential nominee has sharpened his attacks on Harris, accusing her of being too liberal for American voters and hiding from the press, insulting her intelligence and questioning her racial identity. He’s increasingly relied on hyperbolic insults, claiming on Thursday that she “broke the world, frankly,” as he tests out new messaging that critics — as well as some allies — have said delves into racist and sexist stereotypes.

 

Trump has long relied on personal insults as a reality television host and then as a politician as a way to generate headlines and grab the media spotlight. He said Thursday he believes his campaign is on the right track, despite polls that show Harris has largely erased his polling lead since she replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket last month.

“I think that we’ve done very well. I think that we’re hitting a nerve,” Trump said. “All we have to do is define our opponent as being a communist, or a socialist or somebody that’s going to destroy our country.”

Thursday’s event marked the second time in as many weeks Trump has summoned the press to one of his properties to take questions, an effort to counter the media attention Harris has enjoyed, and provoke the Democratic nominee into holding more unscripted events of her own. 

Trump’s allies have urged him to emphasize policy issues and to tie Harris to Biden’s unpopular record on the economy. Trump focused on inflation at the start of Thursday’s press conference, standing in front of tables covered in groceries. He read from lengthy prepared remarks before taking questions from reporters, where he went on offense against Harris.

“At his country club, Donald Trump, huffed and puffed his opposition to lowering food costs for middle and working class Americans and prescription drug costs for seniors before pivoting back to his usual lies and delusions,” Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer said in a statement.

Trump’s campaign appeared to lose its footing with Harris’ entry into the race as they struggled to settle on a line of attack against a new candidate and combat the surge in enthusiasm she has seen. The former president has lashed out at the attention Harris is garnering, questioning the size of crowds attending her rallies, claiming that Biden will want the Democratic nomination back and appearing to bristle at calls for him to stay on message.

During a rally on Wednesday billed as an opportunity for Trump to speak on the economy, the Republican nominee questioned the importance of the issue in the election — despite polls showing it is a defining matter for voters and a political liability for Democrats due to high inflation. 

To aid efforts to reset his campaign, Trump is bringing on veterans from his past White House runs. They include Corey Lewandowski, who was a campaign manager for the successful 2016 bid, and Tim Murtaugh, who was the communications director for the 2020 run, to augment his ranks.

Trump has largely been missing from the campaign trail, even as Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, went on a swing-state blitz last week to seize on their newfound momentum. Trump’s Wednesday remarks on the economy were at a rally in North Carolina that marked his first appearance in a swing-state in nearly two weeks. 

The former president has instead opted for press conferences on his turf or media appearances with friendly outlets such as Fox News. On Monday, Trump held a more than two-hour conversation with supporter Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, streamed on the X social-media platform the billionaire entrepreneur owns.