Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Thursday he sees no need to change the tactics or tone of his campaign for the White House now that Vice President Kamala Harris, not President Joe Biden, is the Democratic nominee.
During a news conference at his New Jersey golf club, the former president commented on a range of issues for 45 minutes and then answered about a dozen questions from reporters.
Trump argued that there was no need to limit his personal criticism of Harris because she has several criminal cases pending against her and she has repeatedly called him a “freak.”
“I think I have the right to make personal attacks,” Trump said. “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’s going to be a terrible president.”
Many Republicans, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who challenged Trump for the nomination but now says she she will vote for himurged Trump to focus more on the programmatic differences between the two political parties and less on his personal grievances with Harris.
For example, Trump tried to question Harris’ racial identity during his panel interview overdue last month at the National Association of Black Journalists.
Trump held his Thursday news conference outside and spoke while standing between two tables of groceries and what appeared to be a enormous blue dollhouse.
He used props to argue that prices were too high for American families, blaming inflation on the Biden-Harris administration and claiming he was the only person who could lower prices.
Trump downplayed his poll numbers in key battleground states, some of which have him trailing or within the margin of error against Harris.
“I tend to be low in the polls,” Trump said. “In some cases, really low.”
He also said that if reelected in November, he hopes to establish “friendly” relations with Iran and “get along” with China. The GOP has repeatedly criticized Democrats for being too cushioned on both countries.
“Another public breakdown”
Harris-Walz’s campaign issued a mock warning ahead of the news conference before it began on Thursday, writing in an email that Trump was preparing to “host another public meltdown in Bedminster, New Jersey.”
“Not fresh off of NABJ, Florida, and Twitter glitches, Donald Trump is about to launch another self-centered tirade full of his personal grievances to distract from his toxic Project 2025 agenda, his unpopular VP candidate, and his increasing disconnect from the voters who will decide this election,” the campaign wrote. “These remarks won’t be AI, but they will certainly lack intelligence.”
Spokesman James Singer later issued a written statement saying Trump “blew off and shouted his opposition to lowering food costs for middle and working class Americans and prescription drug costs for seniors, then returned to his usual lies and delusions.”
The race remains in a state of uncertainty
Despite recent momentum at the top of the Democratic presidential field and Trump’s claims that he is on track to victory, neither candidate yet has a clear path to victory in November, experts say.
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, a nonpartisan publication that analyzes campaigns and assesses whether one political party or the other is winning the race, has placed six states in the “tough” category for the Electoral College.
According to the political publication, once voting closes, Arizona’s 11 electoral votes, Georgia’s 16 votes, Michigan’s 15 votes, Nevada’s 6 votes, Pennsylvania’s 19 votes and Wisconsin’s 10 votes in the Electoral College could go to either Harris or Trump. Reporting.
Minnesota, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District and New Hampshire were all rated more favorable to Harris, with a combined 15 votes, while North Carolina and its 16 votes favored Trump.
All remaining states were classified as “certain” or “probable” victories for Trump or Harris, underscoring the tight nature of the campaign.
Walter told reporters in a phone interview Thursday that Harris has a chance to sway undecided voters during her speech at the Democratic National Convention next week.
“He has an opportunity here because people are going to be more interested in watching this convention, certainly, than they were a month ago when Biden was at the top of the ticket,” she said. “And it’s an opportunity to appeal beyond the Democratic base.”
Walter said the prime-time speech will be an opportunity for Harris to address key criticisms of her presidential campaign, including that she is too liberal, not the best person to handle the economy and is tender on immigration policy.
Trump and his temperament
Greg Strimple, president of GS Strategy Group, which is working with the Cook Political Report on a project examining voters’ views of candidates in key battleground states, said one of the biggest challenges for the Trump campaign is keeping the candidate on track.
“This race has gone from a referendum on Biden’s age and the economy to a referendum on Trump and his temperament,” Strimple said in the interview. “And despite the fact that Donald Trump is incapable of getting out of his way right now, his campaign is running ads that are consistent with that message.”
He added that if Trump and his campaign could unite to promote the notion that Harris is “too liberal, too inexperienced and a continuation of Biden on the economy,” it could lend a hand them regain their lead in the polls and among voters before Election Day.
“There’s a lot of talk right now about the race being over, and I’m just warning everyone that Trump has a path ahead of him — it’s just a question of whether he can take it,” Strimple said.
Patrick Toomey, a partner at BSG, which is also involved in the pivotal state project, said on the call that voters should not rule out ups and downs in candidate support in the coming months, citing potential shocks from hurricane season or ongoing wars in the Middle East.
“It’s just worth remembering how many dramatic twists and turns this race has had so far,” Toomey said. “And the idea that because we’ve had this reset, that everything is set and nothing’s going to change going forward would be a mistake.”
