Former President Trump on Thursday dismissed calls from allies to refocus on policy after polls showed Vice President Harris had eclipsed his lead in the approval ratings, saying he had “every right to personally attack VP Harris.”
Trump spoke for about an hour before taking questions from reporters at his Bedminster, New Jersey, news conference, where he was asked about criticism from some Republican lawmakers that he should be more disciplined and refrain from making personal attacks on his opponents.
“As far as the personal attacks, I’m very angry about what she’s done to this country,” Trump said. “I think I’m entitled to the personal attacks. I don’t have much respect for her. I don’t have much respect for her intelligence, and I think she’d be a terrible president.”
“And I think it’s very important that we win,” Trump continued, “and whether personal attacks are good or bad. She has certainly attacked me personally. She actually called me a weirdo.”
Asked specifically about comments by former rival Nikki Haley that the Trump campaign needed to change its strategy, Trump said he appreciated Haley’s advice but would run the campaign “my way”.
While Republicans argue they have a strong case to make against Harris on the economy and immigration, Trump has struggled to deliver a consistent message targeting her. The former president has at times focused on those issues while also attacking the vice president’s mixed race heritage, her humor and her intelligence.
The former president’s press conference was his second in recent weeks as he seeks to halt Harris’ momentum since replacing President Biden as the Democratic nominee in late July.
A poll released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report showed Ms Harris leading Mr Trump in five of the seven battleground states that will determine the outcome of November’s election – Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Pennsylvania – with Mr Trump leading Ms Harris in Nevada and the two candidates neck and neck in Georgia.
Trump announced on Thursday that he was hiring several new faces to his campaign, including Corey Lewandowski, who ran his 2016 campaign and wrote a book titled “Let Trump Be Trump.” But the former president rejected the notion that the personnel changes were a sign of a broader shift in strategy.
“We have great people in the mix,” Trump said, praising his campaign co-chairs Suzie Wiles and Chris LaCivita as “fantastic.”
Some of Trump’s top aides have gone on television to publicly call on the former president to recalibrate his message in the face of a new political climate with a younger opponent who has rejuvenated the Democratic base.
Peter Navarro, a former White House trade adviser to Trump, said this week that the former president’s current rally format “does not adequately focus on the very salient policy differences between him and Kamala Harris that will sway voters in key battleground states.”
Kellyanne Conway, who ran Trump’s successful 2016 campaign and served as a top White House adviser, told Fox Business Network that to win, Trump needs “fewer insults, more insight and policy contrast.”
Trump spoke for about 45 minutes before taking questions, beginning with a direct attack on Harris on the economy, inflation and the Biden administration’s record. He was flanked on either side by tables filled with groceries including cereal, coffee and condiments, backing up his argument that the prices of basic goods are too high for many Americans.
But Trump quickly moved on to a variety of topics, including borders, how windmills kill birds, crime in big cities, the quality of electric trucks and his relationship with various foreign leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
After about 45 minutes of talking, he finally turned around and noticed groceries on the table behind him.
“Cheerios, I haven’t seen Cheerios in a long time,” Trump said.
