Former President Trump focused on the economy in a speech in North Carolina on Wednesday, blasting Vice President Harris over rising prices and Americans’ economic hardship as he was forced to rethink his approach to the campaign.
Trump addressed supporters in Asheville, acknowledging he intended to specifically mention the economy, but the speech largely resembled his usual rally remarks: He criticized Harris’s laughing voice and intelligence and rambled on at his usual length about immigration, making the unfounded claim that some migrants entering the US are “replacing our young children.”
The former president began his speech by blaming Harris for persistent inflation and a weak economy in parts of the country, and urged voters to consider how they felt during Harris’ four years in office compared to how they felt then.
“Does anybody feel better off under Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe than they did under Trump? Has anything ever become cheaper under Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe?” Trump asked the audience.
“Are you happier with Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden than you were with the man called President Donald J. Trump? Do you know him? He’s a lovely gentleman,” he added.
It was a clear attempt by Trump to stay true to his message as allies have pleaded with him in recent days to avoid personal attacks on Harris and polls show the vice president leading in key battleground states including North Carolina.
“We’re doing this as an intellectual platform,” Trump said. “They say this is the most important topic. I think crime is right up there. Personally, I think the border is right up there.”
Trump sought to directly link Harris to President Biden’s economic record, which has been battered by rising prices since the start of 2022 and is struggling to calm down.
Trump has accused Harris of acting as a runoff vote on major Democratic spending bills and criticized her for refusing so far to reveal specific economic policies since replacing Biden as his running mate in late July.
“Inflation is destroying our country. It’s destroying our families,” Trump said. “We’re going to target everything from car affordability to home affordability to insurance premiums to supply chain issues.”
Trump’s own economic proposals include extending the 2017 tax cuts, increasing oil drilling (U.S. oil production will reach record levels in 2023) and imposing tariffs on all imports, but some experts warn such measures could exacerbate inflation.
Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Harris has avoided setting out any specific economic policy agenda beyond echoing Trump’s proposals.Abolish taxesOn tipped wages: The vice president is visiting North Carolina on Friday and is scheduled to deliver a policy-focused speech on ways to reduce costs.
The former president showed the limits of his ability to stay on message: At one point he mocked Harris’s laugh as “the laugh of a madman.” He later claimed Harris was “not very smart.”
He also suggested his more focused approach may not last.
“We’re going to talk about one thing today and then we’ll come back to another thing, because we love that,” Trump said.
The former president’s comments came hours after the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 0.2% in July after remaining flat or falling for two consecutive months. The Consumer Price Index also slowed to a 2.9% year-over-year increase in July, down from 3% in June and the first time it has fallen below 3% since March 2021.
The latest inflation reading comes as the Federal Reserve prepares to make a much-needed interest rate cut ahead of the upcoming election and at a time when economic uncertainty is growing as unemployment has begun to rise.
Polls have shown that Ms Harris has overturned the large lead Mr Trump once held over Mr Biden in North Carolina.
voteReleased on WednesdayIn head-to-head races in North Carolina, Harris is leading Trump by one percentage point, a change from May when Trump led Biden by seven percentage points, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
