Former President Trump held an hour-long press conference on Thursday in which he slammed Vice President Harris as “incompetent” and repeatedly appeared exasperated when questioned about the Democrats’ newfound momentum after propelling Harris to the top of his nominee list.
Trump spoke freely to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort about the election, the debate, his strategy and whether he is rethinking some of his policy proposals on immigration and the economy.
He repeatedly attacked Harris’ intelligence, claiming she was inferior to President Biden and that her selection would lead the country to economic collapse and world war.
But he seemed troubled by reporters who pointed to Ms Harris’s soaring approval ratings and the enthusiasm she generated during recent visits to battleground states, and even said it was unconstitutional for Democrats to switch nominees.
When asked if he was concerned about the size of Harris’ rallies, Trump replied, “No kidding.”
“Look, I had 107,000 supporters in New Jersey and you didn’t report that. I’m so glad you asked. Did you have 2,000 yesterday?” Trump continued. “If I had 2,000 supporters, I would say my campaign is over.”
Harris has enthralled Democratic supporters since taking over for President Biden in late July. She drew a crowd of 14,000 in Philadelphia on Tuesday alongside running mate Tim Walz, D-Minn., and 15,000 attended her rally in Detroit on Wednesday, according to her campaign.
President Trump addressed the issue of crowd size multiple times throughout the press conference, including when asked about the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
“That day was the largest audience I’ve ever spoken to,” he said. “It’s very hard to find pictures of that crowd, to be honest with you. … When Martin Luther King spoke, look at his great speech and look at our speech. Same place, same everything. Same number of people, maybe even more of us.”
Polls show Harris and Trump neck and neck in national polls and in battleground states, but the former president has repeatedly rejected suggestions he needs to change his approach or step up his outreach.
“I haven’t recalibrated my strategy at all,” Trump said. “The policies are the same. Open borders. Weak on crime. I think she’s worse than Biden.”
The former president predicted Ms. Harris’ “married life” would eventually end, and sought to lure her to San Francisco, a city grappling with crime and homelessness issues and where she previously served as district attorney.
“Everything she’s been involved in has gone bad. She’s incompetent,” Trump said.
While Trump criticised Harris, he also suggested it was unfair that she became the new Democratic candidate over Biden, who was trailing in the polls when he announced on July 21 that he would not seek a second term.
“It seems unconstitutional that someone can run for president when they got no votes and lost the primary,” Trump said.
The Trump campaign and its allies hailed the press conference as a success, demonstrating that Trump was willing and able to stand in front of the cameras for an hour and answer questions, while arguing that Harris has consistently avoided doing something similar since announcing her candidacy nearly three weeks ago.
Several Trump aides posted photos on social media of cable news networks broadcasting Trump’s remarks live and boasted that Harris had failed to garner the same attention.
But Harris campaign staffers seemed happy to take to the cameras to remind voters why they dislike Trump, even as he argued with reporters, downplayed the role abortion will play in November and defended the Jan. 6 rioters.
“Trump is bragging about the size of his January 6th rally! He claims more people came to his January 6th riot speech than Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. We want more Trumps in front of the microphone,” Jim Messina, who ran Obama’s 2012 campaign, posted on social platform X.
