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Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he thinks he\u2019s \u201centitled to personal attacks\u201d on his Democratic rival, adding he\u2019s \u201cvery angry\u201d at Vice President Kamala Harris and questioning her intelligence.<\/p>\n
Trump was asked during a news conference whether his campaign needs more discipline as he faces a Democratic ticket newly energized since Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the party\u2019s presidential candidate.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as the personal attacks, I\u2019m very angry at her because of what she\u2019s done to the country. I\u2019m very angry at her that she would weaponize the justice system against me and other people, very angry at her. I think I\u2019m entitled to personal attacks,\u201d Trump said at his New Jersey golf club, where he invited reporters in his quest to saddle Harris with Biden\u2019s unpopular economic record.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have a lot of respect for her intelligence and I think she\u2019ll be a terrible president,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Trump also took issue with Democrats branding him and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as \u201cweird.\u201d Harris is \u201cweird in her policy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trump stuck close to his scripted economic message for more than half an hour, reading from a binder in front of him in a news conference at his New Jersey golf club. Later, he veered into familiar stories he enjoys telling at his rallies. A day earlier, he had struggled to make a sustained case for his economic policies during a meandering speech that his campaign had billed as a major policy address.<\/p>\n
\u201cKamala Harris is a radical California liberal who broke the economy, broke the border and broke the world, frankly,\u201d Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n
Trump was flanked by popular grocery store items, including instant coffee, sugary breakfast cereals and pastries, laid out on tables as he highlighted the cost of everything from food to car insurance to housing. Posters showed the increase of prices for grocery staples.<\/p>\n
At one point, as Trump talked about the 2020 election he lost, he noticed a box of cereal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen Cheerios in a long time,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI\u2019m going to take them back to my cottage.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he turned to walk back inside, Trump did not respond to shouted questions about when he last went grocery shopping.<\/p>\n
The event came one day after the Labor Department announced year-over-year inflation had reached its lowest level in more than three years in July \u2014 the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading.<\/p>\n
But consumers are still feeling the impact of higher prices \u2014 something Trump\u2019s campaign is banking on to motivate voters this fall.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0new poll<\/a>\u00a0from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Americans are more likely to trust Trump over Harris when it comes to handling the economy and immigration, issues he has put at the center of his case for returning to the White House.<\/p>\n Harris is planning her own economic policy speech Friday in North Carolina, promising to push for a federal ban on price gouging on groceries.<\/p>\n Trump predicted he would beat Harris by more that he would have beaten Biden by \u201conce she\u2019s exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t know who she is,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n A small crowd of Trump supporters watched his news conference from the periphery, occasionally cheering him on. But without a crowd of thousands to please with red meat attacks on his enemies, Trump stuck closer to his prepared remarks.<\/p>\n Hours before the news conference, Trump\u2019s campaign leaders announced they were expanding his staff, bringing a number of former aides and outside advisers formally into the fold. Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz and Tim Murtaugh will advise the campaign\u2019s senior leadership.<\/p>\n Lewandowski was Trump\u2019s first campaign manager during his 2016 campaign. Budowich and Pfeiffer are moving over from MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC. Bruesewitz produces pro-Trump content for a large social media following. And Murtaugh was the communications director for Trump\u2019s 2020 campaign.<\/p>\n Summer has been the time for shakeups in Trump\u2019s two prior campaigns. This year\u2019s change comes weeks after the campaign itself was transformed by Biden\u2019s decision to end his reelection campaign and endorse Harris.<\/p>\n Trump gave his top advisers a vote of confidence Thursday, writing on his social media platform that his management team headed by Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles is \u201cTHE BEST.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump spoke to the press as he has stepped up his criticism of\u00a0Harris<\/a>\u00a0for not holding a news conference or sitting down for interviews since Biden made way for her.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019m doing a very calm campaign,\u201d Trump said after being asked about criticism from Republicans who want him to focus less on personal attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of you will say, \u2018He ranted and raved,\u2019\u201d Trump said to journalists. \u201cI\u2019m a very calm person, believe it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n