“I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence,and I think she’ll be a terrible president,” he said,adding,“She certainly attacks me personally.”
The former president said he didn’t need to moderate his tone to win the Republican primary,insisting he was running a “very calm campaign” – and even a calm news conference. “I didn’t rant and rave,” he said of his performance as he was in the middle of it. “I’m a very calm person.” Still,Trump repeatedly cast his opponents as “radical” and “sick”.
His nearly 80-minute news conference was intended,in part,to show his renewed emphasis on the economy,inflation and other policy issues. He had props displayed on either side of him in anticipation of such a focus:a grocery-store haul that included three gallons of milk,seven Campbell’s soup cans,at least three dozen eggs and a box of Cheerios cereal that Trump said he wanted to take home with him.
Trump bounced between his proposals to fight inflation,his dry recitation of economic figures,which he used to criticise Harris and the Biden administration,and a number of other wide-ranging tangents,including complaints about Hillary Clinton,windmills,the news media and Biden’s decision to exit the race.
The news conference was one of several events the Trump campaign has held recently as it tries to slow the momentum Harris has gained after quickly uniting Democrats behind her as the party’s presidential nominee. Trump’s top advisers have urged him to focus on the economy,immigration and crime – issues on which they believe his message will sway undecided voters.
But much as he did at an ostensibly economy-focused speech in North Carolina the night before,Trump on Thursday (Friday AEST) declined to stick to the script. Though he walked up to the podium with a binder containing prepared remarks,Trump,just minutes into his speech,veered into asides.