Trump says he has “the right to attack Harris personally”

BEDMINSTER, NJ –

Former US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he believed he had “the right to personally attack his Democratic rival.” He was “very angry” at Vice President Kamala Harris and questioned her intelligence.

During a press conference, Trump was asked whether his campaign needs more discipline as he faces a Democratic slate that has gained new momentum since Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the party's presidential nominee.

“As far as the personal attacks go, I'm very angry at her for what she's done to the country. I'm very angry at her for using the justice system as a weapon against me and other people, very angry at her. I think I have the right to dish out personal attacks,” Trump said at his golf club in New Jersey, where he had invited reporters to blame Harris for Biden's unpopular economic record.

“I don't have much respect for her intelligence and I think she will be a terrible president,” he added.

There is no evidence that Biden or Harris used the criminal justice system as a weapon against Trump. Trump has vowed that if he wins the election, he will retaliate with criminal investigations against Biden and his relatives.

Trump also criticized Democrats for calling him and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, “weird.” Harris is “weird in her politics,” he said.

Trump stuck to his succinct economic message for more than half an hour, reading from a folder in front of him during a press conference at his golf club in New Jersey. He later referred to familiar stories that he likes to tell at his rallies. A day earlier, in a rambling speech that his campaign team had announced as a major political address, he had struggled to provide a lasting justification for his economic policy.

“Kamala Harris is a radical liberal from California who has ruined the economy, destroyed the border and, frankly, ruined the world,” Trump told reporters.

Trump stood next to popular grocery items, including instant coffee, sugary breakfast cereals and pastries laid out on tables, as he highlighted the cost of everything from groceries to car insurance to housing. Posters showed the rise in prices of basic food items.

Once, when Trump was talking about the 2020 election, which he lost, he noticed a box of cereal.

“I haven't seen Cheerios in a long time,” Trump said. “I'm going to take them to my cottage.”

As he turned to go back inside, Trump did not answer shouted questions about when he had last bought groceries.

The US Department of Labor announced a day earlier that inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July, another sign that the worst price increase in four decades is easing.

But consumers are still feeling the effects of higher prices – and Trump’s campaign team is relying on voter motivation this fall.

A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Americans trust Trump more than Harris on economic and immigration issues, issues he has placed at the heart of his arguments for a return to the White House.

Harris plans to give her own economic policy speech in North Carolina on Friday, in which she promises to push for a federal ban on price gouging in the food sector.

Trump predicted he would beat Harris by a larger margin than he beat Biden “once she's exposed.”

“People don’t know who she is,” Trump said.

A small group of Trump supporters watched his press conference from the periphery, occasionally cheering him on. But without a crowd of thousands to regale with crude attacks on his enemies, Trump tended to stick to his prepared remarks.

Trump continued his insults against Harris and Biden at an evening event for Jewish voters, where he was introduced by Republican major donor Miriam Adelson to an audience that included a Holocaust survivor.

Hours before the press conference, Trump's campaign officials announced that they would be expanding his staff, officially adding a number of former employees and outside advisers to the team. Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz and Tim Murtaugh will advise the campaign's leadership.

Lewandowski was Trump's first campaign manager during his 2016 campaign. Budowich and Pfeiffer move 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's 2020 campaign.

The summer was a time of upheaval in Trump's previous two campaigns. This year's change comes weeks after the campaign itself was transformed by Biden's decision to end his re-election campaign and endorse Harris.

Trump expressed his confidence in his top advisers on Thursday, writing on his social media platform that his management team, led by Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, was “THE BEST.”

Trump spoke to the press while also intensifying his criticism of Harris for not holding a press conference or making herself available for interviews since Biden made way for her.

“I think I'm running a very quiet campaign,” Trump said after being asked about criticism from Republicans who want him to focus less on personal attacks.

“Some of you will say, 'He ranted and raved,'” Trump told reporters. “I'm a very calm person, believe it or not.”

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Cooper reported from Phoenix.