Support truly
independent journalism
One week after a rambling press conference in Florida, Donald Trump held another almost identical one in New Jersey where he rehashed previous complaints about Kamala Harris, but offered few new details on his own vision for the presidency.
The former president appeared outside his Bedminster golf club on Thursday afternoon and began by declaring he could take his time because of the weather. “The rain is not imminent, based on the fact there are no clouds,” he said.
Trump then moved onto a selection of his favorite subjects, Kamala Harris’ record, immigration and the economy – at one point listing off a number of everyday grocery items and their price increases. The press conference was staged in front of two tables loaded with products including coffee and Froot Loops breakfast cereal.
“A radical left person wants to put price controls all over the place, which will end up driving up your prices, not down,” he said.
“Harris has just declared that tackling inflation will be a day one priority for her. It’s going to be day one. But day one really for Kamala was three and a half years ago. Where has she been and why hasn’t she done it?”
His comments come as Wall Street rallied to one of its best days of the year on Thursday after data showed the US economy is holding up better than expected.
"We’re gonna have a crash like a 1929 crash," Trump said, while Fox News’ onscreen chyron showed the Dow up by 554 points. He later spent around five minutes discussing trucks and the change to electric vehicles.
After blasting Harris as the “worst border czar in history,” the former president went on to claim that “virtually 100 percent” of net job creation in the last year has gone to migrants, but later added that the number was “beyond that number.”
Trump’s remarks were punctuated by jeering and laughter from a group of supporters gathered at the press conference. The former president often glanced down at prepared remarks on the lectern, but appeared to go off topic multiple times.
Republican donors and allies have urged Trump to stay on message during his public speaking events. During previous campaign rallies, he has strayed into conspiracy theories that allies reportedly believe stunt his ability to tackle the recent wave of momentum of Harris’ campaign.
Hours before the press conference on Thursday, the campaign sent out a media advisory trolling Trump. “TODAY: Donald Trump to Ramble Incoherently and Spread Dangerous Lies in Public, but at Different Home,” the title of the email read.
The release referred to Trump as the “loser of the 2020 election by 7 million votes”, who would hold “another public meltdown” at his golf club and took aim at his recent pattern of going on long-winded, lie-filled rants.
During last week’s recent press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence, Trump spent nearly an hour ranting about how the media covers the size of his rallies compared to Harris, attacking her record and complaining about the Democrats replacing Biden with Harris.
In his interview with Elon Musk earlier this week, the former president spent more than 90 minutes going over talking points he often highlights in his rallies – the US-Mexico border, Biden’s failure to control the number of migrant crossings and more.
