Trump openly criticizes Harris, says he has “the right to make personal attacks” on his campaign opponent

Trump was asked during a news conference if his campaign needed more discipline as he faced a newly energized Democratic ticket since Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee.

“As far as personal attacks go, I am very angry with her because of what she has done to the country. I am very angry with her that she would arm justice against me and other people, very angry with her. I think I’m entitled to personal attacks,” Trump said at his New Jersey golf club, where he invited reporters as he sought to pit Harris against Biden’s unpopular economic record.

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

Trump also took issue with Democrats labeling him and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “freaks.” Harris is “weird in her politics,” he said.

Trump stuck to his written economic message for more than half an hour, reading from a handout in front of him at a news conference at his golf club in New Jersey. Later, he got into familiar stories that he enjoys telling at his rallies. A day earlier, he struggled to make a sustained case for his economic policies during a meandering speech that his campaign had billed as a major policy address.

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

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

At one point, while Trump was talking about the 2020 election he lost, he noticed a box of cereal.

“I haven’t seen Cheerios in a long time,” Trump said. “I’ll take them back to my cabin.”

As he turned to go back inside, Trump did not respond to shouted questions about when he had last shopped.

The event came a day after the Labor Department announced that year-over-year inflation hit a three-year low in July — the latest sign that the worst price increase in four decades is fading.

But consumers are still feeling the impact of higher prices — something the Trump campaign is counting on to motivate voters this fall.

A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Americans are more likely to trust Trump than Harris when it comes to handling the economy and immigration, issues he has raised in the center of his case for returning to White. House.

Harris is planning his own economic policy speech in North Carolina on Friday, promising to push for a federal ban on food price gouging.

Trump predicted he would beat Harris by more than he would beat Biden by “once she’s exposed.”

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

A small crowd of Trump supporters watched his news conference from the sidelines, cheering him on at times. But without a crowd of thousands to satisfy with red-meat attacks on his enemies, Trump stuck closer to his prepared remarks.

Hours before the press conference, Trump’s campaign leaders announced they were expanding their staff, officially bringing in a number of former aides and outside advisers. Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz and Tim Murtaugh will advise the campaign’s senior leadership.

Lewandowski was Trump’s first campaign manager during his 2016 campaign. Budowich and Pfeiffer are moving 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 change in Trump’s two previous campaigns. This year’s shift comes weeks after the campaign itself was transformed by Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign and endorse Harris.

Trump gave a vote of confidence to his top aides on Thursday, writing on his social media platform that his management team led by Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles is “THE BEST.”

Trump spoke to the media as he stepped up his criticism of Harris for not holding a press conference or sitting for interviews since Biden made way for him.

“I think I’m running a very calm 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.”