Former President Trump on Thursday dismissed calls from allies for him to refocus on policy, saying he was “entitled to personal attacks” against Vice President Harris as polls show her erasing his polling lead.
Trump held a press conference at his Bedminster, N.J., property, where he delivered remarks for close to an hour before taking questions from reporters. He was asked by multiple journalists about criticism from some Republicans that he needs to be more disciplined and lay off the personal attacks on his opponent.
“As far as the personal attacks, I’m very angry at her because of what she’s done to the country,” Trump said. “I think I’m entitled to personal attacks. I don’t have a lot of respect for her. I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she’ll be a terrible president.
“And I think it’s very important that we win,” Trump continued. “And whether the personal attacks are good, bad. She certainly attacks me personally. She actually called me weird.”
Asked specifically about comments from former rival Nikki Haley that Trump’s campaign needs to shift its strategy, Trump said he appreciates her advice but that he would run his campaign “my way.”
Trump has struggled to deliver a consistent message targeting Harris, even as Republicans argue they have a strong case against her on the economy and immigration. While the former president has at times focused on the issues, he has also attacked the vice president’s biracial heritage, her laugh and her intelligence.
The former president’s press conference was his second in as many weeks as he seeks to put a dent in Harris’s momentum since she replaced President Biden as the Democratic nominee in late July.
Polling published Wednesday from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report showed Harris leading Trump in five out of seven battleground states likely to decide November’s election: Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Trump led Harris in Nevada, while the two candidates were tied in Georgia.
Trump earlier Thursday announced his campaign was bringing aboard several new hires, including Corey Lewandowski, who managed his campaign for a stretch in 2016 and authored a book titled, “Let Trump Be Trump.” The former president pushed back on the idea that the staffing changes were a sign of a broader strategy shift, however.
“We have great people,” Trump said, praising campaign co-managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita as “fantastic.”
Some of Trump’s closest allies have taken to the airwaves to publicly urge the former president to recalibrate his message in the face of a new political landscape against a younger opponent who has rejuvenated Democratic voters.
Peter Navarro, a former Trump White House trade adviser, said this week the former president’s current formula of holding rallies “is simply not sufficiently focused on the very stark policy differences — policy differences — between him and Kamala Harris that will swing voters in key battleground states.”
Kellyanne Conway, who led Trump’s successful 2016 campaign and served as a top White House adviser, said on Fox Business Network that Trump’s path to victory would require “fewer insults, more insights and that policy contrast.”
Prior to taking questions, Trump spoke for about 45 minutes, delivering remarks that started off hitting Harris squarely over the economy, inflation and the Biden administration’s record. Trump was flanked by tables filled with groceries, including cereal, coffee and condiments to illustrate his argument that the price of basic goods was too high for many Americans.
But Trump quickly veered into various other topics that included the border, how windmills kill birds, crime in big cities, the quality of electric trucks and his relationships with various foreign leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
It was only after speaking for roughly 45 minutes that he finally turned around and noticed the groceries on the table behind him.
“Cheerios, I haven’t seen Cheerios in a long time,” Trump said.