UPDATE: Donald Trump defended his personal attacks on Kamala Harris, despite some suggestions from allies that he focus on issues of the economy and the border.
“I think I am entitled to personal attacks,” Trump told reporters at a press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, NJ. “I don’t have a lot of respect for her.”
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Trump noted that Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, have been engaged in their own personal attacks, calling him and JD Vance “weird.”
The press conference appeared to be a Trump campaign effort to get the candidate to do a bit of a reset. For the first 50 minutes or so, Trump read from notes, hammering Harris on the economy as well as the border and crime. Behind him were props of household goods, designed to emphasize the rise in prices during the Biden administration.
But Trump often meandered into different subjects. A reporter asked him about reports that Harris will propose new restrictions on price gouging, something that conservative critics already have decried as price controls. Trump briefly chided Harris for the proposal, before then quickly moving to her position on fracking.
At another moment, Trump got in a swipe at CNN’s Chris Wallace. “Not the father. There’s no resemblance between him and Mike Wallace, that I can tell you.”
Nikki Haley, Trump’s GOP primary rival who has since endorsed him, said earlier this week on Fox News that he should focus on issues. Trump said that he appreciated her advice, but “I have to do it my way.”
Fox News stayed with the remarks and the press conference. CNN carried the initial 30 minutes of remarks, cut away and then returned when Trump started to take reporters’ questions. The network cut away again about a half hour later. MSNBC skipped the press conference altogether.
PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trump opened his latest press conference by delivering an opening statement that went on … and on.
After 30 minutes, CNN cut away.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer told viewers, “We’re continuing to monitor the former president of the United States. He’s still with his so called opening statement that’s been going on well more than a half an hour, close to 40 minutes already…This has been going on and on.”
In his remarks, Trump, reading from written remarks, laid the blame for inflation on his rival Kamala Harris, while accusing her of pursuing “communist” policies. But he also attacked Harris on the border, crime and other issues, and even predicted that her election would lead to a 1929-style stock market crash. On Fox News, which stayed with the remarks, the ticker showed the market getting a big boost during the day, with the Dow rising more than 500 points.
MSNBC bypassed the remarks altogether.
The networks faced some criticism last week for carrying Trump’s press conference in Palm Beach, allowing him to advance falsehoods without a real-time fact check.
As it typically does, CNN went to a fact check with Daniel Dale, who said that many of Trump’s claims have been “debunked before.” He focused on two: One that California allows people to rob stores as long as the thieves take under $950, and the other that mortgage rates are at 10%, when the standard 30-year fixed is at 6.9%. Trump also claimed that “substantially more” than 100% of new jobs went to migrants.
CNN did return to the press conference once Trump started taking questions — after about 50 minutes. But they cut away again about a half hour later.
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