Anika Begay
By Nathan Layne and Gram Slattery
BEDMINSTER, New Jersey (Reuters) – Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump sought to compare Democratic rival Kamala Harris to the Biden administration’s economic record at a tense news conference at his New Jersey golf club on Thursday, in his latest attempt to dampen the candidate’s momentum.
Alongside tables laden with food, Trump blamed US Vice President Harris for the inflation that has caused the prices of everyday goods to rise during President Joe Biden’s term.
“Harris just said that tackling inflation is going to be a priority for her from day one,” he said. “But day one for Kamala was 3 1/2 years ago. Where has she been?”
Inflation peaked in 2022 but has slowed significantly since then, although food prices remain higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump also repeated many of the false claims he routinely spreads at his campaign rallies, including that migrants crossing the U.S. southern border are mostly dangerous criminals.
The event was intended to contrast Harris, who has rarely taken questions from reporters since replacing Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket in late July. More than 40 minutes into the press conference, however, Trump had yet to answer a question.
Harris said she expects to give her first official press interview by the end of the month.
Trump held a similar press event at his Florida resort last week, where he spoke for more than an hour, slamming Harris on immigration and the economy and falsely claiming that her campaign audience was much larger than his.
Some allies, donors and advisers have expressed concern about Trump’s attacks on Harris’ personality and the size of the crowd, suggesting he instead focus on what they see as the failed policies Harris promoted during her time in office.
Harris’s entry into the race has galvanized Democrats and polls show she has erased Trump’s lead over Biden.
Harris’s campaign released a fake “media advisory” ahead of Trump’s press conference on Thursday with the headline “Donald Trump Jabbers Incoherently and Spreads Dangerous Lies in Public, But in a Different Home,” a reference to his Bedminster estate.
Harris will deliver a speech on economic policy in North Carolina on Friday.
TRUMP ALLIES RETURN TO CAMPAIGN
On Thursday morning, the Trump campaign announced five hires, including Corey Lewandowski, who served as Trump’s first campaign manager during his successful 2016 campaign. Lewandowski expressed his excitement, posting on X: “Let Trump, Be Trump!”
A campaign official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal personnel matters, said the campaign needed more “foot soldiers” in the final months of the race and that the hires were not indicative of any broader reshuffle.
Aside from Lewandowski, the hires will work primarily in communications and rapid response, according to another person familiar with the campaign’s operations. The person added that the campaign had been severely understaffed in that area.
“Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz, and Tim Murtaugh are all veterans of previous Trump campaigns, and their unparalleled experience will help President Trump advance the case against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the most radical slate in American history,” Trump’s co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
Budowich most recently served as executive director of MAGA Inc., the leading outside super PAC supporting Trump’s candidacy, while Pfeiffer served as communications director. It’s common for staffers to move between campaigns and their affiliated super PACs, as it can give each organization more visibility into the other’s operations. Legally, campaigns and super PACs have limits on how much they can coordinate.
Bruesewitz is a pro-Trump political consultant known for his social media savvy. Murtaugh served as communications director for Trump’s failed 2020 bid.
Lewandowski was forced to withdraw from Trump’s 2016 candidacy in the months leading up to the election, though Trump later said he regretted it. Lewandowski was then forced to withdraw from a pro-Trump super PAC in 2021 after a donor’s wife accused him of unwanted sexual advances.
