UPDATE: Donald Trump defended his personal attacks on Kamala Harris, despite suggestions from allies that he would focus primarily on economic issues and the border.
“I think I have a right to make personal attacks,” Trump told reporters at a news conference at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. “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 J.D. Vance “weird.”
The press conference appeared to be an attempt by Trump to give the candidate a bit of a reset. Trump spent the first 50 minutes reading from notes, hammering Harris on the economy but also on the border and crime. Behind him were props of household goods, designed to highlight the price increases that have occurred during the Biden administration.
But Trump often veered into other topics. A reporter asked him about reports that Harris will propose new restrictions on profiteering, something conservative critics have already criticized as price controls. Trump briefly rebuked Harris for the proposal, before quickly shifting to her stance on fracking.
At another point, Trump lashed out at CNN's Chris Wallace. “Not the father. There's no resemblance between him and Mike Wallace, I can tell you that.”
Nikki Haley, Trump's GOP primary rival who has since endorsed him, said on Fox News earlier this week that he needs to focus on issues. Trump said he appreciated her advice, but “I have to do it my way.”
Fox News stayed with the remarks and the press conference. CNN aired the first 30 minutes of the remarks, stopped, and then returned when Trump began taking questions from reporters. The network stopped again for about a half hour. MSNBC skipped the press conference altogether.
PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trump opened his latest press conference with an opening statement that just went on… and on.
After 30 minutes, CNN stopped broadcasting.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer told viewers: “We continue to watch the former president of the United States. He's still in his so-called opening statement which has been going on for over a half hour, almost 40 minutes now… This just keeps going.”
In his remarks, Trump, reading from written remarks, blamed inflation on rival Kamala Harris, accusing her of pursuing “communist” policies. But he also attacked Harris on the border, crime and other issues, even predicting that her election would lead to a 1929-style stock market crash. On Fox News, which stood by the remarks, the ticker showed the market had rallied sharply throughout the day, with the Dow rising more than 500 points.
MSNBC completely ignored the comments.
The networks were criticized last week for airing Trump's Palm Beach press conference, allowing him to spread falsehoods without any real fact-checking.
As usual, CNN fact-checked 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 less than $950, and the other, that mortgage rates are 10%, while the standard 30-year fixed rate is 6.9%. Trump also claimed that “substantially more” than 100% of the new jobs have gone to immigrants.
CNN returned to the press conference when Trump began taking questions — about 50 minutes in. But they stopped again about a half hour later.
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