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Trump’s North Carolina speech went predictably off the rails. Can he even spell ‘economy’?
Of course no intellectual presidential campaign speech on the economy is complete without an extended riff on immigrants and rape.
Donald Trump attacks Harris and Walz at Bozeman rally
Donald Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris over a perceived lack of press conferences and Gov. Tim Walz over his school bathroom policies in Minnesota.
Former president and self-described stable genius Donald Trump let a small crowd in a small venue in North Carolina know what was in store for them Wednesday: “We’re talking about a thing called the economy.”
Ah, yes. That thing is called the economy. I’ve heard of it.
He continued: “We’re doing this as an intellectual speech.”
Good. Many Republicans have encouraged Trump to stop babbling and hurling insults and steer his campaign onto some kind of coherent message.
Trump’s economic speech went off the rails predictably fast
“You’re all intellectuals today,” Trump said at the 2,400-seat Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville. “Today we’re doing it and we’re doing it right now and it’s very important, they say it’s the most important subject. I think crime is right there, I think the border is right there, personally. We have a lot of important subjects because our county has become a third-world nation, we literally are a third-world nation. We’re a banana republic in so many ways, and we’re not going to let that happen because we’re starting a free fall.”
Trump’s campaign spiral continues: Trump rambles, slurs his way through Elon Musk interview. It was an unmitigated disaster.
Hoo boy. Trump spends less time on track than a decommissioned train car. And so it was that his highly intellectual speech on a thing called the economy became, predictably, a dumb speech on a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with the economy.
Like making fun of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s laugh.
Trump proves again in North Carolina that insults are all he has
“For nearly four years Kamala has crackled as the American economy has burned,” Trump said, presumably mispronouncing “cackled,” because he struggles with words. “What happened to her laugh? I haven’t heard that laugh in about a week. That’s why they keep her off the stage, that’s why she has disappeared.”
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have been barnstorming states lately, doing far more events than Trump and drawing crowds significantly larger than the one that showed up Wednesday to hear him occasionally reference the economy.
“That’s the laugh of a crazy person, I will tell you,” Trump droned on. “She’s crazy.”
Labeling Harris crazy and mocking the way she laughs is the kind of thing Republicans keep advising Trump not to do. But he couldn’t help himself, later calling Harris an “incompetent socialist lunatic.”
‘Kamabla’? Trump isn’t just losing the election, he’s losing his mind.
Trump’s understanding of how the economy works seems dodgy at best
When he did deign to talk about the economy, Trump said things like this, referencing the brief stock market drop of last week, something he had labeled the “KAMALA CRASH!!!”:
“Many people say the only reason the stock market is up is because people think I’m going to win, did you ever hear that? But there was one day a couple weeks ago when they weren’t thinking that.”
OK, first off, nobody thinks Trump has anything to do with the stock market being up. And then to think last week’s drop – from which the market quickly recovered – happened due to a brief belief that Harris might win the election? That makes me wonder if Trump can even spell “economy.”
An economic speech about … rape?
Of course, no intellectual presidential campaign speech on the economy is complete without an extended riff on immigrants and rape, so Trump said: “Rape and murder, rape and beatings, rape and something else, and sometimes just immediate killing. These people are brutal. These are people that came out to the toughest jails anywhere in the world all over the world, and we can’t take them.”
Migrants commit crimes at far lower rates than U.S. citizens, but, you know … THE ECONOMY!
Speaking of the economy, while Trump was occasionally mentioning the word – providing no concrete policy proposals other than specious claims he will singlehandedly fix everything – the U.S. inflation rate hit its lowest point in three years.
The economy is simply not the disaster Trump and the GOP claim
And that gets to the heart of one of Trump’s biggest problems. The economy is doing reasonably well. Unemployment is low, the stock market has been breaking records and inflation continues to drop. Back in April, Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi told CNBC: “The U.S. economy is leading the way for the global economy. It’s driving the global economic train.”
So, calling America a third-world country while taking childish swipes at the vice president’s laugh and fear-mongering about an immigrant crime wave that doesn’t exist? That’s not going to do much to swing voters who have been swinging in Harris’s direction since she took over the top of the Democratic ticket.
Republicans have been frustrated with the Trump campaign, and they know he needs to show voters something that will help him regain footing. His intellectual speech on that thing called the economy didn’t show anyone anything.
It was just another stumble from an aging candidate who can’t see that his schtick has gotten old.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
In large cities and small towns across the country, millions took to the streets today in protest against the policies of President Trump and his administration.
Organized by “No Kings,” a network of progressive groups opposed to the administration’s agenda, the protests are the third wave of demonstrations since the President took office for a second term. Last year, millions attended protests in June and again in October.
Crowds assemble at the Embarcadero in San Francisco prior to the start of the protest.
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Thousands of community members marched in the flagship “No Kings” protest in St. Paul.
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Thousands sign a banner in Hartford at the Capitol that says “We the People.”
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Protesters hold signs and chant slogans in Driggs, Idaho.
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Demonstrators gather while holding signs near a roadside in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
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Demonstrators walk across the Memorial Bridge from Arlington, Virginia into Washington, DC.
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Demonstrators march down 7th Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan.
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![HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, MARCH 28, 2026: Ken MacDonald tears up as he listens to a speech about the plight of his fellow veterans. “[Trump]’s playing with the lives of military people,” he said. Thousands rally at the “No Kings” protest at the capitol in Hartford on March 28, 2026. (Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6981x4654+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Feb%2F8b%2Fba7a9cb744baa343c85d45caf5ed%2F260328-nokingshartford-trb4371.jpg)
Ken MacDonald tears up in Hartford as he listens to a speech about the plight of his fellow veterans.
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A large crowd marches across the South First bridge toward a gathering at Auditorium Shores in Austin, Texas.
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Lindsay Holliday waves an American flag in Rosa Parks Square in Macon, Georgia.
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Demonstrators in downtown St. Louis walk by large banners decrying the U.S. conflict in Iran and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Kat Carves works on a ice sculpture that says ‘End Ice’ ahead of the rally on the Boston Common in Boston.
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Protestors march across an overpass near the Georgia state Capitol building in Atlanta.
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Protesters hold a banner reading “End the wars, stop ICE, general strike” at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco.
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Maria Perry, left, and John Stock, right, joined protesters gathering in Mill Creek Park in Kansas City, Missouri.
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Duane Inge, a 63-year-old demonstrator, protests in front of Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis.
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A protestor wears a “Let’s be brave” pin at a rally in Richmond, Virginia.
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Demonstrators in costumes stand along the National Mall in Washington, DC.
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Protestors listens as speakers address the crowd gathered in Richmond, Virginia.
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Protesters descend on Times Square in New York City.
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Demonstrators begin to march from the Western Sculpture Garden at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.
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Thousands march towards the Steel Bridge from the waterfront in Portland, Oregon.
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Two students were killed and at least seven other people were injured after a school bus crash in Tennessee on Friday, officials said.
The school bus was carrying 25 students and five adults from Kenwood Middle School in Clarksville for a field trip in Jackson, Tennessee, the school district said in a statement.
The crash, which remains under investigation, involved a Tennessee Department of Transportation dump truck, a Chevrolet Trailblazer and the school bus. It happened around noon on Highway 70 in Carroll County, said Maj. Travis Plotzer, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Plotzer said there were two adults in the TDOT vehicle and one person in the Chevrolet Trailblazer. He said the crash is “a parent’s worst nightmare.”
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
At least seven people who were injured were taken by air ambulance to hospitals across Tennessee, including Memphis and Nashville, CBS affiliate WREG reported. The extent of their injuries was not immediately disclosed.
The school’s principal, Karen Miller, said counselors will be available starting Monday. In a written message to families shared on Facebook, she called the crash an unimaginable tragedy and encouraged parents to be attentive to their child’s emotional needs as they process the deaths of their classmates.
“Please continue to pray with us for our students, families, faculty, and staff,” Miller wrote. “I am grateful for the strength of our Kenwood community, and I trust we will all support each other during this difficult time.”
Four people were taken to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville and were in stable condition Friday, according to a Vanderbilt Health spokesperson.
Another 19 people were taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Carroll County, said Kim Alexander, a spokesperson for Baptist Memorial Health Care. All were evaluated and released, though it was unclear how many actually were injured, she said.
CBS affiliate WTVF reported the school bus was on the way to participate in the Toyota Hub City Grand Prix Greenpower USA race in Jackson. The Jackson-Madison County superintendent said in a statement that they were “completely devastated” by the crash and called the loss “immeasurable,” WTVF reported.
The school district was hosting the event.
Police detain Nerdeen Kiswani, an organizer of pro-Palestinian demonstration group “Within Our Lifetime” during a protest on Friday, April 12, 2024, in New York.
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NEW YORK — A man accused of planning to firebomb the home of a prominent Palestinian activist has been arrested following a weekslong undercover operation led by the New York City Police Department, officials said Friday.
The target of the plot was Nerdeen Kiswani, who frequently leads protests in New York against Israel and the war in Gaza through the organization Within Our Lifetime.
Kiswani, 31, said law enforcement officials informed her late Thursday that they had disrupted “a threat on my life that was about to take place.”
Federal authorities said they arrested Alexander Heifler on Thursday at his home in Hoboken, New Jersey, as he was assembling Molotov cocktails that he planned to throw at Kiswani’s home. For weeks, he had discussed the plot with an undercover NYPD detective who had infiltrated a group chat used by Heifler, according to a police department spokesperson.
An official who was briefed on the investigation said Heifler, 26, identified as a member of the JDL 613 Brotherhood, a New Jersey-based group founded in 2024 that describes its membership as “Jewish warriors” fighting back against rising antisemitism.
A website for the group says they are inspired by the original Jewish Defense League, a group linked to numerous bombings and attempted assassinations of Arab American political activists in the 1970s and 1980s.
Heifler planned to flee to Israel following the attack, according to the official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of an ongoing investigation.
An email inquiry sent to the JDL 613 was not returned.
Kiswani, who lives in Brooklyn with her infant son and husband, said the plot would not deter her continued activism.
“I feel very blessed that they were able to thwart this, but it’s something that is a constant possibility for people who speak up on behalf of Palestine,” she said.
Heifler was charged in a criminal complaint with separate counts of making and possessing destructive devices, which each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A message left with his attorney was not returned. He made an initial appearance in New Jersey federal court on Friday afternoon.
“Let me be clear: We will not tolerate violent extremism in our city,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement. “No one should face violence for their political beliefs or their advocacy. I am relieved that Nerdeen is safe.”
According to a court filing written by an FBI agent, Heifler spoke on a video call in February with a group that included an undercover detective about his interest in training for “self-defense” and wanting space where he could throw Molotov cocktails.
The next day, he met with the undercover detective in person and discussed his plan to use them against Kiswani and flee the country, according to the complaint. “We have (Kiswani’s) address,” Heifler allegedly told the undercover. “So it’s like that, that would be easier if you’d be more comfortable with that.”
Heifler and the undercover detective drove to Kiswani’s residence on March 4 to “conduct surveillance” and discussed making a dozen Molotov cocktails to throw at her home and two cars parked outside, complaint said.
On Thursday, the undercover detective and Heifler met at Heifler’s Hoboken residence, where he had assembled components to make the Molotov cocktails, including a large bottle of Everclear, a highly flammable alcohol, the complaint said. Law enforcement officers then executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered the eight Molotov cocktails, the complaint said.
Kiswani co-founded the group Within Our Lifetime, which frequently organizes protests against Israel that draw hundreds of participants and often end in arrests. The group’s calls to “abolish Zionism” and support for “all forms of struggle,” including violence, has drawn fierce criticism. Kiswani denies that her criticism of Israel amounts to antisemitism.
Kiswani has been a frequent target of online vitriol. Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, sparked backlash after writing in a social media post that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” The post was a response to a message Kiswani shared about dog owners, which she said was a light joke.
“That hate against Palestinians has been bolstered by public officials, by Zionist organizations, who are never held accountable,” she said. “This is the inevitable result of that.”
The operation was carried out by the Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism unit within the NYPD’s counterterrorism bureau, a police spokesperson said.
“This is exactly how our intelligence and counterterrorism operation is designed to work — a sophisticated apparatus built to detect danger early and prevent violence before it reaches our streets,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
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