Trump conducts no-holds-barred press conference while Harris continues dodging media

Former President Trump held yet another hours-long press conference Thursday — his second this month — in an effort to draw a stark contrast between his candidacy, policies and campaign versus his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been dodging the media since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. 

Trump held a press conference Thursday at his Bedminster, New Jersey property. The former president and Republican presidential nominee stood at the podium with groceries on display, and delivered remarks focused on the rising costs under the Biden-Harris administration. 

“Harris has just declared that tackling inflation will be a ‘Day One priority’ for her,” Trump said Thursday. “But Day One for Kamala was three and a half years ago.” 

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“Where has she been and why hasn’t she done it? Why hasn’t she done it?” 

Harris has been the Democratic presumptive presidential nominee for 25 days and has not held a press conference or a sit-down interview with the media. 

Trump said Harris’ campaign is “hiding” her, in a similar way he said the Biden campaign was “hiding” him. 

“They’re hiding her no different than him, because I believe she’s grossly incompetent,” Trump said. “And I don’t think that when people hear what she has to say, they’re going to buy it.” 

Sources in Trump’s political orbit tell Fox News that top advisers to the former president are quietly aiming to persuade him to tamp down the insults to Harris and the questioning of the vice president’s racial identity and instead focus on branding her an ultra-liberal and spotlighting her stance on the border, crime and inflation. 

But Trump, during the press conference Thursday, was asked about the “personal attacks” against Harris. 

“Because of what she’s done to the country, I’m very angry at her – that she had weaponized the justice system against me and other people. Very angry at her,” Trump said. “I think I’m entitled to personal attacks.” 

Trump added: “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’d be a terrible president.” 

“I think it’s very important that we win,” he continued. “And whether the personal attacks are good or bad, I mean, she certainly attacks me personally.” 

Trump said Harris “actually called me weird… And she called JD and I weird. He’s not weird. He was a great student at Yale. He went to Ohio State, graduated in two years at the top of his class, and all of these different things.”

Trump pointed to Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying he is “a weird guy” and Harris is “weird in her policy.” 

“Who wouldn’t want to have strong borders?” Trump said. “Who doesn’t want to have lower taxes?” 

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“You know, all my life I’ve watched as politicians campaigned and I’ve always been on, you know, for the most part on the other side, on the side that these people are on and they always talked about, we’re going to reduce taxes — this is the only campaign I’ve ever heard where they’re saying, we’re going to increase your taxes,” Trump continued.

Trump stressed that the voters “don’t know who she is.” 

“She is a radical left socialist,” Trump said. “But beyond that, I mean, she’s way beyond socialism, who’s going to destroy our country and when they find out, I think you’re going to see something.”

Trump defended his attacks against Harris. 

“I just want to win for the country. Some people say, oh, why don’t you be nice? But they’re not nice to me,” he said. 
They want to put me in prison. You know, just so you understand. You know, they tell me I should be nice. They want to put me in prison. It’s never happened before in the history of our country. I did nothing wrong.” 

Trump was referring to his legal challenges–many cases have been thrown out or delayed. 

As for his campaign, Trump said he wished he didn’t have to run. 

“If our country were run by Democrats and it was run beautifully, where we were really being productive and everything else, I would have never done this,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t have done it if I thought I couldn’t have won. I think I can win, I think I can win easily once they’re exposed for what they are, which is, you know, radical left lunatics. And that’s what they are.” 

Trump said Harris is “going to ruin our country.” 

“And I just hope the people of our country, and I believe they are, because I see it already happening,” Trump said. “But I hope they are able to think for themselves, because if they think for themselves, if they look at the destruction that’s going to be caused by Kamala and this, this person from out of nowhere, he came out of nowhere, a state that I love that state, but a state that’s doing so poorly where he’s the one that signed to put tampons in boys bathrooms…signed a bill that boys bathrooms, all boys bathrooms in Minnesota will have tampons and what’s going on?” 

“What’s wrong with us? What’s wrong with us as a country?” Trump said. “So no, if we had somebody doing a phenomenal job, I would be extremely happy.” 

Trump said that even while he campaigns and hopes to win in November, what he wants is the country to do “really well” in the final months of Biden’s term, even though he said it “would make it probably a little bit harder to win.” 

“I hope the country does really well. It’s country first. I want our country to do great,” Trump said. “If they were great leaders, I would be the first to say they’re doing a fantastic job.”

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 13: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter is dead after injuring former U.S. President Donald Trump, killing one audience member and injuring another in the shooting. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Trump was asked why he felt God saved his life on July 13 after the assassination attempt at his Butler, Pa. rally. 

“That was a miracle,” Trump said. “God has something to do with it. It’s a miracle and God has something to do with it.” 

“Maybe it’s–we want to save the world,” he continued. “This world is going down.” 

Hours before Thursday’s news conference, the Harris campaign put out a mock email advisory titled “Donald Trump to Ramble Incoherently and Spread Dangerous Lies in Public, but at Different Home.”

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (L) and Minnesota Governor and Democratics vice presidential candidate Tim Walz were slammed on social media for sharing a “cringe” video of themselves interviewing each other.  (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

And Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer told Fox News that “Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are talking to voters, laying out a vision of the middle class, and letting Americans know they will fight for their freedoms.”

He argued that “Donald Trump can talk to whoever he wants, but he can’t explain away his toxic Project 2025 agenda, speak in coherent thoughts, or offer anything but insults and higher prices to the middle class.”