Trump attacks Kamala Harris's economic record, brings groceries to press conference

(Patria) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attempted to link Democratic rival Kamala Harris to the economic performance of the Biden administration during an eighty-minute press conference at his golf club in New Jersey.

Surrounded by tables of groceries, Trump blamed Harris, the US Vice President, for inflation that has driven up the prices of everyday goods during President Joe Biden's term.

"Harris just stated that fighting inflation would be her priority on day one," he said. "But Kamala's day one was three and a half years ago. Where was she?"

The event was intended to draw a contrast with Harris, who has rarely answered reporters' questions since replacing Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, Reuters reported. But the press conference quickly resembled a Trump rally where he made many of the same false claims he typically makes on the campaign trail, speaking for 45 minutes before taking his first question.

He repeatedly insulted Harris, saying she "is not smart." When a reporter noted that some Republicans had called on him to focus on policy rather than personal attacks, he said, "I think I have the right to personal attacks" and added, "she is certainly attacking me personally."

Trump noted that Harris called him and his vice-presidential pick JD Vance "weird," a criticism that Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz has echoed. He dismissed suggestions that he change his approach, telling reporters, "I have to do it my way."

Harris's entry into the race has energized Democrats, and polls show she has erased the lead Trump held over Biden. Her campaign sent out a "media advisory" ahead of Trump's press conference titled "Donald Trump will ramble incoherently and spread dangerous lies in public, but in another home," referring to his Bedminster estate.

The groceries Trump used as props included brands like Wonder Bread, Oreo cookies, Folgers coffee, and Campbell's soup. The prices of bread and coffee have actually fallen in the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly consumer price index.

More broadly, food costs now have an inflation rate comparable to when Trump was president – between zero and two percent annually. The significant price increases in 2022 and 2023, however,
pushed them about twenty to thirty percent above the level when Trump left office.