Trump's press conference was more of what you'd expect from him: Rambling nonsense
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is still struggling to cope with Vice President Kamala Harris as his opponent. Look no further than his Thursday press conference for proof.
The former president focused more on bashing President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee Harris than anything he's actually running on. And while he did make some news about an impending debate with Harris, most of his time was spent talking about, well, nothing.
"I think that our country is right now in the most dangerous position it’s ever been in, from an economic standpoint, from a safety standpoint," Trump said, adding that the country is heading into World War III and an economic collapse akin to the Great Depression.
He must not have heard that stocks are surging again and mortgage rates are at their lowest point this year.
Trump continues his conspiracy that Biden somehow wants back in
Several times, he mentioned that Biden is "very unhappy" about having to leave the race, something I'm sure he knows for a fact. It's an extension of a Truth Social post he shared Tuesday.
"What are the chances that Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST President in the history of the U.S., whose Presidency was Unconstitutionally STOLEN from him by Kamabla, Barrack HUSSEIN Obama, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Shifty Adam Schiff, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and others on the Lunatic Left, CRASHES the Democrat National Convention and tries to take back the Nomination, beginning with challenging me to another DEBATE," he wrote on the platform.
'Kamabla'? Trump isn't just losing the election, he's losing his mind.
Trump also gave his thoughts on Harris' position on Israel. He incorrectly said she supports an arms embargo on Israel, even though her national security adviser said the opposite was true.
Trump also said that Jewish people who vote for Democrats "should have their head examined." I'll leave that for the group to chew on.
What is Trump actually worried about?
Maybe Trump's campaign is concerned about polling. The vice president has pulled ahead of him in FiveThirtyEight’s polling average and is leading the former president 51%-48% in a new NPR/PBS/Marist poll.
While polls never tell the full story, they can determine the next steps for a campaign and set the course for the rest of the election. These new polls also show that Harris is a political threat to Trump that Biden might not have been.
On campaign donations, Trump has also been getting outraised by Harris since Biden announced on July 21 he was dropping his reelection bid. The Democrats have raised more than $310 million since Harris began her presidential campaign. Since selecting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate Tuesday, her campaign announced, she has raised an additional $20 million.
Meanwhile, Republicans raised less than $140 million in July and continue to get outspent in advertising.
'Tampon Tim'? Really Republicans, that's the best you can do? A compliment?
Trump also announced that he has agreed to three debates next month. ABC News has confirmed a debate between Harris and Trump on Sept. 10.
Hopefully, Trump will pronounce Harris' first name correctly after mispronouncing it repeatedly throughout the news conference. This Monday, he will be interviewed by Elon Musk in a conversation that is bound to be as coherent and truthful as his appearance Thursday.
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After an hour of talking, Trump failed to discuss his own plans for a future presidency and instead resorted to hyperbole about his record and his opponent's. It would have been nice to hear him talk about policy and his plans for the campaign leading up to November.
After eight years of this, however, most of us have learned not to expect anything substantial from him. So we'll all just wait for his next rambling news conference.
Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Peque?o on X, formerly Twitter, @sara__pequeno
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he'll debate Harris on ABC, then devolves into conspiracies
