During a press conference at his New Jersey golf club on Thursday, August 15, former US President Donald Trump declared that he feels ‘entitled to personal attacks’ against his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. This statement came in response to a question about whether his campaign needed more discipline. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, expressed his anger towards Harris, stating, “I’m very angry at her because of what she’s done to the country. I’m very angry at her that she would weaponise the justice system against me and other people, very angry at her. I think I’m entitled to personal attacks.” This stance appears defiant, as senior Republicans have reportedly advised Trump to moderate his criticism of Harris, who has gained significant momentum in the 2024 White House race after assuming the Democratic party’s presidential candidacy last month.
Trump insists that he is justified in his attacks, stating, “Some people say, Oh, why don’t you be nice? But they’re not nice to me. They want me to be in prison, you know.” He alleges that the judicial system has been unfairly manipulated against him by the Democratic party for the purpose of “election interference.” These personal attacks on Harris have included allegations of orchestrating a “coup” to replace Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate and questioning her racial identity, prompting controversial statements like, “Is she Black or Indian? I didn’t know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now she wants to be known as black.” This remark was made during an event with Black journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. Additionally, he has spread conspiracy theories about Harris exaggerating the size of the crowds at her rallies.
The press conference was deliberately staged to allow Trump to criticize Vice President Harris using President Joe Biden’s economic record. Trump told reporters, “Kamala Harris is a radical California liberal who broke the economy, broke the border and broke the world, frankly.” He added, “I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence and I think she’ll be a terrible president.” Despite advice from within his own party, Trump has chosen to continue his aggressive and personal attacks against his opponent, further escalating the rhetoric of the upcoming election.
