Trump criticizes Harris’ crowd size and questions her intelligence
During a lengthy and, at times, meandering press briefing on Thursday, ex-President Donald Trump reiterated numerous untruths as he criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, his rival in the presidential campaign.
Trump initiated the event, his first public press conference since Gov. Tim Walz was chosen as Harris’ running mate, by announcing his acceptance of ABC News’ Sept. 10 debate with Harris. Throughout the over an hour-long press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump did not directly address Walz.
Trump responded to multiple queries from the press but diverged off-topic several times to propagate false assertions on various subjects, including the aftermath of the 2020 election. Here are some of the key points.
Trump persists in attacks on Harris’ ethnicity, gender, intellect
Trump continued to promote racist language regarding unfounded allegations that Harris only recently discussed her Black background.
“Well, you’ll have to inquire about that issue with her because she’s the one who mentioned it; I did not. So, that question should be directed to her,” Trump falsely claimed.
MORE: Trump says he has agreed to offer from ABC News to debate Harris
Previously, Trump also seemed to attribute Harris’ accomplishments to her gender while questioning her intelligence.
“I’m not a big fan of his intellect, but I believe that she’s actually not as intelligent as he is,” he mentioned, referring to his former adversary, President Joe Biden.
“Well … um, she’s a female. She embodies certain groups of individuals,” Trump added.
Harris was questioned about Trump’s statements later in the day.
“I was too preoccupied conversing with voters. I was unaware of them,” she informed reporters.
Trump becomes defensive when questioned about the size of Harris’ rallies
Trump became increasingly irate when asked about the attendance at Harris’ recent rallies.
“Oh, spare me,” he retorted to a journalist.
“I’ve addressed the largest crowds. No one has addressed larger crowds than I have,” he claimed.
Trump revisited the topic of crowd size, particularly the assembly in Washington D.C., on Jan. 6, when questioned about the peaceful transition of power when he left office.