On Thursday, Donald Trump held a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate, but he didn’t seem pleased. This event came after a week where Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Tim Walz, captured most of the media attention, raising millions and gaining in the polls. It looked like Trump was trying to regain the spotlight rather than share anything new.
Just before Trump spoke, one of his advisors humorously texted that Trump is “never boring!” During the event, Trump announced he would join a TV debate with Harris on 10 September, which ABC News later confirmed. He also expressed a desire for two more debates, but Harris’s team has not yet responded to that request.
Throughout the hour-long event, Trump answered numerous questions and criticized Harris for not taking questions from reporters since becoming the Democratic nominee. He also revisited familiar topics like his poll numbers, media bias, the country’s problems, and even compared his rally crowds to those of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Trump is known for making controversial statements to grab attention, and he did so again, suggesting the U.S. is on the edge of a world war and questioning the sanity of Jewish Americans who support Harris. This need for attention is unusual for Trump, who typically dominates the media spotlight, especially during election cycles.
According to the BBC, the Biden campaign was happy to let Trump dominate the news before, believing it would benefit Biden. But with the dramatic changes on the Democratic side, including Harris’s unexpected rise, the media focus has shifted away from Trump.
Much of the coverage of Harris has been positive, and Democrats are now enjoying the media attention, making the race about her.
During the press conference, Trump tried to focus on policy, calling Harris “extreme” and “liberal,” and highlighting his own achievements on the economy and border security. However, these points were overshadowed by his complaints about crowd sizes and media coverage.
After Trump finished, the media quickly turned their attention to Harris and Walz’s meeting with union workers in Michigan. Once again, it was the Democrats who captured the spotlight.
This summary was adapted from the BBC’s report on the event.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy76dkd74mro