Former President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that he feels justified in making personal attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, pointing out that Democrats are trying to imprison him.
“I think I’m entitled to personal attacks. I don’t have a lot of respect for her,” Trump said during a press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, NJ — rejecting criticism, including from former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), that he should stick to the issues.
He added, “I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence and I think she’ll be a terrible president, and I think it’s very important that we win, and whether the personal attacks are good, bad- I mean, she certainly attacks me personally.”
Trump referenced Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who have mocked both him and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “weird.”
“She actually called me weird — he’s weird. It was just a sound bite,” Trump said adding, “And she called JD and I weird. He’s not weird. He was a great student at Yale. He went to Ohio State, graduated in two years at the top of his class, and all of these different things. And we have this guy that’s running a failed, really, a very failed state, who’s had a terrible career. I mean, you have him saying ‘They’re weird.’ No, he’s a weird guy, and she’s weird in her policy.”
Trump continued: “Who wouldn’t want to have strong borders? Who doesn’t want to have lower taxes? … I don’t think people know who she is yet.”
Haley, the former president’s centrist opponent in this year’s Republican primary, argued on Tuesday that Trump’s attacks on Harris could alienate voters. Trump has referred to Harris as “Laffin’ Kamala” due to her frequent laughter at some public events.
“The one thing Republicans have to stop doing: Quit whining about her. We knew it was going to be her. She’s not going to give an interview. They’re going to hold out as long as they can. That’s their right,” Haley told Bret Baier on Fox News’ “Special Report.”
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