Deep into his ranting news conference on Thursday, former President Donald Trump told a truth that explained everything : “I’m very angry at her.”
He was referring to Vice President Kamala Harris, whose late entry into the general election race has left him bitter, disoriented, and mourning the loss of the old campaign — the one he was winning against President Joe Biden.
Trump’s discombobulation was laid bare in a self-pitying and raging stream of consciousness delivered at his New Jersey golf club that raised serious questions about the future trajectory of his quest to return to power.
The ex-president insulted his way into the Oval Office in 2016 — when his often-unhinged soliloquies that shattered all the rules of decorum and politics delighted grassroots Republican voters craving an anti-establishment revolution. But eight years on, the now-familiar act is getting tired, a reality that’s been thrown into sharp relief now that Trump is facing a new campaign against younger, more energetic opponent rather than a re-run against 81-year-old Biden. The former president is driving his strategists to distraction by refusing to stay focused on the issues — like the economy — that could help him prevail in November. He keeps missing chances to prod Harris’ vulnerabilities, allowing the vice president the space to power up her campaign and erase Biden’s polling deficits.
Trump’s team did their best for him on Thursday. Someone went to a local supermarket and stocked up on groceries, including Cheerios, tubs of coffee and ketchup, and provided Trump with charts showing the high cost of goods in the Biden era. But their boss didn’t even get to the end of his first point before veering into a furious aside while falsely accusing Democrats of acting illegally by replacing Biden with Harris. “It was a coup by people that wanted him out, and they didn’t do it the way, not the way they’re supposed to do it. $129 more on energy, and $241 more. This is all per month on rent,” Trump said, running two thoughts together in his fury.
As if trying to keep himself on course, the former president sometimes followed with his finger on the text of his remarks inside a ring binder. But the argument going on in his head and the text on the paper again diverged. “We have wars breaking out in the Middle East. We have the horrible war going on with Ukraine and Russia. All these things would have never happened if I was president. Would have never, ever happened, and they didn’t happen. Since Harris took office, car insurance is up 55%,” Trump said, in another dizzying shift in direction. As his remarks stretched into a second hour, a squadron of flies assembled, likely attracted by several packs of breakfast sausages sweating in the summer heat. The bizarre spectacle only heightened the incongruity of using Trump’s private golf club as the backdrop for an event meant to illustrate the pain faced by millions of Americans at grocery checkouts.
