Former President Donald Trump said on Thursday, “I have the right to make personal attacks” against Vice President Kamala Harris – and referred to the fact that Democrats “want to put him in jail.”
“I think I have the right to make personal attacks. I don’t have much respect for her,” Trump said during a press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, rejecting criticism, including from former Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC), that he should focus on the issues.
“I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence and I think she’s going to be a terrible president. And I think it’s very important that we win. And whether the personal attacks are good or bad, I mean, she’s definitely attacking me personally.”
Trump pointed out that Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, had mocked Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, as “weird.”
“She actually called me weird – he’s weird. It was just a reference,” Trump said.
“And she called JD and me weird. He’s not weird. He was a great student at Yale. He went to Ohio State, graduated valedictorian in two years and all these different things. And we have this guy who runs a failed, really very failed state, who has had a terrible career. I mean, he says, ‘You’re weird.’ No, he’s a weird guy and she’s weird in her politics.”
Trump added: “Who doesn’t want strong borders? Who doesn’t want lower taxes? … I don’t think people know who she is yet.”
Haley, the former president’s centrist challenger in this year’s Republican primaries, argued on Tuesday that Trump’s attacks on Harris, whom he has called “Laffin’ Kamala” in reference to her loud laughter at some public events, risk alienating voters.
“Republicans have to stop whining about her. We knew it would 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.”
This is a developing story, please check back later for further updates.
