Trump persists in questioning Harris’s race as his campaign flounders since shooting: ‘I think I was right’
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Donald Trump doubled down on his questions about Kamala Harris’s race – which have drawn a strong rebuke – saying “I think I was right.”
The revelation comes in a sprawling New York Times report detailing the Trump campaign’s missteps and difficulties in the last three weeks. Trump had seemingly everything in his favor after the attempt on his life and the start of the Republican National Convention.
But, President Joe Biden dropped out of the race paving the way for Vice President Harris to ascend to the top of the Democratic ticket. It was a move that has put the Trump campaign on its heels as Harris has surged in polls and momentum.
The Trump campaign denied the Times’ report that the Republican nominee has seen struggles in his campaign. Still, several examples show the potential pitfalls Trump has encountered in recent weeks.
Trump faced widespread criticism after questioning Harris’s background during a panel interview with Black journalists in Chicago. There, Trump said “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”
That comment drew outrage from both sides of the political aisle.
However, during an August 2 Hamptons, New York, fundraising dinner, Trump didn’t change his tune, according to the Times.
“I think I was right,” the former president told those in attendance.
Trump was also asked how he planned to take the election narrative back from the country and what his positive vision was for the country.
Instead of answering, Trump criticized Harris and then added: “I am who I am.”
During the dinner, Trump continued his assault on the media – this time complaining that he had a meltdown since the attempt on his life during a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania. One attendee said Trump was “angry” because they – assumed to be Democrats – tried to have him killed and bankrupt him.
Those close to Trump reported he has been in a bad mood for weeks, according to the Times. That includes calling Harris “nasty” during an appearance on Fox & Friends. He also called her a “bitch” in private.
The Trump campaign strongly denied that claim to the Times saying it was not language the Republican nominee would use to describe his rival.
Trump has also fielded calls from donors who are upset about his running mate, JD Vance, and the Ohio senator’s previous comments including referring to Harris as a ‘childless cat lady.”
Trump dismissed calls for Vance to be replaced on the ticket, but he also asked advisers if they were aware of the comments before Vance was selected.
At the Hamptons dinner, Trump also downplayed the Democrats’ strategy of painting the GOP as “weird.”
“Not about me. They’re saying that about JD,” Trump said, according to the Times.
Publicly, Trump has supported Vance as the vice president nominee hits the campaign trail and remains mostly absent. Vance has seen his approval ratings dip, as the Trump campaign has fallen behind in polls since Harris took the nomination.
Trump has questioned those close to him about whether Harris can keep her momentum in the race. Pollster Tony Fabrizio told campaign staff that polls would get worse before they got better, but stressed the race had not fundamentally changed.
Fabrizio said voters will saddle Harris with Biden’s policies and her backing of a liberal approach to criminal justice. That will cause a dip in her polls, but not for three weeks, according to the Times.
The Trump campaign denied the Times’ report telling the outlet that Trump “continues to run a winning campaign and has built a movement focused on making our nation great again.”
In a statement in response to the reporting for this story, a spokesman, Brian Hughes, said that Mr. Trump Another spokesman, Spokesman Steven Cheung, also said that Trump has put forward a “positive” vision for the country, in contrast to the liberal policies of the Democrats.
