Trump says he’s ‘entitled to personal attacks’ as he hammers Harris on inflation with grocery props

BEDMINSTER, N.J. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he thinks he’s “entitled to personal attacks” on his Democratic rival, adding he's “very angry” at Vice President Kamala Harris and questioning her intelligence.

Trump was asked during a news conference whether his campaign needs more discipline as he faces a Democratic ticket newly energized since Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the party's presidential candidate.

“As far as the personal attacks, I’m very angry at her because of what she’s done to the country. I’m very angry at her that she would weaponize the justice system against me and other people, very angry at her. I think I’m entitled to personal attacks,” Trump said at his New Jersey golf club, where he invited reporters in his quest to saddle Harris with Biden's unpopular economic record.

“I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence and I think she’ll be a terrible president," he added.

There is no evidence that Biden or Harris weaponized the criminal justice system to target Trump, who has pledged to retaliate with criminal investigations of Biden and his relatives if he wins.

Trump also took issue with Democrats branding him and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “weird." Harris is “weird in her policy,” he said.

Trump stuck close to his scripted economic message for more than half an hour, reading from a binder in front of him. Later, he veered into familiar stories he enjoys telling at his rallies. A day earlier, he had struggled to make a sustained case for his economic policies during a meandering speech that his campaign had billed as a major policy address.

“Kamala Harris is a radical California liberal who broke the economy, broke the border and broke the world, frankly,” Trump told reporters.

Trump was flanked by popular grocery store items, including coffee, breakfast cereals and pastries, laid out on tables as he highlighted the cost of everything from food to car insurance to housing. Posters showed the increase of prices for grocery staples.

At one point, as Trump talked about the 2020 election he lost, he noticed a box of cereal.

“I haven’t seen Cheerios in a long time,” Trump said. “I’m going to take them back to my cottage.”

As he turned to walk back inside, Trump did not respond to shouted questions about when he last went grocery shopping.

The event came one day after the Labor Department announced year-over-year inflation had reached its lowest level in more than three years in July — the latest sign that the worst price spike in four decades is fading.

But consumers are still feeling the impact of higher prices — something Trump’s campaign is banking on to motivate voters this fall.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Americans are more likely to trust Trump over Harris when it comes to handling the economy and immigration, issues he has put at the center of his case for returning to the White House.

Harris is planning her own economic policy speech Friday in North Carolina, promising to push for a federal ban on price gouging on groceries.

Trump predicted he would beat Harris by more that he would have beaten Biden by “once she’s exposed.”

“People don’t know who she is,” Trump said.

A small crowd of Trump supporters watched his news conference from the periphery, occasionally cheering him on. But without a crowd of thousands to please with red meat attacks on his enemies, Trump stuck closer to his prepared remarks.

Trump continued lobbing insults at Harris and Biden at an evening event dedicated to Jewish voters, where he was introduced by GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson to an audience that included a Holocaust survivor.

Hours before the news conference, Trump’s campaign leaders announced they were expanding his staff, bringing a number of former aides and outside advisers formally into the fold. Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz and Tim Murtaugh will advise the campaign’s senior leadership.

Lewandowski was Trump's first campaign manager during his 2016 campaign. Budowich and Pfeiffer are moving over from MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC. Bruesewitz produces pro-Trump content for a large social media following. And Murtaugh was the communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign.

Summer has been the time for shakeups in Trump’s two prior campaigns. This year's change comes weeks after the campaign itself was transformed by Biden's decision to end his reelection campaign and endorse Harris.

Trump gave his top advisers a vote of confidence Thursday, writing on his social media platform that his management team headed by Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles is “THE BEST.”

Trump spoke to the press as he has stepped up his criticism of Harris for not holding a news conference or sitting down for interviews since Biden made way for her.

“I think I’m doing a very calm campaign,” Trump said after being asked about criticism from Republicans who want him to focus less on personal attacks.

“Some of you will say, ‘He ranted and raved,’” Trump said to journalists. “I’m a very calm person, believe it or not.”

Cooper reported from Phoenix.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump greets Miriam Adelson during an event on combating antisemitism at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

People listen as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

A staffer arranges boxes of cereal on a table display before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

With consumer goods placed on tables near him, Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

NICE, France (AP) — At least eight people died during a failed attempt to cross the English Channel from northern France, French maritime authorities said Sunday.

The tragedy occurred Saturday just before midnight when authorities spotted a boat, carrying dozens, in distress near a beach in the northern town of Ambleteuse.

A French rescue ship was deployed to the area and rescue services offered medical assistance to 53 migrants on the beach, a statement from the French maritime authorities in charge of the Channel and the North Sea said.

“Despite the emergency care provided, eight people have died,” the statement said.

No people were discovered during the search at sea, it added.

Six people were taken to hospital “in relative emergency,” including a 10-month-old baby with hypothermia, Jacques Billant, the Pas-de-Calais prefect, told French media on Sunday. He said that survivors came from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran.

The inflatable boat, carrying 59 people, set sail from the beach near the town of Vimont and ran aground soon after, the prefect said. “The boat was clearly torn apart on the rocks,” he added.

Fifty-one survivors have been taken to a reception center in the city of Toulouse, according to local authorises. The prosecutor's office in Boulogne-sur-mer has opened an investigation.

The deaths on Saturday occurred nearly two weeks after a boat carrying migrants ripped apart in the English Channel as they attempted to reach Britain from northern France, plunging dozens into the treacherous waterway and leaving 12 dead, officials said.

British officials were quick to express sadness over another English Channel tragedy.

“It’s awful,’’ Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the BBC. “It’s a further loss of life.”

The new Labour Party government has pledged to crack down on criminal gangs and had discussed with European partners “how we go after those gangs, in cooperation upstream.’’

Europe’s increasingly strict asylum rules, growing xenophobia and hostile treatment of migrants have been pushing them north. At least 46 migrants had died while trying to cross to the U.K. this year, said Billant, the Pas-de-Calais prefect.

At least 137,563 people have reached the United Kingdom after crossing the Channel from France since 2018, according to U.K. Home Office figures. On Saturday alone, 14 boats carrying 801 migrants reached Britain.

French coast guard and navy vessels on Saturday rescued 200 people from the treacherous waters in the Pas-de-Calais area, according to a report sent by French maritime authorities in charge of the Channel and the North Sea.

They said they observed 18 attempts of boat departures from France to Britain on Saturday.

Other surveillance and rescue operations are underway Sunday along the entire Pas-de-Calais coast amid stormy weather conditions and agitated sea, French maritime authorities said. They warned anyone who tries to cross the Channel on flimsy and overloaded boats and in often difficult weather conditions of “significant risks.”

In July, four migrants died while attempting the crossing on an inflatable boat that capsized and punctured. Five others, including a child, died in another attempt in April. Five dead were recovered from the sea or found washed up along a beach after a migrant boat ran into difficulties in the dark and winter cold of January.

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Danica Kirka contributed to this report from London.

FILE - A boat thought to be with migrants is escorted by a vessel from the French Gendarmerie Nationale off the Wimereux beach, France, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Nicholas Garriga, File)

FILE - A vessel of the French Gendarmerie Nationale patrols in front of the Wimereux beach, France, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Nicholas Garriga, File)

A least 8 people have died trying to cross the English Channel, French authorities say

A least 8 people have died trying to cross the English Channel, French authorities say

FILE - A view of one of the vessels from the French Gendarmerie Nationale in the port of Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, after participating in the rescue operation after a boat carrying migrants ripped apart attempting to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga, File)