On Thursday, Donald Trump stepped into a room filled with journalists at his Mar-a-Lago estate for a press conference. His demeanor suggested he wasn’t in the best of spirits. This appearance followed a week where Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, had dominated the media spotlight, raising significant funds and seeing an uptick in poll numbers. Trump’s media event appeared more like an attempt to reclaim the headlines rather than to deliver any groundbreaking news.
Just before Trump approached the podium, one of his advisors texted me a light-hearted comment, noting that Donald Trump is “never boring!!” (the exclamation marks were theirs).
The event did bring a couple of news items to light. Trump revealed that he had agreed to participate in a TV debate with Vice President Harris on September 10th. ABC News, the debate’s host, confirmed Harris’s participation as well. Trump also expressed interest in having two more debates, though the Harris camp has yet to confirm whether they will agree to those additional face-offs.
During the hour-long event, Trump fielded dozens of questions and criticized Harris for not taking questions from reporters since her rise to the top of the ticket.
The showdown between Trump and Harris on the debate stage is set for September, and it’s shaping up to be a highly anticipated event. Trump is also trying various strategies to diminish the excitement surrounding Harris’s candidacy, but so far, her momentum has been strong.
Throughout the event, Trump reverted to some of his usual talking points, as if he were reaching for his greatest hits from rally speeches. He discussed poll numbers, criticized the media, lamented the state of the country, and even brought up crowd sizes, drawing a comparison to those of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Historically, Trump has a knack for grabbing attention by making controversial statements, and this event was no different. He suggested that America was teetering on the edge of a world war and made a provocative comment about Jewish Americans who support Harris, saying they “need to have your head examined.”
This loss of the spotlight is an unusual position for Trump. The former president is unaccustomed to having to fight for media attention, especially during this election cycle. The Biden campaign previously allowed Trump to dominate the news, believing that the more the race focused on the former president, the better it would be for the current one. However, the Democrats’ strategy has dramatically shifted, pushing Trump out of the headlines with the unexpected rollout of Harris as the Democratic candidate.
Right now, the Democrats are soaking up the media attention. Harris is aiming to make this race about her, and with all the political drama on the Democratic side, the press has eagerly obliged. This is likely why Trump’s Mar-a-Lago press conference didn’t contain much in the way of actual news.
Republican strategist Marc Lotter, who ran communication strategy for Trump’s 2020 campaign, offered advice on how the former president could regain the spotlight. Lotter suggested that Trump should stay focused on policy, saying, “Define Harris and Walz on policy. He wins on policy and results.”
To give credit where it’s due, Trump did touch on these points during the press event. He repeatedly labeled Harris as “extreme” and “liberal” and touted his own record on the economy and border security. However, these attacks were somewhat overshadowed by his grievances about crowd sizes and media coverage, even hinting that there might be something unconstitutional about the Harris campaign.
And with that, the event concluded. Almost immediately after Trump left the stage, the ever-shifting cable news cameras redirected their focus from Florida to Michigan, where Harris and Walz were meeting with union workers. It was once again time for the Democrats to enjoy some media coverage.
