Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to cast his ballot for early voting in Florida’s primary election in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 14, 2024.
Marco Bello | Reuters
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday painted a bleak picture of the U.S. economy and blamed it on the administration of his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“You’re paying the price for Kamala’s liberal extremism at the gas pump, at the grocery counter, and on your mortgage bill,” Trump said in a speech to supporters in Asheville, North Carolina.
The speech came as the Trump campaign looks to retool its message after President Joe Biden withdrew his reelection bid and endorsed Harris in late July.
As Harris has shot up in the polls, the solid lead Trump had over Biden has evaporated. But Trump still maintains his longstanding advantage over Democrats when it comes to which candidate voters believe would be best for the economy.
Earlier in the day, the Labor Department reported that the annual inflation rate had slowed in July to 2.9% year over year, its lowest level since 2021.
Trump’s political fortunes have benefited greatly over the past three years from the high inflation and high interest rates that have squeezed consumers. Polls show that a majority of voters believe the U.S. economy is in recession, for which they blame Biden.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks next to Vice President Kamala Harris as he delivers a statement a day after Republican challenger Donald Trump was shot at a campaign rally, during brief remarks at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 14, 2024.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
While attacking first Biden, and now Harris, over inflation has worked well for Trump on the campaign trail so far, new economic data risks blunting Trump’s attacks.
Since Harris replaced Biden, North Carolina has reemerged as a key battleground state that could be in play for Democrats. Trump won the Tar Heel State in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, but his polling advantage has recently shrunk.
Harris, fueled by new enthusiasm and hundreds of millions in donations, will come to the state Friday to deliver her own speech on the economy.
But it’s unclear if Trump will stick to the script at Wednesday’s event. Trump recently veered far off topic during his more-than-two-hour interview on X with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and during an hourlong news conference at his Florida resort home Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s response to his new opponent has been in part to question her racial identity and crowd sizes, try to label her with an array of derisive nicknames and malign her intelligence.
Some of Trump’s allies have warned him to narrow his attacks to substantive policy differences or risk turning off more persuadable voters.