Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail having returned to Pennsylvania for his first campaign rally in the swing state since he came within inches of being killed by a would-be assassin’s bullet on July 13.
The former president and Republican nominee spoke in Harrisburg, just hours after a confrontational interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago.
During the interview, Trump insulted his presumptive 2024 Democratic Party opponent, Kamala Harris, and falsely accused her of lying about her race — stating that she recently “became Black”. Harris, who is biracial, is Black and Indian-American.
At the evening rally, Trump remained largely tied to his prepared remarks and attacked Harris for supposedly wanting to “destroy” Pennsylvania’s economy.
His next big campaign event will be a joint appearance with his vice presidential pick, JD Vance. That will take place in Atlanta on Saturday, at the same venue Harris held a barnstorming first rally of her campaign earlier in the week.
We are temporarily pausing our Trump campaign blog.
Please join us in our main US election 2024 blog for full coverage of both campaigns as the race to the White House gathers pace.
Watch: Trump appears to have very little knowledge of Sonya Massey case
Oliver O’Connell31 July 2024 20:00
Full story: Trump claims Kamala Harris only recently ‘became a Black woman’ in unhinged remarks to Black journalists
“I didn’t know she was Black,” he said on Wednesday. “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? … I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t, because she was Indian all the way and all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person.”
Trump — responding to questions about whether he agrees with Republican allies who claimed that she was selected to run for office only because of her race — frequently interrupted and sparred with three Black women media workers at the National Association of Black Journalists conference.
Read Alex Woodward’s full report.
Oliver O’Connell31 July 2024 20:30
Fox anchor who appeared on Trump panel doesn’t address his false claims about Kamala Harris’s identity
Fox News host Harris Faulkner, who appeared alongside ABC’s Rachel Scott and Semafor’s Kadia Goba during the NABJ panel on Wednesday, was asked for her “thoughts” about Trump’s inflammatory comments when she re-appeared on the network.
”It was chippy at times but for the most part” the audience “was laughing,” she claimed.
Responding to another question, she said “what I loved about we could not see today was how much of that audience was enjoying the moment of hearing from the candidate that they ight not always agree with.”
Alex Woodward31 July 2024 20:45
Trump says he ‘crushed’ his disastrous panel appearance
Trump hopped on Truth Social after his question-and-answer panel at a conference with the National Association of Black Journalists, where he questioned Kamala Harris’s ethnicity and grew defensive and combative with the Black women journalists who questioned him.
“The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!” he wrote.
Alex Woodward31 July 2024 20:57
Oliver O’Connell31 July 2024 21:00
Harris campaign responds to Trump’s ‘tirade’
Harris’s campaign said Trump’s “tirade” was “the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president.”
“Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign,” said Harris for President communications director Michael Tyler.
“It’s also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans,” he added.
“All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10.”
Alex Woodward31 July 2024 21:10
Harris campaign reacts to Trump’s NABJ appearance
Harris for President communications director Michael Tyler released the following statement after Donald Trump’s appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago.
“The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people.
“Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency – while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us.
“Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign. It’s also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans. All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10.”
Oliver O’Connell31 July 2024 21:23
Trump campaign spokesperson warns Harris wants to ‘ban our assault weapons’
Trump campaign spokesperson Caroline Sunshine warned on Fox News this morning that Kamala Harris wants to “ban our assault weapons”.
The majority of Americans (65 per cent of registered voters) support such a ban.
Oliver O’Connell31 July 2024 21:40
