Former President Donald Trump ridiculed Kamala Harris for trying to “copy” his campaign ideas in a speech billed as an economic event, in which he brandished a box of Tic Tacs.
Trump is still whining that Harris adopted one of his campaign points by declaring in Las Vegas that she would eliminate the tax on tips for waiters and other tipped workers.
In his campaign, where Trump promised to deport millions of undocumented migrants and Harris made vague promises about the future, Trump said he was withholding his own detailed proposals for fear they would be copied.
“Kamala Harris is not going to end the economic crisis. She’s going to make it worse. And why hasn’t she? She’s talking about it. She’s working on a plan. You know she’s going to announce it this week. Maybe she’s waiting for me to announce it so she can copy it,” he joked.
Harris and President Joe Biden have repeatedly tried to tie Trump to the policy proposals of Project 2025, a group that has employed many of his former advisers. But the Trump camp has bristled at suggestions that their policies are his own.
Trump also used the speech to criticize Harris over inflation, though he made his criticism on a day when the consumer price index showed annual inflation of 2.9 percent, the lowest level since 2021. That could finally prompt the Fed to cut rates.
Former President Donald Trump held up a box of Tic Tacs to talk about inflation during a speech billed as an economic address
“People go to the grocery store and they have less than half the discount,” Trump said, before illustrating his point.
“This is Tic Tacs, right?” he said. “I don’t know if I like the company,” he joked. “This is the best advertising they’ve ever had,” he said after pulling a box of Tic Tacs from his pocket and holding up a tiny box for comparison.
“This is inflation. This is Tic Tac,” he said. “This is what happened.”
Trump has made the comparison before. He also spoke about the product in the infamous Access Hollywood tape. “I have to use some Tic Tacs in case I kiss her,” he told former host Billy Bush. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women. I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait for it. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
Trump again insulted Harris. “She’s not a brilliant person. She’s not a smart person. She’s not very smart,” he said.
Trump also veered from his economic message when he argued that Biden is angry and being mistreated, this time suggesting that he had gotten a bad seat at the Democratic convention.
Trump mocked Harris for pushing aside one of his policy proposals
Trump deviated from his economic message
Trump also spoke about Tic Tacs in the infamous Access Hollywood tape where he talked about grabbing women by the genitals
“They’re not even giving him a good place to speak. You know when he’s speaking? On Monday,” Trump told the crowd in Asheville, North Carolina, where he said he would do well in new polls in a state where Kamala Harris is making gains over Biden.
“Monday is not the — that’s the worst day. But that’s what they’re doing. It’s their own form of — it’s just a different, I think relatively, it’s a minor form of cheating compared to what they’re really doing,” Trump said.
Speakers on the first day of the Republican Convention included Senators Katie Britt (Ala.), Tim Scott (S.C.) and Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Teamsters Chairman Sean O’Brien.
Harris continues to face criticism for not scheduling a formal interview and ignoring key policy proposals.
Both campaigns are focusing heavily on North Carolina, where Harris led in the latest Cook Political Report poll, 48 to 47. She is campaigning there on Thursday.
Trump promised that new polls would soon come out that would give him the lead.
She surprised Democrats in Congress with her new tip policy proposal on August 11.
“I promise everyone that if I become president, we will continue to work for working families, including by raising the minimum wage and eliminating the tip tax for service and hospitality workers,” Harris said.