News Networks Dip In And Out Of Donald Trump’s Press Conference; Ex-POTUS Defends Laura Loomer As A “Free Spirit”
Donald Trump stood on a lawn at his golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, today, speaking to mainstream and right-wing media, and made a long shot pitch for votes in the state while also bashing it as a poorly run hellscape.
“It’s very sad when I have to stand out here on my property and see how bad California is,” said Trump, with the sweeping view of the Pacific as a backdrop.
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Trump, though, claimed that if he is elected president, the state’s problems would be solved — everything from migration to taxes to wildfires to water.
“You’re going to have water like you never thought,” Trump said, before turning to the mayor of RPV and noting, “Now, in your case, maybe you don’t want too much.” The city is struggling with massive landslide issues that now threaten hundreds of homes.
The purpose of the press conference seemed to be for Trump to reclaim attention, after a debate on Tuesday that most pundits say he lost, something that initial polls also suggest.
Among some Republicans, there has been consternation over Trump’s association with Laura Loomer, the right-wing conspiracy theorist who has been traveling with him, and the notion that she has been a poor influence on him. Among those who have spoken out against Loomer is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who deemed a Loomer post about Harris’ Indian heritage “appalling and extremely racist.”
Asked about Loomer at the press conference, “Laura is a supporter. I don’t control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants. She’s a free spirit.”
Asked if he disavowed some of Loomer’s past comments, including her racist remarks about Harris and conspiracy theories about 9/11, Trump said, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I do know that she may have said something based on what you’re telling me, but I don’t know what she said, but I’ll go take a look, and I’ll put out a statement later on.”
Trump spent the first 40 minutes of his press conference making an opening statement, with what Fox News’ John Roberts called a “litany of horribles” about Kamala Harris. CNN and MSNBC skipped the opening remarks, and Fox News covered most of it before breaking away until Trump took questions.
All three major news networks initially carried Trump taking questions, but MSNBC and CNN eventually cut away.
Trump was defensive when asked about Republican allies who have acknowledged that he “missed the mark” at the debate. He denied that was the case, and admonished the reporter, who was from Fox News.
“You come from Fox,” Trump said. “You shouldn’t play the same game as everybody else.”
Trump also reiterated his promise for “the largest deportation in history,” saying that “we are going to start in Springfield and Aurora.” Republicans have singled out both cities for the growth of migrants in their communities, holding them up as examples of an out of control border situation. At the debate, Trump made the unfounded claim that Haitian migrants were eating people’s cats and dogs. The debate’s co-moderator, ABC News’ David Muir, noted that city manager of Springfield told the network there was no evidence of such incidents.
The attacks on Haitian migrants have led to concerns over a backlash against Haitian immigrants, most of whom are in the city legally, per the AP.
Asked why he spread the debunked story, Trump said, “The real threat is what’s happening on our border,” before claiming massive carnage from the influx.
Trump seemed to warm up to the suggestion that he hold a rally in Springfield. On Thursday, there was a report of a bomb threat that closed multiple government buildings, with the mayor suggesting that the threat was related to Haitian immigration issues. Today, three schools in Springfield were closed due to threats.
Trump was in Beverly Hills on Thursday evening for a fundraiser.
Trump continued to claim that he would have won California in previous elections were it not for widespread voter fraud. But even a commission he set up after the 2016 election failed to find such irregularities.
After the press conference, Trump also explained to KNBC-TV why he has not endorsed Steve Garvey’s campaign for a U.S. Senate seat against Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Trump said Garvey has not called him. “I don’t know him at all,” he said of the Republican candidate. “But if he doesn’t reach out to MAGA he has absolutely no chance.”
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