Trump's Big Reset Quickly Veers Into Attack On Kamala Harris' Laugh, Time Cover

Former President Donald Trump’s speech Wednesday in the battleground state of North Carolina was supposed to be focused on the economy, which, as he noted from the stage, “they say [is] the most important topic.”

But from the beginning, the event in Asheville more closely resembled any other Trump campaign rally.

Though he discussed a smattering of economic policy proposals, Trump spent the bulk of his time drifting from immigration at the southern U.S. border, grandiose claims about his first White House term, personal attacks on his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other familiar themes.

Notably, Trump occasionally pronounced his opponent’s first name correctly.

“What happened to her laugh? I haven’t heard her laugh in about a week,” Trump said of Harris. “That’s the laugh of a crazy person, I will tell you, if you haven’t noticed. She’s crazy.”

He floated the idea that Harris’ campaign was telling her to stop laughing in public because it attracted criticism from Republicans.

“They told her don’t laugh, don’t laugh,” he claimed. “Her laugh is career-threatening. She doesn’t laugh anymore. It’s smart, but someday it’s going to come out. That’s the laugh of someone with big problems.”

Trump also took issue with Harris’ Time magazine cover , which featured an illustration of her by graphic designer Neil Jamieson.

“She went from being a totally disrespected person six weeks ago, nobody thought she had a chance — and now they’re putting her on the cover of Time magazine with an artist’s sketch,” Trump said.

“They don’t use a picture, they use an artist’s sketch,” he said, adding that he wanted “to find that artist” because he likes him “very much.”

The economic proposals Trump outlined included a plan to “open up large tracts of federal land” for new housing projects and increase drilling for fossil fuels.

“Drill, baby, drill!” Trump said, prompting a chant from his supporters. He claimed, without evidence, that he would drive energy prices “down by 50 to 70%.”

“Vote Trump and your incomes will soar, your savings will grow, young people will be able to afford a home and we will bring back the American dream bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” Trump said.

At another point, he told the crowd: “Your quality of life is going to collapse under these lunatics.”

Trump claimed that he handed Harris and President Joe Biden “an economic miracle” and that they turned it into “an economic nightmare,” even though Trump left office as the global economy was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic at its height.

The backdrop to his speech featured two of his oft-repeated economic proposals: eliminating taxes on tips and taxes on Social Security benefits, which he acknowledged briefly. Trump spent more time listing everyday items that he characterized as too expensive, such as car insurance and bacon, claiming that he does not “order” bacon anymore because of the cost.

“The groceries, just to put it in simple terms, people go to the grocery store and they have less than half a — half a deal,” Trump said.

He then rooted around in his jacket pocket, pulling out a box of Tic Tac breath mints and then a miniature version of the same box.

“This is inflation,” Trump said.

His remarks came less than a week after a disastrous news conference reportedly prompted allies to voice concern about Trump’s inability to focus his campaign message. An interview Monday with billionaire Elon Musk on the X social media platform appeared to do little to assuage those concerns, as Trump rambled on as his speech appeared to be slurred.

Trump has struggled to compose a coherent message against Harris since she became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after Biden ended his reelection campaign last month. She has rallied a surge of support to her side, drawing huge crowds that Trump has falsely suggested are faked.

On Wednesday, Trump notably did not fixate on crowd size. He appeared to alternate between spontaneous tangents and remarks read off a teleprompter, repeatedly casting the Republican Party as the party of “common sense.”

But some of his tangents took on the ugly and divisive qualities that draw the biggest reactions from his most steadfast supporters. Several times over the course of his 75-minute speech, Trump returned to the subject of immigration, claiming in one particularly vile remark that immigrant men are “raping our women.”

“It’s beyond control,” Trump said.