Trump gives economic speech in North Carolina as more polls show Harris gaining ground

The top issue for many voters, the economy, took center stage as former President Trump returned to campaign in a battleground state for the first time this month. His North Carolina rally followed a scattershot news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate and a meandering conversation with Elon Musk on X. Laura Barrón-López reports.

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Geoff Bennett: The top issue for many voters, the economy, took center stage today, as former President Donald Trump returned to campaign in a battleground state.

Amna Nawaz: His North Carolina rally followed a scattershot news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate and a meandering conversation with Elon Musk on X in just the last week.

Laura Barron-Lopez has our look tonight at the latest.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Donald Trump back on the campaign trail, trying to get back on message.

The former president rallied in a battleground state for the first time in a week-and-a-half.

Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: Kamala Harris won’t end the economic crisis. She will only make it worse.

Laura Barron-Lopez: In Asheville, North Carolina this afternoon, he talked about the economy, one of the top issues for voters. And he slammed his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, for her economic record.

Donald Trump: If Harris wins this election, the result will be a Kamala economic crash, a 1929-style depression, 1929. When I win the election, we will immediately begin a brand-new Trump economic boom. It’ll be a boom. We’re going to turn this country around so fast.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Notable after the economy today got a bit of good news, inflation falling below 3 percent for the first time since 2021. But it wasn’t all economy, as Trump repeated his list of grievances.

Trump was joined at the rally by far right Republican candidate for governor Mark Robinson, who has previously sparked controversy for his comments on religion, LGBTQ rights and civil rights. Today, he stuck to the economic theme.

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R-NC), Gubernatorial Candidate: What we see here with the weaponization of government, it does not jibe with being able to have a good economy.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Robinson’s presence, alongside Trump’s recent attacks on Harris, has some Republicans warning the party could alienate voters.

Fmr. Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC): What Donald Trump needs to do is go out there and campaign every single day, telling the American people exactly what Kamala Harris has said.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Former candidate Nikki Haley and others have criticized Trump for veering away from the issues.

Fmr. Gov. Nikki Haley: The campaign is not going to win talking about crowd sizes. It’s not going to win talking about what race Kamala Harris is. It’s not going to win talking about whether she’s dumb. It’s not. You can’t win on those things.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Those GOP alarm bells come as Harris is gaining momentum. Not only in North Carolina, but in every battleground state but one, according to The Cook Political Report. Only Nevada shows a Trump lead. Harris is even tied in Georgia, and in the days leading up to the Democratic National Convention, the Harris wall’s ticket closing the enthusiasm gap.

Excitement amongst Democrats and independents for the Harris versus Trump contest has jumped double digits since June, when President Joe Biden was still in the race.

Narrator: Being president is about who you fight for, and she’s fighting for people like you.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Looking to keep the momentum going, the Harris campaign today announced a $90 million ad buy that will flood the airwaves after the party convention next week.

Also, prominent Republicans, including former elected officials and party leaders, even actor Mark Hamill, held a Republicans for Harris Zoom to rally support. Organizers said more than 70,000 people joined the call.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate: Kamala Harris now is standing here in Michigan asking us for a promotion. I think it’s time to say to Kamala Harris, no thank you. You are fired.

Laura Barron-Lopez: And both running mates were on the trail.

In Michigan, Republican V.P. nominee J.D. Vance confronted criticisms that Trump has been distracted.

Sen. J.D. Vance: I think that Donald Trump has earned the right to run the campaign that he wants to run. And, look, if you listen to what Donald J. Trump says, if you look at what I say, we are prosecuting the case against Kamala Harris on policy.

Laura Barron-Lopez: While Tim Walz’s, Harris’ V.P. pick, headlines fund-raisers in both Denver and Boston.

Harris herself was off the trail, but plans to lay out her own economic message later this week, just like former President Trump, also in North Carolina. And for the former president, the specter of his legal battles still clouds his election calendar. The Manhattan judge who convicted Trump said today that he will not step aside from the case.

And, for now, Trump’s sentencing is still set for September 18, just a week after the first presidential debate with Vice President Harris.

For the PBS “News Hour,” I’m Laura Barron-Lopez.