Trump tries to stay on message during his DNC counterprogramming

Donald Trump returned to Pennsylvania on Monday, less than 48 hours after he last appeared in the state, launching a weeklong blitz of battlegrounds as he tries to counter Kamala Harris’ continued momentum and the fanfare of this week’s Democratic convention.

And Trump, under mounting pressure from top Republicans to resist his impulse to lob personal attacks at Harris, seemed cognizant of the request — and of the pitfalls of his campaign devolving into a light-on-policy, heavy-on-insults outfit that could alienate swing voters. Unlike other recent press events and rallies, where the former president called Harris “dumb” or focused on her Black and South Asian ancestry, Trump on Monday afternoon largely stuck to the words on the teleprompter.

The event in York, held at a manufacturing facility specializing in defense and nuclear industries, was designed as more of a messaging address centered on policy proposals, rather than Trump’s usual interactive rallies — the first of several this week in states crucial to winning in November, including Michigan and Arizona . The media riser for television cameras was set up directly in front of Trump, rather than behind the crowd, with a few hundred supporters filling the sides and back area of the factory.

“You can bet that if we don't win, if she takes over, your energy numbers will be triple and quadruple, and you won't be producing a drop of oil,” Trump said during his remarks, in which he closely read from a script of statistics about the number of power plants that have closed in recent years, predictions for how many jobs would be lost in Pennsylvania if Harris wins and proposals about his manufacturing and energy policies.

On the few occasions where Trump veered off script during the nearly hourlong address, he seemed to quickly catch himself, looking back to the teleprompter within seconds before he said too much — a contrast with some of his other recent speeches that turned into extensive rants about Harris’ looks and other personal traits.

For the better part of eight years, Trump advisers have at various junctures promised a new, more disciplined Trump. But that has typically lasted days, at most, before he returns to his old ways.

As he referred to her as “Comrade Kamala,” “the job-killer-in-chief,” a “country destroyer,” and someone who “is on a regulatory jihad to shut down power plants all across America,” Trump mostly heeded the advice of advisers and other Republican leaders to keep his message rooted in policy. He called out her adoption of similar positions to him on issues like supporting fracking and ending tip taxation, while bashing her proposed “communist price controls.”

But Trump still wasn’t able to resist railing off the cuff against Harris and her upbringing. Roughly 45 minutes in, he went on an aside about her father, a Jamaican immigrant who taught economics at Stanford University.

“Kamala has no idea what the hell she’s doing. Her father is a Marxist professor, and I believe he taught her well,” Trump said. “I wonder if they knew where she comes from, where she came from, what her ideology is.”

Trump went on to quickly make fun of “her laugh,” before almost seamlessly transitioning back to tariffs. And at one point in the speech, Trump pivoted to his favorite topic of late, his former opponent President Joe Biden — outlining, at length, findings from a newly released report from House Republicans claiming Biden committed impeachable offenses.

As Trump spoke at the swing-state manufacturing facility, Democrats in Chicago prepared for the opening night of their convention — a four-day event that is expected to only continue to boost Harris’ prospects in the presidential horserace.

Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, will traverse the country this week, hitting key battleground states as they attempt to blunt the polling and momentum lead that Harris has captured since ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket. And his campaign has promised daily counterprogramming in Chicago as well, with Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) speaking to reporters Monday , and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) scheduled to do so Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Trump will travel to Michigan, before heading to North Carolina on Wednesday, Arizona on Thursday and Nevada on Friday — a blitz not only of states he lost in 2020 and needs to flip, but even one he won twice but now needs to shore up. For his part, Vance will be in Wisconsin, Georgia and other battlegrounds.

Despite a somewhat more disciplined approach to his speech on Monday, Republican officials and operatives are bracing to see whether Trump can successfully reorient his messaging on Harris in the coming weeks of the election — including as the Harris team enjoys the spotlight during the Democratic convention.

A couple hours before his event began in York, amid posts about Democrats’ “coup” against Biden, Trump’s Truth Social account posted a recap video of him entering his rally in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, the clip set to “Eye of the Tiger.” “Another packed house,” Trump wrote of the weekend battleground state rally. “Kamala had 220 people!!!””