Donald Trump
Donald Trump (Photo: Shutterstock)

Donald Trump called a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida yesterday. Although Trump’s rally appearances and press conferences are typically rambling, this one seemed even more so. The 78-year-old Republican candidate for President also struggled to hear questions from reporters.

As always, he also told some bare-faced falsehoods. For example, he downplayed the January 6th insurrection in the capital. He claimed “Nobody was killed.”

Police shot and killed rioter Ashley Babbitt after she invaded the capitol building that day. The events of that day have also been linked to nine other deaths, including subsequent law enforcement suicides.

Martin Luther King

A reporter asked Trump about Kamala Harris drawing big crowds on the campaign trail this week. Trump trashed this claim, suggesting his inauguration speech attracted more supporters than Martin Luther King did with his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Many blasted this assertion, including members of King’s family and the NAACP.

Trump also suggested he and Kamala Harris should have three debates together. Their first debate appears confirmed to go ahead on ABC on September 10.

Trump also tried to mock Harris for not giving any press interviews or press conferences since President Biden quit the race. He claimed it’s because “she’s barely competent.”

Among those criticizing Trump’s performance was his niece, Mary Trump. The queer psychologist has long been a vocal critic of her uncle.

On X, Mary Trump said, “This is someone’s old racist uncle ranting on a street corner in front of a bunch of flags. I should know.”

Her tweet has received over 50,000 likes, with many agreeing.

Rosie O’Donnell

Another longtime critic of Trump is Rosie O’Donnell.

“Are you watching this moron speak?” O’Donnell posted on a TikTok video.

“Can he form a coherent sentence? He is the worst thing that ever happened. Period. And he’s just babbling like an incoherent a**hole. He’s like Doctor Doom. He’s the worst thing.

“He just lies, lies, lies. I am done with Donald Trump. Let’s be done with Donald. OK? Done with DonOld.”

@rosie DONOLD IS DONE #NEVERTRUMP ♬ original sound – Rosie ODonnell

Even former Trump staff expressed horror at Trump’s performance. Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham worked for both Trump and former First Lady, Melania Trump. She has since written a highly critical book about Melania and her time in the Trump administration. Grisham witnessed Trump’s behavior up close.

Grisham said that Trump announcing his own press conference was a sign he was “panicking.”

“Re: Trump’s self-announced press conference today at 2 pm: He’s panicking,” Grisham said on X. “I’ve seen this play many times. He thinks his team is failing him & no one can speak better/“save” his campaign/defend him but him. He hates the coverage Harris is getting & thinks only he can fix it.”

A Trump spokesperson dismissed Grisham’s assessment. They told The Hill, “She should stick to talking about the Bombay Club in DC rather than politics.”

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