Criticism of strategy

Angry Trump wants to continue insulting Harris

Donald Trump campaigning in his own way.(Bild: Getty Images/Adam Gray)

US presidential candidate Donald Trump has rejected calls from his prominent party colleague Nikki Haley to change his campaign style and refrain from personal attacks on rival Kamala Harris. The Republican believes he has a right to make unobjective attacks.

He is "very angry" with Harris and therefore feels "entitled to personal attacks", Trump said at a press conference on Thursday evening (local time).

The former president also said of Harris that he had "not much respect for her intelligence" and that she would be a "terrible president". Haley had called on Trump on Tuesday to stop the personal attacks on Harris and instead focus on the substantive debate with the Democratic presidential candidate.

Donald Trump campaigning in his own way.(Bild: Getty Images/Adam Gray)

Attacks do not work
The election cannot be won by talking about which "race" Harris belongs to or that she is "stupid", said Haley on the right-wing television channel Fox News.

Haley thinks her party should "stop whining": 

The former ambassador and ex-governor was referring to the fact that Trump has repeatedly vilified his rival as unintelligent and questioned her identity as an African-American. Harris is the daughter of a black Jamaican and her mother is from India.

Haley was defeated by Trump in the Republican presidential primaries, but has since endorsed his candidacy. At the press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump said that while he appreciated Haley's advice, he had to run the campaign "my way".

Trump in a huff over Harris statements 
The 78-year-old also said that Harris was also attacking him personally by calling him and his vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance "weird". The attribute "weird" has been frequently applied to Trump and Vance by Harris and other Democrats in recent weeks, but is not as disparaging as Trump's constant remarks about his rival's lack of intelligence.

It was Trump's second press conference since last week. The right-wing populist has been on the defensive in the election campaign since President Joe Biden declared his decision not to run in the November election on July 21 after weeks of debate about his mental state and the Democratic Party quickly united behind Vice President Harris as the new candidate.

In several of the most recent polls, Trump has since been slightly overtaken by Harris. Nevertheless, he claimed to be ahead in the polls at the press conference.