LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is also using the week to focus on the economy.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Trump has been facing pressure from Republicans to focus on policy issues and not crowd sizes and personal attacks. So is that what he did at a rally in North Carolina and a lengthy press conference at his New Jersey golf club?

FADEL: NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez is here to answer that. Good morning, Franco.

FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So yesterday’s news conference really narrowed in on inflation. What was Trump’s message?

ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, he actually brought out Froot Loops and Oreos to highlight the food prices and inflation. He touted his plans to eliminate taxes on tips and Social Security benefits. He blamed Harris for food and gas prices. He called her proposal for a federal ban on price gouging on food as, quote, “communist price controls.”

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DONALD TRUMP: Kamala Harris is a radical California liberal who broke the economy, broke the border and broke the world, frankly.

ORDOÑEZ: He spoke for almost an hour and a half and took questions on topics like Israel, the assassination attempt, Harris’ VP pick, Governor Tim Walz. And it was clearly part of Trump’s efforts to highlight that he answers questions, while Harris has not held a news conference. But I’ll just note that they limited the number of media organizations, and we, NPR, were not allowed in.

FADEL: Broke the world is quite the charge there. Now, Trump’s messaging has been dominated by personal attacks on Harris. But policy is where Republicans think they have the upper hand, especially on the economy. Is Trump sticking to that message?

ORDOÑEZ: I mean, yeah. I mean, allies like former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have urged him to stop the insults and stick to the script. Here’s Trump’s former adviser, Kellyanne Conway, actually speaking on Fox Business about that.

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KELLYANNE CONWAY: The winning formula for President Trump is very plain to see – it’s fewer insults, more insights and that policy contrast.

ORDOÑEZ: I will note that yesterday, at least for the beginning of the press conference, he did largely stick to the script – food prices, inflation, credit card debt.

FADEL: So the beginning – how long did that last?

ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, he read from the script for about 45 minutes before taking questions. And then it really got off track. I mean, he was asked about this, and he said he was angry.

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TRUMP: I think I’m entitled to personal attacks. I don’t have a lot of respect for her. I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she’ll be a terrible president. And I think it’s very important that we win. And whether the personal attacks are good, bad – I mean, she certainly attacks me personally. She actually called me weird. He’s weird.

ORDOÑEZ: I mean, it’s clear that that weird label that Democrats have put on him has got under his skin.

FADEL: Yeah. And he repeats again there that Harris isn’t smart. She holds a degree from Howard, went to UC Law San Francisco, was a prosecutor and attorney general.

ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, while Republicans are telling him to tone down these personal attacks, I mean, he says he’s the candidate, and he has to do it his own way.

FADEL: Harris has really benefited from jumping into the race late in the game, and she’s expected to get another bump in public opinion during next week’s Democratic National Convention, as candidates often do. What is Trump’s challenge there?

ORDOÑEZ: I mean, it’s really a race to define her. I mean, yes, she’s the vice president and former senator of California. But outside of Washington and California, a lot of people really just don’t know much about her. And Trump said this yesterday and noted their strategy is to paint her as a California liberal. I mean, the campaign is working on this as well – the Harris campaign – which is, of course, why so many of our listeners are seeing all these ads about her being a prosecutor.

FADEL: Right. And they also point out that Trump is a convicted felon.

ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, there is going to be so much attention on the Democratic convention – a lot of celebrities and former presidents. Trump allies tell me they’re going to be working very hard to steal as much of the spotlight from Harris. Trump will be out holding rallies. I mean, you can expect a lot – a lot – of counterprogramming each day.

FADEL: That’s White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thank you, Franco.

ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Leila.

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