Trump zigzags between economic remarks and personal insults at rally in critical Pennsylvania

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday repeatedly swerved from a message focused on the economy into non sequiturs and personal attacks including thrice declaring that he was better looking than Vice President Kamala HarrisTrump wound back and forth between hitting his points on economic policy and delivering a smattering of insults and impressions of President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron as he held a rally in northeastern PennsylvaniaThe former president has seemed to struggle to adjust to his new opponent after Democrats replaced their nominee Over the past week he has diverged during campaign appearances away from the policies he was billed to speak about and instead diverted to a rotation of familiar attack lines and insultsAs he attacked Democrats for inflation at the top of his speech Trump asked his crowd of supporters You dont mind if I go off teleprompter for a second do you Joe Biden hates herJoseph Costello a spokesperson for the Harris campaign responded to Trump in a statement by saying Another rally same old show and that Trump resorts to lies namecalling and confused rants because he cant sell his agendaThe more Americans hear Trump speak the clearer the choice this November Vice President Harris is unifying voters with her positive vision to protect our freedoms build up the middle class and move America forward and Donald Trump is trying to take us backwards Costello saidTrumps rally in WilkesBarre was in a swath of a pivotal battleground state where he hopes conservative white workingclass voters near Bidens hometown of Scranton will boost the Republicans chances of winning back the White HouseHis remarks Saturday came as Democrats prepare for their fourday national convention that kicks off Monday in Chicago and will mark the partys welcoming of Harris as their nominee Her replacement of Biden less than four months before the November election has reinvigorated Democrats and their coalition It has also presented a new challenge for TrumpTrump hammered Harris on the economy associating her with the Biden administrations inflation woes and likening her latest proposal against price gouging to measures in communist nations Trump has said a federal ban on price gouging for groceries would lead to food shortages rationing and hunger On Saturday asked why she hadnt worked to solve prices when she and Biden were sworn into office in 2021Day one for Kamala was three and a half years ago So why didnt she do it then So this is day 1305 Trump saidTo address high prices Trump said he would sign an executive order on his first day sworn in as president directing every cabinet secretary and agency head to use every power we have to drive prices down but were going to drive them down in a capitalist way not in a communist way he saidHe predicted financial ruin for the country and Pennsylvania in particular if Harris wins citing her past opposition to fracking an oil and gas extraction process commonly used in the state Her campaign has tried to soften her stance on fracking saying she would not ban it even though that was her position when she was seeking the 2020 presidential nominationYour states going to be ruined anyway Shes totally antifracking Trump said But he also meandered going from ripping the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 to doing impressions of Macrons French accentTrump laced in attacks on Harris laugh and said she was not a very good wordsmith and mocked the names of the CNN anchors who moderated the debate he had with Biden in JuneWhen he began musing on Harris recent image on the cover of Time magazine he commented on the pictures resemblance to classic Hollywood icons Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor and then took issue with a Wall Street Journal columnist remarking earlier this month on Harris beautyI am much better looking than her Trump said drawing laughs from the crowd Im a better looking person than KamalaHe also took issue with the way his style is typically portrayed in news reportsThey will say hes rambling I dont ramble Im a really smart guy he saidTrumps Saturday rally was his fifth at the arena in WilkesBarre the largest city in Luzerne County where he has had victories in the past two elections Biden bested Trump in neighboring Lackawanna County where the Democrat has long promoted his workingclass roots in ScrantonOn Sunday Harris plans a bus tour starting in Pittsburgh with a stop in Rochester a small town to the north Trump has scheduled a visit Monday to a plant that manufactures nuclear fuel containers in York Trumps running mate JD Vance is expected to be in Philadelphia that daySome of Bidens loyal supporters in Scranton a former industrial city of 76000 were upset to see party leaders put pressure on the president to step asideDiane Munley 63 says she called dozens of members of Congress to vouch for Biden Munley eventually came to terms with Bidens decision and is now very supportive of HarrisI cant deny the enthusiasm thats been going on with this ticket right now I am so into it Munley said It just wasnt happening with Joe and I couldnt see it at the time because I was so connected to himRobert A Bridy 64 a labourer from Shamokin Pennsylvania travelled on Saturday to the rally to show support for Trump He said the election feels tight in this state and added that his union and a close friend are trying to convince him to vote for Harris and other Democrats but he has voted for Trump since 2016Bridy called Trump a working class guy like us Trump is a billionaire who built his fortune in real estateHes a fighter Bridy said Id like to see the closed borders He doesnt mess around He goes at it right away and takes care of business the way it should be