Former President Trump announces a short-term press conference at his estate
Former US President Donald Trump, who is facing rising poll numbers of his election rival Kamala Harris, has announced a sudden press conference for this Thursday. He will hold a "general press conference" at 14:00 local time (20:00 CEST) at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, as he announced on his Truth Social platform.
According to US media reports, the Republican presidential candidate has been increasingly annoyed by the boost for Vice President Harris. Since US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on July 21 and the Democratic Party united behind Harris as the new candidate, there has been a shift in the election campaign.
Harris has caught up with Biden's deficit against Trump in the polls and has now taken a slight lead over the Republican rival in several nationwide surveys. The momentum of the Harris campaign has increased since she appointed Tim Walz, the down-to-earth and witty governor of Minnesota, as her vice-presidential candidate on Tuesday.
The turnout at the first joint campaign appearances of Harris and Walz was enormous. The rally of the new duo on Tuesday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was attended by around 14,000 people, and in Detroit, Michigan, there were about 15,000 people on Wednesday, according to Harris' campaign team.
These large crowds are likely to annoy Trump, who likes to boast about the crowds at his own events. According to reports, Trump is also dissatisfied with his vice-presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, who has come under heavy criticism for his restrictive stance on abortion and previous derogatory remarks about childless women.**
Trump mentioned Harris during his announcement of the press conference, stating, "I look forward to discussing the upcoming election and my campaign with the media this Thursday at 14:00 local time."
The growing popularity of Harris has led to intensified competition between her and Trump, with one media outlet reporting, "Harris's latest poll numbers show a slender lead against Trump, surpassing Biden's deficit from earlier in the year."
