Shortly after appearing in court for an appeal of a decision that found him liable for sexual abuse, Donald Trump stepped in front of television cameras Friday and brought up a string of past allegations of other acts of sexual misconduct, potentially reminding voters of incidents that were little-known or forgotten.
The former president has made hitting back at opponents and accusers a centerpiece of his political identity, but his performance at his namesake Manhattan office tower was startling even by Trump’s combative standards.
At times, he seemed to relish using graphic language and characterizations of the case brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, which could expose the former president to further legal challenges from Carroll’s attorneys. His remarks were especially striking given that they came four days before Trump will debate Vice President Kamala Harris, with early voting about to begin in some parts of the country and Election Day just two months away.
Trump is doing his best to stay in the public eye while Harris prepares for the debate in private, meeting with her advisers in Pittsburgh. That’s a reflection of their divergent campaign styles, with Trump frequently engaging with reporters — albeit often in friendly settings — while Harris has done just one interview and no news conferences since taking President Joe Biden’s place atop the Democratic ticket.
His team had billed Friday’s appearance as a press conference and Trump repeatedly brought up Harris’ lack of news conferences. But Trump took no questions and instead talked about the cases against him for an hour while hardly mentioning any campaign issues.
“I’m running for president, and I have all these cases all of a sudden come,” he said. “And they’re fake cases.”
Trump’s campaign raised tens of millions of dollars off his previous indictments, convictions and appearances in court. But it’s unclear how focusing on his legal woes will help him now as he works to win over undecided voters — including independents and those on the fence in critical swing states, ahead of a critical debate on Tuesday that will likely draw tens of millions of viewers.
