Earlier this month, Republican nominee Donald Trump was seen in high spirits while golfing at his New Jersey club, but later in the day, he appeared uninterested during a press conference and somber at a reception with major donor Miriam Adelson. He even considered ignoring the Democratic National Convention and skipping campaigning for a while, allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to take the spotlight unchallenged.
According to several former aides who have worked with Trump for years, he has always preferred a lighter schedule in August when his family visits Bedminster, where he typically spends most days golfing.
However, aides were concerned that he might spend the convention week merely watching the event each night, becoming agitated, and then golfing all day, brooding, according to individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity about private discussions. Additionally, Trump had grown frustrated with media coverage portraying him as less hardworking than his opponent, one person familiar with his thoughts said.
In response, the campaign organized a series of events last week aimed at countering the Democratic convention and securing media coverage. This strategy, similar to what other campaigns have done in the past, also served to keep Trump occupied.
Despite this, Trump often seemed hesitant. He frequently strayed from the policy themes assigned to each day’s events—an effort to keep him focused on poll-tested messages rather than his instinctual combative rhetoric—highlighting his ongoing difficulty in finding his footing in a shifting race.
“The stakes for Trump this election are arguably the highest they’ve ever been. His criminal cases don’t go away if he loses. Yet he seems to be phoning it in, running a remarkably low-energy, undisciplined campaign,” said Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former White House spokeswoman who resigned after Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “From spending days off the campaign trail golfing to coming up with frankly weak nicknames like ‘Kamabala,’ it feels like he’s lost his mojo.”
By Friday, however, Trump managed to energize a crowd in a packed 20,000-seat arena in Glendale, Arizona, the same venue that Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, had filled a few weeks prior. He polled the audience on the nickname he finally settled on for Harris (“Comrade Kamala”) after several attempts, while sarcastically referring to his advisers as “my geniuses.”
“President Trump has maintained a robust schedule since his announcement in November 2022,” said spokesman Steven Cheung. “He spent the entire week discussing substantive policy, something that Kamala Harris either refuses to do or is unable to do.”
A campaign insider noted that Trump dislikes delivering issue-focused speeches that don’t entertain his live audience. During an event at the southern border on Thursday, Trump’s opening remarks targeted not Harris’s immigration policies but the Democrats’ decision to replace President Joe Biden with Harris at the top of the ticket.
Cheung added that Trump “connects with voters through a wide range of events—from massive rallies to more policy-oriented appearances,” always communicating “his vision for America.”
While speaking to reporters at an economic-themed campaign event in Las Vegas on Friday, Trump falsely claimed that Harris had not mentioned the border and mocked her for repeatedly thanking the audience before delivering her acceptance speech at the convention.
When asked if the change in Democratic candidates had thrown him off, Trump responded, “No, I think we’re doing great.” He then went on to complain about how “unfair” the change was.
“I spent $100 million fighting against a man who won their party’s nomination, and we had a debate that went well for me,” he said. “Then suddenly, they remove him and put someone new in who never received a single vote.”
Trump has openly acknowledged the challenge of defining Harris, saying his aim is to portray her as a “communist.” His frustration with his advisers became evident on Wednesday when he mocked them for urging him to focus on politics instead of personal insults. He then polled the audience on which they preferred, and when they unsurprisingly cheered louder for personal attacks, Trump quipped, “My advisers are fired.”
While he hasn’t actually fired anyone, Trump did bring back several former advisers earlier this month, including 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former spokesman-turned-super PAC leader Taylor Budowich. On Thursday’s trip to the border, Trump was accompanied by Stephen Miller, his White House speechwriter and immigration hardliner, who has rarely appeared at campaign events this cycle.
Amid concerns about the campaign’s direction, some Trump allies have started addressing various issues. For instance, his friend Steve Witkoff helped mediate a truce with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whom Trump had heavily criticized during a rally in Atlanta this month. On Thursday, Trump watched Kemp speak favorably about him in a Fox News interview and responded with a conciliatory social media post.
At the Glendale rally, hosted by the pro-Trump group Turning Point Action, Trump received an endorsement from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who had suspended his independent presidential bid earlier that day, earning a standing ovation from the crowd. Trump is also hoping to announce an endorsement soon from Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii.
Trump attempted to overshadow Harris’s acceptance speech by live-blogging his reactions on Truth Social, responding with insults, deflections, and nonsequiturs. He then called into both Fox News and Newsmax to continue his attacks.
“Donald Trump immediately melted down and hasn’t recovered since,” said Sarafina Chitika, spokeswoman for Harris-Walz. “Voters are witnessing an unhinged and unserious man ranting on Truth Social, raving on Fox News, and holding bizarre rallies where he rambles for hours about his own problems and throws out strange and dangerous ideas.”
Trump’s campaign closely monitored mentions of his name during the Democratic convention, attempting to portray the Democratic Party as more focused on attacking him than on policy issues. Across numerous mentions, convention speakers labeled Trump as a narcissist, a criminal, a charlatan, and a race-baiter in fiery speeches, suggesting that he remains the unifying target for the Democratic Party.
Most of his allies offered a minimal defense of his character. There was no rapid response team to counter Democratic criticism that he incited a riot at the U.S. Capitol, paid hush money to an adult film actress, or was found liable for sexual abuse. Instead, surrogates and aides attacked Harris and Walz for not addressing Republican policy priorities and created a website portraying Harris’s policy record in a negative light.
“They’re focused on Trump rather than on border security, inflation, or public safety,” Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes told reporters on Tuesday in Chicago. “It’s clear their convention is centered on who they’re running against, not on what they’re running for.”
Standing alongside Hughes, with large posters behind them highlighting crimes in major cities, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) derided the convention’s optimistic message inside Trump’s luxurious hotel. “Joy and vibes won’t put food on the table,” he said. “Take your joy to the mullahs in Iran and see what happens to you.”
In the coming week, Trump is scheduled to visit Michigan, hold a town hall in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and host a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, before heading to Washington for the Moms for Liberty summit. Meanwhile, Harris and Walz will spend Wednesday and Thursday on a bus tour of Georgia, followed by a Thursday evening rally in the Savannah area.
