Former President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he believes he is “entitled to launch personal attacks” on his Democratic rival, adding that he is “very angry” with Vice President Kamala Harris and questions her intelligence.

Trump was asked during a press conference whether his campaign needed more discipline as it faces an active Democratic ticket since Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the party's presidential nominee.

Trump said at his golf club in New Jersey, where he invited reporters in an effort to weigh down Katherine with Biden's unpopular economic record: “As for personal attacks, I am very angry with her for what she has done to the country. I am very angry with her because she used the justice system as a weapon against me and others, and I am very angry with her, ‘I think I am entitled to personal attacks’.”

He added: “I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she would be a terrible president.”

There is no evidence that Biden or Harris used the criminal justice system to target Trump, who has vowed to respond with criminal investigations into Biden and his relatives if he wins.

Trump also objected to Democrats referring to him and his fellow candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, as “weird.” He said that Harris is “weird in her policies.”

Trump stuck to his written economic message for more than half an hour, reading from a file in front of him during a press conference at his golf club in New Jersey. Later, he veered into familiar stories that he enjoys recounting at his rallies. The day before, he had struggled to make a sustainable case for his economic policies during a meandering campaign speech that was intended as a major political address.

Trump told reporters: “Kamala Harris is an extreme liberal from California who shattered the economy, shattered the borders, and frankly shattered the world.”

Trump was surrounded by popular grocery items, including instant coffee, sugary breakfast cereals, and pastries, placed on tables as he highlighted the cost of everything from food to car insurance to housing. Signs showed increases in the prices of basic food items.

At one point, while he was talking about the 2020 election he lost, he noticed a box of cereal.

Trump said: “I haven’t seen Cheerios in a long time. I’ll take it back to my cabin.”

When he turned to go back inside, Trump did not respond to questions shouted at him about the last time he went shopping.

This event came one day after the Labor Department announced that inflation year-over-year had reached its lowest level in more than three years in July - the latest sign that the worst price surge in four decades is fading.

But consumers are still feeling the effects of rising prices - an aspect that Trump’s campaign is relying on to energize voters this fall.

A new poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that Americans are more likely to trust Trump over Harris when it comes to handling the economy and immigration, issues that are central to his case for returning to the White House.

Harris plans to deliver her own economic policy speech on Friday in North Carolina, promising to push for a federal ban on price increases for groceries.

Trump predicted that he would outperform Harris by more than he would have over Biden “once she is revealed.”

Trump said: “People don’t know who she is.”

A small crowd of Trump supporters watched his press conference from the periphery, occasionally cheering for him. But in the absence of a crowd of thousands to appease him with red meat attacks on his opponents, Trump stuck to his prepared statements.

Trump continued to hurl insults at Harris and Biden at an evening event dedicated to Jewish voters, where he was introduced by major Republican donor Miriam Adelson to an audience that included a Holocaust survivor.

Hours before the press conference, Trump campaign leaders announced they were expanding their staff, bringing in a number of former aides and outside advisors officially to the fold. Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Brusewitz, and Tim Murtaugh will advise the campaign’s senior leadership.

Lewandowski was Trump’s first campaign manager during his 2016 campaign. Budowich and Pfeiffer are transferring from MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump political action committee. Brusewitz produces pro-Trump content for a large following on social media. Murtaugh was the communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign.