ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — In a campaign stop billed as an economic address, former President Donald Trump honed in on his message … well, actually, he didn’t. Trump’s speech mixed promises to end inflation and cut energy prices with personal rants about Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival for president.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, took the stage at Asheville’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in front of about 2,400 people Wednesday.
In the first few minutes of his more than hourlong speech, Trump said he wasn’t sure the economy was the nation’s top issue.
“They say it’s the most important subject. I’m not sure it is. But they say it’s the most important. Inflation is the most important, but that’s part of the economy,” he said.
“A lot of people are very devastated by what’s happened with inflation and all of the other things. It’s very important. They say it’s the most important subject. I think crime is right there. I think the border is right there, personally,” he said. “We have a lot of important subjects because our country has become a third-world nation. We’re a Banana Republican in so many ways.”
Trump blamed Harris and President Joe Biden for “radical liberal policies” and “horrific inflation” that have “decimated the middle class” and “gutted the finances” of Americans. He said incomes would soar and savings would grow if he was returned to office.
The former president also expressed frustration over the vice president replacing Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket. He repeatedly went after Harris, questioning her intelligence and saying she has “the laugh of a crazy person.”
“She hasn’t done an interview. You know why she hasn’t done an interview? She’s not smart. She’s not intelligent,” Trump said.
When Trump switched to policy, the former president said he would end “job-killing regulations” and end restrictions on fossil fuels and investments in green energy.
He pledged to lower Americans’ energy costs by 50 to 70 percent within 12 to 18 months.
“If it doesn’t work out, you’ll say, ‘Oh well, I voted for him and he still got it down a lot,'” Trump said, hedging on his promise. “We’re looking to do it. We’re looking to cut them in half, and we think we’ll be able to do better, and every single thing that I promise, I produce every single time.”
Trump also took issue with how the United States is perceived by other countries.
“We’re disrespected all over the world. You were respected before,” Trump told the cheering crowd. “(Russian president Vladmir) Putin respected us. Xi (Jinping) of China respected us. Kim Jong Un of North Korea.”
Trump also pledged to lower vehicle insurance rates as well as housing costs.
“We will target everything from car affordability to housing affordability to insurance costs to supply chain issues. With the worst supply chain we’ve ever had in the history of the country to the price of prescription drugs, I will instruct my cabinet that I expect results within the first 100 days or much sooner. I would say the first seven days,” he said.
Trump also took aim at green energy and electric vehicles.
“There’s a great place for electric, but there’s a place for everything,” Trump said. “You should be able to go out and buy what you want.”
The former president said he would end taxes on Social Security.
“There will be no tax on social security,” he said. “I will always protect Social Security and Medicare for our great seniors just as I did before.”
He also pledged to increase deportation efforts.
“If I win, you will have the largest deportation operation in American history,” Trump said.