{"id":2338009,"date":"2024-09-06T15:46:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T19:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-takeaways-from-trumps-pre-debate-press-conference-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-06T15:48:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T19:48:16","slug":"four-takeaways-from-trumps-pre-debate-press-conference-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-takeaways-from-trumps-pre-debate-press-conference-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Four takeaways from Trump&#8217;s pre-debate press conference &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffour-takeaways-from-trumps-pre-debate-press-conference-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2338009&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former President Donald\u2062 Trump held a press conference \u200cat Trump Tower in New York City where he addressed reporters following a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trump-indicted-biden-says-hes-not-following-trumps-third-arrest\/\" title=\"Trump indicted; Biden won&#039;t follow his third arrest.\">court appearance related<\/a>\u200b to a civil sexual \u200cabuse and defamation case brought \u2064against him by columnist E. Jean Carroll. During the nearly hour-long session, Trump criticized the justice \u200csystem, specifically\u200d calling it biased against him, \u2063and expressed discontent with his legal\u2063 team&#8217;s performance. He dismissed allegations from E. Jean Carroll and other accusers, \u200cclaiming they were fabricated and came from unreliable \u2062witnesses.\u200d Trump also shared his thoughts on the upcoming \u200cdebate with\u200b Vice President Kamala Harris, expressing a pessimistic view regarding the media&#8217;s treatment \u2064of him. He characterized the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-responds-to-question-about-running-for-speaker-at-courthouse-whatever-i-can-do-to-help\/\" title=\"Trump&#039;s response to question about running for Speaker at courthouse: &#039;I&#039;ll do whatever I can to help.&#039;\">current legal issues<\/a> he faces as \u200cunprecedented in American \u2063history, equating them to practices seen in &#8220;banana republics.&#8221; he used the press conference \u200cto blend his ongoing courtroom struggles with his 2024 campaign narrative, portraying himself as a victim of a corrupt system.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Four takeaways from Trump&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-debate-democrats-hit-gop-hard-over-the-issue-of-abortion-in-milwaukee\/\" title=\"Democrats in Milwaukee strongly criticize Republicans during the Republican debate for their stance on abortion.\">pre-debate press conference<\/a><\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1755088\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a> invited reporters and TV crews to Trump Tower in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>New York City<\/a> on Friday under the pretense that he would answer questions after appearing in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/manhattan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Manhattan<\/a> court.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>But his latest attempt to merge his courtroom drama and his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>2024 campaign<\/a> was an almost hourlong monologue in which he criticized his treatment by the justice system and raised his own questions regarding whether he would be treated fairly during next week&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/debates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>debate<\/a> against Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Kamala Harris<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Here are four takeaways from Trump&rsquo;s press conference:<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Trump criticized E Jean Carroll and Jessica Leeds<\/h2>\n<p>After Trump voluntarily appeared in court Friday for the oral arguments of his appeal of the $5 million verdict in the civil <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sexual-misconduct\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>sexual abuse<\/a> and defamation case brought against him by columnist E. Jean Carroll, the former president criticized a character witness, Jessica Leeds, who alleges she was similarly assaulted by Trump.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I know you&rsquo;re going to say it&rsquo;s a terrible thing to say, but it couldn&rsquo;t have happened, it didn&rsquo;t happen, and she would not have been the chosen one,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now, I assume she is going to sue me for defamation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Leeds claims Trump abused her on an airplane in the 1980s and testified during the Carroll trial to help establish a pattern of behavior by the former president.<\/p>\n<p>After not remembering the name of another accuser, Natasha Stoynoff, Trump downplayed the possibility he would have abused Carroll in the 1990s because he &ldquo;would&rsquo;ve had no interest in meeting her in any way, shape, or form.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Even if that were not the case, Trump remained adamant he had never met Carroll, dismissing a group photo that included the pair by saying that he does not think &ldquo;that counts.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She made up a story, fabricated 100%, that I attacked her at Bergdorf Goodman,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Her favorite show is <em>Law &amp; Order<\/em>. And there&rsquo;s almost an exact story as her story in <em>Law &amp; Order <\/em>about being attacked in the dressing room of a department store.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">Carroll&rsquo;s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, when asked by the&nbsp;<em>New York Times<\/em>&nbsp;about the possibility of a new defamation lawsuit, said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said before, and I&rsquo;ll say it again: all options are on the table.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">  https:\/\/twitter.com\/maggieNYT\/status\/1832091160787222560 <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Trump also criticized his own legal team &mdash; and the justice system<\/h2>\n<p>Standing in front of his lawyers, Trump did not hide his disappointment with their performance, particularly with the decision for him not to appear in court during his first trial with Carroll. Trump did appear in court during his second trial with the columnist.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m disappointed in my legal talent, I&rsquo;ll be honest with you,&rdquo; he said. <\/p>\n<p>Moments later, Trump&rsquo;s attorney, Alina Habba, switched places with the former president at the microphones to encourage the public to vote for him in November.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You must vote Donald Trump back in because as an attorney, as a woman, as a mother, the future of this country depends on it,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/justice-department\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>DOJ<\/a> is supposed to help our country, not attack us because you cannot win in the polls.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Although he did criticize last month&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/unemployment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>job numbers<\/a>, Trump spent more time scrutinizing the justice system.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is the weaponization of justice at a level that nobody&rsquo;s ever seen before in this country,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You see it in third world countries, you see it in banana republics, but you don&rsquo;t see it in the United States of America, and it&rsquo;s a very sad thing. And I think I&rsquo;m doing a great service by having gone through it and revealing it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Trump downplayed his debate expectations<\/h2>\n<p>Using a similar strategy to his campaign&rsquo;s tactics before his first debate against President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cnn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>CNN<\/a>, Trump took the opportunity to criticize <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>ABC<\/a> before next week&rsquo;s debate against his new Democratic opponent, Harris.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going into very hostile territory shortly in a debate with ABC,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;George Slopodopoulos and that group. ABC, I think, is the worst of everybody. I think they&rsquo;re the worst. They are the nastiest. As bad as you can be.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump alluded to ABC anchor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/george-stephanopoulos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>George Stephanopoulos<\/a>, who will not moderate the debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday. ABC hosts Linsey Davis and David&nbsp;Muir will be behind the moderators&rsquo; desk instead.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s expectations game has been muddled by his own criticism of Harris as &ldquo;dumb&nbsp;as a&nbsp;rock,&rdquo; last week describing her as &ldquo;deficient.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Trump&rsquo;s press conference became a press statement<\/h2>\n<p>The Trump campaign billed Friday&rsquo;s press availability as a press conference, but it became a press statement after the former president departed Trump Tower&rsquo;s lobby after 50 minutes without answering any questions.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The public understands it&rsquo;s a hoax. It&rsquo;s a scam. It&rsquo;s a political witch hunt. And some of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Thank you very much, everybody,&rdquo; he said before leaving.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Trump and his running mate, Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>J.D Vance<\/a> (R-OH), have been criticizing Harris for not taking questions from reporters, comparing her more tentative media strategy to their more free-wheeling approach to news and other outlets.<\/p>\n<p>While defending their candidate, Harris&rsquo;s campaign underscored that Trump undermines himself in most of his public appearances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1755088\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1755088\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>**Key Points from Trump&#8217;s Pre-Debate Press Conference**<\/p>\n<p>Former President Donald Trump hosted a press event at Trump Tower in New York City on Friday, claiming he would take questions following his court appearance in Manhattan. However, the session turned into a nearly hour-long speech where he criticized the justice system and expressed concerns about receiving fair treatment in the upcoming debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. Here are four main points from his press conference:<\/p>\n<p>1. **Criticism of E. Jean Carroll and Jessica Leeds**<br \/>\nAfter attending court for his appeal regarding a $5 million verdict related to E. Jean Carroll&#8217;s civil sexual abuse and defamation case, Trump targeted character witness Jessica Leeds, who has accused him of similar misconduct. He stated, \u201cIt couldn\u2019t have happened&#8230; she would not have been the chosen one,\u201d suggesting that she might sue him for defamation next. He also dismissed claims made by another accuser, Natasha Stoynoff, and insisted he had never met Carroll despite a photo that included both of them.<\/p>\n<p>2. **Disappointment with His Legal Team**<br \/>\nTrump expressed dissatisfaction with his legal representation during the press conference while standing alongside them. He specifically criticized their decision for him not to attend court during an earlier trial involving Carroll but noted he did appear during a subsequent trial.<\/p>\n<p>3. **Low Expectations for the Debate**<br \/>\nIn preparation for his debate against Harris, Trump took aim at ABC News before the event, labeling it as &#8220;hostile territory.&#8221; He referred to ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos (who will not be moderating) as part of what he considers an unfavorable media landscape.<\/p>\n<p>4. **Press Conference Turned Statement**<br \/>\nAlthough billed as a press conference, Trump&#8217;s event concluded after 50 minutes without any questions being taken from reporters; instead, it became more of a statement where he reiterated claims about political witch hunts against him before leaving abruptly.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&#8217;s campaign has been critical of Harris\u2019s media strategy compared to their own more open approach while also suggesting that many public appearances undermine her effectiveness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2338010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/trump-new-york-carroll-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[40323,32818,10191,3634,32076],"class_list":["post-2338009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-pre-debate","tag-press-conference","tag-takeaways","tag-trump","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/trump-new-york-carroll-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2338009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2338010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2338009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2338009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2338009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}