Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during his campaign event, in Racine, Wisconsin, United States, June 18, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday gave a brief overview of the ammunition he is loading against President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy, ahead of next week’s first presidential debate.
Throughout his roughly 80-minute speech at a conference by the evangelical advocacy group Faith and Freedom Coalition, Trump launched a series of attacks on Biden, including on economic issues such as inflation, spending in climate infrastructure and the growing federal deficit.
Regarding inflation in particular, Trump foreshadowed a tactic he might use in the upcoming debate against Biden on June 27.
“I kind of have this little thing. I shouldn’t show it. Maybe I should save it for the debate,” Trump said moments before pulling out a miniature box of Tic Tac candy and holding up a normal size box next to it.
“Inflation, that’s what it does to you. It’s Tic Tacs now,” Trump continued, pointing to the miniature box as the crowd burst into laughter. “That’s what inflation has done. I’m glad everyone in this room has good eyes. But I will end Biden’s inflation nightmare.”
Trump’s Tic Tac demonstration represents a phenomenon that Biden himself has referred to as “shrinkage,” the practice of selling smaller sized items at the same price. The White House has used “Shrinkflation” to attack companies it says are artificially keeping consumer prices high.
But something like Trump’s Tic Tac move won’t be allowed at Thursday’s debate, where props and pre-written notes are banned. Ultimately, this underscores how Trump will have to contend with the limits of debate over the kinds of theater that resonate at his campaign rallies.
The televised debate should not have an in-person audience and microphones that mute when a candidate does not speak. These restrictions are intended to limit disruptions in hopes of avoiding a repeat of the 2020 debates, when Biden and Trump struggled to make their voices heard in the face of each other’s interruption.
Trump’s remarks Saturday give the Biden campaign a high-level preview of the talking points that could come up in Thursday’s showdown as the two candidates prepare to take on the other.
“Under Biden, the economy is in shambles,” Trump said Saturday.
“Trump’s incoherent and unhinged tirade showed voters, in his own words, that he is a threat to our freedoms and too dangerous to be allowed near the White House again,” said Biden-Harris 2024 spokesperson Sarafina Chitika in a statement responding to Trump’s intervention Saturday. speech.
The former president’s economic agenda has thus far centered on tough tariffs on all imports, pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and extend its first-term tax cuts . Economists expect the proposals to heat up inflation if they take effect.
On Saturday, Trump also doubled down on his proposal to eliminate taxes on tipped income and walked back his earlier comments about cutting Social Security.
“As president, I will not cut a dime from Social Security or Medicare,” Trump said, months after saying he would consider cutting Social Security in an interview on “Squawk Box ” from CNBC.
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