On Thursday, Trump met with the press at another open press conference, this time at his golf club in New Jersey. There, he took questions from the press at length and took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris, running mate Tim Walz — and, not least, President Joe Biden.

This is the latest in a series of numerous press conferences Trump has held in a short time.

– Trump is trying a bit desperately to regain the spotlight. That's what he's all about. His “trick” is always to attract media attention, American expert and professor at the Norwegian University of Applied Sciences Hjalmar Melde tells NTB.

He believes Trump’s problem is that Harris is beating him on his home turf. She’s making the most money, climbing the charts, and has the most ardent fans. Trump is confused, Milde says.

– Trump is lethargic. He is one-track and incapable of adapting or innovating. He says his media appearances have lost all newsworthiness.

Article continues below adArticle continues below ad

Is Harris being protected from interviews?

Harris and Biden held their first joint campaign appearances on Thursday, simultaneously, since Biden dropped out of the presidential race. At a local university in Largo, Maryland, outside Washington, the crowd was busy thanking Biden while cheers poured in for Harris.

“It's really softened up for Harris,” says Mildy. “She's become a much better candidate.”

While Trump meets with the press frequently, Harris has so far largely stuck to open campaign events. Milde believes Harris’s media-protection is a bad sign.

Article continues below adArticle continues below ad

“It’s a sign that her team thinks she won’t handle open-ended interviews well, but she can’t hide from them much anymore,” he says.

Nicknames given to Trump

At a campaign rally Thursday, Biden gave Democrats a nickname: Donald Dump.

Article continues below ad

– Isn't it a bit Trump-like with these titles?

– Tim Walz’s false joke about J.D. Vance and Biden’s scoop kick doesn’t mesh well with all their talk about raising the tone of political debate. That, too, is Trump’s legacy to American politics. Milde says he helped demean political debate, and others are following suit.

Even if Democrats are right, Milde thinks that could be somewhat misleading. Republicans and Trump tend to be in a much better position in crucial swing states than the polls suggest.

– I think this is a 50-50 race. But clearly any candidate is going to be in Harris's position and not Trump's position right now in general.