Maroc - RAWSTORY.COM - Raw Story - 09/Aug 20:02

Trump team hits Harris over 70-second media Q-and-A: 'awkward and meandering'

Donald Trump's campaign lashed out at a "meandering" minute-long media conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris — on the heels of a press conference from the former president that's now raising concerns about his mental health. Team Trump posted to Truth Social Friday afternoon an attack statement targeting Harris' conversation with journalists on the tarmac in Michigan on Thursday. "In an awkward and meandering 70 second gaggle on the tarmac," the statement reads, "Kamala stated she had to 'talk to her team' to schedule a press interview 'by the end of the month.'" On Thursday, Harris fielded a question about Trump's running mate Sen. J.D. Vance's (R-OH) attacks on her running mate Gov. Tim Walz's service with the National Guard. ALSO READ: Tim Walz's personal finances are extraordinarily boring — and that may help Harris "Listen," replied Harris, "I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country, and I think that we all should." "Why would anyone need three weeks to prepare for an interview with a friendly outlet that will throw her softball questions?" asks the statement, which bears no individual's name but comes from the campaign. The statement came a day after Trump hosted his press conference for a select group of journalists in his Florida social club and gave several problematic answers. Those answers include an apparently false claim that Trump took a perilous helicopter ride with ex-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. When asked about the California politician's relationship with Harris three decades ago, Trump replied: “I know Willie Brown very well. In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this is the end. We were in a helicopter, going to a certain location together, and there was an emergency landing. This was not a pleasant landing. And Willie was — he was a little concerned. So I know — I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven’t seen him in years. But he told me terrible things about her. But this is what you're telling me anyway, I guess. But he had a big part with what happened with Kamala. But he, I don't know, maybe he's changed his tune, but he was not a fan of hers, very much, at that point.” Brown has called the answer "creative fiction" and the New York Times later reported it "didn't happen." Now far-right pundits are casting blame on Trump campaign staffers they say should be removed to prevent a "catastrophic" loss in November. But Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani, says campaign staffers are casting blame in a different direction. "There are major concerns within the Trump campaign about his mental health and decline following his recent press conference," Parnas wrote Friday. "Sources within the Trump campaign expressing serious concerns."