"The Olympics of Lies": Absurd theories, new doubts - Donald Trump staggers in the election campaign against Harris

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger "The Olympics of Lies": Absurd theories, new doubts - Donald Trump staggers in the election campaign against Harris Article by David Schmitz • 19 hours • 4 minutes reading time Former US President Donald Trump is facing sharp criticism again - for several reasons. Trump initially caused a lot of backlash with a press conference last week. Not only in Kamala Harris' camp, but also in many US media, there was talk of a "meltdown" of the Republican - and the criticism of the appearance is not abating. Trump has spread more than 160 lies or distortions, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg told US broadcaster CNN. "It's really impressive how you can do that physically. It's like an Olympics of lies," added the Democrat. Report: Donald Trump is said to have called Kamala Harris a "bitch" In fact, Trump had spread numerous untruths during his appearance - and personally attacked Kamala Harris, which had already caused sharp criticism from within her own party. Trump's sometimes insulting words about his rival - most recently he claimed that Harris had a "low IQ" and was "not smart enough to hold a press conference" - seem to be even harsher away from the public eye. Trump has called Harris a "bitch" several times in private conversations, insiders told the NEW YORK TIMES. Trump would not use such words, a spokesman for the Republican responded, the Times reported. Trump spreads absurd conspiracy theory about Harris' AI fake Even before the latest uproar, criticism of Trump's lack of discipline had already been voiced within the Republican Party - several party strategists criticized the presidential candidate's personal attacks on Harris in a conversation with Politico. However, this does not seem to have caused Trump to change his mind. On Sunday, the former president finally spread a solid conspiracy theory on his social network Truth Social, claiming that Harris' team had used artificial intelligence to alter images of a crowd during the Democrat's visit to Michigan. Donald Trump: "There was no one on the plane" "Did anyone notice that Kamala cheated at the airport?" Trump asked, using an angry choice of words. "There was no one on the plane," the Republican claimed. Harris had subsequently retouched the crowds into the image. Trump's wild conspiracy tirade culminated in the demand that the Democrat should be taken out of the race for "election interference." According to Donald Trump, the people never existed. Kamala Harris retouched them into the image of the airport in Detroit using AI, the Republican claims in his latest conspiracy theory. There is no truth in the claim. Once again, there is no truth in Trump's statements. Several US media outlets that were on site when Harris arrived in Michigan confirmed that several thousand people had actually gathered to greet the Democrat on her campaign visit. Various videos and photos also serve as evidence of this. Donald Trump: Repeated lies about audience numbers The fact that Harris has attracted more people to her campaign appearances in recent weeks has not, however, led Trump to lie for the first time. At the much-criticized press conference last week, he had already spread some absurd untruths about his audience numbers. Trump went so far as to claim that he had as large an audience for his speech before the storming of the US Capitol in January 2021 as the famous US civil rights activist Martin Luther King had for his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. Like Trump's most recent claim, this too had nothing to do with reality. The Republican's words were "absolutely wrong," even Bernice King, Martin Luther King's daughter, finally declared. Stephen King can't believe it - Harris taunts: "No energy?" Trump's latest conspiracy theory spread like wildfire on social media on Sunday - accompanied by ridicule, malice and horror. "Is this real?" asked writer Stephen King on the social network X. "If so, then Trump has really lost his mind." The Harris camp also spoke up. "This is a real photo of a 15,000-strong crowd at Harris's rally in Michigan," the Democrats initially commented on the photo shared by Trump on X - and then taunted the Republican. "Trump still hasn't campaigned in a swing state for over a week... no energy?" wrote the Democrats - alluding to Trump's days of disappearance the previous week.