WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump flubbed the name of Charlottesville, Virginia, while going off script during a speech on Tuesday otherwise focused on economic policy, slamming Vice President Kamala Harris for lying about “Charlottestown.”
The former president was talking about imposing tariffs and other steps he’d take to bolster U.S. manufacturing in Savannah, Georgia, when he veered off topic. He began arguing that he won the recent debate with Harris, despite GOP claims the moderators were against him.
“She didn’t say anything except lies, like bloodbath, like Charlottestown,” Trump said.
He didn’t acknowledge the error, but quickly added that he was “finishing this topic. Because they’ll say, ‘Oh, he fell into a trap” — when in fact, he’d already made a conspicuous mistake.
Trump was trying to refer to the deadly 2017 violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, between white supremacists and anti-racist protesters. Trump has faced years of criticism from Harris and other top Democrats when he blamed “both sides” for what occurred.
