Donald Trump tore into the Biden administration's economic record Wednesday, just days before Kamala Harris unveils her plan for tackling living costs in her first major policy speech as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.

In a rambling address that was light on specifics, Trump claimed his Democratic rival would spark another Great Depression if elected and pledged that he would instead send wages soaring and "make America affordable again."  

"Under Kamala Harris and crooked Joe Biden, the American Dream is dead. You don't hear about the American Dream anymore -- it's dead," Trump said in Asheville, a liberal enclave in the crucial swing state of North Carolina.  

"Her radical liberal policies have caused horrific inflation, decimated the middle class and gutted the finances of millions and millions of American families."

Consumer inflation is one of the biggest issues of the campaign, but new government figures out Wednesday showed it easing to 2.9 percent in July -- its lowest since March 2021 -- cheering those calling for a cut in interest rates.

Trump conceded that inflation was "starting to maybe get under control" but also claimed that Harris "has crackled as the American economy has burned" -- possibly meaning "cackled," a word he has used to describe her laugh. 

Marginally more Americans trust Harris to handle the economy than Trump, according to one new University of Michigan poll, and she leads or ties the Republican in every battleground state except Nevada, according to the influential Cook Political Report.

'Not very smart'

The vice president replaced President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket last month, and has since been riding a tidal wave of enthusiasm, speaking to packed arenas and eclipsing Trump's polling leads -- leaving him scrambling to reset.

Republicans have been begging Trump to stick to the issues and refrain from resorting to personal insults, which according to polling turn off the moderate voters he needs to prevail in November.

But he ignored the advice, repeatedly mispronouncing Harris's name as he called her an "incompetent socialist lunatic" who is "not very smart" and has the "laugh of a crazy person." 

Large sections of Trump's speeches on the campaign stump have been untethered to reality, and there was a familiar feel to many of his fantastical claims in Asheville, including that that there was zero inflation when he left office and that he passed the largest tax cuts in history.

He also claimed falsely that he could not afford bacon, it's no longer possible to get car insurance, he rebuilt the US military, the pandemic-ravaged economy inherited by Biden was "a jewel," he had not moved to cut health insurance for seniors while in office, he invented referring to mass movements of people as "caravans," and that there was a new category of offense called "migrant crime."

"He lied. He rambled. He yelled," the Harris campaign said in a statement.

'Bigger, better and stronger'

When he focused on the economy, it was largely to assail Harris for policy positions that she has disavowed, although he did promise some good news of his own.

"Vote Trump and your incomes will soar, your savings will grow, young people will be able to afford a home," he said. "And we will bring back the American dream, bigger, better and stronger than ever before."

There was no detail on how he was going to achieve this, although he pledged to draft an executive order in his second term directing officials to "use every tool and authority at their disposal" to "defeat inflation."

Trump did make one solid policy commitment -- to reduce voters' energy costs by half within 12 months -- although this immediately became 18 months before Trump seemed to rescind the pledge.

"And if it doesn't work out, you'll say, 'Oh, well -- I voted for him,'" Trump said.

Harris is due to roll out a much-anticipated plan Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina to lower costs of health care, housing and groceries for middle-class families and take on corporate price gouging.

"Building up the middle class will be the defining goal of Vice President Harris's presidency," Harris campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

Source: AFP, by Peter Zay with Frankie Taggart in Washington