Trump looks to sharpen his edge on the economy in battleground North Carolina

• Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is set to paint a bleak picture of the U.S. economy and blame it on the policies of his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
• The speech comes as Trump works to retool his campaign after President Joe Biden withdrew his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his replacement.
• While the race has tightened, Trump still maintains his longstanding advantage over Democrats when it comes to which candidate voters believe would be best for the economy.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump will paint a bleak picture of the U.S. economy in a speech Wednesday and blame it on the administration of his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

"It's basically a speech on what's going on with our economy. It's gotten very bad under this group of people, with inflation, with the economy itself and so many other things," Trump told reporters ahead of the speech, scheduled for 4 p.m. ET in Asheville, North Carolina.

The speech comes as Trump works to retool his campaign after President Joe Biden withdrew his reelection bid and endorsed Harris in late July.

As Harris has shot up in the polls, the solid lead Trump had over Biden has evaporated. But Trump still maintains his longstanding advantage over Democrats when it comes to which candidate voters believe would be best for the economy.

Earlier in the day, the Labor Department reported that the annual inflation rate had slowed in July to 2.9% year over year, its lowest level since 2021.

Trump's political fortunes have benefited greatly over the past three years from the high inflation and high interest rates that have squeezed consumers. Polls show that a majority of voters believe the U.S. economy is in