Trump’s Message: Prices (Plus Gangs, A.I. and ‘Bird Cemeteries’)

He was supposed to be talking about Country Crock.

It was Thursday afternoon, and former President Donald J. Trump was standing outside the clubhouse at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J. Behind him was a bunch of butter substitute, milk, eggs and various other groceries that had been laid out across two gold-topped tables with little white signs bearing all sorts of statistics and upward-shooting arrows that detailed the “Price Increase Since Kamala Harris Took Office.”

The day before, the Consumer Price Index report had been released, and Vice President Harris made plans to unveil her own economic agenda on Friday. So the Trump campaign threw together this news conference to get out ahead of her, to remind voters about inflation and Mr. Trump’s economic record. It came at a time when many of his allies were begging him to focus on a winning message.

But he appeared to get bored with the grocery talk after a few minutes. And so, there he stood, beside the Fruit Loops and the Wheaties and the Lunchables and the Folgers and the Oreos and the Wonder Bread, talking about MS-13 gang members and Elon Musk and communism and artificial intelligence and John Kerry and windmills and “bird cemeteries” and diesel fuel and Bagram airport and Viktor Orban and the homicide rate in Chicago.

After 45 minutes, Mr. Trump, who has described himself as a bacon-and-eggs guy, glanced down at the food and seemed to remember why he was standing out there in the first place. “I haven’t seen Cheerios in a long time,” he said. “I’m going to take them back with me.”

This was a news conference about the economy in set design only.

“This is a rally,” said Edward X. Young, a Trump supporter who said he’s been to 82 rallies and turned up to Bedminster