Donald Trump gave bad reviews to the Democratic convention Wednesday while disputing critiques of his own campaign.
The Republican nominee protested a lack of mentions about Islamic State terrorists, little talk about police officers getting killed, and a paucity of American flags at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia; he criticized Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for a "lack of loyalty" to ousted party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and claimed the Democrats offered no new ideas to lead the country.
"There's no change," Trump said in a news conference from his golf club in Miami. "It's going to be an extension of Obama."
Trump also protested what he called unfair media coverage and chided Clinton for not holding news conferences of her own.
As for attacks on him, Trump mocked Democratic complaints that Russia is behind the hack of Democratic National Committee emails that led to Schultz's removal, all in an effort to help Trump politically.
"It's just a total deflection, this whole thing with Russia," Trump said.
Trump said he knows nothing about the hack and suggested that Russia may not be responsible ("Nobody know who did it"). He added that whoever did the hack probably has emails that Clinton "lost" or deleted from the private account she maintained while at the State Department, the subject of a recent FBI investigation.
Democrats attending at the convention in Philadelphia said Trump has business interests with the Russians, another reason they are demanding he release his tax returns.
At his Miami news conference, Trump said he has business relationships with Russia or with leader Vladimir Putin, despite the latter's praise for the Republican candidate. He again refused to release his tax returns until after a federal audit of them is complete.
"I have nothing to do with Russia," Trump said repeatedly, his voice rising at some points.
Trump also bashed President Obama as "the most ignorant president in our history," and said that Clinton would be "worse."
Coming off his own convention last week in Cleveland, Trump has campaigned throughout the Democratic conclave in Philadelphia. After appearances earlier this week in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, Trump stumps later Wednesday in two key industrial states: Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The feelings between Trump and the Democrats are mutual. From the podium at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Arena, Democratic speaker after speaker condemned the Republican candidate, saying his economic and foreign policies would trigger recession and undermine historic U.S. alliances across the globe.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., accused Trump of trying to divide Americans by race and gender by "fanning the flames of fear and hatred."
As he planned his trips to Pennsylvania and Ohio, Trump again argued that "bad" free trade deals are sending jobs to other countries — an argument he plans to make to blue collar workers in those two states and other industrial states.
In his critique of the Democratic convention, Trump claimed Clinton would continue to push the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership with Pacific Rim nations, despite her recent opposition to the pact.
Trump is trying to become the first Republican presidential candidate to win Pennsylvania since 1988, and there is evidence that the Democrats will have to fight for it. Terry Madonna, a political scientist at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., noted that Clinton is planning a post-convention bus trip that includes the Keystone State.
"At the moment, I think the state is going to get a lot of attention and be a player," Trump said.
As Clinton formally accepts the Democratic nomination on Thursday night, Trump plans to campaign that same day in the swing state of Iowa. The New York businessman is scheduled to visit Colorado on Friday.
While some Democrats are predicting a relatively easy win over Trump in November, President Obama said on NBC's Today show that nobody should take the election for granted.
"I've seen all kinds of crazy stuff happen," Obama said. "I think anybody who goes into campaigns not running scared can end up losing."
