Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/Julia Beverly/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — As we head into the final full week of campaigning before Election Day, the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll shows Kamala Harris with a slight 51-47% lead over Donald Trump among likely voters nationally — but the polls in the battleground states remain essentially deadlocked within the margin of error.
Fallout continues over racist comments made at Trump’s big rally on Sunday at Madison Square Garden and Harris is preparing for her “closing argument” Tuesday night on the Ellipse near the Capitol and White House in Washington.
Of the 41,989,199 total early votes, 21,111,171 were cast in person and 21,338,290 were balloted returned by mail.
On Monday, voters in Washington, D.C., can start casting their ballots early, in person. Almost all of the states that offer in-person early voting have begun offering it by now.
-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim
Michelle Obama uses op-ed to reiterate message imploring men to support women’s reproductive health
The former first lady repeated her passionate message on women’s health being at stake this election in an op-ed published by the New York Times on Monday,
The op-ed featured excerpted remarks from her rally in Michigan on Saturday in which she blasted Trump’s record on the issue in comparison to Harris’, and made an appeal to men to support the women in their lives. The rally marked her first campaign appearance since her speech at the Democratic National Convention this summer.
“I am asking you, from the core of my being, to take our lives seriously,” she said. “Please do not put our lives in the hands of politicians, mostly men, who have no clue or do not care about what we as women are going through, who don’t fully grasp the broad-reaching health implications that their misguided policies will have on our health outcomes.”
Despite her stated aversion to partisan politics, the former first lady is ramping up her involvement in the final stretch of the 2024 campaign. She will headline a rally on Tuesday in battleground Georgia.
Harris counters dark and racist comments at Trump’s MSG rally
Harris is countering the dark and racist comments made by speakers at Trump’s Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden, while the former president’s campaign tries to distance itself from the comedian who referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
Harris will stump in two critical counties in the battleground state of Michigan to kick off the final full week of campaigning. First, she will visit Corning’s manufacturing facility in Saginaw before getting a tour at a union training facility in Macomb County.
The vice president will cap the day with a rally with her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, in Ann Arbor. The rally will feature a concert by musician Maggie Rogers.
Trump will be in Georgia to deliver remarks at National Faith Advisory Board in Powder Springs before a 6 p.m. ET rally in Atlanta.
(LONDON) — NATO confirmed on Monday that North Korean troops have been deployed to fight alongside their Russian counterparts in the Kursk region, the area within Russia where Ukraine has been waging an assault.
“The deployment of North Korean troops represents: one, a significant escalation in the DPRK ongoing involvement in Russia’s illegal war,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said, using the acronym of the country’s official name — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“Two, yet another breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions. And three, a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war,” he added.
He called on Russia and North Korea to “cease these actions immediately.”
North Korea has denied the reports of its forces being active in Russia or Ukraine.
“My delegation does not feel any need for comment on such groundless stereotyped rumors,” a North Korean representative to the United Nations said during a General Assembly session last week, as quoted by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly dismissed concerns of growing bilateral ties. “This cooperation is not directed against third countries,” he said last week.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, meanwhile, appeared to blame South Korea for the development, saying last week during a briefing that Seoul “should not have played along with the Kyiv regime.”
South Korea has provided direct humanitarian aid to Kyiv but not weapons. Earlier this month, Seoul said North Korean involvement in Ukraine represents a “grave security threat,” adding it would “respond by mobilizing all available means in cooperation with the international community.”
Rutte’s confirmation on behalf of NATO followed U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s announcement last week that the U.S. had evidence that Pyongyang’s forces were already inside Russia.
“That is a very, very serious issue and it will have impacts not only in Europe, it will also impact things in the Indo-Pacific as well,” Austin warned while visiting Rome, Italy.
“What exactly they’re doing” remains to be seen, Austin told journalists. But the defense secretary said there was “certainly” a “strengthened relationship, for lack of a better term, between Russia and DPRK.”
Austin noted that Pyongyang was already providing “arms and munitions to Russia and this is a next step.”
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told journalists last week that U.S. intelligence assessed that North Korea moved at least 3,000 soldiers into eastern Russia during the first half of October.
The troops were believed to be undergoing a “basic kind of combat training” at multiple military training sites in the region, he said.
Kirby said it was unclear what Russia would provide to North Korea in return for its troops.
“We know Mr. Putin has been able to purchase North Korean artillery,” Kirby said. “He’s been able to get North Korean ballistic missiles, which he has used against Ukraine. And in return, we have seen, at the very least, some technology sharing with North Korea.”
Both Austin and Kirby suggested the use of Pyongyang’s soldiers on the battlefield would be a sign of the military strain on Moscow.
“You’ve heard me talk about the significant casualties that he has experienced over the last two-and-a-half years,” Austin said. “This is an indication that he may be even in more trouble than most people realize.”
South Korea and Ukraine both raised concerns about North Korean troops heading to Russia before the U.S. and NATO confirmed their presence there.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned earlier this month that Kyiv had “clear data” showing that North Korean personnel were joining the war.
“A new threat has emerged — the malign alliance between Russia and North Korea,” Zelenskyy said in a video statement posted to social media. “These are not just workers for production, but also military personnel,” the president said. “We expect a proper and fair response from our partners on this matter.”
“If the world remains silent now, and if we face North Korean soldiers on the front lines as regularly as we are defending against drones, it will benefit no one in this world and will only prolong this war,” Zelenskyy said.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers last week that around 3,000 North Korean soldiers were believed to have so far been deployed to Russia so far, with a total of 10,000 expected to be sent by December.
Discussing the briefing, opposition politician Park Sun-won told reporters that NIS assessed that Russian instructors expected casualties among the new arrivals, though consider them in good physical and mental shape. The North Korean troops, the Russians believed, lack understanding of certain elements of modern warfare including drone attacks, Park said.
The NIS also told the briefing it had indications that North Korean authorities were seeking to control and manage the families of those soldiers sent to Russia. Measures included isolating the soldiers’ families and even relocating them, the NIS said.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces conducted what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in Iran on Friday in response to the Iranian missile strikes earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes and ground fighting continued in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with renewed Israeli attacks on Beirut.
Israeli operation in Kamal Adwan Hospital concludes, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it completed its raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip where IDF troops have been waging a major campaign.
The IDF claimed that “a number of terrorists — including Hamas terrorists who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre — had barricaded themselves inside the hospital.”
The IDF said its troops arrested around 100 fighters from within the hospital compound, “including terrorists who attempted to escape during the evacuation of civilians.”
The IDF said it found “weapons, terror funds and intelligence documents” in the hospital and in the surrounding area.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Iran will not back off in the face of Israeli aggression, Iranian president says
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday his country would stand firm following Israel’s attack on Iran.
“Definitely the free people will not back off in the face of this criminal, blood-thirsty regime. We have always defended the rights of our people and will continue to do so,” Pezeshkian told cabinet members, according to The Associated Press.
Earlier, Iranian state TV reported that Pezeshkian said Iran would respond to Israel “appropriately.”
Israel attacked military targets in Iran on Saturday in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles Iran fired on Israel earlier this month, marking the first time the IDF has openly attacked Iran.
Pezeshkian also warned tensions will escalate if Israel’s aggressions and crimes continue.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Iran calls for UN Security Council meeting after Israel’s retaliatory attack
The U.N. Security Council will meet Monday at Iran’s request after Israel’s retaliatory attack against the country, a spokesperson for the Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. confirmed to ABC News.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Israel’s retaliatory attack a “serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a flagrant breach of international law,” in a letter requesting the U.N. Security Council meeting.
The letter from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was sent to the UNSC’s current president and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres.
(PITTSBURG,, P.A.) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday commemorated six years since the deadly shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue.
“This unspeakable act – fueled by antisemitic hate – was the deadliest attack on the American Jewish community in our Nation’s history,” Harris said in a statement, in part.
On Oct. 27, 2018, a white supremacist gunman opened fire inside the synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, killing 11 people and wounding six others during Shabbat services.
In her statement Sunday, Harris mourned the lives that were taken that day and also hailed the resiliency and enduring strength of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. She also noted the rise in antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and vowed to continue to combat antisemitism.
“I will always work to ensure the safety and security of Jewish people in the United States and around the world, and will always call out antisemitism whenever and wherever we see it,” Harris said. “Doug and I are proud to have worked alongside President Biden to combat antisemitism, including through the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.”
“Today, Doug and I stand in solidarity with the survivors of this attack, the families who lost loved ones, and the entire Jewish community,” Harris added, referring to her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
Earlier Sunday, President Joe Biden also marked the anniversary of the Tree of Life attack, saying in a statement that the shootings “shattered families, pierced the heart of the Jewish community, and struck the soul of our nation.”
“For the families of the victims and the survivors, this difficult day of remembrance brings it all back like it just happened – and our country holds them and their loved ones close in our hearts,” Biden added.
Biden said his administration remains committed to aggressively implementing the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
“As the Talmud says, ‘It is not your duty to finish the work but neither are you at liberty to neglect it,'” Biden said in the statement. “On this solemn day of remembrance for the attack in the Tree of Life Synagogue, let us come together as Americans to ensure antisemitism and hate in all its forms have no safe harbor in America – for all the lives we have lost and all those we can still save.”
(LINCOLN, N.E.) — Over the past few weeks, independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn has shaken up what many thought was a predictable race in Nebraska.
Partisan polls show that two-term Republican Sen. Deb Fischer is facing a tougher than expected road to reelection in a state where former President Donald Trump is ahead by more than 10 points over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race. 538’s polling average shows Osborn and Fischer running neck-and-neck.
Osborn, a former union president and Navy veteran, is a first-time candidate running in a traditionally GOP stronghold. Nebraska’s two senators and three members of Congress are all Republicans.
In his first network television interview, Osborn decried the polarized state of politics and told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl he’s looking to “challenge the system” by running for office.
“I’m frustrated with the two parties,” Osborn said on “This Week.” “The fighting, the infighting, the outfighting, not getting anything done.”
Osborn’s momentum can be traced to a creative ad campaign, in which the candidate says his opponent “has taken so much corporate cash, she should wear patches, like NASCAR.”
The Nebraska race has attracted $21 million from outside groups while Osborn has raised $8 million and Fischer $6.5 million.
An onslaught of advertising by Republicans to boost Fischer seeks to depict Osborn as a liberal. The National Republican Senatorial Committee placed a $172,000 ad buy in September, according to AdImpact.
Ads run by Fischer’s campaign call Osborn a “dangerous Trojan Horse,” with Trump casting him as a “Bernie Sanders-type Democrat” in another.
In response to these claims, Osborn said he’s been “a registered independent from the time I could vote.”
A newcomer to politics, Osborn has often spoken out against what he calls a “two party doom loop,” and criticized Fischer for voting against the bipartisan border security bill last spring.
Osborn led a strike at Kellogg’s cereal plants in 2021, successfully winning higher wages for workers. He said that this experience with Kellogg “really opened my eyes to the fact, you know, the way our world is and the way our government’s run.”
Democrats are defending 23 seats in the Senate and Republicans 11 this cycle. With razor-thin margins, an Osborn victory could deny Republicans the opportunity to claim a firm majority — depending on which party he chooses to caucus with.
When pressed by Karl on his potentially tie-breaking role in the Senate, Osborn declined to align himself with either party. He also didn’t say who he is supporting for president.
“I need to navigate down the middle because that’s what, that’s what the two party doom loop means,” said Osborn. “It means we’re so far apart and politics is so polarized.”
Osborn has said he wouldn’t accept any party endorsements, yet many Democrats are rallying around his candidacy. The Nebraska Democratic Party is supporting Osborn through press releases and mail materials to voters.
Trump endorsed Fischer in September, posting on Truth Social that “Deb Fischer has my Complete and Total Endorsement — SHE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” Fischer said she was “honored to have President Trump’s support.”
Osborn told Karl that he “votes on the person,” noting that he supports a veteran if there’s one on the ballot.
If he prevails and Nebraska sends an independent to the Senate, Osborn said his election could be a “national movement.”
“I think this is the start of something special,” he said. “People are ready for it. And I want to be a part of it.”
(NEW YORK) — Billionaire entrepreneur and television personality Mark Cuban said former President Donald Trump “absolutely” has “fascist tendencies.”
“Do I think that Donald Trump has fascist tendencies? Absolutely. Positively,” Cuban said. “I do believe Donald Trump poses a threat.”
“I mean, just look at January 6th,” Cuban added. “To have somebody who’s second in command and they’re chanting, ‘Hang Mike Pence!’ and you don’t care, there’s nothing you won’t do.”
Cuban, an independent supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, sat down with ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl in between his campaign stops across the country making the case for Harris.
Despite his warnings about a second Trump term, Cuban called himself an “American first” and said he’d do whatever he can do to help the country regardless of who is president.
“You hear the stories about people saying, ‘I’ll leave the country’ and all that,” Cuban said. “If Trump wins, I mean, I’m not going anywhere, but I’m an American first. I’ll do whatever I can to help this country wherever I can. And it doesn’t matter to me who’s president.”
After Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly told the New York Times that Trump fits the definition of a fascist, Harris said on CNN that she does consider him a fascist, too. Trump has called Harris a fascist in the past. Asked for his reaction, Cuban said this is not a “normal” campaign.
“In a normal world, the two parties would get together and say, ‘Let’s just stop this name calling, right? Let’s just focus on the issues.’ But this is not a normal world. Donald Trump is not a normal candidate,” Cuban said. “And I think it’s not a stretch to call Donald Trump a fascist.”
Cuban said it’s “unnerving” that half of the country continues to support Trump and he thinks it’s because people want a change from President Joe Biden, who he said is not a leader.
“If you don’t have strong leadership and, you know, Joe Biden did a lot of great things, I think, you know, the economy and many other things can, that, you know, the CHIPS Act, there’s so many great things he’s done. But a leader he’s not,” Cuban said. “I think Kamala is a leader.”
Cuban supported Nikki Haley during the Republican primaries. Had she won the nomination, he said he may have voted for her over Biden — but not over Harris, who he said “knows how to be a CEO.”
As an entrepreneur, Cuban has been making the case on the campaign trail that Harris would be better for the economy than Trump.
“The economy’s in great shape. That does not mean every single individual in this country is experiencing all the goodness of the economy. But that was the same under the Trump administration as well. You know, the stock market’s at record high. The GDP is at record high. Real wages are greater than inflation now. Inflation is back down,” Cuban said. “Donald Trump is saying this stuff that’s not true. And you know the old saying, you repeat a lie, enough people start believing.”
In 2015, Cuban supported Trump’s first presidential run in its early stages, once calling him “the best thing to happen to politics” in recent history. But he reversed course before the election, opting to endorse Hillary Clinton.
“I didn’t think he had a chance to win. But I’m like, ‘This is great. You know, he’s not a traditional politician,’ and I thought that would be a net positive. I was wrong,” Cuban recalled.
Cuban has publicly weighed his own presidential bids in the past, but told Karl it’s no longer in the cards.
“No chance,” Cuban said. “I have no interest — no interest in being a politician of any type. I have no interest in serving in the cabinet for Kamala Harris or anybody,” Cuban said. “I like being a disruptor as an entrepreneur. So that’s where my focus is.”
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tore into a handful of retired military generals and ex-Trump administration officials for their increasingly visceral criticism of former President Donald Trump.
Graham told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl that accusations of Trump being a fascist and that he had praised Adolf Hitler are off-base, instead accusing former generals like John Kelly, Mark Milley and Jim Mattis of doing the bidding of the Kamala Harris presidential campaign, which has adopted a darker tone after launching on a platform of “joy.”
“[Trump] was a strong leader on the things that matter the most. Whether you like him or not, that’s up to you. He’s not a fascist. He’s not Hitler. And that shows you how desperate this campaign is. You got three retired generals who’ve been out of the game for a while three weeks before the election, trying to replace joy with fear,” Graham said.
“And let me say one thing to these generals: I admire you, I respect you, but for 20 years, you were given, and others, billions of dollars to train the Iraqi and the Afghan army, and they folded like a cheap suit. How about a little self-reflection about the job you did before you criticize others?”
Trump has been hit with a wave of critical headlines from some of his former top staffers, with the comments from the generals in particular raising eyebrows due to the history of former military leaders remaining apolitical, both during and after their service.
“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” Kelly, a former four-star Marine general and former chief of staff to Trump, told The New York Times in one example.
Trump has torn into his former aides, and Republicans have raised fears that such language could contribute to a combustible political environment that has already produced two attempts on Trump’s life.
“General Kelly’s criticisms are not based on facts. I think it’s emotional, it’s sad, and it’s not going to matter,” Graham said Sunday.
Karl pressed Graham on whether Trump’s rhetoric calling Harris a fascist is appropriate, playing a string of clips showing him using that word specifically.
“Do I think Kamala Harris is a fascist? No. Do I think she’s a communist? No, I think she’s the most liberal person ever to be nominated by a major party. I think she’s ineffective. I think she’s incompetent,” Graham responded.
Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Catholic voters have always been a key voting bloc in every presidential election, with candidates vying hard for their support.
And this year, the battle for their votes has gotten aggressive as former President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Vice President Kamala Harris has been anti-Catholic.
While Harris has not said the same about Trump, she has sent a message to Catholic voters that her policies are in line with their social and political views and priorities. But in reality, academics who have been studying religion’s role in politics tell ABC News that it’s not easy to pin a single label on the nation’s Catholics.
“It’s really interesting that the Catholic Church is probably one of the few places where you find people with different perspectives sitting together at Sunday Mass,” Margaret Susan Thompson, a professor of history at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, told ABC News.
Thompson and others said that if past election results are any indication, Catholic turnout and the choices they make at the polls will depend on a variety of factors.
Changing demographics show schism in voting patterns
Thompson, who has been researching Catholic vote trends, said that, as a whole, Catholics have been voting more Republican in the last 44 years after abortion became a major campaign issue for the Christians as a whole.
But over those decades, she noted that the makeup of American Catholics has also changed as the number of non-white Catholics has grown.
Since 2007, the share of American Catholics who are white has dropped by 8 percentage points, while the share who are Hispanic has increased by 4 points, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
“It has changed the map a lot,” Thompson said. “Latino Catholics have risen in numbers in the South and in swing states like Arizona and have brought their own perspectives on their faith and their beliefs.”
Ryan Burge, associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, who has compiled data on the voting patterns of the county’s religious groups, agreed.
“The Catholic vote is full of contradictions,” Burge said. “There is a lot of cross-pressures that they face. They may be white, but also a union member. They may be against LGTBQ rights but want better immigration rights.”
Burge told ABC News that the increased diversity among Catholics has also reflected a shift in the presidential races.
In 2020, 56% of Catholic voters voted Republican, according to data he compiled from Harvard University’s Cooperative Election Study. However, when the community was broken down into race, 59% of white Catholics voted Republican last election while it was only 31% of non-white Catholics voted for the GOP.
“We see the same racial trends for most religious groups,” he explained.
Not in communion with the Catholic Church’s teaching
Thompson said the diversity also extends to Catholics’ political leanings.
For example, Pew found that 61% of all Catholics find abortion should be legal in all or most cases. An ABC News/Ipsos poll found 55% of Catholics would rather the federal government restore abortion access as it was before the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade.
“Just because the hierarchy says ‘this is right, this is wrong’ doesn’t mean that every Catholic is going to follow their lead,” she said.
Burge also noted that cultural ties outside of one’s religion have factored in individual leanings of certain Catholic groups.
For example, he noted that data has shown that Latino Catholics are less in favor of promoting LGBTQ rights and socialism ideals than their white and Black counterparts.
“I think they are pulled in two directions,” he said of Latino Catholics. “Traditionally they’ve been Democratic and we’ve seen them in a majority still vote Democratic but they’ve always been culturally conservative. I think that’s where you’re seeing the shift in some Latino circles voting Republican because of the party’s messaging on those issues.”
A recent ABCNews/Ipsos poll found that Catholic likely voters are closely divided in vote preference, 51-48% Trump-Harris.
“I think they seem to be a more moderate voting bloc. I don’t think they can be taken for granted,” Burge said.
Trump slams Harris over Catholic vote on the campaign trail
Since the start of the election season, the Trump, Biden and Harris campaigns have been trying to court various religious groups.
Trump, in particular, has been sounding off in rallies, social media and interviews against Harris, calling her anti-Catholic. He’s claimed in a Truth Social post that she lost the Catholic vote due to her stance on reproductive rights and that she was “persecuting” the group.
“Any Catholic that votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined,” he said in a Truth Social post in September.
Harris has rarely made direct comments about the Catholic vote during the campaign and did not attend the annual Al Smith Dinner hosted by the Archdiocese of New York, saying it was due to schedule conflicts.
Even though she was the first presidential candidate not to attend the dinner in 40 years, she provided a video speech that included a skit with “Saturday Night Live” alum Molly Shannon.
“The Gospel of Luke tells us that faith has the power to shine a light on those living in darkness and to guide our feet in the path of peace. In the spirit of tonight’s dinner, let us recommit to reaching across divides, to seek understanding and common ground,” she said.
Trump, in breaking with the dinner’s soft-hearted roasting, continued his attacks on Harris at the dinner.
“You can’t do what I just saw on that screen, but my opponent feels like she does not have to be here, which is deeply disrespectful to the event and in particular to our great Catholic community. Very disrespectful,” he said.
Rhetoric does little to sway Catholic voters
Despite the media attention, the experts said that Trump’s rhetoric and back-and-forth with Harris over the Catholic vote isn’t going to move the needle.
Thompson said that there are very few undecided voters left and most voters’ preferences are locked in at this point.
She also noted Trump’s attacks and messaging are no different from the language he’s used for other religious groups, such as Jewish voters, Latino voters and Black voters.
“It’s his go-to phrase: ‘They should have their head checked,'” she said.
Thompson also noted that the sentiment applies to the Vatican.
Pope Francis weighed in on the election in September and appeared to take a middle ground, claiming “One must choose the lesser of two evils.”
“Who is the lesser of two evils? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know,” he told reporters during a news conference.
Francis did not directly name Trump or Harris or either political party, but even while noting the church’s opposition to abortion, he also emphasized a more moderate stance on social issues.
“To send migrants away, to leave them wherever you want, to leave them … it’s something terrible, there is evil there. To send away a child from the womb of the mother is an assassination, because there is life. We must speak about these things clearly,” he said.
Thompson said that the pope has contributed to a major schism among Catholics, with more conservative members dismissing his progressive stances on LGBTQ rights and the environment and more liberal members calling him out for not shifting the church’s stance on reproductive rights.
“There is selective listening to the pope by everyone,” she said. “I don’t think that his non-endorsement is really going to change people’s minds, either.”
Burge said that, at the end of the day, the moments that are going to affect the Catholic vote are in the rhetoric and actions of the candidates in the final days.
“Politicians have always had a problem speaking about religion without sounding pandering,” he said. “The public just cares about where they stand and how they are going to tackle the issues they feel are important.”
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump used his appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” to push false claims about the 2020 election, bash his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and attack his former White House staff.
The episode, which went live Friday night, likely reached one of the biggest podcast audiences in the country, with over 15.7 million followers on Spotify. Trump’s interview caused a three-hour delay at a planned rally in Michigan Friday night.
With just over a week to go until November’s election, Trump continued to spread doubts about the election results, slammed secure voting practices, such as mail-in voting and voting machines, and doubled down on his false beliefs that he won the 2020 presidential election.
“You had old-fashioned ballot screwing,” Trump told Joe Rogan, making unfounded claims about unsigned ballots and “phony votes.”
Rogan compared the label of election denialist to the labeling of anti-vaxxer, with Trump railing against mail-in voting despite telling his supporters to go out and vote however they want.
When Rogan asked Trump why he didn’t publish comprehensive evidence of alleged voter fraud in 2020, the former president got combative, falsely claiming he did and argued he lost the election because judges “didn’t have what it took.”
When Rogan brought up Democrats and Harris labeling him a fascist, Trump shot back.
“Kamala is a very low IQ person. She’s a very low IQ,” the former president said.
Trump, who has come under fire after former Chief of Staff John Kelly said in interviews that Trump praised Nazi generals, told Rogan he had an affinity for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. “He took a war that should have been over in a few days, and it was, you know, years of hell of vicious war,” Trump said.
The unedited episode was more of a conversation than an interview as Rogan asked Trump to reminisce on his political arch and let him ramble about various topics from the environment to the economy to health care.
However, in the freeform format, even Rogan got lost at times.
“Your weave is getting wide. I wanna get back to tariffs,” Rogan said at one point.
Trump referenced his style of talking at a rally in August, calling it “the weave.”
“I’ll talk about like, nine different things and they all come back brilliantly together,” he said at the time.
On the Rogan podcast, Trump defended his own age and cognitive acuity while attacking President Joe Biden’s cognitive ability.
“Biden gives people a bad name because that’s not an old – that’s not an age. I think they say it because I’m three or four years younger, you know? I think that’s why they say it. They say his age. It’s not his age. He’s got a problem,” Trump said.
While talking about the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden, Rogan floated a disproven conspiracy theory that Democrats wanted the debate to happen earlier than usual to get Biden out of the race.
Trump acknowledged it but disagreed, saying, “I don’t think anybody thought he was going to get out,” referring to Biden.
Toward the end of the podcast, Rogan asked Trump about extraterrestrial life and if Trump believed in aliens to which the former president went on to say there may be life on Mars.
“Mars, we’ve had probes there and rovers, and I don’t think there’s any life there,” Rogan pushed back.
“Maybe it’s life that we don’t know about,” Trump retorted.
(PENSACOLA, Fla.) — A NASA astronaut who experienced a “medical issue” following the successful Space X Crew-8 mission has been released from the hospital, NASA officials said Saturday.
“After an overnight stay at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida, the NASA astronaut was released and returned to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston Saturday. The crew member is in good health and will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members,” NASA said in a statement.
NASA has not publicly named the astronaut.
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Russian astronaut Alexander Grebenkin were in the SpaceX Dragon capsule when it splashed down on Earth on Friday, NASA said.
After a medical evaluation, three of the crew members departed from the facility and arrived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, NASA said.
One remaining astronaut remained in the hospital and is in stable condition and is under observation as a precautionary measure, NASA said.
Recovery of the crew and spacecraft went without incident, according to NASA.
An additional medical evaluation of the astronauts was requested out of an abundance of caution, NASA said.
