Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris holds a campaign rally at the McHale Athletic Center on September 13, 2024 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sept. 29, according to an invite obtained by ABC News — just a few days after former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton host fundraisers for her in the same area.
According to the Sept. 29 invite, tickets range from $500 to $1 million — with the $500 tickets already sold out. The pricier tickets include a reception with Harris, a “liberty luncheon” and a photo opportunity.
Obama and Clinton will also be holding separate Los Angeles fundraisers for the vice president on Sept. 20, according to an invite and a source familiar with the planning.
Clinton’s fundraiser will be a lunchtime appearance with guests such as actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Sally Field in attendance. Obama’s fundraiser will be a nighttime fundraiser on the same day.
Obama will begin to hold larger campaign events for Harris beginning next month as well as candidate-specific events for down-ballot races, the source said.
Harris’ fundraiser, first reported by Deadline, marks her first fundraising appearance in the Los Angeles area since she announced her campaign.
Obama, George Clooney and Julia Roberts hosted a fundraiser for then-candidate President Joe Biden in June in Los Angeles, which raised $30 million for Biden’s campaign.
Harris’ campaign said it raised $361 million in August — her first full month as a candidate — from nearly three million donors. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign said it raised $130 million in August.
The campaign has been attempting to seize on to the momentum the debate garnered for the candidate by setting course on an intense campaign schedule they’re calling “A New Way Forward,” labeling themselves as “underdogs” despite poll numbers that suggest Harris fared better than Trump in the debate.
Americans by 58-36% say Harris won the debate — a reversal from the Biden-Trump match in June, which Trump was seen as winning by 66-28%, according to the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll.
Harris has several appearances scheduled for this week, including an event with the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday, a live-streamed event with Oprah Winfrey in Michigan on Thursday and campaign stops in Wisconsin on Friday.
(WEST PALM BEACH , Fla.) — Former President Donald Trump on Monday blamed a polarized political environment and “rhetoric” from Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for the second assassination attempt on his life over the weekend.
He said that things Harris and Biden said caused the suspected gunman Ryan Wesley Routh to act on Sunday.
“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said of the gunman in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.”
The suspect’s motive remains unknown as the FBI continues to conduct an extensive investigation into Routh’s background, looking at whether Routh was frustrated with Trump’s position on Ukraine, sources tell ABC News.
Routh appeared in a federal courtroom in West Palm Beach Monday morning and faces two firearm-related charges.
While blaming Democrats for using “highly inflammatory language,” the former president himself also attacked his opponents, calling them enemies and threats.
“These are people that want to destroy our country,” Trump said. “It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.”
The political nature of his comments is a departure from Trump’s immediate response following his assassination attempt earlier this summer in Butler, Pennsylvania.
After the shooting, Trump called for political unity, initially urging his allies not to point blame across the aisle.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win,” Trump had written.
His tone later shifted, falsely suggesting during the ABC News presidential debate that he “probably took a bullet to the head” because of Harris. The FBI has not established a motive that explains why Thomas Matthew Crooks fired on Trump.
On Sunday, Secret Service agents fired at Routh, who was armed with an AK-47-style rifle near the Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Biden called for more Secret Service assistance.
“One thing I want to make clear, the [Secret] Service needs more help and I think the Congress should respond to their needs, if in fact they need more servicemen,” Biden said while departing the White House.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Monday decried a now-deleted post by Elon Musk on X as “irresponsible.”
In the Sunday night post — which he made after the second apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump — Musk, who owns the platform, responded to a user who asked, “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?”
In his post, Musk wrote, “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.”
Following intense backlash, Musk deleted the post and walked it back as a joke early Monday.
“Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on X,” Musk wrote.
“Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text,” he added shortly after.
Responding to the post on Monday, the White House condemned Musk for having “joked about” or even “encouraged” violence.
“As President Biden and Vice President Harris said after yesterday’s disturbing news, ‘there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country,’ and ‘we all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence,’ the statement read.
“Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about. This rhetoric is irresponsible,” the White House added.
Musk has endorsed Trump, and Trump has said he would tap Musk to lead a government efficiency commission if elected.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden said on Monday the Secret Service “needs more help” as he briefly addressed the apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump while departing the White House.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Marine One, Biden said, “Thank God the president’s OK.”
“One thing I want to make clear, the [Secret] Service needs more help and I think the Congress should respond to their needs, if in fact they need more services,” Biden added. He said he believed the agency may need more personnel.
Secret Service agents accompanying Trump fired at a man armed with an AK-47-style rifle on or near the Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday. The FBI said it is investigating the matter as a possible assassination attempt. The incident comes just two months after the former president was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump thanked law enforcement, including the Secret Service, for keeping him safe during the incident.
Biden, in a written statement in Sunday, also commended the Secret Service and their partners “for their vigilance and their efforts to keep the former President and those around him safe” and denounced political violence.
“There is an active investigation into this incident as law enforcement gathers more details about what happened,” Biden said. “As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Chase Oliver, 2024 Libertarian presidential candidate, speaks at the Des Moines Register political soapbox during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, US, on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. (Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Libertarian Party nominee for president Chase Oliver condemned a reportedly now-deleted comment from the New Hampshire Libertarian Party on X that appeared to encourage violence against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Oliver called the NHLP’s post “abhorrent” in his statement shared on X Sunday.
“I 100% condemn the statement from LPNH regarding Kamala Harris. It is abhorrent and should never have been posted,” Oliver wrote.
A New Hampshire reporter shared a screenshot of the since-deleted NHLP post, which reportedly read, “Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero.”
The NHLP addressed removing an earlier X post on Sunday, writing, “We deleted a tweet because we don’t want to break the terms of this website we agreed to. It’s a shame that even on a “free speech” website that libertarians cannot speak freely. Libertarians are truly the most oppressed minority.”
Oliver went on to say in his statement that his party is committed to “non-aggression.” Chase Oliver, 2024 Libertarian presidential candidate, speaks at the Des Moines Register political soa…
“As Libertarians, we condemn the use of force, whether committed by governments, individuals, or other political entities,” he continued. “We are dedicated to the principle of non-aggression and to peaceful solutions to conflict. This is also something we pledge as part of attaining party membership.”
Following the posting of his statement, the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire responded with a homophobic slur in a series of posts, accusing Oliver of being an “infiltrating leftist snake.”
The LPNH has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
The FBI is investigating what it called an “attempted assassination” of former President Donald Trump after Secret Service agents fired at a man with an AK-47 rifle on or near Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, golf course on Sunday.
A spokesperson for Donald Trump’s campaign said the former president is “safe.” Law enforcement sources told ABC News a suspect is in custody.
The incident comes around two months after Trump was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the gunman got as close as 300 to 500 yards away from the former president when he was spotted and agents fired four to six rounds at him before he dropped the gun and fled. It was not clear if the suspect was aiming his weapon at Trump.
The source said the suspect got into a vehicle and witnesses reported the license plate number, which was tracked by authorities. The suspect was stopped and taken into custody.
Bradshaw said along with an “AK-47-style rifle,” two backpacks were found at the scene with a GoPro camera and ceramic tiles inside.
The sheriff said the golf course was not surrounded by law enforcement because Trump is not the sitting president. “If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible. So, I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there’ll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter.”
But Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said he already had concerns about the Secret Service after the first assassination attempt against Trump and advocated moving the agency from under the Department of Homeland Security and back under the Treasury Department, “where it had more focus.”
A Republican who spoke with Trump shortly after the incident told ABC News that Trump said he was near the 5th hole of the Trump International golf course when he heard “popping sounds” in the vicinity. The source said Trump was in “good spirits.”
Sheriff Will Snyder of neighboring Martin County told ABC News that his units detained a man following the incident. Snyder said after the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department, the Secret Service and the FBI put out a “Be on the lookout for” alert, one of his officers saw the suspect vehicle northbound on Interstate 95 and other officers “forced it to a stop without incident.”
Snyder said the vehicle matched the description in the bulletin but “now we have to determine if this, in fact, was the right suspect.”
Shortly after the incident, Trump sent a fundraising email saying that he was safe and well and that no one was hurt.
“But, there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us,” he wrote.
In a follow-up fundraising email Sunday evening, Trump wrote, “My resolve is only stronger after another attempt on my life.”
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the “security incident at the Trump International Golf Course,” the White House said in a statement Sunday.
“They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team,” the White House added.
After being briefed on the incident, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, “There is no place in this country for political violence of any kind.”
“The perpetrator must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Schumer added.
Americans broadly pick Kamala Harris as the winner of last week’s widely watched presidential debate – yet neither she nor Donald Trump moved the needle in terms of trust on the issues, ratings of the candidates’ personal attributes or vote preferences in the 2024 election.
Even Taylor Swift shows little impact: Just 6% in the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll say the pop star singer-songwriter’s endorsement of Harris makes them more likely to vote for her; 13%, instead, say it makes them less likely to support her, with 81% saying it makes no difference. Those responding negatively are overwhelmingly Trump supporters, according to the poll.
Americans by 58-36% say Harris won the debate – a reversal from the Biden-Trump match in June, which Trump was seen as winning by 66-28%. Biden’s performance intensified questions about his cognitive health, precipitating his departure from the race.
The poll of 3,276 adults, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates with fieldwork by Ipsos, finds that Harris did firm up some of her personal appeal: Thirty-seven percent say the debate made them feel more favorably toward her, vs. 23% less favorably. There was no such benefit for Trump: People by nearly 2-1 say the debate made them see him less favorably.
The benefit for Harris occurred almost exclusively in her base, potentially helping her turnout efforts. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say the debate made them see her more favorably. Only half as many Republicans and GOP-leaning Independents, 34%, say the debate made them see Trump more favorably. One factor may be that Harris, a walk-on candidate, has had less public exposure until now.
The poll also finds a slight dip in the share of Trump supporters who back him strongly – 56%, vs. 60% at the end of August. Sixty-two percent of Harris’ supporters now are strongly behind her, the first meaningful difference in strong support between the two.
That said, Trump shows an advantage in another gauge: while 42% call him too conservative, 47% call Harris too liberal, one of his debate themes.
Preferences
Vote preferences haven’t moved meaningfully. This poll finds the race at 51-46%, Harris-Trump, among all adults; 51-47% among registered voters; and 52-46% among likely voters. Each is within a percentage point of its pre-debate level in ABC/Ipsos polling.
Results are essentially identical when including third-party or Independent candidates Chase Oliver, Jill Stein and Cornel West; they get at most 1% support apiece. State-to-state ballot access for these candidates is a work in progress; ABC News estimates that as of now Oliver likely is on the ballot in about 36 states, Stein in about 27 and West in about 15.
It’s important to note that this poll measures preferences nationally, an effort to better understand how all Americans are coming to their choices in the presidential election. It doesn’t assess the contest at the state level, which determines the winner of the Electoral College.
The absence of movement in vote preferences, despite a 22-point tilt to Harris as having won the debate, marks the sharply polarized nature of the electorate. Almost everyone has a preference between Harris or Trump, and among those who do, few say they’d even consider the other. This is especially true among likely voters, with just 3% potentially persuadable to switch.
Another result also shows the entrenched divisions in attitudes. Seventy-three percent of Trump’s supporters say they’ve backed him all year. Of the rest, 17% were undecided at some point but settled on Trump; just 9% moved to Trump from another candidate – mostly, other Republicans or the former Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Barely 2% of Trump’s supporters came to him after previously preferring Harris or Biden.
It’s similar on Harris’ side of the ledger. Two-thirds of her supporters say they’ve been with her since she got into the race. A quarter were undecided at some point. Just 2% of Harris supporters have moved to her from Trump.
Movable voters can matter – as everyone matters – in a tight race. But these results suggest that the biggest pickings for Trump and Harris alike are in motivating turnout among their existing support groups.
Groups
Harris leads Trump by nine points among women while running virtually even with him among men, and by a slight nine points among 18- to 29-year-olds, entirely due to her support from women that age. She improves among young adults who are more likely to vote.
While younger women are important to Harris, the Swift endorsement doesn’t show a positive impact even in this group. Eight percent of women younger than 30 say the endorsement makes them more likely to support Harris, while 13% say it makes them less likely to do so. Most, 78%, say it makes no difference.
Her position among suburban women, an often-watched group, is similar to her support among women overall. More tellingly, she’s +12 points among independents, often a swing voter group in presidential elections.
Trump, for his part, leads by a vast 79-18% among white evangelical Protestants, with this core GOP group seemingly unfazed by his layered position on abortion. He’s roughly on par with past performance, having won white evangelical Protestants by 74-25% in 2020 and 81-16% in 2016.
In other groups, Trump leads by 12 points among white people, growing to 28 points among those who don’t have a four-year college degree, a mainstay of his support. Despite suggestions that he’s denigrated the military, he leads by 29 points among veterans, 63-34%.
Voters
Many of these results – but not all – hold steady when moving from the general public (relevant because there’s still time to register) to registered voters and then to likely voters. But there are a few notable exceptions.
Harris advances from +9 points among all adults aged 18-29 to +19 points among those identified as likely voters. This is fueled by young women, a cornerstone group in her campaign: Harris goes from +23 points among all women under 30 to +38 points among those likely to vote.
There’s a stark contrast with men aged 18-29 who are likely to vote: Just 51% in this group back Harris, with virtually as many, 48%, for Trump.
Trump, for his part, remains closer than usual to Harris among Hispanic people, now trailing her by 17 points among those who are likely voters. That’s better than usual for Trump compared with past elections: Biden won Hispanic people by 33 points in 2020; Hillary Clinton won them by 40 points in 2016, per ABC News exit polls.
Issues and attributes
While overall vote preferences are stable, so are views on issues and attributes. The economy and inflation continue to dominate as the top issues in the election, and Trump leads by 7 points in trust to handle each of them.
In the next most important issues, Harris responds with a 7-point lead on “protecting American democracy” and a 9-point lead on handling health care. The two remain evenly matched on crime and safety.
It’s clear, too, why Trump keeps doubling down on immigration as an issue: He leads Harris by 10 points in trust to handle it. She leads him by 14 points on abortion and by 16 points on handling race relations, although both rate lower in importance.
There are differences among groups in issue importance. In notable gender gaps, women are 14 points more apt than men to cite abortion as a top issue in their vote, 68% vs. 54% – a difference that holds regardless of age. Women also are 11 points more likely than men to cite health care as a top issue, 82 vs. 71%. Still, the economy and inflation top the issues list among women and men alike.
Harris’ best results vs. Trump continue to be on personal attributes, explaining her effort to lean in on this domain. She leads him by 32 points in having the physical health it takes to serve effectively, 17 points in honesty and trustworthiness, 10 points in mental sharpness, 10 points in understanding the problems of people like you and 7 points in better representing your personal values. All, again, are essentially the same as they were before the debate.
Overall favorability also is essentially unchanged: Forty-seven percent have a favorable impression of Harris, vs. 35% for Trump. Still, they’re close in being seen as qualified for office – Harris by 53%, Trump by 49%. The difference widens, however, among independents; 56% see Harris as qualified vs. 48% who say the same of Trump.
Debate
Lastly, on the debate, it’s notable that 95% of Democrats say Harris won, while fewer Republicans, 75%, say Trump won. (Among independents, 61% pick Harris.) Similarly, among Trump’s own supporters, 78% say he won the debate, while among people backing Harris, 97% give her the win. (These results include people who initially called the debate a tie, then leaned toward Harris or Trump as the winner.)
While 58% overall say Harris won, this rises to 64% of those who watched all or some of the debate. That reflects the fact that Harris supporters are 8 points more likely than Trump supporters to have watched. Harris supporters are even more apt to have read, watched or listened to follow-up news coverage or commentary about the debate – 75% have done so, vs. 59% of those who support Trump.
Methodology
This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® Sept. 11-13, 2024, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 3,276 adults. Partisan divisions are 29-29-30%, Democrats-Republicans-independents. Results have a margin of sampling error of 2 percentage points, including the design effect, for the full sample. Sample sizes are 2,772 for registered voters and 2,196 for likely voters, with a 2-point error margin for each. Sampling error is not the only source of differences in polls.
The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, with sampling and data collection by Ipsos. See details on the ABC News survey methodology here.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine offered one of the most vociferous defenses of Haitian immigrants in Springfield yet from a Republican as their presence in the city becomes a chief point of criticism from former President Donald Trump.
Speaking to “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz, DeWine repeatedly noted that the immigrants are in Ohio legally and praised their work ethic, stridently swatting away claims that they are eating neighbors’ pets — unsubstantiated conspiracy theories promoted by Trump and his allies.
“I think it’s unfortunate that this came up. Let me tell you what we do know, though. What we know is that the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal. They came to Springfield to work. Ohio is on the move, and Springfield has really made a great resurgence with a lot of companies coming in. These Haitians came in to work for these companies,” DeWine said.
“What the companies tell us is that they are very good workers. They’re very happy to have them there, and frankly, that’s helped the economy. Now, are there problems connected? Well, sure. When you go from a population of 58,000 and add 15,000 people onto that, you’re going to have some challenges and some problems. And we’re addressing those,” he added.
Conspiracy theories about the immigrants spread online have made their way to national politics, breaking through when Trump claimed in his debate with Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday that Haitians in Springfield were eating neighbors’ dogs and cats.
“Look, there’s a lot of garbage on the internet and, you know, this is a piece of garbage that was simply not true. There’s no evidence of this at all,” DeWine said on “This Week.”
The fallout spread beyond politics over the past week as bomb threats and other threats of violence were reported in Springfield — prompting a strong rebuke from DeWine.
“There are hate groups coming into Springfield. We don’t need these hate groups. I saw a piece of literature yesterday that the mayor told me about from purportedly the KKK. Look, Springfield is a good city. They are good people. They are welcoming people. We have challenges every day. We are working on those challenges,” DeWine said.
“This idea that we have hate groups coming in, this discussion just has to stop. We need to focus on moving forward and not dogs and cats being eaten. It’s just ridiculous,” he added.
DeWine last week announced the state would send more resources to Springfield. His office said local primary caregivers have been impacted due to an increased number of patients and lack of translation services. DeWine has authorized $2.5 million to go toward expanding primary care access for the city of Springfield, while calling for more federal help.
When pressed by Raddatz on how to square his defense of immigrants in Springfield with Trump’s comments about them, on top of recent incorrect claims at the debate that he in fact won the 2020 election, the Ohio governor said Americans trust Trump on the economy and other issues.
“I’ve said before we knew who the nominee was going to be, I would support the Republican nominee for president. I am a Republican. I think if you look at the economy, these are issues that I think the American people are most concerned about. I think that Donald Trump is the best choice,” he said.
“Look, there’s these are legitimate problems that we have on the border. I’m not minimizing that at all. And those are legitimate arguments where the vast majority the American people agree with Donald Trump, and not the vice president, [Kamala Harris],” he added. “But what’s going on in Springfield is just fundamentally different. These people are here legally. They came to work.”
Despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ being viewed widely as the winner of last week’s presidential debate against former President Donald Trump, her performance did not cause a notable change in her favor, according to a ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday — which Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said does not surprise her.
“We know that this is going to be a close race,” she told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday. “Kamala Harris says that she’s an underdog, but what’s important is that she and Tim Walz have built a campaign for a close race.”
In Trump and Harris’ match up last week, voters had the opportunity to directly compare the candidates before they cast their ballots in what will be a tight election. Americans by 58-36% say Harris won the debate, according to the new polling. Last week, she sought to capitalize off her post-debate momentum, campaigning in Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania — two counties Trump won in 2016 and 2020.
“The enthusiasm has been really strong. And I think what’s very important also is that she and Tim are playing for every voter, they’re going to red counties,” Healey said. “They’re going to red districts, right? Because, as she said in her closing argument, ‘I’m going to be a president for all Americans.’”
During the debate, Harris falsely claimed that there isn’t a single member of the U.S. military “who is in active duty in a combat zone, in any war zone around the world — the first time this century.”
Raddatz asked Healey why Harris would make that unsubstantiated remark when there are 900 U.S. military personnel in Syria and 2,500 U.S. service members in Iraq that have been under regular threat for months, as well those patrolling in the Red Sea, where Houthi rebels in Yemen have targeted commercial shipping.
The Massachusetts governor deflected, saying, “I think what’s important here, Martha, is that Kamala Harris, in contrast to Donald Trump, demonstrated herself to be commander in chief.”
“You say she demonstrated her ability to be commander in chief, but did she not know about these people in Syria and Iraq?” Raddatz pressed. “Why would she say that?”
“That was a comment in a debate,” Healey answered. “I think the point that she was trying to make was a broader point. And of course, we have military in place all around this country. That’s important. We’re the United States of America.”
“She respects our military,” she continued. “She respects our service members. Donald Trump calls them suckers and losers, and it’s why Donald Trump’s former military generals support Kamala Harris.”
On the issue of abortion, Raddatz said Harris didn’t clarify during the debate whether she supports any restrictions on the procedure and asked if the vice president should let voters know where she stands and draw some sort of a line.
“She already did, Martha. What she said is, ‘let’s go back to Roe,’” Healey said before hitting Trump for not saying that he would veto a national abortion ban.
“In fact, he supports abortion bans, just like the Trump abortion ban that’s on the ballot in Florida, and it’s appalling,” she said. “It’s appalling what that means for women, for families, for their health. And you know, that is a clear, clear distinction in this race.”
Turning to the economy, Raddatz pointed to rising grocery and home prices under the Biden-Harris administration and how many many view Trump as handling the economy better. Trump leads on the issue by seven points over Harris in the new ABC News/Ispos poll.
Healey put the blame for the economy on the former president and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There had to be a huge infusion of money to save our small businesses and to help all of our states,” she said. “Inflation rose as a result. And what’s happened under the Biden Harris administration is they’ve actually worked to bring down inflation. There is still work to do.”
“Kamala Harris has said, ‘I’m going to lay the foundation to see further reductions in the interest rates’, which I think we’ll see soon, and prices are going to come down. But it is very unfair to start that in the middle of the movie when the Biden-Harris team came in, and we’re dealing with a lot,” Healey continued. “We have the strongest economy of any country in the world right now, and they are committed to making life more affordable for people on housing, drugs, groceries and the like. Donald Trump isn’t.”
(GREENSBORO, N.C.) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said Thursday that Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances in the crucial battleground state of North Carolina are “excellent,” because of her momentum following the ABC News debate as well as the governor’s race.
“Her chances are excellent, and most people have North Carolina as a toss-up state,” Cooper said in an interview with ABC News at Harris’ rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday.
Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020, and no Democrat has won the state in a presidential race since former President Barak Obama in 2008. Democrats now believe the state is back in play with Harris at the top of the ticket, as she generates more enthusiasm with young voters and voters of color.
Cooper also said that Harris’ performance at the ABC News debate earlier this week moved the needle with voters more than usual because she’s still introducing herself to the American people.
“We know that debates oftentimes don’t make that big a difference. I think it made a difference here because a lot of people didn’t really know Kamala Harris that well, and they got a chance to see her in action for an hour and a half,” he said.
A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found that 28% of likely voters said they feel they need to still learn more about Harris, while only 9% of likely voters felt that way about Trump.
Harris appears to be benefiting from some momentum after the debate, which could help her in some key battleground states like North Carolina.
538 has collected three national polls and one swing-state poll that were conducted since the debate. In all of them, more people who watched the debate said Harris won the debate than said Trump did. On average, 57% of debate watchers nationally said Harris turned in the better performance; only 34% said Trump did.
Cooper said another thing that helps Harris in the state is the governor’s race — presumably as people come out to vote against the controversial Republican candidate.
“I think this will be a bottom-up race. I think the governor’s race in North Carolina will help Kamala Harris,” he said.
The North Carolina gubernatorial race to take over for term-limited Cooper is a competitive and closely watched race. In it, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, is taking on Republican opponent Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
Cooper called Robinson — a controversial candidate with a record of attacking women, Muslims and the LGBTQ community as well as amplifying conspiracy theories and extreme views against abortion — an “extreme right-wing candidate” that he said will “drag Donald Trump down.”
