(DOUGLAS, Ariz.) -Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday — her first trip there in more than three years — to call for tougher security measures and attack former President Donald Trump on an issue that has plagued her, a senior campaign official said.
Harris plans to deliver remarks in Douglas, Arizona, a border town in the critical battleground state, where she will continue to criticize Trump for his role earlier this year in tanking a bipartisan bill that was the result of months of negotiations.
“The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games,” Harris plans to say, according to the senior official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a speech the vice president has yet to deliver.
She will take a strong line in her remarks Friday and make the case that “American sovereignty requires setting rules at the border and enforcing them,” the senior official previewed.
As part of her trip, Harris will also meet with border patrol agents, the senior official said, and tout the pay raises the Biden administration gave agents and argue they “need more resources to do their jobs to keep America safe.”
Harris’ trip comes as immigration is a top issue for many voters ahead of the election. A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 70% viewed immigration at the southern border as an “important” issue for them, and Trump led Harris by 10 points on who voters thought was best suited to handle it.
In 2021, President Joe Biden tasked Harris with the likely doomed-from-the-start assignment of solving the root causes of migration amid surges of migrants arriving at the southern border. Republicans have used this to label Harris the “border czar” though her task did involve U.S. policy at the border itself.
The last time Harris made a trip to the border was in June 2021. Her infrequent visits have also been another source attacks from her opponents.
The senior official said the campaign hopes Harris’s trip to the border will help close the gap between Trump on the issue.
Trump held what amounted to a preemptive attack at a news conference in New York on Thursday.
“She should save her airfare,” Trump said. “She should go back to the White House and tell the president to close the border. He can do it with the signing of a – of a – just a signature on a piece of paper to the border control; instead, she’s going there to try to convince people she wasn’t as bad as everybody knows she was.”
Harris’ campaign is is releasing a new ad on Friday tied to her trip to the border. The 30-second ad, titled “Never Backed Down,” highlights Harris’ work as a prosecutor.
“She put cartel members and drug traffickers behind bars, and she will secure our border,” a narrator says in the ad. The ad says Harris’ plans for the border include hiring more law enforcement agents, boosting technology and to “stop fentanyl smuggling and human trafficking.”
In her remarks at the border, Harris will say tackling fentanyl will be “a top priority” for her as president and will propose installing new fentanyl detection machines at the border, a senior campaign official said. She will also continue to call on China to quash Chinese companies’ manufacturing of fentanyl precursor chemicals, the official added.
“We need a leader with a real plan to fix the border and that’s Kamala Harris,” the narrator says at the end of the ad.
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom dealt a blow to legislation linked to the state’s groundbreaking reparations efforts on Wednesday.
He vetoed Senate Bill 1050, which would have restored property taken under racially-motivated uses of eminent domain to its original owners or provide another remedy, such as restitution or compensation.
“I thank the author for his commitment to redressing past racial injustices,” Newsom said in a statement, referring to state Sen. Steven Bradford. “However, this bill tasks a nonexistent state agency to carry out its various provisions and requirements, making it impossible to implement.”
The agency that would have carried out the policy would have been created if Senate Bill 1403 passed the legislature. The bill, also introduced by Bradford, was intended to create an agency to carry out the recommendations of the state’s groundbreaking first-in-the-nation Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans.
It failed following last-minute changes from the Newsom administration that instead aimed to to support further research on reparations in the state instead of creating the agency to carry out reparations recommendations from the state task force, according to local news outlet CalMatters.
Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3131, which requires the state department of education to prioritize funding for socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, on Sept. 22.
This bill would require the department, in consultation with the executive director of the State Board of Education, when determining grant recipients for the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, to first give priority consideration to applicants in historically redlined communities, as determined by the department. The same would apply to the K–12 Selection Committees, when determining grant recipients under the K–12 component of the Strong Workforce Program.
Several other bills from a legislative reparations package from the California Legislative Black Caucus are awaiting a response from Newsom. The package aimed to capture the many forms that reparations can take, according to Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson, chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus.
“While many only associate direct cash payments with reparations, the true meaning of the word, to repair, involves much more,” said Wilson in the introduction of the legislative package.
She noted that the package addressed the need for “a comprehensive approach to dismantling the legacy of slavery and systemic racism.”
This legislative package was born out of California’s first-in-the-nation state-backed task force that found the state and various arms of its government played an active role in perpetuating systemic racism against Black Californians through discrimination in housing, education and employment.
The bills that await a response from Newsom include Assembly Bill 3089, which would issue a formal apology from the state of California for “all of the harms and atrocities committed by the state” for perpetuating racial discrimination through chattel slavery, segregation, unequal disbursal of government funding and more.
This bill “declares that such actions shall not be repeated” and “commits to restore and repair affected peoples with actions beyond this apology.”
Senate Bill 1089 would address food and health inequities by requiring advance notification if a grocery store or pharmacy is closing in an underserved or at-risk community.
The other 10 bills from the California Legislative Black Caucus’ 14-bill reparations package failed to make it through the legislature.
The bills that failed to make it through the legislature included bans on involuntary servitude and solitary confinement in state detention facilities, funding for violence reduction programs, and funding “for the purpose of increasing the life expectancy of, improving educational outcomes for, or lifting out of poverty specific groups.”
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday pledged to continue support to Ukraine as she met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss his so-called “victory plan” to bring an end to war with Russia.
Harris cast the conflict as a fight for fundamental principles of “freedom and independence.”
“We also know that other would-be aggressors around the world are watching to see what happens in Ukraine,” Harris said. “If Putin is allowed to win, they will become emboldened, and history reminds us, and history is so clear in reminding us, the United States cannot and should not isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. Isolation is not insulation.”
Harris also appeared to take a swipe at her political opponents — former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance — who’ve floated Ukraine ceding territory to Russia as part of negotiations to end the war.
“However, in candor, I share with you Mr. President, there are some in my country who would, instead, force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality and would require Ukraine to forego security relationships with other nations,” Harris said.
“These proposals are the same of those of Putin. And let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable,” she added.
This is Zelenskyy’s fifth visit to Washington since Russia’s invasion began in Feb. 2022, and he now faces an increasingly partisan environment with an election just weeks away.
Trump ratcheted up his criticism of Zelenskyy and Ukraine on Wednesday, calling Zelenskyy the “greatest salesman on Earth” and painting a picture of an “obliterated Ukraine.”
The former president also suggested Ukraine should’ve made a “deal” before the war started. Trump said, “If they made a bad deal it would’ve been much better. They would’ve given up a little bit and everybody would be living.”
Trump also accused Zelenskyy of making “little, nasty aspersions” about him, likely referring to Zelenskyy’s comments to The New Yorker casting doubt on Trump’s claim he could quickly end the Russia-Ukraine war.
After sources saying Wednesday Trump was not expected to meet with Zelenskyy, Trump told reporters Thursday afternoon Zelenskyy had asked to meet and that they would do so Friday morning at Trump Tower.
“I believe I will be able to make a deal between President Putin and President Zelensky quite quickly,” Trump said, but when asked what that would look like, he responded, “I don’t want to tell you what that looks like.”
And when asked to respond to respond to what a reporter said was Harris’ suggestion that his strategy amounted to “surrender” to Russia, Trump said, “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think so. And, it’s not a surrender. What my strategy is to save lives. I want to save lives. Millions of people are dead. Millions more than they even think about. And it’s not my fight, but it is a fight to save humanity.”
Zelenskyy has also called Vance “too radical,” taking issue with his statements that a Trump-Vance administration’s approach to the war would likely include Ukraine ceding territory to Russia and the current line of demarcation becoming a demilitarized zone. Vance said on Wednesday that “everything would be on the table” when asked if Ukraine should cede land.
The top Republican on Capitol Hill, House Speaker Mike Johnson, did not meet Zelenskyy when he visited Capitol Hill earlier Thursday to meet with a bipartisan group of House lawmakers. Johnson told reporters he would not be in town, but if he had sat down with Zelenskyy would have aired grievances about his tour of an American munitions manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania.
Zelenskyy made the case to lawmakers for permission to strike deeper into Russia at military targets using U.S.-supplied weapons. Several senators on both sides of the aisle expressed a desire for Biden to give Zelenskyy authorization to do so.
But the White House continued to express opposition to such a move.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, peppered with questions on the issue during Thursday’s briefing, told reporters not to “expect any new announcements” coming out of Zelenskyy’s one-on-one meeting with Biden.
“Our policy has not changed,” Jean-Pierre said. “They’re going to talk on a range of issues today. What we can say and what we can commit to is that we will continue to support Ukraine as they continue their fight against Mr. Putin’s aggression, into Ukraine. And so that is our commitment, that’s what the president is focused on.”
In the Oval Office, Biden said he looked forward to discussing Zelenskyy’s “victory plan” and said he saw two key pieces in aiding Ukraine.
The first, Biden said, was to “strengthen Ukraine’s position on the battlefield.” He then highlighted the new $2.4 billion package of security systems announced earlier Thursday and his directive to the Pentagon to allocate all remaining security system funding by the end of his term.
The second, Biden said, was to “look ahead to help Ukraine succeed in the long term” by helping Ukraine join NATO and the European Union as well as reforms to counter corruption, strengthen democracy and enhance security in the nation.
“Let me be clear: Russia will not prevail in war. Russia will not prevail. Ukraine will prevail, and we’ll continue to stand by you every step of the way,” Biden said.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin, Lauren Peller, Michelle Stoddart and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., on Wednesday introduced a privileged resolution on the House floor to censure Rep. Clay Higgins. R-La., over his now-deleted post on X in which he called Haitians “thugs” and called Haiti the “nastiest country in the western hemisphere.”
Higgins was apparently reacting to reports that the leader of a nonprofit representing the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, who invoked a citizen’s right to file charges against Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, over threats and disruptions the city has experienced since Trump and Vance spread unsubstantiated claims about legal immigrants there.
“Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters… but damned if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP,” Higgins wrote. “All these thugs better get their mind right and their a– out of our country before January 20th.”
Trump claimed in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris that Haitian migrants in Springfield were eating residents’ pets and animals from city parks. The city’s 15,000 Haitian immigrants — most of them who are in the country legally — have filled manufacturing, distribution and warehouse jobs but have put a strain on the city’s resources.
In the wake of Trump’s comments, the city has received more than two dozen bomb threats that have caused evacuations of schools and government buildings. The state has sent in additional state troopers and installed surveillance cameras to deal with the threats.
By its rules, the House must take up a privileged resolution within two legislative days, but that won’t happen until after the November election when the House returns from a long recess.
Horsford spoke on the House floor on Wednesday and said Higgins’ post was inciting “hate and fear.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about the post after votes on Wednesday and called Higgins a friend “and a very frank and outspoken person. He’s also a very principled man.”
“He was approached on the floor by colleagues who said that was offensive,’ Johnson continued. “He went to the back. I just talked to him about it. He said he went to the back and he prayed about it, and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down. That’s what you want the gentleman to do. I’m sure he probably regrets some of the language he used. But you know, we move forward. We believe in redemption around here.”
But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in a statement, wrote: “The disgusting statement by Clay Higgins about the Haitian community is vile, racist and beneath the dignity of the United States House of Representatives. He must be held accountable for dishonorable conduct that is unbecoming of a Member of Congress.”
“Clay Higgins is an election-denying, conspiracy-peddling racial arsonist who is a disgrace to the People’s House. This is who they have become. Republicans are the party of Donald Trump, Mark Robinson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Clay Higgins and Project 2025. The extreme MAGA Republicans are unfit to govern.”
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said he spoke to Higgins and urged him to take the post down.
“Clay and I had a conversation about it, and I said I think it’s a bad statement – you should take it down,” Donalds said. “He came back a minute or two later and said he was going to remove it,” he said.
Horsford’s team told ABC News on Thursday that he joined a conversation between Higgins and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, whose parents are from Haiti, and other members and told Higgins why he considered why he considered the post to be hateful and asked him to take it down. Higgins initially refused, Horsford’s team said, and Horsford told Higgins if he wouldn’t, he would proceed with a censure resolution.
Between that time of that conversation and Horsford moving for the censure resolution, Higgins took the post down.
Higgins told ABC News on Thursday, “You know, you never want to intentionally hurt someone’s feelings. That post was intended for Haitian gangs.”
“Haiti is a country, not a color,” he added. “The unintended impact, and that was expressed to me sincerely from my colleagues and very graciously, that touched me as a gentleman. I prayed about it and very, very quickly took the post down.”
Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost said he believes the post breaks the House code because it came from Higgins’ House social media account.
“It’s completely disgusting,” Frost said. “And a racist and bigoted tweet and I think it shows a lot about the Republican Party – the Republican conference – that they can’t just step up say, ‘You know what? That is wrong that he shouldn’t have posted it,” but yet their best defense is that he deleted the tweet.”
Donalds and congressional sources said a group of Democratic CBC members, including Reps. Frederica Wilson and Sheila Cherfilus McCormick, discussed the tweet with Higgins on the floor.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said she was frustrated that Republicans initially blocked Horsford’s motion to censure Higgins.
“It’s despicable. It’s outrageous, and to see Republicans go along with it means that you’re known by the company you keep — they’re complicit in this,” Lee said.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said she wants Higgins to be punished.
“It was hateful and he meant it,” she said, adding, “He needs to be censured.”
Higgins told CNN on Wednesday that his post was “free speech.”
“It’s all true,” Higgins said. “I can put up another controversial post tomorrow if you want me to. I mean, we do have freedom of speech. I’ll say what I want.”
He added: “It’s not a big deal to me. It’s like something stuck to the bottom of my boot. Just scrape it off and move on with my life.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from Higgins and Horsford to ABC News on Thursday.
(GREENBELT, Md.) — As Democrats in Maryland tell it, the state’s key Senate race isn’t about any particular person — even the candidates themselves.
On the campaign trail, you’ll hear Democrats vying to keep an open Senate seat blue knock former Gov. Larry Hogan, the GOP nominee. But you’ll also hear lamentations about Sens. Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz, firebrands who are primed for committee chairmanships in a potential Republican-controlled Senate.
In paid television ads, you’ll see videos painting Hogan as a partisan, not the moderate he cast himself as during two terms in Annapolis. But you’ll also see attacks on outgoing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, a vaunted political knife fighter and self-proclaimed “grim reaper” of liberal legislation.
That duality is a core feature of the campaign for Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee and Prince George’s County executive — as much as she’s talking about her opponent, she’s also sounding the alarm about a Senate she’s hoping to join.
There are few motivators in politics as potent as fear and anger. But Alsobrooks is at a disadvantage in that regard — Hogan left office in 2023 as a popular two-term governor with a reputation as a pragmatist before running for a Senate seat in a year when any race can determine the chamber’s majority.
And while Alsobrooks and her allies are still casting Hogan as a Republican whose values are misaligned with deep-blue Maryland, particularly on abortion, they’re also diverting some of their fire at prominent Senate Republicans and what they could do with committee gavels.
“Marylanders are very savvy. They understand that this race is about the 51st vote and about control of the Senate. It is bigger than Larry Hogan. It’s actually bigger than me,” Alsobrooks told ABC News Monday at an annual community barbecue her family hosts in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It is much bigger than any one person. It is about the future of our state and of our country and the kind of country that we want to build for our children.”
The Senate race is tight, especially by Maryland’s standards.
The 538 polling average shows Alsobrooks up by nearly 6 points in a state where Democratic presidential candidates typically romp by at least 25, a difference universally attributed to Hogan’s entry into the race.
Hogan has continued to reinforce his reputation as a moderate, saying he’d vote to restore abortion protections that existed under Roe v. Wade and serve as a check on the GOP’s more hard-line impulses. However, he has still said that as a lifelong Republican, he’d caucus with the GOP in the chamber, and Alsobrooks has made hay of his past record, including vetoing state legislation to expand abortion protections.
Still, the need to tie Hogan to bogeymen like Cruz, Graham and McConnell was underscored Monday, when conversations with nearly a dozen of Alsobrooks’ most vocal supporters revealed little negative to say about the former governor, but a greater eye on the levers of power in Washington.
“I guess he’s OK. He hasn’t really done a bad job since he’s been here in Maryland, but I think it’s time for a fresh face,” said Bertley Thomas, a retired teacher, about Hogan. “I am a lifelong Democrat, and so is Angela. Hogan happens to be a Republican, it doesn’t mean I don’t like him any less. However, I think we would like to see the Democrats control the Senate.”
Waymon Lynch, a small business owner, said she voted for Hogan twice, but praised Alsobrooks’ record as a local politician.
“He’s definitely not the Trump wing of the party, no, not at all. That’s not his history,” Lynch said of Hogan. “And if it were someone other than Angela running against Mr. Hogan, I might consider him. But in this particular case, it goes a little bit further than that.”
That’s not to say voters aren’t also considering the issues and where Hogan stands.
“I was really kind of concerned when all of a sudden he came out to run against her. I just feel that Democrats serve me and my needs, and I am for women’s rights,” said Valerie Callender, a dermatologist. “I know Angela is going to fight. She’s a mother, and she believes in women’s rights. And to take total control of their body, as a physician, I feel that’s very important.”
Nevertheless, the race’s dynamics have left Alsobrooks with limited ability to run against her actual opponent, instead making future colleagues of the very chamber she hopes to join top antagonists in the race.
“Angela Alsobrooks is playing the best card she has to play. She is never going to win a contest of personality or popularity with former Gov. Hogan. He is just far too known and too well liked for her to change public opinion on that front. So, she has to run exclusively on the notion that, regardless of how one feels about Gov. Hogan personally, he can and would be the deciding vote in favor of tipping the Senate over to Republicans,” said Maryland Democratic strategist Len Foxwell.
The argument requires voters to generalize the importance of the race beyond their state’s borders, but Democrats are betting that Marylanders — living in proximity to Washington and many working for the federal government — are more attuned than the average voter on the current 51-49 Senate majority and the importance of chamber control.
“The beauty of it is that the voters we’re talking about are voters in Maryland, and this is about one of the most savvy electorates that you can find, not just in the Washington suburbs, but throughout the state,” said Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman. “We know what this is about.”
At the same time, Alsobrooks has work to do to define herself more concretely outside of her powerbase in Prince George’s County, particularly in the vote-rich areas in and around Baltimore.
Alsobrooks is working to boost her own policy bona fides with a new ad out Wednesday, noting the threat of GOP Senate control but adding what she would “also” do as Maryland’s senator, including taking on “price gouging” and standing “up for a woman’s right to choose.”
Hogan and his allies are trying to do the same, with a well-heeled supportive super PAC releasing an ad Wednesday hitting her over a CNN story alleging she improperly took tax deductions on properties in Maryland and Washington.
“Raising her name ID, especially in the Baltimore suburbs, is really important. When you see the polling, you still see Hogan has pretty universal name ID. We’ve got room to grow her ID,” Ulman said.
To be certain, Alsobrooks is still viewed as having an advantage.
Vice President Kamala Harris is anticipated to win Maryland, one of the nation’s bluest states, by as many as 30 points, possibly creating tailwinds long enough to carry Alsobrooks over the finish line and forcing Hogan to lean on a potentially unrealistic number of ticket splitters, voters who support one party for president and another in down-ballot races.
“If Larry Hogan doesn’t win this race, from what I’ve seen thus far, it has very little to do with whatever Angela Alsobrooks is doing,” Doug Mayer, a former Hogan aide. “If Larry Hogan doesn’t win this, it’s just because it’s extremely difficult to have a million switch voters. If anyone can do it, it’s him.
And while operatives of all stripes agreed that Hogan is the only person who could make the race competitive, Democrats’ emphasis on the threat of Republicans who Marylanders are less familiar with and more aligned with former President Donald Trump could help Alsobrooks lean into her state’s existing partisan advantage, experts said.
“With the base energized in a presidential year, I find it implausible to think that there will be enough ticket splitters, and we’re reminding people every day what the stakes are,” said Ulman, who was the Democratic lieutenant governor nominee in 2014 when Hogan won his first term. “Nobody will take the former governor more seriously than me, having seen his success in the past, but it just makes the math very, very hard in a presidential year.”
(WASHINGTON) — With just six weeks until Election Day, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are campaigning in battleground states on Wednesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris is delivering remarks on the economy — a key 2024 issue that polls show Trump leading on with voters — in Pennsylvania. Later this week, she will travel to Arizona for some campaign events and to visit the southern border, according to a source familiar with her plans.
Trump will speak in North Carolina, a state Democrats are eyeing to flip this cycle. Trump is returning to the state as controversy engulfs the Republican nominee for governor, Mark Robinson, who Trump previously supported.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Trump to deliver remarks to reporters in New York
In a last-minute addition to his schedule, Trump’s campaign announced that he will deliver remarks Thursday at Trump Tower at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The campaign didn’t disclose the topic of his remarks, but they will happen on the same day that New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with five counts connected to improper campaign contributions, according to a sweeping indictment unsealed Thursday morning.
This weekend, Trump will campaign in Michigan and Wisconsin.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Describing her decision not to take the stage at the Republican National Convention, Melania Trump pointed to the letter she penned following Trump’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“It was my decision. I think was just the time. I think was the right time in, days before I wrote a beautiful letter to America, yes. And I think in one way, that letter was my speech,” she said in an interview that aired on Fox & Friends on Thursday morning.
Like her husband, Melania Trump blamed rhetoric from Democrats and people in the media as reasonings for why she feels there has been targeted violence against the former president.
“This is not normal, and is it really shocking that all this outrageous violence goes against my husband? Especially that we hear the leaders from the opposition party and mainstream media branding him as threat to democracy, calling him vile names,” she said. “They’re only fueling a toxic atmosphere and giving power to all of these people that they want to do harm to him. This needs to stop. This needs to stop. The country needs to unite.”
Recounting the moments she heard about Trump’s first assassination attempt, Melania Trump said that she couldn’t get ahold of Trump or the Secret Service initially.
“First, the Secret Service was not available too, because they were with him, right? And then after that, I got the Secret Service on the phone, and they said that he’s OK. We are in on the way to the hospital,” she said.
She also talked about having to tell their son, Barron, about the attack.
“He was outside playing sport, and he rushed in, and was very, very difficult,” she said.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Melania Trump advocates for 2nd Trump term in 1st interview of 2024 cycle
Former first lady Melania Trump, sitting down for an interview with Fox & Friends, attempted to pitch her husband to voters.
“I think American people need to decide what they really want. Maybe some, you know, strong tweets, but everything else great for this country. So it’s all in Americans people’s hands on Nov. 5,” she said, arguing her husband was a strong leader in terms of the economy and immigration.
Despite her lack of a role on the campaign, Melania Trump said that she supports her husband’s third bid to the White House.
“I know how passionate he is to make America great again,” she said.
Melania Trump was also asked some personal questions about her relationship with Trump.
“Did you fall in love then?” co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked after Melania Trump described meeting Donald Trump for the first time.
“It was a connection. It was a connection,” Melania Trump responded.
“His being,” she later said when asked what she loves most about Trump. “His humor, his personality, his kindness, he’s, he’s very special, his positivity, his energy. It’s unbelievable. Yeah, so we have a beautiful relationship.”
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
More details of Harris’ planned visit to border revealed
An aide to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign provided more details about the vice president’s planned visit to the border in Arizona on Friday.
Harris will visit the border city of Douglas, and deliver remarks on border security, according to the aide. She will also talk about her intention to introduce a tough bipartisan border security plan and criticize former President Donald Trump for killing the one introduced over the summer.
Harris releases economic policy book
Vice President Kamala Harris released her roughly 80-page economic policy book on Wednesday and outlined it in a speech in Pittsburgh.
Harris spoke at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh and framed her proposals into three pillars: “lowering costs, investing in American innovation and leading the world in industries of tomorrow.”
She also highlighted her plans for American manufacturing.
“The simple truth is, in America, it takes too long and it costs too much to build. Whether it’s a new housing development, a new factory or a new bridge, projects take too long to go from concept to reality,” Harris said. “It happens in blue states, it happens in red states, and it’s a national problem. And I will tell you this, China is not moving slowly. They’re not, and we can’t afford to either. If we are to compete, we can’t afford to either.”
She attacked former President Donald Trump’s record, calling him “one of the biggest losers ever on manufacturing.”
“Just yesterday, he went out and promised to bring back manufacturing jobs. And if that sounds familiar, it should, in 2016 he went out and made that very same promise about the Carrier plant in Indianapolis,” she said.
“You’ll remember, Carrier then offshored hundreds of jobs to Mexico under his watch. And it wasn’t just there. On Trump’s watch, offshoring went up and manufacturing jobs went down across our country and across our economy,” Harris said.
Harris outlines her ‘pragmatic’ economic vision
Harris drew contrasts between her economic agenda and that of her opponent, Trump, in a speech in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Harris told an audience at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh that her economic philosophy is “rooted in her middle-class upbringing” while Trump’s comes from a “gilded path to wealth.”
“For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers. Not those who build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floors,” she said.
Harris has made the economy and the cost of living a focal point of her campaign in recent weeks.
To allow the middle class to be the “growth engine of our economy,” Harris said she would cut taxes for middle class families and individuals, promising that more than 100 million Americans would get a middle-class tax break.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, and Will McDuffie
Trump takes aim at Iran after officials warn of foreign threats
Former President Donald Trump didn’t mince words Wednesday at a rally in North Carolina following more reports from security officials that Iran has been plotting to assassinate him.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence met with Trump and his campaign Tuesday, according to a spokesman for DNI. While the agency declined to discuss specifics about the meeting, the former president’s campaign said the meeting involved “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States.”
During his rally in Mint Hill, North Carolina, Trump echoed that statement and sent a stark warning to the country.
“If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case, Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens. We’re going to blow it to smithereens,” the former president said to cheers. “There would be no more threats.”
Biden adamant that he would have beaten Trump in rematch
President Joe Biden opened up on the whirlwind of events over the last couple of months during an appearance on “The View” Wednesday.
Biden said he is “at peace” with his decision to exit the 2024 race but says he is still confident he would have defeated Donald Trump in November.
“Look, when I ran for this last term, I said I saw myself as a transition president … But what happened was we were having so much success in getting things done that people felt we couldn’t get done, I found myself having used more time than I would’ve ordinarily to, you know, pass that torch.”
Biden then turned to praising Harris, who he called “tough” and “honorable.”
“And the thing I like about her, and one thing we share in common, is that we have an optimistic view of the future,” he said.
Family of Corey Comperatore, injured supporters to attend Trump’s Butler rally
Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally will take place at the same site where his first assassination attempt took place.
The wife and daughters of Corey Comperatore, the man who was killed during the assassination attempt, are expected to attend Trump’s Butler rally along with the two supporters who were injured during the shooting: David Dutch and James Copenhaver, according to a senior campaign official.
“During his visit, President Trump will honor the memory of Corey Comperatore, who heroically sacrificed his life to shield his wife and daughters from the bullets on that terrible day. President Trump will also recognize the two other Americans who were wounded by the shooter, David Dutch and James Copenhaver,” the campaign said in a press release.
Trump will also “express his deep gratitude to law enforcement and first responders, and thank the entire community for their outpouring of love and support in the wake of the attack,” the campaign said.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Comer launches investigation into Zelenskyy’s trip to Pennsylvania
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer launched an investigation into the Biden-Harris administration for allowing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fly on a military plane to Pennsylvania earlier this week.
“The Committee seeks to determine whether the Biden-Harris Administration attempted to use a foreign leader to benefit Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign and, if so, necessarily committed an abuse of power,” Comer said in a statement Wednesday.
The committee sent letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and White House Counsel Edward Siskel. Chairman Comer is requesting documents, information and communications about Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. in September.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Trump stumps in North Carolina, Vance in Michigan
Trump will deliver remarks in Mint Hill, North Carolina, at 1 p.m. He will speak about the economy, according to a campaign release.
Later, his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, will speak in Travers City, Michigan. The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Harris to outline ‘pragmatic’ view on the economy to voters
As Harris seeks to gain ground on the economy, she will outline on Wednesday what her campaign is calling a “pragmatic” view on the issue.
Harris plans to tell voters that “as a capitalist she understands the limitations of government” and that the government must “work in partnership with the private sector and entrepreneurs,” according to the senior official, granted anonymity to preview Harris’s speech. The official noted Harris will make clear “she is unafraid to hold bad actors accountable if she needs to.”
The vice president will also argue that her economic philosophy is “rooted in her middle-class upbringing” and contrast that with Trump’s “gilded path to wealth,” as part of a larger values argument, the official said.
Harris to be interviewed by MSNBC
Harris is participating in an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday, which will air on the cable network on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, MSNBC announced Wednesday morning.
The network frames it as her first solo network interview since she became the nominee.
Harris has done solo interviews with other news outlets: radio stations and local TV stations. Her first media interview since announcing her candidacy took place last month when she did a joint interview with Tim Walz on CNN.
National Intelligence director briefs Trump about Iranian threats
Former President Donald Trump was briefed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence earlier Tuesday on Iran’s continued assassination threats against him, his campaign said in a new statement, calling the threats “real and specific.”
“Intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months, and law enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure President Trump is protected and the election is free from interference,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote in the statement.
“He will let nothing stop him or get in his way to fight for the American people and to Make America Great Again,” Cheung continued.
Harris Arizona campaign office damaged by apparent gunfire for second time in one week: Police
A coordinated campaign office shared by Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign and the Democratic Party in Tempe, Arizona, was damaged by gunfire just after midnight on Monday, the police said Tuesday in a statement to ABC News.
“No one was inside the office during the overnight hours, but this raises concerns about the safety of those who work in that building, as well as those nearby,” Tempe Police spokesperson Sgt. Ryan Cook said.
Police said they received calls from those who worked in the office on Monday afternoon and arrived to what they said appeared to be gunshots through the front windows.
Tempe Police said they are analyzing evidence and were taking “additional measures” after the shooting “to ensure the safety of staff and others in the area.” A motive for the shooting has not yet been determined and the investigation continues, according to the police.
The same office was shot at just a week prior, on Sept. 16, in an incident the police said appeared to involve a BB or pellet gun. That shooting also happened just after midnight and caused “criminal damage,” according to the police.
Harris is scheduled to visit the state on Friday.
In response to the second incident, the Harris campaign offered its thanks to Tempe police.
“Overnight, several shots were fired into our Tempe Democratic Party coordinated campaign office. We are grateful to Tempe Police for coming quickly to the scene and are fortunate no one was present or injured,” read a statement from a campaign spokesperson
Trump, Harris to take part in separate town halls on Univision
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will participate in two town halls next month hosted by Univision where they will interact with undecided Hispanic voters and respond to questions.
Trump will headline the first town hall, which will take place in Miami on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 10 p.m. ET, the network announced.
Harris will headline the second Univision town hall, which will take place in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. ET.
Both events will air coast-to-coast with Spanish-language translation on Univision and stream on ViX’s Noticias 24/7 channel and will also be available in English on Noticias Univision’s YouTube channel.
Mark Robinson hires Trump attorney who fought 2020 election results
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson announced Tuesday that he has hired lawyer Jesse Binnall to represent him in what he calls the “outrageous lies” following reporting by CNN that he posted racist and inflammatory comments on a porn site’s message board a decade ago.
Binnall is known for his representation of former President Donald Trump, including in legal cases involving Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Binnall still represents Trump in legal matters.
“I am confident that Binnall Law Group will leave no stone unturned and enable us to use every legal means to hold CNN accountable for their lies. In the meantime, my campaign remains laser-focused on the issues at stake in this election,” Robinson said in a statement.
Trump’s campaign and political action committees began paying Jesse Binnall’s law firms in November 2020, and they have paid nearly $6 million since.
This includes more than $823,000 paid so far this year by Trump’s Save America PAC and Make America Great Again PAC, which used to be his previous presidential campaign, according to campaign records.
Trump praises Sen. Manchin for not endorsing Harris
Former President Donald Trump is celebrating the decision from Independent Sen. Joe Manchin not to endorse Harris over her comments on considering eliminating the filibuster.
Manchin has not said whether or not he will endorse Trump.
“Congratulations to Senator Joe Manchin for not endorsing Radical Kamala Harris because of her DEATH WISH for the Filibuster and the Rule of Law,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Trump, in Georgia, hits on economy, immigration and more
In remarks in battleground Georgia focused on the economy and the tax code, Trump said dealing with immigration is first step in his economic plan.
In Savannah, Trump again said migrants with legal protected status in Springfield, Ohio, need to be deported and repeated his discriminatory and false argument that undocumented immigrants were stealing jobs from Black and Hispanic communities. He went on to call on local officials to “move the people back to the country from which they came.”
Trump spent much of his speech focused on increasing domestic production by tariffing other countries, telling Georgians they soon would be “stealing” jobs from other countries.
“Vote for Trump, and you will see a mass exodus of manufacturing from China to Pennsylvania, from Korea to North Carolina, from Germany to right here in Georgia, they’re going to come to Georgia, from Germany and a lot of other places,” he claimed.
“I’m outlining today, not only will we stop our businesses from leaving for foreign lands, but under my leadership, we’re going to take other countries’ jobs. Did you ever hear that expression before? Have you ever heard that? ‘We’re going to take other countries’ jobs.’ It’s never been stated before. We’re going to take their factories,” Trump claimed.
The former president also touched on Ukraine, just hours after President Joe Biden urged world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly to never “waver” in support for Ukraine.
“I think that we’re stuck in that war unless I’m president. I’ll get it done. I’ll get it negotiated,” Trump claimed — a campaign pledge he often repeats but offers no specifics on how to accomplish.
Trump then seemingly praised Russia.
“That’s what they do, is they fight wars,” he said. “As somebody told me the other day, they beat Hitler, they beat Napoleon. That’s what they do. They fight and it’s not pleasant.”
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Nebraska governor won’t call special session to change electoral votes system
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen released a statement Tuesday confirming he has “no plans” to call a special session before the November general election — meaning that the Republican-led effort to change the state electoral college to winner-take-all is tabled, for now.
“My team and I have worked relentlessly to secure a filibuster-proof 33-vote majority to get winner-take-all passed before the November election,” Pillen said. “Given everything at stake for Nebraska and our country, we have left every inch on the field to get this done.”
“Unfortunately, we could not persuade 33 state senators,” he added.
Pillen specifically cited opposition from state Sen. Mike McDonnell, who on Monday said he would not support such a change before the 2024 election.
The switch would have likely benefitted Trump and made the electoral map more difficult for Harris.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd and Oren Oppenheim
Trump attacks Harris’ plan to visit the border
Trump is now weighing in on Harris’ plans to visit the southern border this Friday in Arizona, labelling the visit as “political” and accusing her of attempting to “con the public” of her border record.
“After almost four years, Border Czar Kamala Harris has decided, for political reasons, that it’s time for her to go to our broken Southern Border. What a disgrace that she waited so long,” Trump wrote on his social media, repeating his disparaging rhetoric on migrants.
While Harris has been to the southern border, the trip marks her first visit since lauched her campaign at the end of July.
Trump has made immigration central to his 2024 campaign, pledging mass deportations and a border shutdown among other hard-line policies. He visited the border last month, the same day Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president.
ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Harris planning a visit to southern border this week: Source
Vice President Harris is planning to visit the southern border during her visit to Arizona on Friday, according to a source familiar.
This would be Harris’ first visit to the southern border since she jumped to the top of the ticket at the end of July.
Immigration has been a big issue in the 2024 race, with Donald Trump and Republicans inaccurately calling Harris the “border czar” and blaming her for the border crisis. Harris, in turn, argues that Trump and Republicans are at fault for killing the bipartisan border bill earlier this year.
Harris has overseen the Biden administration’s efforts to address the root causes of migration as vice president, and visited the border in 2021, after she came under fire for not having done so.
Trump expected to return to Butler for a rally on Oct. 5: Sources
Trump is expected to return to Butler, Pennsylvania, the city of his first assassination attempt, next Saturday for a rally, according to multiple sources familiar with his plans.
The rally is scheduled for Oct. 5.
Trump has long promised to return to Butler to honor the victims who died at his July rally.
“I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY, HONORING THE SOUL OF OUR BELOVED FIREFIGHTING HERO, COREY, AND THOSE BRAVE PATRIOTS INJURED TWO WEEKS AGO. WHAT A DAY IT WILL BE — FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS,” Trump wrote on his social media platform in July.
NBC News was first to report the news.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Lalee Ibssa, Kesley Walsh and Soorin Kim
Harris won’t attend the Al Smith dinner, a presidential campaign staple
Vice President Harris will not attend the Al Smith dinner next month in New York, breaking with tradition of major party nominees sharing laughs at the benefit dinner, and will instead be on the campaign trail, a campaign official confirmed to ABC News.
“She is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election,” the official said.
The dinner, which benefits Catholic Charities, is scheduled for Oct. 17. It has become a traditional stop on the presidential campaign trail, with both the Republican and Democratic nominees attending and delivering remarks full of roasts. In recent years, both nominees attended the gala, including in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. (The latter was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The official also added that Harris’ team informed the dinner’s organizers she would be absent, but was willing to attend in a later year as president.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabrielle Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Melania Trump to sit for her 1st interview of 2024 election cycle
Former first lady Melania Trump will sit down for her first interview of the 2024 election cycle with Fox News’ Ainsley Earhardt as she continues to promote her new book.
The interview is set to air on Thursday, Fox announced on Monday.
While Melania Trump has remained relatively quiet this campaign cycle, mainly appearing with the former president at closed-door events, she has been more active online recently as she launches her forthcoming memoir, “Melania.”
Her book is scheduled to be released on Oct. 8. Her website describes it in part as “the powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has defined personal excellence, overcome adversity, and carved her own path.”
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Trump again says it’s too late for another debate amid challenges from Harris
Trump is again ruling out another debate against Harris, arguing it would be “a very bad thing” for the country.
“Well, I’ve already done two debates, and they, you know, we’re good, but to do a third one, everybody’s voting now, and it’s very late to be doing a third debate,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin in a phone conversation that aired Monday morning.
Harris said over the weekend she accepted an offer from CNN for a debate on Oct. 23.
Her team has also noted that there have been presidential debates in years past in the final weeks before Election Day.
“The final 2020 debate was October 22,” the Harris campaign wrote on X. “The proposed CNN debate is October 23.”
Trump also debated Hillary Clinton for a third time around the same timeframe: Oct. 19, 2016.
Trump slightly leads in Arizona, about even in North Carolina: Polls
A set of New York Times/Siena College polls found Trump slightly leads Harris in Arizona and they are about evenly matched in North Carolina.
Among likely voters in Arizona, Trump leads Harris 50% to 45% in a head-to-head matchup. In a six-way matchup with other candidates, Trump still leads Harris 48% to 43%.
In North Carolina, Trump also leads Harris among likely voters 49% to 47%. He also leads by 2 percentage points in a six-way matchup. The lead, however, is within the poll’s margin of error.
Arizona and North Carolina are considered crucial battlegrounds this election, along with Georgia. According to 538’s polling average, Trump is ahead slightly in each of the three Sun Belt states.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to attendees during a campaign rally at the Johnny Mercer Theatre in Savannah, Ga., Sept. 24, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump called several hard-line House Republicans in recent days trying to secure a last-minute change to Speaker Mike Johnson’s short-term government funding plan but failed to sway them, according to multiple House sources.
Trump floated the idea of including undisclosed so-called “election integrity” measures into the legislation — a request House Republican leaders did not accommodate.
The House passed a measure to avert a shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 20, on Wednesday afternoon. All Democrats voted for the bill while 82 Republicans opposed it.
Trump’s attempt to change the bill stands in direct contradiction to Johnson’s comment to ABC News on Tuesday that there was “no daylight” between him and Trump on the issue.
“Look, President Trump fully understands the situation, he understands our margins and he’s frustrated as I am that we couldn’t get that done in the original play, but we go back to the play,” Johnson had said.
He went on to say he was “not defying President Trump.”
The story was first reported by The Hill.
Trump had previously called on congressional Republicans to let government funding expire and force a shutdown if they did not get the voting requirements passed as well.
The SAVE Act, a measure that creates voter ID requirements for federal elections, was previously included in Johnson’s government funding plan. The bill failed last week because it did not receive enough support from hardline Republicans and Democrats.
After that defeat, Johnson repeatedly said his current funding plan (which excludes the SAVE Act) was the best option to secure the votes needed to avert a government shutdown by the end of the month.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told ABC News he has spoken with Trump in recent days but wouldn’t discuss the nature of the calls.
Multiple other Republicans told ABC News they have receive similar calls from Trump. And one House leadership source said they were aware Trump was making the rounds to change the legislation.
“[Trump] asked for language that would allow election integrity to be immediately implemented,” Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., told reporters.
“I think [Trump] believes that we ought to be fighting on the SAVE Act,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told ABC News ahead of the vote.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration on Thursday announced $375 million more in security assistance for Ukraine, which for the first time will include American Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) glide bombs, a U.S. defense official told ABC News.
The bombs, which can be deployed by Ukraine’s new F-16 fighters, have retractable wings that help them reach targets up to 70 miles away. There are several versions of JSOW, but the ones being sent to Ukraine are equipped with cluster munitions, according to the official.
The U.S. will also soon announce more than $2 billion in aid for Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), the official told ABC News on Wednesday. Unlike the $350 million package, which will draw equipment from existing American stockpiles for Ukraine, USAI funds are used for contracts to procure assistance, which can take months or years to materialize. The coming USAI funds will largely go toward restocking Ukraine with munitions, according to the official.
The commitment to send JSOW glide bombs comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the United States to make the case for global support, speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday in New York, with plans to present what he has called his “victory plan” to President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday.
“The plan of victory is strengthening of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said during a sit-down interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts on Monday. “That’s why we’re asking our friends, our allies, to strengthen us. It’s very important.”
Zelenskyy hasn’t publicly shared the details of his victory plan ahead of his upcoming meeting with Biden, but said it includes specific military supply requests, as well as proposals for potential security guarantees for Ukraine after the war. Zelenskyy’s chief of staff this week confirmed that includes Ukraine being invited to join NATO.
A source close to the Ukrainian president told ABC News the plan consists of five key points, four of which are to be implemented now and one after the war is over. The plan also includes specific figures and amounts of military assistance.
Former President Donald Trump said last week that he would “probably” meet with Zelenskyy, but this is no longer expected, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam, Sept. 25, 2024. (Rabih Daher/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — As Israel laid the groundwork for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon, the Biden administration on Wednesday was urging diplomacy to resolve the country’s long-simmering conflict with Hezbollah — but growing increasingly resigned to full-blown warfare on a second front in the Middle East, according to multiple U.S. officials.
Two officials told ABC News that the administration has floated at least one draft proposal aimed at temporarily halting the conflict, but at this point Israel has signaled it intends to move forward with battle plans aimed at ending months of tit-for-tat exchanges with Hezbollah across its northern border by decimating the militant group.
“I cannot detail everything we are doing, but I can tell you one thing: we are determined to return our residents in the north safely to their homes,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, referring to Israelis who have been displaced since Hezbollah began firing rockets shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
One senior U.S. official said that Hezbollah’s firing of a ballistic missile targeting the headquarters of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad near Tel Aviv only intensified the Israeli government’s resolve, even though Israeli forces were able to successfully intercept the missile.
The U.S. also has little leverage over Hezbollah, so it’s unclear whether the group would abide by any such agreement to pause the fighting. The administration could potentially rely on partners with direct ties to Hezbollah to contain the group, but all of its efforts to halt its attacks on Israel over the last year have been unsuccessful.
Nevertheless, senior officials say they are still pursuing “concrete options” for de-escalation, and Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday that Israeli leadership remained “open-minded.”
Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Wednesday that it didn’t appear an Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon was in the offing, potentially allowing time for negotiations to make headway.
“Without characterizing Israeli operations and letting them speak to them for themselves, it doesn’t look like anything is imminent,” she said.
The Biden administration is also fervently focused on keeping Iran — a chief military and financial supporter of Hezbollah — on the sidelines through indirect diplomacy.
“We also have to coordinate and work together to deter destabilizing activities by Iran. I urge all of us to use the leverage that we have to press Iran to stop fueling escalation,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a meeting with Arab leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday.
But Israel’s military actions in Lebanon over the course of the last week have put the schism between Israel and the U.S. on full display.
When Israel has struck Hezbollah targets in the past, it has typically given the U.S. advanced notice. However, Biden administration officials say they did not receive any warning before hundreds of communication devices distributed to the groups’ members exploded in an attack widely attributed to Israel.
While Israel has messaged its intention to conduct a ground incursion into Lebanon, it has not shared detailed plans with the U.S. — a dynamic that echoes the early days of the country’s military campaign in Gaza.
The lack of transparency has heightened concerns for Americans in the region. The State Department estimates that over 80,000 U.S. citizens live in Lebanon, but it’s unclear how many heeded the department’s July advisory to leave the country.
In a message to Americans still in Lebanon sent on Wednesday, State Department officials said they would hold a call on the security situation in the country on Friday and urged U.S. nationals to depart “while commercial options still remain available.”
(WASHINGTON) — With just six weeks until Election Day, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are campaigning in battleground states on Wednesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris is delivering remarks on the economy — a key 2024 issue that polls show Trump leading on with voters — in Pennsylvania. Later this week, she will travel to Arizona for some campaign events and to visit the southern border, according to a source familiar with her plans.
Trump will speak in North Carolina, a state Democrats are eyeing to flip this cycle. Trump is returning to the state as controversy engulfs the Republican nominee for governor, Mark Robinson, who Trump previously supported.
Here’s how the news is developing:
More details of Harris’ planned visit to border revealed
An aide to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign provided more details about the vice president’s planned visit to the border in Arizona on Friday.
Harris will visit the border city of Douglas, and deliver remarks on border security, according to the aide. She will also talk about her intention to introduce a tough bipartisan border security plan and criticize former President Donald Trump for killing the one introduced over the summer.
Harris releases economic policy book
Vice President Kamala Harris released her roughly 80-page economic policy book on Wednesday and outlined it in a speech in Pittsburgh.
Harris spoke at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh and framed her proposals into three pillars: “lowering costs, investing in American innovation and leading the world in industries of tomorrow.”
She also highlighted her plans for American manufacturing.
“The simple truth is, in America, it takes too long and it costs too much to build. Whether it’s a new housing development, a new factory or a new bridge, projects take too long to go from concept to reality,” Harris said. “It happens in blue states, it happens in red states, and it’s a national problem. And I will tell you this, China is not moving slowly. They’re not, and we can’t afford to either. If we are to compete, we can’t afford to either.”
She attacked former President Donald Trump’s record, calling him “one of the biggest losers ever on manufacturing.”
“Just yesterday, he went out and promised to bring back manufacturing jobs. And if that sounds familiar, it should, in 2016 he went out and made that very same promise about the Carrier plant in Indianapolis,” she said.
“You’ll remember, Carrier then offshored hundreds of jobs to Mexico under his watch. And it wasn’t just there. On Trump’s watch, offshoring went up and manufacturing jobs went down across our country and across our economy,” Harris said.
Harris outlines her ‘pragmatic’ economic vision
Harris drew contrasts between her economic agenda and that of her opponent, Trump, in a speech in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Harris told an audience at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh that her economic philosophy is “rooted in her middle-class upbringing” while Trump’s comes from a “gilded path to wealth.”
“For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers. Not those who build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floors,” she said.
Harris has made the economy and the cost of living a focal point of her campaign in recent weeks.
To allow the middle class to be the “growth engine of our economy,” Harris said she would cut taxes for middle class families and individuals, promising that more than 100 million Americans would get a middle-class tax break.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, and Will McDuffie
Trump takes aim at Iran after officials warn of foreign threats
Former President Donald Trump didn’t mince words Wednesday at a rally in North Carolina following more reports from security officials that Iran has been plotting to assassinate him.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence met with Trump and his campaign Tuesday, according to a spokesman for DNI. While the agency declined to discuss specifics about the meeting, the former president’s campaign said the meeting involved “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States.”
During his rally in Mint Hill, North Carolina, Trump echoed that statement and sent a stark warning to the country.
“If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case, Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens. We’re going to blow it to smithereens,” the former president said to cheers. “There would be no more threats.”
Biden adamant that he would have beaten Trump in rematch
President Joe Biden opened up on the whirlwind of events over the last couple of months during an appearance on “The View” Wednesday.
Biden said he is “at peace” with his decision to exit the 2024 race but says he is still confident he would have defeated Donald Trump in November.
“Look, when I ran for this last term, I said I saw myself as a transition president … But what happened was we were having so much success in getting things done that people felt we couldn’t get done, I found myself having used more time than I would’ve ordinarily to, you know, pass that torch.”
Biden then turned to praising Harris, who he called “tough” and “honorable.”
“And the thing I like about her, and one thing we share in common, is that we have an optimistic view of the future,” he said.
Family of Corey Comperatore, injured supporters to attend Trump’s Butler rally
Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally will take place at the same site where his first assassination attempt took place.
The wife and daughters of Corey Comperatore, the man who was killed during the assassination attempt, are expected to attend Trump’s Butler rally along with the two supporters who were injured during the shooting: David Dutch and James Copenhaver, according to a senior campaign official.
“During his visit, President Trump will honor the memory of Corey Comperatore, who heroically sacrificed his life to shield his wife and daughters from the bullets on that terrible day. President Trump will also recognize the two other Americans who were wounded by the shooter, David Dutch and James Copenhaver,” the campaign said in a press release.
Trump will also “express his deep gratitude to law enforcement and first responders, and thank the entire community for their outpouring of love and support in the wake of the attack,” the campaign said.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Comer launches investigation into Zelenskyy’s trip to Pennsylvania
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer launched an investigation into the Biden-Harris administration for allowing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fly on a military plane to Pennsylvania earlier this week.
“The Committee seeks to determine whether the Biden-Harris Administration attempted to use a foreign leader to benefit Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign and, if so, necessarily committed an abuse of power,” Comer said in a statement Wednesday.
The committee sent letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and White House Counsel Edward Siskel. Chairman Comer is requesting documents, information and communications about Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. in September.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Trump stumps in North Carolina, Vance in Michigan
Trump will deliver remarks in Mint Hill, North Carolina, at 1 p.m. He will speak about the economy, according to a campaign release.
Later, his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, will speak in Travers City, Michigan. The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Harris to outline ‘pragmatic’ view on the economy to voters
As Harris seeks to gain ground on the economy, she will outline on Wednesday what her campaign is calling a “pragmatic” view on the issue.
Harris plans to tell voters that “as a capitalist she understands the limitations of government” and that the government must “work in partnership with the private sector and entrepreneurs,” according to the senior official, granted anonymity to preview Harris’s speech. The official noted Harris will make clear “she is unafraid to hold bad actors accountable if she needs to.”
The vice president will also argue that her economic philosophy is “rooted in her middle-class upbringing” and contrast that with Trump’s “gilded path to wealth,” as part of a larger values argument, the official said.
Harris to be interviewed by MSNBC
Harris is participating in an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday, which will air on the cable network on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, MSNBC announced Wednesday morning.
The network frames it as her first solo network interview since she became the nominee.
Harris has done solo interviews with other news outlets: radio stations and local TV stations. Her first media interview since announcing her candidacy took place last month when she did a joint interview with Tim Walz on CNN.
National Intelligence director briefs Trump about Iranian threats
Former President Donald Trump was briefed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence earlier Tuesday on Iran’s continued assassination threats against him, his campaign said in a new statement, calling the threats “real and specific.”
“Intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months, and law enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure President Trump is protected and the election is free from interference,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote in the statement.
“He will let nothing stop him or get in his way to fight for the American people and to Make America Great Again,” Cheung continued.
Harris Arizona campaign office damaged by apparent gunfire for second time in one week: Police
A coordinated campaign office shared by Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign and the Democratic Party in Tempe, Arizona, was damaged by gunfire just after midnight on Monday, the police said Tuesday in a statement to ABC News.
“No one was inside the office during the overnight hours, but this raises concerns about the safety of those who work in that building, as well as those nearby,” Tempe Police spokesperson Sgt. Ryan Cook said.
Police said they received calls from those who worked in the office on Monday afternoon and arrived to what they said appeared to be gunshots through the front windows.
Tempe Police said they are analyzing evidence and were taking “additional measures” after the shooting “to ensure the safety of staff and others in the area.” A motive for the shooting has not yet been determined and the investigation continues, according to the police.
The same office was shot at just a week prior, on Sept. 16, in an incident the police said appeared to involve a BB or pellet gun. That shooting also happened just after midnight and caused “criminal damage,” according to the police.
Harris is scheduled to visit the state on Friday.
In response to the second incident, the Harris campaign offered its thanks to Tempe police.
“Overnight, several shots were fired into our Tempe Democratic Party coordinated campaign office. We are grateful to Tempe Police for coming quickly to the scene and are fortunate no one was present or injured,” read a statement from a campaign spokesperson
Trump, Harris to take part in separate town halls on Univision
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will participate in two town halls next month hosted by Univision where they will interact with undecided Hispanic voters and respond to questions.
Trump will headline the first town hall, which will take place in Miami on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 10 p.m. ET, the network announced.
Harris will headline the second Univision town hall, which will take place in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. ET.
Both events will air coast-to-coast with Spanish-language translation on Univision and stream on ViX’s Noticias 24/7 channel and will also be available in English on Noticias Univision’s YouTube channel.
Mark Robinson hires Trump attorney who fought 2020 election results
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson announced Tuesday that he has hired lawyer Jesse Binnall to represent him in what he calls the “outrageous lies” following reporting by CNN that he posted racist and inflammatory comments on a porn site’s message board a decade ago.
Binnall is known for his representation of former President Donald Trump, including in legal cases involving Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Binnall still represents Trump in legal matters.
“I am confident that Binnall Law Group will leave no stone unturned and enable us to use every legal means to hold CNN accountable for their lies. In the meantime, my campaign remains laser-focused on the issues at stake in this election,” Robinson said in a statement.
Trump’s campaign and political action committees began paying Jesse Binnall’s law firms in November 2020, and they have paid nearly $6 million since.
This includes more than $823,000 paid so far this year by Trump’s Save America PAC and Make America Great Again PAC, which used to be his previous presidential campaign, according to campaign records.
Trump praises Sen. Manchin for not endorsing Harris
Former President Donald Trump is celebrating the decision from Independent Sen. Joe Manchin not to endorse Harris over her comments on considering eliminating the filibuster.
Manchin has not said whether or not he will endorse Trump.
“Congratulations to Senator Joe Manchin for not endorsing Radical Kamala Harris because of her DEATH WISH for the Filibuster and the Rule of Law,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Trump, in Georgia, hits on economy, immigration and more
In remarks in battleground Georgia focused on the economy and the tax code, Trump said dealing with immigration is first step in his economic plan.
In Savannah, Trump again said migrants with legal protected status in Springfield, Ohio, need to be deported and repeated his discriminatory and false argument that undocumented immigrants were stealing jobs from Black and Hispanic communities. He went on to call on local officials to “move the people back to the country from which they came.”
Trump spent much of his speech focused on increasing domestic production by tariffing other countries, telling Georgians they soon would be “stealing” jobs from other countries.
“Vote for Trump, and you will see a mass exodus of manufacturing from China to Pennsylvania, from Korea to North Carolina, from Germany to right here in Georgia, they’re going to come to Georgia, from Germany and a lot of other places,” he claimed.
“I’m outlining today, not only will we stop our businesses from leaving for foreign lands, but under my leadership, we’re going to take other countries’ jobs. Did you ever hear that expression before? Have you ever heard that? ‘We’re going to take other countries’ jobs.’ It’s never been stated before. We’re going to take their factories,” Trump claimed.
The former president also touched on Ukraine, just hours after President Joe Biden urged world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly to never “waver” in support for Ukraine.
“I think that we’re stuck in that war unless I’m president. I’ll get it done. I’ll get it negotiated,” Trump claimed — a campaign pledge he often repeats but offers no specifics on how to accomplish.
Trump then seemingly praised Russia.
“That’s what they do, is they fight wars,” he said. “As somebody told me the other day, they beat Hitler, they beat Napoleon. That’s what they do. They fight and it’s not pleasant.”
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Nebraska governor won’t call special session to change electoral votes system
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen released a statement Tuesday confirming he has “no plans” to call a special session before the November general election — meaning that the Republican-led effort to change the state electoral college to winner-take-all is tabled, for now.
“My team and I have worked relentlessly to secure a filibuster-proof 33-vote majority to get winner-take-all passed before the November election,” Pillen said. “Given everything at stake for Nebraska and our country, we have left every inch on the field to get this done.”
“Unfortunately, we could not persuade 33 state senators,” he added.
Pillen specifically cited opposition from state Sen. Mike McDonnell, who on Monday said he would not support such a change before the 2024 election.
The switch would have likely benefitted Trump and made the electoral map more difficult for Harris.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd and Oren Oppenheim
Trump attacks Harris’ plan to visit the border
Trump is now weighing in on Harris’ plans to visit the southern border this Friday in Arizona, labelling the visit as “political” and accusing her of attempting to “con the public” of her border record.
“After almost four years, Border Czar Kamala Harris has decided, for political reasons, that it’s time for her to go to our broken Southern Border. What a disgrace that she waited so long,” Trump wrote on his social media, repeating his disparaging rhetoric on migrants.
While Harris has been to the southern border, the trip marks her first visit since lauched her campaign at the end of July.
Trump has made immigration central to his 2024 campaign, pledging mass deportations and a border shutdown among other hard-line policies. He visited the border last month, the same day Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president.
ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Harris planning a visit to southern border this week: Source
Vice President Harris is planning to visit the southern border during her visit to Arizona on Friday, according to a source familiar.
This would be Harris’ first visit to the southern border since she jumped to the top of the ticket at the end of July.
Immigration has been a big issue in the 2024 race, with Donald Trump and Republicans inaccurately calling Harris the “border czar” and blaming her for the border crisis. Harris, in turn, argues that Trump and Republicans are at fault for killing the bipartisan border bill earlier this year.
Harris has overseen the Biden administration’s efforts to address the root causes of migration as vice president, and visited the border in 2021, after she came under fire for not having done so.
Trump expected to return to Butler for a rally on Oct. 5: Sources
Trump is expected to return to Butler, Pennsylvania, the city of his first assassination attempt, next Saturday for a rally, according to multiple sources familiar with his plans.
The rally is scheduled for Oct. 5.
Trump has long promised to return to Butler to honor the victims who died at his July rally.
“I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY, HONORING THE SOUL OF OUR BELOVED FIREFIGHTING HERO, COREY, AND THOSE BRAVE PATRIOTS INJURED TWO WEEKS AGO. WHAT A DAY IT WILL BE — FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS,” Trump wrote on his social media platform in July.
NBC News was first to report the news.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Lalee Ibssa, Kesley Walsh and Soorin Kim
Harris won’t attend the Al Smith dinner, a presidential campaign staple
Vice President Harris will not attend the Al Smith dinner next month in New York, breaking with tradition of major party nominees sharing laughs at the benefit dinner, and will instead be on the campaign trail, a campaign official confirmed to ABC News.
“She is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election,” the official said.
The dinner, which benefits Catholic Charities, is scheduled for Oct. 17. It has become a traditional stop on the presidential campaign trail, with both the Republican and Democratic nominees attending and delivering remarks full of roasts. In recent years, both nominees attended the gala, including in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. (The latter was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The official also added that Harris’ team informed the dinner’s organizers she would be absent, but was willing to attend in a later year as president.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabrielle Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Melania Trump to sit for her 1st interview of 2024 election cycle
Former first lady Melania Trump will sit down for her first interview of the 2024 election cycle with Fox News’ Ainsley Earhardt as she continues to promote her new book.
The interview is set to air on Thursday, Fox announced on Monday.
While Melania Trump has remained relatively quiet this campaign cycle, mainly appearing with the former president at closed-door events, she has been more active online recently as she launches her forthcoming memoir, “Melania.”
Her book is scheduled to be released on Oct. 8. Her website describes it in part as “the powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has defined personal excellence, overcome adversity, and carved her own path.”
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Trump again says it’s too late for another debate amid challenges from Harris
Trump is again ruling out another debate against Harris, arguing it would be “a very bad thing” for the country.
“Well, I’ve already done two debates, and they, you know, we’re good, but to do a third one, everybody’s voting now, and it’s very late to be doing a third debate,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin in a phone conversation that aired Monday morning.
Harris said over the weekend she accepted an offer from CNN for a debate on Oct. 23.
Her team has also noted that there have been presidential debates in years past in the final weeks before Election Day.
“The final 2020 debate was October 22,” the Harris campaign wrote on X. “The proposed CNN debate is October 23.”
Trump also debated Hillary Clinton for a third time around the same timeframe: Oct. 19, 2016.
Trump slightly leads in Arizona, about even in North Carolina: Polls
A set of New York Times/Siena College polls found Trump slightly leads Harris in Arizona and they are about evenly matched in North Carolina.
Among likely voters in Arizona, Trump leads Harris 50% to 45% in a head-to-head matchup. In a six-way matchup with other candidates, Trump still leads Harris 48% to 43%.
In North Carolina, Trump also leads Harris among likely voters 49% to 47%. He also leads by 2 percentage points in a six-way matchup. The lead, however, is within the poll’s margin of error.
Arizona and North Carolina are considered crucial battlegrounds this election, along with Georgia. According to 538’s polling average, Trump is ahead slightly in each of the three Sun Belt states.
