(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is set to release her economic agenda on Friday following calls for her campaign to zero in on policy after their unprecedented rise to the top of Democratic ticket.
Harris is set to outline her plans at an event in Raleigh, North Carolina — a pivotal battleground state both Harris and former President Donald Trump will work to win in November. Among the economic policies Harris is set to announce is a plan to provide up to $25,000 in down payment support for first-time homeowners, according to a campaign official.
The campaign is vowing that during her first term, the Harris-Walz administration would provide working families who have paid their rent on time for two years and are buying their first home up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance, with more generous support for first-generation homeowners.
Harris is also set introduce is a federal ban on “corporate price gouging” on food and groceries, the campaign said.
“In her first 100 days, Vice President Harris will work to enact a plan to bring down Americans’ grocery costs and keep inflation in check,” the campaign said.
Harris will work to raise the minimum wage and end taxes on tips, her campaign said. Other Harris plans will deal with prescription drug costs and housing costs.
Her plans are being sold as a way to bring down everyday costs for Americans.
Harris’ announcement comes on the heels of her first joint appearance with President Joe Biden since he stepped down as the Democratic Party’s nominee. Questions are mounting on whether or not she will choose to either distance herself or embrace the current administration’s “Bidenomics.”
The campaign has provided few specific details about Harris’ economic agenda — but if Thursday’s remarks with Biden, which centered around lowering drug costs, are any indication of if she will choose to continue the president’s core economic positions, it would seem a total revamp is not in the future.
For her part, Harris has maintained an interest in expanding popular Biden-era proposals such as the child tax credit and has shown staunch support of labor unions. Under the current administration, she has taken on reducing medical and student debt.
Harris’ economic plan will provide a split screen with Trump, who touched on his economic priorities in remarks on Wednesday. He has already criticized Harris for “copying” some of his own proposals after she announced eliminating taxes on tips in Las Vegas on Saturday, the same city he first mentioned it.
“She’s doing a plan, you know she’s going to announce it this week, maybe. She’s waiting for me to announce it so she can copy it,” said Trump while outlining his own broad policy ideas in Asheville, North Carolina on Wednesday. “Like, remember a couple days ago, and ‘we will have no tax on tips!’ I said, ‘that was my plan!”
Harris will also direct her administration to crack down on mergers and acquisitions between big food corporations, another way for the campaign to continue to highlight her role as a prosecutor.
The vice president has already distanced herself from some of her former positions laid out in her 2020 presidential bid. Her campaign has remained ambiguous over her support of banning fracking and Medicare for All, which she had previously espoused.
Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(CHICAGO) — The Democratic National Convention is set to begin Monday, Aug. 19 in Chicago — during which Democratic Party delegates are set to support Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after their unconventional path to the party’s nomination.
During the four-day convention, Democratic heavyweights are set to fire up the base and rally behind Harris, who was officially certified as the Democratic presidential nominee earlier this month after getting the vast majority of delegate votes in a virtual roll call.
Harris’ path to the DNC has been an unorthodox and truncated one after President Joe Biden announced he was leaving the 2024 race and endorsed Harris for the job on July 21.
Here’s what to know about the DNC and how to follow along with all of the action.
When and where is the DNC?
The 2024 DNC takes place Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
Official proceedings, primetime programming and speeches will be held at the United Center — home to the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls. Other party activities will be held at the McCormick Place Convention Center.
Democrats are in welcoming territory with a Chicago convention. Chicago is a Democratic stronghold that “was part of the ‘blue wall’ crucial to the Biden-Harris victory in 2020 and will be for a Harris-Walz victory in November,” according to the DNC.
“Chicago is the perfect place to bring the story of Vice President Harris, Governor Walz, and the Democratic Party to the American people. Chicago represents the diversity of the Democratic Party and the country,” according to the DNC.
What is the DNC schedule? Who are the speakers?
While the DNC has not released its list of speakers scheduled for each evening, it has detailed some of the convention events through the day, including caucus and council meetings and press briefings on its website.
Biden is set speak at the DNC on Monday.
Sources told ABC News that a working speaking schedule, which can change, has former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking on Monday evening as well; former President Barack Obama speaking on Tuesday; Walz and former President Bill Clinton speaking on Wednesday; and Harris speaking on Thursday.
As is customary, Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie Harrison will gavel-in the first night of the convention.
How can I watch the DNC?
The DNC will stream on multiple platforms — including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The official live stream of the 2024 Democratic National Convention will be available on its website.
Prime-time programming will air live from 6:30 p.m.-11 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. CT on Monday and 7 p.m.-11 p.m. ET/6 p.m.-10 p.m. CT on Tuesday-Thursday, according to the DNC.
ABC News will have special coverage of the DNC — including primetime coverage from 10 p.m. until 11 p.m. ET on ABC every day of the conventions, and on ABC News Live from 7 p.m. until 12 a.m. ET.
Hulu will also have live reports available all day, and ABC News Live will have robust coverage each day of the convention.
ABC News Digital and 538 will live blog the latest from the convention and provide analysis as the convention events unfold.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is set to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon at his Bedminster golf club — his second in a week — as the campaign continues to pressure Vice President Kamala Harris to do interviews and answer reporter questions.
“She refuses to do any interviews or press conferences, almost 30 days now, she has not done an interview,” Trump said Wednesday in North Carolina. “You know why she hasn’t done an interview? Because she’s not smart. She’s not intelligent,” he said.
His campaign says she’s trying to “duck and hide” from the news media.
The 4:30 p.m. news conference follows one that Trump held at his Mar-a-Lago estate last Thursday, fielding questions for more than an hour on a range of topics including his recent attacks on Harris, immigration and reproductive rights.
During the long and, at times, rambling exchange with reporters, Trump often pushed false claims on several topics, including the outcome of the 2020 election and size of the crowd at his Jan. 6, 2021, rally before the attacks on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Trump’s recent news conferences appear to be part of the campaign’s attempt to draw a contrast between the two candidates.
“She hasn’t done an interview — she can’t do an interview,” Trump claimed during his Mar-a-Lago press conference last week.
He added that he “look[s] forward to the debates” as a way to “set the record straight.”
The Harris campaign has been using Trump’s news conferences to highlight flubs he has made and criticize policies he advocates.
“Trump did the only thing he knows how to do — he went out and lied, made up stories, mixed up dates, attacked the media, and, overall, reminded Americans that he is a deeply unwell man,” the Harris campaign said in a statement reacting to Trump’s news conference.
During her time out on the campaign trail since announcing her White House bid, Harris has held a few exchanges with reporters aboard Air Force Two and answered a few shouted questions; however, her campaign says she will participate in a sit-down interview before the end of the month.
“We will commit to directly engage with the voters that are actually gonna decide this election and that is gonna be complete with rallies, with sit-down interviews, with press conferences, with all the digital assets we have at our disposal,” Michael Tyler, communications director for the Harris-Walz campaign, said on CNN Wednesday when pressed multiple times to commit to press conferences and media interviews.
Though she hasn’t made herself as available to the media as the former president, Harris did spend the week with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, crisscrossing the country visiting battleground states.
Trump just visited the solidly conservative state of Montana to stump for GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy last week, and is holding a rally in battleground Pennsylvania over the weekend.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held their first joint event since Biden exited the 2024 race and endorsed her to take his place atop the Democratic ticket.
The two walked out together to cheers to deliver remarks on stage at Prince George’s County Community College in Maryland about the economy and what their administration’s done to alleviate costs for Americans.
That includes the administration’s announcement earlier Thursday that the Department of Health and Human Services reached an agreement on price negotiations for 10 commonly used drugs that they say will save Medicare enrollees $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs when the new prices go into effect in 2026.
“We know it is not just about health care, it is about your dignity,” Biden said. “It’s about peace of mind. It’s about security. It’s about taking care of your family. It’s about giving folks just a little bit more breathing room. That’s all. Look, I believe health care should be a right and not a privilege in America.”
Harris spoke first and took a moment to praise Biden for his work on the issue, as the crowd broke out into chants of “Thank you, Joe!”
“I could speak all afternoon about the person that I’m standing on the stage with,” she said. “Our extraordinary president, Joe Biden. And he’s going to speak in a minute, but there’s a lot of love in this room for our president. And I think it is for many, many reasons, including few leaders in our nation have done more on so many issues, including to expand access to affordable health care.”
When it was Biden’s turn, he returned the plaudits.
“Folks, I have an incredible partner,” he said. “The progress we have made. She’s going to make one hell of a president.”
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act allows the government to directly broker with drug manufacturers for the first time in the history of the Medicare program. In addition to the 10 drugs negotiated for 2026, the government can select 15 more drugs for negotiation in 2027 and another 15 drugs for 2028 and up to 20 more drugs each year after.
Harris said she was “proud” to have casted the tie-breaking vote to get the law passed in the Senate.
“We believe deeply every senior in our nation should be able to live with security, stability, and dignity,” she said. “And so in the United States of America no senior should have to choose between either filling their prescription or paying their rent. That is the subject of today.”
While Harris is associating herself with Biden’s agenda to lower costs on Thursday, it comes one day before she is set to make campaign remarks in North Carolina about her own economic platform to deal with the rising cost of living, which will be her first major policy rollout since becoming the party’s nominee.
As Biden left the White House for Thursday’s event, he said he does not believe Harris will try to shift away from his economic policies when was asked by a reporter if he’d be bothered if she did so for political reasons.
“She’s not going to,” Biden responded.
Harris on Friday will propose a federal ban on corporate price-gouging on food and groceries, her campaign announced. She will also call for giving the Federal Trade Commission as well as state attorneys general the power to investigate and punish companies that violate the new rules.
“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know that price fluctuations are normal in free markets,” the campaign said in a press release. “But there’s a big difference between fair pricing in competitive markets, and excessive prices unrelated to the costs of doing business. Americans can see that difference in their grocery bills.”
Recently, Harris has also called for eliminating a tax on tips for service workers — a plan former President Donald Trump had introduced weeks ago. Her campaign also said her economic agenda will feature items to lower health care and housing costs.
Trump, in his own remarks delivered Wednesday that were also intended to focus on the economy, slammed the Biden-Harris administration record and briefly outlined his proposal to eliminate the tax on tips and taxes on Social Security benefits for seniors.
Trump’s criticisms often included falsehoods about the state of the economy and his own record, as he hit Biden and Harris over inflation.
“With four more years of Harris, your finances will never recover, they’re never going to recover. Our country will never recover, frankly, more importantly. It will be unrecoverable,” he claimed. “Vote Trump, and your incomes will soar, your savings will grow, young people will be able to afford a home and we will bring back the American dream bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Secret Service is making arrangements for former President Donald Trump to resume outdoor campaign rallies by surrounding his podium with bulletproof glass, multiple sources told ABC News.
The measure is typically used exclusively for sitting presidents, but the Secret Service is making an exception following the first attempted assassination of a presidential candidate since Robert Kennedy in 1968.
The Secret Service declined to comment on its use of ballistic glass. Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The Secret Service recommended that Trump stop holding outdoor rallies last month after a gunman in Butler, Pennsylvania, fired at him from a rooftop 400 feet from the stage, nicking his ear. A man in the crowd was killed in the attack.
Since July 13, Trump has held nearly a dozen campaign events, all of them indoors.
Trump has privately expressed a desire to campaign outdoors and has sought assurances it would be safe, the sources said.
At a rally at an indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on July 31, Trump complimented the size of the venue then told the crowd, “They’d prefer that we be in an arena. I don’t know why. But we’re not giving up the outdoor rallies. You know, all those people that we had to turn away today, at an outdoor rally you can have.”
Trump’s protective detail is preparing for glass panels to surround him on three sides, according to the sources — though it’s not immediately clear when that would start.
“The Secret Service use of UpArmored glass around former President Trump is another step to ensure the campaign is and remains secure,” said ABC News contributor Don Mihalek, a retired senior Secret Service agent. “This isn’t just a piece of glass but a large, bulky and heavy armored glass that will require extensive logistics capability, normally reserved for large-scale outdoor events.”
Typically, the ballistic glass is flown aboard a military cargo plane. In Trump’s case the Secret Service is ordering multiple sets to be stored around the country so it can be trucked wherever it’s needed, sources said.
Former Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, in the aftermath of the Butler shooting, beefed up the protective details for Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris, and their running mates. Other protectees, like second gentleman Doug Emhoff, also received an increase in protection, sources said.
U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Washington and is preparing to roll out her economic plan on the road in North Carolina on Friday, which will mark her first major policy rollout since becoming the Democratic nominee. As Donald Trump looks for a campaign reset, he spoke with Elon Musk live on Tuesday and will deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Here’s how the news is developing:
CBS News confirms VP debate will be Oct. 1 in New York City
The vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News is set for Oct. 1 in New York City, the network announced on Thursday morning, with both Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance agreeing to participate.
Vance on Thursday agreed to debate Walz on Oct. 1.
The debate will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.
CBS News on Wednesday said it invited the 2024 vice presidential nominees to debate, providing four dates as options. Walz indicated that he’d agreed to one on Oct. 1.
Vance said in a post on X that not only did he accept the CBS News debate on Oct. 1, but also challenged Walz to debate again on Sept. 18.
ABC News has asked the Harris campaign if Walz will also accept the Sept. 18 debate.
“The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why President Trump has challenged Kamala to three of them already,” Vance said.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie, Isabella Murray, Will McDuffie, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Fritz Farrow
Vance rep disputes suggestion he agrees role of ‘postmenopausal’ women is to help raise children
A spokesperson for JD Vance is pushing back after audio from a 2020 podcast resurfaced that seemed to suggest the vice presidential candidate agreed with the host, who said having grandmothers help raise children is “the whole purpose of the postmenopausal female.”
“The media is dishonestly putting words in JD’s mouth — of course he does not agree with what the host said,” Taylor Van Kirk, a Vance spokeswoman, said in a statement to ABC News.
In April 2020, on “The Portal” podcast, Vance discussed with the host how his mother-in-law moved in with him and his wife, Usha, after they welcomed their first child to help support the couple and how it was a positive experience.
“It makes him a much better human being to have exposure to his grandparents, I don’t know and the evidence on this, by the way, is like super clear,” Vance said.
The host, Eric Weinstein, then said to Vance, “That’s the whole purpose of the postmenopausal female in theory.”
Vance said, “Yep” after the host said “menopausal.”
Van Kirk said Wednesday night that Vance was reacting to another comment.
“JD reacted to the first part of the host’s sentence, assuming he was going to say: ‘that’s the whole purpose of spending time with grandparents.’ It’s a disgrace that the media is lying about JD instead of holding Kamala Harris accountable for her policies that caused sky high prices for groceries and everyday necessities, a disaster at the southern border, and a historic drug overdose epidemic,” her statement read.
Vance non-committal to proposed Oct. 1 debate with Walz
Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance did not outright commit to the Oct. 1 debate on CBS News with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, but speaking with Laura Ingraham on Fox News Wednesday night, Vance said he plans to go up against him on a debate stage.
“Look, Laura, we’re certainly going to debate Tim Walz. We just heard about this thing three hours ago, so we’re going to talk to them and figure out when we can debate,” Vance said.
Vance signaled he wants to meet Walz on the vice presidential debate stage more than once before the November election.
“I actually think we should do more than one debate, so hopefully we’re going to see him on Oct. 1, but hopefully we’re going to see him either before or after that because I think it’s important for the American people to actually see us discuss our views,” he said.
When Ingraham asked Vance if “there’s any doubt that you will not be there on Oct. 1 to debate Walz,” Vance said he “strongly suspects” he’ll be there.
“I strongly suspect we’re going to be there on Oct. 1, but we’re not going to do one of these fake debates, Laura, where they don’t actually have an audience there, where they don’t actually set the parameters in a right way, where you can have a good exchange of ideas,” Vance said.
Harris campaign calls out Trump over economy speech in North Carolina
The Harris campaign went on the offensive against former President Donald Trump Wednesday following his speech on the economy, saying he does not care about working families.
“During what was billed as a speech about his economic vision, Donald Trump said he’s ‘not sure the economy is the most important topic’ — because when you’re running to slash taxes for rich donors and corporations it’s easy not to care about the working families and middle-class Americans who get hurt as a result,” Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement to ABC News.
Trump delivered remarks Wednesday at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.
“The choice this November is clear: Building up the middle class will be the defining goal of Vice President Harris’ presidency — that’s why she’s focused on lowering costs for working families, holding greedy corporations accountable, and creating opportunity for all Americans,” Moussa said.
RFK Jr. appeals ruling that he cannot appear on New York ballot
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has officially appealed a New York judge’s ruling that he cannot appear on the state’s ballot because he misrepresented his place of residence on his nominating petition forms.
In the appeal, RFK Jr. called the judge’s ruling “an assault on New York voters who signed in record numbers to place me on their ballot.”
The independent presidential candidate went on to call the Democratic party “unrecognizable.”
“The party of my father and uncle’s time was committed to expanding voters’ rights and understood that competition at the ballot box is an essential part of American Democracy,” RFK Jr. said in the appeal.
“The DNC is now a party that uses lawfare in place of the democratic election process,” he added.
CBS invites VP nominees to debate, Walz agrees to Oct. 1 date
CBS News on Wednesday said it has invited the 2024 vice presidential nominees to debate.
The network said it provided four dates as options to the campaign. Democrat Tim Walz indicated that he’d agreed to one on Oct. 1.
“See you on October 1, JD,” Walz wrote on X.
A Harris campaign official said: “Harris for President has accepted CBS’ invitation to a Vice Presidential Candidate Debate on October 1. Governor Walz looks forward to debating JD Vance — if he shows up.”
-Isabella Murray and Hannah Demissie
Trump briefly mentions 2 recent policy proposals
Trump briefly mentioned two new policies he’s proposed in recent weeks: eliminating taxes on tip wages and on Social Security benefits for seniors.
“With your vote, I will end this injustice and I will always protect Social Security and Medicare for our great seniors,” he said.
But he did not offer further details of either policy. Some experts have warned his Social Security proposal could hurt the program by cutting down a funding source at a time when it faces solvency issues.
Trump attacks Harris on the economy, but talking little policy
Trump is in North Carolina to deliver remarks on the economy, but his speech so far has not revealed any new or detailed policy positions and instead is focused on bashing Harris on inflation and immigration.
“With four more years of Harris, your finances will never recover, they’re never going to recover. Our country will never recover, frankly, more importantly. It will be unrecoverable,” he said. “Vote Trump, and your incomes will soar, your savings will grow, young people will be able to afford a home and we will bring back the American dream bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”
Trump votes in Florida primary, speaks to reporters
Trump participated in early voting in Florida’s primary election at a polling location near his home in Palm Beach.
“Well, thank you very much, great honor to vote, done a fantastic job here, and we appreciate it,” Trump said as he walked out of the polling site.
Asked by reporters what the FBI had told him about the purported hack of his campaign’s email, Trump said, “They’re looking at it, and they’re doing it very professionally.”
He then insisted “it looks like it’s Iran,” while declining to say whether the FBI had told him it was Iran that hacked his campaign.
Trump also dodged questions about falsely accusing the Harris campaign of using AI-altered images to manipulate crowd sizes.
“I can’t say what was there, who was there. I can only tell you about ours,” he said. “We have the biggest crowds ever in the history of politics. We have crowds that nobody has ever seen before, and we continue to have that. We have a level of enthusiasm that nobody has seen before. They want to make America great again.”
Trump to hold press conference on Thursday
The former president announced Wednesday morning that he will hold a press conference in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday.
The presser is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Trump held a press conference last week at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he repeated numerous falsehoods as he criticized Harris.
Walz falsely claims he is first union member on presidential ticket since Reagan
Speaking to AFSCME members in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz claimed he was the “first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan.”
That claim is false: former President Donald Trump was a SAG-AFTRA member until he resigned in 2021 after the union’s national board found probable cause that Trump violated the group’s constitution by his actions on Jan. 6.
Trump was for years a member of the union, which represents more than 160,000 performers across a variety of media platforms, by virtue of his various appearances in films and television shows. He reported earning a pension from the union in his financial disclosures.
At a fundraiser later Tuesday, Walz repeated the claim, apparently unaware it was false.
Prior to his two terms as California governor, Reagan served twice as president of the Screen Actors Guild.
ABC News has reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment.
Harris, Walz to tour Pennsylvania ahead of the DNC
Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will take a bus tour through Pennsylvania on Sunday right before their appearance at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), ABC News has confirmed.
Sunday’s tour, first reported by CNN, will begin in Pittsburgh and will be the first time Harris, Walz and their spouses will appear on the campaign trail together. According to the campaign, they aim to have a cluster of intimate events with voters, ranging from canvass kick-offs to stops at local retail shops.
Trump to deliver remarks on economy in North Carolina
Former President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday as the campaign works to recenter its campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The election’s coming up, and the people want to hear about the economy,” Trump said during an interview with Elon Musk on X Monday, directly blaming the Biden-Harris administration for the current state of the economy.
The economy has been one of the Trump campaign’s central election issues this cycle — the former president often spending a considerable amount of time discussing inflation, gas prices and the job market.
“I just ask this: Are you better off now, or were you better off when I was president?” Trump said Monday night as he was wrapping up his conversation with Musk.
Omar decries ‘shameful’ opponents in primary race
Following her Tuesday night primary victory, Rep. Ilhan Omar told supporters: “We run the politics of joy, because we know it is joyful to fight for your neighbors.”
“We know it is joyful to want to live in a peaceful and equitable world,” she added, per ABC News’ St. Paul affiliate KSTP-TV.
Omar also had harsh words for her main primary opponent Don Samuels, though did not mention him by name.
“I hope that they reflect in the shameful way they decided to divide our district and the incredible people we are grateful to represent,” she said of her challengers.
Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar wins primary
Rep. Ilhan Omar has won her Congressional primary in Minnesota, multiple media outlets projected Tuesday night.
Omar’s win follows defeats by two of her fellow squad members in their primaries — Cori Bush from Missouri, and Jamaal Bowman of New York.
Omar had been expected to win in her district despite a challenge from former Minneapolis city council member Don Samuels.
Bush lost her primary earlier this month to St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell. He was backed by more than $8 million from the pro-Israel United Democracy Project.
Bowman lost to Westchester County Executive George Latimer in June. Per AdImpact, the race was the most expensive House primary on record, with most of the funding coming from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) United Democracy Project PAC in support of Latimer. Latimer was recruited to run by AIPAC.
Walz says he’s ‘damn proud’ of military record, thanks Vance for his service
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in his first solo campaign appearance, defended his military record and thanked his vice presidential opponent, Sen. JD Vance, for his service.
“I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Walz said to applause at the AFSCME convention in California. “And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record. Anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
Vance has repeatedly criticized how Walz has talked about his military record, which included 24 years in the Army National Guard before he retired to run for Congress in 2005. Vance served as a combat correspondent for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Read more about Vance’s comments and Walz’s background here.
Biden says he would attend Trump’s inauguration if he were elected
President Joe Biden on Tuesday, as he was departing the White House, said he would go to Trump’s inauguration in January if he were to win this year’s election.
“I have good manners, not like him,” Biden told reporters after being asked if he’d attend. Trump did not attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
Biden also defended his calling Trump “a genuine danger to American security,” a comment he made during his CBS News interview over the weekend. Asked whether that contradicted his calls to cool heated political rhetoric, Biden shot back: “That’s just a statement. That’s a factual statement.”
-Fritz Farrow
Judge’s ruling means independent Cornel West can appear on North Carolina ballot
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West will be allowed on the general election ballot in North Carolina following a judge’s ruling that reversed a decision that would have kept him off the ballot in the battleground state.
In a ruling on Monday, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify Justice for All North Carolina as a political party in the state. That party, started by West’s campaign, is nominating him as its candidate in North Carolina and some other states. The board had previously voted to deny certifying the party over concerns about how signatures were gathered for its petition to become a certified party.
Justice for All North Carolina called the decision a “monumental day for our party” but West’s campaign still faces headwinds. The Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that West’s campaign received “illegal In-Kind Contributions” from firms it used to collect signatures for ballot access petitions in Arizona and North Carolina — allegations West has pushed back on.
“We’ve always said we’re going to ensure the third party candidates are playing by the rules, and it’s clear his campaign isn’t playing by the rules,” DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni told ABC News after the complaint was filed.
-Oren Oppenheim
Walz to make his 1st solo campaign appearance
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday will embark on his first solo Harris-Walz campaign event as Harris’ running mate with a stop in Los Angeles for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) international convention.
Walz is set to speak at 3:35 p.m. ET.
Walz emerged as a popular candidate among labor unions during Harris’ search for a vice president pick, sources said. AFSCME represents 1.4 million public service members, and the union’s president, Lee Saunders, previously released a statement endorsing Harris for president.
Harris to roll out economic plan on Friday
Harris will outline her economic policy in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, her campaign announced, making it her first major policy rollout since jumping into the race.
Harris’ speech will detail her plan to “lower costs for middle-class families and take on corporate price-gouging,” a campaign official said.
The vice president has heavily focused her stump speech on the economy while on the campaign trail in recent weeks, saying over the weekend she would look to eliminate taxes on tips earned by service workers — a proposal Trump announced earlier this summer.
Harris’ college sorority creates PAC
The historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of which Vice President Kamala Harris counts herself a member, started its own political PAC last week, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission posted Monday.
The committee is named Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc., or AKA 1908 PAC, the filing shows.
Harris has been an AKA since her days as a student at the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. Harris on Monday visited the campus, her office confirmed to ABC News, but it’s not clear why she was there.
In July, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Harris spoke at the AKA’s annual Boulé in Dallas, Texas. Since then, as a candidate, she’s also addressed similar national gatherings of two other historically Black sororities, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho.
Trump says he will return to Butler, Pennsylvania after assassination attempt
After discussing the assassination attempt made against him in Pennsylvania in July, former President Donald Trump said he’s planning a trip back to Butler in October.
“We’re going back to Butler; we’re gonna go back in October,” Trump said, adding, “Butler is a big, great area.”
Addressing what he’ll say when he returns, Trump told Musk, “I think I’ll probably start by saying I was so horribly interrupted.”
Trump discusses assassination attempt with Musk, says he turned head at ‘perfect angle’
During his conversation with Musk, former President Donald Trump addressed the assassination attempt made against him during a campaign rally in July.
“It was amazing that I happened to be turned just at that perfect angle,” Trump said of the bullet, which grazed his right ear while his head was turned.
During the discussion, Trump mentioned the man who was killed in the shooting, saying, it was a “very sad situation.”
“We lost somebody that was firefighter, a great Trumper,” Trump said of Corey Comperatore, adding, “He was a just a fantastic family [man] and a fantastic man.”
Trump and Musk’s conversation on X appears to be delayed
The conversation between former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be delayed, with many X users reporting they cannot access the Spaces conversation.
“This Space is not available,” appeared for some users on X.
The conversation was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Judge orders RFK Jr. off New York ballot
A New York judge ruled Monday that the thousands of signatures gathered by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign in the state were “invalidated” after a Democrat-aligned group argued he misled voters by listing as his home an address he rarely visits.
The judge, Christina Ryba, ordered the New York Board of Elections to not include Kennedy’s name on the ballot this fall.
A lawyer representing Kennedy told reporters last week they would appeal any ruling that went against them.
The ruling could prompt Democrats to bring similar lawsuits against Kennedy in other states where he gathered signatures from registered voters to appear on the ballot.
The FBI is investigating alleged attempts by Iran to target the then-Biden-Harris campaign, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The alleged targeting via spear-fishing emails occurred before Biden announced he would exit the 2024 presidential race, the sources said.
While the campaign was targeted, the alleged hack was not successful, sources added.
The FBI is investigating a purported hack of the Trump campaign, according to a brief statement from the agency earlier Monday.
The FBI did not attribute the hack to anyone in its statement.
A source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Trump adviser Roger Stone has also been informed that his email accounts have been compromised, and that he’s cooperating with any investigation into the matter.
The Washington Post first reported the news.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will Steakin and Katherine Faulders
Biden, Obama, Clintons tentatively slated to speak at DNC: Sources
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are all tentatively slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week, sources familiar said.
The working speaking schedule, which can always change, is as follows, according to the sources:
Monday: President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday: Former President Barack Obama Wednesday: Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, former President Bill Clinton Thursday: Vice President Kamala Harris
-ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks and Fritz Farrow
Trump posts on X ahead of Musk interview
Trump posted on X for the first time in nearly a year ahead of his conversation with Elon Musk scheduled for Monday night.
The video posted is a previously released campaign ad referencing his multiple indictments and telling supporters, “They are not coming after me, they are coming after you.”
The last time Trump posted on X was Aug. 24, 2023. It was a picture of his mugshot from Fulton County, when he turned himself in to authorities following his election interference indictment in Georgia.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim
Trump to be interviewed by Elon Musk tonight
Trump, in a post to his conservative social media site Truth Social, announced he will be interviewed live by Musk on X at 8 p.m. ET.
It will mark a major return for Trump to X, formerly known as Twitter, since he was banned from the site following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was reinstated in late 2022 but declined to become active on the site again, despite boasting 88 million followers.
Musk endorsed Trump following the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president. Recently, Musk has amplified misinformation about voting and elections on his X feed.
Walz discusses ‘whirlwind’ 1st week on the campaign trail
In a video posted on his X account, the Minnesota governor discussed what he called “not a normal week” since being named as Harris’ running mate.
Walz confirmed some details reported previously by ABC News and others, including that he informed Harris’ vetting team that he had not used a teleprompter before.
“Not a normal week, which is a good thing. Started by missing a call from the Vice President, pretty important one. And then got that call and honored to join the ticket with Kamala Harris to take us in a great direction,” Walz said.
“After that, it has been a whirlwind. We got on a plane and we flew to Philly, and they told me that in an hour I’d be giving a speech and there would be a teleprompter, something I had never used in my life, so certainly terrified, but was lifted up by the folks in Philly.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Harris wraps battleground state blitz, Vance makes rounds on Sunday shows
Over the weekend, Harris closed out a cross-country tour that included stops in battleground states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona, as well as North Carolina and Nevada.
New polling released Saturday showed Harris taking the lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin among likely voters. The New York Times/Siena College polls showed Harris at 50% among likely voters in each state, while Trump polled at 46%.
Vance, too, campaigned in key 2024 states and made the rounds on the Sunday shows. During his cable news appearances, Vance reiterated campaign talking points on immigration and repeatedly hit Harris for not sitting down for extensive media interviews and laying out her agenda. Harris has done brief gaggles with reporters and said she’d unveil an economic policy platform this week.
Vance responds to mass deportation plan: ‘Let’s start with one million’
Sen. JD Vance told ABC News he blamed Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration’s policies, such as ending “Remain in Mexico,” for the ongoing migrant crisis.
When asked how he and Trump would accomplish their stated goal of mass deporting as many as 20 million immigrants — a proposal experts previously told ABC News would be a “nightmare” — Vance said they would take a “sequential approach.”
“I mean do you go knock on doors and ask people for their papers? What do you do,” Karl asked.
“You start with what’s achievable,” Vance said. “I think that if you deport a lot of violent criminals and frankly if you make it harder to hire illegal labor, which undercuts the wages of American workers, I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem.”
“I think it’s interesting that people focus on, well, how do you deport 18 million people? Let’s start with one million. That’s where Kamala Harris has failed. And then we can go from there,” Vance said.
Harris cautions donors to ‘not take anything for granted’
Vice President Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser in San Francisco Sunday where she maintained her campaign “will win this election,” but cautioned donors to “not take anything for granted.”
“I know there’s a lot of enthusiasm out there,” Harris said, adding, “And you know, I’ve never been one to really believe in the polls — whether they’re up or they’re down.”
“What we know is the stakes are so high and we can take nothing for granted in this critical moment,” she continued. “So we will fuel our campaign as we have, with enthusiasm and optimism, but also with a deep commitment to the hard work it’s going to take, and to campaign.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi introduced Harris at the event, touting the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration and the background of vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, several times calling the Harris-Walz ticket “the freedom ticket.”
“[Harris] makes us all so proud. She brings us so much joy. She gives us so much hope,” Pelosi said, calling the vice president “politically very astute.”
Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gives a keynote speech during the Bitcoin 2024 conference at Music City Center on July 26, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently sought a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris, according to multiple people familiar with the outreach.
Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, Kennedy’s campaign manager, told ABC News that she and Kennedy reached out to the Harris team but have yet to hear back.
The outreach was the latest in a monthslong and fruitless effort by the Kennedy campaign to speak with top Democrats, including President Joe Biden when he sat atop the Democratic ticket, Fox Kennedy told ABC.
However, the most recent attempts to meet with Harris appear to have carried extra meaning: the Washington Post reported Wednesday that Kennedy wanted to discuss the possibility of serving in Harris’ cabinet in exchange for an endorsement to help her over the finish line this fall.
Fox Kennedy did not dispute the details of the story and told ABC News, “Bobby has always been willing to meet with both parties to discuss the possibility of a unity government.”
However, on Thursday morning, Kennedy posted on X that he has “no plans to endorse Kamala Harris for President.”
“I do have plans to defeat her,” he added at the end of a post that included specific criticisms of Harris and the Democratic Party.
Democrats on Wednesday all but dismissed the possibility of working out a deal with Kennedy, whose poll numbers have steadily dipped throughout the summer.
“No one has any intention of negotiating with a MAGA-funded fringe candidate who has sought out a job with Donald Trump in exchange for an endorsement,” said Lis Smith, an advisor to the Democratic National Committee.
Kennedy has met multiple times with Republican nominee Donald Trump, including an in-person meeting in Milwaukee last month where the men discussed possible roles for Kennedy in a Trump administration, as ABC News previously reported.
Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gives a keynote speech during the Bitcoin 2024 conference at Music City Center on July 26, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently sought a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris, according to multiple people familiar with the outreach.
Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, Kennedy’s campaign manager, told ABC News that she and Kennedy reached out to the Harris team but have yet to hear back.
The outreach was the latest in a monthslong and fruitless effort by the Kennedy campaign to speak with top Democrats, including President Joe Biden when he sat atop the Democratic ticket, Fox Kennedy told ABC.
However, the most recent attempts to meet with Harris appear to have carried extra meaning: the Washington Post reported Wednesday that Kennedy wanted to discuss the possibility of serving in Harris’ cabinet in exchange for an endorsement to help her over the finish line this fall.
Fox Kennedy did not dispute the details of the story and told ABC News, “Bobby has always been willing to meet with both parties to discuss the possibility of a unity government.”
Democrats on Wednesday all but dismissed the possibility of working out a deal with Kennedy, whose poll numbers have steadily dipped throughout the summer.
“No one has any intention of negotiating with a MAGA-funded fringe candidate who has sought out a job with Donald Trump in exchange for an endorsement,” said Lis Smith, an advisor to the Democratic National Committee.
Kennedy has met multiple times with Republican nominee Donald Trump, including an in-person meeting in Milwaukee last month where the men discussed possible roles for Kennedy in a Trump administration, as ABC News previously reported.
(WASHINGTON) — Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance is set to attend a high-dollar fundraiser in the Hamptons next weekend, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by ABC News.
The event is set to be hosted by a number of big-name Trump donors, including billionaire hedge-fund manager John Paulson and Omeed Malik, the president of the investment firm 1789 Capital.
Trump’s former secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross, is also listed as a host for the fundraiser, which is billed as an “afternoon event with next Vice President of the United States.”
The fundraiser is set to be held in Southampton, New York, next Sunday, the invite said. Tickets to the roundtable event cost $25,000, with an “attendee” ticket going for $5,000. Inclusion in the host committee costs $50,000 per person, the invite said.
A person familiar with the event said it is expected to raise somewhere in the millions.
Notably, the event is also set to be cohosted by two former George W. Bush appointees. Cliff Sobel was the ambassador to the Netherlands under Bush, as well as ambassador to Brazil under the Bush and Obama administrations. Jeffrey served as Under Secretary, Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs after being nominated by Bush in 2007.
The event comes as both Trump and Vance have been on an aggressive fundraising blitz in recent weeks, with under three months to go until the election. Vance has been crisscrossing the country, raising money in California, Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Minnesota.
Trump’s fundraiser at the home of billionaire financier Howard Lutnick’s home in Bridgehampton, New York, earlier this month was similarly backed by wealthy allies including Malik, Paulson and Richard Kurtz. Lutnick said that event brought in $15 million for the campaign and the Republican Party.
Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee’s joint fundraising operation together raised a total of $138.7 million in the month of July — an uptick from their June fundraising total — and entered August with $327 million in cash on hand, the campaign said.
It trailed the $310 million the Harris campaign said it raised in July, as they entered August with $377 million cash on hand. That haul was buoyed by the $200 million the campaign said it raised within a week of President Joe Biden dropping out of the race.
It’s unclear how much the operation had raised before Harris took over the campaign. The money was raised by the Biden and Harris campaigns, the Democratic National Committee, and their joint fundraising committees.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is facing backlash after a post on Tuesday that showed two side-by-side images that disparaged immigrants, writing “Import the third world. Become the third world.”
The image on the left, captioned “Your neighborhood under Trump,” shows a nice, clean town home with the American flag hanging. There are no people in the photo.
The image on the right, captioned “Your neighborhood under Kamala,” shows a cropped version of a Getty Images photo of migrants in New York City in August 2023.
The photo mostly features people of color. The Getty Images caption describes the people in the photo as recent migrants that were camping outside of the Roosevelt Hotel, which had been made into a reception center for migrants.
Critics, responding to the post, are accusing the campaign of doubling down on racial hostility and an anti-immigrant sentiment.
“Don’t just take our word for it. They are showing all of us just how racist they are,” wrote NAACP’s X account. “This is what’s on the ballot this November.”
“Well, didn’t take too long for the Trump campaign to get to the openly racist part of their effort,” Bill Burton, former deputy press secretary for former President Barack Obama, wrote in a post on X.
The Trump campaign doubled down on the post, saying it “emphasizes the contrast between President Trump and Kamala Harris’ immigration policies.”
“President Trump puts Americans first and secured our border. Kamala Harris has opened our border to millions of illegal immigrants from all over the world and has forced struggling taxpayers to pay for their free entry into the country,” Trump campaign’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC News in a statement.
Former Trump campaign adviser Bryan Lanza also defended the post on CNN Tuesday night, saying race was not a factor and “[he doesn’t’] think Republicans look at skin color.”
“I don’t think that that image is racist,” Republican commentator Tricia McLaughlin also said on CNN with Lanza. “I think that they’re showing chaos.”
On the campaign trail, Trump has repeated disparaging rhetoric on undocumented immigrants, claiming they’re criminals and mental health patients and often describing them with racially charged language, calling them “animals” or saying they’re “poisoning the blood of our country.”
The Trump campaign has used similar images and rhetoric showing migrant encampments in their campaign ads and other materials, claiming Vice President Kamala Harris’ agenda includes putting “illegals first.” In addition to highlighting various migrant crimes, the Trump campaign touts its “America-first agenda” as well as their promise of mass deportation on Day 1 of his presidency should he win.
Trump continues to spread the false claim that Harris was appointed “border czar,” despite Harris never actually having special responsibilities relating to the border.
Rather, Harris was tasked with leading diplomatic efforts to “address the root causes” of migration in Central America, primarily focusing on El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. In fact, Biden served a similar role when he was vice president.
“Kamala Harris has pursued a policy of allowing large numbers of unvetted migrants into our country. It has led to predictable and extremely tragic results,” Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, wrote Wednesday morning on X.
During an interview on X Monday night, Trump told Musk that the migrant crisis has “overwhelmed” New York City.
Trump also insisted on repeating sweeping claims that undocumented immigrants are “non-productive” people even after Musk said undocumented immigrants are “probably good, hard-working people.”
At the Republican National Convention last month, Trump emphasized his stance on immigration, and attendees displayed signs calling for “Mass Deportations Now.”
