Trump dunks on Detroit during speech while Obama campaigns for Harris with less than one month until election day: Live
Donald Trump managed to insult another city in a key swing state after calling Milwaukee, Wisconsin, “horrible” earlier this summer
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Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump by four points in the latest Economist/YouGov poll, 49-45 percent, and appears to have pulled ahead with suburban voters according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey — though one data analyst says the former president’s odds of winning have inexplicably surged.
Meanwhile, Trump has rejected Fox News’s offer to host a final presidential debate between him and his Democratic rival, having also spurned CNN’s invitation to a second contest.
“THERE WILL BE NO REMATCH,” the Republican said on Truth Social. “SO THERE IS NOTHING TO DEBATE.”
In a 2-hour speech for the Detroit Economic Club on Thursday, Trump managed to disparage the city — largest in the vital swing state of Michigan — in the same way he called Milwaukee “horrible” before the Republican National Convention.
Exclusive polling for The Independent has meanwhile indicated that Republicans are tiring of Trump and prefer his running mate, JD Vance, although they consider Democrat Tim Walz more presidential than this rival.
Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are hitting the campaign trail for Harris, with the 44th president speaking in Pittsburgh on Thursday evening and the 42nd focusing on rural voters.
Trump calls Whoopi Goldberg ‘demented’ during Pennsylvania rally full of personal attacks
Trump gaining in polling to win the ‘Blue Wall’ states as Harris poll momentum slows
Poll shows Republican voters are tired of Trump and much prefer JD Vance
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Harris vs. Trump: who will make history? Join our exclusive US election event
Trump went on an eight-minute rant calling for the death penalty
Donald Trump was asked about his family and parenting style at an event in Detroit, Michigan on Thursday.
At first, his response was on-topic. But his answer quickly devolved into an eight-minute rant about drugs that ended in him explaining why some people convicted of fentanyl-related crimes should face the death penalty.
Trump was speaking at the Detroit Economic Club on Thursday afternoon when his outburst began. Businessman John Rakolta Jr., who interviewed the former president in front of club members, complimented his parenting style before asking how he made his children “so responsible.”
“Well, I’m fortunate in that, you know, they’re smart children,” Trump responded.
Before Rakolta could say anything else, Trump then began to discuss fentanyl, claiming he “had that problem almost solved with President Xi [Jinping]” while serving as president.
“Almost all of it comes through Mexico, and the maximum penalty is the death penalty, and he was going to impose that,” Trump said.
Former president Barack Obama expected on stage soon
With just a few weeks to go until Election Day, former president Barack Obama is hitting the campaign trail on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris tonight, hoping to rally support for her in the key battleground state, Pennsylvania.
The rally, which is taking place at the University of Pittsburgh, is expected to begin around 7:30 p.m. ET.
It is the first of several stops Obama is expected to make for Harris in swing states.
From JD Vance’s town hall in Greensboro, NC
They are playing the same playlist at this JD Vance town hall on a loop.
I have heard the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” twice and am now on my second go-around with “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses.
Kamala Harris’s honeymoon period is over — the polls make that clear
Where will the 2024 election be decided?
In short, everywhere.
A new batch of polls came out this week, with a little less than one month to go in the presidential election. Kamala Harris’s “honeymoon” surge is now officially over.
John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.
The polls are clear: Kamala Harris’s honeymoon period is over
In a half-dozen swing states, a razor-thin margin separates Trump and Harris. It’s anyone’s ballgame.
Republicans file lawsuits to challenge overseas ballots (including those of military personnel)
Republicans have filed a flurry of lawsuits in battleground states to target ballots cast by American voters living abroad — including military service members.
Critics warn the move is designed to cast doubt on the legitimacy of 2024’s forthcoming presidential election.
Alex Woodward reports.
Republicans file flurry of lawsuits to challenge ballots from Americans living abroad
GOP members of Congress and the RNC are suing to stop states from counting ballots from voters overseas
Florida MAGA Republican praises Biden and blasts Mike Johnson's hurricane response
A MAGA Republican ally of former president Donald Trump who has persistently spread lies and misinformation about Hurricane Helene relief is now praising President Joe Biden while bashing House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who represents Florida's 13th district that got hit by Hurricane Helene, said she spoke with Biden.
"He is personally overseeing that FEMA does not create problems with the debris removal and is supportive of the 15 Billion in FEMA funds ONLY FOR Hurricane victims," she said on X/Twitter.
Luna had previously criticized Biden and spread lies and misinformation.
"I HAVE PEOPLE THAT HAVE DIED IN MY COUNTY AND FEMA GAVE FUNDING TO ILLEGALS," she said last week. This came despite the fact that she had left Florida to campaign with Trump in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
But now, Luna praised Biden and also blasted House Speaker Mike Johnson since Congress is out of session.
"If Congress goes into a special session we can get it passed immediately," she posted. "This needs to happen. @SpeakerJohnson call us back."
Luna has been one of the hellraisers in Congress who initially blocked Kevin McCarthy from becoming speaker early last year before she flipped her vote.
But she is feeling the heat in her home district as Whitney Fox, a Democrat, is running a competitive race.
Fellow Republican rep Nancy Mace of South Carolina responded to Luna’s post on X: “Thank you Biden for doing the right thing here. We need to put politics aside and help the American people here.”
Earlier: Harris campaign distances itself from interview editing claims
Kamala Harris’s campaign has distanced itself from questions over her 60 Minutes interview after Donald Trump baselessly accused the network of committing a crime with its production of her interview.
Right-wing critics on social media posted side-by-side clips of the preview of her interview — in which Harris delivered a lengthy response to 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker on whether the US lacks influence over Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — next to the same segment in the final broadcast that aired October 7.
Alex Woodward reports.
Harris campaign distances itself from 60 Minutes interview editing claims
Trump continues to baselessly accuse the network of committing a crime and threatens to pull its license
Ohioans still voting for Trump — even though they know his claims about migrants are false
Most voters in Ohio do not believe Donald Trump’s racist falsehood that Haitian immigrants are “eating the pets” of Springfield.
But the Republican presidential candidate is still leading Vice President Kamala Harris by roughly six percentage points in the state, maintaining his lead from his 2016 and 2020 victories, according to polling from The Washington Post.
Alex Woodward took a look at the numbers.
Ohioans know Trump is lying about immigrants — but still plan to vote for him
More than 4 in 10 Republicans in the Buckeye State believe Trump’s lie that Haitians are eating pets, poll finds
The Mark Robinson scandal arrives down-ballot
Eric Garcia reports from Greensboro, North Carolina:
Many have wondered whether CNN's bombshell report showing that North Carolina gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson allegedly regularly commented on a pornography site called Nude Africa, where he called himself a "black NAZI" and expressed his preference for pornography with transgender women despite his rampant transphobia, would affect the presidential election.
Donald Trump has regularly praised Robinson, though he stiff-armed him at a rally in Wilmington. It comes as North Carolina is a must-win state for both Kamala Harris and Trump's campaigns. JD Vance, Trump's running mate, is in Greensboro tonight for a town hall.
But ultimately, it's unclear whether it will have an effect. What is clear is that Democrats in the state running for lower offices are seeking to tie their opponents to Robinson.
Rachel Hunt, the Democratic nominee for Robinson's current job of lieutenant governor, released an ad asking "Who's worse than Mark Robinson?" Before answering "his choice for lieutenant governor Hal Weatherman," highlighting how he had mocked rape victims by saying "girls can be teases."
The ad ends with Hunt, the daughter of former four-term governor Jim Hunt, opening a janitor's closet.
"And since I'm moving into Robinson's office, I'll start with a gallon of this," holding a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.
Coming up: Obama’s first Kamala Harris rally aims at young voters in Pennsylvania
Former President Barack Obama will make his case for Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday night during a rally at a Pittsburgh college campus, as Democrats seek to spur young people to vote in the Nov. 5 election.
Obama has been a vocal supporter of Harris since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden stepped aside in July following a poor debate performance against Republican former President Donald Trump.
Obama, whose White House term ended in 2017, is still popular with his party's base. His rally at the University of Pittsburgh, which he will headline while Harris campaigns in Nevada and Arizona, is the first of several events he plans to do in battleground states across the country in the coming weeks.
Obama is not the only former president the Harris campaign plans to deploy.
Bill Clinton, a two-term Democratic president and former Arkansas governor, will make stops in Georgia on Sunday and Monday before traveling to North Carolina for a bus tour later in the week in an effort to reach rural voters.
In remarks slated to begin around 7:15 pm ET (2315 GMT), Obama will say Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, her running mate, are uniquely positioned to lead the United States at this moment, according to his adviser Eric Schultz.
"He'll also talk about the enormous stakes and the risks involved in returning President Trump into office," Schultz said.
Youth are a critical part of the coalition that the Harris campaign hopes will propel her to victory. But voter registration among young people in 34 states is down compared with four years ago, according to data updated in September from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.
The number of people between the ages of 18 and 29 who are registered to vote in Pennsylvania in September was 15 percent lower than it was on Election Day in 2020, the center's data showed.
Obama's engagement could help get young people motivated in the campaign's final stretch. The former president has sought to serve as a closer for Democratic candidates before, with events for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and for Biden in 2020, especially at the end of the election cycle when early voting had begun, as it has now.
Obama is focused on voters who can put the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate in Democratic hands, another aide said. The former president has helped raise $80 million for the 2024 presidential campaign.
Obama and his wife Michelle gave rousing speeches in support of Harris at the Democratic National Convention in August; the former first lady is expected to campaign further for Harris as well.
Harris was an early supporter of Barack Obama's own 2008 presidential bid, and he has helped her behind the scenes as the party's 2024 standard-bearer, encouraging her to tap talent to bolster her campaign, which she did.
The former president is viewed by some as having helped usher Biden out of the race after Democrats' worries about the 81-year-old leader's age and abilities skyrocketed after his June debate against Trump.
Harris and Trump remain in a close race, and winning Pennsylvania could be key to winning the White House.
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