Trump rallies in Butler for first time since attempted assassination: Live
Ex-president returns to Pennsylvania with Elon Musk for campaign rally at the site of his attempted assassination
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Donald Trump returned to the venue in Butler, Pennsylvania where he survived an assassination attempt just three months ago.
Billionaire and ardent Trump supporter Elon Musk joined the former president onstage at the rally, marking the first time the Tesla CEO has publicly appeared at a Trump campaign event since he endorsed him shortly after the shooting in July.
Musk falsely claimed that Democratic officials want to strip Americans’ of their voting rights, and suggested that if Trump does not win against Kamala Harris in November, “this will be the last election.”
JD Vance, Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump — the co-chair of the Republican National Committee — and other high-profile Trump allies and donors joined the rally. The family of Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief who was killed in the attack, also was in attendance.
After a series of failures by the Secret Service at the July 13 rally, revealed in a damning Congressional report, the agency has provided a number of security enhancements. There is “a large coordinated presence of law enforcement” at the rally, a source in law enforcement familiar with the plan told The Independent.
Nude Trump statue appears again in new city after vanishing in Vegas
A 43-foot tall nude effigy of Donald Trump has reportedly reappeared behind a marijuana dispensary in Arizona, after disappearing last week from beside a highway near Las Vegas.
Josh Marcus has the story.
Nude Trump on tour: Naked statue appears again in new city after vanishing in Vegas
Artist says statue will travel across the country
MAGA congressman seen in photo wearing blackface
MAGA lawmaker Mike Lawler has been forced to apologize after a photo emerged of him wearing blackface at a Halloween college party.
The photo of the 38-year-old rising House star, published by The New YorkTimes, shows Lawler dressed as Michael Jackson at a party at Manhattan College in October 2006.
In the image, Lawler, who is in a close-run race to hold onto his seat, is sporting a red leather Thriller jacket and striking one of Jackson’s signature poses. His face has been visibly darkened.
James Liddell has the story.
MAGA rep in photo wearing blackface as part of Michael Jackson Halloween costume
‘This was really not what could truly be construed as blackface,’ Mike Lawler claimed during his apology
Trump says he’ll set up an anti-woke task force in US military to monitor generals
During a campaign event on Friday in North Carolina, Donald Trump said he would create a task force to monitor “woke generals” and eliminate diversity trainings in the military.
“They’re gone,” Trump told the crowd, referring to the generals.
The proposal came in response to a question from Matthew Lohmeier, a former F-15 pilot who was relieved of his command in Trump’s Space Force in 2021 after criticizing diversity and inclusion training on a conservative podcast.
More details in our full story.
Trump says he’ll set up an anti-woke task force in US military to monitor generals
Trump previously joined Republican pile-on accusing military of being ‘woke’
Alyssa Farah Griffin gets emotional over Liz Cheney ‘speaking out’ against Trump
Alyssa Farah Griffin, former Donald Trump aide-turned-TV presenter, has praised longtime Republican Liz Cheney for putting aside her “ambition” and “career” to endorse Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
On the latest episode of The View, co-host Griffin appeared to get emotional as she spoke out in awe of Cheney, who on Thursday (October 3) pledged her support of Vice President Harris.
“Liz Cheney is one of the people I admire most,” the former Pentagon Press Secretary, 35, said on the latest episode of the ABC talk show.
Inga Parkel has the story.
Alyssa Farah Griffin gets emotional over Liz Cheney ‘speaking out’ against Trump
The former Trump aide hailed Cheney as a ‘true leader’ who put aside her career and ambition to ‘do what’s right’
Trump campaign encourages early voting again, even though it also hates that
The Trump campaign is once again encouraging its supporters to vote early, despite Donald Trump’s regular attacks on mail-in voting.
This time, it was RNC co-chair Lara Trump who closed today’s North Carolina rally with a call for early votes.
So what does Trump actually think about early voting? Well, it depends on the day.
Trump is all over the place on ‘stupid’ early voting
Former president has consistently attacked early voting, even as party officials try to encourage it
JD Vance praises Marjorie Taylor Greene hours after she suggested Hurricane Helene was man-made
Senator JD Vance had kind words for Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene — just hours after she suggested that a mysterious “they” can control the weather and inflicted Hurricane Helene on Republican voters in Georgia and North Carolina.
Greene is well known for repeating nonsense conspiracy theories. She’s voiced her belief in “Jewish space lasers”and has been cozy with QAnon ideas both before and during her time in office.
She made her latest bizarre claim on X, this time concerning the weather.
“Yes, they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done,” Greene wrote.
Graig Graziosi reports.
JD Vance praises MTG hours after she suggested Hurricane Helene was man-made
Vance called Greene a “great friend” and “one hell of a Congresswoman”
Trump falsely claims he gave military the biggest pay raise
During his North Carolina town hall on Friday, Donald Trump just claimed he gave the military the largest pay raise in its history.
In fact, in late 2023, it was Joe Biden who gave the military its largest basic pay raise in decades.
Trump and Anna Paulina Luna slam Harris on Hurricane Helene response
Donald Trump and Representative Anna Paulina Luna are both tearing into the Biden-Harris administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.
Trump claimed the response was the worst disaster response since Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, while Representative Luna baselessly accused federal officials of cutting off aid because conservative communities were among those that got hit by the storm.
In fact, Asheville, one of the cities facing the most storm destruction, is highly Democratic, and sits in a county that went for Joe Biden in 2020.
Stephen Colbert points out ‘weird word choice’ in Trump court filing
Stephen Colbert has pointed out a “weird word choice” in special counsel Jack Smith’s latest court filing regarding Donald Trump in the federal election interference case.
The 165-page dossier, which was unsealed by a federal judge in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, alleges that Trump intentionally lied to voters, election officials, and even his vice president in a “desperate” effort to cling to power. It marks the most detailed case laid out by prosecutors to date, coming after the Supreme Court ruling granted him some immunity from criminal prosecution.
Kevin E G Perry reports on what word caught Colbert’s eye.
Stephen Colbert points out ‘weird word choice’ in Trump court filing
‘That’s like saying, with nowhere else to turn, the bear resorted to pooping in the woods,’ joked Colbert
Did Kamala Harris really ‘lose' thousands of migrant kids?
Trump just brought up the now-familiar Republican claim that Kamala Harris lost hundreds of thousands of migrant kids on her watch.
As usual for the Trump campaign, the comment is related to a kernel of actual fact and a whole lot exagerration.
“300,000 children are missing during the Biden reign,” Trump said.
“Many of them are dead. Many of them are in sex slavery. Many of them are in slavery, period,” Trump continued.
Here’s the actual news that spawned this GOP smear, an inspector general report that found that hundreds of thousands of migrant children hadn’t appeared in removal proceedings because they hadn’t been immediately served with notices to appear.
Department of Homeland Security may have lost track of thousands of child migrants
‘ICE has no assurance [they] are safe,’ agency watchdog report finds
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