US elections live: Harris responds to Biden’s ‘garbage’ gaffe; Trump and vice president to host dueling rallies in swing states
Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump both heading to North Carolina on Thursday after Democrat delivers ‘closing argument’ speech and defends Joe Biden over latest gaffe
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With less than a week to go in the US presidential election race, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are making their final pitches to voters, with both set to appear in battleground North Carolina on Wednesday.
The Democratic presidential nominee has been forced to respond to Joe Biden inadvertently whipping up a conservative media storm by seemingly calling Trump’s supporters “garbage” in response to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s already-notorious Madison Square Garden joke about Puerto Rico.
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American,” the president told Latinos on a Zoom call on Tuesday.
Harris told reporters on Wednesday that she “strongly” disagrees with any criticism of the public based on their voting intentions.
The Democrat delivered her “closing argument” at the Ellipse in Washington DC last night, speaking on the very same spot from which Trump told his supporters to “fight like hell” on January 6 2021.
She urged Americans to finally “turn the page” on the “division, chaos and mutual distrust” of the Trump era, characterising her opponent as a cynical opportunist vulnerable to the influence of malign actors at home and abroad.
Trump pounces as Biden accused of calling MAGA supporters ‘garbage’ in wake of racist joke — but did he say it?
Trump tries to brush off racist joke about Puerto Rico with series of far-fetched boasts
Harris campaign says 75,000 people at Ellipse speech – 22,000 more than Trump’s Jan 6 crowd at same spot
I was there when Trump dispatched his mob to the Capitol. Tonight, I saw Harris offer a stark warning from the same spot
Harris urges Americans to ‘turn the page’ on ‘divisive’ Trump as she delivers closing argument in DC
Michael Bloomberg shows his hand on election with $50m donation - ‘after pressure from Bill Gates’
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has reportedly donated $50 million to back Kamala Harris under pressure from a fellow billionaire.
The news of Bloomberg’s financial support comes just one week before election day, with the polling between Harris and Donald Trump neck and neck.
Ariana Baio has the full report:
Bloomberg shows hand on election with $50m donation ‘after pressure from Bill Gates’
Billionaires are picking sides in the hotly contested presidential race - with Bloomberg joining Bill Gates in backing Kamala Harris while Elon Musk is firmly in Donald Trump’s camp
I was there when Trump dispatched his mob to the Capitol. Tonight, I saw Harris speak at the same spot
Nearly four years ago Richard Hall watched as MAGA supporters stormed the Capitol and assaulted police officers. Tonight, at the very spot where Trump riled up the mob, Kamala Harris made her pitch to the US electorate, offering a stark contrast with the man she is running against
Here’s his report from Washington, DC.
I saw Trump dispatch his mob from the Ellipse. Tonight, I saw Harris offer a warning
Nearly four years ago Richard Hall watched as MAGA supporters stormed the Capitol and assaulted police officers. Tonight, at the very spot where Trump riled up the mob, Kamala Harris made her pitch to the US electorate, offering a stark contrast with the man she is running against
Trump’s economic plans will lead to ‘hardship’ and cause markets to ‘tumble’ — Elon Musk seems to think so
The world’s wealthiest man appears to believe that a Donald Trump presidency must crash the economy in order to benefit Americans.
Elon Musk agreed on Tuesday that proposed drastic cuts to the federal government, coupled with Trump’s sweeping deportations, will likely cause global markets to “tumble.”
Last week, Musk said during a virtual town hall that Americans will experience a “temporary hardship” for “long-term prosperity.”
Alex Woodward reports.
Elon Musk agrees: Trump’s economic plans will lead to ‘hardship’
The former president’s wealthy allies are promoting the idea of economic collapse and high prices as a necessary side effect of Trump’s economic agenda
Biden issues clarification of remarks about Puerto Rico slur at Trump rally
President Joe Biden has issued a clarification regarding his remarks about the racist comment made about Puerto Rico at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.
Biden said: “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it.”
He continued: “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
Harris campaign says 75,000 people at Ellipse speech... 22,000 more than Trump’s Jan 6 crowd
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign claimed she drew a crowd of more than 75,000 people in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to hear her speech at the Ellipse, the site of Donald Trump’s infamous 2021 speech exhorting supporters to “fight like hell” in the moments just before the January 6 Capitol riot.
If its own early estimate is to be believed, the Harris event drew about 22,000 more people than the Trump speech, whose crowd was estimated by the House committee investigating the Capitol riot to be about 53,000 people.
Josh Marcus has the details.
Harris says 75,000 people at Ellipse speech – 22,000 more than Trump on Jan 6
On rally stage, vice president said she would seek ‘common ground’
Watch: Michelle Obama stops speech to call for help for audience member
Biden denounces attacks on Puerto Rico
President Joe Biden tonight participated in a Zoom call with Latinos and denounced attacks on Puerto Rico at Donald Trump’s rally on Sunday at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
In somewhat rambling remarks, Biden said the “only garbage” he saw was intolerance of Trump supporters who believed what was said on stage when a comedian called the US territory a “floating island of garbage”.
The White House claims that this is their transcript of Biden’s comments: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s -- his -- his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates: “The President referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”
Trump already spreading false claims about voter fraud in Pennsylvania
As Election Day nears, Donald Trump has shared false and exaggerated claims about the integrity of the vote in the key swing state of Pennsylvania.
In a Truth Social post on Monday evening, Trump claimed multiple counties in Pennsylvania were experiencing major potential fraud, outpacing the facts on the ground.
Josh Marcus reports.
Trump already spreading false claims about voter fraud in Pennsylvania
Former president’s recent social media post exaggerates and mischaracterizes election investigations in state
Watch: Trump again complains Michelle Obama was ‘very nasty to me'
Trump has a long history of being blatantly offensive. Was a joke at his MSG rally finally too far?
Donald Trump’s Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City was meant to be a show of strength for the former president ahead of election week.
But the event became a disaster before Trump took to the stage. Early-in-the-night comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke: “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” set off a cascade of negative reactions that rapidly spun out of control.
Alex Woodward examines how, despite Trump’s long history of blatantly offensive remarks, this joke might have been one step too far:
Trump is desperately trying to fix his Puerto Rico crisis. It isn’t going well
Tony Hinchcliffe’s remarks turn what should have been a good final week into a dumpster fire
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