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Harris questions if Trump is fit for ‘the toughest job’ after campaign reports he’s exhausted: Live

While both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have events in Michigan today as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton campaign for vice president in Arizona and North Carolina

Oliver O'Connell,Joe Sommerlad
Friday 18 October 2024 23:10
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Kamala Harris speaks in Grand Rapids, Michigan, October 18, 2024

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Donald Trump found himself confronted by a collection of friends and foes as he attended the Al Smith Memorial Dinner on Thursday, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and New York Attorney General Letitia James among his enemies in attendance.

Accompanied by his wife Melania Trump, the Republican presidential nominee was roasted by host Jim Gaffigan before delivering the Catholic charity gala’s keynote speech, in which he derided election rival Kamala Harris, former president Barack Obama, and Schumer, and commiserated with city mayor Eric Adams on his recent indictment.

While Trump complained about Harris’s absence, the vice president did send in a short comedic video in lieu of appearing, featuring comic Molly Shannon.

Harris spent her evening rallying supporters in Green Bay, Wisconsin, remarking: “When you listen to Donald Trump talk, it becomes increasingly clear, he has no idea what he’s talking about.”

She also declared that “the American people are exhausted with his gaslighting” and sent two MAGA activists out when they heckled her.

Meanwhile, Fox News host Bret Baier admitted to a mistake with a video clip during his interview with Harris this week — something that she was able to play to her advantage.

Both candidates will be in battleground Michigan on Friday.

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NRA took aim at Tim Walz — it totally backfired

The National Rifle Association, the influential firearms lobbying group, was mocked online for allegedly getting the facts wrong on a video claiming vice presidential candidate Tim Walz doesn’t know how to use a shotgun.

Josh Marcus has the story.

NRA take a dig at Tim Walz and it totally backfires

Spat comes as both campaigns try to win over gun-owners

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 23:10
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Harris asked about gender divide between her supporters and Trump supporters

Kamala Harris was asked by NBC’s Peter Alexander about the gender gap between her supporters and those of Donald Trump. Something that has been evident in recent polling.

PETER ALEXANDER: Let me ask you, if I can about one of the challenges the campaign faces right now. Polls show that there is a widening gender gap that Donald Trump leads, particularly among men, by 16 points right now. Why is that? And why do you think there is a disconnect for you with men right now?

KAMALA HARRIS: Let me tell you can look at this audience and you can see that there are people of every background and gender who are showing up by the 1000s, and I think it is because they know I intend to be a president for all Americans, and that is how I'm campaigning to earn the vote of every American, not only about their gender, but about their geographic location and, and unburdened by who they may have voted for in the past. I think this really is a moment like we saw with the Republicans who are supporting me most publicly recently, that it's a time to put country before party and really, again, with a sense of optimism, fight for what we care about.

PA: Just to be clear, though, men still say by 60% margin of supporting Donald Trump right now. Why do you think that is?

KH: It’s not the experience I’m having to be honest with you.

PA: You, think the men are on board?

KH: Look around.

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 23:02
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Watch: Harris plays clip of Trump talking about stiffing workers at Michigan event

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 22:58
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Why a county where the Ku Klux Klan once marched should worry Trump today

Eric Garcia reports from Cumming, Georgia:

On the surface, former president Donald Trump’s Fox News town hall to discuss women’s issues in Georgia earlier this week was the ultimate safe space. Many of the audience there were part of local Republican clubs.

The location of the town hall also had historical significance. Fox chose to have the town hall in a barn in Cumming, about an hour outside of Atlanta. Cumming serves as the county seat of Forsyth County, an overwhelmingly Republican area with one of the darkest chapters in the South’s history of racial violence.

But underneath the surface, Forsyth reveals why Trump and Republicans should worry.

Continue reading...

Why a county where the KKK once operated should worry Trump today

Forsyth County once kicked out all of its Black residents and the Klan tried to keep out Black people. Now, a not insignificant slice might vote for Kamala Harris

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 22:50
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Haley in talks to campaign with Trump, report says

The Bulwark reports that former UN ambassador Nikki Haley is in talks to join Donald Trump on the campaign trail to help win over disaffected Republicans, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

No details or dates have been worked out but the most likely scenario would be a town hall toward the end of October possibly involving Fox News host Sean Hannity.

The former ambassador and South Carolina governor ran a fierce primary race against Trump and was the last Republican standing against him.

While there appeared to be no love lost at the end of the primary, she spoke on his behalf at the Republican National Convention. The two have not appeared together since then.

Haley now has a SiriusXM radio show and said last month: “I don’t agree with Trump 100 percent of the time.”

“I have not forgotten what he said about me. I’ve not forgotten what he said about my husband or his, you know, deployment time or his military service. I haven’t forgotten about his or his campaign’s tactics from, you know, putting a birdcage outside our hotel room to calling me ‘bird brain,’” Haley said on her show.

She nevertheless maintains that she believes Trump “will make the country better”.

This morning on Fox & Friends, Trump was given an opening to talk about the possibility of campaigning with her but instead talked about beating her in the primary.

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 22:35
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Trump claimed Fox News helped him with Al Smith dinner jokes — the company denies it...

During his appearance on Fox & Friends this morning, Donald Trump claimed that “a couple of people from Fox” helped him write jokes for his speech at the Al Smith charity dinner on Thursday night.

Fox News says none of its employees helped the former president:

Fox News says none of its employees wrote jokes for Trump to tell at traditional campaign dinner

Fox News says none of its employees wrote jokes for Donald Trump to use at an appearance this week — denying an assertion made by the former president himself

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 22:30
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Watch LIVE: Trump joins a roundtable discussion in Auburn Hills, Michigan

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 22:22
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Has the ‘joy’ of the Harris campaign dissipated?

“Joy” was a word used to characterize the early days of the Harris campaign. In Michigan today, NBC’s Peter Alexander asked Kamala Harris if perhaps that had dissipated.

PETER ALEXANDER: At the convention, you cast yourself as a joyful warrior, but in recent rallies, you've increasingly attacked over President Trump is an unstable and unhinged is closing is that an effective closing argument?

KAMALA HARRIS: I think that one is not to the exclusion of the other. I have a great deal of optimism, as do the people who are here about the future of our country. I think that's one of the things that is building the momentum that we have. People really do believe in what is the promise of America and our responsibility to fight for it, that is not in conflict, but also being clear eyed about the danger that Donald Trump poses based on the language that he has used and his admiration for dictators, his inability to really focus on the needs of the American people, in particular working people, he says, they not in conflict. They all exist at the same time.

PA: The critics who say the joy is gone, you respond:

KH: Oh, I’m having a great time.

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 22:20
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Will the Ted Cruz ‘sports curse’ strike again?

Fans of the college football team the Texas Longhorns have started a petition to ban Ted Cruz from games, fearing the Republican senator’s attendance will curse their chances of victory.

The online petition states that the US senator is “just plain bad luck” and claims his “downright sinister energy” kept the Longhorns from making it to the NCAA football championship previously.

“That’s a risk we cannot take again,” the change.org petition states.

Mike Bedigan has the story.

Fans petition to keep Ted Cruz away from Longhorns game, fearing his ‘sports curse’

The online petition states that the Texas Republican is ‘just plain bad luck’ and has a ‘downright sinister energy’

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 22:10
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Harris asked about carving her own path beyond Biden administration

In a brief stand-up interview on the sidelines of her rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this afternoon Peter Alexander of NBC News asked Kamala Harris about carving her own path outside of the Biden administration of which she has been part for more than three and a half years.

Here’s the exchange:

PETER ALEXANDER: Let me ask you if I can, Biden this week, President Biden said this week that every President has to cut their own path. What is one policy that you would have done differently over these last three and a half years than President Biden?

KAMALA HARRIS: I mean to be very candid with you, you, including Mike Pence, vice presidents are not critical of their presidents. I think that really, actually, in terms of the tradition of it, and also just going forward, it does not make for a productive and important relationship.

PA: He's now giving you that green light with his comments, that you can carve your own path. So now that you have this ability to say that --

KH: Going forward, there is no question that I bring my own experiences and my own life experiences.

PA: Is there a policy that stands out to you in particular?

KH: I mean, my approach to what we need to do around Medicare covering home health care, worn out of my experience of taking care of my mother, my priority on housing one because I know what it means, affordable housing, the ability to buy a home again. My own experience, my mother saved up. Not until I was a teenager was she able to do it. But also, I know that for so many young people who I speak with around our country, the American Dream, Dream is just really out of reach. So my policy about $25,000 down payment assistance to help them get their foot in the door, the work that I have been doing and will bring to the presidency around emphasizing small businesses as being part of the real backbone of America's economy. Those are the experiences and the ideas that I have that are about moving forward and really being a part of the next generation of leadership in America.

Oliver O'Connell18 October 2024 21:59

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