Harris questions if Trump is fit for ‘the toughest job’ after campaign reports he’s exhausted: Live
While both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaign in Michigan today, vice president will have Barack Obama in Arizona and Bill Clinton in North Carolina stumping on her behalf
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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.
Melania and Donald are all smiles as they make rare public outing together at Al Smith dinner in NYC
WWE star Dave Bautista tears into Trump over ‘tough guy’ pose: ‘Weak, tubby toddler’
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How Donald Trump and Kamala Harris revealed F1’s true value as US presidential race nears finish line
Watch: The Daily Show mocks Trump for audience reactions to his Univision town hall answers
Latest poll updates: Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump?
Alicja Hagopian looks at the latest data.
Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump? Latest poll updates from the 2024 election
Here’s what the latest polls say about the 2024 presidential election, from The Independent’s data correspondent
Why does Trump keep ducking interviews?
Donald Trump may have appeared on Fox & Friends this morning — a safe space for the former president — but something of a trend has emerged in recent weeks. He’s dropped out of interviews with NBC in Philadelphia, CNBC’s Squawk Box, 60 Minutes, and continues to refuse a second debate.
There was also the bizarre “town hall” dance party with Kristi Noem in which he appeared to give up on the format after just four questions.
So why does this keep happening?
Eugene Daniels at Politico reports that talks between the Trump team and The Shade Room, a site that attracts a mostly young, Black audience, failed to finalize an interview, having hosted one with Kamala Harris last week.
When they pressed the Trump people as to why that might be, and adviser said that the former president was “exhausted and refusing [some] interviews but that could change” at any time. Politico cites two people familiar with the conversations.
Trump-supporting rapper Waka Flocka Flame was offered up as an alternative, those two people say.
The Trump campaign has pushed back with national press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the idea that he is exhausted “unequivocally false” and noting that he has done media interviews every day this week.
Watch: Trump claims ‘bad things’ will happen to Harris for skipping Al Smith dinner
Trump claims ‘bad things’ will happen to Harris for not attending charity dinner
Donald Trump said “bad things” would happen to Kamala Harris “from up there” — seemingly referring to God — for not attending a Catholic charity dinner on Thursday, 17 October. The former president, 2024’s Republican nominee, made a rare public appearance with his wife Melania at the Al Smith charity dinner in New York City. During the keynote speech, Trump made jabs about his Democratic opponent. The vice president skipped the star-studded charity dinner to campaign in Wisconsin. “You gotta go to the dinner, you gotta do it, otherwise bad things are going to happen to you from up there,” Trump said. “My opponent feels that she does not have to be here which is disrespectful to the event and in particular to our Catholic community.”
Ratings for Harris Fox News interview blow Trump’s town hall out of water
The ratings for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s latest Fox News appearances have been released – and they reveal the vice president pulled in more than double the viewers than her Republican rival.
With less than three weeks until Election Day and the national polls on a knife’s edge with Harris reduced to just under a 2.5-point lead, both presidential candidates are increasingly filling the airwaves.
James Liddell reports.
Ratings for Harris Fox News interview blow Trump’s town hall out of water
Vice president’s clash with Bret Baier is the ‘most-watched interview of the 2024 election season’ since Biden stepped down, Fox News said
Obama heads to Tucson to sway Latino vote to Harris
Former president Barack Obama will campaign for Kamala Harris in Tucson, Arizona, today with a focus on the key voter demographic that has drifted away from the Democratic Party — young Black and Latino men, The Arizona Republic reports.
Polling by USA Today/Suffolk University at the end of last month showed young Latino men in Arizona — a key battleground state — were favoring Donald Trump over the vice president.
51 per cent of those aged 18-34 backed the former president and 57 per cent of those aged 35-49. Less than 40 per cent support Harris in both age brackets.
“A majority of young Hispanic men are voting for Trump,” Suffolk University pollster David Paleologos said. “That’s why Barack Obama’s being deployed.”
A national poll of celebrity endorsements by USA Today/Suffolk University from earlier this year showed that Obama’s endorsement — and that of former first lady Michelle Obama — carries the most weight of any well-known figure, especially among Hispanic voters.
The Obamas held more cachet than top podcaster Joe Rogan, tech billionaire Elon Musk, and other celebrity figures, including Beyoncé, Tiger Woods, Taylor Swift, and Kim Kardashian.
“Obama and Michelle Obama were the most influential of all of the people on the list,” Paleologos said. “But among Hispanics, it was even higher.”
Jim Gaffigan takes break from playing SNL’s Walz to roast Al Smith dinner’s ‘Family Feud’ night
Comedian Jim Gaffigan took a break from playing Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live to joke about the awkwardness of the mix of people in the room at the Al Smith dinner, joking that the seating plan was like something out of Family Feud.
The comedian took no prisoners, Republican or Democrat, in his roast at the New York City charity event on Thursday night, awkwardly pointing out the state’s Attorney General Letitia James sitting just a few feet away from Donald Trump – the man she successfully brought a $454m civil fraud case against.
Rhian Lubin reports.
Jim Gaffigan roasts awkward Al Smith dinner featuring Trump and Letitia James
The Saturday Night Live comedian took no prisoners – Republican or Democrat – in his roast at the New York charity event
Obamas set to join Harris on campaign trail
After both giving barnstorming speeches at the Democratic National Convention in August, both Barack Obama and Michelle Obama will be joining Kamala Harris on the campaign trail next week.
The former president is set to appear with the vice president in Georgia on Thursday, October 24 and the former first lady will join her in Michigan on Saturday, October 26.
Bret Baier admits to mistake in Harris interview that she then used to her advantage
Fox News host Bret Baier says a clip of Donald Trump saying the military should go after the “enemy from within” was omitted during his interview with Vice President Kamala Harris which was misleading.
This worked out in Harris’s favor.
Here’s the moment:
Here’s Bret Baier admitting his mistake:
And here’s Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post explaining why the vice president should send Baier flowers, as he wrote in his column:
Watch: WWE star Dave Bautista tears into Trump over ‘tough guy’ pose
This is truly special from the big man.
WWE star Dave Bautista tears into Trump over ‘tough guy’ pose
‘A lot of men seem to think that Donald Trump is some kind of tough guy,’ said the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ star. ‘He’s not’
And later on Thursday, he posted a follow-up.
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