Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Liveupdated1725917501

Trump and Harris neck-and-neck in polls as Chris Christie offers advice ahead of first presidential debate: Live

Harris and Trump will face off for the first time on Tuesday evening

Harris campaign reveals scathing new ad ahead of debate night

Your support helps us to tell the story

My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.

Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.

Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond

Head shot of Eric Garcia

Eric Garcia

Washington Bureau Chief

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are currently neck-and-neck in the polls ahead of their crucial first presidential debate on ABC News on Tuesday.

A recent New York Times/Siena College poll the former president ahead of the vice president by a single point. The latest average of national polls, meanwhile, shows Harris is 2.8 points ahead of Trump.

Meanwhile, former Republican governor Chris Christie offered some advice to Harris ahead of the highly-anticipated debate.

He advised Harris to draw on “touchstones” of preparedness and use Trump’s lack of preparation to her advantage. He also said that she would need to “charm” the American people.

“She needs to show that she’s not gonna be the 24-hour leaf blower noise that he is,” Christie told ABC News on Sunday.

“There is a way that you can be kind, that you can be smart, and tough at the same time – that’s the charm,” he continued. “Disarm is...do not engage him in that stuff.”

This advice comes after Christie helped Trump prep for debates in both 2016 and 2020 before their relationship broke down.

1725900358

Fox News hosts furious after Harris gets jubilant reception at ‘meanest’ spice shop

Kamala Harris took a breather from debate preparations over the weekend for a quick pit stop at a family business in Pennsylvania, which Fox News hosts wasted no time in slamming as America’s “meanest spice shop.”

Ay yay yay.

Here’s more from James Liddell.

Fox News hosts furious after Harris gets jubilant reception at ‘meanest’ spice shop

Vice president said her visit to Penzeys Spices gave her some much-needed respite from debate prep against her Republican rival 

Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 17:45
1725899458

Military brass back Harris: ‘Trump is a disaster that has already happened’

Retired brigadier general Steve Anderson and former admiral Steve Abbott have both been on the air this morning explaining why they cannot sanction the 45th president’s return to the White House.

Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 17:30
1725897658

Pennsylvania Governor shoots down MAGA mail-in voting conspiracy theory

Josh Shapiro, who was almost Kamala Harris’s running mate, brings us this debunking of the latest nonsense being circulated about postal voting in his state by Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and other conservative fearmongers.

Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 17:00
1725896438

Young Black Americans more motivated to turn out for Harris, new poll finds

The latest Washington Post/Ipsos poll of Black Americans’ voting intentions reveals that more people are willing to turn out and vote for Kamala Harris, with 47 per cent now committed to making their mark, up from 32 per cent in April when Joe Biden was still on the Democratic ticket.

On the other side of the coin, support for Donald Trump remains stagnant, down to 12 per cent from 14 per cent in the spring.

Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 16:40
1725895238

Trump ‘well prepared’ and ‘doesn’t need traditional debate prep’, says aide

Hype woman Karoline Leavitt was talking tough on Fox and Friends this morning but you have to wonder: does Trump really not need to prepare or is he just refusing to interrupt his customary Monday golf game?

Behind the scenes, however, Trump staffers are said to be worried that “angry Trump” (the Incredible Hulk with a hairpiece?) will turn up to the debate and self-sabotage in front of millions of viewers.

Rhian Lubin reports.

Trump staffers worried ‘angry Trump’ will show up to debate and self-sabotage

Staffers are speculating whether ‘happy Trump’ or ‘angry Trump’ will make an appearance at the debate against Kamala Harris

Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 16:20
1725894038

Ex-Republican lawmaker Adam Kinzinger would ‘certainly’ join Harris’s Cabinet

The former Illinois representative, who, like Liz Cheney, was effectively drummed out of the Republican Party over his opposition to Trump in the wake of the Capitol riot, has told The Los Angeles Times that he would happily serve in a future Kamala Harris administration.

“I love defense. I love foreign policy. And I think that’s where she’s frankly shown she’s a little more hawkish than Democrats have been, so that would be a good area to bring a standard Republican in,” Kinzinger said at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he is a promoting a new documentary about his break with the GOP entitled The Last Republican.

“I want her to win. I want her to succeed. The most important issue that this country is facing, which doesn’t get enough attention to me, is Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against a Russian invasion. She’s the best counter for that, and I would love to help her in any way achieve that goal.”

Republican former Illinois representative Adam Kinzinger speaking on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month
Republican former Illinois representative Adam Kinzinger speaking on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month (EPA)
Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 16:00
1725892838

Veteran Tulsi Gabbard ‘sickened’ by Harris saying she was ‘honored’ to have Dick Cheney’s endorsement

Gabbard, the former soldier, Hawaii representative and 2020 Democratic presidential contender, who has since gone full-MAGA and is said to be helping Donald Trump with his debate preparations, has been attacking Kamala Harris for accepting Dick Cheney’s endorsement.

Speaking at an event in Colorado Springs with Tucker Carlson on Friday evening, Gabbard told her audience: “I have a very simple message for my Democrat friends, my independent friends, those who may not be sure about who they’re voting for in this election, Dick Cheney has just made the choice very clear, a vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for Dick Cheney, the architect of everything that has gone wrong in the Middle East for the last few decades.

“Her [Harris’s] response to the Dick Cheney announcement today was that she was honored to have his endorsement, and we got military veterans in the house?

“Got a lot of you who probably served in the Middle East like I did, and so it sickened me, Tucker, to read those words today from Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, and Kamala Harris because we have people who we care very much about who were killed in those wars because of Dick Cheney.”

Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 15:40
1725891638

Harris talks small business support and cost of living on Rickey Smiley Morning Show

The Democratic presidential contender called into the nationally-syndicated drivetime morning show earlier today, hoping to reach its considerable audience with her plans to encourage entrepreneurship and help working families.

You can hear her interview in full below.

Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 15:20
1725890438

Meet the man who pretends to be Trump for Harris’s debate prep

He helped Hillary Clinton prepare for her infamous clashes with Donald Trump in 2016 and now he’s helping Kamala Harris do the same.

Here’s Richard Hall on Philippe Reines, the “malevolent George Costanza” impersonating Trump in Harris’s debate preparations.

Meet the man who pretends to be Trump for Kamala Harris’s debate prep

He helped Hillary Clinton prepare for her infamous 2016 clashes with Donald Trump. Now he’s helping Harris do the same.

Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 15:00
1725888638

‘Let Trump be Trump’: Inside Harris’s unconventional debate prep

“It can’t be just Biden 2.0 – it’s got to be Harris 1.0,” one Democratic strategist tells Andrew Feinberg as he digs into the debate preparation being done by the Kamala campaign and how it contrasts with her predecessor’s.

‘She needs to let Trump be Trump’: Inside Kamala Harris’s unconventional debate prep

‘It can’t be just Biden 2.0 — it’s got to be Harris 1.0,’ one strategist tells Andrew Feinberg as he digs into the debate prep being done by the Harris campaign, and how it contrasts with her predecessors

Joe Sommerlad9 September 2024 14:30

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in