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Trump-Harris debate live: Trump snaps at Harris telling her ‘I’m talking now’ as he spirals in first showdown

Latest coverage as the second presidential debate, hosted by ABC News, kicks off in Philadelphia

Joe Sommerlad,Gustaf Kilander,Mike Bedigan
Wednesday 11 September 2024 03:24
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Harris campaign reveals scathing new ad ahead of debate night

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Eric Garcia

Washington Bureau Chief

Vice President Kamala Harris immediately laid out her economic policy while on the debate stage in Philadelphia while former President Donald Trump shared familiar sentiments.

After taking the stage the candidates shared an unexpected handshake, with Harris extending her hand to her Republican rival first.

The debate, hosted by ABC, is also the first since President Joe Biden stepped down from the Democratic ticket in July, though the rules remain the same. That means muted microphones, no pre-written notes, no live audience, no sitting and no speaking with campaign staff during commercial breaks.

It comes as the latest national polls show Harris having a 2.8-point lead over Trump.

Trump is expected to link his Democratic rival with the perceived policy failings of Biden’s administration, blaming her for illegal immigration at America’s southern border and for the high cost of living as the economy continues its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

For her part, Harris, a veteran prosecutor and former California attorney general, will hope to draw attention to Trump’s disastrous record in office, culpability for inspiring the Capitol riot of January 6 and long history of lawlessness, dishonesty and dysfunction.

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Height difference to be on display as Harris to use shorter podium during debate

On the debate stage tonight, one of the largest height differences in the history of presidential nominees will be on display between Trump, who claims to be 6 foot 3, and Harris, who says she’s 5 foot 4.

Harris is set to have a shorter podium than Trump, which will allow her to look closer to the same height in a split screen with Trump. But when they’re both in view in the same shot, the difference will be clear, and the Harris campaign is wary of her appearing small.

“This is normal and both campaigns were given visibility about the different podium sizes,” a source told Axios.

A Trump campaign official told the outlet that Harris’s podium “looks like the kids’ table at Thanksgiving.”

Earlier this year, Harris told Katie Couric: “With heels, which I always wear, I’m 5 foot 7 and a half, thank you very much.”

Gustaf Kilander11 September 2024 00:00
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Just in: Trump arrives in Philadelphia

Donald Trump’s Boeing 757, nicknamed Trump Force One, has landed in Philadelphia, where Trump will debate Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center at 9 p.m. ET.

(REUTERS)
Alex Woodward10 September 2024 23:46
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Watch live as Trump arrives in Philadelphia ahead of presidential debate against rival Harris

Watch as Trump arrives in Philadelphia ahead of debate against rival Harris

Watch as Donald Trump arrives in Philadelphia to face off against Kamala Harris in a presidential debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday 9 September.

Mike Bedigan10 September 2024 23:45
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How Trump set the Biden administration up for an economic disaster with a bargain made in 2020

As Donald Trump patches up the ever-growing hole in his finances resulting from his ongoing legal escapades with fossil fuel money, it looks as if a late-game gamble the former president made during his last year in office may be finally paying off.

That gamble may have also set up Joe Biden to deal with the effects of higher gas prices just as he was taking office a year later.

When Trump ran for re-election in 2020, he did so with a palpable sense of desperation. Early on, it was clear that the Republican president was worried about his opponent, Joe Biden. That impression was only made clearer after it came out that Trump had sought to pressure the president of Ukraine to open a criminal investigation into Biden with the intention of damaging his rival politically.

How Trump set Biden up for an economic disaster

When Biden took office in 2021, he faced the prospect of responding to a number of Trump’s decisions made during his chaotic final year in office — including one important one made about oil

John Bowden10 September 2024 23:30
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Biden to attend granddaughter’s birthday in NY before watching debate

President Biden says he plans to make an appearance at his granddaughter’s birthday party in New York before watching the showdown between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Before boarding Marine One on Tuesday, he told reporters: “I’m going up to my granddaughter’s birthday in New York, then we’re going to watch the debate and tomorrow I’m doing 9/11 [related engagements].”

He added: “I’ve spoken to the vice president. She seems calm, cool and collected. I think she’s going to do great. And I’m not going to tell you what advice I gave her.”

Mike Bedigan10 September 2024 23:15
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Independent voters could decide the election — and they lean very differently in each state

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump hit the stage tonight for the presidential debate, they will need to appeal to two main groups who may still be swayed: the undecideds, and the independents.

By nature, independent voters can be hard to pin down. The term encompasses demographic groups from all walks of life, who don’t have a strong allegiance to either the Republicans or the Democrats.

For this reason, a nationwide picture of how independents will vote can be difficult to predict — but statewide data can be more telling, as independent voters are shaped by similar local factors, dialogues, and policy issues.

Independent voters lean differently in each swing state, according to latest data

From Florida to Texas to Arizona, what independent voters care about and who they trust to be the next president both vary widely

Alicja Hagopian10 September 2024 23:00
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Presidential debate schedule: Will there be a second matchup between Harris and Trump?

As former Donald Trump and Kamala Harris prepare to square up directly for first time during the 2024 campaign cycle, it's unclear if there will be a second debate between the two candidates ahead of election day on November 5.

Trump previously suggested he might back out of Tuesday’s debate, describing hosts ABC as “fake news network,” and mentioned that one could possibly take place on September 25 on NBC.

No further details about a second debate have been confirmed.

Vice presidential nominees Tim Walz and JD Vance have agreed to debate each other on October 1. The debate will be hosted by CBS News and held in New York City.

Mike Bedigan10 September 2024 22:58
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Twenty educators at Barron Trump’s new school signed an open letter calling dad a ‘threat’ to the republic

New York University freshman Barron Trump may have to face several professors who signed an open letter ahead of the 2020 presidential election, warning that his father poses a “threat” to the U.S.

After leaving Trump Tower accompanied by a Secret Service convoy, Barron rang in his first day of college on Wednesday with a visit to the dean’s office before attending his first class at Stern School of Business, a source told the New York Post.

JP Eggers, who became Stern’s interim dean on July 1, was among 20 educators at NYU Stern who signed the October 2020 open letter to “sound the alarm” about the perils of a Donald Trump presidency to business leaders. The letter ultimately garnered more than 1,000 signatures from staff at top business schools across the US.

Educators at Barron’s new school signed letter calling Trump a ‘threat’

JP Eggers, the interim dean of New York University’s Stern School of Business, was one of 20 faculty who signed the anti-Donald Trump letter ahead of the 2020 US election

James Liddell10 September 2024 22:30
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Oprah sends viral ‘childless cat lady’ flowers and a basket of cat toys: ‘Thank you for rising to this moment’

Teresa Woorman, the member of the Maryland House of Delegates who went viral after the DNC cut to her while Oprah Winfrey was discussing “childless cat ladies,” received a flower arrangement and a basket of cat toys from Oprah herself.

Woorman made headlines after cameras at the Democratic National Convention last month inexplicably cut to her in the middle of Oprah’s speech — specifically after the media personality said the phrase “childless cat lady.”

“When a house is on fire, we don’t ask about the homeowner’s race or religion, we don’t wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No. We just try to do the best we can to save them,” Winfrey said during her DNC speech. “And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady, well, we try to get that cat out, too.” The camera switched from Oprah to Woorman after she mentioned the now-infamous phrase.

Oprah sends viral ‘childless cat lady’ flowers and basket of cat toys

TV producers’ cameras randomly switched to Teresa Woorman after the media personality uttered the phrase ‘childless cat lady’

Kelly Rissman10 September 2024 22:00
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Missouri Supreme Court keeping abortion rights amendment on November ballots

Missouri’s Supreme Court is keeping an abortion rights amendment on November ballots, after challenges from the secretary of state and right-wing legal groups.

“This case was about whether Missourians’ right to engage in direct democracy would be protected or if it was just a right in name only, vulnerable to the whims of politicians,” the Missouri ACLU said in a statement. “The Missouri Supreme Court sent a clear message that the will of the people is stronger than politicians’ attacks. Today’s ruling ensures that Amendment 3, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, will appear on the November ballot, giving voters—not politicians—the power to decide on this critical issue.”

Alex Woodward10 September 2024 21:31

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