Trump news: Latest updates on Republican candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance
Former president’s quest to retake White House continues amid outcry over racist and misogynistic remarks
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Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail having returned to Pennsylvania for his first campaign rally in the swing state since he came within inches of being killed by a would-be assassin’s bullet on July 13.
The former president and Republican nominee spoke in Harrisburg, just hours after a confrontational interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago.
During the interview, Trump insulted his presumptive 2024 Democratic Party opponent, Kamala Harris, and falsely accused her of lying about her race — stating that she recently “became Black”. Harris, who is biracial, is Black and Indian-American.
At the evening rally, Trump remained largely tied to his prepared remarks and attacked Harris for supposedly wanting to “destroy” Pennsylvania’s economy.
His next big campaign event will be a joint appearance with his vice presidential pick, JD Vance. That will take place in Atlanta on Saturday, at the same venue Harris held a barnstorming first rally of her campaign earlier in the week.
We are temporarily pausing our Trump campaign blog.
Please join us in our main US election 2024 blog for full coverage of both campaigns as the race to the White House gathers pace.
VIDEO: Trump kisses female 'genius' behind 'life-saving' chart in first rally in Pennsylvania since shooting
Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate takes the stage
Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick took the stage on Wednesday night, saying “This is the most important election of our lifetime. We know it.”
“We also know that this is ground zero, which is going to put you back in the White House and a majority in the Senate,” he told Trump.
Trump: ‘Can anybody imagine Kamala Harris dealing with President XI of China'
Harris condemns ‘same old show of divisiveness’ after Trump questions her heritage at Black journalist event
Hours after former president Donald Trump questioned whether she was truly a Black woman, Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Trump’s racist remark as she spoke before a cheering crowd of members of a predominantly Black sorority in Houston, Texas.
Harris told sisters of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, inc — a member of the “Divine Nine” group of historically Black fraternities and sororities — that Trump’s remarks before the National Association of Black Journalists, in which he claimed that she had “all of a sudden she made a turn and ... became a Black person,” were “the same old show” of “divisiveness and disrespect” from the ex-president.
Trump’s comments came during a bizarre 30-minute sit-down at the journalism organization’s annual conference in Chicago moments after he told ABC’s Rachel Scott that he “didn’t know” that Harris “was Black.”
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/08/01/01/2024-08-01T003419Z_86792344_RC2O69AXVRSV_RTRMADP_3_USA-ELECTION-HARRIS.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
Harris condemns ‘same old show of divisiveness’ after Trump questions her heritage
Harris said Americans ‘deserve better’ after Trump questioned whether she is a Black woman
In pictures: Trump speaks in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
![Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd during a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pa., Wednesday, July 31, 2024](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/08/01/01/SEI215199512.jpg)
![Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 31, 2024](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/08/01/01/SEI215196034.jpg)
![Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 31, 2024](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/08/01/01/SEI215196283.jpg)
Donald Trump falsely suggests Kamala Harris misled voters about her race
Donald Trump falsely suggested Kamala Harris had misled voters about her race as the former president appeared before the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago in an interview that quickly turned hostile.
The Republican wrongly claimed that Ms Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, had in the past only highlighted her Indian heritage.
“I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump said while addressing the group’s annual convention.
Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the US. As an undergraduate, Ms Harris attended Howard University, one of the nation’s most prominent historically Black colleges and universities, where she also pledged the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a US senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, supporting legislation to strengthen voting rights and to reform policing.
Trump has levelled a wide range of criticisms at Harris since she replaced president Joe Biden atop the likely Democratic ticket last week. Throughout his political career, the former president has repeatedly questioned the backgrounds of opponents who are racial minorities.
Michael Tyler, the communications director for Harris’ campaign, said in a statement that “the hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power”.
“Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency – while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in,” Mr Tyler said. “Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us.”
Rudy Giuliani agrees to last-minute deal to end bankruptcy case, paying out $400k
Cash-strapped Rudy Giuliani has reached an agreement with his bankruptcy creditors on the conditions of his case dismissal, which requires the former New York City mayor to pay $400,000 in administrative expenses.
The deal was announced on Wednesday after Judge Sean Lane threw out the bankruptcy case earlier this month. But the disgraced ex-mayor is still on the hook to pay two defamed election workers, whom he owes $148m. He is also required to pay administrative fees for the case, which the former Trump lawyer had refused to pay despite it being a legal requirement for dismissal.
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/07/31/20/Giuliani_Bankruptcy_56549.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
Rudy Giuliani agrees to last-minute deal to end bankruptcy case, paying out $400k
The agreement comes weeks after the bankruptcy judge threw out the case
Trump attorney claims Harris doesn’t know where she comes from
After Trump’s controversial comments about Harris’s heritage earlier today, his attorney Alina Habba appeared to double down while speaking in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
“Unlike you Kamala, I know who my roots are and where I come from,” she said.
Second Gentleman slams Trump at Maine fundraiser
The Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, slammed Trump during a fundraiser in Maine for the former president’s comments about his wife’s racial identity.
“A worse version of an already horrible person,” he said regarding Trump, according to The Washington Post.
“The insults, the BS, shows a lack of character—but it’s a distraction,” he added.
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