What to know about the campaigns today
- Former President Donald Trump is joining X Spaces tonight to launch his World Liberty Financial digital currency project, his first public event since yesterday's apparent assassination attempt.
- Vice President Kamala Harris met with members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters this afternoon and had a campaign meeting in Washington.
- Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, of Ohio, spoke this evening at a Faith and Freedom Coalition dinner in Georgia, where he said Democrats needed to "tone down" their rhetoric after the incident yesterday while Trump was golfing. Harris' choice for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is traveling to the state tonight ahead of campaign events tomorrow.
- President Joe Biden spoke this afternoon at an annual conference of historically Black colleges and universities in Philadelphia.
Ohio sheriff suggests residents keep a list of homes with Harris yard signs
A sheriff in Ohio who made disparaging remarks about Harris and immigrants on social media is suggesting that local residents compile a list of addresses where they see yard signs in support of the Democratic presidential nominee.
In a public Facebook post Friday, Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski of Portage County used anti-immigrant rhetoric and denounced both Harris and her supporters.
Hillary Clinton condemns apparent assassination attempt on Trump
Hillary Clinton tonight addressed the apparent attempt on Trump's life yesterday, saying her first reaction was "horror."
"I mean, this is such a terrible thing to happen twice in our country in a relatively short period of time, and it’s frightening to see violence being threatened and used in a political campaign," Clinton said in an interview with Katie Couric at an event promoting her new book.
In response to Trump's Truth Social post today in which he blamed Democrats for yesterday’s events, Clinton called it “incredible” that he would take an assassination attempt and turn it into “a political attack on his opposition ... and literally everybody else who does not support him.”
"I worry about threats," Clinton said. "I worry about what’s being said online, about many, many people, not just as the former president."
"If he were really a leader, he should be doing what he can to calm the waters, not try to just continue to throw red meat out there to get people riled up," she said.
Clinton also condemned the “kind of rhetoric” in a post on X by Elon Musk, which asked why “no one is even trying to assassinate” Biden or Harris.
“You know, let’s just all just promise ourselves that we can have significant political differences about who we want to be our next president, about the policies that we think will help our country and the world, and condemn that kind of rhetoric,” she said.
Vance says Democrats need to 'tone down' rhetoric after apparent assassination attempt
Vance blamed Democrats tonight for yesterday's apparent attempt to assassinate Trump, saying Democrats need to "tone down" their rhetoric.
“No one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months," Vance said in Atlanta at an event for the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition.
"I’d say that’s pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric and needs to cut this crap out. Somebody’s going to get hurt by it, and it’s going to destroy this country," he added.
Elon Musk deletes X post about ‘no one’ trying to assassinate Biden or Harris
Elon Musk said his now-deleted X post about how “no one is even trying to assassinate” Biden or Harris was intended to be a joke.
Musk made the comment after what the FBI called an “apparent assassination” attempt on Trump yesterday. Shots were fired in Trump’s vicinity while he was at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. A suspect was taken into custody and charged with two federal counts: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. In July, a gunman was killed after he shot Trump in the ear in an assassination attempt during a Pennsylvania rally.
Musk, who owns X, had posted a response to a user who had asked, “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?” Musk, who took over X — then Twitter — in October 2022, has been known to elevate debunked conspiracy theories on the platform. He has also been a staunch Trump supporter.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court paves the way for mail-in voting after Cornel West ruling
Mail-in voting got the green light to move forward in Pennsylvania today when the state Supreme Court ruled which third-party candidates would be allowed on the ballot.
The court affirmed a lower court's decision to reject independent presidential candidate Cornel West’s request to be on November’s ballot. The high court found that West’s campaign lacked the required affidavits for 14 of his 19 presidential electors.
“Counties can now prepare their ballots to be printed, then begin sending mail ballots to voters who have requested one as soon as they are printed,” Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said in a statement.
The state’s ballots will include Trump, Harris, the Green Party’s Jill Stein and the Libertarian Party’s Chase Oliver.
Biden speaks with Trump after apparent assassination attempt
Biden spoke by phone with Trump and expressed his relief that Trump is safe, a White House official said today, adding that the two leaders engaged in a "cordial conversation" and that Trump expressed thanks for the outreach.
Biden told reporters that he had tried to connect with Trump.
Biden addressed yesterday's incident earlier in the day, saying “thank God” Trump was OK. He also suggested that the Secret Service needs additional support.
Trump has blamed Biden and Harris for the apparent attempt on his life, saying "their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at."
Harris meets with Teamsters
Harris met this afternoon with rank-and-file Teamsters at the union's final candidate roundtable in Washington, D.C., as it considers endorsing a candidate.
“We know how valuable Vice President Harris’ time is and appreciate her willingness to meet with rank-and-file Teamsters face to face. Our members are the backbone of this country, and their voices matter most in this election. Their support can make the difference during any election cycle,” said the union's general president, Sean M. O’Brien.
“These roundtables were historic, transparent and a top priority to ensure the Teamsters remain the most democratic labor union in America,” he added.
The union wrote on X that O’Brien and general secretary-treasurer Fred Zuckerman joined its general executive board and rank-and-file members in the meeting.
Trump and Biden participated in candidate roundtables earlier this year.
Schumer suggests Secret Service may need more resources in upcoming funding agreement
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., weighed in on the apparent attempt on Trump's life in remarks on the Senate floor today.
“We all must do our part to ensure an incident like this does not happen again. This means that Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Secret Service and all law enforcement have the resources they need to do their jobs," he said.
"So as we continue the appropriations process, if the Secret Service is in need of more resources, we are prepared to ... providing it for them, possibly in the upcoming funding agreement.”
Trump campaign asked Secret Service for more security
Two sources familiar with the request told NBC News that the Trump campaign asked the Secret Service for increased security this morning after yesterday’s apparent assassination attempt.
A spokesperson for the Secret Service did not respond immediately to a request for comment. It is not clear how the Secret Service has responded to that request.
Two other sources familiar with the Secret Service’s security response said the agency has dramatically increased Trump’s security since July 13.
One said the Secret Service is doing all it can to protect Trump while also preparing for the United Nations General Assembly next week and protecting Biden, Vance, Harris, Walz and others. That source said additional resources would require funding from Congress.
Gwen Walz calls out Vance for school shootings comment
Speaking to educators in Arizona, Gwen Walz addressed Vance's comments after the shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia.
"Trump and Vance are even pushing for more guns in schools. They tell us that school shootings are just a fact of life," she said. "I spent decades in schools and classrooms, and I refuse to accept school shootings as a fact of life."
Vance came under fire for his comment on Sept. 5 at a rally in Arizona, where he said about the shooting: "I don't like this. I don't like to admit this. I don't like that this is a fact of life."
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
GOP Rep. Joe Wilson returns after being hospitalized
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., announced in a video on X today that he has recovered after he was hospitalized following a collapse last Tuesday.
In the video, Wilson said he experienced “severe blood pressure drop and fainted," saying he received a pacemaker implant and care at George Washington University Hospital. "With the pacemaker implant, issues have now been resolved for my public service," he said.
At the end of the video, Wilson acknowledged the second apparent assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend. “We are additionally so grateful for President Donald Trump surviving another assassination attempt. God bless you,” he said.
Arizona voter blames Trump falsehoods for apparent assassination attempt
Louis Olivas, 77, a retired business professor from Tempe, Arizona, pointed to Trump's rhetoric and tendency to spread falsehoods when asked about yesterday's apparent attempt on the former president's life.
“The statements that he has been making have been upsetting, too radical, and when you say that many multiple lies, I suspect that some people say no, this has to stop, and I want to stop it,” Olivas said.
“He’s arisen all of the hatred that has been under the radar screen until he took over," she said. "Now, it’s OK to be a member of the KKK or Proud Boys or others. And so when you take that approach, some neurological person out there saying I just want to take them out, it’s very unfortunate.”
Asked what needs to change for assassination attempts on Trump to stop, Olivas said, “Donald Trump or anyone else starts being more honest and logical in their approaches [to] why they should be in office.”
Task force member Rep. Madeleine Dean says ‘threat level is so great in this country'
Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Penn., said she is “stunned” and “shocked” in response to the “sobering” apparent assassination attempt on Trump yesterday.
“A second attempt in just nine weeks during this heated political season, I just condemn any political violence,” Dean, a member of the bipartisan task force investigating the first assassination attempt on Trump in July, said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
Dean also said she thinks major party candidates should have presidential-level security, noting that Biden called for that in response to the first assassination attempt on Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Dean also urged the public to tamp down the “heated rhetoric” that she believes incited the apparent assassination attempts.
“The threat level is so great in this country, and that is what this exposes,” she said. “We are charged, all of us, with curtailing the heated rhetoric that might lead someone to think that they should take into their own hands the taking out of a political candidate.”
Dean also noted that there was a unanimous vote in House to set up the bipartisan task force in the aftermath of the first assassination attempt on Trump, with every House member coming together to condemn political violence against lawmakers, candidates and voters.
“Every single member who was there, Democrats and Republicans, voted to set up this task force to get at the truth, to say there is no place for political violence, to make sure the resources are in place to protect our electeds, our candidates, as well as the people who just want to be civically engaged and go to a rally, but also to make sure at some point we are in faith in institutions, so we are united in that front,” she said. “And what we need from the Secret Service is more transparent truth about what happened, what works, what doesn’t, what resources are missing.”
Biden says he's concerned about violence against LGBTQ community
In an interview with The Washington Blade that was published today, Biden said he is concerned about violence against the LGBTQ community and efforts by Trump's base to roll back their freedoms.
“What I do worry about is, I do worry about violence,” Biden said. “I do worry about intimidation. I do worry about what the MAGA right will continue to try to do, but I’m going to stay involved," he said. "I’m going to remain involved in all the civil liberties issues that I have worked for my whole life.”
In the interview, Biden commented on the record number of LGBTQ officials serving in his administration and looked back on a few moments, including January 2021, when he reversed Trump’s ban on military service by transgender service members, and a 2012 interview during the Obama-Biden re-election campaign when he endorsed same-sex marriage.
He also looked ahead to what his involvement in LGBTQ issues would be after his presidency, noting the importance of passing the Equality Act, which would bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Trump campaign calls Democrats the 'party of violence'
The Trump campaign posted today that Harris and Democrats are a “party of violence” on X, continuing to ratchet up the rhetoric against the party in the aftermath of yesterday's apparent assassination attempt.
The posts are similar to ones made from the same account after the first attempted assassination in July, although those were posted days after that incident. One post today said, "Kamala Harris has consistently called President Trump a 'dictator' and 'a threat to democracy.' Make no mistake: it’s Kamala and the Democrats who are the party of violence."
The account also posted a clip of Walz just weeks after the first assassination attempt, where he called Trump "a threat to democracy" and a "fascist." Trump has also taken to his Truth Social account to post similar language to that of his campaign.
"The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust," he wrote. "Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!"
The suspect in the apparent assassination attempt on Trump, Ryan Wesley Routh, made his first appearance in court. NBC News’ Kathy Park reports on the view from the courtroom and the charges he faces.
Trump voter says U.S. needs to 'pull together as a people'
Ken Smith, a 67-year-old attorney and two-time Trump voter, called the apparent assassination attempt on Trump "a very sad state affairs."
"We’re so divided, and we seem like we get more division every day," said Smith, who is leaning toward voting for Trump for a third time in November. "The rhetoric is heated on both sides. I don’t like it. I wish we had a better a better country right now.”
Smith, a lawyer from Mesa, Arizona, said he hopes the country comes together in the wake of this news.
“Somehow we need to be unified and put country over parties and pull together as a people like it was after 9/11,” Smith said, adding, “Those were bad times, but they turned into good times as far as patriotism.”
Asked why he thinks there have been multiple incidents involving the former president, Smith said, “I think they see Trump as a threat to to their power. So the rhetoric is very heated, and it seems, it almost seems intentional what’s going on,” he said.
The 67-year-old also used the word “intentional” to imply something fishy was afoot during the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler this summer.
Trump says he's 'very proud to be an American' and 'will never surrender' in new fundraising email
Trump said in a fundraising email this morning that he will be “fighting even stronger” and thanked law enforcement personnel after they thwarted an apparent second assassination attempt against him yesterday.
“I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible job done at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE,” the fundraising email reads.
“THE JOB done WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!” it continues. “I also want to thank you. You’re the reason I’m still here, and I will Never Surrender!”
The former president’s campaign has issued several fundraising emails and texts referring to what the FBI is describing as an apparent attempted assassination of him at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, yesterday.
White House responds to deleted Elon Musk comment on assassination attempt
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates called a statement by Elon Musk "irresponsible" after the tech mogul posted a now-deleted comment on X, his social media site, yesterday saying, “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.”
“As President Biden and Vice President Harris said after yesterday’s disturbing news, ‘there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country,’ and ‘we all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.’" Bates said. "Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about."
After Musk deleted the tweet, he wrote, “Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on X.” He also wrote in a post, “Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text."
Arizona voter says 'the state of our union is just horrible' after apparent Trump assassination attempt
Estrella Contreras, 35, a pharmacy technician from Phoenix shared a dismal reaction to what the FBI said was a second apparent assassination attempt on Trump yesterday.
“I think right now, the state of our union is just horrible,” Contreras, a Democrat, told NBC News. “To be quite honest with you, I feel like our citizens are afraid. They don’t know what to do, and they feel like they need to protect themselves at this point.”
Contreras expressed skepticism over the incident when asked her thoughts about Trump's fundraising off of Sunday's incident yesterday, calling the former president a “GoFundMe type of person” who jumps on the chance to raise money whenever he can.
“I feel like it seems really suspicious. To be quite honest with you, these incidents keep happening just to him, and they’re not like, extremely life or death. Like his ear got shot the last time, and this time, they stopped it before. So I definitely think that it’s a little suspicious to me,” she said, implying there may have been a conspiracy behind the incident.
Contreras said she anticipates an “extremely chaotic” voting season, saying that people are “taking their own actions” in an effort to influence the election.
“The state of our country is extremely chaotic right now. It’s a lot of people’s opinions are clashing to the point of where we’ve never seen it before,” she said. “Due to social media, a lot of people feel like they need to act out instead of using their votes to make their votes count versus trying to incite their own actions."
No changes planned to Harris' schedule this week
The Harris campaign is assessing any potential changes to the vice president’s movements this week in light of what the FBI says was an apparent assassination attempt on Trump. As of now, her schedule for the week is expected to continue as planned, according to a senior campaign official.
Harris is in Washington today and Wednesday, traveling to Pennsylvania tomorrow, Michigan on Thursday and Wisconsin on Friday, according to her public schedule.
As is typical, neither the Harris campaign nor the office of the vice president expects to share any specifics around possible shifts in her security posture at this time, the official said.
Trump blames Biden-Harris rhetoric for apparent assassination attempt
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Trump placed the blame for the apparent attempt on his life yesterday on Biden and Harris.
“Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out," he said in the interview.
Trump used similar language to describe the first assassination attempt against him during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. During the debate with Harris last week, he said, “I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things they say about me.”
NBC News has reached out to the Harris campaign for comment. Yesterday, Harris put out a statement, saying, "I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence."
Trump to participate in interview with Fox News' Hannity tonight
Trump is scheduled to be interviewed by Fox News’ Sean Hannity tonight, his first public interview after the second apparent assassination attempt against him yesterday.
Trump will also meet with acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe this afternoon at Mar-a-Lago, a source familiar with the matter said, adding that the former president is currently at his Florida resort.
Additionally, Trump is still scheduled to participate in an X Spaces event tonight at 8 p.m. to announce his new crypto company.
The Trump campaign told NBC News that his scheduled events won’t change in light of the apparent assassination attempt, but they are subject to change.
Tomorrow, the former president is scheduled to participate in a town hall moderated by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as his White House press secretary, at 7 p.m.
Trump will participate in a rally in Uniondale, New York, on Wednesday.
Reagan alumni endorse Harris
More than a dozen Republicans who worked for former President Ronald Reagan have announced their endorsement of Harris, her campaign said in a press release yesterday.
“President Ronald Reagan famously spoke about a ‘Time for Choosing,’" the group said in a statement. "While he is not here to experience the current moment, we who worked for him in the White House, in the Administration, in campaigns and on his personal staff, know he would join us in supporting the Harris-Walz ticket."
The group said the current election presents a choice between "integrity and demagoguery," "truth and lies," and "freedom and suppression of freedoms," leading them to support Harris.
"Our votes in this election are less about supporting the Democratic Party and more about our resounding support for democracy," the group said.
Harris’ presidential campaign has gained a number of endorsements from prominent Republicans, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and hundreds of former staffers who worked for the Bush presidencies, the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney.
Speaker Mike Johnson, echoing Trump, says GOP election victories in House must be 'too big to rig'
House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed confidence when asked about Republicans’ chances of keeping the majority in the chamber after the November election.
During an interview on “Fox & Friends” this morning, Johnson said he’s “very bullish” heading into the November election and has seen “an energy on the ground” in the more than 200 cities in 40 states that he has traveled to thus far, arguing that Republicans must win so many seats in November that it's "too big to rig" — alluding to Trump and GOP allies' false stolen election claims about Democrats.
“We are going to win the House and the Senate, and Donald Trump is going back to the White House, but we need everybody to stay involved. We’ve got to make it too big to rig, as President Trump says,” he said, adding that he spoke with Trump about that at length when he met with the former president at Mar-a-Lago yesterday.
Johnson said House Republicans are “very bullish” and that he is convinced they will “grow the House majority” in the November election.
“The Senate will come back to our control, and President Trump’s getting another term, and we’ll fix this country,” he said.
Trump to join X Spaces event tonight
The former president is expected to join a live event on X Spaces tonight "for the launch of World Liberty Financial," his digital currency venture.
"We're embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind," Trump said Thursday.
As of now, it will be Trump's first public event since yesterday's apparent assassination attempt.
Democrats chart a path to winning Latino voters in swing districts
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee laid out its path to winning Latino voters in key swing districts across the country in a memo out today, shared first with NBC News.
The memo highlights key battleground districts where Hispanic voters make up major populations, such as districts in California’s Central Valley, south Texas, Nevada, Colorado and New York.
The group, which works to elect Democratic House lawmakers, says in the memo that it has made historic strides in researching where Latinos spend their time online in order to better target them with political ads.
“This paid media … has helped to tout some of the key issues that Latino voters have shared through polling and focus groups that were most important to them,” the memo says.
The memo, released at the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, also underscores the importance of abortion rights for Latino voters, an issue it deems, “an electoral liability for Republicans.”
Democrats so far this election cycle have sought to communicate with voters about abortion and other issues in English and Spanish, the memo says.
Divided House GOP struggles to avoid a government shutdown
Divided House Republicans stumbled last week in their effort to pass Speaker Mike Johnson’s bill to fund the government.
They’ll take another crack at a stopgap funding measure this week with just 15 days remaining until money runs out — and growing concerns about a federal government shutdown, including among top Republicans who worry about the political fallout for their party so close to the Nov. 5 election.
“A government shutdown is always a bad idea, at any time,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters.
Johnson, R-La., is “going to have to get the votes — and he’s in the majority, so he’s got to figure out what the right combination is,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said. “It’s sort of like a Rubik’s Cube.”
Democrats have been losing working-class voters. Here’s one playbook to win them back.
A new report commissioned by a labor-backed group is examining a problem many Democrats might rather ignore: the exodus of working-class voters from the party they used to call home.
Republicans under Trump have been making inroads in the working class, including among Black and Hispanic voters, while Democrats have been gaining suburban moderates and highly educated professionals who used to vote Republican.
“Increasingly, Republicans are the party of working-class people,” Vance, Trump’s running mate, said during a recent podcast interview, while noting that CEOs and other wealthy professionals have shifted toward Democrats.
Some voices on the left have downplayed the significance or even denied the loss of working-class voters, but the data is increasingly clear and signs of realignment are everywhere.
Congressional Black Caucus PAC launches ad in swing New York district highlighting Trump’s lie about Haitian immigrants
WASHINGTON — The Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee launched a five-figure digital advertising campaign today in New York’s 4th Congressional District urging Haitian Americans to vote in November “in an act of unity against bigoted attacks,” according to a source who shared the plans with NBC News.
The district is one where Democrats hope to flip control from Republicans in their bid to take the majority of the House.
As part of the effort, the group, often referred to as CBC PAC, has put out a new ad titled “Unity” that is narrated by a Haitian American woman and features Trump’s past statements referring to African nations and Haiti as “shithole countries” and repeating lies accusing Haitians of abusing and eating animals in Springfield, Ohio.
The ad will target voters across the New York district, where Trump is scheduled to campaign this week. The effort is part of a nationwide push by the CBC PAC to reach Black voters in battleground congressional districts where it believes Black voters will be key to securing wins.
Harris to sit down with the Teamsters today
The Teamsters union announced this month that Harris would sit down with rank-and-file members for a roundtable today, after both Trump and President Joe Biden attended similar meetings earlier in the campaign cycle.
The union has not yet endorsed a candidate in the 2024 presidential race.
"We look forward to having a conversation on the direction of the country and the issues that matter to working people," the union's General President Sean O'Brien said in a Sept. 5 post on X.
Here's what you missed yesterday
Shots were fired in West Palm Beach, Florida, during what the FBI is calling an apparent attempted assassination of Trump.
The former president was playing golf at his Trump International club not far from Mar-a-Lago when a Secret Service agent noticed a rifle in the bushes outside of the course. The Secret Service opened fire, and the person fled but was later arrested.
The man arrested was 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, according to three senior law enforcement officials. Law enforcement recovered an AR-style rifle from the scene.