What's happening on the campaign trail today
- Former President Donald Trump rallied today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before he headed to Henderson, Nevada. He's also set to participate in a hurricane relief benefit with Tucker Carlson in Glendale, Arizona, tonight.
- Vice President Kamala Harris is holding events out West today, participating in rally concerts in Phoenix and Las Vegas and speaking in Reno, Nevada. Ahead of the Phoenix event, she told NBC News that Trump's remarks yesterday about protecting women whether they "like it or not" show how he "devalues" women.
- Their running mates are also on the campaign trail. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz held events in Pennsylvania. Sen. JD Vance stopped in North Carolina and sat down with podcaster Joe Rogan for an interview in which he suggested he and Trump can win the “normal gay guy vote.”
Harris in response to disruptions during her speech: 'That's all right'
Harris' remarks in Reno, Nevada, were briefly interrupted this evening, with Harris responding to the people who were shouting, "That's all right."
"What we are looking at is a difference in this election. Let's move forward and see where we are because on the issue, for example, of freedom of choice — " Harris said before shouting could be heard in the crowd. It is unclear what the disruptors were saying.
"That's OK. That's OK. That's all right," Harris said as the crowd roared. "That's all right. That's OK. That's all right."
"You know what?" she continued. "Democracy can be complicated sometimes. It's OK. We're fighting for the right for people to be heard and not jailed because they speak their mind."
Trump says RFK Jr. would 'work on health and women's health' in his administration
Trump praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his rally tonight, saying that the vaccine skeptic would "work on health and women's health" in a second Trump administration.
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. we have," Trump said, referring to Kennedy's endorsing his campaign. "And he's going to work on health and women's health and all of the different reasons, because we're not really a wealthy or a healthy country."
NBC News has reported that Kennedy might play a large health role in a future Trump administration, according to two sources, one of whom said he would lead an effort to combat "childhood chronic disease."
Voting in this election is a source of 'pride and accomplishment' for many Afghan Americans, community leader says
West Michigan Afghan community leader Reza Mohammady said that participating in this year’s election has been a source of “pride and accomplishment” for his community.
Mohammady sits on the leadership board of the Kateb Cultural and Social Association, a local civic group that serves the region’s growing Afghan community. The approximately 450 registered members hail from Afghanistan or are of Afghan heritage, with the majority identifying with the Hazara ethnic group. Much of his election work has involved translating election materials into Dari, a Persian dialect spoken in Afghanistan.
The community has been “very excited” about this election, Mohammady observed.
“Everybody is looking forward to cast their vote,” he said.
Some of those who voted early expressed to him “how welcoming the poll workers were and how the experience made them feel more connected to their new community,” he told NBC News, a stark contrast from the violence many experience when heading to the polls in Afghanistan.
In West Michigan, some families have brought their children and teenagers to the polls “just to feel it,” Mohammady said. Their hope is that by making voting a family outing, parents can demonstrate “how they can take part in this great example of a democracy” and “feel that they are being fully part of American society.”
Mohammady said he hopes that seeing democracy in action this year will encourage the next generation to vote when they come of age.
'How stupid': Trump criticizes Biden again on 'garbage' comments
At his rally in Nevada, Trump again criticized Biden after Biden appeared to call Trump supporters "garbage." (Biden and the White House clarified that he meant that a comedian who made racist jokes at a Trump event was "garbage.")
"How stupid is a man to say that?" Trump said.
Later, Trump compared Biden's comment to Hillary Clinton’s calling Trump supporters "deplorables" during the 2016 campaign.
"I think, that's worse than 'deplorables,' right? How did that work out for Hillary? I think this is going to work out even worse," Trump said.
After he made the comment, Biden said he was referring to "the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage."
Earlier today, Harris reiterated that she does not believe "that we should ever criticize people based on who they vote for."
RFK Jr. could be set to lead a Trump administration’s efforts to battle ‘childhood chronic disease’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may be poised to play a key health role in the next administration should Trump be re-elected, according to two people close to the campaign and familiar with the plans.
The current thinking is that the role for Kennedy, the former independent candidate, would be spearheading what one of the people described as the “Operation Warp Speed for childhood chronic disease,” referring to the title of the Covid vaccine development project during Trump’s term.
Harris campaign launches ads with closing message
With just days left before Election Day, the Harris campaign today released two ads, one focused on abortion rights and another on the economy.
In the first ad, the Harris campaign features a 2016 clip of Trump telling MSNBC's Chris Matthews that "there has to be some form of punishment" for women who receive abortions.
A narrator picks up after that, telling viewers: "The punishment is real. Women denied care, unable to get pregnant again, traumatized, scarred for life. Young women who didn’t need to die. Now, 1 3 in three women live under a Trump abortion ban."
The narrator warns, "If he’s elected, everyone will."
Trump has said states should have the ultimate say on whether to restrict abortions. He has also said he would veto a national abortion ban.
The second ad features Harris talking directly to viewers, telling them: "Next January, one of us will be president. If it’s Donald Trump, he will wake up every day and stew over his enemies list. ... If I am president, I’ll be focused on my to-do list for you, the American people."
Trump has repeatedly said he would seek to prosecute his political enemies if he is elected.
Members of West Michigan’s Afghan community tend to view Trump as tougher than Harris on the Taliban
As in any neighborhood, members of West Michigan’s Afghan community don’t all agree on whom to vote for. But most believe Trump would be tougher than Harris on the Taliban, a community leader said.
Reza Mohammady is on the leadership board of the Kateb Cultural and Social Association, a civic group that serves the region’s growing Afghan community. The approximately 450 registered members hail from Afghanistan or are of Afghan heritage, with the majority identifying with the Hazara ethnic group.
Mohammady said he believes the Taliban, an extremist organization that oppresses women and minorities and has held the reins of the Afghan government since 2021, won't respond to diplomatic negotiations.
“You have to put pressure on them,” he said. “You have to even use force on them to at least make them ... stop the oppression on people of Afghanistan, minorities, especially women.”
“They are not the people of diplomacy,” he concluded.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the Biden administration as having botched the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Biden administration, which was in power when the Taliban took over Afghanistan, has retorted that Biden “was confronted with difficult realities left to him by the Trump Administration.”
“People are optimist[ic] about President Trump, that if he is elected he will definitely bring positive changes,” Mohammady continued. “This is what many of our community members believe in.”
Mohammady said many members of his community don’t have a clear understanding of how Harris would take on the Taliban.
“We haven’t heard much from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign about Afghanistan,” he said. “We are still not sure how they want to deal with those extremist groups.”
But, he said, some Harris supporters in his community appreciate her proposals on housing affordability and health care.
“The most important thing at the end is the interest of the United States,” Mohammady said. “We understand that we are a part of this country, and we also want what’s to the best interest of this country.”
Biden calls Democratic leaders to discuss pivotal races
Biden had a series of calls with Democratic leaders today to talk about the state of races across the country, the White House said.
Biden called the chairs of the Democratic National Committee, Jaime Harrison; the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington; and the Democratic Governors Association, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.
The White House also said Biden called North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein to wish him good luck in his race for governor against Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
Biden has not had a large presence on the campaign trail since he dropped out of the presidential race over the summer. NBC News reported this month that Harris did not have plans to campaign alongside Biden before Election Day. Harris has also not been mentioning Biden recently in her campaign speeches.
Obama surprises volunteers for Democrat Angela Alsobrooks' Senate campaign in Maryland
Obama is taking his role on the campaign trail beyond the presidential race, surprising volunteers and campaign workers for Angela Alsobrooks' campaign for the Maryland Senate seat today.
Alsobrooks is in a competitive race against Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan. Democrats hold a slim Senate majority, and the Maryland race is one of a handful that could prove decisive in deciding which party controls the chamber.
Obama took Alsobrooks' campaign team donuts and cookies from a local bakery as they worked to get out the vote on the final day of early in-person voting.
He emphasized the importance of the Maryland Senate seat using a football analogy, saying that a team can't just have a quarterback but that it must have the other positions and coaching staff. Obama used the comparison to argue that Democrats need to control Congress for Harris to be able to implement her agenda should she be elected.
Hillary Clinton says of Trump in orange safety vest, 'Wouldn't it be great to not have to think about this man ever again?'
Hillary Clinton posted an image on X of Trump wearing a safety vest yesterday in a garbage truck and at one of his rallies.
"Wouldn’t it be great to not have to think about this man ever again? Five more days," she wrote and then linked to a website that helps people figure out how to vote.
Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, beat Trump in the popular vote that year but lost in the Electoral College.
She will campaign for Harris in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday.
'Avengers' cast endorses Harris
"The Avengers" are reassembling to endorse Harris.
In a video posted to social media this afternoon, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Danai Gurira and Chris Evans joined a group video call to brainstorm catchphrases for Harris.
Sharing their joint endorsement on X, Ruffalo — already a vocal advocate for Harris and known for portraying the Hulk — urged his followers to go out and vote.
“Don’t sit this one out,” he wrote. “It’s the one where we will lose big: Project 2025, women’s reproductive rights, climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, public education, student debt relief, Affordable Care Act, Social Security, and as of today, life saving vaccines.”
Elon Musk’s legal team delays possible ruling on $1M giveaways with federal court filing
Reporting from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Elon Musk’s legal team filed court papers that delayed a potential ruling on a lawsuit over his super PAC’s $1 million lottery-style giveaways.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit over the contest Monday in state court, but late last night, lawyers for Musk and his America PAC filed papers in federal court to move the matter there, arguing that federal law — not state law — was central to the case.
John Summers, a lawyer representing Krasner, described the development as “cowardly, as well as irresponsible,” at a brief hearing in state court this morning.
Matthew Haverstick, a lawyer representing Musk and the super PAC, defended the substantive merits of the actions. He said the notice of removal was properly filed.
The federal court filing automatically blocked any immediate action in state court, where Judge Angelo Foglietta had already scheduled today’s hearing. Foglietta went ahead with the hearing but acknowledged that the federal filing had stripped him of jurisdiction to hear arguments.
LeBron James endorses Harris
Basketball star LeBron James endorsed Harris on X.
"When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!" the post said.
James also posted a video montage of Trump and his supporters, suggesting they've made racist, disparaging and violent comments. It also included images from historical moments.
James endorsed Biden in the 2020 cycle and donated to a committee supporting Barack Obama when he was running for president in 2008.
Supreme Court rejects Cornel West over Pa. ballot plea
The Supreme Court today gave short shrift to third-party presidential candidate Cornel West’s request that Pennsylvania officials be required to notify voters at every polling place in the key swing state that he is running.
Justice Samuel Alito, who has responsibility for cases arises from the state, summarily rejected West's emergency application in a brief order.
State officials previously rejected attempts to gain access to the ballot by West, viewed as a spoiler candidate who could draw votes away from Harris. His legal efforts to contest the state’s decision all failed.
West is running as the candidate for the Justice for All Party. His lawyers asked the Supreme Court to require the state to post notices at all polling locations that he is a presidential candidate and that they can write him in on the ballot.
Harris says that Trump ‘devalues’ women making their own choices
Reporting from Phoenix, Arizona
Harris said today that Trump's remarks this week about protecting women whether they “like it or not” is another sign of how he “devalues” women.
“His latest comment is just the most recent in a series of examples that we have seen from him in his words and deeds about how he devalues the ability of women to have the choice and the freedom to make decisions about their own body,” Harris told NBC News in an exclusive interview.
Vance, in Joe Rogan interview, predicts Trump will win ‘the normal gay guy vote’
In an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance suggested he and Donald Trump can win the “normal gay guy vote” and that families with transgender children are looking for an edge in Ivy League college admissions.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if me and Trump won, just, the normal gay guy vote, because, they just wanted to be left the hell alone,” Vance said in the conversation, which lasted more than three hours and was released Thursday. “Now you have all this crazy stuff on top of it that they’re like, ‘No, no, we didn’t want to give pharmaceutical products to 9-year-olds who are transitioning their genders.’”
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg endorses Harris, slams Trump
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg today endorsed Harris while blasting Trump's "personal integrity."
"I do not agree with Vice President Kamala Harris on every issue, but earlier this week, I voted for her without hesitation," Bloomberg wrote in a column published on Bloomberg News, outlining a number of policy positions he agrees with Harris on, including abortion, public health and public safety.
Bloomberg, a former Republican and independent who briefly ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, said some of her economic policies are "politically driven," but "would do far less damage to consumers and businesses — and to the national debt — than Trump’s."
As for the former president, he wrote, "Trump is not fit for high office." He said he made the U.S. look like "a banana republic" with his efforts to stay in power after losing the last election.
He said for Trump, "nothing — not America, not our Constitution, not democracy, not the rule of law, not the lives of police officers or any other citizen — matters more than his own vanity and glory."
Detroit clerk expects higher voter turnout than in 2020
Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey is anticipating 290,000 Detroit residents will vote in the 2024 election — a 53% turnout expectation that would surpass 2020's 51% citywide turnout.
The 2024 general election is the first in which Michigan voters can vote early in-person, with 22,000 casting ballots so far and 81,000 returning absentee ballots.
In addition to higher turnout, the city has heightened its security, with 10 officers strategically located inside the absentee tabulation center where chaotic protests broke out in 2020 “in the event that we have a disturbance or someone violates or deviates from Michigan election law."
Added security precautions, like installing bullet-resistant glass at the city's department of elections, are necessary due to the unrest in 2020, said elections director Daniel Baxter.
"The world was upside down. We had a turbulent America going on at the time, but we didn’t anticipate the type of shenanigans that occurred during that time," he told reporters. "We expect and hope for the best, and we’ve planned for the worst."
Winfrey, the city clerk, said she once thought her personal police escort was "overkill."
"But when they came to my home, they came to my home in 2020 and threatened my life because they thought that I had something to do with the fact that Trump lost, then it became different for me," she said.
Asked during a press conference about the focus on voter fraud in democratic cities like Detroit, Baxter said race is a factor.
"It’s because we are a Black city," said Baxter. "I think that when you look at some of the attacks that have been made on communities like Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, those type of communities, that’s where Black people live, that’s where Black folk are administrators over the process, and that is why we get attacked so often."
Due to a measure passed during the 2022 midterms, local clerks in Michigan can opt to pre-process absentee ballots ahead of election day, which officials hope will lead to faster results and fewer conspiracy theories on election night.
Closing arguments in battle for Congress focus on abortion and immigration
Both parties are zeroing in on different issues as they make their closing arguments in the battles for the House and Senate, with Democrats leaning into abortion and Republicans focusing on immigration.
Abortion is the most-mentioned topic in Democratic closing ads, followed by immigration, health care, bipartisanship, and taxation, according to an analysis of more than 300 TV ads from candidates and joint ads they ran with party committees. The analysis looked at ads, tracked by AdImpact, that aired Wednesday in competitive House and Senate races.
Immigration is the top topic in Republican ads, followed by Vice President Kamala Harris, taxation, President Joe Biden, and candidate character.
Democrats have gone all in on abortion: Every Democratic campaign in a competitive Senate race mentioned the issue in an ad on Wednesday, less than one week from Election Day.
Former Ohio State wrestlers slam Rep. Jordan in ad for his rival
Reporting from New York City
The Democrat trying to unseat Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is out with an ad featuring former Ohio State University wrestlers who say the powerful Republican failed to protect them from a sexual predator when he was the assistant wrestling coach from 1986 to 1994.
Tamie Wilson, a first-time candidate, has made the allegations that Jordan turned a blind eye to Dr. Richard Strauss' abuse of the athletes a centerpiece of her campaign.
Jordan, a chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, has insisted repeatedly that he had no idea Strauss was preying on the wrestlers, going so far as to say he never even heard any locker room talk about the abusive doctor.
NBC News has reached out to Jordan for comment on the ad.
Dozens of former OSU wrestlers say Jordan betrayed them and there is no way he didn't know what was going on.
Strauss, who died in 2005, was accused of preying on hundreds of men who attended the university from the 1970s through the 1990s, mostly under the guise of performing medical exams.
OSU has admitted it failed to protect students from Strauss and has already paid out $60 million in settlement money to 296 victims.
House panel refers Andrew Cuomo for prosecution, alleging ‘false statements’ on Covid report
A U.S. House panel on the pandemic is sending a criminal referral of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the Department of Justice, alleging he made “criminally false statements” during closed-door testimony in June 2024.
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland accusing the former governor of providing false statements to the panel when he testified on June 11.
In the Republican-led committee’s referral, it says Cuomo “knowingly and willfully made materially false statements” to the panel during its investigation into the New York’s Covid-19 response. The statements in question stem from exchanges about a New York state Department of Health report on nursing home infections and deaths that was released on July 6, 2020.
Trump imitates Harris responding to Biden's 'garbage' comment
At a rally today in New Mexico, the former president addressed Biden's comment which appeared to call Trump's supporters "garbage" as he imitated an imaginary phone call between Harris and Biden.
"Do you think [Harris] feels good about the language that [Biden’s] been using lately, like calling us all garbage? Can you imagine the phone calls?" Trump asked the crowd.
"‘What the hell are you doing, Joe? Please, Joe, I’m trying. Joe, I’m at a big disadvantage. I’m at a big -- you know -- they say I’m not smart, then you go and you make it more difficult for me, Joe. What are you doing?’" Trump added, imitating Harris.
Biden and the White House have insisted that the president was referring to one particular Trump supporter: comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who made a racist joke about Puerto Rico at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.
Then, he imitated Biden responding to the imaginary Harris call, saying, "‘Well, that’s the way I feel.’”
Earlier in the rally, Trump also compared Harris to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who he ran against in 2016.
"There’s one big difference between crooked Hillary and Kamala," Trump told attendees. "Hillary was far more intelligent, but Hillary didn’t lie as much. Hillary was a liar and a scoundrel and a horrible human being, but she didn’t lie as much as Kamala."
Political junkies could scry a Harris win in latest signs from the sports gods
The only people more superstitious than sports fans might be political junkies, and with five days left until Election Day, some might see signs from the sports gods pointing towards a Harris victory.
The first domino fell Sunday, when the Washington Commanders defeated the Chicago Bears on a last-second Hail Mary touchdown pass.
Historically, when the Commanders (née Redskins) have won their last home game before Election Day, the incumbent party has gone on to win. The rule goes back to 1932, with some exceptions (notably both previous elections involving Trump — also a time period in which the Washington football franchise was historically inept).
But two sports dynasties may hold other clues: In 2020, the Kansas City Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in 50 years, and the Los Angeles Dodgers later claimed the world Series. Trump lost. This year? The Kansas City Chiefs — backed by Harris-endorser Taylor Swift — won again. So too the Dodgers, last night.
Are the sports gods pointing toward another Trump loss?
Pro-Trump advocacy group says it has made contact with 10 million voters in Pennsylvania
The advocacy arm of the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute, America First Works, said in a press release that it has made contact with 10 million voters in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania in its get-out-the-vote effort.
They counted contacts as being from door-to-door canvassing as well as text messages.
The group said that it began reaching out to potential voters in Pennsylvania more than a year ago and ramped up efforts since June with more than 1,000 canvassers. AFW also said that it reached 858,000 Pennsylvania voters from canvassing.
In addition, it announced yesterday that it had made more than 5 million voter visits in eight battleground states since late June, including in Pennsylvania.
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán says he wished Trump luck next Tuesday
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said this morning that he had spoken to Trump by phone and wished him luck in the election.
The former president and Orbán have been allies for a while, and Trump even hosted him at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year.
NBC News reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on the call.
Ohio’s historically expensive Senate race hinges on Trump ticket-splitters
VERMILION, Ohio — Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is fighting for his political life, locked in what polls show as a dead heat between him and Republican businessman Bernie Moreno.
Their clash has already drawn more ad spending than any other Senate race in history, eclipsing the $412 million spent in Georgia’s 2020 race between Jon Ossoff and David Perdue. The Brown-Moreno battle is about to surpass $500 million, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.
Brown’s survival, and possibly partisan control of the Senate, hinges on split-ticket voters in a state that twice backed former President Donald Trump by healthy margins — and likely will again next week. While Moreno clings to Trump, Brown tends to avoid talking too much about national political figures from either party.
Each candidate, meanwhile, has homed in on a hot-button issue that he believes can tilt the race in his favor.
Democratic governors channel Walz in Halloween scare tactic
Several Democratic governors are showing their support for the Harris campaign by channeling her running mate — and his fashion sense — for Halloween.
"Boo! This Halloween, my fellow govs and I decided to dress up as the least scary guy we know, @Tim_Walz!" New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on X, posting a shot of himself posing with an adjustable wrench and his cap askew behind the open hood of an automobile. Maine Gov. Janet Mills posted a similar shot.
The posts, which link to the Democratic National Committee's voter assistance website, feature split screens of the governors and Walz in his various roles — as a high school teacher, a football coach, and, in Murphy's case, a mechanic.
"This Halloween, I’ve got my game face on to elect @KamalaHarris and Coach @Tim_Walz on November 5th, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey wrote in a post of herself in a headset, holding a football and clipboard.
Not to be outdone, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also got in on the costuming, donning a University of Minnesota cap in a pose with Michigan's first dogs — themselves dressed as piglets to mimic the corresponding photo of Walz holding an actual one.
Cardi B, GloRilla, Flo Milli and others to join Harris rally and concert in Milwaukee
Harris will hold a rally and concert in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, tomorrow evening with performances by GloRilla, Flo Milli, MC Lyte, DJ GEMINI GILLY and The Isley Brothers and featuring remarks by Cardi B.
The event is part of a series of campaign events leading up to Election Day aimed at mobilizing voters.
"These artists and public figures are trusted voices for millions of Americans, who listen to their music, follow them on social media, or otherwise are inspired by them," the campaign said in a release.
Other events have featured former President Barack Obama and musician Bruce Springsteen.
Women will send a message to Trump 'whether he likes it or not,' Walz retorts
Walz responded during a campaign rally in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, today to Trump’s comments last night about protecting women “whether they like it or not."
“Last night, Donald Trump said that if you’re a woman, I’ll be your protector," Walz began. "And he also said that — imagine that — this was a moment of self reflection for him. He says, I know a lot of people don’t like that. Well, no s---they don’t like that. But here’s the scary part, people …, he said, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. That’s how this guy’s lived his life. That’s why he was on the 'Access Hollywood' tape, and that’s why he ended up in court.”
Walz added, “I have to say, this feeling of women right now in this — every age, every party — here’s what’s going to happen on Tuesday: They are going to send a loud and clear message to Donald Trump on November 5th. They’re going to send that message whether he likes it or not.”
Vance warns the U.S. is 'sleepwalking into World War III'
Vance warned at an event in High Point, North Carolina, this morning that another world war could develop if Harris is elected president.
At the town hall event, hosted by Turning Point PAC, Vance claimed, without elaborating, that the U.S. is on the precipice of broader regional wars and “potentially even a world war.”
“Do you want a person like Kamala Harris negotiating in private rooms with people like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping?" said Vance, who then asked if they want a person like Trump in that position. "I think the answer to that question is obvious.”
Later in the event, Vance said that he doesn't think it's an "exaggeration" to say the U.S. is heading toward World War 3. "I think that we are sleepwalking ourselves into World War III. And if you go back to all of the really terrible world conflicts, they almost always come from incompetent leadership," he said.
It's the same claim that Trump has been making for a while, including when he first kicked off his re-election campaign.
Vance also slammed former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney — both Republicans who have endorsed Harris — saying that when he was in high school, he didn't realize that lot of innocent Americans would lose their lives while Cheney was vice president.
"I wish that I could go back in time and tell myself, from the perspective of 2003, that if Dick Cheney is in control, if a person with the last name of Cheney is in control of American foreign policy, it is a damn shame, and a lot of bad things would happen because of it," he said.
Progressives gear up for their first big fight if Harris wins: Protecting Lina Khan
WASHINGTON — Anxious liberals have held their fire as Harris tacks to the center, but recent calls from some allies that she part ways with a popular, progressive financial regulator if she wins the White House, has sparked warnings from her party’s left flank of a potential “out and out brawl.”
For many in the progressive movement, the question of whether to keep Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan represents a pivotal question about the party’s future: whether it will double down or walk away from the cause of taking on big corporations and breaking up monopolies and concentrations of power.
“If Vice President Harris wins, her decision whether to replace Lina Khan and other enforcement officials will be the first big test of whether she wants to preserve the broad coalition built by the Biden-Harris administration, or whether she’ll choose ongoing conflict with progressives instead,” said Dan Geldon, a consultant and former chief of staff to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
With Republicans favored to win the Senate, Harris may have few opportunities to pursue an ambitious legislative agenda, shifting the Democratic ideological fight to key personnel decisions.
Swifties For Kamala hosting voter turnout event in Philadelphia
Swifties For Kamala, the mobilizing group run by Taylor Swift fans, announced a pop-up event in Philadelphia that will go from making friendship bracelets to canvassing in the swing state.
The group has hosted several mobilizing events over the last several weeks, including phone and text banks to get out the vote. A similar pop-up was held in Raleigh, North Carolina, earlier this month, a state that the Harris campaign has hoped to swing in her favor.
Writers mobilize for Harris campaign after hundreds endorsed her
The Harris campaign says numerous high-profile writers, including JJ Abrams, Joyce Carol Oates and Ann Patchett, gathered on an organizing call last week to drum up support for the vice president.
“As writers, we understand there’s a moral imperative to the stories we tell," Abrams said on the call. "I ask all of you, as writers, as readers, to speak out, to vote. Together, we can write the kind of ending that serves as the new beginning."
Yesterday, the Harris campaign announced that over 700 writers endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket.
The campaign said authors have worked to "independently organize, fundraise, and mobilize their supporters in support of the Democratic ticket."
Rosie O'Donnell, Glennon Doyle, Cyndi Lauper, Brené Brown, Glennon Doyle and Margaret Atwood are also on the list.
A flood of false information around the election is already ramping up on the internet, making it hard for voters to know what’s actually real. Already in Pennsylvania, a viral video claiming to show illegal harvesting of ballots was actually just a postal worker delivering the ballots to the elections office. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports for TODAY.
Trump says he 'never even thought about' ending Obamacare despite having tried to do so as president
Responding quickly to Kamala Harris’ comments about the Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”), Donald Trump wrote Thursday on his social media platform: “Lyin’ Kamala is giving a News Conference now, saying that I want to end the Affordable Care Act. I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing.”
As president, Trump repeatedly fought to undo the ACA — through legislation to repeal it, executive actions to weaken its regulations and by asking the Supreme Court to eliminate it. Those attempts did not succeed. Last month in a debate with Harris, Trump said, “Obamacare was lousy health care. Always was. It’s not very good today.” He added, “We’re going to replace it.”
Judge pauses civil challenge to Musk's $1M giveaways
A Philadelphia judge has paused the local district attorney’s civil case against Elon Musk and America PAC pending the resolution of Musk’s effort to remove the case to federal court.
In a brief hearing this morning, Judge Angelo Foglietta acknowledged that Musk’s notice of removal to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has for now stripped him of jurisdiction to hear arguments on Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner’s effort to block Musk’s daily $1 million giveaways aimed at voters in seven swing states.
Musk had been ordered to appear in-person for this morning’s hearing but never showed. Foglietta said he wasn’t going to get into any implications of that failure unless and until a federal judge returns the case to state court.
Despite saying that he would not hear any arguments on the merits of the case this morning, the judge did allow the parties, mostly Krasner’s lawyer, to speak at length.
John Summers, the lawyer representing Krasner, criticized the defendants for awarding $1 million prizes as recently as this morning despite the ongoing lawsuit describing their conduct as “brazen.”
Summers said he believes the case could return to the judge as soon as this afternoon or tomorrow, indicating they will seek a swift resolution of the federal removal issue.
Matthew Haverstick, a lawyer representing Musk and the political action committee, waved away his client’s failure to appear, saying that Musk is a busy man who can’t simply “materialize” on 12 hours notice, and that he was only added as a defendant in this case as a “publicity stunt.”
Summers took issue with that accusation, saying nothing here is a publicity stunt other than Musk’s “weird” rallies where Musk jumps around on stage and lottery winners come out wearing MAGA hats.
Summers also questioned whether America PAC is actually paying lottery winners, pointing out that there’s no sign of these payouts on the PAC’s expenditure reports.
Haverstick, Musk’s lawyer, declined to respond to most of Summers’ comments, simply saying that Summers was talking about matters that aren’t at issue in this case at this time.
Kamala Harris attacks Speaker Johnson's health care comments
Harris took aim at House Speaker Mike Johnson's recent criticism of the Affordable Care Act, saying it shows that "health care for all Americans is on the line in this election.”
"The stakes in this election are whether we continue with the Affordable Care Act, or not," Harris told reporters in Madison, Wisconsin. "It has been a part of Donald Trump's agenda for a very long time — he has made dozens of attempts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, and now we have further validation of that agenda from his supporter, the Speaker of the House."
"Insurance companies could go back to a time when they would deny you coverage for health insurance based on pre-existing conditions, pre-existing conditions such as you being a survivor of breast cancer, asthma, diabetes. And what I know is that the American people, regardless of who they're voting for, know the importance of the Affordable Care Act — of, as it's also called, Obamacare, in terms of expanding people's coverage to health care," she said.
Johnson has since clarified his comments, which were made at a closed-door event in Pennsylvania and first reported by NBC News, by saying in a statement he is not promising to eliminate the ACA if Republicans win the election.
Harris slams Trump comments on protecting women ‘whether the women like it or not’
Harris blasted Trump's comment last night that he would protect women "whether the women like it or not" as "offensive to everybody."
“It’s just, it actually is, I think, very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies,” she said. She later added that it was "offensive to everybody," not just women.
The former president at a rally in Wisconsin last night said his "people" told him not to talk about protecting women but that "I’m going to do it, whether the women like it or not. I’m going to protect them."
Speaking to reporters today, Harris said, “Each day, I think that there are also indications that we are receiving from my opponent that verify, validate and reinforce the fact that, one, he is not going to be fighting for women’s reproductive rights. He does not prioritize the freedom of women and the intelligence of women to make decisions about their own lives and bodies.”
Hillary Clinton to campaign in Florida in first appearance for Harris
Hillary Clinton will participate in “get out the vote” rallies for Harris’ campaign in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, two campaign officials said.
Clinton, who lost to Trump as the Democratic nominee in 2016, was previously scheduled to host an event related to her new book “Something Lost, Something Gained,” in the area that day.
This will be Clinton’s first campaign trail appearance for Harris since backing the vice president when she took over the top of the ticket in late July.
Harris still hasn't mailed her ballot, Trump will vote in person
Harris has yet to vote in the 2024 election and still plans to do so by mail, according to four Harris aides. As of last week, she told reporters that she hadn’t had time to review some key California measures and offered that as one reason for why she had not cast her ballot.
Harris still hasn’t said how she would vote on California’s Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime initiative that has garnered a lot of attention in her home state.
“I will keep you posted on that,” Harris pledged yesterday but hasn’t offered an update so far. The ballot would need to be postmarked by Election Day, the Harris aides said.
Trump, meanwhile, plans to vote in person on the morning of Election Day, a source familiar with his plans said.
For his part, President Joe Biden voted early in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday, waiting in line for almost 40 minutes. Walz voted early in Minnesota last Wednesday along with his wife, Gwen Walz, and son, Gus, who recently turned 18 and voted for the first time.
Former President Barack Obama said he voted by mail last week. He placed his ballot in a USPS box in Chicago and put on an “I Voted” sticker afterward. Former first lady Michelle Obama voted by mail, as well.
Harris campaign launches Spanish-language ad targeting Puerto Rican and Latino voters in battleground states
The Harris campaign released a new Spanish-language ad that targets Puerto Rican and Latino voters in battleground states after a comedian made offensive remarks about the island and community at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally.
"An island of garbage. What, what? Saying it’s a joke. Whatever you say," the ad says. "Papi, they’ve called us worse than that. And we’re still standing. Puerto Rico is an island of scientists, poets, educators, stars and heroes."
It continues, "We’re not trash, we’re more. And we’re not afraid. This November 5th, Trump will understand that some people’s trash is others’ treasure. Get out. The last one to laugh, you already know."
The ad will air in swing states on Spanish-language TV, including Univision, Telemundo and on digital platforms, the campaign said.
Trump attacked President Joe Biden for a comment in which he appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage.” Biden later clarified that he wasn’t referring to all Trump supporters but to the comedian at a Trump rally Sunday who made a hateful comment about Puerto Rico. NBC News’ Garrett Haake reports
How the ballot-counting rules differ across the key battleground states
Four years after 2020 gave us an “election week,” voters are heading to the polls and wondering: How long will it take for states to count their ballots this year?
Several dynamics have changed since the last presidential contest: Many voters have returned to in-person voting after the Covid pandemic, and many states have rewritten their laws to allow election officials to start processing mail ballots ahead of Election Day. Those two changes are expected to speed up tabulation, but it could still take days to get a full picture of the election results.
Close elections take longer for news organizations like NBC News to call, because the winners may be decided by absentee and provisional ballots, which can take days for election officials to process and count.
Absentee ballots sent in by mail take more time to process than votes cast in person, because election workers need to verify voters’ identities and remove them from envelopes. And provisional ballots are cast by people who election workers couldn’t immediately confirm were eligible to vote when they cast their ballots. Those ballots are segregated from the eligible ballots until the officials can investigate whether the votes are valid.
As we move closer to Election Day, here’s a rundown of the rules around how the seven key battleground states that are likely to swing the presidential election can count those ballots.
Where the candidates will be in the final days of the campaign
Trump will have four stops Monday, the final day of his campaign, ending with a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a source familiar with the planning said.
Harris is expected to make several stops in Pennsylvania that day, including Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, where she is expected to close out her campaign with a large rally, campaign officials said.
Grand Rapids was Trump’s last stop in 2016 and 2020. On Election Day, he will vote in person in the morning. He will then call into a few tele-rallies before joining his watch party that evening at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, according to the source.
Trump's campaign visits today to Nevada and Arizona will be his last in the two Sun Belt swing states before Election Day. Meanwhile, Harris will be holding rallies today in Phoenix, and Reno and Las Vegas. Tomorrow, she will hold a rally in Milwaukee, and on Saturday she'll hold rallies in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Chinese national to face criminal charges for noncitizen voting in Michigan
Reporting from Hong Kong
A Chinese national has been criminally charged for allegedly illegally registering to vote and casting a ballot on Sunday in the 2024 U.S. presidential election in the swing state of Michigan.
The Michigan Department of State confirmed to NBC News in an email that the defendant is a 19-year-old Chinese citizen studying at the University of Michigan. The allegations came amid the Trump campaign's repeated false claims of widespread voter fraud by undocumented immigrants.
The Michigan Department of State said noncitizen voting is a felony and an “extremely isolated and rare event.”
“Investigations in multiple states and nationwide have found no evidence of large numbers of noncitizens registering to vote,” it said in a statement.
How each of the 7 key swing states would handle a 2024 recount
The 2024 election looks extremely close in the polls. And if the actual results are that close after Election Day, it’s possible the results in a key state could hinge on a recount.
The rules about when recounts happen and the procedures they include vary from state to state, since elections are administered locally. Those rules were in the spotlight in 2020, after Joe Biden won a handful of key battleground states by a razor-thin margin.
Trump requested, and was granted, recounts in a few of these states, but none of them changed the outcome of the election there. Typically, recounts only slightly change the final margin of a race, but when the vote is close enough, they can have a real effect.
Ahead of Election Day, here’s a refresher of the recount rules in the states expected to be the closest in the presidential race.
Trump could ‘discard’ Taiwan if re-elected, China suggests
Reporting from Hong Kong
China suggested yesterday that Trump might “discard” Taiwan if he is returned to the White House in next week’s election.
In recent comments, including in an interview with Joe Rogan, Trump has called on the Beijing-claimed island to pay Washington more for its defense and accused it of “stealing” chip business from the U.S. He also said he would impose tariffs of 150% to 200% on China if it were to invade Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
“Whether the United States is trying to protect or harm Taiwan, I believe most of our Taiwan compatriots have already made a rational judgment and know very clearly that what the United States pursues is always ‘America First,’” Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told reporters in Beijing.
They know that “Taiwan at any time may turn from a pawn to a discarded piece,” Zhu said, in a reference to the popular Chinese game Go. She did not mention Trump by name.
Asked yesterday about Trump’s remarks, Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Kuo Jyh-huei said it was “inappropriate” to comment on the U.S. election with voting underway. “I wish the United States well for a successful democratic election,” he said.
Trump is campaigning outside of battleground states. Is that confidence or hubris?
Trump is swerving off the battleground map this week to host rallies in New Mexico and Virginia — states that haven’t voted for the GOP nominee in two decades and where he lost by double digits in 2020 — and he is flirting with a trip to New Hampshire.
Trump heads to Albuquerque, New Mexico, today, with his campaign newly confident that he is in such good shape to beat Harris that he can afford to divert his focus from the seven main battlegrounds the two sides have focused on for the entirety of the race.
Musk ordered to appear in court over $1M giveaways to voters
Elon Musk has been ordered to appear in a Philadelphia courtroom this morning for a hearing in the civil case brought against him and his political action committee by the city’s district attorney.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, seeks to halt Musk’s $1 million-a-day lottery aimed at voters in swing states.
It’s not currently clear if Musk will personally attend the hearing, despite the court order. Defendants in civil cases are not always required to attend hearings as long as their lawyers are present. NBC News has reached out to Musk’s lawyers for comment.
With or without Musk, a judge will hear arguments this morning on Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s request for an injunction immediately stopping the daily giveaways on the grounds that Musk and America PAC, which he founded earlier this year, are running an illegal lottery.
“America PAC and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens — and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) — to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million,” a lawyer representing Krasner wrote in Monday’s complaint. “That is a lottery.”
The daily drawings are open to registered voters in seven swing states who sign a petition pledging support for the First and Second amendments. America PAC keeps a running tally of winners at the top of the petition and on X. So far, there have been 12 winners with four located in Pennsylvania.
“America PAC’s and Musk’s lottery is plainly not a lawful lottery,” the complaint continues. “Under unambiguous Pennsylvania law, moreover, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has declared that illegal lotteries are a public ‘nuisance’ and empowered law enforcement officers such as DA Krasner to seek an injunction in court to stop them.”
The complaint also accuses Musk and America PAC of violating Pennsylvania consumer protection law by failing to show how they are protecting the personal information of petition signers or disclosing exactly how winners are selected.
“Though Musk says that a winner’s selection is 'random,' that appears false because multiple winners that have been selected are individuals who have shown up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania,” the complaint alleges.
Today's hearing was originally scheduled for tomorrow but was moved up with less than 24-hour notice after Krasner requested additional security measures, citing antisemitic comments and threats posted on X in response to Musk’s posts about the lawsuit.
At least one account posted Krasner’s home address, writing “Krasner loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home.”
In Wisconsin, Trump courts ‘garbage’ outrage while Harris courts students
GREEN BAY, Wis. — In Green Bay yesterday, Trump donned an orange vest and climbed into a garbage truck to try to highlight a gaffe President Joe Biden made just the day before.
Nearly 160 miles away in Madison, Harris stepped onstage to thousands of screaming students and vowed she would chart a new way forward.
The split-screen played out in this key swing state six days ahead of the election, as both campaigns sprinted across battlegrounds to rally their voters in what’s expected to be a race won on the margins.
Each side says it couldn’t be closer here — the state where Biden won by just more than 20,600 votes in 2020. Wisconsin is among a handful of states almost certain to decide the election — an essential piece of the “blue wall” that is critical to Harris’ path to the White House. Trump is attempting a replay of 2016, when he denied Democrat Hillary Clinton a victory by capturing each of the blue wall states, including Wisconsin.
Both Harris and Trump will return here tomorrow, holding dueling rallies in Milwaukee, the state’s largest city.
Chinese national to face criminal charges for noncitizen voting in Michigan
Reporting from Hong Kong
A Chinese national has been criminally charged for allegedly illegally registering to vote and casting a ballot in the U.S. general election in the swing state of Michigan.
The person has been charged with acting as an “unauthorized elector attempting to vote” and with perjury for making a false statement to secure registration after voting Sunday at an early voting site in Ann Arbor, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit said in a statement yesterday.
Though the statement did not mention nationality or any other identifying details, the Michigan Department of State confirmed to NBC News that the person is a 19-year-old Chinese citizen studying at the University of Michigan.
The agency said that while it takes such cases seriously, noncitizen voting is “extremely isolated and rare.” The allegations come as Republicans have been claiming without evidence that there is widespread voter fraud by undocumented immigrants.
Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chair of the House select committee on China’s ruling Communist Party, criticized Benson for not preventing the illegal vote from being cast, citing reporting by The Detroit News that it will be counted in the election because there is no way for it to be tracked down and retrieved. He also said the student should be expelled from the University of Michigan, which did not immediately respond to an additional request for comment outside of business hours.
Bill Clinton to campaign in Wisconsin today
Former President Bill Clinton will head to Milwaukee today to campaign for Harris.
He's set to join leaders for a faith event, according to the campaign.
Both Clinton and former President Barack Obama have hit the trail for Harris recently.
Harris to hold rallies in Arizona and Nevada today
Harris will kick off her first campaign rally of the day in Phoenix. She and Biden won Arizona in 2020 by just over 10,000 votes.
Later, she will head to the battleground state of Nevada, where she plans to campaign in Reno and Las Vegas.
Jennifer Lopez will appear at the Las Vegas rally, the campaign said. There will also be musical guests at the rallies in Phoenix and Las Vegas.