Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both delivered closing arguments the week before Election Day, with their tone and talking points in as stark contrast as ever.
Harris spoke in front of thousands at the Ellipse near the White House on Tuesday, calling for unity on the same lawn where Trump delivered a speech that preceded an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That’s who he is. But America, I am here tonight to say: That’s not who we are,” Harris said. “I pledge to be a president for all Americans — to always put country above party and above self.”
Over the weekend, Trump echoed fascist talking points during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden that also featured a wildly racist rant from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. Trump later described his rally as a “lovefest.”
“That was love in the room, and it was love for our country,” Trump said of the wholly bigoted event.
Abortion rights, inflation, extremism, immigration and more — the stakes have never been higher. Catch up on critical 2024 election updates here.
Harris and Trump are appearing at a variety of high-profile events leading up to Nov. 5. Jennifer Lopez is set to join Harris at an event in Las Vegas this week, while Trump campaigned with former NFL quarterback Brett Favre.
The two and their running mates, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have been swarming battleground states in the final weeks of the race.
See previous election coverage here, and read the latest updates on the 2024 race below.
What The Harris And Trump Campaigns Have Planned For Today
Harris is scheduled to campaign in Arizona and Nevada today. The vice president will headline a campaign event in Phoenix before traveling to the Silver State to hold a rally in Reno followed by a stop in Las Vegas, where Jennifer Lopez is scheduled to join her on stage and deliver remarks.
Walz will travel to Pennsylvania to give a speech in Bucks County before heading to Erie.
Meanwhile, Trump will hold a rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before making his way to Henderson, Nevada, for another campaign event.
In the evening, Trump will appear with Tucker Carlson at an event in Glendale, Arizona. Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to deliver opening remarks.
Trump Attacks 'War Hawk' Liz Cheney: How Would She Feel About Guns 'Trained On Her Face'
Donald Trump attacked Liz Cheney's support of wars on Thursday by imagining a violent scene where the former GOP representative had guns "trained on her face."
"She's a radical war hawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let's see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face," said the Republican nominee at campaign event featuring former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Glendale, Arizona.
He added, "You know, they're all war hawks when they're sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, 'Aw, gee will, let's send — let's send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy.'"
Trump's comments arrived after he mentioned fully pardoning I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the ex-chief of staff of former Vice President Dick Cheney who in 2007 was convicted on felony charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to a CIA leak scandal.
On Thursday, Trump claimed that Dick Cheney called him and referred to the pardon of Libby as "one of the nicest things I've seen done in politics."
Trump used the claim to point to Dick Cheney and his daughter both endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the election.
"And I don't blame him for sticking with his daughter but his daughter is a very dumb individual, very dumb," Trump said.
White House Altered Joe Biden's 'Garbage' Remarks, Despite Stenographer Concerns: Report
White House press officials altered the official transcript of a call in which President Joe Biden appeared to take a swipe at supporters of Donald Trump, drawing objections from the federal workers who document such remarks for posterity, according to two U.S. government officials and an internal email obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
Read more of AP's report here.
GA Secretary Of State Calls Out Video Of ‘Disinformation’ Due To ‘Likely Foreign Interference’
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Thursday that a fake video with someone asserting that they illegally cast multiple votes is likely an attempt at election interference from a foreign country like Russia.
"Earlier today, our office became aware of a video purporting to show a Haitian immigrant with multiple Georgia ID's claiming to have voted multiple times," the office said in a statement.
"This is false, and is an example of targeted disinformation we've seen this election. It is likely foreign interference attempting to sow discord and chaos on the eve of the election,” the statement continued, adding that it conceivably came from “Russian troll farms.”
The announcement comes after U.S. officials claimed last week that Russia fabricated a viral video of someone tearing apart ballots in Pennsylvania.
Trump Says RFK Jr. Will Be In Charge Of Women’s Health If Elected
Trump Plays Montage Of Kamala Harris Saying His Name
At his Nevada rally, Trump played a montage of Harris repeatedly saying his name. The implication was that she can’t stop talking about him – which isn’t that strange considering she’s running against him in a close race for president of the United States.
Bill Clinton Justifies The Mass Killings Of Palestinians While Campaigning In Arab-Heavy Swing State
As Harris begins to make her closing arguments before the election, former President Bill Clinton decided to campaign for her by lecturing Muslim Arab American voters who oppose the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s ongoing attacks in Gaza ― going so far as to justify the massive number of Palestinian civilians killed by the military.
Read more:
JD Vance Claims 'Normal Gay Guys' Support Trump
JD Vance made a bold claim to Joe Rogan during his appearance on Rogan’s podcast Thursday: that Trump is actually popular with “normal” gay men.
Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, was telling Rogan about a gay friend who is a committed conservative. He contrasted this man with members of the “crazy” LGBTQ+ community writ large, particularly nonbinary and transgender people.
Read more:
LeBron James Endorses Harris
Trump Cries Election Interference, Sues CBS For $10 Billion Over Harris ‘60 Minutes’ Interview
In a lawsuit filed in Texas on Thursday, Trump demanded $10 billion in damages from CBS alleging that “deceptive doctoring” of the network’s 60 Minutes interview with 2024 election opponent Vice President Kamala Harris “confused and misled” voters in Texas.
Trump called for an investigation into the network earlier this month, claiming that Harris was made to look “more Presidential.”
Trump’s lawyers say the interview amounted to malicious election interference and “substantial news distortion.”
The interview at issue is one that appeared in two video clips posted online by CBS. Harris was answering questions about whether the U.S. has sway over Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In one version of the interview shared online by CBS, she replied at length. In other footage from CBS, she answered the same question but more succinctly. Compare transcripts here.
In addition to $10 billion, Trump has also asked for a jury trial.
The former president had an opportunity to appear on 60 Minutes but backed out after initially agreeing to sit for an interview.
Harris Says Trump’s Message Is ‘Full Of Hate’
Harris Blasts Trump’s Foul Comments About Controlling Women
At her Arizona rally, Harris blasted comments Trump made about protecting women “whether the women like it or not.”
During a Wisconsin rally on Wednesday, Trump said he wants “to protect the women of our country. I want to protect them.”
“Well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not,” Trump added. “I’m going to protect them.”
Harris said Trump’s comments show his true character.
“There’s a saying, 'You gotta listen to people when they tell you who they are,'” Harris said. “And this is not the first time that he’s told us who he is. He does not believe that women should have the agency or the authority to make decisions about their own bodies.”
She added that Trump “simply does not respect the freedom of women or the intelligence of women to know what’s in their own best interests to make decisions accordingly.”
“But we trust women,” she said. “We trust women.”
Harris: Trump Has ‘Enemies List,’ I Have ‘To-do List’
At a rally in Arizona, Harris described the differences between her potential presidency and Trump’s.
“If he is elected, on day one, Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list,” Harris said. “On day one, when I walk in, I will walk in with a to-do list.”
Special Counsel Tells Judge Trump Can’t Dismiss Him or Jan. 6 Charges
Special counsel Jack Smith urged U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 election subversion case, to disregard the former president’s latest attempts to have him thrown off the case and the charges dismissed.
Trump’s lawyers argue Smith was never lawfully appointed because he wasn’t confirmed by the Senate nor authorized to operate or be funded as an independent counsel. This was a successful but controversial gambit when Trump’s lawyers made it the first time before Judge Aileen Cannon in the classified documents case in Florida.
Smith is appealing that case’s dismissal.
Chutkan meanwhile has expressed that she didn’t find Cannon’s ruling particularly persuasive.
Cannon came to her conclusion by relying almost entirely on a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas that stood alone by raising the question of whether Smith was lawfully appointed.
Smith argues Trump’s logic around the appointment and funding of special counsels is “deeply flawed” and ignores D.C. Circuit precedent that grants the Attorney General power to appoint special counsel.
Read the entire filing here.
Joe Rogan Warned Racist Comedian Not To Do Puerto Rico ‘Joke’ At Trump Rally
Podcaster Joe Rogan said he warned racist comedian Tony Hinchcliffe against making a racist joke about Puerto Rico during Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.
On his podcast Wednesday, Rogan brought up Hinchcliffe’s set in which he called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” among other racist comments.
“That joke kills at comedy clubs,” Rogan said on his podcast. “I don’t like the joke, but it kills, and I said to him, it’s just like, if you’re Puerto Rican and you hear that in the audience, you’re like ‘ahh,’ but it’s a funny joke, the joke does well. But I said to him, I go, ‘Dude, that’s the one that’s going to get you stabbed.’”
Despite Rogan’s claim that the joke “kills at comedy clubs,” NBC News reported that the night before his set, Hinchcliffe tried out his jokes at the Stand in Manhattan. Nobody laughed.
Trump Tells New Mexico Crowd He’s Only There To Pander To Latinos
Trump is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this afternoon for one reason and one reason only: He thinks it will make him more palatable to Hispanic voters, many of whom renounced their support following extremely racist comments at a Trump rally earlier this week at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m here for one simple reason,” Trump said Thursday. “It’s good for my credentials with the Hispanic or Latino community.”
He also told the crowd he doesn’t want to “waste a whole damn half a day” in the state.
Vance Details Moment He Learned Trump Was Shot At Rally
Vance has recalled the moment he learned that Trump had been shot at a Pennsylvania rally, revealing he thought the former president was dead and that others may be coming for him next.
“I thought oh my god, they just killed him,” he told podcaster Joe Rogan in an interview released Thursday. “First I was so pissed, but then I go into fight or flight mode with my kids.”
Vance said he was playing mini golf in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his kids at the time of the July incident, which only wounded Trump's ear, and that he immediately ran home and armed himself.
“I grab my kids up, throw them in the car, go home and load all my guns and basically stand like a sentry at our front door,” he said.
Michael Bloomberg Announces Support Of Harris: ‘I Voted For Her Without Hesitation’
Bloomberg founder and former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg announced his vote for Harris in a Thursday opinion article detailing the differences between the two major presidential candidates.
Bloomberg denounced Trump’s politics and time in office. Pointing to the Jan. 6 Capital insurrection, Bloomberg argued that “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 [Trump’s] own vanity and glory.”
Read more about Bloomber's decision here.
With The Finish Line In Sight, Here’s Where The Candidates Are Spending Their Time
Harris and Trump will both close out the 2024 campaign calendar with frenetic schedules, leaving no swing state un-rallied.
Harris will attend rallies on Thursday in Phoenix, Reno and Las Vegas, then fly to Wisconsin for rallies in Appleton and Milwaukee on Friday. Saturday will see the vice president in Atlanta and Charlotte, with stops Sunday in Michigan around Detroit. On Monday, Harris will make stops in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Trump, meanwhile, is in Albuquerque this afternoon ahead of a stop in Henderson, Nevada tonight. On Friday, he’ll visit Warren, Mich., before a dueling rally in Milwaukee Friday night. On Saturday, Trump’s slated to visit Gastonia, N.C., Salem, Va., and Greensboro, N.C.
Campaign sources told Bloomberg Trump intends to conclude his campaign appearances with one last stop in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Monday — the same place he wrapped up his 2016 and 2020 bids.
Obama Calls Out Trump For Killing Bipartisan Immigration Bill, Caring Only About Himself
In an interview with Rev. Al Sharpton that’s set to air later today, former President Barack Obama dwelled on Trump’s constant disregard for minorities and “people who are not like him.”
Trump’s demeaning comments “indicate he does not think they necessarily are full members of the American community,” he said.
The former president also told Sharpton he thinks Trump doesn’t actually want to fix immigration — he only wants to campaign on it.
“Donald Trump's not interested in fixing the problem. He had four years to fix the problem,” Obama said. “What he did do most recently is there was a bipartisan bill that Kamala Harris was willing to work with Republicans to pass that would have made the situation of the border better, safer, more fair, more just.”
Instead of celebrating the progress, Trump pressed Republicans who planned to support the bill to tank it instead.
“Donald Trump specifically called up Republicans in Congress and told them don't vote for it, not because it wouldn't have made things better,” said Obama. “He didn't want Republicans to vote for it because he thought it was going to take an issue away from him for the election.”
The full interview will air at 1 p.m. ET today on Sharpton’s radio show, Keepin’ It Real.
Facebook Took In $1 Million Running Anti-Harris Ads With Election Misinformation: Report
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, pulled in more than a million dollars to run ads with election misinformation targeting the Harris campaign, Forbes found by diving into details provided in the Meta Ad Library
The ads, many of which have run in the past week, seemingly violate Meta’s election misinformation policy with claims that Democrats are trying to postpone the election and suggestions that Harris might drop out of the race. They also feature some unsettling AI imagery. Here’s how Forbes described them:
"One of the ads features a stylized image of Vice President Kamala Harris with devil horns and an American flag burning behind her. Other ads feature images of Harris and VP candidate Tim Walz interposed with post-apocalyptic scenes, and pictures of Walz and President Biden mashed up with images of prescription drugs spilling out of bottles. One features an apparently AI-generated image of a smiling Harris in a hospital room preparing to give a screaming child an injection. Another features images of anti-vaxxer and third-party candidate RFK Jr. Some of the ads question whether Harris will remain in the race and suggest that America is 'headed for another civil war.'"
A Meta spokesperson told the outlet Meta it’s “reviewing the ads and will remove any that violate our policies.”
Cardi B Expected To Speak At Harris Rally In Milwaukee Tomorrow
Harris is scheduled to travel to Milwaukee, Wisc., tomorrow, for a “When We Vote We Win” rally and concert.
GloRilla, Flo Milli, MC Lyte, The Isley Brothers and DJ GEMINI GILLY are slated to perform, with remarks by Cardi B.
The rapper, who previously said she wouldn’t vote for Biden or Trump, voiced her support for Harris after Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July.
“The way that y’all disrespect her, makes me like her,” she said in a livestream on social media. She also criticized conservative media for constantly implying that women are only successful if they sleep with people in power.
“Men are always gonna blame your success on her pussy. People are blaming her success on her pussy,” she said. “I hate that narrative because I feel like women work harder than men.”