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2024 campaign: Harris visits southern border as Trump campaigns in Michigan after Zelensky meeting
Trump criticizes Harris border visit as he continues to promote bill banning noncitizen voting
From CNN’s Ali Main
Former President Donald Trump went after Vice President Kamala Harris for her Friday visit to the southern border as both candidates continue to emphasize their border security plans on the campaign trail.
He accused Harris of visiting the border to “make up some lies, like she said about the border bill that Trump stopped.”
“Let me tell you number one, I didn’t stop it. The senators stopped it. But that’s the worst bill ever drawn. It’s a waste of paper,” Trump said, referencing the bipartisan border security bill that Trump played a role in effectively killing by urging GOP lawmakers to vote against it.
Harris has vowed to help bring back the legislation, if elected. But Trump said “she doesn’t need a bill,” implying that the vice president could encourage President Joe Biden to take more executive actions on border security.
Trump also directly blamed Harris for the border crisis and influx of migrants, whom he described as “murders” and “drug dealers.”
“She unleashed these atrocities and blood is on her hands at a level that, probably, nobody’s ever seen in this country,” he said.
Trump again accused Democrats of letting people enter the country illegally because “they want the votes,” even though noncitizens can’t vote in the US.
More context: Congress this week passed a short-term bill to fund the government through December 20 that did not include a controversial provision targeting noncitizen voting, which Trump had advocated for and publicly called for a shutdown unless Republicans secured its passage.
Trump promotes absentee voting during Michigan remarks
From CNN’s Ali Main
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Walker, Michigan, on Friday. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump on Friday encouraged Michigan voters to vote early and by mail as the state began mailing out ballots this week.
“If you have your ballot, return it as soon as possible. And if not, get a ballot, go out and get a ballot, get as many Trump supporters as you can.”
Trump said during remarks at a manufacturing facility in Walker, Michigan.
“You can do it right now. We want a landslide that is too big, too rig, too big to rig,” he said, echoing language that he and the Republican National Committee have used when encouraging early and mail voting.
Throughout his remarks, Trump repeatedly accused Democrats of committing election fraud, as he often does on the campaign trail, though there is no evidence to back his claims.
RFK Jr. again urges Michigan voters to back Trump, even though he remains on state ballot
From CNN’s Aaron Pellish, Ali Main and Steve Contorno
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former independent presidential candidate, again urged Michigan voters on Friday to support Donald Trump — even though Kennedy, himself, remains on the state ballot.
Kennedy said “the only way” to get him to Washington to work on the policies he campaigned on is by getting the former president back in office.
“My name is going to appear on Michigan’s ballot. I don’t want you to vote for me. I want you to vote for Donald J. Trump,” Kennedy said. “That’s the only way I’m going to get to Washington, DC and do all the things to help end the war, end the chronic disease epidemic, to end the censorship, to end the surveillance and all the other things that I entered this race to do.”
Kennedy also said he was “proud” of Trump after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while reiterating his desire to see the Russia-Ukraine war come to an end. Trump told reporters ahead of his meeting with Zelensky that he expects to have the war “resolved very quickly” if he wins November’s election, signaling he’s prepared to facilitate peace deal between the two nations.
“I was so proud of President Trump, because everybody says that he alienates people all over the world, he doesn’t know how to be a diplomat. But he was the epitome of diplomacy,” Kennedy said. “He was kind and civil to President Zelensky, but he was also firm in his resolve, and he said, ‘I’ve had a nice meeting, but I have not changed my mind.’”
Kennedy added: “We need a peace, and we need to do it very quickly, and we need to protect US interests, not an interest of a country in which we have no strategic interests and no treaty.”
While campaigning in Michigan, Trump says he’ll “get the senators to allow us” to enact trade policies
From CNN’s Ali Main
Former President Donald Trump makes a campaign stop in Walker, Michigan on Friday. Brian Snyder/Reuters
Former President Donald Trump on Friday said he will “get the senators to allow” him to move forward with his trade policies, though he has implied that he can move forward with enforcing high tariffs without congressional approval.
Speaking at a metal panel manufacturing plant in Walker, Michigan, Trump vowed to bring jobs and manufacturing back to the state if he’s elected and railed against executives and “foolish and corrupt politicians,” who he blamed for sending work from Michigan to “foreign lands.”
“With your vote, we’re going to reclaim America’s manufacturing power,” he said, adding, “we have to get the senators to agree?”
“I think we have no problem with that, right? We’re going to get the senators to allow us to do it. We’re actually allowed to do it as president. We want to make it permanent,” he continued.
More context: A former senior trade official told CNN earlier this month that Trump can likely apply tariffs he’s proposing unilaterally without approval from Congress, though it is possible lawmakers could amend current law to claw back that trade authority.
Trump again on Friday vowed to put a 100-200% tariff on foreign cars coming into the US.
He also touted ending NAFTA, which he called the “worst trade deal ever made,” and replacing it with the US Mexico Canada Agreement, and withdrawing from the Transpacific Partnership.
Harris is expected to outline new border plans and embrace strict rules during today’s Arizona visit
From CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez
Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to outline plans during her Arizona stop Friday that would make it even harder to lift border restrictions that have largely barred migrants from seeking asylum in the US, according to a senior campaign official.
It’s the clearest example yet of the campaign doubling down on border security by embracing strict rules that have been condemned by some corners of the Democratic party. Harris is expected to go a step further than President Joe Biden’s June executive action by making the threshold for lifting restrictions harder to reach, according to the senior campaign official.
More background: Earlier this year, Biden announced an executive action severely limiting the ability of migrants to seek asylum at the US southern border if they crossed unlawfully —a departure from decades-long protocol. Immigrant advocates have likened the executive action to Trump-era policies.
The measure can be turned on and off and lifted when there’s a daily average of fewer than 1,500 encounters between ports of entry, among other criteria. It remains in place.
Homeland Security officials have credited the action for driving down border crossings to the lowest point since 2020.
RFK Jr. won’t be on New York ballot after Supreme Court rejects appeal
From CNN’s John Fritze
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a rally at in Austin, Texas on May 13. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to appear on New York’s presidential ballot, even though he suspended his campaign last month and backed former President Donald Trump.
The high court turned away Kennedy’s longshot appeal without comment and there were no noted dissents.
In an emergency appeal filed this month, the former independent presidential candidate argued voters who signed petitions supporting his placement on New York’s ballot had “a constitutional right…to vote for him, whether he is campaigning for their vote or not.”
State election officials dumped Kennedy’s name because he included an invalid address on his nominating petition.
State election officials countered that voters would be “severely harmed” by holding up the mailing of overseas ballots to accommodate Kennedy’s request. Kennedy’s position, they said, would “not only severely disrupt the state’s election processes and trigger substantial voter confusion, but also cause New York to miss federal deadlines for mailing overseas and military ballots.”
Requiring candidates to disclose their home address, as Kennedy failed to do, officials said, was a minimal burden because “a ‘reasonably diligent’ candidate could be expected to provide truthful and accurate information on their candidacy filings.”
Analysis: Mark Robinson may be on his way to a historic defeat in North Carolina
From CNN’s Harry Enten
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks at a campaign rally in Asheville, North Carolina on August 14. Matt Rourke/AP
North Carolina GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is trailing behind Democrat Josh Stein in the state’s gubernatorial race, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
The poll, which shows Stein up 53% to Robinson’s 36% among likely Tar Heel State voters, was conducted entirely after the publication of CNN’s KFile reporting on Robinson’s inflammatory and racist remarks on a porn website’s message board that led to a lot Republican officials distancing themselves from him.
A 17-point win for a Democratic nominee for governor would be nothing short of historic. The last North Carolina Democrat to win a gubernatorial race by more than Stein’s lead in the CNN poll was Gov. Jim Hunt in 1980.
A 17-point blowout would also be especially large given the closeness of the presidential race in the state. Our poll, like many before it, has the race tied between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. This would suggest that any fallout afflicting Robinson has not harmed Trump to any large degree — political history has shown that a down-ballot scandal rarely harms the top of the ticket.
Harris’ early strategy to contrast Trump on border security
From CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign signaled early on that it planned to counter former President Donald Trump’s attacks on the vice president and the administration’s handling of border security. Only days after she launched her presidential bid, campaign officials released a video drawing a contrast between Harris and Trump on immigration policy – notably leaning on border security.
“Kamala Harris supports increasing the number of Border Patrol agents. Donald Trump blocked a bill to increase the number of Border Patrol agents,” the voiceover in the video stated.
Harris previously visited the border as vice president and has cited her work as a border-state senator and state attorney general.
Friday’s visit comes at a time when border crossings are the lowest they’ve been since 2020 – and follows a recent New York Times/Siena College poll that showed Trump leading in the battleground state. A Fox News survey of the state that was released on Thursday found no clear leader, with Trump at 50% and Harris at 47% among likely voters.
Harris campaign officials think she has a case on immigration: using the failed bipartisan border measure to cast Trump as unserious at the border and citing her record as California attorney general tackling transnational criminal gangs.
Campaign allies have also stressed the need to look beyond the border and speak to broader immigration reform, pulling from the vice president’s background in the Senate and in California working on immigrant issues.
Read more on Harris’ visit to the US southern border.
These are the rules Vance and Walz will have to follow in Tuesday’s vice presidential debate
From CNN’s Kit Maher
AP/Getty Images
As vice presidential candidates Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are preparing to take the debate stage on Tuesday, CBS News announced the official rules, including a 90-minute debate with no opening statements or studio audience.
The network notes it “reserves the right to mute the candidates’ microphones,” however, unlike the presidential debates, mics will be otherwise be hot, according to a release from CBS News.
Walz will appear on the right side of the screen to viewers and Vance on the left side. As the candidate of the incumbent party, Walz will be introduced to the stage first. The candidate who is asked a question will have two minutes to answer and the other candidate will have two minutes to respond. Candidates will have one minute for additional rebuttals. An additional minute to continue a topic may be given at the moderator’s discretion.
Candidates are not permitted to interact with staff during breaks. They are provided a pen, a pad of paper and a water bottle, but no props or pre-written notes are allowed. There will be two commercial breaks four minutes each.
The debate begins at 9 p.m. ET in New York City and is moderated by Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.
Here’s a list of the debate rules CBS News released today:
- Candidates will stand behind podiums for the duration of the debate, Walz on stage left/screen right and Vance on stage right/screen left.
- Candidates will have two minutes for closing statements. A virtual coin toss was held on Sept. 26. Sen. Vance won and elected to go second with his closing statement.
- Candidates will be introduced by the moderators in order of incumbent party.
- No props or pre-written notes will be allowed on stage.
- No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates.
- Campaign staff may not interact with candidates during breaks.
- Candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.
- Lights will indicate time left, with numeric countdown: green until 15 seconds; solid yellow until five seconds; flashing red at five seconds; solid red at zero.
- CBS News reserves the right to turn off candidate microphones.
- Moderators will seek to enforce timing agreements.
- For each question, the candidate asked the question will get two minutes to answer and the other candidate will get two minutes to respond. Then, each candidate gets one minute for further rebuttals. At the discretion of the moderators, candidates may get an additional minute each to continue a discussion.
Vance wins coin toss and chooses to deliver closing remarks after Walz at debate
From CNN’s Brian Rokus
Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, has won the coin toss to determine the order in which the candidates give their closing statements and which side of the stage they will appear on at Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, according to CBS News.
Vance chose to give his closing remarks last, which left Kamala Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, to pick which side of the screen he will appear on. Walz chose the right side.
US Treasury imposes sanctions on 7 people for efforts to influence US presidential elections
From CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
The US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on seven people as part of a sweeping response to Iranian efforts “to influence or interfere” in the 2024 and 2020 US presidential elections.
“Iranian state-sponsored actors undertook a variety of malicious cyber activities, such as hack-and-leak operations and spear-phishing, in an attempt to undermine confidence in the United States’ election processes and institutions and to interfere with political campaigns,” the agency said in a press release.
The sanctions were announced in coordination with a separate action by the Department of Justice against “Iranian election interference actors.”
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) member Masoud Jalili for his efforts to influence the 2024 presidential election.
According to the agency, Jalili, along with other IRGC members “compromised several accounts of officials and advisors to a 2024 presidential campaign and leaked stolen data to members of the media and other persons for the purpose of influencing the 2024 U.S. presidential election, using technical infrastructure known to be associated with Jalili.”
Catch up on some newsy moments from the 2024 campaign you might have missed this week
From CNN’s Elise Hammond
With the days ticking down to the presidential election, there is a lot of activity on and off the campaign trail as the candidates and their allies jostle to the finish line.
Some of those moments had people talking more than others, especially online.
Here are some of the newsy moments this week:
“Your favorite artist’s favorite artist” will vote for Harris
Pop star Chappell Roan said in a TikTok video Wednesday that she planned to vote for Harris in November, ending days of speculation after she told the Guardian in an interview published Friday that “there’s problems on both sides.”
The saga marks the latest example of the tightrope celebrities in the age of TikTok and social media have had to tread in voicing their support — or silence — on politics.
Trump to women: “I am your protector”
Former President Donald Trump cast himself as a “protector” of women at a Pennsylvania rally Monday evening and claimed that American women won’t be “thinking about abortion” if he’s elected.
The plea to ignore Trump’s own role in undoing national abortion rights protections is a clear signal that the former president is keenly aware of what polls show: His Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, has a clear advantage among women voters, nationally and in key swing states. Trump has kept the race close by countering with a lead among men.
Harris said Wednesday that women don’t need Trump to be their “protector,” but instead need the former president “to trust them” to make their own reproductive decisions.
Contentious Georgia election meeting
The Georgia State Election Board meeting became contentious on Monday after two members defended their reasons for approving a controversial new rule that requires county election officials to hand-count the number of ballots on Election Day.
After a speech by Dr. Janice Johnson, one of the Republicans who voted to approve the rule, there was a contentious back-and-forth between Republican Janelle King, a media personality who is the board’s newest member, and Sara Tindall Ghazal, the board’s lone sitting Democrat. King took issue with Ghazal’s appearance on MSNBC, where she questioned her colleagues’ agendas.
Click here to read more about the tense meeting and what other Georgia officials are saying about the rule’s uncertain legal future.
Encouraging voting in a battleground state — with a “bob-shullet”
TikTok’s newest political style icon: Brenda Pollard, a delegate for the North Carolina Democrats. She may not be nationally known, but because of her distinctive style and sense of humor, another video she made with content creator and comedian Lauren Howard Hayes went viral on the platform late last week, racking up more than 145,000 views. In the video on Hayes’ account, Hayes is dressed in a wig that cut to look like Pollard’s — what appears to be a bob with bangs in the front and longer hair in the back, which Hayes has nicknamed a “bob-shullet.”
“I love your hair, Brenda,” Pollard says in the video before it cuts to a clip of Hayes.
“I love your hair, Brenda,” she says back. “Get ready for us to go vote.”
It’s the latest in a series of videos Pollard has participated in with Hayes, encouraging Americans to vote for Harris in November. In the caption of one of the first videos that Pollard appears in, Hayes writes that the North Carolina Democrats put them in touch after several videos of Hayes poking fun at Pollard on Spectrum News got hundreds of thousands of views each.
“In the front, we call this sweet tea, but in the back…” Pollard says of her haircut. “Oh, it’s moonshine,” Hayes finishes.
North Carolina is an important battleground state for both campaigns.
CNN’s Kate Sullivan and Eric Bradner contributed reporting to this post.
Trump campaign continues criticizing Harris over border visit
From CNN’s Kate Sullivan
The Trump campaign on Friday continued criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris over her trip to the US-Mexico border Friday and claimed she was making “empty calls for more security.”
CNN has reported Harris plans to go on the offensive against Trump on immigration on Friday during the trip and plans to slam Trump for scuttling the bipartisan border deal. She also plans to lean into her work as attorney general of California, a border state, a campaign aide said.
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, “Kamala’s last-minute trip to the border and empty calls for more security 39 days before the election will not rewrite the past 44 months of chaos, crime, and bloodshed caused by her open border policy. Over the past four years as Vice President, Kamala laughed when asked why she hadn’t visited the border, denied the existence of a crisis, and pushed for mass amnesty.”
Read more about Harris’ and Trump’s stances on key issues, including immigration.
United Autoworkers president says Harris’ criticism of Trump’s trade policies is “spot on”
From CNN’s Ali Main
United Autoworkers President Shawn Fain slammed former President Donald Trump’s trade policies and said Vice President Kamala Harris’s criticism of her opponent on the issue was “spot on” as Trump campaigns across Michigan on Friday in an appeal to the state’s industrial base.
Fain, who endorsed Harris’ candidacy over the summer, reflected on Trump’s visit to Flint last week, where he lamented auto jobs leaving Michigan, saying, “it’s his type of policies trickle down economics and his failed trade policies like Trump’s NAFTA that have led to all these jobs leaving America,” in a reference to the US Mexico Canada Agreement that Trump negotiated.
He noted how later on Friday, Trump will visit the same location in Warren, Michigan, where he campaigned in 2016, promising to take care of auto workers if elected.
“He thinks auto workers are stupid and, you know, he believes he can continue to lie to them,” Fain said.
On the other hand, Fain touted the Biden-Harris administration’s investments in manufacturing and industrial policy, as well as the newly finalized 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, as well as other products.
“Kamala Harris and Joe Biden actually have talked the talk, they’ve actually done the work and showing that they care about working-class people and, and keeping manufacturing in this country and building an infrastructure in this country that keeps manufacturing here versus Trump talking about it but not doing a damn thing to make it happen,” he said.
Fain, who will attend a campaign event and canvass for Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s Senate bid in Flint, Michigan this weekend, said UAW’s members are campaigning “all over this nation right now” every weekend in support of the Harris-Walz ticket and other candidates that align with their values.
US unseals criminal charges for 3 Iranian hackers for targeting Trump campaign
From CNN’s Sean Lyngaas and Hannah Rabinowitz
From left to right, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi. Department of Justice
US federal prosecutors on Friday unsealed criminal charges against three Iranian government-linked hackers in connection with a hacking operation aimed at Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
The three are accused of a multi-year hacking effort aimed at current and former US officials and journalists, including the breach of the Trump campaign this summer, according to an indictment unsealed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar (Yaser) Balaghi are accused of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud for their hacking efforts on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Separately, the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on seven people as part of a sweeping response to Iranian efforts “to influence or interfere” in the 2020 and 2024 US presidential elections.
The alleged Iranian hack threw a twist in the presidential campaign in August when multiple news outlets reported receiving emails from a pseudonymous email account peddling documents stolen from the Trump campaign.
Read more about the criminal charges.
Trump’s views on Ukraine more “nuanced” than public stance would suggest, sources say
From CNN’s Kayla Tausche
When former President Donald Trump emerged from a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky that was all but certain, Trump said he “learned a lot” and signaled a willingness to assist the war-weary leader in reaching an end to the yearslong conflict.
“I learned a lot, but I think I haven’t changed from the standpoint that we both want to see this end and we both want to see a fair deal made,” Trump said of his conversation with Zelensky.
That standpoint, sources familiar with Trump’s views say, is far more nuanced than the president would let on.
“He wouldn’t pull the rug out on day one,” one adviser said.
More on Trump’s stance: For months, Trump has promoted a harder-line stance that the United States should not continue delivering billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine.
The genesis of that position, these sources said, is traced back to the early days of the Republican primary cycle. In March 2023, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis proclaimed that defending Ukraine was not a priority for the United States, suggesting the federal government devote resources to fighting crises within its own borders.
DeSantis walked back a description of the war in Ukraine as a “territorial dispute,” but the refusal to commit to provide unconditional aid to Ukraine put Trump in a difficult political position. Against a bevy of more moderate GOP voices calling for the continued defense of Ukraine, one source described the DeSantis position as “out-Trumping Trump.”
New CNN polls: Harris and Trump tied in North Carolina, while vice president leads in Nebraska’s 2nd District
From CNN’s Ariel Edwards-Levy
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are tied among likely voters in North Carolina, while Harris holds a comfortable lead in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, according to two new CNN polls conducted by SSRS.
The North Carolina survey also shows scandal-plagued Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson trailing his Democratic opponent by a wide margin in the state’s gubernatorial race.
Why this matters: Both places could be key to either Harris or Trump winning the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Trump faces limited paths to victory should he fail to hold North Carolina – the state where he earned his slimmest margin of victory in 2020 – and a win in Nebraska’s 2nd District would open up a path for Harris through the northern “blue wall” states even if she fails to carry any of the Sun Belt battlegrounds.
In North Carolina, Harris and Trump stand at 48% each among likely voters. In Nebraska’s 2nd District, the so-called blue dot encompassing Omaha, Harris has 53% to Trump’s 42%, the poll finds.
North Carolina, which narrowly supported Barack Obama in 2008 and has gone red in the past three presidential elections, is a state Democrats hope to make competitive again this year. Nebraska, meanwhile, is one of two states, along with Maine, that splits its Electoral College votes – awarding two to the statewide winner, with the other three awarded separately to the winner of each of the state’s congressional districts.
Asked for his vision of a “fair” deal between Ukraine and Russia, Trump says it’s “too early to say”
From CNN’s Michael Williams
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump are seen speaking at Trump Tower in New York City on Friday. Alex Kent/Getty Images
Asked what his vision for a “fair” deal that would see an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine would look like, former President Donald Trump provided a vague answer.
“It’s too early to say that,” Trump said on Fox News after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York. “I have my own ideas and the president definitely has his own ideas. It has to be fair.”
Zelensky, who was standing next to Trump, cut in: “This war shouldn’t be started. I think that the problem (is) that Putin killed so many people, and of course we need to do everything to pressure him to stop this war. He’s on our territory — that’s the most important to understand — he’s on our territory.”
Asked whether there will be another meeting between the pair, Trump left the door open.
“Could very well happen, but I think the president said it the best: this is a war that should have never happened,” he said.
Trump emphasizes “very good relationship” with Zelensky and Putin, says “we can work out something that’s good for both sides”
From CNN’s Kit Maher
Former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are seen in New York City on Friday. Alex Kent/Getty Images
Standing next to Volodymyr Zelensky inside Trump Tower, former President Donald Trump emphasized he has a “very good relationship” with both the Ukrainian president and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he thinks he can work out a resolution to the war “that’s good for both sides” if he is elected in November.
“We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin and I think if we win, we’re going to get it resolved very quickly,” Trump told reporters ahead of his meeting with Zelensky.
“I hope we have more good relations between us,” Zelensky interjected.
“Oh, I see,” Trump said. “It takes two to tango, you know, and we will— we’re going to have a good meeting today. And I think the fact that we’re even together today is a very good sign.”
“Hopefully, we’ll have a good victory, because if the other side wins, I don’t think you’re going to have victories with anything to be honest with you. So, we’re going to sit down just discuss it, and if we have a win, I think long before I, before January 20, before I would take the presidency – it’s January 20 – but long before that, I think that we can work out something that’s good for both sides. It’s time,” Trump continued. “By the way, the president knows that too. He wants to get something done. He doesn’t want to do this.”
Zelensky says he met with Trump because Ukraine wants to count on the US no matter who wins in November
From CNN’s Michael Williams
Former President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at Trump Tower in New York City on Friday. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he met with former President Donald Trump on Friday because Ukraine wants to count on the United States in its war against Russia —regardless of who will hold the White House in January.
“It’s very important to share, to share all the plan, all our steps, how we can strengthen Ukraine,” Zelensky said in remarks next to Trump in New York. “And of course, we have to decide it now, because after November, we don’t know who is, only Americans decide who will be the president, but we understand that till November, we can’t stop Putin. We have to do it. We will try on the battlefield with our heroic soldiers. But we understand that after November, we have to decide, and we hope that the strengths of United States will be very strong, and we count on it. That’s why I decided to meet with both candidates.”
His meeting with Trump came a day after he met with both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House.
On the war, Trump said: “It has to end. At some point, it has to end.” Trump has previously suggested that Ukraine should relinquish some territory to Russia in order to end the war.
“He’s going through hell, and his country has gone through hell,” Trump said. “… It’s terrible, the whole situation.”
Standing next to Zelensky, Trump references phone call that led to his first impeachment
From CNN’s Michael Williams
Standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, former President Donald Trump on Friday recounted the phone call that led to his first impeachment in 2019.
“It was a hoax, just a Democrat hoax, which we won,” Trump said after meeting with Zelensky on Friday in New York.
“But one of the reasons we won it so easily … he could have grandstanded and played cute but he didn’t do that,” Trump said, referring to Zelensky. “He said President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong — he said it loud and clear — and the impeachment hoax died right there.”
Trump was impeached in 2019 over allegations he tried pressuring Ukrainian authorities to investigate Hunter Biden’s business dealings. He was acquitted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after a trial in the Senate.
Zelensky stood emotionless next to Trump as he said this.
“I remember that,” Trump said. “I remember that.”
It is a busy day on the campaign trail. Here is where Trump and Harris will be
From CNN staff
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Getty Images
With five weeks until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are visiting key battleground states today as they make their pitch to voters.
Harris: Harris will travel to Arizona to visit the US-Mexico border. At 6:35 p.m. ET, Harris will receive a closed-press briefing at the Raul H. Castro Port of Entry on operations.
At 7:45 p.m. ET, Harris will deliver remarks at a campaign event in Douglas, Arizona. Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is expected to join the vice president during her visit. After, Harris will travel to San Francisco.
Harris plans to go on the offensive against Trump on immigration Friday, campaign aides told CNN, as she tries to turn a political vulnerability on its head.
Trump: Trump is expected to hold a closed-press meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Trump Tower in New York City on Friday morning amid GOP tensions over Ukraine assistance.
At 2 p.m ET, Trump will deliver remarks at an event in Walker, Michigan, on inflation and household expenses. At 6 p.m. ET, Trump will host a Town Hall in Warren, Michigan, focused on the Michigan auto industry.
VP candidates: Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance do not have any public events scheduled for Friday as they gear up for their first vice presidential debate on Tuesday.
Walz will hunker down in Harbor Springs, Michigan, for “debate camp”
From CNN’s MJ Lee
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz attends a rally in Asheville, North Carolina, on September 17. Peter Zay/Anadolu/Getty Images
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his advisers are setting up “debate camp” in Harbor Springs, Michigan – a small waterfront resort town about a four-hour drive from Detroit — ahead of Tuesday’s vice presidential debate against Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
With the exception of a campaign event in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday, when the governor plans to attend a University of Michigan Wolverines football game, sources said Walz is planning to remain at debate camp until the day of the debate, when he will travel to New York City.
So far, debate prep sessions for Walz and his team have remained largely informal, sources said, and mock debates have not yet begun.
Those full rehearsals are expected to begin over the weekend, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg standing in for Vance, as CNN has previously reported. Buttigieg has participated in both in-person and virtual debate sessions, and will soon also make his way to Harbor Springs.
The campaign declined to comment on those details.
More on the debate prep: Helping to lead Walz’ debate preparations are former White House official Rob Friedlander and Zayn Siddique, a lawyer at the law firm Paul, Weiss, who was also involved in Vice President Kamala Harris’ debate prep, sources said.
Washington Post: Vance, in newly uncovered messages, predicted Trump would lose 2020 election
From CNN’s Kit Maher
Former President Donald Trump and Ohio Senator JD Vance attend a 9/11 ceremony in New York City on September 11. Adam Gray/AFP/Getty Images
In newly uncovered direct messages from 2020, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance offered a candid assessment of former President Donald Trump’s failure to deliver on economic populism during his term, expressed belief Trump would lose the 2020 election and suggested he turned down a position in Trump’s administration, as reported by the Washington Post.
“Trump has just so thoroughly failed to deliver on his economic populism (excepting a disjointed China policy),” Vance wrote in February 2020, according to messages obtained by the Post.
The Post reported that this message was written in the context of a discussion of wealthy business executives running for office, naming New York mayor Mike Bloomberg or former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi as examples. They said Vance expressed doubt that Trump’s wealthiest donors would jump ship in 2020 because he catered to their interests during his presidency.
“Not sure any of these people feel like they need to switch sides,” he wrote.
In a statement to the Post, Vance spokesperson William Martin said Vance did not mean the failure comment as a criticism of Trump, rather of “establishment Republicans who thwarted much of Trump’s populist economic agenda to increase tariffs and boost domestic manufacturing in Congress.”
In another message from June 2020, Vance said that he believed Joe Biden would win the election.
“I think Trump will probably lose,” Vance said.
CNN Poll of Polls in Georgia finds no clear leader in presidential race
From CNN’s Ariel Edwards-Levy
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Getty Images
A new CNN Poll of Polls of recent surveys in Georgia finds no clear leader in the key state, with former President Donald Trump averaging 49% support among likely voters compared with 48% for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The average includes four surveys of likely voters conducted in mid-September, including a Fox News poll released Thursday evening. Each of the polls finds the candidates separated by a margin of 3 percentage points or less, within each survey’s margin of error.
Fox also released a poll of Arizona on Thursday, where it similarly finds no clear leader, with Trump taking 50% to Harris’ 47% among likely voters.
Outside groups plow tens of millions into new ad buys for the final month of the 2024 presidential race
From CNN’s David Wright
Top outside groups are plowing tens of millions of dollars this week into new ad reservations for the final sprint to Election Day, with all signs pointing to an extremely competitive race set to be contested in seven battleground states.
Yesterday, FF PAC, the leading super PAC backing Kamala Harris, added more than $20 million to its ad reservations over the final month of the race. The group has run more than $114 million worth of advertising since Harris took over the Democratic ticket – and now has more than $201 million in remaining bookings.
Over the final five weeks of the race, FF PAC is set to concentrate its ad dollars in battleground Pennsylvania, where the group has nearly $42 million reserved; Michigan, where it has more than $27 million booked; Arizona, with $22 million; North Carolina, with $19 million; Georgia, with $18.5 million; Wisconsin, with $17 million; Nevada, with $10 million; and an additional $4.4 million directed to Nebraska.
On the other side, several leading pro-Trump super PACs have also ramped up their spending this week.
MAGA Inc., the top pro-Trump outside group, bought a total of $20 million in new ad time so far this week, with reservations beginning at the end of September and stretching through Election Day.
Between July 22 and today, when President Joe Biden dropped out, MAGA Inc. has been the largest non-candidate advertiser in the 2024 race, spending more than $140 million on ads in that stretch.
Including its new bookings, MAGA Inc. now has nearly $60 million in ad time booked through Election Day, targeting four of the key battleground states: $32 million in Pennsylvania, $10 million in Georgia, $9 million in North Carolina, and $7.3 million in Arizona.
Harris criticizes Trump ahead of Michigan town hall, accusing him of empty promises
From CNN’s Ebony Davis
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday slammed former President Donald Trump ahead of his trip to Michigan, accusing him of making empty promises to American workers.
“Donald Trump is one of the biggest losers of manufacturing in American history. He makes empty promise after empty promise to American workers, but never delivers.”
Harris said in a statement.
“As President, he cut taxes for corporations, encouraged outsourcing, and lost nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs, including auto jobs. He has joked about firing workers, supported state anti-union laws, and suggested companies move jobs out of Michigan,” she said.
The vice president’s statement comes as Trump is expected to host a town hall in Warren, Michigan, on Friday focused on the auto industry. She argued Trump’s previous trade deal with Mexico and Canada facilitated the loss of American auto jobs and pledged to bring autoworker jobs back to the US.
“We’ve seen this movie before. Once again, he is repeating the same playbook and telling the same old lies about how he’ll fight for working people, including those in Michigan. Yet it was Trump’s trade deal that made it far too easy for a major auto company like Stellantis to break their word to workers by outsourcing American jobs,” Harris said.
Both Harris and Trump have been campaigning in battleground states to make their pitch to voters on the economy, a top issue this campaign cycle. A recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS found likely voters overall say they trust Trump over Harris to handle the economy (50% Trump to 39% Harris). Even among those who say Trump’s views and policies are too extreme, 15% say they trust him over Harris to handle the economy.
Trump slams Harris ahead of her border trip
From CNN’s Kit Maher
Former President Donald Trump speaks at Trump Tower in New York on Thursday. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
Donald Trump slammed Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday, ahead of her trip to the US-Mexico border today, blaming her for undoing policies that he enacted during his four years and spawning an “invasion” of undocumented immigrants.
“She’ll be out there (Friday), standing probably in front of the wall that I built, trying to say what a wonderful job she did,” the former president said Thursday at a news conference at Trump Tower.
“Why would she go to the border now playing right into the hand of her opponent?” Trump said. “There can be no justification for what she’s done. There’s nobody saying, oh, gee, she’s done a fabulous job. She’s done the worst job, probably in the history of any border, not just our border. She keeps talking about how she supposedly wants to fix the border. We would merely ask, why didn’t she do it four years ago?”
Trump also said migrants are “infecting our country” and “destroying our country.”
“Americans have watched their communities destroyed by this sudden, suffocating inundation of illegal aliens. It’s an inundation. It’s an invasion. This influx has overwhelmed our schools. They’re taking the seats of students that can no longer go there, and they don’t even speak English.”
Trump said during a news conference at Trump tower.
Praising his own administration’s efforts to secure the southern border, Trump said it “took a lot of talent” to negotiate “Remain in Mexico” policy that President Joe Biden reversed.
“He assigned her the job. And whether you call her a ‘border czar’ or just say that she was put in charge of the border doesn’t make any difference. Same thing, done a horrible job,” Trump said.
As CNN’s Daniel Dale has reported, Biden gave Harris a more limited immigration-related assignment in 2021, asking her to lead diplomacy with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in an attempt to address the conditions that prompted their citizens to try to migrate to the United States.
Trump is expected to meet with Zelensky today amid GOP tensions over Ukraine assistance
From CNN’s Kit Maher
Former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AP/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet at Trump Tower on Friday morning, according to Trump, giving the Ukrainian leader the chance to make a personal pitch to a GOP presidential nominee openly skeptical of continued US security assistance for Ukraine against Russia.
Trump told reporters Thursday he would be sitting down with Zelensky, a meeting that had appeared murky earlier in the week following comments from both leaders critical of the other.
Still, it’s unclear whether Zelensky can say anything to convince Trump to change his position on the Russia-Ukraine war and US security assistance. Friday’s meeting comes at a pivotal moment for Zelensky ahead of November’s US election. He’s sought this week to convince the Biden administration that his country can still win the war, so long as the US and other countries significantly and quickly ramp up military assistance.
Trump has repeatedly complained about the funding the US has provided for Ukraine and claimed he will quickly end the war between the two sides, which began with Russia’s unprovoked invasion in February 2022. Zelensky said this week that Trump doesn’t know how to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Read more about today’s meeting here.
Harris plans to use today’s border trip to call out Trump and tout her record
From CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez
Vice President Kamala Harris plans to use her trip to the US-Mexico border on Friday to slam former President Donald Trump for scuttling a bipartisan border deal and lean into her work as California attorney general, according to a campaign aide.
The Harris campaign announced Wednesday the vice president will make a stop at the US southern border while visiting Arizona on Friday, confirming CNN reporting.
Why she’s making the trip: Some Harris campaign officials remain concerned about the gap in polling, which shows Trump holding a lead on the issue, but also see an opportunity to narrow a gap they believe is closing and try to shut down GOP attacks over her not visiting the border enough, according to a source familiar.
The campaign has touted endorsements by border town mayors, pointed to a dramatic drop in border crossings to argue that the Biden-Harris administration has strengthened border security, and cited the bipartisan border bill, which included some of the toughest border measures in recent memory.
But that’s so far done little to convince voters who place more trust in Trump than Harris on handling the US-Mexico border. Recent polling shows that Trump continues to hold an edge on Harris on the issue of immigration.
Harris previously visited the border while vice president and has cited her work as a border state senator and attorney general.
By Alayna Treene and Kate Sullivan, CNN
2 minute read
Published 9:43 PM EST, Mon November 4, 2024
Joe Rogan is seen at the ceremonial weigh-in for the UFC 292 mixed martial arts event, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Boston. Gregory Payan/AP/FileCNN —
Popular podcast host Joe Rogan officially endorsed Donald Trump on the eve of the election, a move Trump’s team swiftly touted as a major win in the final hours of their campaign.
Rogan on Monday released his latest podcast featuring a two-and-a-half-hour interview with billionaire X owner and top Trump surrogate Elon Musk. Rogan then posted on X: “The great and powerful @elonmusk. If it wasn’t for him we’d be f**ked. He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way.”
“For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump. Enjoy the podcast,” he added.
The endorsement comes just weeks after Rogan interviewed Trump on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” an interview that was months in the making for the Trump campaign and viewed widely by the former president’s advisers as the crowning achievement of their media strategy to target young men and low-propensity voters by having Trump appear on podcasts catering to the demographic.
Trump, who was onstage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for his penultimate rally when Rogan made the endorsement, swiftly touted the development.
“It just came over the wires that Joe Rogan just endorsed me, is that great. Thank you, Joe. That’s so nice. And he doesn’t do that, he doesn’t do that stuff,” Trump said.
Trump said, “And he tends to be a little bit more liberal than some of the people in this room.”
Last week, Rogan posted on X that he had declined an offer from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign to do an interview.
“Also, for the record the Harris campaign has not passed on doing the podcast. They offered a date for Tuesday, but I would have had to travel to her and they only wanted to do an hour. I strongly feel the best way to do it is in the studio in Austin,” Rogan said. “My sincere wish is to just have a nice conversation and get to know her as a human being. I really hope we can make it happen.”
The Harris campaign declined to comment on Rogan’s post.
By Eric Bradner and Kate Sullivan, CNN
4 minute read
Updated 2:10 AM EST, Tue November 5, 2024
Former President Donald Trump gestures during a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Monday, November 4. Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty ImagesCNN —
Donald Trump described the United States as an “occupied country,” pointing to both undocumented and legal migrants as he pledged Monday to “rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered.”
The former president’s comments, at his election eve rally in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, underscore the dark and dystopian image he is portraying as he and Vice President Kamala Harris make their final arguments to voters ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Trump made little distinction between undocumented immigrants he said had overrun an apartment complex in Colorado and thousands of Haitian migrants who entered the United States legally and live in Springfield, Ohio.
“These are military invasions without the uniforms. That’s all it is,” Trump said, as he vowed to launch a massive deportation effort.
Trump was closing his third presidential campaign Monday with the same anti-immigration rhetoric that he used to launch his first White House bid. He described a nation in decline, overrun by migrant crime, much as he did in his first inaugural address, when he vowed to stop the “American carnage.”
The former president said he would target migrant gangs, ban sanctuary cities and seek the death penalty for any migrant that kills a US citizen. He invited conservative commentator Megyn Kelly on stage. Kelly listed several people killed by undocumented immigrants. Her appearance was particularly notable after Trump ripped Kelly for the way she asked him tough questions while moderating a Republican presidential primary debate in 2015, starting off months of sparring over social media and in subsequent interviews.
Trump also said he would rejuvenate US manufacturing by imposing steep tariffs on automotive products manufactured in Mexico, steel made in China and more – a proposal that economists have said would increase inflation, because the businesses charged those tariffs for importing foreign-made goods would pass the additional costs on to American consumers.
“Four years of Kamala have delivered nothing but economic hell for the American workers,” Trump said.
And Trump railed against the length of time it takes for votes to be counted and the usage of electronic voting machines, calling for single-day voting that would all be done on paper. It was a long discussion that is contrary to previous messaging from Trump and his campaign, which has encouraged people to vote early.
“I do believe it is too big to rig. I think it’s too big to rig. They’ll try. And they are trying, you know, but it’s too big to rig. This is a big movement. This is, you know, we did great in 2016, we did much better in 2020 but a lot of bad things happened,” Trump said. “This is that big, powerful, vicious party, though. No, it’s a vicious machine. I mean, they can take all these bad ideas and win elections. It’s like, there’s only a way you can do that. One way, there’s only one way.”
He added, “We have to win the old fashioned way and then fix it. But we have to fix it. We can’t allow this to happen. And remember, the states are essentially an agent, if I can use that term, but they’re an agent of the federal government. The states are doing the collecting, so to speak, and they have to take their orders from the federal government. And how can they do this when they say it’s going to take days long.”
The former president’s closing message of the 2024 race was a familiar one, as he delivered a lengthy speech in Pittsburgh – his third of four rallies scheduled for Monday after visits to North Carolina and eastern Pennsylvania with one more stop in Michigan. In a nod to the city’s sporting history, Trump discussed Pittsburgh Pirates’ star Roberto Clemente for an extended period near the end of his speech and brought the late Puerto Rican star’s son on stage for a few words.
Harris also ended her campaign with a blitz across Pennsylvania. The two candidates’ time spent in the Keystone State underscores the importance of its 19 electoral college votes — without which both candidates’ paths to the 270 necessary to win the presidency would be much more daunting.
Both campaigns have largely focused on seven battlegrounds: the “blue wall” of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which Trump won in 2016 but President Joe Biden reclaimed in 2020, and four Sun Belt states: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.
CNN
Trump argues he’s really running against “an evil Democrat system,” not Harris, during his final rally
From CNN’s Kate Sullivan
Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 5. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump argued during the final rally of his campaign that his real opponent this election was not Vice President Kamala Harris but instead “an evil Democrat system.”
“We will defeat the corrupt system in Washington. Because I’m not running against Kamala, I’m running against an evil Democrat system. These are evil people,” Trump said during his rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that started well after midnight.
“The silent majority is back and tomorrow you need to get out and vote,” Trump said.
“This has been an incredible journey. And it’s very sad in a way, because, you know, we’ve done all these, and this is the last one, but here’s the good news, all we were doing is putting ourselves in a position to win, which we can do tomorrow very easily if we show up,” he added.
It’s decision day in America. Here’s what to watch for
From CNN’s Eric Bradner and Gregory Krieg
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. AP
It’s decision day for voters in America’s battle for the White House and control of Congress — even if the results could take days or weeks to sort through.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are hoping to win over seven swing states: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the three Great Lakes states that make up the “blue wall” that Trump cracked in 2016 but President Joe Biden carried in 2020, and Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, the four Sun Belt battlegrounds.
While the election of either candidate would be historic, there’s much more being decided Tuesday, including five states — Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota — voting on whether to turn back abortion bans with constitutional amendments.
Republicans hope to take advantage of a favorable Senate map, with Democrats defending seats in the red-leaning states of Montana, Ohio and West Virginia. The party’s hopes of holding onto its narrow House majority winds from the coast of Maine through New York’s Hudson Valley, the rolling hills of Virginia’s Piedmont, a “blue dot” in Nebraska and into California’s Orange County, where the political ebbs and flows of the Trump era have been on vivid display.
The initial results in the hours after polls close might not be determinative. States decide their own election procedures, and the order in which states count early, mail-in and Election Day votes varies across the map — as does how quickly certain cities, counties and regions report their results.
Read more about what to expect from the day.
Trump finishes final campaign rally after speaking for nearly 2 hours
From CNN’s Jessie Yeung
Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Tuesday. Paul Sancya/AP
Former President Donald Trump has ended his final campaign rally after speaking for nearly two hours in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
He repeated many of his campaign promises, such as vowing to impose hefty tariffs and to crack down on illegal immigration.
At one point he also brought several of his children and their spouses to the stage, who delivered brief remarks, including Tiffany, Eric and Donald Jr.
His marathon address ends a long campaign trail — with Trump saying he had attended more than 900 rallies this year.
Walz says he’s disappointed but not surprised the race is so closely contested
From CNN’s Aaron Pellish
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz participates in an interview with Stephen Colbert. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert/CBS
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he’s disappointed the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is so closely contested.
In an interview on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” taped in Bucks County, Pennsylvania last Thursday, Walz laid out the contrast between the two candidates to show that the difference is “stark.”
He said of the election being so closely contested: “It disappoints me, I think, because I think that the choice is so stark, but it’s not surprising.”
“The country’s really divided. There’s been a group of people out there who figured that out, and I think they’ve done a wonderful job of making people think it doesn’t matter, everybody’s the same,” Walz said.
Walz then laid out how he saw the differences between Harris and Trump, particularly noting insults directed toward Puerto Rico made by a speaker at a Trump rally in October.
“In this case, you’ve got the Constitution versus not the Constitution. You’ve got reproductive rights versus I don’t care if you like it or not. I’ll tell you what to do, from Donald Trump in closing with insulting people. I know we’re sitting in Pennsylvania, there’s — there’s 500,000 Puerto Ricans here, and Puerto Ricans, as all Americans, are very proud of where they come from,” he said.
In the past, Walz has expressed some disbelief at the competitiveness of the presidential election. He has regularly mused at private fundraisers and campaign stops that “I’ll go to my grave not understanding” how the election is so close.
Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake says “silent majority” will back her and Trump
From CNN’s Veronica Stracqualursi
Kari Lake speaks at a campaign rally, Monday, November 4, in Prescott, Arizona. Julio Cortez/AP
Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake has held her final campaign rally, telling supporters that on Tuesday they have “a chance to change the trajectory of this country and save this Republic.”
Campaigning on the steps of the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott, Arizona on Monday — where US Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona launched his presidential campaign — Lake, a former TV newscaster up against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in a key Senate race, argued that the “Make America Great Again” movement “is not dead,” and claimed that a “silent majority” will back her and former President Donald Trump tomorrow.
Lake and Gallego, a Marine veteran who represents Arizona’s 3rd congressional district, are vying for the pivotal Senate seat held by independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Lake, who did not concede her 2022 election loss and promoted Trump’s false theories about the 2020 election, said she believes in “fair and honest elections” and argued “I really believe that our Founding Fathers never envisioned we’d have elections that are run so horribly.”
“That’s why they never put in term limits because they figured we’d be able to vote the people that we didn’t respect out of office. And unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do that. And we’re going to change that after January. But the only way to change that is to show up in such a massive movement that we have their heads spinning,” she said, pointing to the media.
She also thanked GOP congressional candidate Abe Hamadeh and said: “When they did to us what they did to us in 2022, and everyone else ran and hid, guess who stood with me and said, damn it, we’re going to fight — Abe Hamadeh.”
She argued the election is not “Republican-Democrat anymore” but “Americanism versus communism.”
Trump teases using sexist language to refer to Nancy Pelosi
From CNN’s Jessie Yeung
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Tuesday, November 5. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump slammed US Rep. Nancy Pelosi during his final rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, verging on using a profanity to describe the former House Speaker.
“She’s a crooked person, she’s a bad person. Evil, she’s an evil, sick, crazy bi— It starts with a ‘B’ but I won’t say it. I wanna say it,” Trump said to cheers from the crowd.
“I don’t use much (foul language), you know, every once in a while, and it’s never a real bad word, it’s never bad … But it is a little better when you use foul language. These are bad people,” he said.
Trump constantly rails against Pelosi and recently called the California Democrat “an enemy from within.”
Throughout the end of his campaign trail, Trump’s message has gotten increasingly dark and often offensive. At an event in North Carolina last week, Trump chuckled approvingly at an audience member’s suggestion that Vice President Kamala Harris worked as a sex worker.
Harris will spend Election Day doing radio interviews
From CNN’s Brian Rokus
Vice President Kamala Harris will spend Election Day in Washington, DC and participate in radio interviews, according to her office.
Trump has held his final campaign rally in Grand Rapids in 3 presidential races
From CNN’s Jessie Yeung
Former President Donald Trump has taken the stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan — giving the city a special shout-out for being the location of his final rallies in past presidential campaigns.
“I want to say a very special hello to Grand Rapids, it’s been a special place, remember 2016?” he said to a cheering crowd that chanted his name.
Trump previously also finished his campaign trail in the city in 2016 and 2020.
NOW: Trump is speaking at his final rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan
From CNN staff
Former President Donald Trump walks on stage for his final campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Monday, November 4. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump is speaking at his final rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he ended both his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. His remarks were originally slated for 10:30 p.m. ET.
Grand Rapids is a Western Michigan city in Kent County, which swung from Trump in 2016 to Joe Biden in 2020.
Harris and Trump tie in Dixville Notch midnight vote to kick off Election Day
From CNN’s Gary Tuchman
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00:52 – Source: CNN
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have tied with three votes each in the tiny New Hampshire township of Dixville Notch, kicking off Election Day in one of the first places in the country to report its presidential preference.
Four Republicans and two undeclared voters participated.
The unincorporated township, located along the US-Canada border in New Hampshire’s northern tip, opened and closed its poll just after midnight ET in a tradition that dates back to 1960.
Read more about how Dixville Notch voted.
Harris calls on Pennsylvania voters to turn out, saying “the race ain’t over yet”
From CNN’s Jessie Yeung
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Monday, November 4. Hannah McKay/Reutes
Speaking at her final campaign rally in Philadelphia before Election Day on Monday night, Vice President Kamala Harris said her team was “optimistic and excited” — but urged voters to make their voices heard, saying Pennsylvania could “decide the outcome” of the election.
“The race ain’t over yet, and we must finish strong. This could be one of the closest races in history. Every single vote matters,” she said.
“With only a few hours left, we still have work to do, and as you’ve heard me say before, we like hard work,” she added.
At points, the crowd broke into cheers of “We will win” and “We’re not going back.”
Harris reiterated several campaign promises, such as lowering the cost of living, housing, childcare, elderly home care, and taxes for workers and small businesses. She also vowed to pass a bill to restore reproductive freedoms after the rolling back of Roe v. Wade.
She sought to contrast herself with Donald Trump by using several familiar refrains — such as promising a seat at the table to those who disagree with her, compared to the former president’s often vehement rhetoric against his political opponents.
“We started this campaign 107 days ago,” she said. “From the beginning, ours has not been a fight against something, it has been a fight for something. A fight for a future with freedom, with opportunity, and with dignity for all Americans.”
“Tonight, we finish as we started — with optimism, with energy, with joy, knowing that we the people have the power to shape our future, and that we can confront any challenge we face when we do it together.”
NOW: Harris speaking in Philadelphia in final rally before Election Day
From CNN staff
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday,November 4. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris is speaking at a rally in Philadelphia, her final stop in front of voters before Election Day.
Harris has made the key battleground of Pennsylvania her priority on Monday with several stops across the state culminating in her final one in the state’s largest city.
She was joined by Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga, among other celebrities, musicians and elected officials at the famous “Rocky Steps” at the Philadelphia Museum of the Arts.
Oprah takes the stage at Harris rally with 10 first-time young voters
From CNN’s Jessie Yeung
US television producer Oprah Winfrey arrives on stage with 10 first-time Philadelphia voters during a rally for Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 2024. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
Oprah Winfrey took the stage at Kamala Harris’ final rally in Philadelphia on Monday night alongside 10 young people – all first time voters.
“The policies that Kamala Harris has proposed for women’s reproductive rights and education equality are what led me to cast my ballot for her,” one voter told Winfrey.
Another first-time voter said it was especially significant for him as an African American to “exercise my right to vote, which my ancestors fought so hard for.”
“We don’t get to sit this one out,” Oprah said.
“If we don’t show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again.”
“We are voting for healing over hate,” she said.
“What you can do for your country, what you can do for democracy here, and what you can do for the spirit of John Lewis and all the others who dared to walk across that bridge in Selma and fight for justice for us all … What you can do for every pregnant young woman who has died bc she was not eligible to receive the emergency medical care she desperately needed bc of an abortion ban, what you can do for everyone and everything you cherish — is vote.”
Lady Gaga performs “God Bless America” at Harris’ final rally in Philadelphia
From CNN’s Jessie Yeung
Lady Gaga waves before performing during a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday, November 4. ( Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
Musical superstar Lady Gaga appeared at Vice President Kamala Harris’ final rally in Philadelphia, performing a rendition of “God Bless America.”
“For more than half of this country’s life, women didn’t have a voice. Yet we raised children, we held our families together, we supported men as they made the decisions,” she said in brief remarks after her performance. “But tomorrow, women will be a part of making this decision.”
Oprah Winfrey is also expected to make an appearance tonight, before Harris delivers remarks.
Walz focuses on abortion during final campaign rally in Michigan
From CNN’s Aaron Pellish
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz focused heavily on access to abortion and reproductive health care, driving home a core message of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign in Detroit, Michigan on Monday.
In his remarks at Hart Plaza overlooking the Detroit River, Walz reiterated his attacks on former president Donald Trump, who claimed to be the “protector” of women and said he would look after women “whether they like it or not” at a campaign rally in Wisconsin last week.
He also made a direct pitch to male voters on abortion, asking them to consider the implications of abortion restrictions on the women in their lives.
“Let me speak to the guys in the crowd tonight. I want you to think about the women in your life that you love. Their lives are at stake in this election. Donald Trump appointed those Supreme Court justices who repealed Roe versus Wade, and he brags about it. He is glad that those women you’re thinking about and you love have fewer rights than their mothers and their grandmothers,” he said.
“We’re seeing women turned away from emergency rooms, miscarrying in parking lots, whether they like it or not. Survivors of rape being forced to carry those pregnancies to term, whether they like it or not. Fertility clinics turning couples away at the door, whether they like it or not,” he said.
“Now, tomorrow, women all across America of every age, both parties, are going to send a loud and clear message to Donald Trump, whether he likes it or not.”
Harris offers Americans a chance to turn the page on Trump — without mentioning him
From CNN’s Gregory Krieg
Vice President Kamala Harris appears during a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Monday, November 4. Quinn Glabicki/Reuters
Her message has been consistent, but Kamala Harris has in the closing days of the presidential race dropped two notable words from her stump speech: Donald Trump.
The former president’s name was again absent from the vice president’s speech on Monday night in Pittsburgh, where she again promised voters a clean break from the discord of the Trump era in American politics. It was a notable switch in rhetoric for the vice president, who had mentioned Trump’s name so often in previous versions of her stump speech that the Republican’s campaign had put together a video compilation of Harris saying “Donald Trump” that he often played at rallies.
“We have an opportunity in this election to finally turn the page on a decade of politics driven by fear and division. We are done with that,” Harris said. “We’re done. We’re exhausted with it.”
That promise has been threaded through her campaign, usually implied but increasingly delivered in explicit terms.
“It can be easy to forget a simple truth,” Harris said in Washington. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
The way it is, she said in Pittsburgh, is not so good.
“So much about these last several years has been about trying to make people point their fingers at each other,” Harris said, “to have Americans point their fingers at each other, to try and make people feel alone or feel small.”
Elon Musk cancels virtual town hall event minutes after it started after technical problems
From CNN’s Clare Duffy
Elon Musk held a digital version of the town-hall-style rallies he has hosted on behalf of former President Donald Trump. But the event on X ended just a few minutes after it started on Monday night, when Musk encountered technical difficulties.
The event began streaming more than 20 minutes after its scheduled 8 p.m. ET start time. When the billionaire X owner joined, he promoted a podcast interview he did with Joe Rogan and offered to take questions. An operator then attempted to take questions from four listeners who apparently had been on hold, but the line went silent when he called on them.
The operator asked Musk if he believes “we will win” on Tuesday — presumably referring to Trump, whom Musk has supported to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
“Well, I think if people vote tomorrow, we’re definitely going to win,” he said.
Musk then called off the event, saying: “let’s cancel this, since we seem to be having some technical issues.” Musk promised to start a regular livestream spaces event on X. The X Spaces event Musk started immediately following the town hall, lasted one minute and appeared to have no audio.
Minutes later, Musk said he would not restart his Q&A and encouraged followers to listen to his Rogan interview instead, during which the podcaster endorsed Trump.
The Monday town hall is just the latest election-related event that Musk attempted to host on X that was plagued by technical difficulties.
An August interview between Musk and Trump that was streamed on X was delayed by more than 40 minutes because of glitches. Musk blamed the issue on a cyberattack, but some experts speculated it was simply caused by too many users trying to listen. A similar event last year to kick off Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign was also delayed by 25 minutes and marred by technical difficulties.
Why these 7 battleground states could determine who wins the election
From CNN’s Zachary B. Wolf
People cast their early ballots at a polling station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on November 2. Carlos Osorio/Reuters
There are thought to be seven states that could conceivably be won by either candidate. As a result, the campaigns have focused their energy in these areas. They can be broken up into two general categories:
3 Midwestern battlegrounds, aka “the blue wall” – These are the manufacturing and union-heavy states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. They used to be more reliably Democratic but have shifted in recent years as their populations have changed and as former President Donald Trump has appealed to White voters without a college degree.
When Trump won the White House in 2016, he won all three. When President Joe Biden won in 2020, he won all three. If Vice President Kamala Harris wins all three this year, she will likely have the electoral votes to be president. But polls suggest close races in all three. Turnout will be key, which for Harris means appealing to suburban women and Black voters. All three states have urban centers.
The blue wall states usually vote the same way. The last time they did not all go to the same candidate was in 1988 – notably also a year when California was red and West Virginia was blue. In those eight elections since 1988, the only time the blue wall states went to a Republican was in 2016, when they were won by Trump.
4 Sun Belt battlegrounds – These states with growing populations include Arizona and Nevada in the West and North Carolina and Georgia in the East. Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina used to be more reliably Republican. Trump won North Carolina twice, but the margins were close in 2020. The last Democrat to win there was Barack Obama in 2008. Biden was the first Democrat to win Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992 and Arizona since Clinton in 1996.
Here are more key things to know about the US election works.
Ahead of election night, meet the 2024 Democratic and Republican candidates
From CNN’s Ethan Cohen, Molly English and Matt Holt
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Getty Images
Ahead of election night, read up on the 2024 candidates on the Democratic and Republican tickets vying to win the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic candidate for president. The daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, Harris grew up in Oakland and spent much of her political career in California’s Bay Area.
She was first elected as the San Francisco district attorney in 2004, before later serving as the attorney general of California. After that, Harris was elected to the Senate before being picked to be President Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 election.
She announced her own candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president after Biden withdrew from the ticket and endorsed her on July 21. Harris is the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead the ticket of a major political party.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is Harris’ running mate. Before being elected to Congress to represent the state’s 1st Congressional District in 2007, Walz was a high school geography teacher and an assistant football coach. He also served in the Army National Guard. Walz has been serving as Minnesota governor since 2019.
Former President Donald Trump is the Republican candidate for president, aiming to become only the second commander in chief to win two nonconsecutive terms.
Trump, who was born in New York, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Before launching his successful 2016 presidential bid, Trump was a real estate developer, businessman and a reality television star as host of “The Apprentice.”
Ohio Sen. JD Vance is Trump’s running mate. Born in Middletown, Ohio, Vance wrote a memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, about his upbringing and white, working-class Americans. He also attended Yale Law School, worked as a venture capitalist and served in the US Marine Corps.
Vance was elected to the Senate in 2023, outlasting a stronger-than-expected challenge from Democrat Tim Ryan and keeping the seat under GOP control.
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