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Authorities in Phoenix make arrest after mailbox fire damaged ballots
From CNN’s Joe Sutton
Arizona authorities have arrested a person suspected of being involved in a mailbox fire outside of a Phoenix post office that resulted in electoral ballots being damaged early Thursday morning.
“Thanks to swift action by @PhoenixPolice, @PHXFire and federal partners, we have arrested the suspect involved in this incident,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in a post Thursday afternoon on X. Authorities did not immediately name the suspect or identify a possible motive.
Earlier the mayor said she was “concerned about the recent incident at one of our post offices involving damage to several ballots.”
The fire prompted concern from state and local officials that the arson was targeting electoral ballots found inside the blue drive-up collection mailbox in a closely contested battleground state.
“We’re the underdog in this fight,” head of Young Democrats of Georgia says
From CNN’s Maureen Chowdhury
Parker Short, president of the Young Democrats of Georgia, said that Republicans are generally favored in that state. “We’re the underdog in this fight,” he told CNN.
“I’ve been organizing since I was 14 and in Georgia we’ve always been the underdogs as Democrats, but we know how to win,” he said. Short pointed to the state electing two Democratic senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, and Joe Biden winning the state in 2020.
Short also said that key issues for young people this election cycle include abortion rights and also an opportunity economy.
“I think young people know what’s at stake and, you know, a woman born today in Georgia has less rights than a woman born before Donald Trump and (Gov.) Brian Kemp’s repressive abortion bans,” he said, adding that he really appreciates Vice President Kamala Harris’ messaging on an opportunity economy. “Allowing, you know, young people to buy a home, investing in small businesses and startups,” he said.
More background: Georgia took center stage in 2020, flipping blue for the first time in nearly 30 years when Joe Biden won by just 11,779 votes. That margin became its own story just a few months later, when President Donald Trump called Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to “find 11,780 votes” in order to turn the election in his favor. Four years later, Georgia is still in the spotlight, after it looked to be lost to Democrats with President Joe Biden leading the ticket. Now, polling shows a tight race.
Republicans appeal Georgia judge’s ruling that local officials cannot refuse to certify 2024 election results
From CNN’s Devan Cole
Republicans have appealed a ruling by a Georgia judge that said local officials are subject to a “mandatory fixed obligation” to certify election results in the critical battleground state.
What the ruling says: Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said in a major decision last week that officials cannot “refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance,” dealing a blow to an effort by conservatives to gain the legal right to reject results based on a suspicion of fraud or abuse.
The appeal: Attorneys for Julie Adams, a GOP member of the Fulton County Board of Elections and Registration who is at the center of the case, said in a short notice of appeal filed Wednesday that they were asking the state Court of Appeals to consider whether she “is required to vote in favor of certifying the election results by the deadline” set under Georgia law.
The lawyers also wrote that they took issue with part of the ruling from McBurney that said concerns over potential election issues can be raised by superintendents or others through post-certification court challenges known as “election contests.” That remedy, they wrote, “is improper and insufficient for (Adams) if she finds fraud and abuse.”
Why it matters: The issue of certification in Georgia has become of critical importance for Democrats and others who fear that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the state’s 16 electoral votes, allies of former President Donald Trump will try to avoid certifying the results, creating post-election chaos in the state.
County election officials face a statutory deadline to certify the election results by November 12 this year.
Walz rallies college students in visit to Duke University’s campus
From CNN’s Aaron Pellish in Durham, North Carolina
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sought to rally college Democrats during a visit to Duke University on Thursday, stressing the urgency of November’s election by highlighting former President Donald Trump’s “tendencies of totalitarianism” and arguing that Vice President Kamala Harris is the better candidate to combat climate change.
Walz told students in Durham, North Carolina, that Wednesday’s CNN town hall represents a strong contrast between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump, who he again suggested is unstable and unfit for the presidency.
“This is a time when a lot of people need to be reminded what’s at stake here, and it’s not about putting fear in. It couldn’t be clearer the difference in this. You’ve witnessed it on the stage. As Donald Trump descends into madness, Kamala Harris is out last night at a town hall, taking up questions, answering the question,” he said.
Walz also referred to Trump reportedly praising Nazi generals at multiple points in his remarks and told students at the event they have the “privilege” of being able to push back on Trump’s rhetoric and dictatorial leanings by voting for Harris in November.
“They are going to write about Americans who stood up in this moment and said, ‘Hell no’ to this. The tendencies of totalitarianism and the division and the racism, the hatred, the misogyny, everything else that goes with that. You’re going to get asked, when you’re my age, what did you do? And your answer is, I did every damn thing possible to win the election,” he said.
Walz made a direct case to students on climate change, telling the students they “need to take charge” of the issue, while arguing Harris has a stronger set of proposals to combat climate change than Trump, who he said is “ignoring and doing nothing about” the issue.
CNN town hall with Harris drew 3.3 million viewers
From CNN’s Brian Stelter
Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a town hall moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, October 23. Rebecca Wright/CNN
CNN’s town hall with Vice President Kamala Harris averaged 3.3 million viewers on Wednesday night, according to Nielsen data.
The television ratings do not include various forms of streaming, including on CNN’s website and the Max service.
Among 25- to 54-year-olds, the CNN telecast averaged at least 744,000 viewers. The roughly 75-minute town hall with the Democratic candidate outrated Fox News and MSNBC in all categories, showing widespread interest in hearing from Harris in the closing days of the presidential campaign.
According to CNN research, Wednesday night’s event drew a larger audience than all of Harris’ and former President Donald Trump’s previous televised town halls of the general election season.
This post has been updated with additional data from Nielsen.
Harris says more endorsements from former GOP officials show they realize “what’s at stake”
From CNN’s Michael Williams and Nikki Carvajal
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to reporters in Philadelphia on October 24. Matt Rourke/AP
Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday touted the endorsements of two former Republican elected officials for her candidacy — Waukesha, Wisoncsin Mayor Shawn Reilly and former Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan.
“And this continues to be, I think, evidence of the fact that people who have been leaders in our country, regardless of their political party, understand what’s at stake, and they are weighing in courageously, in many cases, in support of what we need to have, which is a president of the United States who understands the obligation to uphold the Constitution of the United States and our democracy,” Harris told reporters on Thursday, ahead of a rally with former President Barack Obama later in the day in Atlanta, Georgia.
Harris has been highlighting current and former GOP elected officials who have endorsed her presidency despite their party affiliation. One of her strongest surrogates on the trail has been former Rep. Liz Cheney, who previously held Republican leadership positions in Congress and endorsed Harris because of what she has described as the threat to American democracy from former President Donald Trump.
Harris also warned that Trump “will sit in the Oval Office stewing, plotting revenge, retribution, writing out his enemies list” if elected to be the next president, continuing to hone in on messaging painting the former president as dangerous and unhinged.
“The American people are being presented with a very serious decision,” she said.
The vice president did not directly answer when asked if construction would continue on a southern border wall if she is elected, which she was also asked about during CNN’s town hall last night.
This post has been updated with more of Harris’ remarks.
Analysis: Why Trump 2.0 would make the world poorer
From CNN’s Hanna Ziady
A shipping container is offloaded from a vessel at the Port of Los Angeles on September 20. Mario Tama/Getty Images
When the United States hiked tariffs on most goods entering the country almost a century ago, the consequences were severe: global trade plummeted and US exports collapsed, as other countries retaliated in kind, deepening one of the world’s worst ever economic downturns — the Great Depression.
The tariffs in question, levied under the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, would be dwarfed by the duties that Donald Trump has pledged to impose if he wins a second term in the White House.
Alongside other radical ideas — including mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and interfering with the independence of the Federal Reserve — Trump has said he wants to slap 10-20% tariffs on all goods imported into the United States. That would be sharply up from the current average of 2% on non-agricultural, or so-called industrial, goods, half of which enter the US duty-free, according to the government.
For Chinese imports, Trump has proposed an even steeper 60% tariff.
“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff.’ It’s my favorite word,” he said during an interview with Bloomberg last week at the Economic Club of Chicago.
Most economists do not share Trump’s fondness for tariffs because they act as a tax on imports, hurting consumers in the country imposing them, as well as businesses that rely on imported raw materials and intermediate goods to make finished products.
Many economists have warned that tariffs planned by Trump will hurt global economic growth and drive up inflation in the US, as well as abroad if other countries introduce higher levies on US imports in response.
Read the full analysis of Trump’s economic proposals and its potential global impact if he wins a second term.
James Taylor will perform at Walz rally in North Carolina today, campaign official says
From CNN’s Aaron Pellish
James Taylor performs on March 9 in New York. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter James Taylor will perform at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s rally in Wilmington, North Carolina today, a Harris campaign official told CNN.
Taylor, who has previously endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, will perform alongside his wife Kim and his son Henry, the campaign official said. Taylor previously appeared at a Massachusetts fundraiser attended by Harris in July shortly after she ascended to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket.
Vance will deliver remarks at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally
From CNN’s Kit Maher
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance will deliver remarks at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden on Sunday, according to a Vance spokesperson.
As CNN previously reported, Trump and Vance will attend a fundraiser in New York City on the same day.
Trump has long wanted to hold an event at the famous arena. The rally is part of an arena tour that will continue throughout the final push ahead of the election with major arena rallies being planned in states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada.
Harris campaign seizes on former Trump chief of staff’s comments in new digital ad
From CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Jeff Simon
Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC in 2017. Drew Angerer/Getty Images/File
The Harris campaign is seizing on John Kelly’s comments made to the New York Times and The Atlantic in which he called former President Donald Trump a fascist in a new digital ad set to run in battleground states.
The ad, obtained by CNN, uses Vice President Kamala Harris’ remarks at CNN’s Town Hall Wednesday over images of Kelly with Trump, as well as images of Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“John Kelly, a four star Marine general, has told us Trump said, ‘Why aren’t my generals like those of Hitlers?’ He admires dictators. In the height of COVID, when most Americans could not get their hands on a COVID test, he secretly sent COVID tests to the president of Russia for his personal use. This election is presenting the American people with a very significant decision. I do believe that Donald Trump is unstable and unfit to serve,” she said.
It’s the latest example of the campaign using the final days of the presidential election to warn of a potential second Trump term by, in part, invoking his former officials who have expressed alarm over the former president.
The ad is part of a $370 million ad buy, according to a campaign official.
Top pro-Trump super PAC adds $11.5 million to Wisconsin ad bookings for final 2 weeks
From CNN’s David Wright
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin on September 28. Morry Gash/AP
On Wednesday, MAGA Inc., the leading pro-Trump super PAC, bought about $11.5 million worth of ad time in Wisconsin for the closing weeks of the election, providing a late infusion of cash to the Republican effort in a top battleground state.
The new ad buys from MAGA Inc. close an ad spending gap that Democrats had previously established in Wisconsin, one of the key Midwestern “Blue Wall” states, having outspent Republicans there by about $27 million in the three months since President Biden withdrew from the race.
More on dueling ad spending: Over the final two weeks, however, including advertising that has already run this week, Republicans are now set to outspend Democrats in Wisconsin by about $5.3 million, $23.6 million to $18.4 million. MAGA inc., with $11.52 million now booked, is the largest advertiser over the home stretch, just ahead of the top pro-Harris super PAC, FF PAC, with about $11.45 million reserved.
For the candidates, the Trump campaign has about $7.6 million booked in Wisconsin for the final two weeks, while the Harris campaign has about $6.1 million reserved. Adding to the Republican advantage, another top pro-Trump outside group, Preserve America, is set to spend about $3.9 million.
MAGA Inc.’s ad reservations for the final two weeks show the super PAC spreading its resources around the state, booking about $2.8 million in the large media market around Milwaukee, but also $2.8 million in Green Bay-Appleton, $2.4 million in Madison, just under $2 million in Wausau-Rhinelander, and $1.4 million in La Crosse-Eau Claire.
The candidates will hit more battleground states today as Harris frames her closing argument
From CNN’s Terence Burlij
Vice President Kamala Harris talks to reporters aboard Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on October 23. Erin Schaff/AFP/Getty Images
With 12 days until Election Day and more than 28 million ballots already cast, the candidates are hitting the campaign trail today as they deliver their final pitches to voters.
Battleground Blitz: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are both focused Thursday on Sun Belt battlegrounds where polls show the race remains remarkably tight – leaving both campaigns still eyeing multiple pathways to 270 electoral votes in November.
The vice president is teaming up with former President Barack Obama and rock legend Bruce Springsteen for an evening rally in Georgia as Harris attempts to hold repeat Joe Biden’s victory in the state after he became the first Democrat to carry it in nearly 30 years.
The former president, meanwhile, is heading to Arizona and Nevada for a pair of events.
The visits come as a trio of new surveys from Marist College show close races in Georgia, Arizona and North Carolina – and a separate survey out of Pennsylvania from Franklin and Marshall College also showing no clear leader between Trump and Harris.
Harris frames her closing argument: For Harris, the contrast is the closing argument. During a CNN town hall Wednesday evening in Pennsylvania, the vice president time and again turned the conversation back to Trump – sharpening her attacks on his policy agenda and fitness for office – as she sounded the alarm about the danger her Republican rival would pose if returned to the White House.
The strategy was clear almost from the outset. When moderator Anderson Cooper asked Harris if she thinks Trump is a fascist, she quickly responded, “Yes, I do,” adding she believes “the people that know him best on this subject should be trusted.” Those comments came on the heels of new comments by Trump’s former White House chief of staff John Kelly, who told reporters the former president met the definition of a “fascist” and spoke positively about the loyalty of Adolf Hitler’s generals. Trump’s campaign has denied the claim.
Asked about her agenda on the economy and taxes, Harris slammed Trump for giving tax cuts to “billionaires and big corporations.” Pressed on her immigration stance, the vice president blasted her Republican rival for derailing a bipartisan border deal. Harris also pointed to Trump’s recent comments about “enemies within” to frame her argument for voters.
Expect to hear the vice president emphasize that message in the closing 12 days of the race, including next Tuesday, when Harris will deliver what her campaign is billing as a closing argument address in Washington at the Ellipse, the site of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, ahead of the violent attack on the US Capitol. It’s the latest example of Harris leaning into a symbolic backdrop – from Ripon, Wisconsin to Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania – to make the case against her GOP rival.
Former House Republican says he’s already cast his ballot in Michigan for Harris
From CNN’s Ali Main
Fred Upton stands outside the Capitol Building in Washington, DC in 2017. Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Former Republican Rep. Fred Upton said Thursday he’s already cast his ballot in Michigan for Vice President Kamala Harris, joining more than 30 former GOP members of Congress who have publicly rebuked former President Donald Trump ahead of Election Day.
“I’ve never before voted for a Democrat for president, and I honestly never thought I would, but she’s a strong, committed public servant,” Upton told reporters, explaining he thinks Harris is running to “put people together, strengthen our economy and protect our fundamental freedoms.”
“We certainly don’t agree on every policy, that’s for sure, but I know that Harris has the best interests of the American people at heart,” he continued.
Upton said he voted for former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in Michigan’s 2024 GOP primary and cast his ballot for Republican John Kasich in 2016.
Until 2022, he represented a district in western Michigan, including Kalamazoo, where Harris will campaign with former First Lady Michelle Obama on Saturday. He said he doesn’t have plans to appear at that event, since he has other commitments, but would appear at a campaign event in the future “if something works.”
Upton said he noticed that as soon as Trump started to run for president in 2015, “something in our politics” began to “change.”
“There have always been fierce disagreements between lawmakers, let’s face it….but there have always been impassioned fights about policy,” he said, adding, “with Trump in charge, politics was more personal, more angry and more divided than ever before.”
Beyoncé will be at Harris’ Houston rally on Friday, source says
From CNN’s From Jeff Zeleny, Elizabeth Wagmeister and Ebony Davis
Beyoncé performs in Warsaw, Poland in 2023. Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images
Beyoncé will appear alongside Vice President Kamala Harris for the first time on the campaign trail in Houston on Friday, a person familiar with the planning tells CNN.
Since the moment Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket and received Beyonce’s permission to use “Freedom” as the campaign’s official anthem, the vice president’s team has been working behind the scenes to negotiate a joint appearance before Election Day.
Rumors of a Beyoncé appearance at the Democratic convention threatened to overtake Harris’ acceptance speech. Campaign officials insist it was never the plan to have Beyoncé join Harris in Chicago, even as they sent conflicting signals in the moment.
The Friday appearance in Houston, where Beyoncé will appear with Willie Nelson, is designed to be one of the biggest closing acts of the campaign. It remains an open question whether Taylor Swift will join Harris, given she is back in the United States for the final swing of her Eras Tour.
Though this is Beyoncé’s first time officially rallying with Harris, the superstar has a history of endorsing Democratic candidates.
In 2013, she sang the National Anthem at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. In 2016, Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z headlined a pre-election concert for Clinton in Cleveland, Ohio, with her backup dancers dressed in blue pantsuits to honor the woman who could have been the first female president. In 2020, Beyoncé endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket, posting on her Instagram to encourage her followers to vote.
More about Harris’ Texas visit: CNN reported earlier that Harris is expected to address abortion rights as she seeks to draw a contrast with former President Donald Trump over the controversial issue ahead of Election Day, according to a senior campaign official.
During her remarks, the vice president is expected to warn of the threat a second Trump term poses to women’s reproductive freedom. Harris will also place blame on the former president for extreme abortion bans, including in Texas, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She will be joined by women who have been impacted by the restrictive laws.
Democratic Senate nominee Rep. Colin Allred will join Harris in Houston as part of a get out the vote effort as he seeks to replace incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. While in Texas, Harris will also sit down for an interview with popular podcaster Brené Brown as she continues to participate in media engagements in an effort to reach voters where they are.
The campaign is hoping the political saliency of reproductive rights can help mobilize voters to head to the polls. This November, voters in at least 10 states will take to the polls to determine the future of abortion access in their state.
This post has been updated with more details on Beyoncé’s appearance and Harris’ trip to Texas.
Trump says he would “fire” special counsel Jack Smith “within two seconds” if reelected
From CNN’s Kate Sullivan
Special Counsel Jack Smith and former President Donald Trump. Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump said in a radio interview Thursday he would “fire” special counsel Jack Smith, who has brought charges against the former president, “within two seconds” if reelected.
“Oh, it’s so easy. It’s so easy,” Trump said when asked by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt whether he would “pardon yourself” or “fire Jack Smith.”
“I would fire him within two seconds,” Trump said.
The comments are an explicit acknowledgement that Trump intends to use the office of the presidency to get charges against him dismissed if he’s reelected.
Harris-Walz campaign rapid response director Ammar Moussa criticized Trump’s comments and warned against a Trump second term.
“Donald Trump thinks he’s above the law, and these latest comments are right in line with the warnings made by Trump’s former Chief of Staff that he wants to rule as a dictator with unchecked power. A second Trump term, where a more unstable and unhinged Trump has essentially no guardrails and is surrounded by loyalists who will enable his worst instincts, is guaranteed to be more dangerous. America can’t risk a second Trump term,” Moussa said.
Some context: Smith was appointed as special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee two investigations into Trump over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of classified documents. The classified documents case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge, but Smith is appealing.
Trump still faces charges in Smith’s election subversion case. After the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, Smith filed a superseding indictment in August that slimmed down the allegations but didn’t drop the four charges that were brought against Trump. Trump faces the following charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
Trump, who was convicted earlier this year of 34 felony counts in a separate case against him, has repeatedly claimed without evidence that the justice system is being weaponized against him because he’s running for president. But Trump has suggested on multiple occasions he would weaponize the justice system against his political rivals if reelected.
Track the four criminal cases Trump is facing here.
This post has been updated with a response to Trump’s remarks from the Harris-Walz campaign.
Here’s where the 2024 candidates will be today
From CNN staff
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Rebecca Wright/CNN/Carlos Barria/Reuters
The 2024 candidates are making their final case to voters with less than two weeks until Election Day.
Here’s where the candidates will be on Thursday:
Vice President Kamala Harris will join former president Barack Obama in Clarkston, Georgia at 7 p.m. ET for a “Get out the Vote” campaign event.
Former President Donald Trump will deliver remarks at a rally in Tempe, Arizona on inflation and prices for home goods. He will deliver keynote remarks at the “United for Change” rally hosted by Turning Point PAC and Turning Point Action at 10 p.m. ET.
Ohio Sen. JD Vance will deliver remarks at a campaign event in Waterford, Michigan at 5:30 p.m. ET. Vance will also participate in a town hall in Detroit, Michigan. The pre-recorded event will be livestreamed on X.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will make a political stop in Durham, North Carolina and Greenville, North Carolina. He will later deliver remarks at a Harris-Walz campaign rally in Wilmington, North Carolina at 6:30 pm ET.
Analysis: These are the key lines from Kamala Harris’ town hall with CNN
From CNN’s Zachary B. Wolf
Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a town hall moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper in Delaware County, Pennsylvania on October 23. Rebecca Wright/CNN
Vice President Kamala Harris tried to engage undecided and persuadable voters at a CNN town hall in Delaware County in the key state of Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
While she did not offer many details of policy proposals, she did talk about reaching across the political aisle as a way of contrasting herself with former President Donald Trump, who declined to join the town hall. Below are key lines from the event.
The moderator, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, got right into the allegation by Trump’s former chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, that the former president admires fascists.
Message to Trump supporters: Cooper asked Harris about what she has to say to the tens of millions of Americans — who have heard about Trump’s actions and either don’t believe it or are still choosing to vote for the former president.
Harris went on to talk about the long list of former Trump aides who have raised the alarm about his foreign policy, including his generals, chief of staff and defense secretary. She encouraged people to go listen to audio of Kelly. His recent comments to The New York Times were something she consistently returned to during the town hall.
“I think of it as he’s just putting out a 911 call to the American people — understand what could happen if Donald Trump were back in the White House. And this time, we must take very seriously those folks who knew him best and who were career people are not going to be there to hold him back,” she added.
Is Trump a fascist? Cooper asked directly if Harris thinks Trump is a fascist.
“Yes, I do. Yes, I do. And I also believe that the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted,” the vice president said.
Reaching out to undecided voters: An undecided voter asked Harris what she’d do for “anti-Trump Republicans like myself who feel left out of the polarized political landscape.” Harris responded by promising to be “a president for all Americans” and referenced her background as a prosecutor – another point she returned to repeatedly during the town hall:
“I have never in my career as a prosecutor asked a victim or a witness of a crime: ‘Are you a Democrat or Republican?’ The only thing I’ve ever asked is: ‘Are you OK?’ And I do believe that is what the American people deserve in their president and not someone who makes decisions based on who voted for them, or what is in their personal interest.”
Read more about the key lines from Harris’ town hall with CNN.
An outside group with ties to RFK Jr. is running dark, conspiratorial TV and digital ads
From CNN’s David Wright
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks in Phoenix on August 23. Thomas Machowicz/Reuters
A pro-Trump outside group called the “Make America Healthy Again Alliance” with ties to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running dramatic, conspiratorial TV ads in key swing states warning of government censorship, assassination plots and poisonous chemicals.
RFK Jr. appears in one of the groups’ ads, declaring that “Enough is enough. President Trump and I are gonna stop the mass poisoning of American Children. We’re gonna make America healthy again.”
That ad opens with what appear to be AI-generated images of children consuming food emitting noxious green gasses, over audio of news sound bites that include, “She was selling baby food with high levels of toxic heavy metal,” “foods and cereals marketed to children contain a weed killing chemical that some health authorities link to cancer,” and “exposed to chemicals and additives that have been banned in other countries.”
The dark, conspiratorial tone is reflected in two other TV spots that the “MAHA Alliance” has produced.
Another ad opens with black-and-white footage of news coverage of the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy — RFK Jr.’s uncle — and proceeds to footage of the first assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump over the summer, including images of Trump pumping his fist with blood on his ear. A freeze-frame image turns negative, with on-screen text reading, “DON’T YOU WANT THE TRUTH?”
A third TV ad from the group, meanwhile, adopts a biting, sarcastic tone, mocking Democratic leaders speaking about misinformation and insinuating that they want to “end free speech.”
Trump reacts to Harris’ CNN town hall as “her worst performance” and calls opponents “dirty people”
From CNN’s Andrew Millman
Former President Donald Trump speaks in Zebulon, Georgia on October 23. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump reacted to Vice President Kamala Harris’ CNN town hall, calling it “her worst performance.”
“I think it’s her worst performance. She hasn’t had any good ones, but this was her worst performance,” Trump said on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, earlier saying Harris “is like a child almost.”
Trump later said his political opponents “are crude, rude and vicious. And by the way, [Kamala Harris]’s only a vessel and so is Joe Biden. He’s not the leader of the party, never was,” continuing that Harris “is no different. Watch her last night. She has no intelligence. She’s got nothing, she’s got nothing, and you can’t have a leader like that.” He later returned to this topic, calling Harris an “empty vessel” manipulated by Democratic Party elites.
Trump also addressed why he believes he provokes such strong feelings from his opponents, calling them “dirty people.”
“They’re vicious people, they’re dirty people, they’ve weaponized government, they’ve weaponized everything, and they’ve actually made me more popular,” he said, adding that “I think I’m a nice person” and attributing his abrasive style as “a personality type a little bit a guess, maybe Ronald Reagan was a softer person. He was. He was a softer person. I liked him. I liked his style.”
“The Republican Party is a very big, powerful party. Before it was sort of an elitist party with real stiffs running it. You know what a stiff is?”
Remember: CNN invited both Trump and Harris to participate in town hall events with voters. Trump declined CNN’s invitation.
Harris will join Obamas for “Get Out The Vote” events in Georgia and Michigan
From CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez
In this 2022 file photo, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama attend an event to mark the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/File
Vice President Kamala Harris will join the Obamas for “Get Out The Vote” events in the battleground states of Georgia and Michigan, marking the first time she’s hitting the trail with either former President Barack Obama or Michelle Obama, according to a senior campaign official.
As Election Day nears, campaign advisers are turning their focus to voter turnout, bringing in surrogates to mobilize voters in critical states.
Today, Harris will appear with former President Obama in Georgia, where early voting has begun.
On Saturday, she’ll head to Michigan to appear with Michelle Obama to mark the first day of voting in the state. It will also be the former first lady’s first time on the trail for the Harris-Walz campaign.
More on the the Harris-Obama relationship: Obama and Harris have been acquainted for 20 years. The energy fueling her candidacy and thunderous crowds chanting her name have drawn comparisons to Obama’s history-making 2008 run.
Earlier this month, Obama admonished Black men who are hesitating to back Harris, telling them it’s “not acceptable” to sit out this election and suggesting they might be reluctant to vote for the vice president because she’s a woman.
The former president campaigned alongside Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, in Michigan earlier this week.
New state polling finds close races in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania
From CNN’s Jennifer Agiesta
Voters wait in line to cast their ballots during early voting in Marion, North Carolina on October 17. Jonathan Drake/Reuters
The race for president in Georgia is tied at 49% each among likely voters, with no clear leader in Arizona (50% Trump to 49% Harris) or North Carolina (50% Trump to 48% Harris) according to a trio of new polls from Marist College, while a Franklin and Marshall College poll finds Trump at 50% to Harris’ 49% among Pennsylvania likely voters.
F&M’s poll suggests little change in the numbers among registered voters since their previous poll in September (currently 48% Harris to 44% Trump among that group, compared with a 49% Harris to 46% Trump finding in September), but shifting to likely voters in the new poll boosts support for Trump.
The Marist polls suggest little movement in any of those three states since Marist’s last polls in September, with identical results in Arizona, and neither candidate moving more than 1 point compared with the previous result in Georgia or North Carolina.
Across polls of likely voters, results in Arizona have tilted more in Trump’s direction than Harris’ this fall, while in Georgia and North Carolina they have been more mixed. In North Carolina, there hasn’t been a single poll that meets CNN’s standards for reporting that has found either candidate leading outside the margin of error since Harris entered the race in July.
Pennsylvania’s recent polling has included some suggesting a significant Harris lead, while others show a near-even divide. The CNN Poll of Polls average in Pennsylvania now stands at a one-point margin, with Harris at 48% to Trump’s 47%, a finding with no clear leader. Averages in the other three states are unchanged from previous results, and continue to show tight races.
Harris campaign celebrates support of 2 typically conservative figures in Michigan and Wisconsin
From CNN’s Alison Main
The Harris campaign is touting endorsements by two more typically conservative figures in Blue wall battleground states.
Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly, who changed his party affiliation from Republican to independent, told a local station on Wednesday that he’s casting his ballot for Harris this year.
“It would be easier for me to stay quiet and vote my conscience privately, but the stakes of this election are so important that I feel compelled to share publicly that I am voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and I encourage other Wisconsinites who care about our country to do the same,” he said in a statement Thursday.
Former Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan will also announce his endorsement of Harris this morning, according to the vice president’s campaign.
Upton was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump in the aftermath of the Capitol riot. He announced in early 2022 he would not seek reelection.
The campaign highlights signs of Trump’s potential weaknesses with the Republican electorate in the midwestern states.
“In the Michigan GOP presidential primary in February, more than 356,000 Republican voters cast their ballots against Trump – more than double the margin that Joe Biden won Michigan by in 2020,” the campaign writes.
Analysis: The issues driving the last 12 days of the election
From CNN’s Stephen Collinson
A customer shops at a grocery store on February 13 in Chicago. Scott Olson/Getty Images
No presidential candidate in history has had to field questions on grocery prices and her opponent’s alleged fascism at the same event.
But the almost absurd linkage between these two issues that Kamala Harris must confront perfectly tells the story of the 2024 election and America’s fierce estrangement nine years into the Donald Trump era.
Just after 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the Democratic nominee emerged from the front door of her official residence in Washington to pose this question:
“What do the American people want?”
She got her answer eight hours later, at a CNN town hall in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, one of the Philadelphia suburbs where she needs a massive turnout to beat the former president in an election only 12 days away.
Thirty-two voters who were still undecided sought answers from Harris on the country’s polarized political tumult, on punishing prices at the grocery store and on an immigration crisis the Biden administration struggled to address. She was asked about the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. Someone else worried about the surge in antisemitism in the United States. Harris was asked to explain her policy reversals on fracking and her plans to hike taxes on the rich. One voter wanted to know whether she’d increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court to 12 – a step that would water down the conservative majority.
Each question that Harris received represented not just a chance to interact with one single voter but to reach millions more countrywide with the same concerns.
Trump will campaign in Arizona and Nevada today
From CNN staff
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a campaign event sponsored by conservative group Turning Point USA, in Duluth, Georgia, on October 23. Carlos Barria/Reuters
Donald Trump will appear in two Sunbelt States today — Arizona and Nevada — where Republicans hope he’ll make inroads with Latino voters.
He will first speak at a campaign rally in Tempe, Arizona on inflation and prices for home goods.
He will then head to Las Vegas to deliver keynote remarks at the “United for Change” rally hosted by Turning Point PAC and Turning Point Action. The event is expected to focus on “celebrating the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community while driving civic engagement,” according to the event’s website.
Key takeaways from Harris’ CNN town hall with undecided Pennsylvania voters
From CNN’s Eric Bradner, Gregory Krieg, Arit John and Daniel Strauss
Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a CNN Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on October 23. Rebecca Wright/CNN
Over and over, Vice President Kamala Harris argued at a CNN town hall Wednesday night that Republican rival Donald Trump is “unstable” and “unfit to serve.”
The Democratic nominee’s message in the closing weeks 2024 presidential race is squarely focused on warning Americans — particularly undecided independents and moderate Republicans — that Trump poses a threat to the nation’s core principles.
Here are some key takeaways:
Yes, Harris thinks Trump is a fascist: Harris was asked Wednesday night if she considers Trump a fascist.
“Yes, I do,” she said. But, she added, she doesn’t want voters to take her word for it.
Harris pointed to senior military leaders who served under Trump and have said the former president is a fascist — including the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, and Trump’s former White House chief of staff, retired Marine general John Kelly
Harris promises “a new generation of leadership”: Harris has faced repeated questions on the trail over how — and to what degree — she would break from President Joe Biden on policy. Mostly, she has brushed them off.
On Wednesday night, though, Harris seemed more comfortable with the proposition and argued that, if she was elected, change would follow.
“My administration will not be a continuation of the Biden administration,” Harris said. “I bring to this role my own ideas and my own experience. I represent a new generation of leadership on a number of issues and believe that we have to actually take new approaches.”
After ticking off a few major policy plans, like having Medicare cover home health care for the elderly, Harris returned to what she described as “a new approach.”
Border security and migration a tricky area: By both CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and audience members, the vice president was pressed on border security.
She was asked on the record number of illegal border crossings that occurred during the Biden administration in spite of multiple executive orders. That flow had only begun to shrink after a major executive action earlier this year, Cooper noted, and asked why Biden and Harris hadn’t done something sooner.
Harris argued that the Biden administration, and she personally, believed that executive actions were just short-term solutions and that a long-term fix could only happen through a bipartisan agreement in Congress. She stressed the need for a large bipartisan bill on border security.
Read more key takeaways from the town hall.
Some voters tell CNN they made up their mind after town hall while others remain undecided
From CNN’s Elise Hammond
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Pam Thistle after a CNN Presidential Town Hall in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, October 23. Rebecca Wright/CNN
Some voters who stayed to talk with CNN after the town hall with Kamala Harris on Wednesday in Pennsylvania said they have made up their mind. Two of five of the voters who spoke with CNN’s John King are leaving the town hall planning to vote for Harris — but others said they still have major policy concerns.
One of the voters, Joe Donahue, did not raise his hand when asked if he was going to vote for Harris and said there are still some “personal policy difference,” specifically on abortion.
“The right to life is so fundamental in this country that it becomes — without that right being respected, it’s incredibly difficult to talk about anything else,” Donahue said.
Still, Donahue said he is still “not sold” on former President Donald Trump either because “his personality” and his actions on January 6, 2021. Harris spoke with him after the town hall, which he said meant “quite a bit” to him and appreciated given the fact that they have opposing ideas.
Pam Thistle said she left the town hall with a “a feeling of adoration” for Harris personally, but as a widow raising children, the economy and paying her bills is her top concern: “I really do have to vote for my family.”
“And another thing that is very much a turn off, and this is with both candidates — stop trashing each other. We don’t care. Stop trashing Trump. Trump, stop trashing the vice president. We don’t care,” Thistle said, adding that’s not what voters care about.
Taneisha Spall echoed that sentiment, saying she would respect Harris more if she stayed out of the “schoolyard bulling” and ran on her policy positions. She said she doesn’t feel like Harris needs to lodge attacks and that she thinks “it’s beneath her.”
Erik Svendsen said he has decided to vote for Harris. He said hearing Harris admit that she doesn’t know the answer to everything and she has people around her that she can trust resonated with him.
“I don’t need a president that knows everything or thinks they know everything, because that’s not what America needs,” Svendsen said. “They need to put the right people in the right place to lead the country efficiently. One person can’t lead this country, they need a team.”
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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