Trump and Harris neck-and-neck in polls as Chris Christie offers advice ahead of first presidential debate: Live

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are currently neck-and-neck in the polls ahead of their crucial first presidential debate on ABC News Tuesday.

A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found the former president ahead of the vice president by a single point. The latest average of national polls, meanwhile, shows Harris is 2.8 points ahead of Trump.

Meanwhile, former Republican governor Chris Christie offered some advice to Harris ahead of the highly-anticipated debate.

He advised Harris to draw on “touchstones” of preparedness and use Trump’s lack of preparation to her advantage. He also said that she would need to “charm” the American people.

“She needs to show that she’s not gonna be the 24-hour leaf blower noise that he is,” Christie told ABC News Sunday.

“There is a way that you can be kind, that you can be smart, and tough at the same time – that’s the charm,” he continued. “Disarm is...do not engage him in that stuff.”

This advice comes after Christie helped Trump prep for debates in both 2016 and 2020 before their relationship broke down.

Key Points

• Where do Harris and Trump stand in the polls ahead of tomorrow’s debate?

• Chris Christie offers key pieces of advice to Harris before Tuesday face-off

• All the rules for the Harris-Trump showdown debate

• Meet the man who pretends to be Trump for Kamala Harris’s debate prep

Harris turns to her favorite foods in effort to show a more private side and connect with voters

Sunday 8 September 2024 18:30 , AP

One of the biggest challenges for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the final stretch of the campaign is introducing herself to voters before her Republican rival, Donald Trump, has a chance to define her.

Until her sudden election to the top of the Democratic ticket this summer, Harris was still a somewhat unknown figure in national politics, driven in part by her aversion to opening up and embracing the spotlight. And since she’s become the nominee, Republicans have criticized Harris for not doing many interviews or giving enough specifics on her policy plans.

But the vice president is sharing personal details about her childhood, cooking and food to show her more private side.

READ MORE:

Harris turns to her favorite foods in effort to connect with voters

Cheney explains why she backs Harris

Sunday 8 September 2024 18:44 , Gustaf Kilander

The Gossip Girl-like dynamics of the Supreme Court

Sunday 8 September 2024 19:00 , Ariana Baio

There is perhaps no branch of government that fosters secrecy or harbors sneaky resentment to a degree even Gossip Girl herself would be astonished with, than the Supreme Court.

The highest court in the land has purposefully cast an opaque fog over its internal workings for decades, but in this past term, it was clear from their opinions that there was drama behind the scenes.

At the center of that is Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

If the court itself is Gossip Girl then Barrett is season two Jenny Humphrey. That’s to say, she’s breaking ranks with her OG squad and finding her own voice – although with less goth eyeliner.

READ MORE:

The Gossip Girl-like dynamics of the Supreme Court

VIDEO: Harris campaign unveils ‘New Way Forward’ ad ahead of debate with Trump

Sunday 8 September 2024 19:30 , Reann Philogene

Harris and Trump ‘neck and neck’ heading into crucial debate, says new poll

Sunday 8 September 2024 20:00 , Graeme Massie

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are running neck and neck ahead of this week’s high-stakes presidential debate, according to a new poll.

The vice president and her Republican rival are separated by just one point days before they take the debate stage in Pittsburgh, the poll by The New York Times/Siena College found.

The poll was taken between September 3 and September 6 and found 47 percent of likely voters backing Harris. Meanwhile, 48 percent of likely voters backed Trump in the poll.

Tuesday night’s ABC News debate will be the first for Harris but the second for Trump after he took on Joe Biden in June.

READ MORE:

Harris and Trump ‘neck and neck’ heading into crucial debate, says new poll

‘The Republicans have nominated someone who is depraved,' Cheney says

Sunday 8 September 2024 20:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Harris campaign touts Republican support

Sunday 8 September 2024 21:00 , Gustaf Kilander

The Harris campaign noted in a press release on Sunday the amount of support from Republicans the vice president has received, such as from former Vice President Dick Cheney, his daughter, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, her former January 6 Select Committee colleague Adam Kinzinger, former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, former Trump White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, and former Mike Pence advisor Olivia Troye.

They added that Harris has the support of more than 230 alumni of George W Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.

“As hundreds of Republican leaders have already realized, Vice President Harris is offering a New Way Forward for all Americans who reject Donald Trump’s threats to our freedom and his dangerous Project 2025 agenda,” the campaign said. “Between now and Election Day, Team Harris-Walz will continue making the case to conservative, independent, and moderate voters that they have the choice to put their country and democracy first and leave Donald Trump’s toxic chaos and division behind.”

NC gov says if Harris wins his state, she wins the White House

Sunday 8 September 2024 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, who was in the race to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate before asking that he not be considered, told CBS’s Face the Nation that if Harris wins his state, she’ll win the White House.

The last time a Democrat won the Tar Heel state was in 2008, when Barack Obama won it for the Democrats for the first time since Jimmy Carter ran in 1976.

Cooper told CBS that if Harris wins North Carolina, “she is the next president of the United States.”

“It’s close here in North Carolina. It always is,” he added. “This was Biden-Harris’s closest loss in 2020, only 1.3%. So the fact that Kamala Harris, as Vice President of the United States, has been to North Carolina 17 times shows that she cares about our state.”

“She’s got a plan to lower costs for North Carolinians, particularly in this childcare arena, drug pricing. We’re excited about the economic plan that she has … and I think North Carolinians will respond to it,” the governor said.

“When we continue to get this information out to the American public, and to people here in North Carolina, that Kamala Harris has an economic plan that’s going to help lower the cost for everyday people, that’s going to help families thrive, that is going to protect women’s reproductive freedom. I think at the end of the day, that’s going to be what works here,” he added.

Liz Cheney torches Nikki Haley over support for Donald Trump

Sunday 8 September 2024 22:00 , John Bowden

Liz Cheney is ready to force a reckoning for those Republicans who have come around to support Donald Trump for what she says are purely political reasons.

Anti-Trump Republicans including Cheney have become increasingly vocal in the past few months as Kamala Harris has ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket; emboldened by the new vigor her party has found in her wake. Trump, now running for the presidency for a third time, is poised to either pull off a massive political comeback or suffer his second defeat in as many presidential election cycles — to say nothing of the defeats his hand-picked candidates suffered in 2022’s midterms.

His enemies on the right, despite his dominating victory in the Republican primary earlier this year, still smell blood in the water and are now looking to Harris to deal an electoral deathblow this November.

READ MORE:

Liz Cheney torches Nikki Haley over support for Donald Trump

Warnock responds to JD Vance’s comments on Georgia shooting: Guns make us all ‘sitting ducks’

Sunday 8 September 2024 22:30 , John Bowden

One of Georgia’s senators has responded to Republican vice presidential contender JD Vance after he referred to school shootings as a regrettable “fact of life” in modern society.

Raphael Warnock, who won a six-year term in 2022 after defeating a Republican challenger to secure his first full term in office, appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday after a shooting in his state claimed the lives of two students and two teachers at a high school. Nine others were injured.

He was asked about the comments by Vance, which ignited a media firestorm and were seized upon by Kamala Harris’s campaign as the latest sign of Republicans’ refusal to address such horrific attacks in American schools. The Ohio senator, speaking at a rally in Arizona, lamented, “I don’t like that this is a fact of life” after the shooting took place last week.

READ MORE:

Warnock responds to JD Vance’s shooting comments: Guns make us all ‘sitting ducks’

Harris says she’s ‘ready’ for debate

Sunday 8 September 2024 22:32 , Andrew Feinberg

The vice president, wearing all black, a hat, and a scarf, and the Second Gentleman, wearing a Harris/Walz sweatshirt, walked past reporters as part of what took on the feel of an impromptu procession, preceded by and followed by aides and security personnel both on foot and in vehicles.

At first, she did not answer questions about how she would respond to Trump at their upcoming debate and said “thank you” in the reporters’ direction.

The Independent asked if she is ready for the debate. The vice president turned, made a thumbs-up gesture up and replied: “Ready!”

New Mexico governor to campaign for Harris in Virginia ahead of debate

Sunday 8 September 2024 23:00 , Gustaf Kilander

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham will campaign for the Harris-Walz team in Northern Virginia on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s debate.

There she will hold “fireside chats” to “highlight the stark contrast between Vice President Harris’ vision for a New Way Forward and Trump’s Project 2025 agenda,” the Harris campaign said in an advisory.

Lujan Grisham will take part in a Women for Harris event to speak about abortion rights and a Latinos con Harris-Walz event where she’ll “highlight how Trump’s Project 2025 would make life harder and more expensive for Latino families in Virginia and across the country,” the campaign added.

Kimberly Guilfoyle forced to ask audience to clap as awkward speech falls flat

Sunday 8 September 2024 23:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Kimberly Guilfoyle eventually had to ask her audience at the Florida Republican Party annual dinner to clap for her as her awkward speech fell flat in front of an audience of allies.

It was a moment reminiscent of Jeb Bush’s “please clap” moment during the 2016 campaign.

Guilfoyle, the fiancé of Donald Trump Jr, was speaking at the dinner in Hollywood, Florida when she shared her hope that Democrats would lose seats in Congress and be forced to give up control of the White House.

READ MORE:

Kimberly Guilfoyle forced to ask audience to clap as awkward speech falls flat

Harris and Walz set for ‘New Way Forward’ swing state tour after ABC debate

Monday 9 September 2024 00:00 , Andrew Feinberg

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will follow up on Harris’s Tuesday face-off against Donald Trump by embarking on a whirlwind tour of swing states in hopes of seizing momentum off her debate performance this week.

The Harris-Walz campaign says the vice president and her running-mate will criss-cross the country following Tuesday night’s debate to make appearances in each individual media market in every single swing state over a four-day period next week.

The candidates’ spouses, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz, will also make a series of appearances in support of the campaign in the coming days.

READ MORE:

Harris and Walz set for ‘New Way Forward’ swing state tour after ABC debate

Cheney explains her decision to back Harris: ‘The right vote to make this time around’

Monday 9 September 2024 01:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman, appeared on ABC’s This Week on Sunday to speak about her decision to back Kamala Harris, warning of an “unrecoverable catastrophe” if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House.

“I’ve been voting for 40 years. My first vote I ever cast was for Ronald Reagan in 1984. I’ve never voted for a Democrat and it tells you, I think, the stakes in this election,” she said.

She urged voters to listen to Harris “talk about her vision for this country, her vision for the future … If you’re talking about a national security set of issues, and you care about America’s leadership role in the world, a vote for Vice President Harris is the right vote to make this time around.”

Walz touts abiding support for LGBTQ+ rights: ‘Why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love?’

Monday 9 September 2024 02:00 , Eric Garcia

On Saturday Minnesota Governor Tim Walz took a break from campaigning in swing states to address the largest pro-LGBTQ+ rights group in the country about his first run for Congress in 2006 in a Republican district when he was asked about whether he supported civil unions for gay couples.

“I said, ‘sure, if that’s your thing,’” Walz told attendees at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner on Saturday evening. “But I said, my marriage, my wife, Gwen is the most important thing in my life. I love her deeply. Why would I stop anybody else from marrying the person they love? That makes no sense.”

At the time, many Democrats had run away from supporting same-sex marriage and had a tenuous relationship with gay rights at best. Two years before, George W Bush had won re-election by supporting a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Shortly after, Walz won his race in 2006 and people praised him for winning despite supporting abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

READ MORE:

Walz touts his record supporting LGBTQ+ rights in difficult times

John Fetterman says Joe Biden would have beaten Donald Trump again

Monday 9 September 2024 03:00 , John Bowden

John Fetterman, one of Joe Biden’s loudest defenders during calls from within his own party to step down, still believes that the incumbent president could have beaten Donald Trump a second time.

The freshman senator from Pennsylvania elected in 2022, was one of the many Democrats who refused to call for Biden to step aside in the wake of a whispery, wandering performance at a June debate with Trump in Atlanta.

But Fetterman, who suffered a stroke and battled his own issues with speech impairments in the final days of his winning 2022 campaign, took things a step further as he suggested that Biden’s critics in the Democratic Party were helping Trump win — a charge that seemed at odds with polling that showed Biden behind the former president long before the outpouring of Democratic whinging began.

READ MORE:

John Fetterman says Joe Biden would have beaten Donald Trump again

Trump falsely claims children being forced into gender transition ops at school in rambling fantasy-filled rally speech

Monday 9 September 2024 04:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump falsely claimed yet again that children are the subject of “brutal” gender operations at schools across the US.

“Kamala supports states being able to take minor children and perform sex change operations, take them away from their parents, perform sex change operations, and send them back home,” Trump said in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon.

“Can you imagine you’re a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, ‘Jimmy, I love you so much. Go have a good day in school’ and your son comes back with a brutal operation,” he added. “Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country?”

There’s no evidence this has ever happened or been planned. In states where gender-affirming surgery is legal for people under the age of 18, parental consent is required.

READ MORE:

Trump falsely claims children are being forced into gender transition ops at school

Nikki Haley says JD Vance’s ‘childless cat ladies’ slur is ‘not helpful’

Monday 9 September 2024 05:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Former Trump UN Ambassador Nikki Haley acknowledged during a Sunday interview that JD Vance’s comments about “childless cat ladies” are not “helpful.”

Vance has faced criticism for a number of unearthed comments from his past, most notably for telling Fox News host Tucker Carlson in 2021 that the US was being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”

“It’s just a basic fact — you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC [Alexandria Ocasio Cortez] — the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,” he said. “And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”

Harris has two stepchildren and Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, adopted twins in August 2021.

READ MORE:

Nikki Haley says JD Vance’s ‘childless cat ladies’ slur is ‘not helpful’

Trump’s psychologist niece says he’s ‘dementing’ in wake of ‘gibberish’ answer on childcare question

Monday 9 September 2024 06:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Mary Trump, the niece of Donald Trump, has shared her analysis that the former president’s mental health is deteriorating after he struggled to answer a question on childcare.

In a piece on Substack on Sunday, the psychologist argued that Trump is “dementing,” citing his appearance at the Economic Club of New York last week, where he was asked what type of legislation he would push to make childcare affordable.

“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down, I was somebody, we had Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that issue,” Trump began his long, rambling answer. “It’s a very important issue, but I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about that because look, childcare is childcare. There’s something, you have to have it in this country, you have to have it.”

He went on to say that his proposed tariffs on imports would generate more than enough money to pay for childcare, but he did not explain what his actual policy would look like.

READ MORE:

Trump’s psychologist niece says he’s ‘dementing’ in wake of ‘gibberish’ answer

Warnock responds to JD Vance’s comments on Georgia shooting: Guns make us all ‘sitting ducks’

Monday 9 September 2024 07:00 , John Bowden

One of Georgia’s senators has responded to Republican vice presidential contender JD Vance after he referred to school shootings as a regrettable “fact of life” in modern society.

Raphael Warnock, who won a six-year term in 2022 after defeating a Republican challenger to secure his first full term in office, appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday after a shooting in his state claimed the lives of two students and two teachers at a high school. Nine others were injured.

He was asked about the comments by Vance, which ignited a media firestorm and were seized upon by Kamala Harris’s campaign as the latest sign of Republicans’ refusal to address such horrific attacks in American schools. The Ohio senator, speaking at a rally in Arizona, lamented, “I don’t like that this is a fact of life” after the shooting took place last week.

READ MORE:

Warnock responds to JD Vance’s shooting comments: Guns make us all ‘sitting ducks’

Kimberly Guilfoyle forced to ask audience to clap as awkward speech falls flat

Monday 9 September 2024 08:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Kimberly Guilfoyle eventually had to ask her audience at the Florida Republican Party annual dinner to clap for her as her awkward speech fell flat in front of an audience of allies.

It was a moment reminiscent of Jeb Bush’s “please clap” moment during the 2016 campaign.

Guilfoyle, the fiancé of Donald Trump Jr, was speaking at the dinner in Hollywood, Florida when she shared her hope that Democrats would lose seats in Congress and be forced to give up control of the White House.

READ MORE:

Kimberly Guilfoyle forced to ask audience to clap as awkward speech falls flat

The Gossip Girl-like dynamics of the Supreme Court

Monday 9 September 2024 09:00 , Ariana Baio

There is perhaps no branch of government that fosters secrecy or harbors sneaky resentment to a degree even Gossip Girl herself would be astonished with, than the Supreme Court.

The highest court in the land has purposefully cast an opaque fog over its internal workings for decades, but in this past term, it was clear from their opinions that there was drama behind the scenes.

At the center of that is Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

If the court itself is Gossip Girl then Barrett is season two Jenny Humphrey. That’s to say, she’s breaking ranks with her OG squad and finding her own voice – although with less goth eyeliner.

READ MORE:

The Gossip Girl-like dynamics of the Supreme Court

Truth Social: Trump accuses Harris of hiding from media and revives election fraud narrative

Monday 9 September 2024 09:25 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

Donald Trump has accused Democratic rival Kamala Harris of hiding from the media ahead of their all-important first presidential debate on ABC News on Tuesday evening.

“The last thing we need for our Nation in Decline is another President who is not smart enough to answer reporters [sic] questions,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump has also been busy promoting a spurious warning from Tucker Carlson about voter fraud in Pennsylvania, seemingly preparing the ground for contesting his ultimate defeat in November’s election.

“The 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again,” he froths in another post.

“We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON’T!”

He has further been announcing his support for the legalization of marijuana as a means to ending “needless arrests and incarcerations”, which sounds almost like an honest to goodness policy.

Trump and Harris ‘neck-and-neck’ heading into crucial debate, new poll finds

Monday 9 September 2024 09:45 , Joe Sommerlad

The candidates are currently neck-and-neck in the polls, according to a new New York Times/Siena College survey that puts the former president a single point ahead of the current vice president on 48 per cent to 47 per cent.

Here’s Graeme Massie’s report and analysis.

Harris and Trump ‘neck and neck’ heading into crucial debate, says new poll

Trump says media will give Harris debate win even if he ‘destroys’ her

Monday 9 September 2024 10:05 , Joe Sommerlad

The Republican spent the weekend rallying his supporters in Mosinee, Wisconsin, his first visit to a deep red, mostly rural region of a swing state that could play a major role in determining the next occupant of the White House.

Trump used the event to get his excuses in early regarding the debate, claiming the media will proclaim Harris the winner however it actually plays out.

Graig Graziosi has this report.

Trump says media will give Harris debate win even if he ‘destroys’ her

Trump falsely claims children are being forced into gender transition surgery

Monday 9 September 2024 10:25 , Joe Sommerlad

Speaking in Mosinee, Trump teased the idea of expanding the 25th Amendment to include the possibility of removing a vice president and warned that the mass deporation of illegal immigrants on his watch would be “a bloody story”, a particularly disturbing turn of phrase to throw around so casually.

Even more absurdly, he suggested that children in American schools are being forced to undergo “brutal” gender transition surgery against their will, an utterly hysterical claim for which his own campaign team could provide no evidence whatsoever because it is not actually happening.

Here’s Gustaf Kilander on that particular lie.

Trump falsely claims children are being forced into gender transition ops at school

Melania complains about Trump’s 2020 defeat and ‘efforts to silence my husband’ in latest book plug

Monday 9 September 2024 10:45 , Joe Sommerlad

The former first lady is finally venturing into the election race, with less than two months to go until the big day, although seemingly only in the hope of enriching herself further through the sale of a costly new ghostwritten memoir.

Here’s more on Melania from James Liddell.

Melania Trump complains about attempts to ‘silence’ husband in new video

George W Bush reveals his decision on 2024 presidential endorsement

Monday 9 September 2024 11:05 , Joe Sommerlad

The 43rd president has said he will not be joining his former vice president Dick Cheney in backing Kamala Harris in November, but nor will he placing an X beside Donald Trump’s name on his ballot sheet come November 5.

Graeme Massie has this on Dubya’s decision to sit on the fence.

George W Bush reveals his decision on 2024 endorsement after Cheney snubbed Trump

RFK Jr shows off ‘dance moves’ in lame Amber Rose social media skit

Monday 9 September 2024 11:25 , Joe Sommerlad

The former independent candidate turned Trump supplicant has inflicted some disturbing imagery on the electorate in recent months, from the dead bear cub to the chainsawed whale’s head tied to the roof of his car, but this one takes the cake.

An absolutely excruciating watch for your Monday morning. Truly awful.

Hillbilly Elegy director Ron Howard ‘surprised and disappointed’ by JD Vance

Monday 9 September 2024 11:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Asked about his 2020 Netflix adaptation of Trump’s running mate’s misery memoir at the Toronto International Film Festival, the veteran moviemaker explained: “We didn’t talk a lot of politics when we were making the movie because I was interested in his upbringing and that survival tale. That’s what we mostly focused on.

“However, based on the conversations that we had during that time, I just have to say I’m very surprised and disappointed by much of the rhetoric that I’m reading and hearing. People do change, and I assume that’s the case. Well, it’s on record.”

Here’s more from Jacob Stolworthy.

Hillbilly Elegy director Ron Howard hits out at ‘disappointing’ JD Vance

Nikki Haley says Vance’s ‘childless cat ladies’ slur is ‘not helpful’

Monday 9 September 2024 12:05 , Joe Sommerlad

On CBS’s Face the Nation yesterday, the former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the UN – briefly heralded as an icon of anti-Trump resistance during the primaries before falling laughably in line – launched into a fresh attack on the candidate’s running mate.

“It is not helpful to talk about whether women have children or whether they don’t,” Haley told Margaret Brennan.

“It’s not helpful to say any of those things that are personality-driven, or anything else.”

This was a particularly classic exchange from the same interview:

Here’s more from Gustaf Kilander.

Nikki Haley says JD Vance’s ‘childless cat ladies’ slur is ‘not helpful’

Liz Cheney torches Haley over support for Trump

Monday 9 September 2024 12:25 , Joe Sommerlad

The former Wyoming representative, a pariah to the MAGA wing of the GOP since chairing the House January 6 committee, is ready to force a reckoning for those Republicans, like the aforementioned Haley, who have come around to supporting Trump for what she argues are purely political reasons.

Here she is on ABC’s This Week yesterday telling Jonathan Karl about her decision to come out for Kamala Harris...

...and here’s John Bowden on her attack on Haley and her careerist ilk.

Liz Cheney torches Nikki Haley over support for Donald Trump

Harris campaign unveils new debate day Trump attack ad to air on Fox News

Monday 9 September 2024 12:45 , Joe Sommerlad

“Take it from the people who know him best: Donald Trump is a danger to our troops and our democracy.”

So rumbles the narration in Harris’s new attack ad before cutting to clips of former Trump Cabinet members Mike Pence, Mark Esper, John Bolton and Mark Milley slamming him.

You can watch it for yourself below.

Harris hits out at Trump’s Taliban deal as Republicans release damning report on Afghanistan withdrawal

Monday 9 September 2024 13:05 , Joe Sommerlad

Kamala Harris’s campaign has hit out at Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban in retaliation to the damning Republican report on the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

A day before the first presidential debate, House Republicans have released a scathing report into the US exit from Afghanistan in August 2021, which left behind an estimated 100,000 partners of the US government while 13 American soldiers and 170 civilians were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul.

The report solely blames the Biden-Harris administration’s “failure to plan for all contingencies” for the disaster but Harris’s campaign has been quick to remind voters how Trump “cut a bad deal” with the Taliban in 2020.

Rhian Lubin reports.

Harris attacks Trump’s Taliban deal as Republicans release Afghan withdrawal report

Trump says he will vote to legalize marijuana in Florida: ‘It’s time to end needless arrests’

Monday 9 September 2024 13:25 , Joe Sommerlad

James Liddell has more on the Republican presidential nominee’s liberal position on legalising recreational cannabis in his adopted home state, which puts him at odds with his on-off foe Ron DeSantis, for one.

Trump says he will vote to legalize marijuana in Florida to ‘end needless arrests’

Trial to begin over Texas ‘Trump Train’ ambush of Biden-Harris campaign bus during 2020 election

Monday 9 September 2024 13:45 , Joe Sommerlad

A jury trial opens in Austin, Texas, today seeking to hold a number of Trump supporters to account for allegedly ambushing a Biden-Harris campaign bus on a state highway during the 2020 presidential election.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim they were terrorised and intimidated when their bus was swarmed by a “Trump Train” convoy of at least 40 vehicles flying “Make America Great Again” banners for more than 90 minutes in what the suit describes as a “madcap game of highway ‘chicken’”.

The plaintiffs are seeking punitive damages under both Texas law and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a federal statute intended to shut down political violence and voter intimidation.

Kimberly Guilfoyle forced to ask audience to clap as MAGA speech falls flat

Monday 9 September 2024 14:05 , Joe Sommerlad

Yeesh. This is almost as bad as RFK Jr’s latest tortured upload.

Here’s more on Don Jr’s girlfriend having to request her own applause from Gustaf Kilander.

Kimberly Guilfoyle forced to ask audience to clap as awkward speech falls flat

‘Let Trump be Trump’: Inside Harris’s unconventional debate prep

Monday 9 September 2024 14:30 , Joe Sommerlad

“It can’t be just Biden 2.0 – it’s got to be Harris 1.0,” one Democratic strategist tells Andrew Feinberg as he digs into the debate preparation being done by the Kamala campaign and how it contrasts with her predecessor’s.

‘She needs to let Trump be Trump’: Inside Kamala Harris’s unconventional debate prep

Meet the man who pretends to be Trump for Harris’s debate prep

Monday 9 September 2024 15:00 , Joe Sommerlad

He helped Hillary Clinton prepare for her infamous clashes with Donald Trump in 2016 and now he’s helping Kamala Harris do the same.

Here’s Richard Hall on Philippe Reines, the “malevolent George Costanza” impersonating Trump in Harris’s debate preparations.

Meet the man who pretends to be Trump for Kamala Harris’s debate prep

Harris talks small business support and cost of living on Rickey Smiley Morning Show

Monday 9 September 2024 15:20 , Joe Sommerlad

The Democratic presidential contender called into the nationally-syndicated drivetime morning show earlier today, hoping to reach its considerable audience with her plans to encourage entrepreneurship and help working families.

You can hear her interview in full below.

Veteran Tulsi Gabbard ‘sickened’ by Harris saying she was ‘honored’ to have Dick Cheney’s endorsement

Monday 9 September 2024 15:40 , Joe Sommerlad

Gabbard, the former soldier, Hawaii representative and 2020 Democratic presidential contender, who has since gone full-MAGA and is said to be helping Donald Trump with his debate preparations, has been attacking Kamala Harris for accepting Dick Cheney’s endorsement.

Speaking at an event in Colorado Springs with Tucker Carlson on Friday evening, Gabbard told her audience: “I have a very simple message for my Democrat friends, my independent friends, those who may not be sure about who they’re voting for in this election, Dick Cheney has just made the choice very clear, a vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for Dick Cheney, the architect of everything that has gone wrong in the Middle East for the last few decades.

“Her [Harris’s] response to the Dick Cheney announcement today was that she was honored to have his endorsement, and we got military veterans in the house?

“Got a lot of you who probably served in the Middle East like I did, and so it sickened me, Tucker, to read those words today from Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, and Kamala Harris because we have people who we care very much about who were killed in those wars because of Dick Cheney.”

Ex-Republican lawmaker Adam Kinzinger would ‘certainly’ join Harris’s Cabinet

Monday 9 September 2024 16:00 , Joe Sommerlad

The former Illinois representative, who, like Liz Cheney, was effectively drummed out of the Republican Party over his opposition to Trump in the wake of the Capitol riot, has told The Los Angeles Times that he would happily serve in a future Kamala Harris administration.

“I love defense. I love foreign policy. And I think that’s where she’s frankly shown she’s a little more hawkish than Democrats have been, so that would be a good area to bring a standard Republican in,” Kinzinger said at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he is a promoting a new documentary about his break with the GOP entitled The Last Republican.

“I want her to win. I want her to succeed. The most important issue that this country is facing, which doesn’t get enough attention to me, is Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against a Russian invasion. She’s the best counter for that, and I would love to help her in any way achieve that goal.”

Trump ‘well prepared’ and ‘doesn’t need traditional debate prep’, says aide

Monday 9 September 2024 16:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Hype woman Karoline Leavitt was talking tough on Fox and Friends this morning but you have to wonder: does Trump really not need to prepare or is he just refusing to interrupt his customary Monday golf game?

Behind the scenes, however, Trump staffers are said to be worried that “angry Trump” (the Incredible Hulk with a hairpiece?) will turn up to the debate and self-sabotage in front of millions of viewers.

Rhian Lubin reports.

Trump staffers worried ‘angry Trump’ will show up to debate and self-sabotage

Young Black Americans more motivated to turn out for Harris, new poll finds

Monday 9 September 2024 16:40 , Joe Sommerlad

The latest Washington Post/Ipsos poll of Black Americans’ voting intentions reveals that more people are willing to turn out and vote for Kamala Harris, with 47 per cent now committed to making their mark, up from 32 per cent in April when Joe Biden was still on the Democratic ticket.

On the other side of the coin, support for Donald Trump remains stagnant, down to 12 per cent from 14 per cent in the spring.

Pennsylvania Governor shoots down MAGA mail-in voting conspiracy theory

Monday 9 September 2024 17:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Josh Shapiro, who was almost Kamala Harris’s running mate, brings us this debunking of the latest nonsense being circulated about postal voting in his state by Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and other conservative fearmongers.

Military brass back Harris: ‘Trump is a disaster that has already happened’

Monday 9 September 2024 17:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Retired brigadier general Steve Anderson and former admiral Steve Abbott have both been on the air this morning explaining why they cannot sanction the 45th president’s return to the White House.

Fox News hosts furious after Harris gets jubilant reception at ‘meanest’ spice shop

Monday 9 September 2024 17:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Kamala Harris took a breather from debate preparations over the weekend for a quick pit stop at a family business in Pennsylvania, which Fox News hosts wasted no time in slamming as America’s “meanest spice shop.”

Ay yay yay.

Here’s more from James Liddell.

Fox News hosts furious after Harris gets jubilant reception at ‘meanest’ spice shop

Trump’s psychologist niece says he’s ‘dementing’ in wake of ‘gibberish’ answer on childcare question

Monday 9 September 2024 18:07 , Gustaf Kilander

Mary Trump, the niece of Donald Trump, has shared her analysis that the former president’s mental health is deteriorating after he struggled to answer a question on childcare.

In a piece on Substack on Sunday, the psychologist argued that Trump is “dementing,” citing his appearance at the Economic Club of New York last week, where he was asked what type of legislation he would push to make childcare affordable.

“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down, I was somebody, we had Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that issue,” Trump began his long, rambling answer. “It’s a very important issue, but I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about that because look, childcare is childcare. There’s something, you have to have it in this country, you have to have it.”

Read on:

Trump’s psychologist niece says he’s ‘dementing’ in wake of ‘gibberish’ answer

Watch: Harris campaign reveals scathing new ad ahead of debate night

Monday 9 September 2024 18:30 , Katie Hawkinson

John Legend to campaign for Kamala Harris today

Monday 9 September 2024 18:44 , Katie Hawkinson

Musical icon John Legend will campaign for Kamala Harris today by attending a fireside chat event called “The Art of Voting” in Atlanta, Georgia.

There, Legend will talk to young voters about their role in the political sphere and why he’s supporting Harris this November, local outlet WSB-TV reports. This comes after the award-winning musician performed at the Democratic National Convention last month.

Nancy Pelosi responds to Trump’s comments about attack against her husband

Monday 9 September 2024 19:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Former speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi responded to Donald Trump’s comments last week that appeared to make light of the attack against her husband in 2022.

Nearly two years ago, David DePape broke into Pelosi’s home and brutally attacked her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer. He has since been sentenced to thirty years in prison for the attack.

Last week, Trump appeared to comment on the attack during a campaign rally.

“Nancy Pelosi has a big wall around her house,” Trump said. “Of course it didn’t help too much with the problem she had, did it?”

Pelosi hit back during an interview with The View on Monday.

“Even as recently as one of the speeches the other day, he said, ‘she has a wall around it,’” Pelosi said. “We don't have a wall around the house. He's always projecting, he probably has a wall around his house.”

The former speaker said her husband is doing well in the wake of the attack.

“He's doing okay. He's coming along. A little more time,” Pelosi said. “Getting hit on the head three times is a horrible thing, and that was physical, but the traumatic effect for him, for us, for the family, but also for other political families as well, for families in America.”

“Violence has no place in any resolution of any discussion you may have,” she said. “So again, what was sad though, was that it was horrible. It was horrible, when it happened. It was horrible.”

Melania Trump complains about attempts to ‘silence’ husband and cost of food in new video

Monday 9 September 2024 19:15 , James Liddell

Melania Trump has had her say on the current cost of living crisis, political divisiveness across the US and the Biden administration’s alleged attempts to “silence” husband, in a new video plugging her tell-all, self-titled memoir.

The former first lady has been noticeably absent from her husband’s presidential campaign trail and numerous court appearances across 2024.

Her brief appearance at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July marked one in a handful of times she has stood by her husband’s side since he relaunched his re-election campaign.

Read on:

Melania Trump complains about attempts to ‘silence’ husband in new video

Trump claims Zuckerberg told him ‘there’s no way I can vote for a Democrat’ after assassination attempt

Monday 9 September 2024 19:30 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump has claimed that Mark Zuckerberg told him in a phone call shortly after the assassination attempt of the former president that there’s “no way I can vote for a Democrat”.

Trump told New York Magazine that the Meta CEO called him after he was shot in the ear at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Mark Zuckerberg called up and said, ‘I’ve never supported a Republican before, but there’s no way I can vote for a Democrat in this election,’” Trump told the magazine. “He’s a guy that, his parents, everybody was always Democrat. He said, ‘I will never vote for the people running against you after watching what you did.’”

However, Zuckerberg has not publicly endorsed a candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

Read more:

Trump claims Zuckerberg told him he can’t vote for Democrat after rally shooting

Meet the man who pretends to be Trump for Kamala Harris’s debate prep

Monday 9 September 2024 19:45 , Richard Hall

A man who described Donald Trump as a “malevolent George Costanza” and a “malfunctioning appliance” is helping Kamala Harris prepare for her first debate with the former president.

Philippe Reines, a former deputy assistant secretary of state and senior advisor to Hillary Clinton, is the stand-in for Trump in mock debates ahead of the real thing on September 10.

This is the second time he has played the role after acting as Trump in Clinton’s own preparations in September 2016, and he takes the job seriously.

Read more:

Meet the man who pretends to be Trump for Kamala Harris’s debate prep

Trump’s campaign staffers are worried ‘angry Trump’ will show up to debate and self-sabotage

Monday 9 September 2024 20:10 , Rhian Lubin

Donald Trump’s campaign staffers are worried “angry Trump” will show up to Tuesday’s presidential debate and “self-sabotage,” according to reports.

Staffers believe that Trump’s performance will be heavily influenced by his mood that evening, and they’ve been speculating whether “happy Trump” or “angry Trump” will show up to the ABC News debate against Kamala Harris, The Guardian reports.

If it’s the latter, they fear it could be a repeat performance of the 2020 presidential debates, where Trump “self sabotaged” and put voters off because of his behavior, the newspaper reports.

Read more

DeSantis accused of siccing his ‘election police’ on abortion rights supporters ‘to chill the democratic process’

Monday 9 September 2024 20:15 , Katie Hawkinson

A widely derided election crimes dragnet from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appears to be targeting voters who signed a petition to get an abortion rights amendment on state ballots this fall, a measure that the Republican governor and his anti-abortion allies strongly oppose.

The Independent’s Alex Woodward has the story:

DeSantis accused of siccing his ‘election police’ on abortion rights supporters

Oprah to campaign for Harris next week

Monday 9 September 2024 20:30 , Katie Hawkinson

Oprah Winfrey is set to host an event for Kamala Harris on September 19 that will bring together dozens of grassroots groups fundraising for the Vice President.

The event, hosted by Unite for America, will bring together groups like #WinWithBlackWomen and #CatLadiesForKamala, for a night of fundraising.

“For the last 2 months, hundreds of organizations and millions of people - from #WinWithBlackWomen to #CatLadiesForKamala and everyone in between - have united to change our country,” the website reads. “On one special night, they’ll all come together with one of our country’s biggest forces for good: Oprah Winfrey.”

Michigan Supreme Court rules RFK Jr must stay on the ballot

Monday 9 September 2024 20:45 , Katie Hawkinson

The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must remain on the state ballot.

This decision comes after the former independent presidential candidate tried to have his name removed to avoid siphoning votes from Donald Trump, who he endorsed after dropping out of the race last month.

JD Vance spreads racist rumor that Haitian immigrants are abducting peoples’ pets and eating them in Ohio

Monday 9 September 2024 21:00 , Mike Bedigan

JD Vance has drawn heavy criticism after spreading a racist and debunked rumor that illegal immigrants from Haiti are abducting and eating pets in an Ohio town.

Donald Trump’s running mate posted a video of himself online in which he peddled the rumor, and said immigrants were “causing chaos” in the town of Springfield.

The intent of sharing the baseless claim appeared to be to attack Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, over her border and immigration policies.

Read more:

JD Vance spreads racist rumor that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Ohio

Chris Christie, former Trump debate coach, offers key pieces of advice to Harris before Tuesday face-off

Monday 9 September 2024 21:15 , Madeline Sherratt

Former Republican governor Chris Christie has offered some pearls of wisdom to Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, ahead of her debate with Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Christie helped Trump prep for debates in both 2016 and 2020 before their relationship broke down into open hostility.

This weekend, the ex-New Jersey leader advised Harris to draw on “touchstones” of preparedness and use Trump’s lack of preparation to her advantage. He also said that she would need to “charm” the American people.

Read on:

Chris Christie, former Trump debate coach, gives key advice to Harris before face-off

‘JD, we’re not asking’: Gwen Walz slams Vance while detailing her fertility struggles

Monday 9 September 2024 21:30 , Eric Garcia

Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz detailed her experience going through fertility treatments to a crowd in North Carolina on Monday.

The wife of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina with Harris’s husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, as part of their campaign jaunt through the south.Read more:

‘JD, we’re not asking’: Gwen Walz slams Vance while detailing her fertility struggles

Activists speak out in front of Trump Tower

Monday 9 September 2024 21:45 , Ariana Baio, Katie Hawkinson

Three activists are speaking out against the former president outside of Trump Tower in New York City this afternoon.

The speakers include Jessica Leeds, a woman who has accused Trump of assaulting her on a plane in the 1970s, as well as reproductive rights activists Amanda Zurawski and Caitlin Joshua.

Leeds said she’s speaking out because she believes “it’s important to remind the voters of Trump’s disrespect of women.”

“We just cannot allow this person back into the White House,” she told listeners.

Last week, Trump mentioned Leeds in a rambling press conference about the $5 million judgment he owes writer E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting her.

“She would not have been the chosen one,” Trump said of Leeds.

Zurawski, who has long spoken out against Texas’s near-total restriction on abortion and even led a lawsuit challenging the law, said she blames Trump for the bans across the country.

“It is unthinkable to me that anyone can cheer on the abortion bans that nearly cost me my life,” Zurawski said, going on to endorse Kamala Harris.

Pelosi implies Democrats could get rid of the filibuster if they win in November

Monday 9 September 2024 22:00 , John Bowden

Nancy Pelosi says in a new interview that her party will take on the Senate’s filibuster rule in some fashion if a Democratic majority returns to the chamber next year.

The California representative and Speaker Emerita spoke to Rolling Stone for a new interview in which she said that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is expected to continue leading the Democratic Senate caucus come 2025, vowed to her that he would get his party’s landmark piece of voting rights legislation — the For The People Act — past the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold if Democrats win a majority in the chamber this November.

“We have to win the Senate. [Schumer] told me that if they win, they will change the Senate in terms of the filibuster, and we would pass [the] For The People Act, which makes all the difference in the world in terms of our democracy,” the former House speaker said.

Read on:

Pelosi implies Democrats could get rid of the filibuster if they win in November

Where do Harris and Trump stand in the polls ahead of tomorrow’s debate?

Monday 9 September 2024 22:15 , Katie Hawkinson

Kamala Harris has a 2.8-point lead over Donald Trump, according to the latest average of national polls, taken just one day before the much-anticipated presidential debate.

Meanwhile, a new poll from New York Times/Siena College found that Trump is leading Harris by a slim +1-point margin, at 48 percent to 47 percent.

Read more about presidential polling this evening as the candidates prepare to face off tomorrow:

Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump? Latest poll updates from the 2024 election

All the rules for Tuesday’s Harris-Trump showdown debate - and who they stand to benefit

Monday 9 September 2024 22:30 , Ariana Baio

Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are set to face off against each other for the first time on the national debate stage on Tuesday and how they perform under the limitations of the rules will be under a microscope.

After several days of back-and-forth, the two candidates finally agreed to comply with the same rules that Trump and President Joe Biden used during the first presidential debate back in June.

That includes muted microphones, no pre-written notes, no live audience, no sitting, and no speaking with campaign staff between commercial breaks.

Though many of the rules are standard for presidential debates, the originally agreed-up regulations could put Harris at a disadvantage since she has a different skill set than President Joe Biden.

Here are the rules for Tuesday’s debate in Philadelphia and who stands to benefit:

All the rules for the Harris-Trump showdown debate - and who they stand to benefit

‘Refreshing’ or ‘cringe’? RFK Jr appears in promo video reviving viral Harlem Shake dance

Monday 9 September 2024 22:45 , Mike Bedigan

Robert F Kennedy Jr has divided the Maga world after appearing in a promotional video alongside Kanye West’s ex-girlfriend, in which he attempts to bring back a decade-old viral trend – The Harlem Shake.

The former presidential hopeful appeared in the short clip, which aims to “Make America Healthy Again,” alongside model-turned Trump enthusiast Amber Rose.

Rose asks RFK Jr if he “wants a shake” He shrugs and begins to shimmy as a short clip of the Harlem Shake begins to play, in an apparent attempt to perform the dance, which became wildly popular in early 2013.

RFK Jr appears in promo video reviving viral Harlem Shake dance

At an event with Gwen Walz and Doug Emhoff, it’s clear why Democrats think they can finally win North Carolina

Monday 9 September 2024 23:00 , Eric Garcia

North Carolina loves nail-biters, whether it’s the showdowns between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils in basketball or in presidential races.

“Elections in North Carolina are always close, always close,” Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general and the Democratic nominee for governor told a crowd in Raleigh ahead of introducing Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, the wife of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, on Monday. But, he added, that means the state has a chance to determine who goes to the White House.

Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’s campaigns are making a serious play for North Carolina. The non-partisan Cook Political Report rates the Tar Heel state as a toss-up.

Read on:

Why Democrats think this is the year they can finally win North Carolina

Watch: Kamala Harris speaks to locals at Pittsburgh spice shop

Tuesday 10 September 2024 00:00 , Katie Hawkinson

See it: Harris campaign reveals scathing new ad ahead of debate night

01:00 , Katie Hawkinson

ICYMI: George W. Bush reveals his decision on 2024 endorsement after Cheney snubbed Trump

02:00 , Katie Hawkinson

ICYMI: Oprah to campaign for Harris next week

03:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Oprah Winfrey is set to host an event for Kamala Harris on September 19 that will bring together dozens of grassroots groups fundraising for the Vice President.

The event, hosted by Unite for America, will bring together groups like #WinWithBlackWomen and #CatLadiesForKamala, for a night of fundraising.

“For the last 2 months, hundreds of organizations and millions of people - from #WinWithBlackWomen to #CatLadiesForKamala and everyone in between - have united to change our country,” the website reads. “On one special night, they’ll all come together with one of our country’s biggest forces for good: Oprah Winfrey.”

Meet the man who pretends to be Trump for Kamala Harris’s debate prep

04:00 , Richard Hall

A man who described Donald Trump as a “malevolent George Costanza” and a “malfunctioning appliance” is helping Kamala Harris prepare for her first debate with the former president.

Philippe Reines, a former deputy assistant secretary of state and senior advisor to Hillary Clinton, is the stand-in for Trump in mock debates ahead of the real thing on September 10.

This is the second time he has played the role after acting as Trump in Clinton’s own preparations in September 2016, and he takes the job seriously.

Read more:

Meet the man who pretends to be Trump for Kamala Harris’s debate prep

Video: JD Vance falsely claims Haitian immigrants in Ohio abduct and eat pets

05:01 , Katie Hawkinson