Trump vows to be ‘protector’ of women as Harris leads in Pennsylvania poll: Live

Embattled North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson is reportedly threatening CNN with legal action over its bombshell investigation.

A report published by the broadcaster revealed an extensive history of comments made on a porn site called “Nude Africa” under an email address and username both known to be linked to him.

The comments, which touched on a wide range of topics, were outrageous and shocking — in one, he apparently referred to himself as a “Black Nazi.”

Robinson has denied all of the claims in the report and could sue.

On the campaign trail, Robinson was asked if he had “taken steps” to prove the claims are not true.

“We absolutely are,” he said. “We absolutely are. We’re in talks right now, everything up to legal counsel to take CNN to task for what they have done to us. We are going after them, okay?”

Trump is under pressure from Republicans to debate Harris again, according to reports.

Following the debate on September 10, Republicans are encouraging Trump to face off against Harris again given how tight the race is.

Steve Cortes, a former adviser to Trump, told The Hill: ““We’re in a very tight race. I like where President Trump stands. However, I think any of us who do polling, who read polling carefully realize that this race is super, super tight and in that environment, I don’t think we should skip an opportunity to speak in front of a super large audience of Americans.”

Harris has already accepted a CNN invite for another round with Trump on October 23, but the former president said it is “too late” to have another debate.

With just six weeks to go until election day, the candidates are preparing for an intense final stretch of the campaign.

The needle is ready to swing either way. So, how will Harris and Trump fare in November?

The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian has the latest.

Trump made an unusually self-aware admission at the rally in Pennsylvania on Monday night, saying perhaps he had a “personality defect”.

The former president was describing his reluctance to do an interview with the libertarian TV host Greg Gutfeld when he got a little personal.

“He asked me for an interview, and I said ‘You know, I’ll do it, but begrudgingly – ten minutes’. I don’t really want to do it, because he doesn’t like me,” Trump said.

“I guess I don’t like anybody that doesn’t like me, I’ll be honest,” he continued, prompting cheers and laughter from the crowd.

“When they don’t like me, I don’t like them, okay? It sounds childish… that’s the way it is. Call it a personality defect.”

Io Dodds reports.

A new poll has put Kamala Harris ahead of Donald Trump by five points in the key swing state of Pennsylvania.

The vice president has 49 percent support in the battleground state, while Trump is polling at 44 percent, according to the Spotlight PA/MassINC poll.

Both candidates have events in Pennsylvania this week. Trump appeared at a rally last night while Harris has a campaign stop there later in the week.

Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes.

Trump made a bold claim at a rally last night in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

He told the crowd if he wins in November, he will be a “protector” of women.

Trump, who played a central role in the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, told the rally: “I make this statement to the great women of our country… I am your protector. I want to be your protector. As president, I have to be your protector.”

He also claimed women will “no longer be thinking about abortion” if he wins.

John Bowden writes:

With Israel now focussing military efforts on Lebanon, the war in Gaza looks set to be remembered as the final nail in the coffin for Joe Biden’s foreign policy legacy.

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John Bowden writes:

It’s a four-alarm fire at GOP headquarters in North Carolina, but nobody’s bringing any water.

With the election a little more than a month out, Republicans in the Tar Heel state are facing an unimaginable crisis: a nominee for the highest elected office on the ballot this year (with the exception of the presidential ticket) who is, to put it mildly, a disaster. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, is undergoing a full-scale campaign collapse triggered by a CNN investigation into his past.

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