Harris campaigns in Pennsylvania; Trump joins town hall: Live updates

Harris campaigns in Pennsylvania; Trump joins town hall: Live updates
Kamala Harris agrees Trump’s vision is about ‘fascism’

Donald Trump doubled down on comments he made at the weekend in which he referred to Democrats as “enemies from within” and that the military could be called upon to handle any unrest from “radical left lunatics”.

When confronted with his comments by Harris Faulkner of Fox News during a town hall of his supporters, the former president added that they are “sick” and “evil”.

Kamala Harris has said that Trump’s remarks are evidence that he is “increasingly unstable and unhinged” and ”out for unchecked power”.

This evening, the vice president and Democratic nominee will sit for an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier, which will be broadcast unedited on Wednesday evening — a marked contrast to Trump’s pre-recorded and edited appearance earlier in the day.

On Tuesday, the Democrat joined Charlamagne Tha God for an hour-long sitdown in Detroit in which she declared she is going to win in November and agreed with the host when he called Trump’s policy platform “fascist”.

Also on Tuesday, Trump took part in a freewheeling Bloomberg Q&A with the Economic Club of Chicago and told a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, that he considers illegal immigration a greater problem than inflation.

1729109116

Economist/YouGov Poll: Harris has edge nationally

Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald Trump by 48 per cent to 45 per cent among registered voters in the latest Economist/YouGov poll, little changed from recent weeks.

Harris leads by four points among likely voters — those who either have voted, say they definitely will vote, or both say they will probably vote and also have voted in either 2020 or 2022.

Nearly all supporters of Harris (97 per cent) and Trump (98 per cent) believe their minds will not change before election day.

Slightly more registered voters say they think Harris will win than say they think Trump will (41 per cent to 37 per cent).

About two-thirds of both Democrats and Republicans say they are very or extremely enthusiastic about voting for president.

Harris leads by 51 per cent to 47 per cent among registered voters choosing only between her and Trump; two per cent say they prefer both equally.

Among likely voters, Harris leads among college graduates, women, and Black and Hispanic Americans; Trump leads among non-college graduates, men, and white Americans.

The poll was conducted between October 12-15, 2024 and 1,624 US adult citizens were surveyed.

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 21:05

1729108381

Trump asked about Harris’s virtues at Univision town hall

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 20:53

1729108201

‘Preposterous’: Armed MAGA fan arrested outside Trump rally sues sheriff

A Las Vegas man who was arrested with two firearms outside a Trump rally in California last weekend insists he was wrongly portrayed as a would-be assassin by the county sheriff, accusing the lawman of cobbling together an entirely phony narrative in a misplaced bid for glory.

Here’s Justin Rohrlich with the full story.

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 20:50

1729108036

Qunnipiac Poll: Trump holds lead in Georgia; Harris ahead in tight North Carolina race

GEORGIA: Trump 52%, Harris 45%, other candidates 2%

NORTH CAROLINA: Harris 49%, Trump 47%, other candidates 1%

NC GOVERNOR RACE: Stein 52%, Robinson 40%, other candidates 4%

In the final weeks of the 2024 presidential race, a snapshot of the state of the race in the key Southeastern swing states of Georgia and North Carolina shows different pictures. In Georgia, former President Donald Trump holds a lead over Vice President Kamala Harris, while in North Carolina Harris is on the upside of a race that is too close to call, according to Quinnipiac University polls of likely voters in each of the two states released today.

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 20:47

1729107421

Watch LIVE: Harris campaigns with Republicans in swing state of Pennsylvania

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 20:37

1729107001

Melania’s collector’s edition memoir includes photo of her first date with Trump

“It was an enjoyable and memorable evening,” Melania Trump said reflecting on the photo.

Ariana Baio reports.

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 20:30

1729106607

Meanwhile, over on Truth Social…

The former president wrote on Truth Social this afternoon:

Kamala’s support is collapsing with Black voters. Inflation is hell. Worse, their cities are being used as illegal alien dumping grounds. If Kamala gets 4 more years, the Black Community loses its political power forever because their neighborhoods will all be majority migrant.

Which sounds like something of a fear-mongering knee-jerk statement given the friendly nature of Harris’s appearance and the comprehensive and thoughtful nature of her answers to questions from the community.

Trump followed that up by posting:

I hope everyone listened yesterday as Bloomberg interviewed me. For over a year, I’ve said China is building giant plants in Mexico. Since they heard about the Tariffs, all work has STOPPED on those plants. I saved Michigan autoworkers. Detroit will thrive if I’m elected!

Here’s CNN’s Daniel Dale with a fact check of his specific remarks in Chicago on Tuesday:

Trump told a story about how he saved US jobs with a tariff threat that got John Deere to declare “yesterday” that it’s killing a plan to move some production to Mexico.

Except there was no yesterday declaration, and Deere says it isn’t killing the plan.

And here’s Gustaf Kilander’s report on part of Trump’s contentious conversation with Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait:

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 20:23

1729105801

DeSantis admin faces lawsuit over ‘coercive threats’ to derail Florida’s abortion rights campaign

An abortion rights campaign in Florida is suing Ron DeSantis’s administration for his “months-long crusade” to derail an upcoming ballot measure that would sink his anti-abortion agenda.

A federal lawsuit filed in Florida on Wednesday accuses state health officials of violating Floridians Protecting Freedom’s First Amendment rights with “coercive” threats to prosecute TV stations that aired its campaign ads — an “escalation” of DeSantis’s broader campaign against Amendment 4.

Alex Woodward has the details.

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 20:10

1729104601

Trump had no sense of ‘who he was talking to’ when he made shocking Harris slur, report says

Joe Sommerlad reports.

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 19:50

1729104001

Full story: Trump bears responsibility for January 6, Jack Smith says in latest election interference filing

Trump is “incorrect” to argue that he is not legally responsible for the attack, according to Smith, who points to his lengthy indictment and evidence that he says “plainly” shows that the former president summoned his supporters to Washington, DC, and directed them to march to the Capitol as part of a pressure campaign to overturn 2020’s election results.

He “willfully caused his supporters to obstruct and attempt to obstruct” a joint session of Congress, then gave them a “false hope” that Vice President Mike Pence would change the outcome, according to Wednesday’s filing.

Read Alex Woodward’s full report.

Oliver O’Connell16 October 2024 19:40

Source: independent.co.uk