Kamala Harris has pledged to appoint a Republican to her cabinet, if elected president, and has brushed off Donald Trump’s attempts to question her biracial identity during her first interview since becoming the Democratic nominee.
In the joint interview with her running mate Tim Walz in Georgia, Harris told CNN that her “values” have not changed despite some reversals on key policy positions surrounding immigration and fracking.
The vice president has made significant gains among key voting groups and holds a five-point lead nationally over Donald Trump, according to the latest USA Today/Suffolk University poll, the first conducted by the group since the Democratic National Convention.
Meanwhile, her Republican rival continues to face backlash over his recent visit to the Arlington National Cemetery after his campaign team filmed around the graves of fallen US soldiers for a TikTok video.
Trump’s running mate JD Vance — who said Harris should “go to hell” over the Biden administration’s military withdrawal from Afghanistan — denied that a staff member verbally abused and pushed aside a cemetery official during a wreath-laying ceremony for the 13 fallen service members who were killed in a terror attack at the Kabul airport in 2021.
Key Points
- Watch Live: Trump visits a steel plant in Potterville, Michigan
- Harris and Walz to sit for unscripted CNN interview tonight
- Harris surges ahead of Trump in latest USA Today poll taken after DNC
- Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance campaign: Today’s schedules
- The interviews Harris bombed as VP — and why her CNN appearance might be different
- Trump faces fresh backlash as he posts TikTok video of Arlington cemetery incident
00:40
Mike Bedigan
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 29, 2024
Watch Live: Trump holds a town hall event in La Crosse, Wisconsin
00:30
Mike Bedigan
Watch: Trump says Florida abortion ban at six weeks is ‘too short’
00:13
Mike Bedigan
Kamala Harris heckled by Gaza protester during Georgia campaign speech
23:45
Mike Bedigan
Why Trump might have trouble cashing in on Truth Social billions
23:20
Mike Bedigan
Donald Trump could have trouble cashing in on his $2.3 billion stake in Truth Social when it frees up next month, a new report reveals.
Katie Hawkinson examines why that might be:
Harris and Walz to sit for first unscripted campaign interview on CNN tonight
23:00
Mike Bedigan
Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will sit down for their first unscripted interview together since the pair stepped on the Democratic ticket.
Harris has been on the campaign trail for weeks and has yet to give a formal interview or press conference.
But tonight (August 29), the vice president and her running mate will make a primetime appearance as they are quizzed by Dana Bash.
The interview will be aired at 9pm ET from Georgia, as the Walz-Harris campaign tour bus ploughs throw the Peach State.
It marks the next major test in their bid for the White House as the pair ride high of the back of the Democratic National Convention last week and, separately, offers an opportunity to shut down dissenters.
The vice president has faced flak from a sea of Republicans - with lines of attack often spearheaded by former President Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance.
Earlier this month at a Wisconsin rally, the Ohio governor called it “disgraceful” that Harris “refuses to take a single question from the American media”.
Watch: Kamala Harris speech interrupted by Gaza protester
22:51
Mike Bedigan
Fox News cuts from Trump to Harris
22:35
Mike Bedigan
Fox News, a network typically pro-Donald Trump has cut away from the former president’s remarks in Michigan in order to cover Kamala Harris,
The vice president began speaking in Savannah, Georgia, shortly after Trump began speaking and has since wrapped up her remarks, while he continues.
Trump says he’ll require insurance to cover IVF or the government will pay
22:30
Mike Bedigan
At his rally in Michigan, Donald Trump said that his administration would mandate that insurance companies cover the costs of IVF treatment, and that new parents would be able to deduct newborn expenses from their taxes.
“I’m announcing today, in a major statement. that under the Turmp ad your government will pay for or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment for women,” he said.
“Because we want more babies, to put it very nicely. We will also allow new parents to deduct newborn expenses from their taxes so that parents that have a beautiful baby will be able... we’re pro family – no one has ever said that before.”
He added: “The IVF treatments are expensive, it’s very hard for people to do it and to get it but i’ve been in favor of IVF from the beginning. If you talk to them [Democrats], they’ll saw ooh ... like I’m against it. It’s just the opposite. By comparison they’re against it, I’m totally in favor of it.”
Watch live: Kamala Harris holds rally in battleground Georgia
22:22
Mike Bedigan
Microphones will be off during Trump-Harris debate
22:15
Mike Bedigan
Details about the upcoming and highly anticipated debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on September 10, broadcast on ABC, have reportedly between the two camps, with no notes allowed, and microphones muted while the candidates are not speaking.
According to NPR, during a press call on Thursday, Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski said that the mic issue had been resolved.
“We’ve worked that out. … The debate will be standing. There will be no notes allowed, and the microphones will be off. That’s what has been agreed to. ABC is aware of that, and that’s where we’ll be in just over a week,” he said.
Harris campaign official Brian Fallon previously claimed that Trump’s handlers “don’t trust” the former president to debate Harris with an unmuted mic. The Trump campaign “are asking ABC to ignore Trump’s comments and keep the mics muted or else they will back out of the debate for a third time,” Fallon wrote on X.
“We have been asked to accede to Trump’s handlers’ wishes on this point for the sake of preserving the debate. We find the Trump’s team’s stance to be weak, and remain in discussions with ABC on the final rules.”
Update: Our latest understanding is that even though Trump said Monday he would be fine with an unmuted mic, his handlers don’t trust him to spar live with VP Harris and are asking ABC to ignore Trump’s comments and keep the mics muted or else they will back out of the debate for…
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) August 29, 2024
Harris says she would appoint a Republican to her cabinet as she explains her policy reversals to CNN
22:00
Mike Bedigan
In her first sit-down interview since becoming the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris brushed off Donald Trump’s attempt to question her biracial identity (“same old tired playbook”) and said that her “values” have not changed despite some reversals on key policy positions surrounding immigration and fracking.
“My values have not changed. So that is the reality of it,” she told CNN’s Dana Bash from a diner in Savannah, Georgia on Thursday as the vice president and her running mate Tim Walz tour the state.
“And four years of being vice president, I’ll tell you, one of the aspects, to your point, is traveling the country extensively,” Harris added. “I believe it is important to build consensus, and it is important to find a common place of understanding of where we can actually solve problems.”
She also said she plans to appoint a Republican to her cabinet, if elected.
“I’ve got 68 days to go with this election, so I’m not putting the cart before the horse,” she said. “But I would, I think. I think it’s really important. I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican.”
The CNN excerpt served as a preview ahead of the joint interview with Harris and Walz set to air on the network at 9 pm ET.
Trump attacks his old foe Biden again
21:45
Mike Bedigan
Donald Trump kicked off his remarks in Michigan by once again laying into his former opponent Joe Biden, in a rambling broadside.
“Do we even have a president?” he asked the crowds. “He just got back from California, he was supposed to go to the White House, he never got there. He went to Delaware and he’s lying on a beach sleeping all day... who the hell wants to sleep in public?
“Do you think president Xi of China is at a beach sleeping? Do you think Kim Jong Un is sleeping, from North Korea, with his nuclear weapons all over the place – they don’t sleep very much.”
Trump arrives in Michigan
21:32
Mike Bedigan
Donald Trump has arrived onstage in Potterville, Michigan.
The Republican presidential nominee is visiting a steel plant where he is addressing workers.
Watch Live: Trump visits a steel plant in Potterville, Michigan
20:51
Mike Bedigan
US Department of Defense considers incident with Trump campaign at Arlington ‘closed'
20:45
Mike Bedigan
.@DeptofDefense Spokesperson @sabrinasingh24 on altercation at @ArlingtonNatl between Trump campaign staff and a cemetery staff member: "What happened earlier this week is very unfortunate...We stand behind the Army in considering this matter closed." pic.twitter.com/1N4ghCa4rX
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 29, 2024
Watch: JD Vance gets booed by firefighters during convention speech in Boston
20:25
Mike Bedigan
Brentwood locals joke about Harris’s presence in their neighborhood
20:05
Oliver O'Connell
Vice President Kamala Harris’ neighbors are divided over the fanfare that accompanies the Democratic nominee when she stays at her Los Angeles area home.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Teachers union president fires back at JD Vance’s ‘nonsensical’ comments about her
19:45
Oliver O'Connell
The American Federation of Teachers President shot back at Senator JD Vance for his unearthed comments about educators — in which he mentioned her by name.
Vance called out AFT President Randi Weingarten in an unearthed 2021 interview and said that teachers who don’t have biological children “really disorients” and “really disturbs” him.
“[S]he doesn’t have a single child,” Vance said of Weingarten. “If she wants to brainwash and destroy the minds of children, she should have some of her own and leave ours the hell alone.”
Weingarten is now hitting back at the Ohio senator and GOP candidate for vice president.
Katie Hawkinson reports.
All the lies Trump has told about Harris – and her claims about him
19:25
Joe Sommerlad
Ever since President Joe Biden announced he would not be seeking a second term after all, Donald Trump has been left reeling by the rise and rise of Kamala Harris, who has picked up the Democratic party’s nomination and made major gains in the polls.
As a result, the former president and his running mate JD Vance have resorted to childish nicknames, from “Laughin’ Kamala” and “Kamabla” to “Tampon Tim” for Harris’s vice presidential pick Tim Walz, and attacks including a number of false claims about the vice president – both about her personal life and her political record.
The vice president and Walz meanwhile have also been landing blows on Trump and Vance, branding them “weird” and leveling claims about what a future under a second Trump administration could look like.
Here’s a look at some of the lies Trump has told about Harris so far – and her claims about him:
Analysis: The polls look good for Harris — and the Trump campaign just told on itself
19:05
Oliver O'Connell
Eric Garcia writes:
A series of new polls shows that Vice President Kamala Harris has either a slight lead in swing states or has closed the gap in others.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll out on Thursday shows Harris with a five-point lead aganst Donald Trump, an eight-point turnaround from a June survey that showed President Joe Biden trailing. Specifically, she saw huge shifts to the point that she now has an impressive 23-point lead with people who earn $20,000 or less. Trump previously had a three-point lead in that demographic.
Of course, national surveys mean little, given the Electoral College. But Harris has shown vast improvement in numerous battleground states.
Continue reading...
Former Trump lawyer predicts ex-president will serve six-to-nine years behind bars if convicted of Jan 6 charges
18:45
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump’s former White House lawyer anticipated that he would be sentenced to six to nine years if convicted for his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment against the former president on Tuesday, keeping the same four criminal charges intact but trimming down some of the allegations in light of the Supreme Court’s immunity decision last month. In the wake of the new filing, Ty Cobb, an attorney in the Trump administration, discussed Trump’s chances of spending time behind bars on CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront.
“It’s a forceful document…You can’t read this and not understand the crimes that Trump actually committed,” Cobb said.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
18:25
Oliver O'Connell
US economic growth for last quarter is revised up to a solid 3% annual rate
18:15
AP
The US economy grew last quarter at a healthy 3% annual pace, fueled by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday in an upgrade of its initial assessment.
The Commerce Department had previously estimated that the nation’s gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services — expanded at a 2.8% rate from April through June.
The second-quarter growth marked a sharp acceleration from a sluggish 1.4% growth rate in the first three months of 2024.
Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, rose at a 2.9% annual rate last quarter. That was up from 2.3% in the government’s initial estimate. Business investment expanded at a 7.5% rate, led by a 10.8% jump in investment in equipment.
Thursday’s report reflected an economy that remains resilient despite the pressure of continued high interest rates. The state of the economy is weighing heavily on voters ahead of the November presidential election. Many Americans remain exasperated by high prices even though inflation has plummeted since peaking at a four-decade high in mid-2022.
Zuckerberg threatened with life in prison by Trump in new book
18:05
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has threatened to imprison Mark Zuckerberg for life if the Meta chief executive attempts to “plot against” him in the upcoming presidential election.
The former president has repeatedly claimed – without evidence – that the tech tycoon intervened in the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden, which saw the Democratic inaugurated on January 20, 2021.
Now, in his upcoming book Save America, Trump has declared that Zuckerberg will “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he tries to cross him before Americans cast their votes on November 5.
James Liddell has the story.
17:45
Oliver O'Connell
JD Vance turns Trump’s Arlington National Cemetery scandal into attack on Harris: ‘Go to hell'
17:35
Oliver O'Connell
Senator JD Vance said Vice President Kamala Harris can “go to Hell” at a recent campaign event.
Vance’s comments came during a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania on Wednesday afternoon while speaking about President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021.
“Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won’t even do an investigation into what happened and she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up, she can go to Hell,” Vance said at the campaign rally.
Katie Hawkinson reports.
Watch LIVE: JD Vance addresses a firefighter’s convention
17:20
Oliver O'Connell
Steve Bannon makes new bid for bail from prison
17:15
Oliver O'Connell
Trump ally Steve Bannon is making a new attempt to get bail while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction.
The US Supreme Court previously declined to hear the case.
The DC Circuit has not yet ruled on his request to have his appeal reheard en banc after a panel denied him bail in June.
Bannon is asking for release on bail while he appeals his case, for supervised release, or a sentence reduction.
Here’s our earlier reporting on the case by Alex Woodward and Gustaf Kilander:
Harris releases Spanish language ad about border security
17:05
Oliver O'Connell
As also includes the most niche but well targeted issue I have ever seen for border residents:
— Julio-César Chávez (@JulioCesrChavez) August 29, 2024
Trump made the bridge lines longer
The interviews Harris bombed as VP — and why her CNN appearance might be different
16:45
Oliver O'Connell
John Bowden writes:
On Thursday, Kamala Harris will sit down with CNN and her running mate, Tim Walz, for their first joint interview since the pair were officially nominated by their party.
It will be Harris’s first sit-down interview with a cable news outlet in months — and you better believe they’ll be watching at Mar-a-Lago.
Thursday’s interview presents the first post-convention challenge for the vice president, who already passed one hurdle with her selection of Walz as a running mate. That selection ended up wowing both progressives and centrists in her party; even anti-Trump conservatives who say they are voting for Harris this year seem to be on board.
But the interview is another ballgame.
Continue reading...
Trump wish CNN’s Dana Bash ‘good luck’ ahead of Harris-Walz interview and encourage her to ‘do the right thing'
16:25
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump says today’s CNN interview with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz is anchor Dana Bash’s chance to achieve “REAL stardom” and do a “great service to our now failing Country”.
All she has to do, according to the former president, is to give “a fair but tough interview of Comrade Kamala Harris, she will expose her as being totally inept and ill suited for the job of President” — just as he says he did with Joe Biden in their debate.
He also wants Governor Tim Walz to not be present and for the transcript to be released with no changes.
Here’s what Trump wrote on Truth Social this morning:
Dana Bash of CNN has a chance at greatness today. If she gave a fair but tough interview of Comrade Kamala Harris, she will expose her as being totally inept and ill suited for the job of President, much as I exposed Crooked Joe Biden during our now famous Debate. How cool would that be for Dana and CNN??? Also, the interview should not have Tampon Tim present to help with the inevitable Kamala stumbles, and under no circumstances should the transcript be allowed to be changed in any way, shape, or form. Dana and Jake were fair, but firm, in my CNN Debate with Crooked Joe. This is a chance for Dana Bash to reach REAL stardom, while at the same time doing a great service to our now failing Country. Good luck, Dana, do the right thing!!! DJT
Boebert challenger invites her to debate at infamous Beetlejuice theater
16:20
Oliver O'Connell
The Democrat running against Colorado RepublicanLauren Boebert challenged her to a debate at the scene of the scandalous Beetlejuice incident.
Trisha Calvarese invited Boebert to a televised debate at the Buell Theatre, the Denver venue where the congresswoman was kicked out during the musical Beetlejuice last September after vaping, singing, taking flash photos and groping her date.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
US Army spokesperson comments on Trump Arlington National Cemetery incident
16:08
Oliver O'Connell
A spokesperson for the US Army says participants in the Trump event at Arlington National Cemetery “were made aware of federal laws” regarding political activity and then “abruptly pushed” an employee of the site.
“This incident was unfortunate ... the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.”
NEW: US Army spokesperson says participants in event at Arlington Cemetery "were made aware of federal laws" re: political activity & "abruptly pushed" employee.
— Haley Britzky (@halbritz) August 29, 2024
"This incident was unfortunate ... the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked." pic.twitter.com/bRdoQ6HGKD
JD Vance can’t escape his ‘childless cat ladies’ comment, even when he tries to use it to his advantage...
16:02
Oliver O'Connell
JD Vance has tried yet again to make light of his “childless cat ladies” comment – and it’s instantly backfired.
Donald Trump’s running mate has come under fire in recent weeks after his 2021 comments calling Democrats, including Kamala Harris, “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives” resurfaced and went viral.
This week, in an attempt at a light-hearted post about the controversy, the Ohio senator shared a photo of a cat wearing a “Cats for Vance 2024” bandana.
It did not go well, as Rhian Lubin reports.
Trump pushes nonsense theories about climate and nuclear weapons
15:40
Oliver O'Connell
While analysts debate whether his opponent is pivoting to the center after being elevated to the position of Democratic nominee, Donald Trump is showing no signs of doing so.
Instead, he’s falling back on an old favorite: wild tales supposed to illustrate the folly of liberalism around the issue of climate change and environmentalism. The ex-president did so in two interviews this week, one with a conservative podcaster and another as he delivered a rally-esque diatribe to a one-man audience of Dr Phil on Tuesday.
First came his explanation for why temperatures are warming and the Earth’s climate is now observably headed in one direction: nuclear weapons.
Huh?
John Bowden reports.
ICYMI: Top GOP donor blasts ‘self-destructive’ Trump for adding ‘anti-vax kook’ RFK Jr to transition team
15:00
Oliver O'Connell
A notable Republican donor heavily criticized Donald Trump for choosing “fringe” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to his presidential transition team, warning it would narrow his base.
Eric Levine, a New York-based attorney who once backed Tim Scott and Nikki Haley’s respective presidential campaigns, sent an email titled “Is Trump Trying to Lose?” following the announcement from Trump’s campaign on Tuesday.
“It is hard to imagine a more self-destructive announcement,” Levine wrote in the email obtained by a reporter from Jewish Insider.
Ariana Baio has the story.
Ari Melber threatens Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski with defamation lawsuit over ‘false quote’
14:40
Oliver O'Connell
MSNBC host Ari Melber threatened Donald Trump campaign advisor Corey Lewandowski with a defamation lawsuit during a heated spat live on air on Wednesday night.
Lewandowski, who joined Trump’s presidential campaign team just two weeks ago after he was fired from his campaign in 2016, appeared on Wednesday’s episode of The Beat to speak about the Republican nominee’s stance on abortion, RFK Jr’s endorsement, and vaccines.
But, surprisingly it was a different topic of discussion that led to a fiery exchange, after the campaign advisor targeted Melber for his reporting about the Republican National Convention last month.
Myriam Page reports.
Why Kamala Harris’s new strategy focuses on rural Georgia
14:20
Oliver O'Connell
Eric Garcia writes:
On Wednesday evening, Vice President Kamala Harris will make her first big swing through Georgia with her running mate, Tim Walz .
President Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by the narrowest of margins. Democrats flipped the two Senate seats in the runoff races in 2021 and Raphael Warnock held his seat in the 2022 midterm. So it’s no surprise Harris is concentrating on the state today.
Democrats are also making a play for other Southern states like North Carolina and even Florida, which has become a laboratory for MAGA. Some polling shows that Harris has a slight lead there, while other surveys show a lead for Trump.
Continue reading...
Kristi Noem claims Walz on CNN interview to interject if Harris starts ‘giggling’ or ‘looking crazy’
14:10
Oliver O'Connell
Kristi Noem says Kamala Harris is doing the interview with Tim Walz in case she starts “giggling” or “looking crazy” pic.twitter.com/jrjOHqDOTf
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 29, 2024
Harris surges ahead of Trump in latest USA Today poll taken after DNC
13:55
Oliver O'Connell
Kamala Harris has surged ahead of Donald Trump, 48 percent to 43 percent in a new USA Today/Suffolk University Poll that was conducted after the Democratic National Convention.
This is an eight-point turnaround in the presidential race from late June, when Trump led President Joe Biden in the survey by nearly four points.
Per USA Today:
The vice president’s small lead was fueled by big shifts among some key demographic groups traditionally crucial for Democrats, including Hispanic and Black voters and young people. Among those with annual incomes of less than $20,000, in the biggest change, a three-point Trump edge over Biden in June has become a 23-point Harris advantage over Trump in August.
The poll of 1,000 likely voters, taken by landline and cell phone Sunday through Wednesday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. With the election approaching, the survey is now measuring likely voters; previous polls were of registered voters.
Harris has succeeded in doing what Biden never could this year: Lead Trump.
David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, said: “With the 'Brat Summer' of Kamala Harris emojis winding down, young people, persons of color, and low-income households have swung dramatically toward the vice president.”
He added: “These same demographics were emphasized and woven together by numerous speakers at the convention.”
Some of the biggest shifts since the June poll, which fall outside the poll's margin of error, include:
- Voters 18 to 34 years old previously supported Trump by 11 points and now back Harris by 13 points (49%-36%)
- Hispanic voters, who have been heavily courted by the Trump campaign, moved from supporting Trump by two points to supporting Harris by 16 points (53%-37%)
- Black voters, one of the Democrats’ traditional core constituencies, shifted from supporting Biden by a 47-point margin to supporting Harris by 64 points (76%-12%)
- Lower-income voters now support Harris by a margin of 23 points (58%-35%)
X’s AI tool Grok ‘lacks effective guardrails preventing election disinformation'
13:40
James Liddell
X’s artificial intelligence assistant Grok lacks “effective guardrails” that would stop users from creating “potentially misleading images” about 2024 candidates or election information, according to a new study.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) studied Grok’s ability to transform prompts about election fraud and candidates into images.
It found that the tool was able to churn out “convincing images” after being given prompts, including one AI image of Vice President Kamala Harris doing drugs and another of former president Donald Trumplooking sick in bed.
Kelly Rissman has the details.
Trump faces fresh backlash as he posts campaign video filmed at Arlington cemetery
13:20
James Liddell
Donald Trump is facing a fresh wave of backlash over his controversial incident at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, after he posted a campaign video on TikTok featuring footage from the visit.
This week, the former president has sparked fury from veterans, military groups, and
