Harris leads in two key swing states, new poll shows as Trump’s Brooklyn campaign stop is canceled: Live

WorldPolitics
20 Sep 2024 • 12:46 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Donald Trump delivered his latest rally in Uniondale on Long Island, New York, on Wednesday, pledging to “bring back religion” to thank God for saving his life, and asking New Yorkers to vote for him by saying: “What the hell do you have to lose?”

The Republican nominee also pledged to visit Springfield, Ohio, after he and running mate JD Vance spread a bogus story about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating residents’ pets, inspiring a spate of bomb threats.

Trump has made several stops in New York over the past two days including a visit to cryptocurrency-themed bar PubKey in the West Village, and an appearance on Fox News show Gutfeld! A visit to a kosher deli in Brooklyn was canceled after the sudden death of the owner.

Meanwhile, a fresh poll from Quinnipiac University has placed his Democratic rival Kamala Harris ahead in two key swing states – Pennsylvania and Michigan – and more narrowly ahead in another, Wisconsin.

Elsewhere, Trump has accused Harris of colluding with Iran to spy on his campaign after the FBI revealed Tehran-backed hackers had attempted to pass stolen material onto the Democratic ticket.

Key Points

  • UPDATE: Trump’s Brooklyn visit called off, report says
  • Kamala Harris leads in two swing states but Wisconsin up for grabs, new polls finds
  • Trump asks New Yorkers ‘what have you got to lose’ by voting for him
  • Republican tries to blame Harris after FBI says Iranian hackers sent stolen material to campaign allies
  • JD Vance doubles down on migrant attacks in North Carolina

What does the Fed’s 0.5% interest rate cut mean for the US economy?

17:40

Oliver O'Connell

This morning, Morning Joe economic analyst Steve Rattner took time to walk viewers through what the Federal Reserve slashing the benchmark interest rate means for the US economy.

And how the Fed comes to its decisions regarding rate cuts. It’s worth bearing in mind the Fed Chair Jerome Powell was appointed by Donald Trump.

Here’s our coverage of the news from yesterday:

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Trump vows to visit city where pet-eating rumors originated, despite GOP mayor warning against it

17:30

Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has revealed he will be visiting Springfield, Ohio in the next two weeks after spreading a baseless rumor that Haitian residents are eating pets.

The former president made the announcement at a rally in Uniondale, New York on Wednesday night.

Earlier that day, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, a Republican, revealed he would be “fine” if Trump skipped a visit as “it would be an extreme strain on our resources.” Mayor Rue, City Manager Bryan Heck and Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine have all repeatedly debunked the claim.

Katie Hawkinson reports.

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Watch: Hillary Clinton as bemused as anyone over Republican allegiance to Trump

17:20

Oliver O'Connell

UPDATE: Trump’s Brooklyn visit called off, report says

17:13

Oliver O'Connell

Former President Donald Trump is no longer expected to make a campaign stop in Brooklyn Wednesday after the visit was canceled.

The presidential hopeful was slated to visit Gottlieb’s Restaurant in Williamsburg at some point Thursday, police sources told PIX11 News. The visit was canceled after the owner of the restaurant died, according to reports.

1010WINS reports:

Trump had planned to visit the long-running kosher eatery before the death of R' Shulem Yosef Gottlieb.

Gottlieb, 75, died of a heart attack Thursday, Williamsburg 365 reported.

Vance makes the press part of his show as he doubles down on his attacks on migrants in North Carolina

17:10

Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

A dirty secret about Senator JD Vance that probably would not endear him to the MAGA faithful is that on Capitol Hill, Donald Trump’s running mate is fairly friendly to reporters of all stripes.

The bestselling author is more than comfortable talking to the press and frequently lets reporters ride the elevator with him on his way to votes. Indeed, he’s shown himself willing to go on the Sunday shows to defend Trump and his lie about pets being eaten by Haitian migrants.

But on the campaign trail as Trump’s top surrogate, the Ohio senator does something different.

Continue reading...

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Trump to make campaign stop in Brooklyn

17:04

Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump is expected to soon make another campaign stop in New Yorkm following his rally on Long Island last night.

PIX11 News reports that the former president and Republican presidential nominee will visit Gottlieb’s Restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The network cites police sources.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff made a campaign stop at the same establishment, on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris, on Wednesday.

The restaurant is a longstanding Kosher deli and a staple of the South Williamsburg neighborhood which has a large Jewish community.

Bartiromo peddles wild conspiracy about Trump shooting attempt and Diddy’s arrest

16:50

Oliver O'Connell

Fox News host Maria Bartiromo has peddled a wild, baseless conspiracy theory that connects the arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs with the latest attempt on Donald Trump’s life.

The 54-year-old hip-hop mogul was arrested on Monday and is now being held in a notorious Brooklyn jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

His arrest came just over 24 hours after suspected gunman Ryan Wesley Routh is accused of aiming an assault rifle through the fence of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf resort while the former president enjoyed a round on the course.

James Liddell reports.

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IRAN, IRAN, IRAN: Trump rages at Iranian hack revelations asking when Harris will go before grand jury

16:35

Oliver O'Connell

This summer, Iranian hackers sent materials stolen from the Trump campaign to people associated with the Biden campaign as well as media outlets, according to US law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

“There is currently no information indicating those recipients replied,” the agencies added.

Donald Trump has seized on this revelation, telling a rally on Long Island last night that Presiden Joe Biden was “working with Iran” and then this morning, posting on Truth Social:

“WHEN DOES KAMALA AND HER CAMPAIGN GO BEFORE A GRAND JURY ON IRAN, IRAN, IRAN? MY CAMPAIGN WHEN THROUGH HELL ON THE RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX. THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE IRAN/KAMALA CAMPAIGN CORRUPTION CASE IS REAL!”

His campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said yesterday in a statement: “This is further proof the Iranians are actively interfering in the election to help Kamala Harris and Joe Biden because they know President Trump will restore his tough sanctions and stand against their reign of terror. Kamala and Biden must come clean on whether they used the hacked material given to them by the Iranians to hurt President Trump. What did they know and when did they know it?”

Here’s Josh Marcus’s full report on the hack:

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16:30

Oliver O'Connell

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Weekly applications for US jobless benefits fall to the lowest level in 4 months

16:10

AP

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in four months last week.

Jobless claims slid by 12,000, to 219,000, for the week of Sept. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than economists’ expectations for 230,000 new filings.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits, considered largely representative of layoffs, had risen moderately since May before this week’s decline. Though still at historically healthy levels, the recent increase signaled that high interest rates may finally be taking a toll on the labor market.

In response to weakening employment data and receding consumer prices, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by a half of a percentage point as the central bank shifts its focus from taming inflation toward supporting the job market. The Fed’s goal is to achieve a rare “soft landing,” whereby it curbs inflation without causing a recession.

Continue reading...

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Watch: Kellyanne Conway says election will come down to ‘not just enraging voters but engaging them'

16:00

Oliver O'Connell

Vance boasts he’ll keep calling Springfield Haitians ‘illegal aliens’ even though he knows they aren’t

15:50

Oliver O'Connell

Sounding totally like someone who voters should trust, JD Vance has said he will continue to call Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio “illegal” aliens despite knowing that they’re here legally.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

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Harris to meet Zelensky next week, report says

15:49

Oliver O'Connell

Per CNN:

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, DC, next week, according to three sources familiar with the planning.

The meeting comes amid concerns over the impact the American election results will have on the Russia-Ukraine war and US policy toward Ukraine as it seeks additional resources.

Asked Wednesday whether Harris will meet with Zelensky next week, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby suggested she might if the opportunity presented itself.

Harris has met face to face with the Ukrainian president on a couple of occasions as well as spoken to him by phone. Donald Trump said he would “probably” meet with Zelensky next week — which would be their first in-person meeting since Trump left office and since and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Harris will also join President Joe Biden on Monday for a meeting with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, at the White House to discuss ongoing tensions in the Middle East, the crisis in Sudan and other bilateral and regional matters.

Watch: Hillary Clinton weighs in on election as ‘contest between freedom and oppression'

15:30

Oliver O'Connell

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has weighed in on the state of the 2024 election during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, calling it: “A contest between freedom and oppression, democracy and autocracy, bringing people together and further dividing us.”

She added: “And that's what has to be communicated every single day between now and the election."

Regarding Donald Trump, she said: “Now the stakes are even higher because he has a record. We have seen him try to abuse power... And in addition to that, he's told us what he's going to do.”

15:20

Oliver O'Connell

Producers edited The Apprentice to stop Trump ‘from looking moronic’

15:10

Joe Sommerlad

I’m not sure they entirely succeeded.

Gustaf Kilander has more.

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Watch: Nigel Farage says there’s some truth in Trump’s claim Haitian migrants are eating pets

14:50

Joe Sommerlad

Oh well if the Pied Piper of Brexit says it...

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Trump now boasts he pulls in bigger crowds than Elvis – despite not having a guitar

14:30

Joe Sommerlad

James Liddell has more on Trump again claiming he’s bigger than the King by, you guessed it, obsessing insanely over crowd sizes.

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Mystery as Trump rally attendees report bizarre eye burning symptoms post-event

14:10

Joe Sommerlad

Several people who attended Trump’s rally in Tuscon, Arizona, last week have since reported suffering bizarre eye burning symptoms in the event’s aftermath.

Six rallygoers who were all sat in the section directly behind the former president during the gathering on Thursday September 12 told News 4 that they subsequently had to seek medical attention after experiencing eye irritation.

Myriam Page reports.

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‘Crypto president’ Trump buys cheeseburger with bitcoin in NYC campaign stop

13:50

Joe Sommerlad

This was the Republican presidential nominee yesterday, attempting to promote his new World Liberty Financial venture by buying himself a burger with a digital coin – he’s certainly come a long way since declaring cryptocurrency “a scam”, “not money” and “based on thin air” in 2019.

New mugshot shows Trump’s suspected would-be assassin half-smiling at camera

13:30

Joe Sommerlad

Madeline Sherratt has the latest on Ryan Wesley Routh.

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More than 100 former Republican officials back Harris over Trump in damning letter

13:10

Joe Sommerlad

A group of more than 100 prominent former officials who served in Republican administrations have endorsed Kamala Harris in a scathing letter that claims Donald Trump is “unfit to serve again as president, or indeed in any office of public trust.”

The letter, obtained by The New York Times, counts signatories including former defense secretaries Chuck Hagel and William Cohen, former CIA directors Michael Hayden and William Webster and former Trump administration officials Miles Taylor and Olivia Troye, among others.

The signatories admit they probably disagree with Harris on a number of issues but argue that Trump’s affinity for strongmen and behavior on January 6 disqualifies him from serving again.

“As president, he promoted daily chaos in government, praised our enemies and undermined our allies, politicized the military and disparaged our veterans, prioritized his personal interest above American interests, and betrayed our values, democracy, and this country’s founding documents,” the letter reads.

Josh Marcus has more.

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House Speaker rebuked as his Trump-bait funding bill fails to pass Republican-controlled House

12:50

Joe Sommerlad

Mike Johnson pushed ahead with his doomed bid to avert a government shutdown on Wednesday, despite clear signs that the legislation was unpalatable to both conservatives in his own party as well as the Democrats who control the upper chamber of Congress.

The House voted early yesterday evening on a continuing resolution to keep the government open, laden with giveaways to the conservative right.

Those included spending cuts and a piece of legislation stapled to the broader package aimed at preventing non-citizens from voting in federal elections – something that is already illegal.

Johnson of course, admitted this in a recent interview and has evaded acknowledging that Donald Trump’s claims of massive numbers of undocumented immigrants voting are false.

“This is the play we’re running,” the Speaker told The Hill this week. “I’ll be working around the clock to try to get it done.”

His failure was evident as the vote occurred shortly before 7pm last night. The yeas trailed the nays by 18 votes, with two members voting present.

Johnson said afterwards he was “disappointed” with the outcome but refused to criticize his own strategy – and was given a surprisingly hard time about it by Sean Hannity on Fox.

Here’s John Bowden with a full report.

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Trump says audience ‘went crazy’ for him at his debate with Harris... but there was no audience

12:30

Joe Sommerlad

Here’s Myriam Page with more on the candidate’s bizarre comment to Greg Gutfeld last night about the wild reaction he misremembers receiving from the entirely non-existent crowd in Philadelphia last Tuesday.

There’s exhaustion and understandable forgetfulness and then there’s complete divorce from reality and cognitive decline.

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Josh Shapiro suffers embarrassing fail when promoting new canned cocktails law – as he forgets his ID

12:10

Joe Sommerlad

Pennsylvania’s Governor suffered an embarrassing fail when he tried to promote a new state law allowing customers to buy canned alcoholic cocktails from convenience stores – but forgot his ID.

The 51-year-old – who had been in the running to join Kamala Harris on the Democratic party ticket before Tim Walz was selected as her running mate – paid a visit to Duncannon Rutter’s gas station in Central Pennsylvania this week.

Under the new bipartisan liquor legislation, signed last month, the sale of canned cocktails has been expanded up to 12.5 per cent ABV, meaning that convenience stores, grocery stores, gas stations and hotels can now sell the drinks to customers to consume off premises.

But, Shapiro found himself being possibly one of the first consumers in the state to be denied a canned alcoholic cocktail under the new law.

Rhian Lubin has this one.

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Police force gifts Trump signed handcuffs used to arrest assassination attempt suspect

11:50

Joe Sommerlad

The Martin County deputies who detained the suspect in the second assassination attempt against Trump on Sunday have signed the handcuffs used in the arrest and gifted them to the candidate.

Here’s Gustaf Kilander on this ridiculous gesture.

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JD Vance boasts he’ll keep calling Haitians ‘illegal aliens’

11:30

Joe Sommerlad

Trump’s running mate has suggested that he will continue to call Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, “illegal” aliens despite knowing that they’re here legally.

During a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday, Vance was asked what would happen to migrants in the country under the Temporary Protected Status program, such as many of those in Springfield, during a possible second Trump administration.

The Republican vice presidential nominee was also asked how the administration would go about deporting migrants in the country legally.

“The media loves to say that the Haitian migrants hundreds of thousands of them, by the way, 20,000 in Springfield, but hundreds of thousands of them all across the country, they are here legally,” Vance said.

“And what they mean is that Kamala Harris used two separate programs, mass parole and temporary protective status... to wave a wand and to say, ‘We're not going to deport those people here.’”

He added: “Well, if Kamala Harris waves the wand illegally and says these people are now here legally, I'm still going to call them an illegal alien. And illegal action from Kamala Harris does not make an alien legal. That is not how this works.”

What a charming individual he is.

Gustaf Kilander has more.

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Trump tries to blame Harris after FBI says Iranian hackers sent stolen material to campaign allies

11:10

Joe Sommerlad

The Republican nominee has accused Harris of colluding with Iran to spy on his campaign after the FBI revealed Tehran-backed hackers had attempted to pass stolen material onto the Democratic ticket.

This is what he had to say about it on Truth Social, and before that, on Long Island:

Josh Marcus has this report.

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Trump still in denial about disastrous debate performance

10:50

Joe Sommerlad

Also last night, Donald Trump dropped in to Greg Gutfeld’s show on Fox News (a rare, in-person appearance), joking at one point that he could have taken out would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Routh, who invaded his golf course on Sunday, with his 3-wood.

Otherwise, the Republican was busy bemoaning NBC’s handling of his debate and insisting, fancifully, that he actually did rather well.

Here’s more from James Liddell.

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First Trump said Haitian migrants in Ohio were ‘eating the pets’. Now he says they’re ‘destroying America’

10:30

Joe Sommerlad

One last one from Uniondale: Trump also pledged last night that he would visit Springfield, Ohio, after he and running mate JD Vance spread a bogus story about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating residents’ pets, inspiring a spate of bomb threats.

Even the town’s Republican mayor has said he would be “fine” with his party’s nominee not coming.

Here’s Gustaf Kilander again.

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Trump hints he hasn’t read Melania’s new book: ‘If she says bad things about me, don’t buy it’

10:10

Joe Sommerlad

Getting in a little cross-promotion on stage in Uniondale last night, Donald Trump admitted he had not read his wife’s expensive new memoir Melania ($250 for the “Collector’s Edition”!), a rare example of him speaking honestly in public.

Here’s more from Gustaf Kilander.

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Trump asked New Yorkers ‘what have you got to lose’ by voting for him. The answers came thick and fast

09:50

Joe Sommerlad

The Republican nominee issued the following appeal to his fellow New York natives last night, also pledging to finally fix the city’s rickety subway.

He was met with cheers at the venue but, online, the response was rather different.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

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Harris leads in two swing states but Wisconsin up for grabs, new polls finds

09:20

Joe Sommerlad

The Democratic presidential nominee leads Donald Trump by six points in Pennsylvania and five in Michigan but just one Wisconsin, according to the latest survey from Quinnipiac University.

Kamala Harris is up 51 per cent to 45 per cent in Pennsylvania, 50 per cent to 45 per cent in Michigan and 48 per cent to 47 per cent in Wisconsin, the poll reports.

On the issues, Trump is marginally ahead on the economy and immigration but narrowly behind on preserving democracy and trust in a crisis and way behind on abortion, Quinnipiac found.

“Three crucial swing states wave a red flag at the Trump campaign,” the institution’s polling analyst Tim Malloy writes.

“The GOP’s most ‘go to’ attack strategies against Democrats on immigration and the economy may be losing momentum. Likely voters now see little daylight, in most cases, between Harris and Trump on who can best handle those key issues.”

Here’s Alicja Hagopian on all the latest election polling.

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Highlights from Trump’s New York rally

09:00

Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

Here are some of the most eyebrow-raising moments from Donald Trump’s rally in Uniondale on Long Island last night, at which the Republican presidential nominee claimed he was “going to bring back religion” to thank God for saving his life twice, indulged his narcissism by suggesting he was a bigger star than Elvis Presley, attacked “radical left” Kamala Harris over her rhetoric (sigh), rehashed his 2020 election denials, pledged to visit poor old Springfield, Ohio, and stumbled over his lines – frequently.