With less than a week to go in the US presidential election race, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are making their final pitches to voters.
The Democratic presidential nominee has hit back at her Republican rival after he vowed to “protect” women “whether the women like it or not” at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
“Donald Trump thinks he should get to make decisions about what you do with your body. Whether you like it or not,” Harris posted on X.
In a bizarre stunt prior to his speech, Trump had posed in a garbage truck dressed as a sanitation worker in an attempt to troll Harris and Joe Biden after the latter allegedly called MAGA voters “garbage” in anger over comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s already-notorious Madison Square Garden joke about Puerto Rico.
The publicity gimmick was not entirely a success, with Trump struggling to climb into the waste collection vehicle’s cab, looking ridiculous in a high-visibility vest and spending time circling the airport tarmac to no obvious end.
The latest swing state polling meanwhile puts Harris narrowly ahead in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Key Points
- Kamala Harris campaign hits back at Donald Trump’s vow to ‘protect’ women ‘whether the women like it or not’
- Trump prolongs uproar over Puerto Rico slur with garbage truck stunt
- Elon Musk fails to show up in court for $1m sweepstakes hearing
- Harris leads Trump in Wisconsin and Michigan in latest polling
- VP shuts down pro-Palestinian protester
Two-thirds of Americans are anxious about the election, new poll finds
16:40
Joe Sommerlad
Most Americans are anxious and frustrated right now but also gripped by the campaign for the White House as it enters its final days, according to a new poll.
While Democrats and Republicans largely have similar emotions about the upcoming showdown, the former are more likely to be anxious compared to their conservative counterparts, according to the AP-NORC poll.
Gustaf Kilander has more.
‘I went trick-or-treating with the Bidens. The scariest thing there was the president’
16:25
Joe Sommerlad
Our White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg just returned from a Halloween visit at the White House – and a tough talk with some anxious Democratic operatives.
Jake Paul endorses Trump
16:10
Joe Sommerlad
You probably already know whether this matters to you but, if not, here’s the social media personality and boxer explaining himself – and admitting to being nervous about what his decision might mean for his career if it doesn’t pay off.
Mike Johnson denies saying what he was caught on camera saying
15:55
Joe Sommerlad
“They” are always “taking things out of context” aren’t they?
I think this reading from Harris’s spokesperson is a lot closer to the truth.
Mike Johnson is desperately doing clean up after promising there would be "no Obamacare" if Republicans win because he knows it's a huge problem that he was caught saying the quiet part out loud. https://t.co/TWOndLXkLh
— Sharon Yang (@sharonjqyang) October 31, 2024
But you can judge for yourself about the House Speaker’s comments on “taking a blowtorch” to the Affordable Care Act by checking the tape below.
CNN: New footage has just emerged of Mike Johnson saying he and Trump will try to repeal the Affordable Care Act if he wins, which would rip away health care from millions pic.twitter.com/YMi1vaZLsz
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 30, 2024
In the same interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo this morning, Johnson also insists that this time there really will be a “red wave” on Election Day, which emphatically did not materialise during the 2022 midterms, despite much hype.
MARIA BARTIROMO: Haven't we heard this all before? During the midterms we thought we were going to see a red wave and yet it did not materialize.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 31, 2024
MIKE JOHNSON: This time really is different. pic.twitter.com/gtuulwfv0L
Harris continues attack on Trump over latest comments about women
15:40
Joe Sommerlad
The VP is up and at ‘em early in Madison, Wisconsin, and is not playing around.
VP Harris responds to former President Trump's comments that he'll be the protector of women 'whether the women like or not': "It actually is I think very offensive to women...He is not going to be fighting for women's reproductive rights." pic.twitter.com/o7pcbZcqNu
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 31, 2024
Here’s Trump getting annoyed about her remarks in real-time on Truth Social.
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) October 31, 2024
Elon Musk fails to show up in court for $1m sweepstakes hearing
15:25
Joe Sommerlad
A judge in Philadelphia has paused Elon Musk’s case after the billionaire filed a late-night filing to try to move a lawsuit targeting his $1 million sweepstakes into federal court.
Musk blew off his mandatory appearance in a courtroom at City Hall on Thursday morning.
“Elon Musk didn’t show,” an attorney for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told reporters at City Hall on Thursday.
“We are going to handle this case, and continue to handle this case… We will proceed to federal court and we will address the issues there and seek to have the matter remanded back to the state court.”
It’s a matter that involves state law, he stressed, “...and I’ll leave it at that.”
Trump loses $1.3bn in net worth after his social media stock tanks
15:10
Joe Sommerlad
The former president lost $1.3bn in his net worth in a single day after his social media stock took a massive plunge.
The Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, saw its share price decrease by 22.3 percent on Wednesday. That’s the company’s worst one-day loss since it went public in March, CNN noted.
The stock closed at above $51 on Tuesday, with Trump’s stake in the company valued at $5.9bn. That figure had dropped to $4.6bn by the end of Wednesday, a drop of $1.3bn.
Gustaf Kilander has more.
Watch: Joe Biden bites baby during White House Halloween party
14:50
Joe Sommerlad
Don’t worry folks, it was all in good fun.
The president, a grandfather of seven, is not really a vampire but was only pretending to sink his teeth into the child, who was dressed as a turkey.
Data analyst reveals three obvious signs that Trump could beat Harris
14:30
Joe Sommerlad
Harry Enten, CNN’s senior data analyst, this week set out the scenario for a Trump victory and outlined the key indicators for if that comes true.
Polls showing voter satisfaction with the direction of the country, President Biden’s current low approval rating and Republican voter registration numbers are three crucial factors to consider in a potential Trump victory, according to Enten.
Rhian Lubin has more.
Trump’s garbage man stunt ridiculed on social media
14:10
Joe Sommerlad
I think it’s fair to say the Republican presidential nominee’s latest attempt to cosplay as a member of the working class has had a daily mixed reception.
In a stroke of tactical genius, the Trump campaign tried to milk the Biden “garbage” misquote by dressing Donald Trump up like a garbage truck driver, only to have him walk weird and struggle to get into the truck, thus creating a viral video that is overriding the Biden stuff.
— Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) October 31, 2024
Puerto Rico is learning in real time that no force on earth can make Trump apologize, as he sits in a garbage truck and refuses to admit there's anything wrong with calling their island garbage https://t.co/UkcvsdAvsF
— Will Stancil (@whstancil) October 30, 2024
Donald Trump driving around in circles in a garbage truck is really the perfect metaphor for his campaign… pic.twitter.com/VzUmQigcgi
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) October 31, 2024
Top: Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988, riding a tank
— Franklin (@franklinisbored) October 30, 2024
Bottom: Presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2024, riding a garbage truck
What went wrong? pic.twitter.com/vdXwR1wjNg
Not niche enough for you?
Here’s Greg Evans with Star Trek legend George Takei’s take.
Joe Rogan defends pal Tony Hinchcliffe’s racist Puerto Rico joke: It came from him ‘being environmentally conscious’
13:50
Joe Sommerlad
The influential podcaster has been defending his fellow stand-up on eco grounds, of all things.
James Liddell reports.
New Harris ad appeals to Latino voters after Trump comic slams Puerto Rico
13:30
Joe Sommerlad
The Harris-Walz campaign has launched its new Spanish language advert, “Somos Más,” designed to appeal to Latino voters across the battleground states and capitalize on the anger stirred up by Tony Hinchcliffe’s racist slur against Puerto Rico at Madison Square Garden.
According to the campaign, the promo “spotlights the ambition and contributions of Puerto Ricans to our society, slams Trump’s insults to Puerto Ricans, and reminds them that Vice President Harris will always stand with them”.
You can watch it for yourself below.
Trump ‘considering withholding funds’ for police who refuse to carry out his mass deportation plans
13:10
Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump is considering withholding federal police grants to local agencies that refuse to carry out his mass deportation plan, a report claims.
The former president has said that, if elected, he will implement a drastic plan to remove migrants and immigrants who have come to the United States – especially via the US–Mexico border.
In order to make the plan work, members of Trump’s team have floated the idea of holding funds hostage to motivate local police to participate, three people close to his campaign told NBC News.
Here’s more from Ariana Baio.
Longtime GOP pollster warns Biden’s ‘garbage’ comment may have cost Harris the election
12:50
Joe Sommerlad
Top Republican strategist Frank Luntz has warned that Joe Biden’s “garbage” comment could have potentially cost Kamala Harris the election.
The GOP pollster slammed Biden for the “inappropriate” remark and predicted that it could be a “turning point” in the 2024 race.
“I can promise you, this is going to drive Trump turnout,” Luntz told CNN.
“This may be a turning point for those final three percent. That’s all it is who still need to be persuaded.”
Rhian Lubin has more.
Trump aide pushes anti-vax conspiracy live on CNN
12:30
Joe Sommerlad
Howard Lutnick, co-chair of the prospective Trump-Vance transition team, spoke to Kaitlan Collins on CNN last night and questioned the effectiveness of vaccines in shockingly frank fashion, as though the last four years – or four centuries – had never happened.
Here’s Trump’s transition chair playing “that’s just, like, your opinion, man” with the safety of measles vaccines, as Trump prepares to hand public-health policy over to RFK Jr. https://t.co/ZgYWqDWFl0
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) October 31, 2024
On the same network, social media personality Leigh McGowan took the media to task for holding Kamala Harris to account for a remark Joe Biden made while Trump gets away with it yet again, also rebuking the Republican for behaving like a fascist.
She was backed up on that point by Abby Phillip, who duly ran a montage of the candidate referring to people as “scum”.
McGowan: I think it's weird that we're asking Kamala to answer for what Joe Biden said, but we're not asking Trump to answer for what Trump says.. pic.twitter.com/ahhReRkaTX
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 31, 2024
Arrighi: Democrats have called him a fascist for a long time
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 31, 2024
McGowan: They’re calling him a fascist because he’s behaving like a fascist.. pic.twitter.com/KozxpRFoa7
CNN plays a collection of Trump calling people scum pic.twitter.com/0HFdthD8Pp
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 31, 2024
Kamala HQ turns Trump’s latest sinister declaration into hard-hitting meme
12:10
Joe Sommerlad
The X account that describes itself as “the official rapid response page of Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign” has wasted no time in going after the Republican for his disturbing pledge to protect women “whether they like it or not” by pointing out the real-life consequences of his war on reproductive rights in the starkest terms possible.
“Whether the women like it or not” pic.twitter.com/lFbx5rbWrd
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 31, 2024
This was Harris’s own response to the same line, incidently.
Donald Trump thinks he should get to make decisions about what you do with your body.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 31, 2024
Whether you like it or not. https://t.co/SdAFNcVrZc
Trump boasts to crowd no one leaves his rallies early – just as man gets up and walks out
11:50
Joe Sommerlad
“Everybody watches our rallies, everybody loves our rallies, we never have an empty seat,” Trump declared at his earlier event yesterday in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
“They try and demean us like that horrible, horrible person that I debated when she said ‘and people leave early.’ Nobody leaves early.”
At that very moment, a rally-goer donning a black T-shirt featuring the Republican’s mugshot got up out of his seat and left.
Too perfect.
Here’s Rihan Lubin’s report.
Harris slams Trump for promising ‘abortion conspiracy theorist’ RFK Jr ‘control’ over public health agencies
11:30
Joe Sommerlad
Kamala came after the former independent candidate on X late yesterday, warning that him being put in charge of anything is evidence that Trump is “more unhinged than ever”.
Putting an anti-abortion conspiracy theorist in charge of our public health agencies says everything you need to know about how Donald Trump would govern.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 31, 2024
He is more unhinged than ever, and if he wins, he'll have no one to hold him back. https://t.co/4WNvqsVL8g
Here’s Gustaf Kilander with more on the Republican’s apparent quid pro quo with Kennedy.
Jimmy Kimmel roasts Trump’s ‘confusing’ garbage truck stunt
11:10
Joe Sommerlad
“Shouldn’t they have put him in the back of that?” the host quipped.
“The garbage goes in the back”.
James Liddell has more on a gift for late-night.
Trump claims he could have beaten George Washington in 2020 but for Covid-19 outbreak
10:50
Joe Sommerlad
Fox News aired more of the Republican nominee’s dungeon-shot interview with Sean Hannity last night, which found him claiming a fictional Trump-Lincoln ticket could have seen off Big George four years but for that pesky pandemic.
Trump suggests that before covid, he could've run for reelection against George Washington with Abe Lincoln as his running mate and he would've won (Trump's approval never touched 50 percent, so no) pic.twitter.com/mWnCr4ZNWh
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 31, 2024
He also offered this flagrant lie about the reception Beyonce got in her native Houston, Texas, last Friday as she campaigned for Harris, insisting the crowd were devastated that she didn’t sing.
Fox News lets Trump lie with impunity to Hannity about "everybody screaming and cursing" when Beyonce didn't perform at the Kamala Harris rally pic.twitter.com/puVpYQDKXU
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 31, 2024
Where are the candidates campaigning on Thursday?
10:30
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s where the main players will be today, with just five days to go.
- Donald Trump will spend Halloween casting his sinister shadow over Albuquerque, New Mexico, Henderson, Nevada, and Glendale, Azirona, with the even ghastlier Tucker Carlson joining him for that last one.
- Kamala Harris will be in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, before holding another “When We Vote, We Win” rally in Phoenix, Arizona. Her guests will be Jennifer Lopez and the Mexican pop-rock band Maná in Vegas and Los Tigres del Norte in Phoenix, pointed selections in light of garbage-gate.
- Tim Walz will meanwhile be in Harrisburg and Erie, Pennsylvania, before moving on to Detroit, Michigan.
- Byron Donalds, the Florida Representative, will be leading a Team Trump bus tour in Atlanta, Georgia.
Here’s more on J Lo joining the Harris train in response to Tony Hinchcliffe’s Puerto Rico slur from Rhian Lubin.
Harris shuts down pro-Palestinian protester
10:10
Joe Sommerlad
The Democrat was also in Wisconsin yesterday and was interrupted during her address in Madison by an activist demanding an end to US support for Israel’s military intervention in Gaza.
Unruffled, the Vice President broke off to silence the heckler, which she did politely but firmly, winning a rapturous reception from the crowd.
Kamala Harris after a demonstrator interrupts her speech in Madison: "We all want the war in Gaza to end and get the hostages out as soon as possible and I will do everything in my power to make it heard and known. And everyone has a right to be heard but right now I am speaking" pic.twitter.com/OyATyUEQDZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 31, 2024
Kamala Harris leads Trump in Wisconsin and Michigan in latest polling
09:50
Joe Sommerlad
The latest swing state polling puts Harris narrowly ahead in Wisconsin and Michigan – but the two are tied in Pennsylvania.
The so-called blue wall states are Harris’s most viable, but not only, path to an Electoral College victory after Tuesday’s election.
Here’s more from Gustaf Kilander.
Trump vows to ‘protect’ women ‘whether the women like it or not’
09:30
Joe Sommerlad
When the Republican presidential nominee finally took the stage in Green Bay, he was still glorying in his garbage man stunt and wearing the vest, which made him look even more like a haunted pumpkin than usual.
Trump: I climbed into the truck.. The first stair is like up here… I had the adrenaline going and I made it. pic.twitter.com/5MgeQV80dH
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 30, 2024
"250 million Americans are not garbage," Trump says
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 30, 2024
What about the other 100 million? pic.twitter.com/VEb2oN6bhm
But then it was all business as usual, bragging about Madison Square Garden, berating the Wisconsinites who had bothered to show up to support him, raving about BLT sandwiches and lying about immigration and American history before doing his weird double jerk dance to The Village People and heading for the exit.
Trump brags about his rally at Madison Square Garden pic.twitter.com/VQ1idpMCpu
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 30, 2024
Trump: "They call it groceries. Bacon, lettuce, tomat--- ohhh, everything is so much higher than it ever was."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 30, 2024
(Funny that a BLT sandwich is Trump's idea of groceries) pic.twitter.com/rKw0dl6XPU
Trump on politicians in 1798, when slavery was legal: "That's when we had people who wanted to protect our people." pic.twitter.com/bG42oRSu1h
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 31, 2024
Trump does the double jerk to the Village People while cosplaying as a garbage man pic.twitter.com/ON46WHgRMr
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 31, 2024
There was no question what the line of the night was, however…
In pictures: Trump’s preposterous garbage man stunt in rainy Wisconsin
09:10
Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump prolongs uproar over Puerto Rico slur by posing in garbage truck
08:50
Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
Donald Trump got off his private plane in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Wednesday evening and, donning a bright orange high-visibility safety vest, got into a garbage truck in a desperate attempt to troll Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
With Election Day looming, both the Republican and Democratic candidates are hoping to leverage the racist comments made against Puerto Rico at Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden on Sunday, when comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called the US territory “a floating island of garbage”, potentially alienating millions of Latino voters.
Working hard to dissociate himself from the controversy, Trump has leapt on a gaffe President Biden made on Tuesday in which he responded to the bad taste joke by suggesting the only “garbage” he could see were Trump supporters trashing their fellow citizens.
Trump’s publicity stunt truck in Wisconsin – which he struggled to get into – was emblazoned with his campaign logo and the former president clearly enjoyed leaning out of its window (recalling his recent McDonald’s drive-thru photo-op) to ask the press: “How do you like my garbage truck?”
Getting into the Uber after my ninth Old Fashioned pic.twitter.com/DiqcrHK2GW
— Chris Jackson (@ChrisCJackson) October 31, 2024
He then, inevitably, denied knowing anything about Hinchcliffe before being sped around the runway tarmac in circles for no good reason.
Trump: "I don't know anything about the comedian. I don't know who he is. I've never seen him. I heard he made a statement but it was just a statement that he made. He's a comedian, what can I tell you? I know nothing about him." pic.twitter.com/UmAEDy56g6
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 30, 2024
The absolute state of the Republican Party in 2024 is worshiping a man being driven around in circles in a garbage truck. This is MAGA. https://t.co/jmj9wnfnyx
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) October 30, 2024
Vivek Ramaswamy also got in on the act on his behalf and his supporters appear to have delighted at it as a last-minute Halloween costume idea.
We’re not the garbage, we’re *taking out* the garbage. pic.twitter.com/cwNQjVeFLn
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) October 30, 2024
MAGA lemmings pic.twitter.com/ce4munC0Z2
— PatriotTakes (@patriottakes) October 31, 2024
Here’s Oliver O’Connell’s report.
Musk ordered to court over potentially illegal $1m election giveaway
08:00
Oliver O'Connell
Elon Musk has been ordered to appear in a Philadelphia courtroom after the city’s top prosecutor accused the world’s wealthiest person of illegally awarding $1 million to registered voters in the state.
The same day Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk and his political action committee this week, the billionaire shared a post on X — the social media platform he owns — that claimed Krasner “knows it’s not illegal but wants a leftist judge to stop it before Election Day.”
That post “immediately triggered an avalanche of posts from Musk’s followers,” including “antisemitic attacks” against the district attorney and threats of violence, attorneys for Krasner’s office told a judge on Wednesday in a push for additional security at an upcoming court hearing.
Alex Woodward reports.
Harris boosted by major union voter drives in final election push
07:30
Oliver O'Connell
Vice President Kamala Harris is charging towards election day in full turnout mode, delivering her “closing argument” in a massive rally on the Ellipse while making last-ditch appeals in key battleground states.
As she heads to Reno, Nevada on Thursday for what is likely to be her last visit to the state as a candidate, the vice president’s campaign is leaning hard on support from organized labor in the Rust Belt to shore up her strength there.
John Bowden reports.
‘Puerto Rico deserves respect’: Reggaeton singer Nicky Jam retracts Trump endorsement
07:00
Oliver O'Connell
Reggaeton star Nicky Jam has rescinded his support for Donald Trump following the racist remarks made about Puerto Rico at the former president’s recent New York City rally.
The “Hasta el Amanecer” singer, 43, who in September campaigned alongside Trump at his Nevada rally, took to Instagram to retract his endorsement.
Inga Parkel has the story.
Watch: Who have Trump and Harris promised jobs to if elected?
06:30
Oliver O'Connell
Woman told by doctors they couldn’t treat her miscarriage because it was a ‘crime’ died 72 hours later
06:00
Oliver O'Connell
Josseli Barnica was suffering from a deadly infection from a miscarriage while at the hospital in Houston — but doctors had to wait to treat her due to the state’s abortion ban that limited how much care they could provide her as her baby maintained a heartbeat.
“They had to wait until there was no heartbeat,” her husband told ProPublica in Spanish. “It would be a crime to give her an abortion.”
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Watch: Trump claims he’ll end inflation and immigration in six days
05:30
Oliver O'Connell
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of this year’s election campaign ads
05:00
Oliver O'Connell
Eric Garcia writes:
With less than a week to go, campaigns have inundated any state or district with a competitive election with television ads to make their closing argument. This can be especially aggravating, especially after a long day of work where the average voter might just want to watch some mindless reality television or some football.
But in truth, campaigns needs to run ads there to meet voters where they are. This might be why we are seeing more ostentatious ads this election cycle than ever before.
While in her speeches, Vice President Kamala Harris has focused on the danger of Donald Trump’s rhetoric — even going so far as to call him a “petty tyrant”
