Donald Trump has eaten into Kamala Harris’s lead among Latino voters as the presidential election campaigning season enters its final month, according to a new national poll from NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC.
The Democrat still has a 14-percentage point advantage over her conservative rival, on 54 percent to 40 percent, but the difference is down to its lowest level for four presidential cycles, with voters citing the economy and the high cost of living as reasons for preferring the Republican ticket.
By contrast, Hillary Clinton picked up 69 percent of Latino support to Trump’s 19 percent in 2016.
Harris’s running mate Tim Walz will square up to Trump’s vice presidential pick JD Vance on the debate stage on Tuesday evening in what promises to be a hugely consequential and fiery encounter in New York.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to try to attack Harris and Joe Biden over the federal response to Hurricane Helene, which has wrought havoc in states like Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, having visited Valdosta in the Peach State on Monday and accused the Vice President of “staging” photos of herself liaising with governors by phone on disaster relief efforts.
Key Points
- Donald Trump narrows Kamala Harris’s lead among Latino voters in new poll
- Trump continues to attack Biden administration over Hurricane Helene reponse
- When is the VP debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance?
- Caroline Giuliani says Trump ‘destroys everything he touches'
- Republican claims VP’s disaster relief phone call photo is ‘FAKE’ and ‘STAGED’
DNC projects Vance critiques onto Trump Tower ahead of debate: ‘What an idiot!’
11:30
Joe Sommerlad
The Democratic National Committee has been trolling the Republican ticket ahead of tonight’s face-off between Walz and Vance in the Big Apple by projecting anti-Trump slogans onto the exterior of the nominee’s signature building, including his own running mate’s October 2016 verdict that he is, in fact, an idiot.
Ahead of tomorrow night’s debate, @TheDemocrats projects onto Trump Tower in NYC how @JDVance really feels about @realDonaldTrump - “What an Idiot!” pic.twitter.com/D9H489CCUJ
— Brad Woodhouse (@woodhouseb) October 1, 2024
Watch: Jon Stewart roasts former president’s ‘Bizarro Trump’ alter ego
11:10
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s the latest from last night’s Daily Show...
...and here’s James Liddell with a full report.
Trump mocked for ‘absolutely pointless’ brick wall at hurricane site
10:50
Joe Sommerlad
This was utterly ridiculous from The Donald in Georgia yesterday – and a rather unwise visual reminder of the last wall he left unfinished.
This is an actual thing trump had people do with random bricks from a destroyed building -- make me a wall that comes up to my knees for no reason at all.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) October 1, 2024
Absolutely pointless, a metaphor for his campaign. pic.twitter.com/mHmUZA6cvJ
Trump already claiming debate is rigged against Vance
10:30
Joe Sommerlad
Republicans like Minnesota congressman Tom Emmer have been bragging ahead of tonight’s showdown that JD Vance will “wipe the floor with Tim Walz”, calling his state governor “a total fraud” who will try to deploy his “Minnesota nice” persona to fend off attacks about Kamala Harris’s “open-border and soft-on-crime” policy positions.
Big talk, but rather at odds with what Trump himself had to say to Kellyanne Conway on Fox Nation yesterday…
Here’s more on the GOP nominee getting his excuses in early from Rhian Lubin.
Caroline Giuliani says Trump ‘destroys everything he touches'
10:10
Joe Sommerlad
Rudy Giuliani’s daughter has issued a stark warning about a second Donald Trump presidency, using her own father’s “implosion” as an example of what happens when someone is caught up in the former president’s “destructive trail”.
Giuliani has gone from a revered prosecutor and New York mayor that led the city through the devastation of the 9/11 attacks to a bankrupt and disbarred attorney since becoming one of Trump’s staunchest allies.
This fall from grace exemplifies how Trump “destroys everything he touches”, according to Caroline Giuliani.
“Watching my dad’s life crumble since he joined forces with Trump has been extraordinarily painful, both on a personal level and because his demise feels linked to a dark force that threatens to once again consume America,” the 35-year-old wrote inVanity Fair on Monday.
Family members of prominent Republicans including Dick Cheney, John McCain and Trump himself have also endorsed Kamala Harris or warned against the prospect of another Trump turn in the White House.
Kelly Rissman reports.
When is the VP debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance?
09:50
Joe Sommerlad
Harris’s running mate will square up to Trump’s vice presidential pick on the debate stage on Tuesday evening in what promises to be a hugely consequential and fiery encounter in New York.
Vance has previously attacked Walz’s military record, claiming the Minnesota Governor dodged deployment to Iraq, while the latter has questioned his rival’s background, pointing out that the Ohio Senator is a Yale graduate who palled around with “Silicon Valley billionaires” while writing a bestseller about his “hillbilly” roots.
The 90-minute debate will begin at 9pm (Eastern time) on CBS on October 1.
It will be moderated by CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan.
Here’s everything else you need to know from Kelly Rissman.
Trump continues to attack Biden administration over Hurricane Helene reponse
09:25
Joe Sommerlad
Trump has continued to try to attack Harris and Joe Biden over the federal response to Hurricane Helene, which has wrought havoc in states like Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, having visited Valdosta in the Peach State on Monday and accused the Vice President of “staging” photos of herself liaising with governors by phone on disaster relief efforts.
He has since posted the following on Truth Social, pledging to get his new pal Elon Musk on the case.
A REALLY BAD RESPONSE TO HURRICANE FROM KAMALA AND JOE!
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) October 1, 2024
Donald Trump Truth Social 11:53 PM EST 09/30/24 @realDonaldTrump
I spoke to Elon Musk about his brilliant communication system for North Carolina and Georgia. So many of their lines are down. He is on it!!!
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) October 1, 2024
Donald Trump Truth Social 11:56 PM EST 09/30/24 @realDonaldTrump
President Biden has meanwhile angrily hit back at Trump’s false accusation on Monday that he and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper have been ignoring the devastation wrought by the storm, which has killed over 100 people and left hundreds missing and unaccounted for in the Tar Heel state.
The Republican presidential nominee had told his followers on social media yesterday that he “[didn’t] like the reports” he was allegedly getting about the federal and state governments “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas” hit by the hurricane.
Asked to respond as he addressed reporters after receiving a briefing from Cooper and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Deanne Criswell in the Oval Office, Biden interjected, cutting off a question from The Independent to denounce Trump’s baseless statements.
Andrew Feinberg and Julia Musto report.
Trump narrows Harris’s lead among Latino voters in new poll
09:00
Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump has eaten into Kamala Harris’s lead among Latino voters as the presidential election campaigning season enters its final month, according to a new national poll from NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC.
The Democrat still has a 14-percentage point advantage over her conservative rival, on 54 percent to 40 percent, but the difference is down to its lowest level for four presidential cycles, with voters citing the economy and the high cost of living as reasons for preferring the Republican ticket.
By contrast, Hillary Clinton picked up 69 percent of Latino support to Trump’s 19 percent in 2016.
NBC/CNBC/Telemundo poll of Latino voters:
— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) September 30, 2024
Harris 54%
Trump 40%
---
For comparison, merged data from our pre-election polling of Latino voters in the 3 previous races:
2020: Biden +36
2016: Clinton +50
2012: Obama +39
And an average of exit polls and post-election surveys among…
Here’s our data correspondent Alicja Hagopian on all the latest election polling.
Unmarried? Childless? Running for Congress? This GOP candidate has found a workaround
08:30
Oliver O'Connell
A Republican congressional candidate posed for a photo with a woman and three young girls in an image that could be mistaken for a family holiday card.
But the picture — posted on the National Republican Campaign Committee website to promote Derrick Anderson’s campaign, and included in a video on his campaign’s YouTube account — is not a family photo at all.
Alex Woodward has the bizarre story.
VP debate: Who will be working the spin room for JD Vance?
08:00
Oliver O'Connell
NOTUS reports that the following Republican Party and Trump World figures will be working the spin room tomorrow for Senator JD Vance after he faces off against Governor Tim Walz in the vice presidential debate.
- Jason Miller
- Donald Trump Jr.
- Tom Cotton
- Katie Britt
- Elise Stefanik
- Byron Donalds
- Howard Lutnick
Both Cotton and Britt are two of Vance’s closest allies in Congress, and Don Jr pushed his father to pick Vance as his running mate.
NEW: JD Vance’s surrogates in the spin room tomorrow:
— Reese Gorman (@reesejgorman) September 30, 2024
- Jason Miller
- Donald Trump Jr.
- Tom Cotton
- Katie Britt
- Elise Stefanik
- Byron Donalds
- Howard Lutnickhttps://t.co/Qg1qSmqKMp pic.twitter.com/Y2qvjHfkgl
43ft nude Trump statue erected along Las Vegas highway
07:00
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has made his mark on Las Vegas — in the form of a 43ft, nude statue.
A naked statue of the former president, titled “Crooked and Obscene”, was erected in a fenced-in lot next to Interstate 15 north of Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 28.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Ohio business owner who defended Haitians deluged with death threats
06:30
Josh Marcus
A business owner in Springfield, Ohio and his family have received graphic death threats after defending his Haitian employees from Donald Trump’s racist smears.
Jamie McGregor, 48, who employs about 30 legal Haitian immigrants at his vehicle parts factory, had spoken out in September after Trump and his allies began spreading false claims that Haitians in Ohio were eating people’s pets.
“They come to work every day. They don’t cause drama. They’re on time,” McGregor told The New York Times, saying that the migrants had taken up crucial positions that he’d been struggling to fill after expanding his business.
Now the Times reports that strangers have been threatening McGregor and his family in the most lurid terms, as well as putting up posters near the factory that declared him a “traitor”.
Io Dodds has the story.
Trump is trying to have it both ways with mail-in voting
06:00
Oliver O'Connell
Richard Hall reports from Indiana, Pennsylvania, on how MAGA activists are trying to flip the state for Trump by encouraging Republicans to vote by mail — despite messaging from the former president about its dangers.
Michigan man accused of attacking Black postal worker with knife over Kamala Harris election mailers
05:30
Josh Marcus
A Michigan man is accused of attacking a Black postal worker with a knife because he was furious about receiving political mail adverts for Kamala Harris.
Prosecutors in Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit, charged 61-year-old Russell Frank Valleau on Friday with assault and ethnic intimidation, the latter of which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
Valleau was reportedly arrested the previous evening after hurling racial abuse at a US Postal Service mail carrier and “lunging” at her with a blade, forcing her to fend him off with her service-issued pepper spray.
Io Dodds reports.
In wake of Hurricane Helene destruction, Trump sparks controversy for calling climate change a ‘scam’
05:00
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has sparked controversy for declaring that climate change is “one of the great scams” after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction, killing more than 100 people, across the southeast US.
Speaking at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Sunday afternoon, the former president pushed a conspiracy theory that man-made climate change is a myth.
James Liddell reports.
New unearthed footage shows JD Vance saying childfree adults should be 'punished' with higher taxes
04:00
Oliver O'Connell
JD Vance says adults without children should have their taxes raised because we should "punish the things that we think are bad" pic.twitter.com/25PPL9EwRU
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 26, 2024
Trump admits he hates paying workers overtime. Harris responds by calling him a ‘scab’
03:00
Rachel Sharp
In a wild rally speech in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Trump admitted he “hated” paying workers overtime at his businesses – and would replace workers who asked for it.
“I shouldn’t say this,” he admitted.
“I know a lot about overtime. I hated to give overtime. I hated it. I’d get other people, I shouldn’t say this, but I’d get other people in. I wouldn’t pay.”
Kamala Harris’s campaign quickly seized on the comments, branding Trump a “scab.”
“Donald Trump is finally owning up to it: He’s built an entire career on screwing over workers. It’s exactly what he did in the White House.... and exactly what he plans to do in a second term,” a spokesperson said.
“Trump is a scab, plain and simple. He is selling snake oil lies in a desperate attempt to trick voters. He can’t be trusted–workers know it, and voters know it. They’ll elect a champion who has their back by voting for Vice President Harris this November.”
‘Literally proposing The Purge’: Trump mocked for solution to crime
02:00
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump was mocked online after proposing a solution to crime that bore jarring similarity to horror movie franchise The Purge.
At a rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday the former president suggested that one way to decrease levels of criminal activity would be allowing police “one rough hour” to tackle the issue, during which time there would be less restraints.
“One rough hour and I mean real rough, the word will get out and it will end immediately,” Trump said.
Read the full story:
Numbers show Vance-Walz vice-presidential debate could change the course of the election
01:30
Oliver O'Connell
New poll shows the choice of VP has a ‘significant impact’ on two-thirds of Democrats, and 75 percent of Americans will be tuning in to watch Vance and Walz debate on Tuesday.
Two-thirds of Democrats believe the vice-presidential candidate has a significant impact on the overall presidential ticket, according to polling from Prolific for The Independent.
Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance is set to debate Democratic VP pick Tim Walz this Tuesday, October 1 at 9 p.m. ET.
Read more here:
Republican ex-senator Jeff Flake endorses Kamala Harris as anti-Trump right coalesces
01:00
Oliver O'Connell
Kamala Harris on Sunday picked up the endorsement of another prominent opponent of Donald Trump within the Republican Party, a sign that the remaining “#NeverTrump” wing of the GOP is rallying behind her.
Jeff Flake, a former senator from Arizona who left Congress in 2019, issued his endorsement in a statement released on Twitter. He further explained his motivations in an interview Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
“I’ll be supporting Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice President,” wrote Flake in the post accompanying his video message endorsement. “I’ve served with Kamala in the U.S Senate. I’ve also served with Tim in the House of Representatives.”
John Bowden reports:
Giuliani’s daughter says she ‘lost her dad’ to Trump and begs people to vote for Harris
Tuesday 1 October 2024 00:30
Oliver O'Connell
Rudy Giuliani’s daughter issued a stark warning about a second Trump presidency, using her father’s “implosion” as an example of what happens when someone is caught up in the former president’s “destructive trail”.
Giuliani has gone from a revered prosecutor and New York mayor that led the city through the devastation of the 9/11 attacks to a bankrupt and disbarred attorney since becoming one of Trump’s staunchest allies.
This fall from grace exemplifies how Donald Trump “destroys everything he touches”, according to Caroline Giuliani.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Trump’s nine weirdest nicknames for his political rivals
Tuesday 1 October 2024 00:00
Oliver O'Connell
There’s the good, there’s the bad, and then there’s the plain ugly. Donald Trump is known for branding his political allies and enemies alike with a nickname.
James Liddell writes:
Trump claims Biden and Harris forced him to hold rally at 750-seat theater
Monday 30 September 2024 23:30
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump is claiming that he could only campaign in a 750-seat theatre because Vice President Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are using Secret Service assets to protect the President of Iran, who he claims is “doing everything possible to kill me.”
In a Truth Social post that Trump made on Monday, he claimed that Harris and Biden were “going out of their way to make it difficult for me to Campaign.”
Graig Graziosi reports.
Biden administration doubles down on tough asylum restrictions at border
Monday 30 September 2024 23:15
AP
The Biden administration said Monday it is making asylum restrictions at the southern border even tougher, as it’s increasingly eager to show voters uneasy over immigration that it is taking a hard stance on border security.
The new rules, which toughen restrictions announced in June, bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem that the southern border is overwhelmed.
Under the previous rules, the U.S. could restrict asylum access when the number of migrants trying to enter the country between the official border crossings hit 2,500 per day. The daily numbers had to average below 1,500 per day for a week in order for the restrictions to be lifted.
The version rolled out Monday says the daily numbers will have to be below 1,500 for nearly a month before the restrictions can be lifted. And the administration is now counting all children toward that number, whereas previously only migrant children from Mexico were counted.
These changes, which go into effect on Tuesday, will make it much more difficult to lift the restrictions and allow people entering the country between the official border crossings eventually to apply for asylum in the U.S.
But the restrictions implemented in June have never been lifted because the numbers of border encounters have never gotten low enough for long enough, raising the question of why the administration felt the need to make them even tougher now. The seven-day average has gotten down to about 1,800 migrant encounters per day, the Department of Homeland Security said.
A senior administration official said Monday that the longer timeline was necessary to make sure that drops in immigration are sustained and not due to a one-time event. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to brief reporters about the tighter restrictions before they were made public.
Immigration advocates already had harshly criticized the restrictions announced in June, saying the administration was slashing away at vital protections for people fleeing persecution.
Biden hits back at Trump on storm Helene as he announces plans for surveying damage
Monday 30 September 2024 23:09
Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden on Monday angrily hit back at Donald Trump’s false accusations of neglect and malfeasance after the former president and Republican presidential nominee leveled a baseless claim about the federal response to Hurricane Helene on his social media platform.
Andrew Feinberg and Julia Musto report.
Worrying news for Ted Cruz as Texas Senate race tightens
Monday 30 September 2024 23:05
Oliver O'Connell
Ted Cruz’s chances of winning reelection to the Senate are narrowing, with a pair of recent polls showing that his Democratic challenger Colin Allred holds a chance of defeating the Republican incumbent in a tighter-than-expected race.
A recent survey of Texas voters, from Public Policy Polling/Clean and Prosperous America, shows Allred leading with 47 percent to Cruz’s 46 percent, after an August poll showed Cruz leading Allred by two points.
Those results have a margin of error of 3.5 percent, putting the candidates in a virtual tie.
Alex Woodward reports.
Texas man smashes ‘autographed’ Taylor Swift guitar with hammer after paying $4,000 for it at auction
Monday 30 September 2024 23:00
Oliver O'Connell
A man in Texas paid $4,000 for what was described as an “autographed” Taylor Swift guitar, only to immediately smash it to pieces with a hammer.
Footage of the incident at the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie, Texas has since gone viral.
Kevin E G Perry reports.
Monday 30 September 2024 22:45
Oliver O'Connell
Biden says Trump lying about Hurricane response
Monday 30 September 2024 22:41
Oliver O'Connell
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg asked President Joe Biden about Donald Trump’s accusation that his administration was ignoring Republican areas hit by Hurricane Helene.
NEW: @POTUS responds when I ask about @realDonaldTrump accusing him of ignoring Republicans areas hit by Helene: “He's lying, and the governor told him he was lying. The governor told him he's lying. I've spoken to the governor, spent time with him, and he told him he's lying.” pic.twitter.com/cTEb0piAKc
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) September 30, 2024
Fed chair says the US economy in ‘solid shape’, more rate cuts coming
Monday 30 September 2024 22:30
AP
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Monday that more interest rate cuts are in the pipeline, though their size and speed would depend on the evolution of the economy.
Wall Street investors and economists are weighing whether the Fed will follow its larger-than-usual half-point cut made earlier this month with another hefty reduction at either of its upcoming meetings in November or December. At their meeting Sept. 18, Fed officials penciled in two more quarter-point rate cuts at those final meetings this year.
In remarks before the National Association for Business Economics in Nashville, Tennessee, Powell said the U.S. economy and hiring are largely healthy and emphasized that the Fed is “recalibrating” its key interest rate, which is now at about 4.8%.
Continue reading...
Watch: Harris says she will visit Hurricane impacted areas soon without disrupting emergency response
Monday 30 September 2024 22:20
Oliver O'Connell
Kamala Harris: I plan to be on the ground as soon as possible. But as soon as possible without disrupting any emergency response operations because that must be the highest priority and the first order of business. pic.twitter.com/YDzzBdvpEM
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2024
Democrats have a plan for Florida and Texas. Is that a sign they’re worried about Montana?
Monday 30 September 2024 22:15
Oliver O'Connell
While Vice President Kamala Harris’s replacement of President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket has given the party a chance at beating Donald Trump and they increasingly look likely to flip the House of Representatives, they face one problem: they still look likely to lose the Senate.
Eric Garia takes a look at what’s happening in the fight to keep hold of the upper chamber.
Tim Walz’s brother donated to Trump in 2016 and is ‘100% opposed’ to his sibling’s political ideology
Monday 30 September 2024 22:00
Oliver O'Connell
In 2016, Jeff Walz donated to Donald Trump’s campaign.
Now, eight years later, the 67-year-old’s brother Tim Walz is taking on the former president having joined Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democraticparty’s 2024 ticket.
And Jeff Walz appears to be far from happy with his sibling’s political aspirations.
Rachel Sharp has the story.
Watch LIVE: Harris receives Hurricane response briefing from FEMA
Monday 30 September 2024 21:57
Oliver O'Connell
Judge invokes The Handmaid’s Tale in order striking down Georgia’s six-week abortion ban
Monday 30 September 2024 21:52
Oliver O'Connell
A state judge in Georgia has blocked the state from enforcing a ban on abortion at roughly six weeks of pregnancy, finding that state law criminalizing care is unconstitutional.
The 26-page opinion from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered that abortion access must be regulated as it was before Georgia lawmakers passed the state’s anti-abortion in 2019.
That ban under the state’s “LIFE Act” was effectively blocked under Roe v Wade, which the Supreme Court struck down three years later in 2022.
Monday’s ruling will allow Georgia abortion patients to seek care past six weeks of pregnancy, for now, potentially turning the state into a crucial refuge for abortion access across the deep south, where every state has outlawed most forms of abortion care at any point in a pregnancy.
Alex Woodward has the details.
Watch: White House spokesperson uses Fox News interview to slam Vance on healthcare
Monday 30 September 2024 21:45
Oliver O'Connell
Haake: Trump had been saying on Truth Social that he believes that Democrats have been intentionally denying aid to Republican parts of the state. I asked him what evidence he had to back that up, you can see what he said here pic.twitter.com/phF3OLo7Ak
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2024
Biden hails ‘historic declines’ in crime in 2024
Monday 30 September 2024 21:40
Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden has hailed the “historic declines” in crime this year according to preliminary data submitted to the FBI.
He released the following statement:
This year, the homicide and violent crime rates have conti