Trump is warned over crypto investments as Dick Cheney backs Harris for White House: Live

Former vice president Dick Cheney, a staunch Republican, has vowed to vote for Kamala Harris in November, according to his daughter, former congresswoman Liz Cheney.

She said her father believes “there’s never been an individual in our country who is as great of a threat to our democracy as Donald Trump is.”

Meanwhile, some of Trump’s allies have issued concerns about the family’s latest venture, a new cryptocurrency startup called World Liberty Financial.

Although it hasn’t launched yet, the startup has already attracted scammers. The X accounts of Lara Trump and Tiffany Trump — neither of whom are involved in the venture — were hacked this week, prompting some Trump supporters in the crypto sphere to fear that the business could hamper his election prospects and bring on additional legal woes.

Ahead of the presidential debate next week, the Harris-Walz campaign is setting out on a “weekend of action” in what it describes as an effort to emphasize the dangers of Trump’s Project 2025 with battleground voters. The Trump-Vance campaign also appears to be focusing on battleground states, as the former president has a rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Saturday.

Key Points

• Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing until after Election Day

• Trump gives rambling press conference after lawyers try to overturn E. Jean Carroll judgment

• Harris nearly triples Trump fundraising in August

• Kamala Harris rebukes JD Vance for dismissing mass shootings as ‘a fact of life’

• Donald Trump gives garbled answer on affordable childcare in latest meandering economic address

A surge of Black women and young people registering to vote in Pennsylvania spells trouble for Trump

Friday 6 September 2024 22:30 , Richard Hall, Alicja Hagopian

New voter registrations surged among Black women and young people in Pennsylvania when Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee for president, according to newly released data.

In the week that Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, new registrations increased by 262 percent among Black women under 30 compared to the same week in 2020.

Registrations among Black voters increased by 110 percent, and among voters under 30 years old by 59 percent, also compared to the same week in 2020.

Read more:

Pennsylvania sees surge in Black women and young people registering to vote

Watch: Jill Biden recalls first date with Joe Biden at Fashion For Our Future rally

Friday 6 September 2024 22:15 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump used delayed sentencing for fundraising email

Friday 6 September 2024 22:00 , Katie Hawkinson, Alex Woodward

Donald Trump is using his delayed hush money sentencing for a new wave of fundraising emails.

“My Sentencing has been DELAYED – AGAIN,” the email read.

Trump will not be sentenced in his hush money case until after the presidential election in November. The judge overseeing the criminal case against the former president moved his September 18 court date to avoid the appearance of political interference in the crucial weeks before Election Day.

“So at this very moment, I’m announcing the ONE MILLION PATRIOT PUSH to Drop All Charges ASAP. DROP ALL CHARGES,” the email continued. “I want you to know that it truly means the world to me that you’ve never wavered in your support for the MAGA Movement. I really mean that.I will always love you for supporting me. Seriously.”

Former vice president and staunch Republican Dick Cheney will vote for Harris over Trump, his daughter says

Friday 6 September 2024 21:45 , Ariana Baio

Dick Cheney, a well-known Republican who served as vice president to George W. Bush, will be voting for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November, his daughter said.

“Dick Cheney will be voting for Kamala Harris,” former Representative Liz Cheney told a crowd Friday at the Texas Tribute Festival.

The audience erupted into applause at the unexpected announcement.

Read on:

Former vice president Dick Cheney will vote for Harris, his daughter says

Watch live: Trump speaks at gathering of police in North Carolina

Friday 6 September 2024 21:30 , Katie Hawkinson

White House describes Tucker Carlson’s ‘Nazi propaganda’ interview as a ‘sadistic insult’

Friday 6 September 2024 21:15 , Ariana Baio

The Biden administration has condemned Tucker Carlson for interviewing Darryl Cooper, a “Holocaust denier who spread Nazi propaganda”, on his podcast, saying it was “unacceptable” at all times, but especially when approaching the anniversary of October 7.

This past week, the former Fox News anchor hosted Cooper on The Tucker Carlson Show, referring to him as possibly “the best and most honest popular historian in the United States.”

Carlson, a far-right conservative who was fired from Fox News last year, has interviewed other controversial figures including Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has also been accused of promoting conspiracy theories.

Read on:

White House calls Tucker Carlson’s ‘Nazi propaganda’ interview a ‘sadistic insult’

Trump staffers who got into alleged physical altercation at Arlington National Cemetery are named

Friday 6 September 2024 21:00 , Alex Lang

The two Trump staffers involved in a confrontation with personnel at Arlington National Cemetery have been named.

The previously unidentified duo have been revealed as Donald Trump’s deputy campaign manager Justin Caporale and advance team member Michael Picard, according to NPR.

Caporale previously served as an aide to first lady Melania Trump. He left the White House to work for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, before joining Trump’s 2024 campaign. He was also a project manager for the Jan. 6 rally where Trump urged the crowd to “stop the steal” before the riot at the Capitol, according to NPR.

Read more:

Trump staffers who got into alleged altercation at Arlington cemetery are named

Biden once threatened to fire Harris’s staffers who leaked negative stories about the VP

Friday 6 September 2024 20:45 , Ariana Baio

President Joe Biden is fiercely loyal to his friends and political allies so when tensions arose in Vice President Kamala Harris’s office in 2021 as she hemorrhaged staff, he reportedly issued a stark warning to her staffers – if they leaked negative stories he would fire them.

The president and vice president had just taken office at the time and Harris was apparently trying to figure out a sustainable management style amid large turnover, according to The Washington Post.

Staffers were reportedly frustrated with Harris’s prosecutor-like leadership style in which she asked “pointed questions” about every detail of her schedule and briefings and doled out harsh criticisms all while approaching decisions with an irksome caution.

Read on:

Biden reportedly threatened to fire staffers who leaked negative stories about Harris

Watch live: Biden touts ‘Investing in America’ agenda in Michigan

Friday 6 September 2024 20:30 , Katie Hawkinson

Defend Democracy Project members slam Trump sentencing delay

Friday 6 September 2024 20:15 , Katie Hawkinson

Two leading members of the Defend Democracy Project have released a statement slamming the delay of Donald Trump’s sentencing after he was convicted of 34 felony counts related to hush money payments.

“Trump wanted to delay his sentencing for one reason only: to avoid accountability for his crimes against the American people,” Norm Eisen and Michael Podhorzer said in the statement. “Despite our respect for the judge, his decision is wrong—as proven by the fact that yesterday in DC federal court, the judge there refused to consider the political calendar in setting her schedule.”

“We’re disappointed with this contrary outcome in Manhattan, as voters deserved to see Trump face sentencing for his 2016 election interference and cover-up ahead of casting their ballots in the upcoming 2024 election,” they continued.

Nation’s largest police union endorses Trump

Friday 6 September 2024 20:00 , Katie Hawkinson

The National Fraternal Order of Police, the country’s largest police union, has endorsed Donald Trump for president.

“Public safety and border security will be important issues in the last months of this campaign,” Patrick Yoes, national president, said. “Our members carefully considered the positions of the candidates on the issues and there was no doubt—zero doubt—as to who they want as our President for the next four years: Donald J. Trump.”

This comes after more than 60 active and retired law enforcement officials endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, calling the former prosecutor and her running-mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, “the only candidates we trust to keep our communities safe.”

Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing until after Election Day

Friday 6 September 2024 19:45 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump will not be sentenced in his hush money case until after the presidential election in November, as the judge overseeing the criminal case against the former president moved his September 18 court date to avoid the appearance of political interference in the crucial weeks before Election Day.

Alex Woodward reports:

Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing until after Election Day

In rural Pennsylvania, Tim Walz gets a good reception — from most people

Friday 6 September 2024 19:30 , Richard Hall

Tim Walz was in full coach mode as he loomed over a hungry calf, a bottle of milk in hand.

“You got it, you got it! You’re close, sweetie. There you go,” he said, heaping encouragement onto the young cow at Maple Bottom Farm in Dawson, Pennsylvania.

The governor of Minnesota and vice presidential candidate had been dispatched on his first solo tour of the state — a “barnstorming,” in the words of his campaign — to win over voters in rural areas that have been stubbornly pro-Trump since 2016.

His pitch to rural Pennsylvanians, as told in every photo-op and stop and along the way, was simple: “I am just like you.”

Read on:

In rural Pennsylvania, Tim Walz gets a good reception — from most people

Manhattan DA speaks out after Trump sentencing delay

Friday 6 September 2024 19:30 , Katie Hawkinson

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted Donald Trump on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments, has released a statement after a judge delayed the former president’s sentencing to after Election Day.

“A jury of 12 New Yorkers swiftly and unanimously convicted Donald Trump of 34 felony counts. The Manhattan D.A.’s Office stands ready for sentencing on the new date set by the court.”

A judge granted Trump’s request to move the original sentencing, set for September 18, to November 26 — three weeks after Election Day.

ICYMI: Trump gives nonsensical response to straightforward question about childcare

Friday 6 September 2024 19:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing until after Election Day

Friday 6 September 2024 18:32 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump will not be sentenced in his hush money case until after the presidential election in November, as the judge overseeing the criminal case against the former president moved his September 18 court date to avoid the appearance of political interference in the crucial weeks before Election Day.

Trump, the first president to be convicted of a crime, will not face Justice Juan Merchan in a Manhattan courtroom until November 26.

In their request to delay his sentencing until after November’s election, Trump’s attorneys accused the court and prosecutors of “election interference” and argued that the timing for the September 18 court date “illustrates just how unreasonable it is to have the potential for only a single day” between the immunity decision and what they called an “unwarranted sentencing.”

North Carolina judge rejects RFK Jr’s legal bid to remove name from state ballots

Friday 6 September 2024 18:30 , Gary D. Robertson, Rhian Lubin

A judge has denied Robert F Kennedy Jr’s legal bid to remove his name from presidential ballots in North Carolina – just months after he fought to get his name on them.

Kennedy filed the lawsuit last Friday after the North Carolina Election Board ruled last week it was too late to remove his name from the ballot as a third-party candidate in the battleground state.

Now, Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt has ruled in favor of the election board as the first batches of the November absentee ballots are slated to be sent to registered voters who requested them.

Read more:

North Carolina judge rejects RFK Jr’s legal bid to remove name from state ballots

Trump in court as his lawyers make appeals plea to have his $5m E Jean Carroll verdict sent back for new trial

Friday 6 September 2024 18:00 , Ariana Baio

Former president Donald Trump appeared in a New York City courthouse Friday morning as his lawyer argued that the evidence used in the E Jean Carroll sexual abuse case should be set aside.

At the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, attorney John Sauer spent approximately 10 minutes asserting that the evidence used in the case where Trump was found liable of sexual abuse was “highly inadmissible” and Trump should be given a new trial.

It was a “quintessential he-said-she-said case”, Sauer said, claiming the accusations, and some witnesses, were politically motivated.

Read more:

Trump in court as lawyers appeal to have $5m Carroll verdict set aside

Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump? Latest poll updates

Friday 6 September 2024 17:44 , Katie Hawkinson

It is now less than two months until Vice President Kamala Harris will go head-to-head with Donald Trump for the presidential spot, after replacing President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket in July.

Fresh polls suggest that Harris may be sweeping up elusive Independent voters; though races in the swing states are still too close to call, with Harris and Trump neck-in-neck in Pennsylvania.

So how will Harris actually fare against Trump in November?

Read more from Alicja Hagopian, The Independent’s data correspondent:

Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump? Latest poll updates from the 2024 election

Trump repeats statements similar to those found to defame E. Jean Carroll at meandering press conference

Friday 6 September 2024 17:32 , Katie Hawkinson

In a meandering press conference Friday afternoon, Donald Trump used language strikingly similar to the defamatory statements he made against E. Jean Carroll that cost him millions of dollars.

Trump’s lawyers argued this morning that a federal appeals court should overturn a $5 million jury verdict finding him liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her nearly three decades ago.

At the press conference, Trump repeatedly said it “never happened” and denied having ever met the writer — statements similar to those that were found to be defamatory in court.

“I was found guilty of something that I didn’t do, with a woman that I have never seen, touched, or in any way was involved with, nor would I want to be,” Trump claimed at the press conference.

The former president currently owes Carroll more than $88 million in damages, awarded across two cases.

Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said “All options are on the table” when asked if the writer would consider suing yet again for defamation.

Trump says criminals should spend time behind bars. What about him?

Friday 6 September 2024 17:15 , Katie Hawkinson

Graig Graziosi has this on the Republican’s increasingly complicated position on law and order, given that he is running for the highest office in the land as a convicted felon promising to crack down on urban crime (which the FBI’s statistics indicate is down anyway).

Trump says convicted criminals should spend time behind bars. What about him?

Trump gives rambling press conference after lawyers try to overturn E. Jean Carroll judgment

Friday 6 September 2024 17:02 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump is holding a press conference after his lawyers argued that a federal appeals court should overturn a $5 million jury verdict finding him liable for sexually assaulting and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her nearly three decades ago.

At the press conference, Trump repeatedly said it “never happened” and denied having ever met the writer.

“I was found guilty of something that I didn’t do, with a woman that I have never seen, touched, or in any way was involved with, nor would I want to be,” Trump claimed at the press conference.

The former president currently owes Carroll more than $88 million in damages, awarded across two cases.

Gabby Giffords’s anti-gun violence organization slams JD Vance for calling school shootings a “fact of life”

Friday 6 September 2024 17:00 , Katie Hawkinson, Ariana Baio

Giffords, the anti-gun violence organization led by former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, issued a statement in response to JD Vance calling school shootings a “fact of life.”

“Gun violence is a preventable epidemic that is a uniquely American problem,” Vanessa Gonzalez, vice president of government and political affairs, said. “It’s only a ‘fact of life’ for today’s students and parents because cowards like JD Vance refuse to support reforms that 90% of Americans support. That is a deplorable and disgusting response to a school shooting.”

The former congresswoman representing Arizona was shot in the head in 2011 in an assassination attempt during an event with constituents in Tuscon. Six attendees were killed. Giffords spent months recovering her ability to walk, talk and read.

Vance’s comments came in the wake of a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Two teachers and two 14-year-old students were killed. The suspected gunman, 14-year-old Colt Gray has been charged with four counts of felony murder. His father, Colin Gray, also faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children.

Watch live as Donald Trump holds press conference from Trump Tower in New York

Friday 6 September 2024 16:50 , Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump is holding a press conference at Trump Tower after he attended a hearing in the E Jean Carroll case.

His legal team is appealing the $5 million judgment Carroll was awarded after a jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming her.

Watch live:

Watch live as Donald Trump holds press conference from Trump Tower in New York

Trump claims he’ll ‘save’ TikTok – despite once trying to ban it

Friday 6 September 2024 16:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Donald Trump has claimed he would “save TikTok in America” as president – a far cry from the days of 2020 when he sought to ban the social media platform via an executive order as part of his trade war with China.

Josh Marcus has more.

Trump claims he’ll ‘save’ TikTok – despite trying to get it banned while in office

Dozens of major corporate leaders sign letter endorsing Harris

Friday 6 September 2024 16:28 , Katie Hawkinson

88 major corporate leaders have signed a letter endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president this November.

The list includes former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch; Snap Chairman Michael Lynton; Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman; and Washington, DC sports magnate Ted Leonsis, CNBC reports.

Harris is “the best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy,” the letter reads.

Meanwhile, Trump has also been backed by major corporating figures, including Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as well as Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnik.

Watch: Historian who correctly predicted 9 of last 10 elections makes his 2024 pick

Friday 6 September 2024 16:15 , Katie Hawkinson

In pictures: Protesters gather outside courthouse as Trump attended E Jean Carroll appeal

Friday 6 September 2024 15:59 , Katie Hawkinson

New poll shows Latinos really don’t like JD Vance

Friday 6 September 2024 15:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s Eric Garcia on a new survey that suggests Trump’s Yale hillbilly running mate is box office poison among the Latino community, who have, in the past, looked favorably upon the New Yorker himself despite his less-than-enlightened remarks about Central America.

New poll shows Latinos really don’t like JD Vance

Trump’s lawyers argue he should not pay E Jean Carroll $5 million

Friday 6 September 2024 15:32 , Ariana Baio, Katie Hawkinson

Donald Trump’s legal team is in court today, arguing the former president should not have to pay the $5 million judgment awarded to E Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting and defaming her.

John Sauer, Trump’s attorney, is arguing that the case was based on “highly inadmissible evidence.” Typically, federal appeals courts defer to district courts to determine evidence – which already happened.

Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan argued that, despite the high-profile nature of the case, it “really just involves the routine application of the rules of evidence.”

Kaplan also clarified to the circuit judges that she is “not related” to Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw the case, “nor is he my mentor.” This is a reference to Trump’s lawyers trying to allege she had a conflict of interest.

Harris rebukes JD Vance for calling school shootings a ‘fact of life’ in response to deadly Georgia attack

Friday 6 September 2024 15:30 , Rhian Lubin

Kamala Harris has rebuked Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance for suggesting school shootings are “a fact of life” in response to the deadly attack on a high school in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday.

Four people were killed in the shooting at Apalachee High School after a gunman opened fire. Suspect Colt Gray, 14, a student at the school, has been charged with four counts of felony murder and is due to appear in court on Friday.

Responding to the horrific attack, Republican vice presidential nominee Vance, who was speaking at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, said: “I don’t like that this is a fact of life but if you are a psycho and you wanna make headlines, you realize schools are soft targets.”

Read more:

Kamala Harris rebukes JD Vance for calling school shootings ‘fact of life’

Trump appeals $5 million award to E Jean Carroll

Friday 6 September 2024 15:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Today, Donald Trump’s lawyers will ask a federal appeals court to overturn a $5 million jury verdict finding him liable for sexually assaulting and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her nearly three decades ago.

Trump is expected to attend today’s oral arguments, which will be held at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

The former president currently owes Carroll more than $88 million in damages, awarded across two cases.

Watch The Independent’s live view from outside the courthouse:

– YouTube

Harris nearly triples Trump fundraising in August

Friday 6 September 2024 14:43 , Katie Hawkinson

Kamala Harris’s campaign raised $361 million in August, nearly triple Donald Trump’s $130 million over the same period.

Now, Harris’s campaign has more than $400 million in cash on hand going into September, while Trump’s campaign has just under $300 million. Harris’s campaign claimed their August fundraising totals beat the record for the most successful month of grassroots fundraising in presidential history.

Each candidate will likely spend more than $1 billion for this election, Reuters reports, citing regulatory filings.

North Carolina judge rejects RFK Jr’s request to remove his name from state ballots

Friday 6 September 2024 14:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt refused to take Robert F Kennedy Jr’s name off presidential ballots in the battleground state yesteday, with the first batches of November absentee ballots slated to be sent to registered voters who requested them on Friday.

Here’s more on a situation that has the potential to cause trouble for Trump, who had hoped to pick up all of RFK Jr’s support in the wake of his dropping out.

North Carolina judge rejects RFK Jr.’s request to remove his name from state ballots

Stephen Colbert mocks JD Vance for awkwardly grabbing woman’s fist bump

Friday 6 September 2024 13:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s Myriam Page with the latest from late-night.

Stephen Colbert roasts JD Vance for awkwardly grabbing woman’s fist bump

‘Nostradamus of polling’ says Harris will win presidential race

Friday 6 September 2024 13:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Allan Lichtman, the American political historian known as the “Nostradamus of presidential predictions”, has officially declared that Kamala Harris will win this year’s race for the White House.

Here’s our report.

‘Nostradamus of polling’ says Kamala Harris will win race for the White House

Jesse Watters roasted for joking about Russian election interference

Friday 6 September 2024 13:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Brutal stuff here as the Fox News host gets hauled over the coals for mocking the Justice Department’s claims about Russia manipulating conservative influencers in the United States for its own nefarious ends.

Trump team forced to change strategy focusing on six states

Friday 6 September 2024 12:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The Republican nominee is set to refocus his attention on the blue wall states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan as his campaign scrambles to change strategy amid falling poll numbers and dwindling momentum.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Trump team forced to scramble and change strategy focusing on six states

January 6 evidence against Trump may be released before election

Friday 6 September 2024 12:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Prosecutors may release never-before-seen evidence in the federal election interference case against Trump ahead of the November presidential election, according to a schedule laid out in federal court yesterday.

Josh Marcus and Ariana Baio have the details.

January 6 evidence against Trump may be released before election

Visibly-frustrated judge spars with Trump’s attorney as January 6 returns to court

Friday 6 September 2024 12:15 , Joe Sommerlad

District Judge Tanya Chutkan, the justice overseeing Trump’s federal election interference case, will not let the 2024 presidential election get in the way of prosecuting the former president after months of delays over his “immunity” appeal effectively froze the case in Washington DC.

Reconvening in a courtroom for the first time in nearly a year on Thursday, Judge Chutkan held a status conference with federal prosecutors and lawyers for the Republican presidential nominee to determine next steps in the case, in which Trump is criminally accused of trying to subvert his election loss and then failing to stop a mob of his supporters who tried to do it by force.

Here’s Gustaf Kilander and Alex Woodward’s report on what took place.

Visibly frustrated judge spars with Trump’s attorney as January 6 returns to court

Trump hosting Trump Tower press conference on Friday

Friday 6 September 2024 11:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The Republican nominee will hold another of his meandering press conferences today at Trump Tower, where it all began for him sailing down that cursed escalator in 2015 and where he last spoke in late May in the aftermath of his conviction at the hush money trial.

If it’s anything like his Mar-a-Lago and Bedminister rants of recent weeks, expect plenty of “weave”.

Kick off is at high noon ET (5pm UK time) and we will, of course, bring you all the very latest from the mind of Don (or what’s left of it) right here.

Truth Social: Trump whines about upcoming hush money sentencing

Friday 6 September 2024 11:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Over on social media, the Republican presidential nominee and convicted felon has resumed moaning about his upcoming sentencing in the hush money case against him, citing his usual desperate collection of highly-partisan legal minds – Jonathan Turley, Alan Dershowitz etc – as he frantically protests his innocence and insists he did nothing wrong despite being found guilty by a unanimous jury of his peers on all 34 counts he faced in Manhattan this spring.

Trump talks Afghanistan, migrants and Rosie O’Donnell in Fox town hall sequel

Friday 6 September 2024 11:15 , Joe Sommerlad

We were treated to a second instalment of the Republican nominee’s sitdown with Sean Hannity on Fox News last night in which Trump blamed the Biden administration for the deaths of US soldiers during the withdrawal from Afghanistan – to distract from last week’s disgraceful episode at Arlington National Cemetery – indulged in more Hitlerian rhetoric about migrants “poisoning” the country and claimed to enjoy the support of 80 per cent of American voters (we shall have to wait and see on that one).

He also hit on the issue that really matters this fall: his ongoing dislike of Rosie O’Donnell.

Harris doubles Trump’s campaign fundraising haul for August

Friday 6 September 2024 10:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign raised more than double Donald Trump’s haul in August, bringing in over $300m compared to the Republican’s $130m.

Here’s Ariana Baio’s report.

Harris raises more than double Trump’s $130m fundraising haul in August

Fake Tim Walz dancing video circulates on social media

Friday 6 September 2024 10:35 , Joe Sommerlad

Sadly, this is very much not the Minnesota Governor grooving to Beyonce.

But the real Walz was back out there on the campaign trail yesterday, once more sticking it to Trump in fine style.

Vladimir Putin cites Harris’s ‘infectious laugh’ in mocking endorsement of her candidacy

Friday 6 September 2024 10:15 , Joe Sommerlad

Russian president Vladimir Putin has claimed that he wants Kamala Harris to win November’s US presidential election because Joe Biden endorsed her – and because she has an “expressive and infectious laugh”.

Speaking during the Eastern Economic Forum on Thursday, Putin claimed that Biden was his “favorite” candidate but that, since he has dropped out, he will now support the new Democratic nominee.

“Our favorite, if you can call it that, was the current president Mr Biden,” Putin said, with a smirk.

Ariana Baio reports.

Putin cites Harris’s ‘infectious laugh’ in mocking endorsement for president

Trump taps Elon Musk to lead task force for ‘drastic’ spending cuts

Friday 6 September 2024 09:55 , Joe Sommerlad

At the same event in New York yesterday, Trump again joked about relocating to Venezuela, praised North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, dismissed the threat posed by climate change, suggested Elon Musk could oversee “drastic” government efficiency cuts and told his audience of financiers: “A couple of nukes and your bank doesn’t mean a thing.”

Here’s Alex Woodward’s report on what Trump has planned for Musk, who appears to be his new best friend.

Trump taps Elon Musk to lead task force for ‘drastic’ spending cuts

Donald Trump gives garbled answer on affordable childcare in latest meandering economic address

Friday 6 September 2024 09:35 , Joe Sommerlad

The Republican presidential nominee also got into difficulties on Thursday as he delivered a garbled speech to the Economic Club of New York in which he was stumped by a question about how to make childcare more afforable for American families, delivering a meandering, nonsensical answer.

Here’s Alex Woodward on the meaningless word salad the great business titan presented in lieu of a coherent policy that might make a palpable difference in the lives of voters.

Trump’s nonsensical response to how he plans to make childcare affordable

Kamala Harris rebukes JD Vance for dismissing mass shootings as ‘a fact of life’

Friday 6 September 2024 09:18 , Joe Sommerlad

Kamala Harris has rebuked Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance for suggesting that mass shootings are simply “a fact of life” in response to the deadly attack on a high school in Winder, Georgia, earlier this week.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Harris wrote on social media in response to a clip of the Ohio Senator making the remark on the campaign trail in Arizona. “We can take action to protect our children – and we will.”

Two teenage students and two teachers were shot dead at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.

Here’s Vance saying it and Harris’s response:

And here, incidentally, is a recent picture of Vance that has a certain amount of relevance to the present discussion.

You can follow live coverage on all the latest from Georgia below.

Father of Georgia shooting suspect Colt Gray charged with second-degree murder

Trump says convicted criminals should spend time behind bars. What about him?

Friday 6 September 2024 08:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump had better hope the US justice system has a more forgiving sentencing philosophy than his own.

Earlier this week, Trump’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told the New York Times that the former president “believes anyone convicted of a crime should spend time behind bars.”

Leavitt made the comment in response to the re-conviction of Jamie Davidson, whose domestic violence sentence Trump commuted in 2021.

Trump’s own logic would condemn him to jail after he was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case. He’ll be sentenced on September 18.

NBC News asked Leavitt about the comment and questioned whether Trump would apply it to his own conviction.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Trump says convicted criminals should spend time behind bars. What about him?

Latinos really don’t like JD Vance according to new poll

Friday 6 September 2024 08:15 , Oliver O’Connell

A new survey has found that Latino voters in Arizona and other battleground states do not like Vance, at all.

On Wednesday, BSP Research released a survey with UnidosUS, a Latino advocacy nonprofit, that surveyed voters of Latin American descent. The survey included 3,000 eligible voters — 2,800 of whom were registered and 200 who were not registered — with oversamples in Georgia, California, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas.

Eric Garcia has the story.

New poll shows Latinos really don’t like JD Vance

Judge publishes new timeline for Trump’s federal election interference case

Friday 6 September 2024 07:45 , Alex Woodward

Judge Tanya Chutkan said at this morning’s status hearing in the federal election interference case brought against Donald Trump by special counsel Jack Smith that she would not be factoring in the presidential election when determining the schedule for the case going forward.

And she was not kidding.

The new deadlines ensure that Trump and Smith will be making high-profile filings — potentially filled with never-before-seen details — in the weeks leading up to Election Day. Trump will not be happy.

Here’s the new timeline:

• Special counsel’s evidentiary disclosures are due September 10

• Trump’s reply briefs are due September 19

• Special counsel’s brief on immunity due September 26

• Trump’s supplementary motion to dismiss on statutory grounds due October 3

• Special counsel’s reply due October 17

• Trump response to the special counsel’s immunity brief due October 17

• Special counsel’s reply to that is due October 29

• Trump’s request to argue the case should be dismissed based on the special counsel’s appointment is due October 24

• Special counsel’s reply is due October 31

• And Trump’s reply to that is due November 7

The above dates are subject to delays and rescheduling as things progress. The presidential election is November 5.

This blog will, as always, cover every step of the case.

Visibly frustrated judge spars with Trump’s attorney as January 6 case returns to court

Friday 6 September 2024 07:15 , Oliver O’Connell

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s federal election interference case will not let the 2024 presidential election get in the way of prosecuting the former president, after months of delays over his “immunity” appeal effectively froze the case in Washington DC.

Reconvening in a courtroom for the first time in nearly a year, District Judge Tanya Chutkan held a status conference with federal prosecutors and lawyers for Trump to determine next steps in the case, in which Trump is criminally accused of trying to subvert his election loss and then failing to stop a mob of his supporters who tried to do it by force.

Gustaf Kilander and Alex Woodward report.

Visibly frustrated judge spars with Trump’s attorney as January 6 returns to court

Melania brings the drama promoting her memoir

Friday 6 September 2024 06:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Former First Lady Melania Trump teased the release of her upcoming memoir in an intense black-and-white video, emphasizing she feels she has a “responsibility to clarify the facts” after her profile was launched into the public eye as the wife of Donald Trump.

Despite being a “private person,” she issued a rare public statement to promote her forthcoming memoir, titled Melania — set to be released on September 24 — just two months before the 2024 presidential election.

Maybe wait for the movie?

Melania Trump promotes new ‘deeply personal’ memoir with dramatic video

New in leaked memos: Trump staffers threatened with firing over media leaks

Friday 6 September 2024 05:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump‘s campaign staffers face losing their jobs if they speak to the media before the election in November, according to a leaked email from his co-campaign managers.

In the email, seen by NCB News, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles reportedly wrote that the Republican campaign team has “done a great job in preventing leaks”, because “everyone knows what the policy is and what we expect from everyone”.

Myriam Page reports.

Internal memo reveals Trump staffers threatened with firing over media leaks

Tim Walz’s mom breaks silence over rift between her sons

Friday 6 September 2024 04:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Tim Walz’s mom has broken her silence over the rift between Kamala Harris’s vice presidential pick and his older, Donald Trump-supporting brother Jeff.

Darlene Walz confirmed to The Daily Beast on Wednesday that the relationship between the brothers is rocky – but said that she tries to stay out of the matter.

Myriam Page reports.

Tim Walz’s mom breaks silence over rift between Harris’s VP pick and his brother Jeff

Trump insists he and Vance are not weird as he rambles about hating mosquitoes

Friday 6 September 2024 03:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump repeatedly insisted that he and running mate JD Vance were “not weird”, moments before launching into a tangent about hating mosquitoes during a town hall, where he also attacked rival Kamala Harris and promised “the largest deportation in history” if he was to return to the White House.

The former president participated in a one-hour, pre-taped event with Fox News’ Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

Kelly Rissman watched so you don’t have to.

Trump insists he and Vance not weird but ‘solid rocks’ before rambling about mosquito

Walz aims donut jibe at Vance on visit to Pennsylvania farmers’ market

Friday 6 September 2024 02:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Tim Walz mocked rival JD Vance with a donut joke as he visited a farmers’ market in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Kamala Harris’s running mate poked fun at his Republican counterpart’s awkward attempt to make small talk at a donut store in Valdosta, Georgia last month. Awkward video of the event included one worker telling Vance that she did not want to appear on camera as he picked out sweet treats.

On Wednesday, Walz visited Cherry Hill Orchards and Farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in a state that will be crucial for Harris’s victory in November.

Graeme Massie has the story.

Tim Walz aims donut jibe at JD Vance on visit to Pennsylvania farmers’ market

ICYMI: Cheney endorses Harris and warns of ‘danger’ Trump poses to Constitution

Friday 6 September 2024 01:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Former Wyoming congressmember Liz Cheney has endorsed Kamala Harris for president, breaking with her fellow conservatives who are supporting Donald Trump.

Cheney, one of Trump’s most vocal Republican critics while she was in Congress, said during an event at Duke University on Wednesday that fellow conservatives don’t have “the luxury” of sitting out or writing in other candidates if they’re uneasy about Trump, especially in a swing state like the university’s home of North Carolina.

Josh Marcus reports.

Liz Cheney endorses Kamala Harris and warns of ‘danger’ Trump poses to Constitution

Trump claims he’ll ‘save’ TikTok — the platform he tried to ban

Friday 6 September 2024 01:00 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump has claimed he would “save TikTok in America,” a far cry from the days of 2020 when he sought to ban the social media platform via an executive order.

Josh Marcus looks at what’s at play here.

Trump claims he’ll ‘save’ TikTok – despite trying to get it banned while in office

Putin cites Harris’s ‘infectious laugh’ in mocking endorsement for president

Friday 6 September 2024 00:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Russian president Vladimir Putin has claimed that he wants Kamala Harris to win the presidential election because President Joe Biden endorsed her – and because she has an “expressive and infectious laugh”.

On Thursday, during the Eastern Economic Forum, the Russian president claimed that Biden was his “favorite” candidate but that since he dropped out he will now support the new Democratic nominee.

“Our favorite, if you can call it that, was the current president Mr. Biden,” Putin said, with a smirk.

Ariana Baio reports.

Putin cites Harris’s ‘infectious laugh’ in mocking endorsement for president

The worm turns: Nick Fuentes blasts Trump on 2020 election

Friday 6 September 2024 00:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Bang go those secret dinners at Mar-a-Lago…

Here’s Alex Woodward’s report on the former president’s remarks that triggered Fuentes’s reaction.

Trump admits he lost 2020 election ‘by a whisker’ during Lex Fridman podcast

Republicans concerned by dwindling support among women

Thursday 5 September 2024 23:50 , Oliver O’Connell

With exactly two months to go until Election Day, Republican strategists are likely keeping a close eye on gender polling as Vice President Harris continues to enjoy support from a majority of women while Donald Trump struggles to hold onto women supporters.

Post-Democratic National Convention (DNC), Harris has managed to increase the percentage of women supporting her by three points, according to polling from Reuters/Ipsos.

That could be attributed to Democrats’ push for reproductive freedoms, including abortion, which is a top concern for voters this election cycle.

Meanwhile, Trump is losing support from women and instead picking up more from men. The former president had a five-point increase in support from men post-DNC.

But Trump still only holds a roughly five percentage point lead over Harris among men while Harris holds a 13 percentage point lead over the Republican among women.

Here’s more from Ariana Baio and Alicja Hagopian.

GOP’s dwindling support among women has Republicans concerned for the election

Watch: Trump tells Economic Club of New York ‘a couple of nukes and your bank doesn’t mean a thing’

Thursday 5 September 2024 23:30 , Oliver O’Connell

He even gave a brief shout-out to JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon.

Some Republican leaders think Trump is bad for party – and want him to lose

Thursday 5 September 2024 23:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Some members of the GOP are secretly rooting for Trump to lose the election in November for the sake of their party and its future, according to reports.

Katie Hawkinson has more.

Some GOP leaders think Trump is bad for the party’s future — and want him to lose

Watch LIVE: JD Vance campaigns in Arizona

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:58 , Oliver O’Connell

Second Gentleman Emhoff tells Pod Save America about missing Biden bombshell and Kamala’s call at SoulCycle

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:50 , Oliver O’Connell

Doug Emhoff, fresh from his touching speech about his wife at last month’s Democratic National Convention, told the former Obama staffers about the surreal moment he checked his phone after a workout to find President Biden had stepped down and his wife was on course to become his successor as nominee for the presidency.

The former entertainment industry lawyer also discusses his experiences in Washington DC, his fantasy football draft with his son Cole and his hopes of becoming America’s first First Gentleman.

The Lincoln Project posts sassy response to Trump’s claims about economy

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:40 , Oliver O’Connell

Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed for response to Georgia mass shooting: ‘Save your fake prayers’

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has been slammed after responding to the school shooting in her home state of Georgia with a simple call for prayers without mentioning the issue of gun violence and her longstanding opposition to gun control.

On Wednesday, two teachers and two students were killed at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Nine were sent to hospital while dozens more were wounded.

The suspect, a 14-year-old boy, has been charged with four counts of murder in the shooting.

Gustaf Kilander reports on what Greene, whose bio on X reads “100% pro-gun”, had to say.

Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed for response to Georgia mass shooting

BREAKING: Hunter Biden pleads guilty to nine federal tax charges

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:27 , Oliver O’Connell

Hunter Biden has pleaded guilty to all the charges in the federal tax case against him.

The move came as a surprise as jury selection was about to begin, but it avoids a potentially embarrassing trial for the son of President Joe Biden.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 16.

Per NBC News:

The plea to the nine criminal counts came after prosecutors objected to his attempt earlier in the day to enter what’s known as an Alford plea, where a defendant pleads guilty because of the strength of the case against them while maintaining their innocence.

The younger Biden instead wound up taking what’s known as an open plea, where a defendant pleads guilty to all the charges and leaves his sentencing fate in the hands of the judge, without an agreed-upon recommendation from prosecutors.

More follows…

Dimitri Simes: US charges former Trump 2016 campaign adviser over work for sanctioned Russian media

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:20 , Oliver O’Connell

The US government has charged a Russian-born US citizen and former adviser to Donald Trump‘s 2016 presidential campaign with working for a sanctioned Russian state television network and laundering the proceeds.

Indictments announced Thursday by the Department of Justice allege that Dimitri Simes and his wife received over $1m and a personal car and driver in exchange for work they did for Russia’s Channel One. The state television network was sanctioned by the US in 2022 over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Josh Marcus reports.

Policy expert who advised Trump allegedly violated sanctions with $1m Russian TV deal

Judge publishes new timeline for Trump’s federal election interference case

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Judge Tanya Chutkan said at this morning’s status hearing in the federal election interference case brought against Donald Trump by special counsel Jack Smith that she would not be factoring in the presidential election when determining the schedule for the case going forward.

And she was not kidding.

The new deadlines ensure that Trump and Smith will be making high-profile filings — potentially filled with never-before-seen details — in the weeks leading up to Election Day. Trump will not be happy.

Here’s the new timeline:

• Special counsel’s evidentiary disclosures are due September 10

• Trump’s reply briefs are due September 19

• Special counsel’s brief on immunity due September 26

• Trump’s supplementary motion to dismiss on statutory grounds due October 3

• Special counsel’s reply due October 17

• Trump response to the special counsel’s immunity brief due October 17

• Special counsel’s reply to that is due October 29

• Trump’s request to argue the case should be dismissed based on the special counsel’s appointment is due October 24

• Special counsel’s reply is due October 31

• And Trump’s reply to that is due November 7

The above dates are subject to delays and rescheduling as things progress. The presidential election is November 5.

This blog will, as always, cover every step of the case.

Trump surrogates try to spin economic policy speech as success

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:00 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump’s campaign surrogates Chris Sununu and Doug Burgum have made appearances on Fox News and Fox Business respectively to talk up the former president’s speech to the Economic Club of New York today.

Here’s Sununu claiming that Trump “can actually speak to details” about the economy, when he still fails to understand how tariffs harm American consumers.

And here’s Burgum really going for it and claiming: “I feel like he won the election today with this speech.”

Wow.

Trump says convicted criminals should spend time behind bars. What about him?

Thursday 5 September 2024 21:50 , Oliver O’Connell

Graig Graziosi writes:

Donald Trump had better hope the US justice system has a more forgiving sentencing philosophy than his own.

Earlier this week, Trump’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told the New York Times that the former president “believes anyone convicted of a crime should spend time behind bars.”

Leavitt made the comment in response to the re-conviction of Jamie Davidson, whose domestic violence sentence Trump commuted in 2021.

Trump’s own logic would condemn him to jail after he was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case. He’ll be sentenced on September 18.

Continue reading…

Trump says convicted criminals should spend time behind bars. What about him?

Biden set to block Nippon Steel’s $15bn acquisition of US Steel

Thursday 5 September 2024 21:37 , Oliver O’Connell

The White House is reportedly close to announcing that President Joe Biden will block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of US Steel on national security grounds, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Wednesday, amid growing bipartisan political opposition to the $14.9bn deal.

US Steel warned yesterday that a failure to conclude a deal with Japan-based Nippon would put thousands of American union jobs at risk and signalled that it would close some steel mills and potentially move its headquarters out of the politically important state of Pennsylvania.

A decision could be announced as soon as this week.

Biden’s move could potentially impact the United States’ relationship with Japan, a close ally, but appears to come with the endorsement of Kamala Harris, who on Monday expressed her belief that US Steel must remain “American-owned and operated”.

Her Republican rival Donald Trump has likewise pledged to block the deal if elected.

Latinos really don’t like JD Vance, new polls shows

Thursday 5 September 2024 21:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Senator JD Vance is in Phoenix today as former president Donald Trump tries to flip the state back into his column this November.

The Ohio senator heads to Arizona as Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz make a serious play for the state — and for Latino voters as a demographic.

But a new survey has found that Latino voters in Arizona and other battleground states do not like Vance, at all.

Eric Garcia reports.

New poll shows Latinos really don’t like JD Vance

What exactly did Donald Trump say about childcare during his remarks at the Economic Clun of New York?

Thursday 5 September 2024 21:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Much is being made of what Donald Trump said when he was asked about what a Trump administration would do to lower the costs of childcare and what specific legislation he would advance.

In short, he was completely unprepared for a question that is a major issue for many Americans and his response was terrible.

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod wryly remarked: “Looks like debate prep is going swimmingly.🙄”

You can watch what he said here:

And here, courtesy of MeidasTouch, is a full unedited transcript:

Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down, and I was, somebody, we had Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka was so, uh, impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about, that, because, look, child care is child care is. Couldn’t, you know, there’s something, you have to have it – in this country you have to have it.

But when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to — but they’ll get used to it very quickly – and it’s not gonna stop them from doing business with us, but they’ll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country. Uh, those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we’re talking about, including child care, that it’s going to take care.

We’re gonna have – I, I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time, coupled with, uh, the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country, because I have to stay with child care. I want to stay with child care, but those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I’m talking about, including growth, but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just, uh, that I just told you about.

We’re gonna be taking in trillions of dollars, and as much as child care, uh, is talked about as being expensive, it’s, relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in. We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people, and then we’ll worry about the rest of the world. Let’s help other people, but we’re going to take care of our country first. This is about America first. It’s about Make America Great Again, we have to do it because right now we’re a failing nation, so we’ll take care of it. Thank you. Very good question. Thank you.

Yikes.