Spike Lee and Samuel L Jackson join Harris rally, while Trump calls US ‘garbage can for the world’

Kamala Harris is hosting the first of a series of get-out-the-vote events in key swing states, being joined tonight in Atlanta, Georgia by Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Samuel L Jackson, Tyler Perry, and Spike Lee.

Tomorrow in Houston, Texas, superstar Beyoncé will lend her support to the campaign as the vice president focuses on the future of reproductive rights. Obama and Springsteen will also appear in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

On Wednesday night Harris said she believes that Donald Trump is a “fascist” in a CNN town hall in Pennsylvania, again warning of the threat the Republican poses to the country’s future.

The former president is currently facing a fresh storm of criticism over a report alleging that he once said he needed “the kind of generals that Adolf Hitler had”, with John Kelly, his former chief of staff, saying he praised Hitler on multiple occasions.

Trump has nevertheless taken a narrow lead over Harris in a new Wall Street Journal poll with less than two weeks until Election Day, getting 47 percent of the vote in the latest survey, with Harris two points behind.

In a rally in Tempe, Arizona, this evening Trump referred to the US as the “garbage can for the world” when speaking about immigration.

Key Points

• Beyonce to join Kamala Harris rally in Houston on Friday

• Kamala Harris hits out at ‘fascist’ Donald Trump and defends policies at CNN town hall

• Trump takes narrow lead over Harris in new Wall Street Journal poll

• All-star line-up for Harris rally in Atlanta tonight

• Trump calls US ‘garbage can for the world’ at Arizona rally

Bruce Springsteen serenades Harris rally crowds in Atlanta

23:49 , Mike Bedigan

Rock legend Bruce Springsteen has taken to the stage in Atlanta, ahead of remarks by Kamala Harris.

The Boss serenaded crowds with an acoustic rendition of his hit song The Promised Land.

Springsteen followed remarks by acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee, and Hollywood star Samuel L Jackson.

Fox News edited Trump interview days after former president attacked CBS over Harris ‘60 Minutes’ sit down

23:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Fox News edited Donald Trump’s sit-down chat with voters at a Bronx barbershop – days after Trump condemned 60 Minutes for doing the same with Vice President Kamala Harris’s interview.

Ariana Baio reports.

Fox News edited Trump interview days after he slammed Harris over ‘60 Minutes’

Samuel L Jackson tells Georgia crowds Harris’ favorite curse words is ‘also one of mine’

23:20 , Mike Bedigan

Boebert claims ‘Morning Joe’ host’s rhetoric is ‘getting Republicans shot’

23:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Far-right lawmaker Lauren Boebert has claimed that an MSNBC journalist is using rhetoric that “is getting Republicans shot.”

Representative Boebert of Colorado posted a clip of ‘Morning Joe’ host Mika Brzezinski telling viewers that Donald Trump is “killing” women over his stance on reproductive rights.

Katie Hawkinson reports.

Lauren Boebert claims Morning Joe host’s rhetoric is ‘getting Republicans shot’

Watch: Samuel L Jackson says he’s proud to support Kamala Harris as next president

23:03 , Oliver O’Connell

Small-town mayor candidate who runs Trump Town USA merchandise store accused of assaulting ex-employees

22:55 , Oliver O’Connell

A candidate for mayor in a small Virginia town was arrested at the Trump Town USA store he owns less than two weeks before the election.

Donald “Whitey” Taylor, a 74-year-old running for mayor in the 250-person town of Boones Mill, was arrested on Tuesday and now faces four misdemeanor charges: three counts of assault and battery and one count of indecent exposure, court records show. He owns a store that sells pro-Trump merchandise.

Kelly Rissman has the story.

Virginia mayor candidate who runs Trump merch store accused of assaulting ex-staff

Watch: Trump rolls out new trash-talking of America, calling it ‘garbage can for the world’

22:47 , Oliver O’Connell

No taxes! For anyone! Trump again tries to woo support for economic plan

22:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Former President Donald Trump has again suggested his wildest tax reform plan – fully removing federal income taxes and saying that the lost revenue can be replaced by funds received from tariffs.

Appearing at a barbershop in the Bronx on Monday in a segment broadcast on Fox News, Trump was asked when the country could end all federal taxes. The former president suggested returning to the policies of the 1800s.

“It had all tariffs — it didn’t have an income tax,” Trump said. “Now we have income taxes, and we have people that are dying. They’re paying tax, and they don’t have the money to pay the tax.”

Similarly, in June, Trump suggested that federal income taxes be replaced by funds obtained via tariffs, something he has not explained further.

Gustaf Kilander digs into what the Republican nominee is getting at…

Trump again pushes no taxes – for anyone – in latest pitch to woo economic support

Trump asks judge to dismiss federal Jan 6 case

22:19 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump has asked Judge Tanya Chutkan for leave to file a motion to dismiss the federal January 6 case brought against him, accusing Special Counsel Jack Smith of being unlawfully appointed and spending $36m on the Trump cases to date.

Not only do Trump’s attorneys want Chutkan to dismiss the case on the grounds of Smith’s appointment, but they also want an injunction “against additional spending” to “prevent ongoing irreparable harm and to ensure complete relief for the Appropriations Clause violation.”

Read the full filing here

Former first son says his Republican dad would’ve voted Trump — his sister has other ideas

22:10 , Oliver O’Connell

The son of late president Gerald Ford has said that his father would have backed fellow Republican Donald Trump in the election after his sister proudly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

Susan Ford Bales, Ford’s daughter, issued a statement earlier this week announcing her backing of Harris.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Former first son says his dad would’ve voted Trump after sister endorses Harris

Meanwhile in Atlanta…

22:04 , Oliver O’Connell

In rambling speech to young conservatives, Trump claims he ‘stopped wars with France’

21:55 , Oliver O’Connell

Can we assume he meant trade wars?

Who even knows at this point?

Here’s Josh Marcus to try and make sense of the former president’s remarks.

Trump claims he ‘stopped wars with France’ in rambling speech to young conservatives

Trump speaking soon in Tempe, Arizona

21:49 , Oliver O’Connell

The Mullett Arena at Arizona State University was slow to fill up according to reporters on site.

Nick Offerman (and some very angry children) want you to vote

21:46 , Oliver O’Connell

Actor Nick Offerman released a music video last week encouraging people to get out and vote for Kamala Harris.

In the video, a group of children reacts to finding out that one of their grandparents instead spent the day “smokin’ weed and watchin’ porn” instead of saving democracy. They are not happy and take vengeance on grandpa.

Responding to online haters a week later, Offerman wrote on X: “If you are replying to this with hatred and homophobia, you’re making my point for me. I vote for the party of acceptance and equal rights for all. #VoteBlue.”

Enjoy the video below:

Watch: RFK Jr echoes Trump in claiming voting for Harris is voting for nuclear war

21:40 , Oliver O’Connell

Harris taping interview for podcast Club Shay Shay

21:36 , Oliver O’Connell

Kamala Harris is taping an interview with Shannon Sharpe, three-time Super Bowl champion (with the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens), for his podcast Club Shay Shay.

The interview will air on Monday.

Recent guests include John Legend, Fat Joe, and Mark Cuban.

Here’s a clip of John Legend discussing reproductive rights and the role of Donald Trump in overturning Roe v Wade in the context of when his wife, model Chrissy Teigen miscarried.

Conservative billionaires are dumping millions into groups pushing election fraud conspiracies

21:30 , Oliver O’Connell

A group of wealthy conservatives have funneled $140 million to a series of organizations that could work to support GOP efforts to challenge the 2024 presidential election results.

Hobby Lobby founder David Green and Wisconsin shipping billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein are among those making sizeable donations to these groups, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Katie Hawkinson has the story.

Billionaires are dumping millions into groups that could push election conspiracies

Democrats call for DOJ probe of Jared Kushner for acting as unregistered foreign agent

21:25 , Oliver O’Connell

Democratic Rep Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, have written to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on him to appoint a special counsel to investigate possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by Jared Kushner, son-in-law and former senior White House advisor to ex-President Donald Trump.

In a statement released today, they say that as part of investigations launched last Congress by House and Senate Democrats, Senate investigators have uncovered that since the end of the Trump administration through mid-2024, Kushner’s firm Affinity Partners has received as much as $157m in fees from foreign clients. This includes $87m from the Saudi government.

In that time, the firm has generated no return on investment, paid zero earnings to investors, and invested only a small fraction of the funds it received from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

They argue that public reports indicate that Kushner remained politically active throughout that time period, particularly on matters of US foreign policy related to the Middle East.

“While on the Saudi government’s payroll, Mr Kushner is simultaneously serving as a political consultant to former President Trump and acting as a shadow diplomat and political advisor to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and other foreign principals. Despite being engaged in plainly political activities, Mr Kushner has not made FARA disclosures to DOJ related to the millions of dollars he receives annually by entities owned and controlled by the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” Raskin and Wyden wrote.

“The scale of these undisclosed foreign payments to Mr Kushner coupled with the national security implications of his apparent ongoing efforts to sell political influence to the highest foreign bidder are unprecedented and demand action from DOJ.”

Individuals acting on behalf of foreign entities must register with the DOJ or will have violated federal law.

The lawmakers included a list of political activities engaged in by Kushner during the time he was being paid:

• Advising the Saudi Crown Prince on US foreign policy;

• Advising former President Trump and his presidential campaign;

• Selling geopolitical advisory and political advocacy services to foreign government clients through his private equity fund;

• Arranging meetings on foreign policy with the Qatari prime minister on US soil;

• Engaging in political fundraising in support of Trump’s campaign; and

• Influencing members of Congress on domestic and foreign policy.

Watch these House races if you want to know if Trump or Harris will win

21:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

A new batch of polls for the swing states from various outlets dropped on Wednesday evening, to mixed reactions.

Some Democrats and even some Republicans have taken to discarding polls overall and looking at early voting numbers instead, since people in swing states like Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin have already begun to cast their ballots. But this is an imprecise science, since it only reveals party registration. Plenty of registered Republicans may not pull the lever for Trump, and vice versa.

Uncertainty is probably the worst part of the final days before an election, especially in a coin-flip election. Voters want certainty, even if it is a result they would not like, as it gives them a chance to gird themselves.

But while The Independent can’t necessarily offer a crystal ball, Inside Washington might be able to offer one early indicator of how the races will swing.

Continue reading…

Want to know if Trump or Harris will win? Watch these House races

Trump denies proposes national sales tax — still fails to understand how tariffs work

21:09 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump still fails to understand or admit that tariffs on imported goods mean higher prices for American consumers buying imported goods and businesses that rely on imported components.

These higher prices are framed as a national sales tax by Democrats.

Here’s what the former president wrote on Truth Social this afternoon:

I am NOT proposing a National Sales Tax, as the Democrats say in their Advertisements against me. Dems know what they are saying is a blatant lie. I am proposing tariffs on other countries that take advantage of us, hardly a NST. These tariffs are paid for by the abusing country, NOT THE AMERICAN CONSUMER. They do not cause inflation, and will MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN!

‘Did you just ‘whatever’ the Holocaust?’: ‘Daily Show’ skewers ‘Fox & Friends’

20:50 , Oliver O’Connell

The Daily Show tore into Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday, after the broadcaster tried to defend Donald Trump in the wake of reporting that he allegedly praised Adolf Hitler in the White House.

“He obviously has frustration, and I could absolutely see him going out, ‘You know what? It would be great to have German generals [that] actually do what we asked them to do,’” Kilmeade told panelists on Fox & Friends. “Knowing that, maybe not fully being cognizant of the third rail of German generals were Nazis and whatever. But he was frustrated with the slowdown.”

“Did you just ‘whatever’ the Holocaust?” Daily Show host Michael Kosta asked during a segment on the controversy.

Josh Marcus reports.

‘Daily Show’ skewers ‘Fox & Friends’ for defending Trump’s Hitler remarks

Watch: Howard Kurtz vouches for Kelly over Trump’s Hitler comments before trying to explain them away

20:33 , Oliver O’Connell

Trump claims Pennsylvania has 500,000 fracking jobs — is there any truth to that?

20:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that Pennsylvania has 500,000 fracking jobs, but reports indicate that the figure is closer to a tenth of that.

Gustaf Kilander looks at the numbers.

Trump claims Pennsylvania has 500K fracking jobs – the figure is a tenth of that

Watch: CNN pollster says 60% chance Harris or Trump could sweep battlegrounds

20:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Explained: A convicted felon, such as Trump, wins the presidency — what happens next?

20:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Earlier this year, Donald Trump made history by becoming the first former president ever convicted of a crime.

Now, with Election Day looming and the Republican neck-and-neck with Kamala Harris in the polls, he could make history again: by becoming the first convicted felon elected to the nation’s highest office.

Joe Sommerlad explains what could happen next.

What happens if a convicted felon – like Trump – wins the presidency?

Biden to apologize for 150-year Indian boarding school policy

20:05 , AP

President Joe Biden is expected to formally apologize on Friday for the country’s role in the Indian boarding school system, which devastated the lives of generations of Indigenous children and their ancestors.

“I would never have guessed in a million years that something like this would happen,” said Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna. “It’s a big deal to me. I’m sure it will be a big deal to all of Indian Country.”

Shortly after becoming the first Native American to lead the Interior, Haaland launched an investigation into the boarding school system, which found that at least 18,000 children, some as young as 4, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that sought to assimilate them, in an effort to dispossess their tribal nations of land. It also documented nearly 1,000 deaths and 74 gravesites associated with the more than 500 schools.

No president has ever formally apologized for the forced removal of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children — an element of genocide as defined by the United Nations — or any other aspect of the US government’s decimation of Indigenous peoples.

Continue reading…

President Biden to apologize for 150-year Indian boarding school policy

More than 2.1 million people have voted early in Georgia

19:59 , Alex Woodward

Georgia’s secretary of state says more than 2.125 million people have voted early in the state, as of this afternoon.

On day ten of Early Voting in previous years, 730,706 (2018), 1,328,199 (2020), and 1,139,770 (2022) voters had turned out for in-person Early Voting.

“Georgia voters know we’ve made it easy to cast a ballot. It’s really that simple,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

“Over the past four years we’ve worked tirelessly to prepare for this election by adding Early Voting days and investing in infrastructure, only to be rewarded with the lies of Jim Crow 2.0 and a missed All-Star Game. We’re battled tested and ready, despite the critics.”

Far more Harris supporters confident outcome of election will be clear when ballots counted

19:55 , Alex Woodward

A majority of American voters are at least somewhat confident in the outcomes of elections this November, but Donald Trump’s supporters are nearly 30 percent less likely to believe that it will be clear who won when the ballots are counted.

Partisan gaps in how voters view election results and election administration are about as wide as they were in 2020, according to the results of a new Pew Research Center poll out today.

Roughly 85 percent of Kamala Harris voters are confident that it will be clear who won once the results are counted, compared to just 58 percent of Donald Trump supporters.

Eighty-five percent of Harris voters are also confident that mail-in ballots will be accurately accounted for, compared to just 38 percent of Trump voters.

Harris voters are much more confident than Trump voters that election systems are secure from hacking and technological threats — 73 percent, to just 32 percent among Trump voters, representing a 60 percent decrease from four years ago.

Only 20 percent of voters are “extremely” or “very” confident that the Supreme Court will remain politically neutral if election litigation lands in front of the justices this year.

Trump voters are far more confident (34 percent) about that than Harris voters (6 percent).

The survey was performed September 30 to October 6 among roughly 5,000 adult participants.

Republicans have bet big on anti-trans ads… but polling shows voters hate them

19:50 , Oliver O’Connell

A polling firm has revealed that more than half of registered voters view Republicans’ anti-trans ads as “mean-spirited.”

54 percent of voters agree with the statement that attack ads on transgender people have “gotten mean-spirited and out of hand,” according to polling data released Thursday by left-leaning Data for Progress. 31 percent of Republicans also agreed with the statement, according to the poll.

Another 80 percent of likely voters said they “strongly” or “somewhat” agree both political parties should “spend less time talking about transgender issues and more time talking about voters’ priority issues like the economy and inflation.”

Katie Hawkinson has the details.

Republicans have bet big on anti-trans ads. Voters hate them

Sarah Jessica Parker shares presidential endorsement

19:35 , Oliver O’Connell

Sarah Jessica Parker made reference to her Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw as she announced her support for Kamala Harris in next month’s presidential election.

Parker, 59, posted an image of herself holding up a “Harris/Walz” placard on Instagram.

In the caption, she listed 31 reasons why she intends to vote for the Democratic candidates. The post already has just under 340,000 likes.

Here’s Kevin E G Perry’s report.

Sarah Jessica Parker shares presidential endorsement before 2024 election

DNC shootings suspect ‘was planning mass casualty event’

19:30 , Oliver O’Connell

An Arizona man arrested after a series of attacks on a Democratic National Committee office may have been planning a ‘mass casualty event’ authorities say.

Jeffrey Michael Kelly, 60, was arrested on Tuesday night by Tempe Police and charged with multiple felony counts, including unlawful discharge of a firearm, shooting at a non-residential structure and committing an act of terrorism, and three misdemeanor counts of criminal discharge, authorities said.

Kelly Rissman reports.

DNC shootings suspect ‘was planning mass casualty event’ as FBI find 120 guns

Watch: ‘Trump’ sent to nursing home in new Eric Swalwell video

19:20 , Oliver O’Connell

‘Donald Trump’ sent to nursing home in new Eric Swalwell video

James Taylor to join Walz on campaign trail in North Carolina

19:16 , Oliver O’Connell

Singer James Taylor will join vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on the campaign trail in Wilmington, North Carolina this evening, NBC News reports.

Taylor, a North Carolina-native, has endorsed the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz ticket.

‘Dad’ Trump will give ‘vigorous spankings to bad girls’… according to Tucker Carlson

19:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson whipped up a crowd of Donald Trump supporters with a bizarre speech comparing the former president to a dad coming home to punish his misbehaving children.

Here’s Ariana Baio’s report on this unsettling visual.

Bizarre Tucker Carlson speech compares Trump to ‘dad’ giving kids ‘vigorous spanking’

Watch: Scaramucci explains why he doesn’t think Trump would incite violence if he loses

19:07 , Oliver O’Connell

Former Trump staffer Anthony Scaramucci tells Dean Obdeidallah why he doesn’t think that Donald Trump would incite violence if he loses the 2024 election.

Warren Buffett reveals endorsement decision after fake claims about who he’s backing

19:03 , Oliver O’Connell

The billionaire Warren Buffet has finally revealed his endorsement decision for next month’s election – but it’s not the one many would have guessed.

Madeline Sherratt has the story.

Warren Buffett finally reveals his endorsement decision in 2024 election

Watch: Trump tells Hugh Hewitt he would fire Jack Smith in ‘two seconds’

19:00 , Oliver O’Connell

Watch: Harris hails endorsements from GOP leaders, dings Trump for being ‘exhausted’

18:54 , Oliver O’Connell

Kamala Harris hailed new endorsements from Republican Party leaders while speaking to the press this lunchtime: “I’m proud to announce that we’ve had some endorsements this morning…Two leaders of the Republican Party…The Mayor of Waukesha and former Representative Fred Upton.”

She also reiterated the claim that Donald Trump is “exhausted”, adding “the sad part about that is he’s trying to be President of the United States”.

Three decades serving as congressional Republican, and this GOP stalwart has voted for Harris

18:50 , Oliver O’Connell

Fred Upton, a member of the Republican Party who represented Michigan in Congress for more than three decades, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Thursday, breaking from his party in defiance of Donald Trump.

Reflecting on the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Upton said Trump is “unfit to serve as commander in chief again” and has continued to engage in unacceptable “unhinged behavior”, in a statement obtained by the New York Times.

Ariana Baio reports.

Ex-GOP rep backs Harris saying Trump is unfit to serve as commander in chief again

Watch: GOP mayor ‘terrified of Donald Trump’ declares support for Kamala Harris

18:40 , Oliver O’Connell

Red city mayor ‘terrified of Donald Trump’ declares support for Kamala Harris

Mailbox set on fire damaging ballots in crucial swing state Arizona

18:35 , Oliver O’Connell

Phoenix Fire Department and law enforcement are investigating after a United States Postal Service mailbox was believed to have been set on fire overnight. Some 20 mail-in electoral ballots were damaged in addition to other mail awaiting collection.

ABC 15 Arizona reports:

Crews were called to the USPS Osborn Station, near 7th Avenue and Indian School Road, around 1:30 a.m. where a drove-up mail collection box was on fire.

Crews were able to quickly extinguish the blaze, but investigators were later seen going through pieces of mail that had been burned in the fire.

“Approximately 20 electoral ballots were damaged, along with additional miscellaneous mail,” Phoenix Fire Department officials said. The Postal Inspector has since taken possession of the damaged ballots and mail.

What led to the fire is not yet known, but Phoenix Police Department says Phoenix Fire Department’s Arson Investigation Taskforce is performing a criminal investigation with postal inspectors and police.

Watch: Harris speaks to reporters before traveling to Atlanta

18:31 , Oliver O’Connell

More than 230 doctors say Trump is too unstable to serve

18:30 , Oliver O’Connell

More than 230 psychiatrists and mental health professionals have signed on to an open letter declaring Donald Trump to be far too mentally unstable to be president as part of a new ad campaign from conservative lawyer George Conway’s Anti-Psychopath PAC.

Andrew Feinberg has the story.

More than 230 doctors say Trump is too unstable to be president in open letter

Watch: Harris campaign deploying celebrity advantage over GOP

18:20 , Oliver O’Connell

Full story: Trump says he would fire ‘mean’ special counsel Jack Smith ‘within seconds’ of taking office

18:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump said he would “fire” special counsel Jack Smith within “two seconds” of his first day in office, if elected, suggesting that the Republican presidential nominee intends to force law enforcement agencies and the courts to drop two federal cases against him.

Right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump on Thursday whether he would pardon himself or “fire” the special counsel appointed to oversee the criminal cases against the former president.

“Oh, it’s so easy. It’s so easy. He’s a crooked person … I would fire him within two seconds,” Trump said.

Alex Woodward reports.

Trump says he would ‘fire’ Jack Smith ‘within seconds’ of taking office

Watch: Trump continues to pledge to revive archaic ‘alien’ law

18:00 , Oliver O’Connell

Trump continues pledge to revive centuries-old archaic ‘alien’ law

Another day, another pointless fib…

17:50 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump‘s claim that his youngest daughter Tiffany Trump graduated at the very top of her law school class is raising eyebrows — given the school doesn’t rank its students and she doesn’t appear on the honors list.

James Liddell has the story.

Trump’s claim Tiffany graduated top of her class at Georgetown raises eyebrows

Watch: Morning Joe breaks down how Trump economic plan would ‘tank economy’

17:35 , Oliver O’Connell

Steve Rattner takes a look at how Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s economic plans stack up after 23 Nobel Prize-winning economists slam the Republican candidate’s policies, predicting higher prices and larger deficits.

New poll shows Trump inching past Harris

17:30 , Oliver O’Connell

A new poll has found that former President Donald Trump has a small lead over Vice President Kamala Harris, less than two weeks ahead of November’s election.

A national Wall Street Journal poll found Trump leads Harris 47 to 45 percent. In August, the same pollster found that Harris was ahead by two points. The poll results included third-party and independent candidates. However, both Trump’s and Harris’s poll leads have been within the margin of error.

Gustaf Kilander reports (but make sure you also check out Alicja Hagopian’s polls explainer here):

New poll shows Trump inching past Harris less than two weeks from election day

Why Kelly’s Hitler claims about Trump are hardly an October surprise, according to Stephen Colbert

17:10 , Oliver O’Connell

Stephen Colbert has joked that John Kelly’s claims about his former boss Donald Trump praising Adolf Hitler are hardly an October surprise – but more like an “autumn no s***.”

James Liddell has the story.

Stephen Colbert says Kelly’s Hitler claims about Trump are hardly an October surprise

Full story: Beyoncé to join Kamala Harris at Houston rally on Friday

16:55 , Oliver O’Connell

Beyoncé will reportedly join Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Houston, Texas, on Friday, according to multiple outlets.

The campaign appearance will mark the “Texas Hold Em” singer’s first public endorsement for the Democratic presidential nominee. While Beyoncé has yet to make a statement in support of Harris, the vice president has continued to use the track “Freedom” – from Beyoncé’s 2016 album Lemonade – as her 2024 campaign song.

Meredith Clark has the details.

Beyoncé to join Kamala Harris at Houston rally on Friday

Top Democratic strategist reveals why he’s certain Harris will win 2024 race

16:50 , Oliver O’Connell

Top Democratic strategist James Carville has predicted that Kamala Harris is “certain” to win the presidential election.

Carville, 79, has worked on several presidential campaigns, including former president Bill Clinton’s in 1992. Now, he has explained in a New York Times opinion piece why he’s confident Harris has this race in the bag.

His reasons are threefold, as Katie Hawkinson reports.

Top Democratic strategist reveals why he’s certain Harris will win 2024 race

Harris-Walz campaign reacts to Trump’s comments about firing Jack Smith

16:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Harris-Walz 2024 Director of Rapid Response Ammar Moussa gave the following statement on Donald Trump promising to fire Jack Smith in this morning’s interview with Hugh Hewitt:

“Donald Trump thinks he’s above the law, and these latest comments are right in line with the warnings made by Trump’s former Chief of Staff that he wants to rule as a dictator with unchecked power. A second Trump term, where a more unstable and unhinged Trump has essentially no guardrails and is surrounded by loyalists who will enable his worst instincts, is guaranteed to be more dangerous. America can’t risk a second Trump term.”

Watch: Tucker Carlson compares Trump to angry father spanking ‘bad little girl’

16:40 , Oliver O’Connell

No, really…

Tucker Carlson compares Donald Trump to angry father spanking ‘bad little girl’

Can we trust the polls on Harris vs Trump — and how do they work?

16:30 , Oliver O’Connell

It is now less than two weeks until election day, and the polls are no closer to showing who will be the next president of the United States.

In the past few days, polls have ranged from a 4-point Harris lead, to Trump 3 points ahead overall.

With this much variation, can (and should) we really trust the polls?

Here’s Alicja Hagopian to explain:

Can we trust the polls about Harris and Trump — and how do they really work?

16:24 , Oliver O’Connell

Here at The Independent, we rely on the Associated Press to call the results of races during US elections, so I’m just going to leave this here:

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — AP sources: Beyoncé, whose song ‘Freedom’ is Harris campaign anthem, is expected to be at Harris’ Houston rally Friday.

Will Beyonce finally enter the fray?

16:13 , Oliver O’Connell

Now, look… we’ve been burned before by rumors about Beyonce campaigning with Kamala Harris — remember the appearance at the DNC that never was?

However, multiple news organizations are now reporting that the global superstar will appear with the vice president tomorrow in her hometown of Houston, Texas, and will perform…

Harris is scheduled to speak in Houston tomorrow and give remarks focuses on reproductive rights.

Here’s a more pragmatic approach to the news that summed up the response from many on The Independent’s news desk:

Former champion wrestler has message for Trump

15:58 , Oliver O’Connell

Mick Foley, the retired professional wrestler — considered the greatest of his era in the WWE — has a message for America about Donald Trump as the election nears.

Appearing over the years in the ring as Mankind, Dude Love, and Cactus Jack, Foley slams Trump’s rhetoric about “the enemy within”, is frustrated so many cannot see how he is only out for himself, and explains the former president’s history of screwing over the working class by not paying contractors.

Returning to Trump’s threats to jail his opponents, Foley addresses the former president directly: “Are you going to put me in jail for criticising the Supreme Court?” He then lays into conservative justices one after another, before calling Trump a “douchebag”.

He closes out his video message with an emphatic: “Vote for Kamala Harris!”

Trump tells Hugh Hewitt he would fire Jack Smith ‘within two seconds’

15:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump was interviewed on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show this morning. A transcript is not yet complete and the audio quality wasn’t great because the former president was on a plane, but here are some highlights:

• Yes, he’d use military force to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons

• Asked whether he’d pardon himself or fire Jack Smith on his first day in office: “Oh, it’s so easy. It’s so easy. He’s a crooked person. … We had a brave and brilliant judge in Florida … I would fire him within two seconds. … I don’t think they’ll impeach me if I fire Jack Smith … He’s a scoundrel … He’s so mean.”

• Would he pardon Hunter Biden?: “I wouldn’t take it off the books. … Hunter’s a bad boy, there’s no question about it … But I happen to think it’s very bad for our country … I could’ve gotten Hilary Clinton very easily. … I could’ve had her put in jail.” [huh?]

• His response to a question about “why do some people hate you so much” is almost a free association chain of thought worthy of James Austin Johnson’s impression of Trump on Saturday Night Live:Well, it’s a gift, or it’s something like being left a gift. But it’s one way or the other, because I have a tendency to win. It’s a nice thing, and that bothers people. Sometimes, I play a little bit rough, but they play rough. They are rough and vicious people. They are vicious people. They’re dirty people. They’ve weaponized government. They’ve weaponized everything. And it’s actually made me more popular. It’s hard to believe. That’s, they’re also going to be wrestling with for years, because every time they do something, it makes me more popular. And even I’m surprised about the others. But the people, the thing I’ve learned is the people are very smart. They get it. They get it better than the Democrats get it. And every single time they’ve pulled that weaponization, every single time, with Fani, you know, Fani is…with Fani, with everybody, every time they do this, it’s shocking. You know, my pollster will call me, “Sir, you’re up seven points.” The next time, “Sir, you went up six points.” And it’s rather amazing. But Trump Derangement Syndrome, I don’t know, it’s, I think I’m a nice person. But I’m a negotiator, but I win. And look, I’ve won for the Republican Party. I’ve taken the Republican Party and made into an entirely different party…The Republican Party is a very big, powerful party. Before, it stood, it was an elitist party with real stiffs running it.