With five days until Election Day, Kamala Harris is attacking Donald Trump for saying Wednesday night in Wisconsin that, against his advisers’ advice, he is going to keep saying he will “protect the women” “whether the women like it or not.”
Both candidates continue their whirlwind campaigns in the West.
Latest Developments
Oct 31, 5:26 PM
Trump campaigns in New Mexico, which he falsely claims he won twice
With just five days until Election Day, Trump kicked off his western swing at an unlikely stop in Albuquerque, where he spewed false and baseless claims about past election results as he claimed New Mexico is in play for him.
Trump claimed he won New Mexico in both of his previous presidential runs and that votes from New Mexico were “rigged” — despite Hillary Clinton winning by more than 8 points in 2016 and President Joe Biden winning the state by more than 10 points in 2020.
“I’m only here for one reason. They all said, ‘Don’t come.’ I said, ‘Why?’ ‘You can’t win.’ I said, ‘Look, your votes are rigged.’ We can win New Mexico. We can win New Mexico,” Trump said.
Trump claimed he can win states like New Mexico and California if his supporters can “keep the votes honest” and “keep the votes on us.”
“So, you know, we almost won it twice. And let me tell you, I believe we won it twice. Okay?” he said. “You want to know the truth? And if you can watch your vote counter – if we could bring God down from heaven, he could be the vote counter, we would win this,” Trump said.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh
Oct 31, 5:09 PM
Mark Cuban responds to Trump team’s attack over ‘strong, intelligent women’
Harris surrogate Mark Cuban responded on X Thursday to criticism he received from Trump’s campaign over his remarks he made earlier in the day on “The View.”
Cuban expanded on his statement in which he said “Donald Trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women. Ever. It’s just that simple. They’re intimidating to him. He doesn’t like to be challenged by them.”
Several Trump allies bashed the Dallas Mavericks owner for his comments.
In his X post, Cuban said, “I’m happy to clarify that
1. I know many strong, intelligent women voting for Trump. Including in my extended family. I’m certainly not saying female voters are not smart , strong and intelligent.
2. I know he has worked with strong intelligent women, like Elaine Chao, Kelly Anne [Conway], Ivanka [Trump] and many others
I stand by my opinion that he does not like being challenged publicly.”
Oct 31, 4:13 PM
Mike Bloomberg endorses Harris ‘without hesitation’
Former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg revealed Thursday that he voted for Harris.
Bloomberg, who ran a failed presidential campaign during the 2020 Democratic primary, said in an X post that he voted for Harris “without hesitation.”
“When it comes to policy and personal integrity, the contrast could not be clearer, and I hope undecided voters with a history of supporting candidates in both parties join me,” Bloomberg, an independent voter and former Republican, said.
Oct 31, 4:15 PM
Mark Cuban says Trump isn’t surrounded by ‘strong’ women. His allies push back
On ABC’s “The View,” Mark Cuban — a Harris surrogate — was asked what he made of Nikki Haley not campaigning with Trump.
“Donald Trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women. Ever. It’s just that simple. They’re intimidating to him,” the “Shark Tank” investor said.
“He doesn’t like to be challenged by them and, you know, Nikki Haley will call him on his nonsense with reproductive rights and how he sees and treats and talks about women. I mean, he just can’t have her around. It wouldn’t work,” Cuban added.
Now, a host of Trump’s allies from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to Lara Trump to Sage Steele are all attacking Cuban and trying to tie his words to the Harris campaign.
Trump’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Cuban’s words “extremely insulting to the thousands of women who work for President Trump, and the tens of millions of women who are voting for him.”
It comes as Trump’s campaign, for much of this election, has had missteps when it comes to courting women — facing a myriad of questions about reproductive rights and attempting to convince Trump to lay off the personal attacks as he attacked Haley’s intelligence during the primaries, and now continues to degrade Harris.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa
Oct 31, 3:04 PM
Nebraska county drafts poll workers into service
Finding poll workers can be tough for election officials, particularly in the heightened threat environment targeting election workers. But one Nebraska county has found a novel way of ensuring polling places are properly staffed on Election Day: a draft.
Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse told ABC News about 45% of the county’s 3,000 election workers were drafted into service.
Douglas County is the most populous county in the state and one of two counties that uses an election draft. All voters registered in the county are eligible and may receive a letter in the mail letting them know they are required to participate — a system akin to jury duty. The system has been in place for about 25 years, but Kruse says some people aren’t familiar with it and are surprised when they get the notice. “Their first reaction is, ‘Is this real?.’ We field lots of those questions after we send letters out, but most people are good sports about it.”
Some of the benefits of using a draft, according to Kruse, are lowering the average age of poll workers, creating balance among parties, and helping people gain a better understanding of how the election process works.
“A lot of people who would have never volunteered or been part of the process now come in and find out what all it takes to do it and how safe and secure it is and so they become great ambassadors for our office and many of them continue to be volunteers after their four turns are up,” Kruse said.
Volunteers who are drafted are required to complete an online training course and serve during four elections. The election office will work with anyone to postpone their duty who has a trip planned, a medical issue or a spouse or family member who is a candidate, but the only way to be completely exempt from the draft is to be over 70 years old.
Douglas County also has new security measures in place for ballot drop boxes. Over the summer they county added a dry fire suppression system to all 13 of them. Kruse said there were no specific threats or concerns that led to the addition.
“The election commissioner in Hall County said she was looking into it, and she had done it and once she got a little more information then we decided it was reasonable,” Kruse said.
There are also cameras monitoring the drop boxes that have been in place for at least two years.
-ABC News’ Tonya Simpson
Oct 31, 1:11 PM
Harris using Trump’s words to shore up Arab-American support in Michigan
Harris and her allies in battleground Michigan are launching a new turnout campaign to assertively shore up support among Arab Americans, sending out mailers using Trump’s own words about reimplementing a Muslim ban.
“Just last month, Donald Trump said he would ban Muslims from traveling here, and also ban refugees from Gaza,” one of the mailers obtained by ABC News reads. Further down, the mailer says the former president “is no friend to Arab Americans,” with one of their examples being his comment that he would let Israel “finish the job” in Gaza.
Another is a full-page black-and-white photo of Trump with “FINISH THE JOB” written above him. “That’s what Trump said he would let Israel do in Gaza.” The mailers, which come on the heels of a six-figure digital ad push, also points to the Arab American group Emgage Action’s endorsement of Harris. (A number of other Arab leaders have backed Harris.)
Michigan, a state that was narrowly won in 2016 and 2020, is a target of both Harris and Trump’s campaigns and has the largest Arab-American population among the states that will help decide the election. And Trump is making a play for them, too. Over the weekend, in Novi, Michigan, Trump invited Muslim leaders to the stage who are backing him, including Hamtramck, Michigan, Mayor Amer Ghalib.
Pro-Palestinian protestors who take issue with the U.S. response have demonstrated at Harris’ rallies, including on Tuesday night as she delivered her “closing argument” speech outside the White House and Wednesday at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
“Look, I’ll repeat: We are fighting for our democracy. We love our democracy. It can be complicated at times, but it is the best system in the world,” Harris said after several interruptions from demonstrators.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
Oct 31, 1:00 PM
Harris, Trump swipe at each other over the Affordable Care Act
Harris, at a news conference on Thursday, swiped at House Speaker Mike Johnson’s comments about making “massive reform” to gut the Affordable Care Act.
“I’ve been saying throughout this campaign, be very clear that among the stakes in this election are whether we continue with the Affordable Care Act or not,” she said. “It has been a part of Donald Trump’s agenda for a very long time. He has made dozens of attempts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, and now we have further validation of that agenda from his supporter, the speaker of the House.”
“What that would mean for the American people is that pharma — that insurance companies could go back to a time when they would deny you coverage for health insurance based on pre-existing conditions, pre-existing conditions such as being a survivor of breast cancer, asthma, diabetes,” she added.
MORE: Trump campaign distances itself from House speaker’s plan for ‘massive reform’ to the ACA
The Trump campaign is trying to distance itself from Johnson’s comments, telling The New York Times they are “not President Trump’s policy position.”
Trump is also seeking to separate himself from the remarks, despite saying numerous times this campaign that he would replace the ACA without offering a clear alternative.
Trump called Harris a “liar” and said her comments were a “desperate” attempt.
Oct 31, 11:45 AM
Harris pushes inclusivity in final days of campaign
Harris, while speaking to reports before departing Wisconsin, said she found Trump’s comments about women “offensive to everybody” and that, in contrast, her campaign is about unifying people.
“You’ve been following me and you will see that in the tens of thousands of people who attend our rallies … there are men, women, young people, people of every race, every background,” she said.
Harris said her campaign is “about bringing people together, people of very different and diverse backgrounds, around a common theme that is about love of country, defending the Constitution of the United States, investing in our future and rejecting the notion that we are divided.”
Oct 31, 11:42 AM
Harris rips Trump over his comments about women
Harris, speaking with reporters before departing Wisconsin, continued to slam Trump for his comments that he will protect women “whether they like it or not.”
“It actually is, I think, very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies,” Harris said.
“He does not prioritize the freedom of women and the intelligence of women to make decisions about their own lives and bodies and health care for all Americans is on the line in this election,” she added.
Oct 31, 11:02 AM
Elon Musk not in attendance at hearing on his controversial giveaway
Musk is a no show in court in Pennsylvania for a hearing over the legality of his $1 million a day giveaway.
The hearing has been derailed after Musk late Wednesday sought to remove the civil case to federal court. While discussions in court are ongoing, all parties essentially agree the hearing can’t go forward until federal court decides on the issue.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
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