‘Third assassination attempt’ on Trump thwarted after man with guns and fake passports arrested near rally: Live

Donald Trump was allegedly the target of a third assassination attempt, California police have said, after arresting an armed man outside of a Trump rally in Coachella Valley on Saturday evening.

A Las Vegas man named Vem Miller, 49, was apprehended, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, but has since denied wrongdoing and claimed he is “an artist” and a non-violent Trump supporter.

The California rally came hours after Kamala Harris released her medical information in a challenge to Trump, whose health and age are coming under increased scrutiny, particularly in light of recent long, rambling and, at times, incoherent speeches, which the Vice President invited people to watch to make up their own minds about the mental state of the former president.

Elsewhere, Trump has claimed a major threat to America comes from what he termed “the enemy from within”, whom he characterized as “sick people, radical left lunatics”, a term he often applies to Democratic opponents.

The Republican told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures that they – US citizens – “should be easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military”.

Key Points

• ‘Third suspected Trump assassination attempt’ stopped at Coachella rally

• Trump challenges Kamala Harris to cognitive test and accuses her of ‘importing criminal gangs to occupy America’

• Harris quotes ex-military chief to damn ‘dangerous’ Trump as she accuses him of hiding

• Trump floats sending military after US citizens on election day

• Can Harris beat Trump? Latest poll updates

Dennis Quaid supports Trump at California rally as Bryan Cranston backs Harris

13:25 , Joe Sommerlad

The actor, who most recently took the title role in a budget biopic of Ronald Reagan, spoke up for Trump in Coachella, only to get roasted online by his former fiance, Lea Thompson of Back to the Future fame.

Meanwhile, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston gave an impassioned speech on behalf of the VP in Phoenix, Arizona.

Greg Evans has this on Cranston.

Breaking Bad star makes US election endorsement with powerful abortion speech

Watch: SNL mocks Melania Trump’s absence from campaign trail

13:05 , Joe Sommerlad

Kenan Thompson played Steve Harvey hosting a Republicans vs Democrats edition of Family Feud on Saturday’s show, with the great James Austin Johnson and Maya Rudolph returning as Trump and Harris.

SNL mocks Melania Trump’s absence from campaign trail in Family Feud spoof

‘Absolute chaos’ as Trump supporters ‘left stranded’ after Coachella rally hit by assassination scare

12:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s James Liddell on what happened to the Republican’s audience in the aftermath of the latest scare over his safety in California on Saturday.

Trump supporters ‘left stranded’ after Coachella rally hit by assassination scare

Multiple assassination attempts on Trump’s life signal a new darker trend and the secret service are worried

12:25 , Joe Sommerlad

As details emerge over a possible third assassination attempt against the former president, Stephen Marche, author of The Next Civil War, talks to secret service insiders about living in a country where political violence has crossed such a threshold it is unclear whether it can cross back and if they can stop it.

Multiple assassination attempts on Trump’s life signal a new darker trend in the US

Trump says ‘we’ll see what happens’ on national abortion ban

12:05 , Joe Sommerlad

This was not much more reassuring from the candidate in the same interview.

Josh Marcus takes this one.

Trump says ‘we’ll see what happens’ on national abortion ban

Trump floats sending military after US citizens on election day

11:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Also this weekend, Trump claimed a major threat to America comes from what he termed “the enemy from within”, whom he characterized as “sick people, radical left lunatics”, a term he often applies to Democratic opponents.

The Republican told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures that they – US citizens – “should be easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military”.

John Bowden has this on the vengeance-minded Republican’s latest public flirtation with authoritarianism.

Trump floats sending military after US citizens on election day

Harris medical report finds ‘mental resiliency’ to be president

11:25 , Joe Sommerlad

In case you missed this one over the weekend, a medical report on the health of Vice President Kamala Harris was released with less than a month to go before the presidential election finding her to be in “excellent health” and possession of “the physical and mental resiliency” required to serve as president.

Dr Joshua Simmons, a US Army colonel and physician to the VP, wrote that Harris, 59, maintains a healthy, active lifestyle and that her most recent physical last April was “unremarkable.”

She “possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief,” he wrote in the two-page letter.

The Harris-Walz campaign hopes the release of the letter will draw a contrast with Trump, 78, who has released only limited information about his health over the years.

Oliver O’Connell reports.

Harris medical report finds ‘physical and mental resiliency’ to be president

Trump pledges 10,000 more border agents, accuses Harris of sparking scandals and claims Democrats want to ban cows

11:05 , Joe Sommerlad

As for the Republican, his remarks in Arizona yesterday included a pledge to hire a further 10,000 Customs and Border Protection agents and an astonishing piece of projection, even by his standards.

He also falsely claimed the western state’s towns are being “invaded and conquered” by migrants (desperate stuff) and took time to proclaim the wonders of Tivo.

A night earlier, in Coachella, he threatened to withhold federal aid from deep blue California and flubbed badly on inflation.

But perhaps his flat-out weirdest moment of the weekend was when he made the bizarre claim that Democrats want to ban cows.

Donald Trump bizarrely claims Democrats want to ban cows

Kamala Harris quotes ex-military chief to damn ‘dangerous’ Trump as she accuses him of hiding

10:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Speaking in Greenville, North Carolina, yesterday, the Democrat invoked Mark Milley, the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, to attack her opponent, also noting his resistence to transparency, suggesting his handlers know he is “weak and unstable” and are trying to keep him from self-inflicted disasters.

Truth Social: Trump lashes out at ‘human scum’ behind new film biopic

10:25 , Joe Sommerlad

The Republican has also lashed out at the filmmakers behind the new biopic The Apprentice, which he calls “a cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job, put out right before the 2024 Presidential Election, to try and hurt the Greatest Political Movement in the History of our Country”.

Truth Social: Trump challenges Harris to cognitive test and accuses her of ‘importing criminal gangs to occupy America’

10:05 , Joe Sommerlad

Over in the Republican’s social media swamp, he has been trashing the Vice President with false claims about her recent media appearances, claiming she was “slow and lethargic” answering questions and challenging her to a cognitive test.

“Her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her,” he declares – citing no evidence, as usual.

That comes after she released her latest medical report indicating she was in robust health (more on which shortly) and after he admitted to “ranting and raving” himself during his Sunday rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Trump has also accused Harris of inflicting “violence and terror” on the public and “import[ing] criminal gangs to OCCUPY America” – an appalling and dangerous lie.

He also found time overnight to scaremonger about the “weaponization” of the Department of Justice to interfere in the election, an avenue it is widely feared he might be interested in traversing himself if he regains the White House.

Would-be assassin or Trump-supporting ‘sovereign citizen’? What we know about suspect Vem Miller

09:45 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s more from Josh Marcus on what we know about the suspect, who has denied having any intention of targeting the former president despite the highly-suspicious items he was found to have in his possession.

What we know about Vem Miller, man arrested with guns at Trump rally

‘Third suspected Trump assassination attempt’ stopped at Coachella rally

09:26 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

If you’re just joining us, Donald Trump was allegedly the target of a third assassination attempt on Saturday evening, California police have said, after arresting an armed man outside of a Trump rally in Coachella Valley.

A Las Vegas man named Vem Miller, 49, was apprehended, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, but has since denied wrongdoing and claimed he is “an artist” and a non-violent Trump supporter.

Josh Marcus has the latest.

Armed man arrested outside Trump rally as possible ‘assassination attempt’ thwarted

Inside the secretive church that’s become Trump’s biggest female fan group

07:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Mike Bedigan writes:

Among the hordes of Donald Trump supporters in attendance at campaign rallies is a group that the former president fondly refers to as “those beautiful ladies from North Carolina.”

The women, often pictured smiling bigly and in their Sunday best, are all members of the same evangelical church.

The Word of Faith Fellowship, in Spindale, was established in 1979, and according to its website its members “strive to live righteous, godly lives.”

But they have also been accused of using foreigners, including teenagers, for unpaid labor.

Continue reading…

Inside the secretive church that’s become Trump’s biggest female fan group

Vance refuses to say he’s ‘OK’ with people traveling to other states for abortions

06:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Senator JD Vance has made headlines for espousing anti-abortion rhetoric but in an interview published on Saturday, he said he accepts, that as a consequence of states regulating abortion, people will travel to obtain one – but stopped short of giving his approval.

Ariana Baio has the details.

JD Vance evades giving the ‘OK’ to people traveling for abortions

It’s ‘tricky’ to trust the government, claims Melania Trump

05:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Melania Trump has claimed that it’s “tricky” to trust the US government as she continues her media blitz to plug her new memoir.

The former first lady, whose book Melania was released this week, appeared on Some Future Day podcast where she revealed her skepticism about there being “so many rules” for the American people.

“Trust, it’s [an] interesting word,” she said.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Melania Trump claims it’s ‘tricky’ to trust the government

Vance says it’s ‘deranged’ for women not to have children due to climate change

04:45 , Oliver O’Connell

JD Vance has said it is “deranged” and “very crazy” for women not to have children due to concerns about the climate crisis in his latest comments wading in on the choices of childfree Americans.

Donald Trump’s running mate has struggled to shake off the backlash for calling Kamala Harris and other Democrats “childless cat ladies” in a resurfaced interview with Tucker Carlson from 2021.

Now, in a new interview with The New York Times published on Saturday, the VP candidate was confronted once again about his past sexist comments less than one month out from the election.

Read on…

JD Vance says it’s ‘deranged’ for women not to have children due to climate change

ICYMI: Chris Christie becomes latest to sound alarm over Trump’s ‘significant’ mental decline

03:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Former Donald Trump ally turned staunch critic Chris Christie has become the latest to sound the alarm over the former president’s apparent mental decline, saying that he has seen a “significant” change in his capabilities.

The former New Jersey governor told The New York Times opinion journalist Frank Bruni that the Trump he saw during his first White House bid in 2016 appears to be very different to the man running for a third time today.

Rachel Sharp has the story.

Chris Christie sounds alarm over Trump’s ‘significant’ mental decline

How Melania Trump’s memoir sets the stage for her businesswoman revamp

02:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Sheila Flynn writes:

The first image posted was arresting, an ethereal watercolor rendering of just Melania Trump’s eyes – specifically identified as cobalt blue – staring out intently from her’s personal Instagram page.

The design, the accompanying December 2021 announcement explained, was the inaugural in Melania’s new line of cryptocurrency digital artwork – NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, essentially online collectibles meant to hold value.

And alongside that intense ocular image, significantly, was the Instagram account’s first mention of MelaniaTrump.com.

Continue reading…

Brand Melania: The former first lady’s book sets the stage for a big revamp

Would-be assassin or Trump-supporting ‘sovereign citizen’? What we know about suspect Vem Miller

02:25 , Josh Marcus

Police arrested a man they said was armed with multiple weapons and inconsistent identification documents just outside a Donald Trump rally on Saturday in Coachella Valley, California, in what officials are describing as a thwarted third assassination attempt against the former president.

However, the suspect – described as a “sovereign citizen” – is believed to be a Trump fan and told a news outlet he didn’t mean the Republican candidate any harm.

Here’s everything we know about suspect Vem Miller, 49, who has denied wrongdoing.

What we know about Vem Miller, man arrested with guns at Trump rally

Are Pennsylvania and Arizona already in the bag for the Harris and Trump campaigns?

02:00 , Oliver O’Connell

With just over three weeks until election day, a new pair of polls from the key battleground states of Arizona and Pennsylvania tell very different stories for both the Harris and Trump campaigns.

The New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena College polls show Donald Trump holding a six-point lead in Arizona. At the same time, Kamala Harris has a four-point lead in Pennsylvania when using unrounded figures.

Read on…

New polls reveal state of Trump v Harris race in Pennsylvania and Arizona

Harris is trying to fix her Latino problem

01:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

[There is a] thorny trail that Harris must navigate when it comes to immigration reform and Latino outreach. For decades, Democrats believed that Republicans’ anti-immigrant stance would render them unable to win over a population that largely came to the United States as migrants. But the data has not borne that out.

Continue reading…

Kamala Harris is trying to fix her Latino problem

01:00 , Oliver O’Connell

Trump stops rally to remove sign from teleprompter despite mocking Harris for using one

Monday 14 October 2024 00:30 , Oliver O’Connell

After mocking Vice President Kamala Harris over her teleprompter use, Donald Trump’s rally in Reno, Nevada, ground to a halt as he was was forced to fix his on-stage after a campaign sign fell on it.

Ariana Baio has the story.

Trump fixes teleprompter after mocking Harris for using a teleprompter

Harris was asked to name three of Trump’s ‘virtues’. She couldn’t

Monday 14 October 2024 00:00 , Oliver O’Connell

Vice President Kamala Harris could not come up with three virtues about former president Donald Trump when she was asked to do so on Thursday evening at a Univision town hall event.

The Democratic presidential nominee laughed upon hearing the question, posed by an audience member, and immediately shared a negative trait about Trump that she does not like.

Ariana Baio has the story.

Harris was asked to name three of Trump’s ‘virtues’. She couldn’t

‘Not going to happen’: Warnock brushes off Obama’s concerns about Black voters breaking from Harris

Sunday 13 October 2024 23:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Senator Raphael Warnock has responded to former President Barack Obama’s comments about support for Kamala Harris among Black men, after the former president stirred up something of a controversy on the left this week.

The former president directly called out Black male voters at Harris’s campaign rally in Pittsburgh, pointing to some national and state-level polling which shows a dropoff in Black support for Democrats in 2024, compared to past election cycles — including his own.

John Bowden reports.

Warnock brushes off Obama’s concerns about Black voters breaking from Harris

California sheriff stands by theory of thwarted assassination attempt, despite suspect’s denial

Sunday 13 October 2024 23:37 , Josh Marcus

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco pushed back on Sunday against a statement from Vem Miller, a Las Vegas man arrested outside a Trump rally yesterday with illegal guns and fake ID documents.

Miller has claimed he wasn’t at the event to threaten Trump, while the sheriff maintains his department stopped a likely assassination plot.

“What we do know is he showed up with multiple passports with different names, an unregistered vehicle with a fake license plate, and loaded firearms,” Bianco said at a press conference.

“If you’re asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that did prevent the third assassination attempt. If we are that politically lost, that we have lost sight of common sense and reality and reason, that we can’t say, hold crap, what did he show up with all of that stuff and loaded guns, and I’m going to be accused of being dramatic? We have a serious, serious problem in this country.”

“I don’t know how else to explain it,” he added.

Riverside County sheriff gives update on arrest of man at Trump’s Coachella rally

Sunday 13 October 2024 23:25 , Josh Marcus

California officials provided additional information on Sunday about the arrest of a man at Donald Trump’s Coachella Valley rally yesterday who was potentially plotting to target the former president.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said at a press conference on Sunday that a man named Vem Miller was stopped by deputies as he attempted to pass through the inner security perimeter surrounding Trump’s rally.

Police said Miller’s SUV was in “disarray” with an “obviously fake” license plate, prompting deputies to investigate further. Upon further investigation, police found that Miller had multiple driver’s licenses and passports with different names, and possessed a loaded handgun and shotgun.

Sheriff Bianco said the markings on the license plate indicated Miller was part of “a group of individuals that claim to be ‘sovereign citizens.'”

Miller was booked on state gun charges, and Sheriff Biano said any further charges would likely come from federal officials.

Here’s our earlier report:

Armed man arrested outside Trump rally as possible ‘assassination attempt’ thwarted

Watch: Trump says he’ll let us know when he’s cognitively impaired and compares himself to Churchill

Sunday 13 October 2024 23:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Friend of armed man apprehended at Coachella rally says ‘There isn’t a universe his intention was to kill Trump’

Sunday 13 October 2024 22:58 , Oliver O’Connell

Mindy Robertson, the business partner and good friend of Vem Miller, the armed man apprehended at Donald Trump’s rally in Coachella, California, says there is no way he was there with the intention of killing the former president.

She writes on X: “The man they just arrested for supposedly ‘trying to kill’ Trump in Coachella….is my good friend and business partner for America Happens, Vem Miller.

“Vem had just exposed a huge Deep State cover-up involving the Feds and the Bundy Ranch scandal. So I firmly believe this is 100% some kind of set-up in retribution for exposing it. That, or Trump’s security team is a bunch of dipshits trying to make up for how badly they failed in Pennsylvania with any kind of “win” they can get, fake or not.

“There isn’t a universe his intention was to kill Trump, he’s worked too hard in this movement to expose the Deep State and all the people against him.”

Read the rest of her post below:

Watch: Trump says polls only wrong when they’re bad for him

Sunday 13 October 2024 22:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Bill Clinton joins campaign trail in Harris-Walz camo hat

Sunday 13 October 2024 22:40 , Oliver O’Connell

Trump bizarrely claims US known around the world as ‘occupied country’

Sunday 13 October 2024 22:35 , Oliver O’Connell

Musk now ‘owns’ Trump says former president’s niece: ‘He’s always been up for sale’

Sunday 13 October 2024 22:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump’s estranged niece is accusing the former president of having a “new owner” because of his increasingly close relationship with tech billionaire Elon Musk.

“Donald Trump has always been for sale,” Mary Trump wrote in a Substack post on Saturday.

Josh Marcus reports.

Trump’s niece says Musk now ‘owns’ ex-president: ‘He’s always been up for sale’

Meanwhile, in Prescott Valley, Arizona…

Sunday 13 October 2024 22:23 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail after last night’s Coachella rally, this time in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Recent polling has the former president ahead in the state but there are still three weeks until election day.

Harris takes to stage in Greenville after meeting with Black farmers

Sunday 13 October 2024 21:48 , Oliver O’Connell

Kamala Harris tells the crowd at Eastern Carolina University in Greenville: “I’m gonna tell you, it’s gonna be a tight race. Until the very end. And we are running as the underdog. So we have some hard work ahead of us … [but] with your help in 23 days, we will win.”

The vice president also gets in a dig at Donald Trump: “Why does his staff want him to hide away? One must question — are they afraid that people will see that he is too weak and unstable to lead America? Is that what’s going on?”

Armed man arrested outside Trump rally as sheriff says possible ‘assassination attempt’ thwarted

Sunday 13 October 2024 21:37 , Oliver O’Connell

Suspect is a registered Republican who said he is part of a right-wing anti-government group, and that the Las Vegas man considers himself a “sovereign citizen” beyond the reach of government control.

This is a developing story…

Armed man arrested outside Trump rally as possible ‘assassination attempt’ thwarted

Trump-Harris deadlocked nationally in new polls, while key states tilt Republican

Sunday 13 October 2024 21:30 , Oliver O’Connell

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump remain locked in a tight race in the final month of the 2024 election, according to a new batch of national polls out on Sunday.

But the race may be slipping away from her in swing states as her “honeymoon” period following a late entry in the race ends, and her campaign’s messaging strategy pivots away from the aggressive push against MAGA Republicans’ views on women and the attacks on Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.

John Bowden has the details.

Polls show Trump-Harris deadlocked nationally while key states tilt Republican

Armed man with fake pass stopped near Trump rally at Coachella

Sunday 13 October 2024 21:21 , Oliver O’Connell

Per the Riverside County Sheriff’s office:

On Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 4:59 p.m., deputies assigned to former President Donald Trump’s rally in the Coachella Valley contacted the driver of a black SUV at a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive. The male driver, identified as Vem Miller, a 49-year-old resident of Las Vegas, was found to be illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine. Miller was taken into custody without incident and later booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine. This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event.

A press conference is set for 3pm PT regarding the arrest.

Ariana Grande hosts ‘SNL’ for the first time… since last female presidential nominee

Sunday 13 October 2024 21:15 , AP

Ariana Grande took the New York 30 Rock stage at “Saturday Night Live” for the third time as host and found herself in familiar circumstances.

“The last time I hosted was in 2016, and we were right on the verge of electing our first female president,” the 31-year-old singer and actor said in her monologue. “So, I guess, second time’s the charm?”

Read on…

Ariana Grande hosts ‘SNL’ for the first time since the last female presidential nominee

‘Stop the Stupid’: Back to the Future star Lea Thompson slams ex Dennis Quaid over Trump support

Sunday 13 October 2024 21:00 , Oliver O’Connell

Dennis Quaid’s ex-fiancée has reacted to the actor’s appearance at Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Californiaon Saturday (October 12).

Lea Thompson, who starred as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy, dated and was engaged to Quaid between 1984 and 1987.

Thompson responded to a video on X of Quaid at the rally in Coachella, writing, “I was engaged to him,” along with a confused face emoji.

Tom Murray has the story.

Back to the Future star Lea Thompson slams ex Dennis Quaid over Trump support

Trump says a national abortion ban is ‘off the table’

Sunday 13 October 2024 20:50 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump continues to offer vague answers about what the state of abortion law would look like under a potential Trump administration.

During an interview on Sunday with Fox News, the former president said that a national abortion ban was “off the table,” while leaving open the possibility that states might impose new restrictions on abortion care.

Josh Marcus reports.

Trump says ‘we’ll see what happens’ on national abortion ban