The race for the White House remained essentially a dead heat on Sunday — with nine days to go until Election Day.
Former President Donald Trump will speak before a rally Sunday afternoon at New York’s Madison Square Garden. After making several stops in Philadelphia on Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris is holding a rally there Sun day afternoon.
Latest Developments
Oct 27, 6:01 PM
Harris races through stump speech in Philly, leaves out riffs of Trump being ‘unfit’
Vice President Kamala Harris delivered an unusually short stump speech at a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Sunday, leaving out some notable passages, including her riff about former President Donald Trump being “unfit” to serve.
“Philly, we’ve got nine days, nine days left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. And we know this is going to be a tight race until the very end,” Harris said to a crowd gathered at The Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center. “So, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we like hard work.”
In her roughly 15-minute-long remarks, Harris mentioned Trump’s name only three times, accusing him of being self-interested and for stoking “divisiveness” in politics.
“When you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for,” Harris said. “And this election is about two extremely different visions for our nation: One, Donald Trump’s, who has focused on the past and himself. And we are not going back.”
During her remarks, Harris was briefly interrupted by protesters in the audience.
“I want to talk about Gaza for a minute. Okay?” Harris said, in the middle of her comments on Trump. “We can, and we must seize this opportunity to end this war and bring the hostages home. And I will do everything in my power to make that end.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Will McDuffie and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Oct 27, 5:57 PM
Giuliani defends Trump’s rhetoric: ‘He’s a New Yorker’
Madison Square Garden erupted in a standing ovation for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani when he took the stage at Trump’s rally on Sunday.
Giuliani, who has been disbarred over his false claims about the 2020 election, appealed to New Yorkers to boost Trump.
“We gather here today in the middle of midtown Manhattan that this is the most iconic venue of venues in the United States. This is where, this is where Republicans are not supposed to come, which is why Donald Trump came here,” Giuliani said, making a nod to the unlikely setting for Trump’s closing argument just days away from Election Day.
“There’s no place in America the president shouldn’t be able to come,” he continued.
Giuliani defended Trump’s personality as a trait of a New Yorker: “Like me, President Trump grew up here. He’s a New Yorker. That’s why some people get a little annoyed at him. He speaks his mind.”
“But wouldn’t you have rather have a president that communicates with you than one who sits in a basement babbling or another one who, when asked, ‘Why do you want to be president?’ she says, ‘My mother was from the middle class,’” he continued.
On Tuesday, a federal judge in New York ruled Giuliani has seven days to turn over luxury items and shares of his New York co-op apartment to cover much of what he owes to two Georgia poll workers he defamed in 2020.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Oct 27, 5:32 PM
Comic at Trump’s MSG rally calls Puerto Rico ‘a floating island of garbage’
The rally that campaign officials say is about bringing a diverse group of supporters together started with some speakers who made disparaging comments about Hispanic and Black Americans, a voter group the Trump campaign is attempting to court in deep-Blue New York.
It started with comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who made explicit jokes about Latinos and turned to Trump’s recent comments calling the United States the “garbage can” of the world, and then made a racist joke at the expense of a Black supporter in the crowd.
Even the lively audience seemed uncomfortable by Hinchcliffe’s remarks, and Hinchcliffe attempted to make jokes about the lack of applause and laughs to his offensive comments.
After an off-color joke about how Latinos “love making babies,” Hinchcliffe said, “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah, I think it’s called Puerto Rico. Okay, alright, okay, we’re getting there again.”
The discriminatory comments kept going when Hinchcliffe pointed to a Black supporter in the crowd, calling his durag a “lampshade,” claiming he was his friend.
“That’s one of my buddies. He had a Halloween party last night. We had fun. We carved watermelons together. It was awesome, you guys, this is a groany little morning crowd, huh?” he continued.
ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Oct 27, 5:09 PM
Harris introduces ‘Opportunity Task Force’ for Puerto Rico
In a direct-to-camera video posted on X, Harris announced her intention to create a new “Opportunity Task Force” for Puerto Rico should she win the election. It would involve the federal government working “with the private sector, with nonprofits and community leaders, to foster economic growth and create thousands of new, good paying jobs in Puerto Rico.”
Harris also slammed Trump for how he handled Hurricane Maria in 2017. Trump infamously tossed paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Ricans at a relief center in the hurricane-ravaged territory after Maria hit. Harris accused the former president of “abandoning the island.”
She promised to “cut red tape” so that the island can “urgently” rebuild and modernize the island’s energy grid.
On Sunday, Harris visited Freddy & Tony’s Restaurant, a Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia, where she also discussed her new task force.
On Friday, Harris’ campaign released a new ad titled “Recuerdo” (memory) with singer Marc Anthony blasting Trump over how he handled Maria.
In the minute-long spot, Anthony, who is of Puerto Rican descent, says he remembers Trump’s actions and the rest of America should as well.
“I remember after Hurricane Maria devastated our island, Trump blocked billions in relief while thousands died,” Martin says in the ad. “I remember when our families lacked clean water and electricity, Trump threw paper towels and called Puerto Rico ‘dirty and poor.’”
“Recuerdo” will air nationally on Telemundo and WAPA America TV during Sunday’s coverage of the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards, and in Pennsylvania on Telemundo and Univision.
-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie
Oct 27, 2:56 PM
Musk calls Biden a liar over 1990s work authorization
High-profile Trump supporter Elon Musk denied working illegally in the United States, responding to President Joe Biden citing a Washington Post report that he might have worked in the country without appropriate work authorization earlier in his career in the 1990s.
“I was in fact allowed to work in the US. The Biden puppet is lying,” Musk wrote on X, responding to a video clip of Biden criticizing Musk for working illegally when he was supposed to be studying.
The Washington Post reporting comes as Musk continues to bash undocumented immigrants and stress the importance of “legal immigration.”
In 2013, Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk publicly talked about their experiences as founders of their company, describing their status as “illegal” and “grey area.”
“In fact, when they, when they did fund us, they realized that we were illegal immigrants,” Kimbal Musk said during the Milken Institute Global Conference.
“Well…” Elon Musk said.
“Yes, we were,” Kimbal Musk responded.
“I’d say it was a gray area,” Elon Musk said.
“Yes, we were,” Kimbal Musk continued. “I was — we were illegal immigrants. We were sleeping in the office. We didn’t have a car — we had one car, but the wheel kept falling.”
The Washington Post story details Musk’s alleged history of coming to the United States in the mid 1990s under a student visa and not actually enrolling in any classes — instead using his time in the country to work on his startup company, which experts told the Post was illegal.
The article cites Musk’s former business associates and investors of his startup expressing concerns about his visa status at the time, to the point that it had become an obstacle to going public with the startup company.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim and Michelle Stoddart
Oct 27, 2:25 PM
Walz likens Trump MSG rally to Nazi one there in 1939
HENDERSON, Nev. — Harris vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz likened Trump’s rally later today at Madison Square Garden to the Nazi rally held there in the 1930s ahead of World War II.
Speaking at a reproductive freedom bus tour kickoff near Las Vegas, Walz warned the crowd that Trump and his campaign are aware of the parallel.
“Donald Trump has descended into madness over the last few weeks, and I think some of you don’t miss on this — Go do your Google on this,” he said.
“Donald Trump’s got this big rally going at Madison Square Garden. There’s a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the mid 1930s at Madison Square Garden and don’t think that he doesn’t know for one second exactly what they’re doing there,” he said.
In February 1939, The German American Bund — a pro-Nazi organization for Americans of German descent — held a rally at MSG with about 20,000 attendees.
Walz’s statement comes after other high-profile Democrats have suggested this similarity, including 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“One other thing that you’ll see next week… is Trump actually re-enacting the Madison Square Garden rally in 1939. I write about this in my book,” Clinton told CNN on Thursday.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Oct 27, 2:33 PM
Harris asks, ‘What kind of country do we want to live in?’ at Philadelphia church service
Speaking at a Philadelphia church Sunday morning, Harris sought, without naming her opponent, to describe the contrast voters face.
“What kind of country do we want to live in?” she asked congregants. “What kind of country do we want for our children and our grandchildren — a country of chaos, faith, fear and hate, or a country of freedom, justice and compassion?”
Harris cited Scripture to discuss the “heavy” work required over the next nine days, and the “joy” that will follow.
“These next nine days will test us. They will demand everything we’ve got. But when I think about the days ahead and the God we serve, I am confident that his power will work through us because church, I know we were born for a time such as this, and I have faith he is going to carry us forward.
“And the road ahead won’t be easy. It will require perseverance and hard work. But in times of uncertainty, Scripture reminds us, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. The path may seem hard, the work may seem heavy, but joy cometh in the morning, and church morning is on its way,” she said.
The vice president delivered a unifying message, saying, “This moment in our nation has to be about so much more than partisan politics. It must be about the good work we can do together, about our fundamental values and about who we are as Americans and as people of faith here in Pennsylvania right now, each of us has an opportunity to make a difference.”
“In just nine days, we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come. And on this day, then on this beautiful Sunday morning, I am reminded that God expects us to help him. We got work to do,” Harris said.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Fritz Farrow and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Oct 27, 12:29 PM
Vance argues over Trump’s ‘enemy from within’ comments
Trump’s vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance was pressed on Sunday on Trump calling his domestic political opponents “the enemy from within.”
In a recent Fox News interview, Trump referred to California Rep. Adam Schiff and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “an enemy from within.” Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he believes Schiff and Pelosi are more dangerous than Russia and China, Vance tried to clarify what Trump said, telling Kristen Welker, “Those folks pose a greater threat to United States’s peace and security.
“America is strong enough to stand up to any foreign adversary,” Vance said.
Pressed if he agrees with Trump’s comments, Vance said “that the biggest threat we have in our country, it’s not a foreign adversary.”
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Vance insisted that Trump’s “enemy from within” comments were not directed at political opponents.
CNN’s Jake Tapper quoted Trump’s previous statements to Vance, saying, “I’m talking about what he said publicly, he wants to use the military to go after the enemy within, which is the American people,” Tapper said.
Vance fired back with, “He did not say that, Jake. He said ‘far-left lunatics.’ He’s talking about people rioting after the election.”
“He said about using the military that far-left lunatics, people who riot in the wake of an election, people who burned down American cities in the summer of 2020,” Vance said. “Yes, we should have a federal law enforcement response.”
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Oct 27, 1:48 PM
Harris dodges question on abortion restrictions
Asked by “CBS Sunday Morning” host Norah O’Donnell to define which abortion restrictions she supported, Harris dodged the question, saying she supports restoring Roe v. Wade, which would protect abortion access until fetal viability, which is around the 22nd week of pregnancy.
“Let’s put back in place Roe versus Wade. This was not an issue in Roe, when Roe versus Wade was intact for 50 years, half a century,” Harris said. “I support Roe versus Wade being put back into law by Congress and to restore the fundamental right of women to make decisions about their own body. It is that basic.”
Harris was interviewed by O’Donnell in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Houston in the days before the interview aired.
Harris plans to make a closing argument for her election on Tuesday at The Ellipse on the National Mall in Washington with the White House in the background. In an excerpt from the CBS interview released Sunday morning, she said the reason she chose the same spot where Trump spoke to supporters before the Jan.6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol was to remind Americans of their choice between herself and Trump.
“I would and do think about that place more in the context of what will be behind me, which is the White House. And I’m doing it there, because I think it is very important for the American people to see and think about who will be occupying that space on Jan. 20,” she said. “And the reality of it is that most Americans can visualize the Oval Office. We’ve seen it on television, and this is a real scenario. It’s either going to be Donald Trump or it’s going to be me sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.”
-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie
Oct 27, 7:20 AM
Harris regains slight lead among likely voters nationally
Vice President Kamala Harris has regained a slight lead among likely voters nationally in the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll, albeit with the race close enough to leave the outcome of the 2024 presidential election to the uncertainties of the Electoral College.
Just 2 percentage points divide Harris and former President Donald Trump among all registered voters, 49-47%.
This goes to a slight Harris advantage among likely voters, 51-47%, with some pro-Harris groups showing a bit more propensity to vote.
Compared with earlier this month, Harris has regained a more customary Democratic advantage among Hispanic people and widened her advantage among suburban women, while remaining strong in core groups including Black people.
MORE: Harris regains slight lead nationally yet Electoral College holds the cards: POLL
Trump pushes back in rural areas and among non-college white men, and runs competitively among younger men.
-ABC News’ Gary Langer
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