Trump wants more unscripted moments from Harris as his campaign seeks reset
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Former President Trump said Thursday he's agreed to three presidential debates in September, as he tries to alter the trajectory of a race that's found Vice President Harris gaining rapidly in the polls. At a nearly 65-minute press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump said he agreed to network offers to debate Harris from ABC, NBC and Fox News. - ABC says both candidates have agreed to debate on Sept. 10.
- The New York Times says NBC is in discussions with both campaigns about a debate on Sept. 25.
- The Harris campaign has not agreed to Trump's previous entreaties for a Fox News debate on Sept. 4.
Trump is trying to put pressure on Harris to have more unscripted moments in public, as polls show a spike in Democratic enthusiasm has propelled Harris to a national lead in the race of the White House. At his freewheeling press conference, Trump repeatedly hit Harris for not taking any questions from the press since becoming the likely nominee when President Biden stepped aside on July 21. "She won't even do interviews with friendly people… She doesn't know how to have a news conference she's not smart enough to have a news conference."
- Harris's last media interview was on June 24, when she appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
- Harris has not fielded any on-the-record questions from the press corps traveling with her to campaign rallies in swing states this week.
- Politico reports that Harris is speaking off the record to the traveling press corps, but that her team might hold off on conducting an on-the-record interview until after Labor Day.
While Trump's press conference was ostensibly aimed at goading Harris, his own unscripted moments produced a variety of headlines: - Trump bristled when asked about the large crowds at Harris's recent rallies. The Harris campaign said it pulled 14,000 to the event in Philadelphia this week and 15,000 in Detroit on Wednesday night. Trump falsely said his speech on the National Mall, which pulled an estimated 25,000 people, was bigger than Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream speech," which drew about 250,000 people.
- Trump reiterated his claim that he won the state of Georgia in 2020, which narrowly went for Biden. He again attacked Georgia's popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp (R) for not being loyal to him. "When you get somebody elected, they're supposed to like you." Many Republicans are fed up with Trump's attacks on Kemp and worry it could cost him in a must-win battleground state where polls show a tight race.
- Trump said Harris has been "very disrespectful" to Jewish people. "Any Jewish person that votes for Kamala and her new friend...if you're Jewish or love Israel, you'd have to have your head examined." Harris's husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.
- Trump said economic issues and the high cost of living will determine the outcome of the election. "People are voting with their stomachs." He said abortion will be a "very small" issue in the campaign.
- Trump said "of course" there will be a peaceful transfer of power after President Biden warned this week that there will be unrest if Trump loses the election.
- Trump said he's talked to the FBI about the assassination attempt on his life, and that "they've done a very good job." Trump said the shooter got off "a helluva shot, but I'm a fast healer."
- Trump promised "mass deportations" of illegal immigrants if he's elected.
- Trump said he almost died in a helicopter crash with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, but that the helicopter was able to make a safe emergency landing.
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Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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- Jobless claims came in lower than expected, boosting hopes for the economy. Mortgage rates are the lowest they've been in a year.
U.S. abortion numbers have gone up since Roe was overturned.
- A judge will allow an antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard to proceed, saying the school "failed its Jewish students."
The Boeing Starliner crew may have to wait until 2025 to return from the International Space Station. The test crew mission that launched on June 5 was supposed to last eight days.
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Harris walks fine line with outreach to Pro-Palestinian protesters
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Vice President Harris initiated outreach to the "Uncommitted" group that is protesting U.S. support for Israel in Gaza, as Democrats seek to strike a balance between support for Israel and the left flank's Pro-Palestinian movement. Harris met with leaders of the Uncommitted group before her rally in Detroit on Wednesday. - Nearly 400,000 Democrats voted "uncommitted" in the primary to protest President Biden's handling of the war in Gaza.
- More than 100,000 of those came in Michigan, a critical battleground state that former President Trump carried in 2016 but that Biden won back in 2020.
Despite the meeting, uncommitted protesters heckled Harris during the rally, chanting: "Kamala, Kamala you can't hide, we won't vote for genocide." Harris fired back: "You know what, if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking." The New York Times reported that leaders of the Uncommitted group came away with the impression that Harris was open to an arms embargo on Israel. Harris's national security adviser Phil Gordon disputed that notion in a posting on X. "[Harris] has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. She does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law." The Hill's Laura Kelly reports that Democrats are hopeful Harris's selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate will help bridge the divide. - Walz has said Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, but he's also spoken sympathetically about the plight of Palestinians.
- In Minnesota, about 46,000 Democrats voted "uncommitted" in the primary. Democrat Hillary Clinton carried the state by 43,000 votes over Trump in 2016.
- Harris picked Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who is Jewish and a staunch ally of Israel. Some Democrats believe the whisper campaign to keep Shapiro off the ticket was laced with antisemitism.
Democratic divisions over the Gaza war have been on full display this cycle, with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) super PAC plowing millions into House races to oust progressive Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.). Bush lashed out at AIPAC in her concession speech, saying she's coming to "tear down your kingdom." White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre rebuked Bush for the remarks. "This kind of rhetoric is inflammatory and divisive and incredibly unhelpful." The White House says a peace deal between Israel and Hamas is "close as ever," although months of optimism have been dashed by new attacks and fears that the regional conflict will spread. |
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Harris gains in battlegrounds
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A new round of polling finds Vice President Harris extending her lead in national polls and gaining on former President Trump in the swing states that will determine the outcome of the election. - The latest Marquette University national survey is an eye-opener, finding Harris leading by 6 points head-to-head and by 8 points in a multicandidate field.
- The latest YouGov survey finds Harris up 2 points nationally, the second consecutive week she's led in the poll.
- Trump leads in the latest CNBC national poll by 2 points, thanks to a big lead on the economy.
- A new IPSOS survey finds Trump and Harris effectively tied in the battleground states, although the poll moved several points in Harris's favor from the previous survey.
- The Cook Political Report has moved three critical battlegrounds toward Harris, declaring Arizona, Georgia and Nevada to be toss-ups. All three had been in the "Leans Republican" column.
- A new AARP poll finds Trump and Harris tied in a head-to-head matchup in Georgia. But Harris leads Trump by 3 points in Georgia, according to the latest Highground survey.
Trump's likeliest path to the White House requires him winning Arizona and Georgia and picking off one of the three so-called Blue Wall states.
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| © Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP, file; Alex Brandon, Associated Press |
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| Trump's Jan. 6 case back on the front burner
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Former President Trump's Jan. 6 election subversion case is back with District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan following the Supreme Court's immunity decision. The case had about an 8 month pause, but there are signs Chutkan is ramping it up again. - Chutkan scheduled an Aug. 16 conference over unresolved matters, including whether to hold a "mini-trial."
- Over the weekend, Chutkan ruled against Trump's bid to toss the case.
The Hill's Rebecca Beitsch has the full story here. Elsewhere... Hunter Biden's legal woes continue, with prosecutors previewing an aggressive strategy in his federal taxes case. - Special counsel David Weiss says Hunter Biden received millions from a Romanian businessman accused of corruption as part of a deal to influence U.S. policy.
- The deal was allegedly structured to get around filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), although Weiss is not bringing FARA charges against Hunter Biden.
- The DOJ filing does not implicate President Biden, but House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) accused the Biden White House of turning "a blind eye to public corruption."
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"Walz vs. Vance in an election where reality doesn't matter," by Steve Krakauer for The Hill "Can Walz unite the center and the left?," by Zack Beauchamp for Vox. "Harris can't run on the Biden economy," by Chris Giles for The Financial Times. "Democrats are dreaming big again," by Robert Kuttner for The American Prospect. |
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11 days until the Democratic National Convention. 89 days until the 2024 general election.
165 days until Inauguration Day 2025. |
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| Thursday - Harris holds a campaign event in Raleigh, N.C., on Thursday evening.
- President Biden travels to Rehoboth Beach, Del., for the weekend.
Friday - Trump holds a campaign rally in Bozeman, Mont.
- Harris holds campaign events in Georgia and Arizona.
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