Top Stories Tamfitronics
Two years after the end of Roe, abortion is still tripping up Republicans in key races
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Republicans are still struggling to navigate the issue of abortion as they face a barrage of Democratic attacks, with Ohio GOP Senate hopeful Bernie Moreno’s latest comments — suggesting it is not an issue, “especially for women that are, like, past 50” — underscoring the party’s continuing challenges.
The GOP is confident about taking control of the Senate this year, thanks to a path to the majority that runs through red states. But some Republican strategists warn that comments like Moreno’s aren’t helpful as he tries to defeat a well-known senator in Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown.
Read the full story here.
Harris to visit the southern border for first time as Democratic presidential nominee
Reporting from Washington, D.C.
Harris is set to make her first visit to the southern border since she jumped into the race, with plans to attack Trump on an issue that’s central to his campaign.
Harris is scheduled to visit a border town in Arizona on Friday, her campaign announced today. A campaign aide said she will highlight Trump’s role in sinking a bipartisan border deal on Capitol Hill this year.
Read the full story here.
New York Mayor Eric Adams expected to face federal charges
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New York Mayor Eric Adams is expected to face federal charges by prosecutors out of the Southern District of New York as soon as tomorrow, two sources familiar with the matter said tonight.
Adams said in a statement tonight: “I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became. If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
Read the full story here.
Police in Arizona are investigating an incident in which shots were fired through windows at Harris’ campaign office. Workers in the office called police after they discovered the damage.
‘Never been done before’: Trump and Harris get unprecedented levels of security after assassination attempts
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Congress passes bill to avert a shutdown before the election, sending it to Biden
Reporting from Washington
Congress overwhelmingly passed a funding bill tonight to avert a government shutdown next week after House Republicans removed a proposal demanded by Trump that would require Americans nationwide to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.
The Senate voted 78-18 this evening, shortly after the House passed the same measure on a 341-82 vote, with all opposition in both chambers coming from Republicans.
House Republican leaders, facing defections within their ranks, relied heavily on Democratic votes to approve the short-term measure. It now heads to Biden, who plans to sign it well before the Tuesday shutdown deadline. Both chambers are set to adjourn this week for a lengthy recess and will not return to Washington until after the Nov. 5 election.
Read the full story here.
Latino groups push Democratic Party to invest in Florida Senate race
Several Latino groups are calling on the national Democratic Party “to direct significant resources and investment” to boost former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s Senate campaign in Florida.
“The path to holding the majority runs through Florida,” they wrote in a letter obtained by NBC News, which was signed by Latino Victory Fund, BOLD PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Mi Familia Decide PAC, Mijente, PODER PAC, Unidos Us Action PAC, and 199SEIU UHE, a Florida health care worker union.
The groups noted that Mucarsel-Powell is the first Latina nominee to vie for statewide office in Florida, and she would be the second Latina elected to the U.S. Senate if she defeats GOP Sen. Rick Scott.
“The polls are close. Other ballot initiatives give us turnout momentum. Scott does not have the favorability rating of [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis or [GOP Sen. Marco] Rubio,” the groups wrote. “Mucarsel-Powell has a compelling story that contrasts with fraudster Rick Scott. And she is motivating the key Latino constituency.”
“Now is the time for all of us to make Florida a priority and take action quickly,” they wrote.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has committed to a “seven-figure” investment in digital ads in Florida, but the national party has not devoted significant resources to the state.
DSCC Chairman Gary Peters has not ruled out investing in Florida or Texas, another possible pickup opportunity. Peters told NBC News last month that his “first priority” is protecting incumbents, adding, “But we also want to go on the offense, and we’ll make investments as we see opportunities arise.”
Sen. Ben Cardin targeted by apparent deep fake call
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., said he was the targeted by “a malign actor” during a call, according to a statement his office released tonight.
Cardin said the caller, who was not identified, “engaged in a deceptive attempt to have a conversation with me by posing as a known individual.” The senator said he quickly ended the call and notified authorities who are investigating he incident.
“After immediately becoming clear that the individual I was engaging with was not who they claimed to be, I ended the call and my office took swift action, alerting the relevant authorities,” Cardin said.
Additional details about the nature of the call and who the caller posed as were not immediately available. NBC News has reached out to Cardin’s office for more details.
Vance reacts to Zelenskyy’s calling him ‘too radical’
At a campaign event in Traverse City, Michigan, Vance was asked about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s remark in an interview The New Yorker published Sunday describing him as “too radical” and criticizing his posture on ending Ukraine’s war with Russia.
“That’s me talking about one possible scenario for how this thing might ultimately end,” Vance said.
“I don’t appreciate Zelenskyy coming to this country and telling the American taxpayers what to do,” he added.
Zelenskyy had criticized Vance’s approach to ending the war and potentially permitting Russia to hang on to annexed territory in the New Yorker interview.
“His message seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice. This brings us back to the question of the cost and who shoulders it,” Zelenskyy said of Vance. “The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine’s expense is unacceptable.”
Asked to detail a plan for how Trump would end the war, Vance said he would not show weakness.
“The details for how Donald Trump is going to end the war in Ukraine is by not being weak and not being dumb, which is, unfortunately, something you can’t say for the current administration. It’s very simple,” Vance said. “Donald Trump believes in peace through strength, through smart diplomacy, and that’s what he’s going to bring back to the White House.”
Harris talks up McDonald’s gig in criticizing Trump’s economic plans
Reporting from Washington, D.C.
Harris today again confirmed that she once worked at McDonald’s, pushing back against Trump, who has repeatedly claimed she never worked there.
In an interview with Harris, MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle said, “I just want to ask you, yes or no: At any point in your life have you served two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions — “
“On a sesame seed bun?” Harris said in unison with Ruhle.
Read the full story here.
Secret Service agent placed on leave after alleged groping incident with Harris staffer
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A Secret Service agent in Harris’ security detail has been placed on administrative leave following allegations of a groping incident involving a Harris staffer in Wisconsin, according to two law enforcement officials.
The officials confirmed to NBC News that the agent was part of an advance team in Green Bay and was intoxicated when the alleged incident took place. The agent has been removed from Harris’ detail.
The assault was flagged to the local Secret Service field office, and the agent’s gun and badge were confiscated, one of the officials told NBC News.
Read the full story here.
Senior Trump supporters point to economy when explaining why they support him
Several senior Trump supporters visiting his North Carolina event pointed to the state of the economy in explaining why they planned to vote for him.
“We’re on a fixed income, and grocery prices are just crazy. We can’t afford food hardly,” said Phillip Martin, 73, who attended the event with Pam, his wife of 35 years.
Jacqueline Pope, 74, a retired hairdresser from Mint Hill, North Carolina, said, “We could do more things and go more places for a little pleasure if the economy was better for the seniors.”
She said that to save money, she has been staying home more often and avoiding shopping.
“Well, mostly, I don’t go anywhere. We don’t hardly go anywhere. We go to church and garden in the yard, but that’s about all. We don’t do a lot of things,” Pope said.
Harris says Trump needs to trust women to make their own reproductive decisions
Reporting from Washington, D.C.
Harris calls Trump’s tariff proposals a ‘sales tax on the American people’
Harris called Trump’s tariff proposals “a sales tax on the American people” in an interview today with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle.
Biden has also backed certain tariffs and done little to roll back ones Trump put into place while president, but Harris emphasized that tariffs should not be implemented across all imports — as Trump has said he would do if he returns to the White House.
“You don’t just throw around the idea of just tariffs across the board, and that’s part of the problem with Donald Trump,” Harris said.
Read the full story here.
Harris outlines $100 billion manufacturing plan, vowing pragmatism over ideology
Reporting from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Harris vowed to govern as a pragmatist who wouldn’t be captive to ideology in an economic speech today while outlining $100 billion in new investments in manufacturing, a major issue in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Harris proposed an “America Forward” agenda that calls for tax credits to boost investment and create industrial jobs, along with investments in artificial intelligence, science and energy development, as well as supporting American-made products.
Read the full story here.
GOP Rep. Clay Higgins attacks Haitians after a group filed criminal charges against Trump and Vance
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., attacked Haitians in a now-deleted post on X this afternoon, responding to news that a Haitian group in Springfield, Ohio, filed criminal charges against Trump and Vance, who spread conspiracy theories about them.
“Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters… but damned if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP,” Higgins wrote.
He continued, “All these thugs better get their mind right and their ass out of our country before January 20th.”
Trump and Vance have spread false claims about Haitian residents in Springfield abducting and eating people’s pets. Local authorities have made it clear there is no evidence supporting those assertions.
House passes bill to avert a shutdown before the election, sending it to the Senate
Reporting from Washington
The House this afternoon overwhelmingly passed a funding bill to avert a government shutdown next week after it removed a proposal demanded by Trump that would require Americans nationwide to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.
The vote was 341-82, with all opposition coming from Republicans.
House Republican leaders, facing defections within their ranks, relied heavily on Democratic votes to approve the short-term measure. It now heads to the Senate, which hopes to quickly approve it tonight, well before the shutdown deadline Tuesday. Both chambers are set to adjourn this week for a lengthy recess and will not return to Washington until after the Nov. 5 election.
Read the full story here.
Chappell Roan reveals she’s voting for Harris after online backlash
Pop star Chappell Roan revealed in a TikTok video today that she’s voting for Harris in November, though she stopped short of endorsing her. Roan’s announcement followed days of intense online backlash from her liberal fan base.
The criticism was fueled when Roan, 26, told The Guardian in an interview last week that she didn’t “feel pressured to endorse someone” in the presidential election because there are “problems on both sides.” Some critics slammed her for the “both sides” comment in particular, pointing to widespread differences between Republican and Democratic policy positions on LGBTQ issues. Others called her a “closet Republican.”
In response, Roan released a TikTok video yesterday saying she was not voting for Trump, though that message did little to quell the fan fury.
Read the full story here.
George Conway launches ads highlighting Trump’s accusers
George Conway, an outspoken Trump critic and the ex-husband of former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway, launched two ads through his political action committee that feature two women who previously accused Trump of sexual assault.
In one ad, Natasha Stoynoff, a former reporter for People magazine, detailed her allegation that Trump assaulted her when she visited his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2005 to interview him and his wife, Melania.
“At one point, Melania went upstairs to change her clothes for the next photo shoot, and Trump said to me, ‘I want to show you this beautiful painting, this beautiful room.’ He leads me to this room, pushes me against the wall, and starts kissing me forcefully,” Stoynoff says in the ad. “I tried to push him. He kept coming back at me.”
Another ad features Jessica Leeds, who alleged in a 2016 New York Times report that Trump groped her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt when she sat next to him on a flight in 1979.
“The airplane took off, and all of a sudden Donald Trump started groping me. He was trying to kiss me, and I’m trying to push him away. He was basically overpowering me,” Leeds says in the ad.
“When he started putting his hand up my skirt, I got out of the seat, grabbed my purse and went back to my original seat, and I certainly was shook up by the whole thing,” she adds.
Leeds also claimed that she ran into Trump two years later at a charity event and recalled that he made a crude remark toward her.
In response to a request for comment on the ads, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement: “George Conway has no idea what he’s talking about and suffers from a serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his brain. This is another sad, desperate attempt by Kamala’s cronies to gaslight the American people because they know they can’t stop President Trump from retaking the White House.”
Trump has repeatedly denied all accusations of sexual assault and has not faced criminal charges over the allegations.
Trump to host rally at same Pennsylvania venue where he was shot
Trump is returning to Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5 for a campaign rally at the venue where he was shot July 13, his campaign announced today.
The rally will honor the life of Corey Comperatore, who died in the shooting.
“President Trump’s return to Butler will stand as a tribute to the American spirit. In America, we do not let monsters like that evil assassin have the last word. Every time our nation is struck by attack or hardship, we rally, we persevere, and we prevail,” the campaign said in a news release.
NBC News previously reported, citing sources, that Trump planned to hold a rally in Butler on Oct. 5 — one month before Election Day.
Harris wraps up event at Economic Club of Pittsburgh
Harris wrapped up her event at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh, where she laid out her economic agenda and spoke for just over 30 minutes.
She outlined three pillars for her agenda: lowering costs, investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship, and leading the world in the industries of the future. She also said she would work with Congress and local leaders to enact permitting reform.
Harris says she would lower child care and elder care costs
At the Economic Club of Pittsburgh, Harris addressed child care and elder care costs, saying that if elected president she would lower them.
“When we lower the cost and ease the burdens people face, we will not only make it then easier for them to meet their obligations as caregivers, we will also make it more possible for them to go to work and pursue their economic aspirations,” she said. “And when that happens, our economy as a whole grows stronger.”
In reference to caregiving, she shared how she took care of her mom when she was diagnosed with cancer.
DOJ inspector general report on Jan. 6 intelligence failures likely coming before Inauguration Day
Reporting from Washington
Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said today that he is reviewing a draft of a forthcoming report on the Justice Department’s failures in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
At a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing, Horowitz said it was his “hope and expect ation” that the report would be released “in the next couple of months.” Horowitz said that he doubted that the report would be done before the Nov. 5 election but that it was “certainly my hope” it would be done before Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
The draft report still needs to go through a classification review, Horowitz noted, which he doesn’t control.
Horowitz said the OIG investigation had been paused until last year because of criminal cases and “ongoing criminal work,” though he did not specify whether he was referring to the Jan. 6-related case against Trump or to other Capitol attack cases.
The OIG review, announced Jan. 15, 2021, was intended to “examine the role and activity of DOJ and its components in preparing for and responding to” the attack on the Capitol and “assess whether there are any weaknesses” at the Justice Department impeded its preparation or response.
There has already been criminal outgrowth from the OIG review: OIG agents searched the home of Jeffrey Clark, the environmental law attorney and election denier whom Trump nearly named as acting attorney general just hours before the Capitol attack. Before the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity in July sparked a superseding indictment that removed references to Clark, he had been an unindicted and unnamed co-conspirator in the Trump indictment.
NBC News previously reported that the FBI had predicted in 2020 that domestic violent extremists would be “very willing to take action” in response to a disputed election, and an informant warned FBI weeks before Jan. 6 that the far right saw Trump’s “will be wild” tweet as a “call to arms.” One of the top investigators on the House Jan. 6 committee told NBC News that the intel “was pretty specific, and it was enough, in our view, for law enforcement to have done a better job.”
Arizona Democratic Party launches Moms Against Kari Lake
The Arizona Democratic Party today launched Moms Against Kari Lake, a coalition of over 100 mothers and grandmothers from across Arizona in defiance of the GOP Senate candidate.
“I personally need to trust and invest my vote in a candidate who expresses empathy and compassion, and I have yet to find those qualities in Kari Lake,” Paloma Greenwald, 25, a mother from Surprise, said in a statement.
“We need congressional representation for women, equality for women, and support for women’s healthcare. We don’t need this in Arizona; Kari Lake is dangerous for Arizona’s health,” said Laura Masters, a mother from Rimrock, who’s concerned by Lake’s flip-flopping stance on abortion rights in the state.
On the campaign trail, Lake has cast herself as a “mama bear” candidate and a fierce defender of parental rights. “As a Mama Bear, I know how important it is to provide our children with the best future possible. I will always fight for our children!” she wrote on X in March.
Lake launched her own coalition, Moms for Kari, in the early stages of the campaign and visited the southern border in November with the coalition, dubbing it the “Mama Bear Border Tour.”
“One of the hardest things are the moms who are behind me and the moms who couldn’t be here today who have lost a son or a daughter, a sister or a brother, to the fentanyl crisis,” Lake said on her border tour in Nogales, flanked by mothers in her coalition. “Fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction. It’s pouring across our border.”
“The hardest thing for me on the campaign trail has been hearing the painful, painful stories of mothers and fathers who lost a child,” Lake said.
Trump says older adults who don’t vote for him will have to be sent to a psychiatrist ‘to have your head examined’
Trump said today in North Carolina that any older adults who don’t vote for him will have to have their “head examined” by a mental health professional.
He said that if he’s re-elected, he wouldn’t permit taxes on Social Security for older adults, “who have been devastated by inflation,” he said.
“We’re going to have no tax on Social Security for our seniors. If any senior doesn’t vote for Trump, we’re gonna have to send you to a psychiatrist to have your head examined,” he said.
He has made similar comments about Jewish voters who won’t vote for him.
Trump criticizes Zelenskyy for visit to the U.S.
At his event in North Carolina, Trump mentioned the war in Ukraine and Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. He insisted that the war in Ukraine “would have never happened” if he had been in office.
“The president of Ukraine is in our country and he’s making little, nasty aspersions towards your favorite president, me,” he said.
It is unclear what comments Trump was referring to, but Zelenskyy did refer to Vance as “too radical” in an interview with The New Yorker.
Harris campaign hires Obama alum to focus on Pennsylvania
Harris’ campaign has hired a new senior adviser with a deep history in organizing to lead get-out-the-vote and voter contact efforts in Pennsylvania, according to a campaign official who shared details of the hire with NBC News.
Paulette Aniskoff, who was former President Barack Obama’s get-out-the-vote director in Iowa when he won the 2008 Democratic primary there and went on to work for the Obama campaign in Pennsylvania during the general election, will work alongside Nikki Lu, the Harris Pennsylvania campaign manager, and senior advisers Brendan McPhillips and Kellan White.
“We are thrilled to have Paulette join our team. Pennsylvania is going to be decided on razor thin margins, and there is no one we would rather have helping to ensure we are securing every vote we can in the final stretch,” Lu said in a statement. “I am proud to say we have built the biggest campaign operation Pennsylvania has ever seen, and Paulette is a welcome addition to the team. In 42 days, we are going to defeat Donald Trump’s extreme 2025 agenda and elect Kamala Harris, who will take our commonwealth forward.”
Aniskoff served as the Obama campaign’s Pennsylvania field director in 2008, where she helped lead the campaign to a 10-point victory. She later served in the Obama administration, including as deputy assistant to the president and director of the office of public engagement. After her time at the White House, Aniskoff worked as a political adviser to Obama.
The Harris campaign official said Aniskoff will be on leave from her job as a partner at Bully Pulpit International.
Overall, the Harris campaign says in Pennsylvania, it has nearly 400 staff on the ground and 50 coordinated offices, including 16 offices in rural counties that Trump carried by double digits in 2020.
Trump wonders if Iran could be behind apparent attempts on his life
In remarks that were supposed to mainly focus on the economy, Trump wondered if Iran may be behind the assassination attempt against him in July and the apparent attempt to take his life earlier this month.
“There have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve, but possibly do, Iran, but I don’t really know. Can’t be sure,” Trump said at a manufacturing business in Mint Hill, North Carolina, a battleground state.
Trump said the FBI has been unable to open “three potentially foreign-based apps” on the phone of the first suspect in Butler, Pennsylvania, and called on Apple to unlock the apps.
“If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case, Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens. We’re going to blow it to smithereens. You can’t do that,” he said.
The former president suggested that people want to kill him because he wants to bring jobs back to the U.S.
“People in countries want to kill me,” he said. “They’re not happy with me. It is. It’s a risky business. This is why they want to kill me. They only kill consequential presidents.”
There’s no indication that Iran was behind the two assassination attempts against Trump, though his campaign said yesterday that the former president was briefed yesterday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States.
Vance says ‘everything is going to be on the table’ when asked if Ukraine should cede land to end war with Russia
During a media call today, Vance was asked if he believes Ukraine should give up land in exchange for ending the war with Russia. Vance replied, saying, “Everything should be on the table.”
“The president has said very clearly that, first of all, Russia would have never invaded Ukraine if he had been president, and he’s going to negotiate it into the conflict,” he said. “And of course, everything is going to be on the table, but I think nothing is going to be definitively on the table. That’s why you have a negotiation.”
Vance’s remark comes after Zelenskyy’s interview with The New Yorker earlier this week where he accused Vance of being “too radical.”
Zelenskyy went on to say that Vance’s message surrounding the war in Ukraine is that it “seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice.”
The Senate committee investigating the first assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, has released a new report revealing the communication breakdown between law enforcement agencies back in July. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports for “TODAY.”
Sen. Thom Tillis says Mark Robinson should sue CNN or admit some allegations against him are ‘correct and step aside’
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said that North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson should sue CNN if its report on racist and antisemitic comments he allegedly made years ago on a porn website is false, otherwise he should admit that some or all of the claims are true.
“If, if the allegations put forth by KFILE and CNN are false, get a really good attorney, come up with a modicum of evidence that disproves some of it, sue ‘em and settle it in court,” Tillis told NBC News. “If you’re not able to do that within a reasonable period of time, then it puts weight to the likely reality that some, maybe not all, but some of these allegations are true. And if they are, they’re devastating and disqualifying.”
Tillis argued that Robinson “owes it to the people of North Carolina, to everybody down ballot” and Trump to either proceed with a lawsuit against CNN or “admit that some or all of it is correct and step aside.”
“This is bigger than any one elected office, and we have to look at it that way,” he said.
Tillis’ remarks come after Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also suggested that Robinson should sue CNN during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last Sunday.
Robinson has repeatedly denied the CNN report last week alleging that he posted several lewd comments on a porn website, which includes referring to himself as a “black NAZI” and expressing support for slavery. NBC News has not independently verified the report.
Robinson has vowed to stay in the race as some Trump allies have called for him to step down. Some top staffers of Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign in North Carolina have resigned in the wake of the widespread scrutiny the candidate faces over his alleged past comments.
NBC News has reached out to CNN for comment.
Harris campaign launches climate voters coalition group
The Harris-Walz campaign today launched its newest coalition group, Climate Voters for Harris-Walz, making the announcement in a video post on social media.
“So we know the climate crisis is real, in spite of some people who call it a hoax, and we know there’s so much good that we can do, so much work that we are prepared to do,” Harris said in the video. “So let’s get involved, let’s stay in touch.”
Addressing climate change has been a key issue for the Biden administration and something Harris has said she would tackle as president.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal says there needs to be ‘a house cleaning’ of Secret Service management
Annemarie Bonner and Brennan Leach
In reference to a Senate report on Secret Service “preventable” mistakes during the first attempted assassination of Trump, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said there needs to be a “house cleaning” at the agency.
“There needs to be a house cleaning in management, not just in people but the policies and practices that the Secret Service uses. The Secret Service has thousands of dedicated and skilled agents but the lack of leadership is hamstringing them and there needs to be a permanent director,” he said. “A new director from the outside who can take on and eliminate those kinds of failures that occurred in lack of resources, no operating radio, no drone detection system, no countersurveillance unit, no one in charge.”
Blumenthal chairs the investigations subcommittee for the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
‘All-out war is possible’ in the Middle East, Biden warns, adding there’s opportunity for a settlement
Biden said in an interview on ABC’s “The View” that it’s possible a broader war could develop in the Middle East.
“An all-out war is possible, but I think there’s also the opportunity, we’re still in play, to have a settlement that could fundamentally change the whole region,” Biden said on the set of the show in New York.
Biden said he doesn’t agree with Netanyahu’s “position,” though he didn’t elaborate on what stance of the Israeli prime minister’s Biden specifically opposes.
“There needs to be a two-state solution. Ultimately, it needs to happen. There’s a way to do it, and then you have a possibility — I don’t want to exaggerate it — but a possibility that if we can deal with a cease-fire in Lebanon, then it can also move into dealing with the West Bank and we also have Gaza to deal with,” he said.
The president said he and his team are focusing their energy on trying to coordinate a peace deal and emphasized that this is a critical turning point. “There’s certain inflection points in history where what happens in the very near term sets the course for the world for the next six or seven decades,” he said.
Biden says he’s ‘at peace’ with decision to drop out of 2024 race, says it wasn’t caused by outside pressure
Biden said in an interview on ABC’s “The View” that he’s “at peace” with his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race and rejected the idea that it was caused by outside pressure.
“It was the greatest honor in the world sitting behind the Resolute Desk as president of the United States, but — I mean I loved it — but, it sounds corny, but I love my country more,” Biden said.
The president praised Harris, saying she’s “smart as hell.”
“She has the energy, she has the intelligence, she has the grit, she has the stamina and she has the guts to do the right thing,” Biden added.
Asked about his relationship with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who NBC News previously reported had a hand in pressuring him to end his presidential bid, Biden said very briefly: “My relationship is fine.”
The president rejected the idea that he exited the race because of rising pressure for him to do so, acknowledging that there were some who wanted him to step aside.
“That wasn’t the reason I stepped down,” Biden said. “I stepped down because I started thinking about it.” He added that he was certain he would have beaten Trump if he remained in the race. “Yes, I was confident I would beat Trump. He’s a loser.”
Vance cancels Georgia events tomorrow because of Helene
Vance was supposed to travel to Georgia tomorrow to give remarks on the economy in Macon and hold a rally in Flowery Branch, but the campaign postponed both events as Hurricane Helene approaches landfall in the region. The campaign said it will work to reschedule both events at a later date.
Vance is fundraising early this afternoon in Winter Park, Florida, and will head to northern Michigan for remarks in Traverse City this evening.
Trump campaign decided against Zelenskyy meeting because of Ukrainian leader’s comment on JD Vance
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A meeting that Trump was expected to have with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday at Trump Tower is no longer taking place, a campaign source familiar with the former president’s schedule said.
Trump told NBC News last week that he would “probably” meet this week with Zelenskyy, who is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly meeting.
But when asked about why Trump and Zelenskyy are no longer meeting, a person familiar with the matter pointed to Zelenskyy’s comment made earlier this week that JD Vance was “too radical.”
The Ukrainian president made the remark in an interview with The New Yorker, saying that Vance’s message “seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice.”
A campaign official with knowledge of Trump’s decision not to meet with Zelenskyy, however, said that there was no meeting on the books between them. Zelenskyy went to Pennsylvania earlier this week and appeared alongside surrogates of Harris’ campaign and “gave voice to criticism” toward Trump and Vance, the official added.
The official said those actions demonstrated to the Trump campaign that Zelenskyy is prepared to interfere with the upcoming election to ensure the “Democrat money train” continues to make its way to Kyiv in 2025.
House to vote to condemn Biden, Harris and others over 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal
The House is set to vote Wednesday to formally condemn President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other officials over their handling of the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The resolution, introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, criticized the administration’s “chaotic, precipitous” Afghanistan withdrawal, saying its “willful refusal to properly plan for a noncombatant evacuation operation, and decision to rely on the Taliban to run checkpoints surrounding” the Kabul airport led to the 2021 attack at Abbey Gate at the airport in the final days of the withdrawal.
The resolution also points to Harris’ April 2021 comments to CNN that she played a central role in Biden’s decision to pull troops from Afghanistan.
Separately, the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday voted to advance a measure to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress after he did not comply with a subpoena to provide testimony at a hearing on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Blinken was at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on Tuesday, the same day as the hearing, and reiterated his willingness to testify and expressed disappointment to McCaul in a letter earlier this week about the congressman’s decision to pursue the contempt resolution.
Read the full story here.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken joins “TODAY” to discuss Trump’s recently being briefed by intelligence officials about Iran’s threats to assassinate him. He also talks about Israel’s military strategy and the likelihood of a cease-fire in the Middle East. “We support solving the problem through diplomacy, not through war,” he says.
Trump campaign has no plan for more intel briefings following Iranian assassination threat
Following Trump’s briefing with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence about threats from Iran to assassinate him, there is no plan for ramped-up or increased intelligence briefings, a Trump campaign official said.
Trump has refused intelligence briefings as the Republican presidential nominee to avoid being accused of leaks, he told the Daily Mail in August.
According to the campaign official and another source familiar with the matter, this was Trump’s one and only meeting with the ODNI during this campaign cycle.
The Trump campaign has no intention of altering or modifying what it’s doing on the trail after this briefing, a campaign official said.
NBC News has reached out to the ODNI for comment.
DNC is placing 12 billboards tying Trump to Mark Robinson in North Carolina
The Democratic National Committee said this morning that it’s placing a dozen new billboards across North Carolina that tie Trump to GOP Lt. Gov Mark Robinson, who’s running for governor.
One of the billboards says, “Trump on Mark Robinson: ‘We have to cherish Mark,’ ‘He’s an outstanding person,’ and he’s ‘an incredible gentleman.'”
Trump endorsed Robinson for governor this cycle.
Robinson has faced heavy backlash since last week over a report that he made antisemitic and racist comments years ago on a porn website, which led to several of his top campaign staff resigning.
“There’s a reason why Donald Trump has not rescinded his endorsement of Mark Robinson: Trump believes that Robinson is an ‘incredible gentleman’ who shares Trump’s extremist values and his shameful history of spewing hate, conspiracy theories, and election denialism,” DNC spokesperson Kenny Palmer said. “Unfortunately for Trump, North Carolinians are tired of MAGA Republicans’ chaos and vitriol and will reject Trump and Robinson’s dangerous vision for their state come November.”
Some of the ads will appear in Greensboro, Wilmington, Raleigh, Asheville and Mint Hill, where Trump is set to hold a campaign rally this afternoon.
Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News last week that reports that Trump might rescind his endorsement of Robinson were false. NBC News has reached out to his campaign again for comment.
North Carolina is considered one of the battleground states that the Harris team believes will be in play this November.
House set to vote on government funding measure this evening
The House is scheduled to vote on a short-term spending bill around 5:30 p.m. ET, according to guidance from Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.
Republicans will need two-thirds support to pass the legislation, meaning they will need significant Democratic support.
The Senate will likely begin considering the bill immediately after the House passes it.
Once it’s signed into law, it would avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1, and fund the government through Dec. 20. Trump called on Congress to include a provision that would require Americans nationwide to show proof of citizenship to register to vote. Republicans, however, nixed that proposal.
Vance, the junior senator from Ohio, also suggested Republicans could benefit from threatening a shutdown.
The House will also vote tonight on a resolution to condemn members of the Biden administration for the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, including the president and vice president.
As Harris racks up celebrity support, Trump sees an opening to attack
Harris has Scarlett Johansson. Donald Trump has Scarlett Johnson, chair of the Ozaukee County Moms for Liberty.
The two women with very similar names offer a snapshot of the different surrogate pools for Trump and Harris. Johnson, the woman supporting Trump, is a Wisconsin conservative education activist and failed school board candidate, while Johansson is an internationally known movie star who has been on Time’s 100 Most Influential People list.
Harris has been a magnet for Hollywood’s elite, attracting dozens of major celebrity endorsements that bring with them massive followings — which, in turn, can bring more enthusiasm and even contributions, helping to juice the Democratic base with Election Day just over a month away.
Johansson, for instance, attended a Harris fundraiser this week, while the lesser-known Johnson was among the featured surrogates on hand as Trump kicked off a multicity bus tour in the key swing state of Wisconsin.
Read the full story here.
Democratic group launches legal fund to help secretaries of state defend against postelection lawsuits
A Democratic group is launching a legal fund to help secretaries of state in key states defend against an anticipated post-election deluge of lawsuits.
In plans shared first with NBC News, the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State plans to spend at $5 million to support top election officials in Maine, Michigan, North Carolina and Nevada. Officials with the group said they may expand their reach to other states as needed and could spend more if fundraising is strong.
The group began aggressively raising money and campaigning to elect Democratic secretaries of state, who oversee elections in many states, in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in 2020. It first funneled money to deal with postelection litigation to then-Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in 2022 to deal with postelection litigation.
“This is us trying to help our people but also help democracy,” said Travis Brimm, the group’s executive director.
“We have a bunch of pro-democracy secretaries of state that we want to support. We know a lot of them are going to get sued. We know that there’s going to be a lot of challenges to election certification issues, and we know that those are expensive endeavors,” he said.
Read the full story here.
House poised to pass a bill to avert a shutdown after dropping Trump voting plan
The House on Wednesday is poised to pass a funding bill to avert a government shutdown next week after it removed a proposal demanded by Donald Trump that would require Americans nationwide to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.
House Republican leaders, facing defections within their ranks, plan to rely heavily on Democratic votes to approve the measure. If it passes, it would go to the Senate, which hopes to quickly approve it Wednesday night, well before the Oct. 1 shutdown deadline. Both chambers are set to adjourn this week for a lengthy recess until after the Nov. 5 election.
The package, negotiated by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and top Democrats, would fund the government at current levels through Dec. 20, right before the holidays. It would also provide $231 million in additional money for the Secret Service, including for operations related to the presidential campaign, in the wake of two apparent attempts to assassinate Trump.
Read the full story here.
Bipartisan report on Trump shooting identifies Secret Service tech issues and ‘preventable’ mistakes
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The Secret Service made a series of “foreseeable” and “preventable” mistakes in the lead-up to the first attempt to assassinate Trump in July that allowed a gunman to fire shots that killed a Trump rally attendee and grazed the Republican presidential nominee’s ear, senators in both parties charge.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee and its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a joint interim report in their investigation of the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting Wednesday that responsibilities weren’t clearly defined ahead of the July 13 rally and that personnel they interviewed who were responsible for planning have “deflected blame.”
While the Secret Service has acknowledged “ultimate responsibility” for the failure to prevent Trump’s being struck by a bullet, the report says key Secret Service personnel “declined to acknowledge individual areas of responsibility for planning or security as having contributed to the failure to prevent the shooting that day.”
The report also highlights the types of technological issues that are common within massive federal bureaucracies like the Secret Service.
Read the full story here.
Elise Stefanik pushes to expand House GOP majority with record number of women
Rep. Elise Stefanik, the highest-ranking GOP woman in the House, is leading a charge to break the record for Republican women serving in the chamber, just six years after a blue wave wiped out their ranks.
Stefanik, R-N.Y., who chairs the GOP conference, has been focused on boosting the ranks of Republican women in the House ever since she sounded the alarm about the “crisis level” after the 2018 midterms, when the number of GOP women dwindled to just 13.
In the nearly six years since then, Stefanik and others have worked to recruit and provide early support to women candidates. The number of Republican women in the House has tripled to a record 36, including two nonvoting members.
This time, any gains could help the GOP grow from its current narrow majority, which has been plagued by disagreement and infighting, to a more robust governing majority next year.
Read the full story here.
NBC News Correspondents Vaughn Hillyard and Aaron Gilchrist join Meet the Press NOW to report on the latest from the campaign trail as Trump and Harris try to reach voters in battleground Georgia.
Stephanie Ruhle to interview Harris in Pittsburgh
Harris will join MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle in Pittsburgh for an exclusive one-on-one interview after a campaign stop outlining her plans for the economy. Harris’ first solo interview since becoming the nominee will air Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on MSNBC during a special two-hour edition of “All In with Chris Hayes.”
Harris to flesh out her economic vision in Pittsburgh, pitching ‘pragmatic’ approach
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PITTSBURGH — Harris plans to flesh out her economic vision today in what her campaign is billing as a “major speech” in battleground Pennsylvania, with the goal of chipping away at Donald Trump’s advantage among voters on the issue.
The speech will tie together various themes of the Harris campaign, including her own biography and how it defines her economic vision.
Along with touting her existing economic proposals, Harris will announce “new proposals for how she would make sure America leads the world in manufacturing in the industries of the future,” a senior Harris campaign official said, without providing details.
Harris plans to describe her economic vision as “pragmatic” and not “bound by ideology,” the official said. The message is consistent with her shift to the center since she claimed the Democratic presidential nomination and also counters Trump’s bid to highlight left-wing positions she took in 2019 as a presidential candidate.
Read the full story here.
