Trump says Biden 'didn't believe in open borders'
Trump worked to paint Harris as further to the left than Biden — and walked back some of his previous attacks on Biden in the process.
"She is actually worse than he is because she’s a real radical left. He’s a phony radical left. He didn’t believe this stuff," Trump said. "He didn’t believe in open borders. And she does. She wants to open your borders."
Trump has tried to paint both Biden and Harris as soft on immigration, pointing to Biden’s tapping Harris to tackle the daunting issue of immigration in 2021. In accepting the task, Harris made her role more specific, describing largely diplomatic responsibilities.
Arizona's Democratic AG criticizes Vance for blocking IVF protections
At a roundtable event in Phoenix organized by the Harris campaign, Kris Mayes, Arizona's Democratic attorney general, criticized Vance for his Senate vote against in vitro fertilization protections ahead of his rally in the state this evening.
"JD Vance is on record in the United States Senate in saying that he wants to, that he does not support IVF for women,” said Mayes, referring to his vote in June, which helped block The Right to IVF Act.
“How extreme and weird these guys have gotten,” Mayes added, dropping Democrats’ new favorite attack line on Vance.
Mayes also shared her own IVF journey.
“I became a mom through IVF,” she said. “When I turned 40 or 41, I finally realized that I really wanted to be a mom. But when you’re 40 or 41, it’s hard to have a baby. So I turned to IVF to have my baby.”
“Politicians like JD Vance, they don’t want women like me to be able to have babies. They don’t want women in this country to have babies in any other way than then that they think is appropriate,” she told the audience of about 50 people.
UAW union endorses Harris over Trump
The United Auto Workers union has endorsed Harris over Trump.
The union’s endorsement shouldn’t be surprising. UAW President Shawn Fain has been outspoken against Trump. The Detroit union also has historically supported Democrats, including Biden.
Congressional Black Caucus PAC chairman criticizes Trump's comments on Harris' Black identity
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, called Trump's comments questioning Harris' Black identity before a crowd of Black journalists at a convention in Chicago today "extremely offensive" and part of a "pattern of blatant lies."
“Donald Trump using the largest convening of Black journalists to publicly question Vice President Harris’ identity as a Black woman and insult her intelligence is extremely offensive to Black voters across our country," Meeks said in a statement.
“This is yet another example of the bigotry that has been apparent throughout much of his public life. Given a platform to make his case to Black voters, Donald Trump chose to offend Black journalists, our communities, and continue his pattern of blatant lies,” he added.
Trump calls Harris 'phony' for identifying as both Black and Indian American
Trump continued leaning into his attacks on Harris for her racial identity. Harris is both Black and Indian American, and Trump has falsely asserted that she has changed how she identifies.
He posted a video of Harris and comedian Mindy Kaling talking about their Indian heritage.
"Crazy Kamala is saying she’s Indian, not Black," Trump said on Truth Social. "This is a big deal. Stone cold phony. She uses everybody, including her racial identity!"
However, Harris has always identified as both Black and Indian American. Her mother was born in India, and her father was born in Jamaica.
GOP Senate candidate Larry Hogan criticizes Trump's comments about Harris' race
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican Senate candidate, criticized Trump's rhetoric about Harris' racial identity after Trump's NABJ interview.
"It’s unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone’s racial identity," Hogan said on X. "The American people deserve better."
Trump campaign questions 'backlash from the truth' after attacking Harris' racial identity
After Trump received major backlash online for his remarks questioning whether Harris is really Black, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump's campaign, doubled down, asking NBC News, "Backlash from the truth?"
"These people must be deranged," Cheung added.
Harris campaign says Trump is trying to 'divide us,' presses Trump to debate
Harris' campaign accused Trump of using divisive tactics and called for the Republican presidential nominee to "show up" to a previously scheduled debate in September, shortly after Trump attacked Harris' race at a convention in Chicago for Black journalists.
“Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us," Michael Tyler, a campaign spokesperson said in a statement. “Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign."
The statement also hammered Trump on committing to a debate with Trump, urging him to "stop playing games and actually show up" to a previously scheduled debate in September.
Trump said in an interview that aired this week that he would “probably” debate Harris. The former president's campaign has said it won’t commit to a debate until Harris formally becomes the party’s nominee.
Trump and his campaign respond to NABJ discussion, continue attacking journalists
Trump and his campaign continued to attack the Black journalists who questioned him at the NABJ convention this afternoon, writing on Truth Social, “The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!”
His campaign also posted on X criticizing those in the audience during the Q&A.
“This goes to show that fake news journalists don’t care about inflation. They don’t care about border security," the Trump War Room wrote. "They don’t care about improving our schools. They don’t care about the American people or the things that matter to them. They just care about 'getting' Trump.'”
Harris world calls Trump’s attacks on her race ‘completely unhinged’
In a reaction to Trump's Q&A panel at the NABJ convention, one source familiar with the campaign's thinking told NBC News that Trump is “completely unhinged,” adding “this is also Trump. He cannot help himself.”
The source said Trump's comment that Harris didn't claim she was Black until recently was "completely insulting and repulsive. Exactly what KJP said from the podium."
A second source close to Harris said the vice president has "always known who she is. And Donald Trump has always lived out who he is and continues to do so today.”
A third person close to Harris said Trump's comments were “simply a lie and easily disproved."
"She went to Howard for Christ sake! She’s an AKA,” the person added, “This is painful.''
Another Harris aide also told NBC News that the event was an “absolute disaster for Donald Trump.” The Harris campaign also confirmed that they’re still working to set up virtual event with NABJ.