EVENT ENDED

Election 2024: Harris VP search narrows; Trump continues attacks on Harris' race

Former President Donald Trump falsely said yesterday that Vice President Kamala Harris "became Black" for political purposes.

Vice President Kamala Harris gives the eulogy at Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's funeral service at Fallbrook Church in Houston on Thursday.Brandon Bell / Getty Images
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This coverage has ended. Get the latest news and live updates on the 2024 election here.

What to know

  • Former President Donald Trump has continued attacking Vice President Kamala Harris over her racial identity, posting a photo of her wearing a sari and resharing a post purporting to show her birth certificate.
  • Harris, whose mother is Indian and father is Jamaican, criticized Trump's remarks yesterday, saying, "The American people deserve better." Trump's allies, including his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, have defended his attacks.
  • Vance today visited the southern border, where he went after Harris for the Biden administration's record on immigration and border security.
  • Harris' search for a running mate is nearing its end. Her vetting team has met with six potential running mates: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
36w ago / 12:01 AM EDT

Former American prisoners reunite with loved ones

Biden and Harris greeted Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva as they stepped off the plane.

Whelan got off first, followed by Gershkovich and Kurmasheva. Each spoke with Biden and Harris and exchanged hugs with them.

People cheered and applauded as the Americans embraced their family members.

36w ago / 11:40 PM EDT

Plane carrying three Americans lands on U.S. soil after prisoner swap

The plane carrying three Americans who were released from Russia as part of the prisoner swap touched down on U.S. soil.

Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva are on the plane. Kara-Murza traveled to Germany, where he will be joined by his family.

Biden and Harris are expected to greet the freed Americans.

36w ago / 11:22 PM EDT

Biden posts videos of freed Americans' families talking to loved ones

Biden posted a video to X of him and the families of the Americans freed in the prisoner swap talking on the phone with their loved ones.

"No word is strong enough for this," Vladimir Kara-Murza said in the video. "I was sure I'm going to die in prison because I don't believe what's happening."

"You've done a wonderful thing by saving so many people," Kara-Murza added.

36w ago / 11:15 PM EDT

Black Muslim group endorses Harris after its ‘uncommitted’ stance on Biden

The first national Muslim organization that had declared itself “uncommitted” on Biden's re-election bid is endorsing Harris' candidacy.

Salima Suswell, the founder and chief executive of the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund, first shared the group’s decision with NBC News today.

“She has shown more sympathy towards the people of Gaza then both President Biden and former President Donald Trump,” Suswell said of Harris. “During Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress, she decided not to attend. She has repeatedly called for a cease-fire, and I believe she has also expressed empathy towards civilian life and has been very caring as it relates to getting aid to the people of Gaza.”

Read the full story here.

36w ago / 10:49 PM EDT

Trump cites Harris' rise in push for hush money judge's recusal

Adam Reiss
Adam Reiss and Dareh Gregorian

Trump attorneys are again asking the judge who oversaw his New York hush money trial to recuse himself from the case, citing work the judge's daughter has done for Harris.

The request is at least the third Trump's lawyers have made asking Judge Juan Merchan to step aside. They previously alleged that Merchan has a conflict of interest because Harris used his daughter's firm for digital fundraising during the 2020 presidential campaign, but in a letter to the judge made public today, they contended that the issue has become more pronounced since Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.

“Regardless of intent, decisions by Your Honor on the pending Presidential immunity motion and at any sentencing would benefit not only Harris but also the professional aspirations and financial status of Your Honor’s daughter,” Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote.

36w ago / 10:04 PM EDT

Vance: 'They can call me what they want to'

Vance, main target of Harris and her allies' campaign to frame the GOP ticket as "weird," brushed off the label in an interview that aired on Newsmax this evening.

"If your attitude is that a happily married father of three is a weird guy, call me weird all you want," Vance told the conservative outlet during his visit to the U.S.–Mexico border in Arizona this morning.

Unlike Trump, his running mate, who was quick to fire back that "they're the weird ones" when he was asked about the Harris campaign's messaging, Vance offered a final thought: "I’m happy to be who I am."

36w ago / 9:32 PM EDT

House Freedom Caucus member fends off primary challenger in Tennessee

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., won his primary today, The Associated Press projects, leveraging his endorsement from Trump to fend off a well-funded GOP challenger.

Ogles is a member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus who reintroduced articles of impeachment against Harris last week after she launched her presidential campaign. Ogles defeated Nashville Metropolitan Council member Courtney Johnston, who outraised and outspent the first-term congressman on the airwaves in Tennessee’s 5th District.

Johnson had sought to cast Ogles as a “do-nothing” politician, saying in one of her ads, “Andy Ogles is weak and he’s accomplished nothing. He chases headlines, not results.”

Read the full story here.

36w ago / 9:30 PM EDT

Gov. JB Pritzker confirms he has had conversations about VP slot

Jesse Rodriguez
Jesse Rodriguez and Megan Lebowitz

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker confirmed in an MSNBC interview that he has had conversations about the "possibility of being the vice presidential candidate."

"I’m not going to say who those people were or talk about those conversations," he told MSNBC's Ari Melber. "But I’m flattered by all of it."

NBC News has reported that other politicians being considered for Harris' running mate include Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

36w ago / 8:48 PM EDT

Legal panel recommends suspending Trump ally Jeffrey Clark's law license in D.C. for two years

A hearing committee authorized by the D.C. Bar recommended that Trump ally Jeffrey Clark's law license be suspended for two years over his actions related to the 2020 presidential election.

"As set forth below, we find Disciplinary Counsel has proven by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Clark attempted dishonesty and did so with truly extraordinary recklessness," the panel wrote in a 216-page report.

The recommendation is not final. If Clark objects to the committee's recommendation, the Board on Professional Responsibility will hear oral arguments at a to-be-determined date.

Trump had considered appointing Clark as acting attorney general in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

36w ago / 8:18 PM EDT

What comes next after Trump’s Project 2025-bashing tour

Trump has a message for conservative foot soldiers: I define the movement, not you.

It is not a new edict after the GOP convention featured a condensed, Trump-centric platform that softened the party’s long-standing positions on abortion and broke with its orthodoxy on trade and entitlements. But it was reinforced loudly this week when Trump’s campaign delighted in the Heritage Foundation’s announcement that the head of its controversial Project 2025 was stepping down, delivering a warning to others looking to link themselves to Trump: This “should serve as notice ... it will not end well for you.”

Read the full story here.