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What to watch on the campaign trail today
- Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have both confirmed that they will attend the previously scheduled Sept. 10 debate hosted by ABC.
- Trump told reporters at a news conference that he has agreed to three debates next month hosted by Fox, NBC and ABC. He said CBS will also host a debate between the vice presidential candidates. Harris signaled openness to additional debates, saying she's "happy to have that conversation."
- Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, participated in a United Auto Workers event in Michigan as part of their efforts to rally support among union workers.
From a ‘wake’ to ‘Mardi Gras’: With Harris, the Democratic convention is a hot ticket
Energy is exploding around the Democratic National Convention, with tickets, venues and hotel rooms spiking in demand as Harris prepares to become the first Black and Asian American woman to formally accept a major-party nomination.
Credentials are at a premium. Events are growing in size and number. Some corporate clients are sending more people, while others are extending their stays.
Since Harris moved to the top of the Democratic ballot, a deluge of new requests has flooded in for entry into the main event space at the United Center and surrounding bashes, people close to the convention and event-planning say.
Special counsel Jack Smith asks judge to delay next steps in Trump election interference case
Special counsel Jack Smith is asking the judge overseeing Trump's federal election interference case for more time to propose a timetable on future proceedings after the Supreme Court upended the case with last month’s immunity ruling.
In a filing tonight, Smith’s office asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to allow the parties until Aug. 30 to propose next steps. If the request is granted, prosecutors would have three more weeks to consult with other parts of the Justice Department on a way forward in a case that focuses on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
“Although those consultations are well underway, the Government has not finalized its position on the most appropriate schedule for the parties to brief issues related to the decision,” prosecutors wrote. “The Government therefore respectfully requests additional time to provide the Court with an informed proposal regarding the schedule for pretrial proceedings moving forward.”
Trump compares his Jan. 6 crowd to the audience for MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech
Trump has long boasted about crowd sizes at his rallies, but today he used an unexpected comparison making the case that he is the biggest draw: Martin Luther King Jr.
“Nobody has spoken to crowds bigger than me,” Trump said at his news conference at Mar-a-Lago. “If you look at Martin Luther King, when he did his speech, his great speech, and you look at ours, same real estate, same everything, same number of people.”
Trump was responding to a question about whether he thought the end of his term could be considered a peaceful transfer of power, even though it was marked by the Jan. 6 insurrection.
First to NBC News: Harris brings on a new campaign fundraising co-chair
As money continues to gush into the Harris campaign, a major fundraiser who has a longtime relationship with the vice president and is known as a prodigious rainmaker has come on board as the campaign's new fundraising co-chair.
Kristin Bertolina Faust is already working out of the campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, at least some of the time, according to people familiar with the move. She handled fundraising for Harris in her 2019 presidential campaign and has known her for 14 years.
Widely respected in Democratic circles, Bertolina Faust is often lauded for her longtime work in California, acting as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top fundraiser and having been campaign manager for Sen. Alex Padilla. Bertolina Faust was highlighted this week in Capitol Weekly, a Sacramento publication, as Newsom’s “top overall rainmaker.”
She will work with fellow co-chair Rufus Gifford and collaborate with Chris Korge, who is national fundraising chair for the Harris Victory Fund, as well as finance co-directors Michael Pratt and Colleen Coffey.
The campaign also brought on Stephanie Daily Smith as a senior adviser to the finance team and Jen Liu as a senior adviser.
Harris' campaign is raising money at a staggering pace. It reported bringing in $310 million last month, the bulk of which came in the days Harris shifted into the top spot after Biden announced he would step aside.
This weekend, Harris is headed to The Fairmont in San Francisco for a high-dollar fundraiser. The event is already sold out, said a person familiar with the planning.
RFK Jr.’s incredible disappearing campaign
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign is disappearing — both on the trail and in the polls.
Kennedy’s last public event was in Freeport, Maine, on July 9. He has since spoken virtually and appeared at a cryptocurrency conference and events put on by others, but he hasn’t been stumping on the campaign trail. (He did speak in person with reporters the day Biden dropped out of the race.) And it has been months since his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, has had a public event on the campaign trail.
Kennedy’s public poll numbers are dropping, from around 9% or 10% in national surveys before Biden dropped out to about half that level now. His last financial report showed the campaign carrying debt equal to more than half of the $5.6 million it had in the bank. On a media call last week, Kennedy said Democrats and Republicans colluded to make it “insurmountable” for an independent to get on the ballot in all 50 states — which he and his campaign had previously talked about as a matter of when, not if.
GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse survives another primary after voting to impeach Trump. He still has a fight ahead.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., has survived another Trump-endorsed primary challenge in his bid for re-election, qualifying for November’s general election. But his path to victory isn’t a given yet: In November, he will face fellow Republican Jerrod Sessler, whom Trump endorsed in April, in a GOP-versus-GOP clash.
Sessler, a former NASCAR driver and Navy veteran, got the most votes in the August primary, having won 31% when The Associated Press called the race today. Newhouse came in second, at nearly 25%, with more mail ballots still to count.
Newhouse is one of just two House Republicans left who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. If Sessler wins the November election with Trump’s support, it would drive that number down again.
Trump says he 'went down' in a helicopter with Willie Brown
Trump said in his hourlong news conference at Mar-a-Lago that he knows former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown "very well."
"In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this is the end. We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together, and there was an emergency landing. This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was, he was a little concerned," Trump said.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle after the news conference, Brown said no such thing happened.
“You would have known if I had gone down on a helicopter with Trump,” Brown said, according to the newspaper. “I’ve never been on a helicopter with Trump.”
Trump added today that Brown told him "terrible things about" Harris and was "not a fan of hers." Brown dated Harris years ago in San Francisco.
Brown disputed that, as well.
“No, not accurate at all,” he told the Chronicle.
Harris aims to schedule a sit-down media interview before September
Harris, who has not done a sit-down interview with a news organization since she launched her presidential campaign, said today that she's looking to get one on the books before September.
“I’ve talked to my team. I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month,” Harris told reporters on the tarmac in Michigan before she headed to Arizona.
During his news conference at Mar-a-Lago today, Trump criticized Harris for not sitting for an interview since she rocketed to the top of the Democratic ticket.
"She hasn't done an interview. She can't do an interview. She's barely competent," Trump said, repeating his attacks on Harris' intelligence.
Harris on additional Trump debates: 'Happy to have that conversation'
Harris said today she was “happy to have that conversation” when she was asked about additional debates with Trump beyond the one on Sept. 10.
At a news conference earlier today, Trump proposed two other debates for next month.
After she repeated an earlier comment that she looked forward to debating Trump on Sept. 10, Harris cast doubt on whether he would follow through.
“Well, I’m glad that he’s finally agreed to a debate on Sept. 10. I’m looking forward to it. Hope he shows up," Harris told reporters on the tarmac in Michigan.
Biden says he's confident Harris will win Trump debate
A reporter asked Biden whether he's "confident" about Harris' debating Trump.
"Am I confident she'll win?" Biden responded as he was heading onto Air Force One to travel to Delaware to meet with campaign staffers. "Yes, I am," he said, giving a thumb's up.
"As long as he keeps talking," Biden added, referring to Trump.
His own lackluster debate performance against Trump in June and the subsequent fallout helped lead to his decision to withdraw from the race.