Gwen Walz says Trump 'unleashed all of this chaos' with end of Roe
Gwen Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee's wife, squarely attributed the end to a constitutional right to abortion to Trump, saying he "took down Roe and unleashed all of this chaos and all of this cruelty."
At an event in Raleigh, North Carolina, as part of the Harris-Walz campaign's reproductive freedom bus tour today, Gwen Walz said that every person should "have the freedom to build their own family," without interference, adding that it was "just as important" for people to freely decide "not to have children at all."
"It should be your choice, your choice, your choice, and not JD Vance’s and Donald Trump’s," she said.
She said Trump is the reason "we're in this mess to begin with."
"He is the one who took down Roe and unleashed all of this chaos and all of this cruelty. And JD Vance, well, who asked him to tell us how to build our families? Nobody. Nobody asked him. Nobody’s asking him, and nobody’s going to ask him," she added.
Trump nominated three conservative justices to the Supreme Court who helped overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
'Bizarre': Trump accuser responds to Trump saying she's not the 'chosen one'
Jessica Leeds, who has alleged that Trump groped her while she was seated next to him on an airplane in the late 1970s, said today that his comment that he could not have attacked her because she "would not have been the chosen one" was "really kind of bizarre."
“He assaulted me 50 years ago, and he continues to attack me today,” Leeds told reporters at a news conference outside Trump Tower, calling his recent comments "spooky and difficult to process."
"He's a sexual predator," she said.
Trump made the comment speaking to reporters Friday after appeals court arguments in writer E. Jean Carroll's civil sexual abuse and defamation verdict against him. Leeds testified at the trial, and Trump's attorney argued that her testimony should not have been allowed.
"I know you’re going to say it’s a terrible thing to say, but it couldn’t have happened. It didn’t happen. And she would not have been the chosen one," Trump said.
Leeds first came forward with her account in October 2016; Trump has said her claims are made up. Asked whether she plans to sue over his latest remarks, Leeds said that "no decision has been made at this time."
Harris leaves Pittsburgh for Philadelphia after days of debate prep
Harris left Pittsburgh this afternoon for Philadelphia ahead of tomorrow night's debate against Trump.
Asked by reporters how she's doing, Harris responded "I’m good" and gave a thumbs up. She did not respond to a question about whether Trump should be worried.
Harris has spent much of the past week in Pittsburgh prepping for her first debate with Trump.
George Helmy sworn in as New Jersey senator after Menendez's resignation
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's former chief of staff George Helmy was sworn in this evening to temporarily replace Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who resigned last month after he was convicted on corruption charges.
Helmy stood beside Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., as Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., read the oath of office.
“He’s going to be a great addition, and it’s another ceiling being broken,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after Helmy was sworn in. “He is the first member of the Coptic Church to become a senator in the United States of America.”
Helmy was Murphy’s chief of staff from 2019 to last year before he began working for a health care company in the state. He also spent several years working for Booker.
Helmy will fill out the rest of Menendez's term, which is set to end in early January. New Jersey voters will cast ballots in November to decide whether Democratic Rep. Andy Kim or Republican Curtis Bashaw will serve a six-year Senate term.
Oprah Winfrey to host a fundraising event for Harris
Oprah Winfrey will host a fundraising livestream for Harris on Sept. 19.
The event, "Unite for America 2024," will bring together groups that have held Zoom calls to support the Harris-Walz ticket after Biden dropped his re-election bid, such as Win With Black Women and White Dudes for Harris.
Winfrey made a surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month, endorsing Harris and delivering a speech to encourage voters to support the Democratic ticket.
"This election isn't about us and them. It's about me and you," Winfrey said.
Winfrey endorsed Biden and Harris' bid for the White House in 2020 and Democrats like Sen. John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, in key Senate races in 2022.
Fetterman predicts Trump will have a 'strong' debate performance but Harris will win
Sen. John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, a Harris ally, said today in an interview with MSNBC's Katy Tur that he thinks Trump will have a "strong performance" but that Harris will win the debate.
“I do believe that Harris is going to win and Trump is going to have a strong performance, too,” he said. “But I do not think it’s going to change the underlying dynamic that I’ve already been discussing since 2016.”
Fetterman said Harris has been preparing extensively for the debate, but he steered away from specifics. He did not comment on what he thinks she should focus on.
RFK Jr. will appear on Michigan’s ballot, state Supreme Court rules
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled today that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the battleground state’s presidential ballot in November, reversing a ruling from a lower court that had agreed to remove him last week.
The high court’s majority wrote in its order that Kennedy, who ended his independent White House bid last month and endorsed Trump, did not point to a specific “source of law” that called on the state to take him off the ballot.
Sen. Cornyn makes his pitch to take over for Leader McConnell
As Congress returns today from its August recess, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, renewed his pitch in a letter to colleagues for why he should take over as Senate GOP leader when Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, steps down from the job at the end of the year.
Cornyn is running against Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen Rick Scott, R-Fla., for the role in November. The winner will need support from just a simple majority of Republican senators to become the next leader.
“This election is not about us but rather what is best for the conference and the nation,” Cornyn wrote in his letter to GOP senators. “I have benefitted from many private conversations with members and look forward to many more. The simple question raised repeatedly during this process sticks in my mind: What do members want in a new leader?”
Cornyn laid out a series of priorities that he hopes will answer that question. They include: protecting the legislative filibuster from potential Democratic challenges, continuing to increase funding for the military, extending the Trump tax cuts that expire next year, increasing domestic energy production, rejecting "excessive regulatory overreach" and reducing government spending and deficits.
Vance promotes unfounded claim immigrants are eating pets in Ohio
Vance took to social media this morning to bash Harris on immigration — and promote dubious claims of migrants' eating pets in Ohio.
“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio. Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” he wrote.
Similar claims about the supposed scourge have spread across right-wing social media circles in recent days, some based on the arrest of a woman in Canton, Ohio — about 175 miles from Springfield — for allegedly killing and eating a cat in front of her neighbors. There's no indication the woman is Haitian. Another source that has been cited is a Facebook poster who said their neighbor’s daughter’s friend had lost her cat and found it being carved up and eaten, according to the Springfield News-Sun.
Springfield police said in a statement that "there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community."
In a statement, a spokesperson for Vance said he "has received a high volume of calls and emails over the past several weeks from concerned citizens in Springfield: his tweet is based on what he is hearing from them. "
X owner Elon Musk — a Trump ally — promoted the story, as well. "Vote for Kamala if you want this to happen to your neighborhood!" he wrote.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also weighed in, tweeting a picture of two cats hugging with a message that read, "Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don't eat us."
Representatives for X and Cruz did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a post on his Truth Social website today, Trump posted a video of Harris talking about Haitian migrants in Ohio. He did not refer to the cat-eating story.
Harris campaign claims Trump is lying about support for marijuana reform
In response to Trump’s support of the Florida ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana, Harris campaign spokesperson Joseph Costello dismissed the notion that Trump supports reforms to marijuana-related laws, citing the Trump administration’s actions on the issue.
“Despite his blatant pandering, Donald Trump cannot paper over his extensive record of dragging marijuana reform backward,” Costello said in a statement. “As president, Trump cracked down on nonviolent marijuana offenses — undermining state legalization laws, opposed safe banking legislation, and even tried to remove protections for medical marijuana.”
“Donald Trump does not actually believe in marijuana reform, but the American people are smart enough to see through his campaign lies,” he added.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Harris campaign’s statement.