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What to know about the campaigns today
- Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris faced off in their first debate last night. It could be their only debate of the cycle, with Trump noncommittal about the possibility of a second one.
- Pop superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Harris last night following the debate, calling her a "steady-handed, gifted leader." The endorsement could be a big boost to Harris' campaign, with over 300,000 people visiting a custom URL Swift posted that helps visitors register to vote. Trump brushed off the endorsement, saying today that "she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”
- President Joe Biden, Harris, Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, attended a service at the memorial plaza in New York City this morning to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
- Biden, Harris and Trump also visited Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to visit the Flight 93 memorial, where Biden and Harris participated in a wreath-laying ceremony. Biden and Harris later attended a ceremony at the Pentagon. Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, attended a 9/11 event in St. Paul.
Pennsylvania voters react to debate
NBC News chatted with voters in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, today to get their reactions to last night's debate. The group was divided, with one voter calling it "one-sided" and another suggesting it was a clear "win" for Harris.
Ed Keyser, who is voting for Harris, said that the debate was a “pretty major win for Harris” and that Trump's comment about "eating pets" stood out to him.
During last night's debate, Trump amplified a baseless claim that Haitian immigrants were "eating the pets" in Ohio.
Bob Tiller, who is voting for Trump, called the debate “one-sided.”
“I felt like it was three-to-one in the debate," he said.
In response to a question about Trump’s potentially refusing a second debate, Keyser said, “I think that is probably wise on his part."
Tiller said he struggled to believe what Harris says because she had changed her stance on policy issues like fracking.
"And, you know, in Pennsylvania, that’s one of the big problems,” he said.
Teara Lennon, a Harris voter from Bucks County, blasted Trump, saying he had "no substance for anything" and that he was "unhinged."
"It was obvious that he was unable to follow the questions. He doesn’t have any policies. He literally said that he had some inclinations or some ideas, but he couldn’t follow through with any actual policy points," Lennon said.
Trump again calls to ‘replace’ Obamacare, reopening a fight Republicans tried to close
Trump took aim at the Affordable Care Act last night in the debate, reviving a 15-year-old partisan fight over a law that has swung from a liability to a political asset for Democrats.
“Obamacare was lousy health care. Always was. It’s not very good today,” Trump said on the stage. “And what I said, that if we come up with something, and we are working on things, we’re going to do it, and we’re going to replace it.”
Trump indicated that he would eliminate the ACA, also called “Obamacare,” only if he could devise a better and cheaper system. Pressed by debate moderators about whether he has a plan, he said, “I have concepts of a plan,” adding that he intends to release “concepts and options ... in the not-too-distant future.”
Linda Ronstadt blasts Trump for bringing 'hate show' to Tucson music hall bearing her name
The famed singer Linda Ronstadt said on Instagram tonight that she was upset to learn that Trump was bringing his "hate show" to Tucson, Arizona, where he is expected to hold a rally tomorrow at a music hall bearing her name.
"Donald Trump is holding a rally on Thursday in a rented hall in my hometown, Tucson. I would prefer to ignore that sad fact. But since the building has my name on it, I need to say something," Ronstadt wrote in a statement shared to her Instagram story. "It saddens me to see the former President bring his hate show to Tucson, a town with deep Mexican-American roots and a joyful, tolerant spirit."
Ronstadt went on to highlight the Trump administration's family separation policy, which separated thousands of families at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"For me it comes down to this: In Nogales and across the southern border, the Trump Administration systematically ripped apart migrant families seeking asylum," she wrote. "Family separation made orphans of thousands of little children and babies, and brutalized their desperate mothers and fathers."
Trump attends 9/11 event with a far-right activist who pushed a conspiracy theory about the tragedy
Trump today attended a Sept. 11 remembrance stop alongside a far-right activist who has pushed a false narrative that the terrorist attack was “an inside job.”
Laura Loomer, a Trump ally, joined him at a fire station in lower Manhattan, where he and Vance met and took photos with firefighters. Some members of the station died responding to the 9/11 attacks.
Throughout the day, Loomer posted videos to social media documenting Trump’s visits to commemorate 9/11. She also attended the debate last night and traveled on Trump’s plane.
Just last year, Loomer posted a lengthy message on X that included a video that falsely said “9/11 was an Inside Job!”
Harris-Trump debate nabs more than 67 million viewers, Nielsen says
The debate stage clash between Harris and Trump drew an estimated 67.1 million viewers, according to the media analytics company Nielsen.
The estimated viewership improved on the ratings for the match-up between Trump and Biden in late June, which attracted roughly 51.3 million viewers — and effectively derailed Biden’s re-election bid.
ABC hosted and aired the Harris-Trump faceoff, which was simulcast on 17 networks, including NBC and MSNBC, according to Nielsen.
Congress to get beefed-up security for electoral vote certification on Jan. 6
The counting and certification of electoral votes at the Capitol in January — the first since the Jan. 6 riot in 2021 — will come with significantly increased security, the Secret Service said today.
The Department of Homeland Security has designated the Jan. 6 count as a national special security event, affording it a level of security similar to events like the State of the Union address and the Super Bowl. The Secret Service will oversee planning.
The designation, a first for the certification of electoral votes, is an effort to avoid a repeat of the chaos nearly four years ago when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol to disrupt that year’s count affirming Biden’s victory.
Karl Rove calls Trump's debate performance 'a train wreck'
Former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove said Trump's performance in yesterday's debate could not have gone worse.
In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal titled "A Catastrophic Debate for Trump," Rove, a staunch Republican who has advised Trump in the past, said he looked "visibly rattled," "flustered" and "often incoherent" as a result of Harris' attacks.
Meanwhile, Trump failed to effectively pin down Harris for any of her perceived weaknesses, Rove said.
"Mr. Trump did a terrible job at his most important task—tying her to President Biden’s failed policies," he wrote. "He did an even worse job prosecuting the argument that she’s a far-left politician out of sync with America’s values."
While both candidates misspoke at times, Rove said, Trump's "false statements far outnumbered hers by my count."
ABC News' moderators did appear to fact-check Trump disproportionately more than Harris, Rove said — but then again, Trump "gave them plenty of material to work" with.
The performance may not linger in the minds of voters as much as the Trump campaign might fear — or as Harris' camp might desire, Rove said.
But ultimately, Trump was "crushed by a woman he previously dismissed as 'dumb as a rock,'" he wrote.
"Which raises the question: What does that make him?" he quipped.
Vance praises 'real bipartisan unity' from 9/11 memorial event with Biden, Harris and Trump
Marking the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Vance celebrated the cordial meeting of Democratic and Republican leaders at ground zero this morning — a significant departure in tone from his attacks against Harris and Walz.
Vance described a sense of “real bipartisan unity” in lower Manhattan today in his remarks before the Enlisted Association of National Guardsmen’s 9/11 Remembrance Gala at One World Trade Center. Hours earlier on Fox News, he characterized Harris as having a “thin and superficial” approach to public policy and the temperament of someone who “doesn’t know what’s going on.”
Vance, donning a tuxedo and a bow tie for the black-tie event on the building’s 102nd floor, went on to recount how he witnessed an “incredible reservoir of patriotic spirit” in the days following the 2001 attacks, only to then see that unity “squandered” by elected officials who did not choose “our fights wisely.”
“I promise, whether it’s as your next vice president or continuing to serve the great people of Ohio as United States senator, I will never take that spirit that embodies 9/11 in this country, I will never take it for granted. And I will promise and fight to preserve it and to build upon it,” Vance said, drawing a standing ovation.
He made a rare mention of his conversion to Catholicism in his prepared remarks tonight as a part of a larger analogy about the “testaments to human drive” in the U.S. — the American skyscraper — but did not elaborate further on the intricacies of his religious beliefs during his speech.
Marjorie Taylor Greene calls on Trump ally to delete ‘extremely racist’ post
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called for conspiracy theorist and Trump ally Laura Loomer to delete an “extremely racist” post.
“This is appalling and extremely racist. It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA,” Greene, a fellow Trump ally, said tonight in a post on X. "This does not represent President Trump. This type of behavior should not be tolerated ever. @LauraLoomer should take this down.”
In a post Sunday, Loomer launched into a racist tirade against Harris, saying that if she won "the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center and the American people will only be able to convey their feedback through a customer satisfaction survey at the end of the call that nobody will understand."
Harris is the first person of Indian descent to be a major party's nominee for president. She is also the first Black woman to be a major party's presidential nominee.
Loomer, who has frequently touted conspiracy theories, joined Trump at 9/11 events today. She also attended the debate last night and traveled on Trump's plane.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Greene's criticism of Loomer. The Harris campaign declined to comment.
Following Greene's tweet, Loomer attacked her in a series of posts while adding that she would not delete the initial post.
Greene has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories and made controversial remarks about the Holocaust, comparing mask mandates to the Holocaust before apologizing. She has also described George Floyd, a Black man murdered by Minneapolis police, in derogatory terms as a "convicted felon" and said Democrats are "worshiping" him.
Conservative Swifties say her endorsement of Harris won’t affect their vote or their love of her music
Angel Sobolewski doesn’t take political advice from pop stars — not even her favorite, Taylor Swift.
That’s why Sobolewski, who regularly promotes Republican candidates through her profile on X, is voting for Trump in November despite being a Swiftie.
“I think you can like an artist without, like, agreeing with their politics,” Sobolewski, 21, said. “You know, if we had to agree with their politics, we’d probably be left with, like, two people.”
Swift’s endorsement of Harris yesterday after her debate with Trump has rankled and disappointed some of Swift’s many fans on the conservative side of the political spectrum. Others said they’re not thrilled about the endorsement — but they were “Ready for It.”