Jill Biden jokes about looming unemployment
During an event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the show "West Wing," creator Aaron Sorkin took the stage to recognize the cast and crew that worked on the show.
"Brad Whitford, Rob Lowe and Allison Janney are all on set today and were not able to make it," Sorkin said. "The rest of us are apparently unemployed."
"Not yet, not yet," first lady Jill Biden interjected jokingly.
Sorkin called President Joe Biden's decision to give up the nomination "a selfless act of statesmanship."
"Over the years, I’ve noticed that during times of political tension, pundits will warn us not to expect a 'West Wing' moment," Sorkin said. "They mean not to expect a selfless act of statesmanship, not to expect anyone to put country first. Don’t expect anyone to swing for the fences or reach for the stars."
"But the fact is, 'West Wing' moments do happen, and Dr. Biden, we saw proof of that on the morning of July 21. That was the kind of thing we write stories about," Sorkin finished.
Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine blasts Vance over baseless claims about Haitian migrants
Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine wrote an op-ed in the New York Times today blasting Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance for his unsubstantiated claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
DeWine wrote that as a supporter of Trump and Vance, he was "saddened" by their comments which "disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield."
"This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there," DeWine wrote.
"The Biden administration’s failure to control the southern border is a very important issue that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are talking about and one that the American people are rightfully deeply concerned about," DeWine wrote. "But their verbal attacks against these Haitians — who are legally present in the United States — dilute and cloud what should be a winning argument about the border."
Vance spokesperson William Martin said in a statement that Vance is "glad" DeWine supports the Trump-Vance ticket for president and that the governor and Vance "are not always going to agree on every issue."
“When Kamala Harris abuses our immigration system to bring thousands of illegal immigrants into this country, small Ohio towns like Springfield bear the brunt of the burden," the Vance spokesperson wrote. "President Trump and Senator Vance will secure our border and put a stop to this chaos.”
High turnout at some locations as early voting opens in Virginia
Some early voting centers in Virginia are experiencing a higher volume of voters during their first day of early voting compared to the 2020 presidential election. At the Fairfax County Early Voting Center, at 1 p.m., 1,528 people had voted, already surpassing the total number of people, 1,213, that had voted on all of day one in 2020.
In another voting center in Manassas, Virginia, they had 540 voters at noon after 3.5 hours of voting.
Voters in Fairfax County included citizens, and candidates, on both sides of the political aisle. The renewed push for voters to show up early to cast their ballot is particularly focused on alleviating the amount of resources that campaigns will need to use to get out of the vote closer to election day.
Virginia Republican senate candidate Hung Cao said Republicans should trust early voting — even after Trump called the practice "ridiculous" in July and said voters should trust the results of of the election.
“Governor Youngkin has, basically through executive orders, has made it so that you know it’s only paper ballots, and the only thing that’s electronic is the machines that count them, but we still have the paper ballots,” Cao said. “So Governor Youngkin has thrown off, I think, 300,000 deceased people from the ballots last year and this year he threw out 6600 illegal aliens.”
Cao called the elections a “fair process,” when asked if people could trust the result no matter the outcome.
“Absolutely, I mean Governor Youngkin and Jason Miros has really set up this election to make sure that we have a fair process,” Cao said.
Vance to campaign in North Carolina and Georgia next week
Vance is scheduled to deliver remarks in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday, and on Thursday he will give a speech centered on the economy in Macon, Georgia.
Vance campaigned in North Carolina last week and in Georgia earlier this week.
Trump won North Carolina in 2020 with 49.9% of the vote, and a Democratic presidential nominee hasn't won the state since 2008. Biden narrowly won Georgia in the last presidential election.
Harris wraps up her remarks in Georgia
Harris has completed her event in Georgia, which was focused on reproductive rights. Her remarks largely blasted Republicans for limiting abortion and focused on the story of Amber Nicole Thurman, a woman who died because she didn't receive appropriate abortion care in time.
Harris calls out Trump for planning to vote against Florida abortion ballot measure
During her remarks in Georgia, Harris called out Trump's decision to not support a Florida ballot measure that would expand access to abortion, saying, "Now Donald Trump says that he would personally cast his vote in Florida, which is where he now lives, to support their extreme abortion ban, just like the one that is here in Georgia."
Trump's initially told NBC News last month that he believed the state's six-week limit on abortion was "too short" and declined to take a position on the ballot measure before facing conservative backlash.
Harris asks GOP 'Where ya been?' on taking care of women and children
During her remarks about reproductive rights in Georgia, Harris referred to the GOP as "hypocrites," saying that they justify limiting abortion by promising to take care of women during and after pregnancy.
"These hypocrites want to start talking about, 'This is in the best interest of women and children,'" Harris said, adding, "Well, where ya been? where ya been when it comes to taking care of the women and children of America?"
Harris rallies Georgia crowd to say Amber Nicole Thurman's name
At a rally in Georgia focused on reproductive rights, Harris spoke at length about Amber Nicole Thurman, a woman who died after doctors at a Georgia hospital failed to provide timely abortion care.
Thurman was the subject of a ProPublica article earlier this week about the aftermath of Georgia's abortion ban. NBC News has not independently reported on the ProPublica story.
"We will speak her name: Amber Nicole Thurman," Harris told attendees in Georgia.
Harris also spoke about meeting with Thurman's mother, telling the crowd, "I promised her, as she has asked, that we will make sure Amber is not just remembered as a statistic, that she will not just be remembered as a statistic, so that people will know she was a mother and a daughter and a sister and that she was loved and that she should be alive today."
Harris says she wants to debate Trump again
During a campaign event in Atlanta today, Harris said she's still trying to coordinate a second debate against Trump.
"I’m trying to get another debate," Harris said. "We’ll see."
Trump has said he has no plans to face off against Harris again ahead of November.
Voters line up to cast early ballots in Virginia
Voters waited in line today as early voting for the presidential election began in Virginia, South Dakota and Minnesota.