Vance repeatedly dodges on whether Trump lost the 2020 election
On the latest episode of The New York Times' "The Interview" podcast, Vance dodged five times when asked if Trump lost the 2020 election, responding instead with questions of his own.
"Donald Trump and I have both raised a number of issues with the 2020 election, but we’re focused on the future," Vance answered at the get-go, according to a clip of the interview that was released ahead of its publication tomorrow. "I think there’s an obsession here with focusing on 2020. I’m much more worried about what happened after 2020, which is a wide open border, groceries that are unaffordable."
The host, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, pressed again. "Senator, yes or no, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?"
"Let me ask you a question," Vance said. "Is it OK that big technology companies censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, which independent analysis have said cost Donald Trump millions of votes?"
Vance repeated his above answer before giving his next response.
"I’ve answered your question with another question," he said. "You answer my question and I’ll answer yours?"
When asked at the end of the exchange whether he would support the results of this election, Vance said, "if there are problems, of course, in the same way that Democrats protested in 2004, and Donald Trump raised issues in 2020, we’re going to make sure that this election counts, that every legal ballot is counted," but added, "but certainly we’re going to respect the results in 2024."
It's not the first time Vance has avoided answering the question. During the vice presidential debate this month, Vance also deflected when asked it by Walz in the final moments of the debate.
“That is a damning non-answer,” Walz said in response.
DNC rolls out six-figure ad buy in LGBTQ publications in battleground states
For the first time, the Democratic National Committee will invest in an advertising campaign dedicated entirely to LGBTQ publications in large metropolitan areas and several key battleground states.
The DNC will roll out the ad campaign, worth at least $100,000, this morning in 16 publications across eight states, and it is estimated to reach more than 1 million voters in the first week. Those publications include the Washington Blade and Metro Weekly in the Washington, D.C., area; Out South Florida; Qnotes in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Las Vegas Spectrum; Georgia Voice; GoGuide Voter’s Guide in Iowa; Dallas Voice; Philadelphia Gay News; Ambush Magazine in New Orleans; ION Arizona; and SWERV Magazine, a national Black LGBTQ periodical.
The campaign will be featured in the Georgia Voice during Atlanta’s Pride weekend and in Philadelphia Gay News during OurFest, a festival to celebrate National Coming Out Day in Pennsylvania.
“This historic investment from the Democrats aims to meet voters where they are, recognizing that the LGBTQ+ community is a large and diverse voting bloc that we are not taking for granted,” Jaime Harrison, DNC chair, said in a statement. “Our fundamental freedoms to be who we are and who we love are on the ballot this November, and we’re empowering diverse corners of the LGBTQ+ community to make their voices heard.”
Trump 'outsourced God to China,' Walz quips
At a campaign event in Warren, Michigan, Walz ripped Trump for the number of jobs that went overseas while he was president.
Walz said that Trump's administration awarded billions of dollars in federal contracts to companies that offshored those jobs. "He gave your tax dollars to companies who sent your jobs abroad. That's Donald Trump," he said.
"We just found out his Trump-branded Bibles, they're printed in China. This dude even outsourced God to China," Walz said. "I'm going to try and be generous here. I don't blame him. He didn't notice the 'Made in China' sticker because they put it inside a place he's never looked, in the Bible."
The Associated Press recently reported that thousands of copies Trump's Bible were printed in China.
Trump has campaigned on the idea that products should be made in America and not abroad, and he has vowed across-the-board tariffs to incentivize companies to build things in the United States.
Bernie Moreno's 'crazy' abortion comment shows up in Ohio Senate race ads
Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and his Democratic allies have hit the airwaves with ads highlighting how his Republican rival, Bernie Moreno, called women who are single-issue voters on abortion “crazy.”
As of today, Brown’s campaign and WinSenate PAC, a group aligned with Senate Majority Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had combined to spend more than $5 million on three 30-second spots, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.
“OK, a little crazy, by the way,” Moreno said at an event last month that was captured on video and first reported by NBC affiliate WCMH in Columbus. “But, especially for women that are like past 50, I’m thinking to myself, I don’t think that’s an issue for you.”
As one of a handful of contests that could tip partisan control of the Senate, the Ohio race is among most expensive in the country this year. Polls show a close race.
Brown’s campaign and WinSenate each have an ad featuring the Moreno video, with WinSenate’s spot also including footage of Moreno at a March 2023 event commenting that “you don’t get pregnant because you were at the checkout line at Kroger.”
The WinSenate version had been backed by $3.5 million worth of airtime as of today, the Brown campaign version $1.2 million, according to AdImpact.
“It’s crazy that Bernie Moreno didn’t realize his ultra-viral comments would cause genuine outrage,” Sarah Guggenheimer, a spokesperson for Senate Majority PAC, which includes WinSenate, said in a statement to NBC News. “It’s crazy that Bernie Moreno thinks women only care about one issue and that older Ohioans shouldn’t have an opinion about abortion.”
A second ad from Brown’s campaign, titled “Crazy,” features several women responding to Moreno. The ad had more than $420,000 behind it as of today.
“Bernie Moreno, I am 100 years old,” an elderly woman says at the close of the commercial, “and I’m definitely not crazy.”
Moreno spokesperson Reagan McCarthy has said the “crazy” comment was meant as a “tongue-in-cheek joke.”
“Bernie’s view is that women voters care just as much about the economy, rising prices, crime, and our open southern border as male voters do and it’s disgusting that Democrats and their friends in the left-wing media constantly treat all women as if they’re automatically single-issue voters on abortion who don’t have other concerns that they vote on,” McCarthy said today. “Sherrod cannot defend his liberal voting record to Ohioans, and his ads reek of desperation.”
First lady Jill Biden to campaign for Harris in swing states through Tuesday
First lady Jill Biden is campaigning for Harris in Phoenix tonight, one of several events that will "highlight Vice President Harris’ vision for a new way forward that protects reproductive freedom, strengthens our democracy, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead," the campaign said.
Jill Biden's next campaign event will be Sunday in northern Nevada. From there, she will travel to Detroit and Wisconsin on Monday and Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Trump won’t golf until after the election
Trump has not golfed since an apparent assassination attempt near one of the former president’s golf courses Sept. 15, and he will not do so at least until the election is over, according to a person close to the campaign and another person familiar with the situation.
A third person familiar with the conversations said Trump was told that federal agents could not ensure his safety to a degree with which they were comfortable while he is golfing. The concerns were conveyed in two conversations with Trump since the September incident: one with Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the Secret Service, and the other with officials from the national intelligence director’s office.
The safety issue had been on Trump’s mind.
Trump had asked Rowe during a meeting last month whether it would be safe for him to continue golfing in the wake of the thwarted assassination attempt, and he was told he would need significant additional security given the proximity of some of his courses to public roads, The New York Times reported last month, citing information from three people familiar with their conversation.
Being unable to play golf is a significant change to Trump’s schedule and lifestyle. He has 18 golf properties around the world — including courses in Oman and Dubai — and throughout his three campaigns and his presidency, the sport has been a fixture in his life.
Obama to campaign for Harris in Arizona and Nevada next week
Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Harris in Tucson, Arizona, on Oct. 18, and in Las Vegas on Oct. 19, a Harris campaign official and an Obama spokesperson said.
Obama kicked off his campaigning for the Harris-Walz ticket last night in Pittsburgh, where he focused on drumming up support for the vice president especially from men and criticized Trump for spreading false claims about the federal government's hurricane response.
Rep. Greg Steube thanks Trump for hosting electrical linemen at his Miami golf club
In a post on X, Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., thanked Trump for hosting hundreds of line workers from Florida Power & Light Co. at his golf club, Trump National Doral resort in Miami.
"I’m especially grateful to President Trump for hosting 300 of those linemen at the Trump Doral, free of charge," Steube wrote. "These linemen have been on the ground, working tirelessly to restore power across our state."
Trump's son Eric Trump also posted a video of the linemen at the golf club Wednesday, writing, "You are amazing and the Trump Family, and entire state of Florida, appreciates you! Enjoy the rooms — they are the best in Florida!"
Walz to say that Trump and GOP know 'how to manufacture bull----'
At a campaign event in Warren, Michigan this morning, Walz plans to "speak forcefully about Donald Trump's failed record on manufacturing at president," a senior campaign official said previewing his speech.
The Democratic vice presidential nominee is expected to address Trump trashing the city of Detroit yesterday, saying that the whole country will end up like Detroit and "you're going to have a mess on your hands."
"Maybe if he ever spent any time in the Midwest, he’d know Detroit is experiencing a great American comeback. Crime is down. The city is growing. Factories are opening again," Walz plans to say. "But all these guys know about manufacturing is how to manufacture bull----.”
Walz also plans to touch on Trump's claim that Democrats will require the use of electric vehicles.
"Here’s my take on this: People are looking for choices — and we need to make those choices more affordable," Walz will say. "Nobody’s mandating anything. If you want to drive a ‘79 International Harvester Scout like I do, knock yourself out.”
Harris campaign launches initiative featuring faith leaders, gospel performances
The Harris campaign said today that it's launching a monthlong "Souls to the Polls" initiative Sunday aimed at mobilizing Black voters featuring gospel performances, state and national faith leaders, campaign surrogates and senior elected officials.
"The push will also include direct church engagements by Vice President Harris across battleground states," the campaign said. "With less than 30 days until Election Day, the Souls to the Polls voter activation series is a testament to the Harris-Walz campaign’s continuous efforts to foster authentic moments of engagement with Black voters across battleground states and underscore the high stakes of this election for Black Americans."
The faith leaders include reverends and bishops such as Harris' personal pastor, Rev. Amos C. Brown of the Third Baptist Church in San Francisco and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who is a former pastor of the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.