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What's happening on the campaign trail today
- Vice President Kamala Harris is swinging through three battleground Rust Belt states in an effort to shore up the "blue wall," making stops in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin with former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
- Former President Donald Trump is spending the day traveling throughout North Carolina, first touring hurricane damage in Asheville before rallying in Greenville and then addressing faith leaders in Concord.
- Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, also hit the trail, speaking at a campaign reception in New York City this evening after having taped an interview on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart.
Walz creates distance between Cheneys' endorsements and their foreign policy in 'Daily Show' interview
Walz said tonight that a Harris administration would not implement foreign policies largely associated with former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who both have backed Harris' candidacy.
Speaking on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," Walz said the Cheneys can help win over hesitant voters.
"I think Liz Cheney and Dick Cheney give permission to those folks who want to find a reason to do the right thing," Walz told host Jon Stewart. "It doesn’t mean they agree with it. We’re not going to take their foreign policy decisions and discussions, you know, and implement those."
Stewart had asked why Harris and Walz are happy to have support from the Cheneys, with Dick Cheney having played instrumental roles in the Iraq War and the war on terrorism.
Walz also talked about how he's "an avid runner" and said he has had the opportunity to go running in Central Park on two occasions — the first time was after his debate against Vance last month in New York.
Ted Cruz refuses to say whether he would support a national abortion ban
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, repeatedly sidestepped questions tonight about his stance on abortion, refusing to say whether he would support a national ban.
In a brief interview with NBC News after a rally in Pearland, Texas, Cruz said a ban would never come up for a vote in the Senate, so his position is immaterial.
“That is a decision for the state Legislature and the governor,” Cruz said. "I’ll point out I’m not in the state Legislature. I’m not the governor. Neither is Colin Allred.”
Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, who is seeking to unseat Cruz, told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell tonight that abortion is the issue he would stress above all others in this election, calling the state's ban "extreme."
Allred has previously pointed to Cruz's support for various forms of a national abortion ban before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Trump’s legal team threatens to sue CBS News over Harris interview
A Trump lawyer today wrote to CBS News threatening to sue over the network's “60 Minutes” interview with Harris.
The letter, signed by Edward Paltzik, is the latest escalation in Trump’s accusations that the interview was deceptively edited to benefit Harris.
A copy of the letter, obtained by NBC News, was first reported by Fox News.
CBS News denied Trump's accusations in a statement yesterday and invited Trump to sit for an interview with the program, which previously said he had pulled out of an interview.
In its statement, CBS News said it aired a “different portion” of Harris’ “60 Minutes” answer on its show “Face the Nation,” which the network characterized as “a longer section” of her response, and said the answer on “60 Minutes” had been “more succinct” to include other subjects in the segment.
Paltzik argued in his letter that the interview had been edited to favor Harris and that the network had intentionally misled the public.
“We therefore demand that you immediately provide and publicly release the full, unedited transcript of the 60 Minutes Interview with Kamala Harris," Paltzik wrote.
"Additionally, in contemplation of possible litigation, we demand that you preserve all communications and documents relating to this Interview, together with any edits of the Interview’s content, and that you refrain from destroying any relevant communications or documents,” he added.
CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter tonight.
What tariffs do and why economists don’t like them
“The most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff,’” former Trump told the Economic Club of Chicago last week. “It’s my favorite word.”
Trump has spent the past few weeks floating ever higher proposals for raising surcharges on foreign goods entering the U.S. He has called for a 20% blanket tariff on all imports, tariffs of at least 60% on products from China, 100% tariffs on nations that shift away from trading with the dollar and a 2,000% tariff on vehicles built in Mexico.
Economists across the political spectrum oppose the ideas, saying the most likely outcome would be higher prices for consumers. Here’s a look at how tariffs work and why they’re so critical in an election in which living costs are front and center.
Cheney suggests Trump isn't responsible enough to be president or babysit children
Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., took several jabs at Trump tonight at a campaign event with Harris.
"If you wouldn’t ... hire somebody to babysit your kids, like, you shouldn’t make that guy president of the United States," Cheney said to roaring cheers at an event in Brookfield, Wisconsin, moderated by Charlie Sykes.
Cheney similarly characterized Trump as irresponsible at a campaign event with Harris in Royal Oak, Michigan, earlier in the day. “In this election, we need to elect the person who is the responsible adult,” she said.
Cheney, who was vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee and lost her 2022 primary to a Trump-endorsed candidate, also said tonight that the coming election "has to be about so much more than partisanship."
Trump says 'there is no way' Catholics can be voting for Harris
Trump suggested tonight that Catholic voters should be backing his presidential bid, saying "there is no way you can be voting for these people," referring to Harris and Democrats.
"She's very destructive to religion. She's very destructive to Christianity and very destructive to evangelicals and to the Catholic Church," he said.
"These people are a nightmare. I don't know what they have against Catholics," he added, claiming that Catholics "are treated worse than anybody."
The Harris campaign did not immediately provide a comment.
Harris has pushed back against Trump's claims that she is an opponent of religion, having recounted that she grew up attending 23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland.
"It is my long-standing work, and therefore my pledge, going forward, I will always work closely with the church," Harris said in an interview last week with Charlamagne Tha God, adding that throughout her career as vice president she has been "actively engaged in the church."
Tonight was not the first time during the campaign that Trump has drawn attention to Catholic voters. During a roundtable last week he said he "should have gotten about 100% of the Catholic vote" after he showed up to the Al Smith dinner, an annual event benefiting Catholic charities.
Trump has also made related remarks about the support of Jewish voters, saying Jewish supporters of Harris’ presidential bid “should have your head examined.”
Trump says daughter Tiffany Trump graduated 'No. 1' from law school that doesn't have class rankings
Trump said at a campaign rally tonight that his daughter Tiffany Trump, who graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2020, finished first in her class.
"She was a great student, and she went to a fantastic law school, graduated No. 1 in her class," Trump said at the event in Concord, North Carolina.
Tiffany Trump is not on a list of honors graduates for the 2020 class published on the school’s website. The Georgetown University Law Center also indicated on its website that it does not rank students.
A Trump campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Harris campaign 'unbothered' by Trump's attempt to troll her with McDonald’s visit
The Harris campaign is largely “unbothered” by Trump’s recent visit to a McDonald’s, instead viewing it as a desperate gimmick that will not affect the race, according to three Harris campaign officials, a former White House official and a longtime Harris aide.
Trump, who has repeatedly cast doubt on Harris’ 1983 summer job at a McDonald’s in Alameda, California, worked the fry machine at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania over the weekend in an attempt to troll Harris.
A Harris campaign official who requested anonymity to speak candidly said that Trump was being “absurd” and that his focus on McDonald’s shows he is desperate to try to create viral moments in the closing weeks of the campaign. The official said campaign aides were not worried that it would hurt Harris, saying she did work at McDonald’s and is proud of her middle-class upbringing that took her to that job.
A longtime Harris aide said Trump's making fries at McDonald’s was his Michael Dukakis moment, referring to the photo-op of Dukakis in a military helmet that helped tank his Democratic presidential campaign in 1988.
In response to a request for comment, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said Harris "has provided no evidence to back up her claim she worked at McDonald's because she didn't actually work there. Where's the proof, Kamala?"
Asked today whether she had worked at McDonald's, Harris told reporters, "Did I? I did."
Harris also criticized Trump for dodging a question about raising the federal minimum wage at his McDonald’s event.
“My opponent, Donald Trump, does not believe we should raise minimum wage,” Harris said. “And I think everyone knows that the current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which means that the person who is working a full day and working full weeks will make $15,000 a year, which is essentially poverty wages.”
McDonald’s campaign event highlights Trump-Harris battle for low-wage workers
Trump’s campaign event yesterday at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania highlighted his battle with Harris to court a coveted group of working-class voters who have the potential to decide the outcome of the presidential election in a critical swing state.
To win them over, Trump is seeking to make the election a referendum on the Biden-Harris administration’s record, while Harris hopes to make it a choice between two contrasting agendas. Harris is pushing an expansion of the child tax credit, a subsidy for first-time homebuyers, a higher minimum wage and guaranteed paid leave, while Trump is calling for extending his tax cuts and slashing regulations in order to lower energy bills.
Data shows lower-wage workers — like ones who work at fast-food restaurants — have a lower propensity to vote. In fact, it’s a nearly linear relationship: The less money you make, the less likely you are to have shown up at the polls, according to Tufts University. Both candidates are trying to persuade and juice those voters in the final weeks before the election, and the image of Trump serving fries to supporters at a McDonald’s drive-thru was an attempt by the wealthy real estate mogul to reach out to the voters who will make or break his ambitions to return to the White House.
Trump ratchets up personal attacks on Harris at North Carolina rally
Trump unspooled a string of personal attacks on Harris today, at one point calling her a "total stupid person."
"She's a mess. She's a cognitive mess, and nobody wants to talk about it," he said, later labeling her "the most radical, most incompetent, most unfit vice president in the history of our country."
"Something is clearly wrong with her. She can't put two sentences together," Trump said. He also said she doesn't have "compassion, the smarts or the strength" to be president.
The Harris campaign did not provide a comment on Trump's remarks.
In an interview last week with Charlamagne Tha God, Harris said: “If I responded to every name he called me, I wouldn’t be focused on the things that actually help the American people. And that’s my focus.”
Trump has increasingly disparaged Harris through attacks on her intelligence. Late last month, he referred to her as "mentally impaired."