Trump stumps in the Rust Belt; Harris campaigns with Michelle Obama

In a podcast interview with conservative comedian Tim Dillon, Vance argued that Ukraine was not as important to the U.S. as Taiwan because of the island nation's role in chip manufacturing.

"Our interest is in peace. But part of that is motivated by my view that Ukraine is not nearly as important to us as other regions of the world, right? Just putting my cards on the table," he said. "Taiwan makes so much of the computer chips, right, which is such a driver of all economic growth, that if the Chinese took over Taiwan, it would be really bad for us."

Orthopedic surgeon Adam Fahs burst into tears as he recently recounted the horrors of what he saw in Gaza when he traveled there last December to treat wounded Palestinians. Fresh in his mind, he said, were the European Hospital’s wards full of women and children who had been maimed, and doing his best to treat them with grossly inadequate access to medical supplies.

“I remember talking with one of the health care workers and he was telling me that there’s a tradition now that the Palestinians have where before you go to sleep, you say goodbye to your family because you never know if you’re going to wake up,” said Fahs, a Lebanese American. “And you say your testimonies of faith, in case you pass away in your sleep.”

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Elon Musk said tonight he decided to do a daily million-dollar giveaway to draw attention from “legacy media” to a petition meant to support the Constitution — particularly the First and Second Amendments.

“People sort of wonder, 'Why? What’s up with the million-dollar prizes?' I’m like, 'Well, we needed to get the legacy media to talk about it.' And, and I just knew that they would be, like, complaining like hell about it, that, like for sure, complaining on every newspaper at every TV station, or complaining like, like crazy,” Musk said.

Musk has raised eyebrows on the legality of the $1 million lottery-style contest — including from the Justice Department, which warned it could go against the law. 

Musk defended its legality yesterday, saying it incentivized signing a petition that supported the Constitution and was not meant to induce people to register to vote, an illegal action under federal law.

During a town hall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Elon Musk sowed doubt in mail-in voting, calling them a “recipe for fraud” — even as Trump and Republicans push his supporters to vote by mail.

Though Musk said attendees could still mail in ballots, he advised them to vote early or hand absentee ballots in in-person.

“But really, like, you have an obvious recipe for fraud and an inability to prove fraud if you’ve got no ID, no voter ID, and you’ve got mail-in ballots,” Musk said. 

When asked, Musk added he would be in favor of getting rid of mail-in ballots in the future.

Sen. JD Vance on Saturday defended former president Donald Trump’s comments calling Democratic leaders “the enemy from within,” saying that inflation, slowing military recruitment and the migrant crisis are a “way bigger threat than any foreign threat.”

These problems, the Ohio Republican told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” are “caused by broken leadership.”

“Look, when I look at the biggest threats to America, Kristen, I think the fact that people can’t afford groceries, the fact that our — we can’t meet our recruitment goals in the military, the fact that Americans have a wide-open southern border, that’s a way bigger threat than any foreign threat,” Vance told moderator Kristen Welker.

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New York City experienced its highest turnout for the first day of early in-person voting in history, according to the city's Board of Elections.

As of close of polls, more than 140,000 voters were checked in at polling sites across the five boroughs today, according to the board’s unofficial estimates.

In a briefing today on security preparations ahead of Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden tomorrow evening, Mayor Eric Adams encouraged New Yorkers to "be heard."

"We believe in working out our differences through our democratic process, and today, the democratic process continues with the start of early voting throughout New York City," he remarked.

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania said its Montgomery County Republican Committee Headquarters was forced to close earlier today due to a bomb threat.

In a statement, the party said that staff received a call this morning that included an "angry, profanity-laced bomb threat."

Chairman Lawrence Tabas said in a statement there should be "unanimous agreement that political violence has no place in our elections."

In her first stop on 2024 campaign trail, former first lady Michelle Obama delivered an urgent message to men, arguing that the election could have life or death consequences for the women they love.

“I am asking y’all from the core of my being to take our lives seriously,” she said at a rally for Harris in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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Swifties for Harris knows all too well how important the Philadelphia suburbs are — and with just over a week to go until Election Day, the group is targeting women in the city’s "collar counties" with mailers encouraging them to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot.

NBC News was sent photos of the mailers from a suburban woman voter in Delaware County, Pennsylvania who is a registered Republican. The mailer peppers Swift’s lyrics throughout, encouraging voters to not “leave any blank spaces” to make sure “all the stars align for VP Harris,” saying, “we are never going back, like ever.”

It also contains a QR code where Swifties who pledge to vote can claim a limited edition friendship bracelet. The beaded bracelets have become a staple during Swift’s Eras tour.

Swifties for Harris did not immediately respond a request for comment.