Like Trump, Vance to campaign behind bulletproof glass at Michigan rally
(BIG RAPIDS, Mich.) — Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance will deliver remarks on the economy on Tuesday in Big Rapids, Michigan, at an outdoor farm — during which he will speak from behind bulletproof glass, the first time there has ever been one at a solo event for Vance
It’s similar to the new safety measures in place for former President Donald Trump’s outdoor rallies following his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.
Vance did have bulletproof glass in Asheboro, North Carolina, last week, but that was a joint event with the former president.
The U.S. Secret Service made arrangements for Trump to resume outdoor campaign rallies by surrounding his podium with bulletproof glass, multiple sources told ABC News earlier this month.
The Secret Service recommended Trump stop holding outdoor rallies last month after a gunman in Butler, Pennsylvania, fired at him from a rooftop 400 feet from the stage, hitting his ear. A man in the crowd was killed in the attack.
Between July 13 and Aug. 20, Trump held nearly a dozen campaign events, all of them indoors.
However, since being announced as Trump’s running mate on July 15, Vance has held several outdoor campaign events without bulletproof glass.
(LAS VEGAS) — A Nevada man has been arrested after he threatened several government officials, including the New York judge who oversaw former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial and the prosecutor who brought the case, according to an indictment unsealed in Las Vegas.
Spencer Gear, 32, allegedly made phone calls and sent emails to eight federal officials and three state employees, in which he threatened to assault and murder them.
The officials were referenced in the indictment by their initials.
In one phone call, Gear allegedly “threatened to kill A.B. and J.M.,” referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan.
He pleaded not guilty to all 22 counts contained in the indictment, which charged him with threatening a federal official and transmitting a communication containing a threat to injure.
“The citizens we rely on to serve the public must be able to do their jobs without fearing for their lives,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “The Justice Department has no tolerance for acts and threats of violence targeting public servants, and we will stop at nothing to find and bring to justice those responsible.”
Gear was remanded into custody, and his trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 24.
If convicted, he could face decades in prison.
A spokeswoman for Bragg declined to comment, and a spokesman for the New York State Unified Court System could not immediately be reached for comment.
Robert Wells, the executive assistant director of the FBI National Security Branch, said the FBI “will not tolerate individuals who threaten government officials for doing their jobs and who create a climate of fear.”
“As this case demonstrates, we will work with our partners to investigate and hold accountable all those who threaten or interfere with government officials as they carry out their duties,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris having worked there in college has repeatedly been brought up by speakers at the Democratic National Convention — almost as if it’s on a menu — and her campaign is using it as a symbolic, shorthand way of connecting her experience with that of working-class Americans.
Harris has noted in the past and now in campaign ads that she worked a summer job at McDonald’s in her late teens, between her freshman and sophomore years at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Her early job is a common one among Americans, according to data from the chain which says one out of every eight Americans has worked at McDonald’s.
The giant burger chain did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Harris and Walz have pointed out that their working-class roots are in sharp contrast to former President Donald Trump’s much wealthier upbringing. Walz took a dig at a campaign event a few weeks ago, claiming that Trump wouldn’t be able to cut it as a fast-food worker.
“He couldn’t run that damn McFlurry machine if it cost him anything,” he said.
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett took a jab at the DNC.
“Let’s compare their resumes, shall we?,” she said. “One candidate worked at McDonald’s while she was in college at an HBCU, [Howard University]. The other was born with the silver spoon in his mouth and helped his daddy in the family business.”
The McDonald’s connection has extended to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who not only worked there but also was named employee of the month, which he proudly recounted to the convention crowd, telling how the experience had helped shape his career.
“I still have the framed picture which you just saw, and there was a ring, golden arches and all. And then, I waited tables, parked cars. I was working full-time, so I could afford to go to college part-time. And thanks to partial scholarships, student loans, and a little help from my dad, I got myself through law school, and I got my first job as a lawyer,” he said.
Harris’ time behind the fast-food counter has even impressed one of the most famous — and notoriously frequent — McDonald’s customers, former President Bill Clinton, mocked in “SNL” skits as stopping there while jogging in Washington and eating other customers’ fries.
“She greeted every person with that thousand-watt smile and said, ‘How can I help you?’ Now she’s at the pinnacle of power and she’s still asking, ‘How can I help you?'” Clinton said at the DNC Wednesday night.
“I’ll be so happy when she actually enters the White House as president because she will break my record as the president who spent the most time at McDonald’s,” he joked.
It’s unclear whether Harris herself will bring up her McDonald’s experience during her nomination acceptance speech on Thursday night, but it could very well become something she can say she has in common with working-class voters on the campaign trail.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her newly announced presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are slated to make their first campaign appearance together on Tuesday evening in Philadelphia, before a large crowd.
Hundreds of supporters were waiting in lines outside the Liacouras Center at Temple University for the event, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET.
Walz and Harris are expected to highlight their contrasts to former president Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance.
Vance held a rally in the city earlier in the day.
Tuesday’s Harris-Walz event kicks off a five-day campaign road trip that will visit seven crucial swing states.
The vice president and Walz are scheduled to visit Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Durham, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Phoenix, Arizona; and Las Vegas this week.