Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson hospitalized after suffering second-degree burns at truck show: Campaign
(MOUNT AIRY, N.C.) — Mark Robinson, North Carolina’s Republican candidate for governor, was hospitalized after suffering burns at a campaign event Friday evening in Mount Airy, his campaign said.
Robinson’s campaign said he suffered second-degree burns at a truck show.
“This evening following an incident at a campaign appearance at the Mayberry Truck Show in Mt. Airy, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was treated at Northern Regional Hospital for second-degree burns. He is in good spirits, appreciates the outpouring of well wishes, and is excited to return to the campaign trail as scheduled first thing tomorrow morning,” Mike Lonergan, the campaign’s communications director, said in a statement.
Robinson, the current lieutenant governor of the state, has been under fire after being accused of posting inflammatory comments on the message board of a pornography website more than a decade ago, according to a report published by CNN earlier this month. Robinson has denied the accusations.
Since the release of the report, several of Robinson’s key staffers have “stepped down” from the campaign, including general consultant and senior advisor Conrad Pogorzelski, III; campaign manager Chris Rodriguez; finance director Heather Whillier; and deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to soon face her first post-convention test when she sits for a formal interview airing in primetime Thursday.
CNN announced Tuesday that Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz will be interviewed by anchor Dana Bash, marking the first sitdown with a reporter since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race.
The announcement came as Harris faced growing calls from critics about her availability to reporters since she took over the campaign.
Ian Sams, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, appeared reiterated on Monday that Harris would “schedule” a sit-down interview by the end of the month.
The initial absence of plans for any such sit-down prompted accusations by Republican critics of dodging the press.
“She refuses to do any interviews or press conferences, almost 30 days now, she has not done an interview,” former President Donald Trump said of Harris at a North Carolina event earlier this month. “You know why she hasn’t done an interview? Because she’s not smart. She’s not intelligent.”
His campaign has said Harris is trying to “duck and hide” from the news media, which is sure to sling several tough questions her way when she meets the press.
The lack of a media interview has yet to hurt Harris, whose poll numbers are outpacing those of President Joe Biden when he was atop the Democratic ticket, according to 538’s national polling average. As of Tuesday, Harris is polling ahead of Trump, 47.2% to 43.6%; when Biden left the race, he was polling at 40.2% compared to Trump’s 43.5%, according to 538’s polling average.
Harris has also stirred enthusiasm from Democrats that had been absent most of the campaign cycle — and is riding a high following last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Moreover, she chose a running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose rural background has helped the ticket craft a message Democrats have said they believe will make inroads with voters in conservative parts of the country.
All the while, Trump has seemed to abandon the discipline Republicans had lauded him for this summer. Recently, he has made false claims about the crowd size at a Harris rally and appeared to forget to mention a policy proposal he had been slated to unveil at an event in Michigan.
Democrats have cautioned that Harris has several hurdles to clear in the coming weeks.
One of those hurdles is the pending media interview, where Harris would likely have to defend the decisions of the Biden administration and specify some of her policy stances.
On Monday, Trump sought to spotlight Harris’ connection to the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, laying wreaths in Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.
“Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world,” Trump claimed when he spoke to National Guardsmen at a Detroit event later Monday.
Harris is also likely to be pressed on how much she knew about Biden’s capacities prior to the June 27 debate. That night, she urged Americans to judge Biden not on the “90 minutes” on stage but the “three-and-a-half years of performance.”
Yet, that same debate performance set in motion a weekslong effort by top Democrats to nudge Biden from the race.
Few had a better understanding of what Biden was like behind the scenes than Harris, his No. 2, and an interviewer would likely challenge her about what she witnessed in private.
Harris would surely be asked about the war in Gaza. She said recently, “We need a cease-fire,” but is a member of an administration that has yet to help broker one.
The situation at the southern border would likely be another topic an interviewer would press Harris on. Republicans have linked her to an increase in unauthorized border crossings earlier in Biden’s term, misleadingly dubbing her the “border czar.”
An interviewer might also ask Harris to respond to the criticism of her recently unveiled economic plan, in which she called for an end to grocery “price-gouging,” prompting accusations by some Republicans that she wants “communist price controls.”
Harris travels this week to south Georgia, where she will embark on a bus tour and hold a rally in Savannah, Georgia.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and painted a picture of an “absolutely obliterated” Ukraine as the foreign leader is in the U.S. to present what he calls his “victory plan” to 2024 candidates and President Joe Biden.
At a campaign event in North Carolina, Trump went after Zelenskyy for “making little nasty aspersions” toward him.
While Trump didn’t elaborate on what the comments were, Zelenskyy was recently critical of Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, in an interview with The New Yorker.
Zelenskyy expressed doubt Trump knew how to end the Russia-Ukraine war despite Trump’s assertions, without detail or specifics, that the war never would have happened if he were president and he could end it on the first day of his new administration.
“My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how,” Zelenskyy told the magazine. “With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it the less you understand. I’ve seen many leaders who were convinced they knew how to end it tomorrow, and as they waded deeper into it, they realized it’s not that simple.”
Zelenskyy also called Vance “too radical” over his position that Ukraine will likely have to cede territory taken by Russia. Zelenskyy said the senator’s “message seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice.”
Trump, in his freewheeling stump speech on Wednesday, claimed Ukraine is “obliterated” with towns and cities gone that can “never be duplicated.” He said “millions and millions” were dead and accused Ukraine of “using young children and old men” as its military experiences a shortage of soldiers.
Trump continued to call Zelenskyy the “greatest salesman on Earth” amid his apparent criticism of the amount of aid the U.S. has given to Ukraine to help the nation fight President Vladimir Putin’s forces, and how Zelenskyy has used the aid.
“Those buildings are down. Those cities are gone. They’re gone. And we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal,” Trump said.
A day prior, at a campaign event in Georgia, Trump expressed little confidence Ukraine could win while praising Russia’s military capabilities.
“But we’re stuck in that war unless I’m president. I’ll get it done. I’ll get it negotiated. I’ll get out. We got to get out. Biden says we will not leave until we win. What happens if they win? That’s what they do, is they fight wars. As somebody told me the other day, they beat Hitler. They beat Napoleon. That’s what they do.”
Zelenskyy will hold meetings with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday to present what his “victory plan.” The proposal includes specific figures and amounts of military assistance that he says Ukraine needs to force Russia to stop the war, as well as a list of certain diplomatic and political steps, a source close to Zelenskyy told ABC News.
Trump said last week that he would “probably” be meeting with Zelenskyy but now is not expected to meet with him while he is here in the U.S. this week, sources said, saying Trump’s plans were never firm.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, the top Republican on Capitol Hill, also won’t meet with Zelenskyy, a source familiar with the matter said Wednesday after a meeting had been previously announced. Johnson, who has a mixed record on Ukraine aid, has recently taken issue with Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova organizing a tour for Zelenskyy of an American munitions manufacturing plant in election battleground Pennsylvania.
Vance on Wednesday, during a call with reporters hosted by the Republican National Committee, was asked if he sees an opportunity to discuss with Zelenskyy how a Trump-Vance administration would approach the conflict and if he believed Ukraine should cede land in exchange for the war to end.
Vance said “everything’s going to be on the table” in negotiating an end to the war and that “the biggest problem here is that this war has distracted and consumed a lot of resources at a time when Americans are suffering.”
“I think that the president has said very clearly that, first of all, Russia would have never invaded Ukraine if he had been president, and he’s gonna negotiate an end to the conflict,” he said.
While Trump and Vance voiced skepticism of how much further assistance should be given to Ukraine, President Biden, in his final address at the United Nations General Assembly, urged world leaders not to relent on the issue.
“The world now has another choice to make: Will we sustain our support to help Ukraine win this war and preserve its freedom, or walk away, let aggression be renewed and a nation be destroyed? I know my answer,” Biden said. “We cannot grow weary. We cannot look away and we will not let up on our support for not Ukraine.”
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Hannah Demissie and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will meet for the first time on Tuesday for a presidential debate hosted by ABC News.
The two are facing off at a pivotal time, with just weeks until Election Day and days before some states begin the early voting process.
The ABC News presidential debate will take place on Sept. 10 at 9 p.m. EDT and air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.
Hot-button political issues that are likely to be discussed by Harris and Trump include the economy, immigration, reproductive rights, crime, and more.
Here is a brief look at where each of them stand on key election-year topics as reflected in recent ABC News/Ipsos polling.
Economy, inflation
Trump has been a vocal critic of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the economy, saying their policies are to blame for inflation, which reached a 40-year high in 2022 but has since cooled to 2.9% year-over-year as of July.
On policy, he’s pledged to cut costs by restoring “energy independence” through drilling more oil and lowering gas prices. He’s also said he would reduce the national debt, eliminate regulations and implement a variety of tax cuts for domestic corporations as well as tariffs on foreign imports.
Harris has presented a plan for what she’s calling an “opportunity economy” that builds on what the administration’s done on drug pricing and the Child Tax Credit but also goes further on several fronts.
Her proposal includes $25,000 in down-payment support for first-time homeowners, construction of 3 million new housing units, raising the minimum wage and a federal ban on corporate price-gouging on food and groceries. She’s also pitched a $50,000 tax benefit for new small businesses and a lower long-term capital gains tax of 28%.
Immigration
Trump has made immigration and border security a focal point of his campaign, often going further in his anti-immigrant rhetoric than he did in 2016.
He said if elected, he plans to finish the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive “Remain in Mexico” and asylum restrictions and “carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American History” of immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission. Trump has also promised to sign an executive order to end birthright citizenship.
Harris has defended the administration’s handling of the issue, specifically her role in taking on root causes of migration from Central America.
She’s also railed against Republicans for rejecting a bipartisan border bill that would have tightened asylum rules and implemented other immigration restrictions while also increasing resources to improve legal immigration pathways. Harris said if elected, she would continue to push for the legislation and pledged to sign it if it came to her desk. She also wants comprehensive reform that includes an earned pathway to citizenship.
Reproductive rights
Harris became the face of the administration’s fight for reproductive rights and abortion access after the fall of Roe. v. Wade, traveling the country to speak on the issue.
She has called on Congress to pass a law restoring protections to the right to abortion that were guaranteed by Roe. She’s been highly critical of state-level restrictions, questioning why Republican lawmakers don’t “trust women.”
Trump frequently touts his role in nominating three Supreme Court justices who voted to overrule Roe but has changed his stance on some issues as the campaign’s gone on. While he previously voiced support for a nationwide ban, he now says it should be up to states to regulate abortion access.
Recently, he declared that under his administration, the government or company insurance would be mandated to pay for all costs associated with in vitro fertilization or IVF. Though he didn’t specify how exactly the program would work or be funded.
Crime, gun violence
Gun violence is back in the news after two students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia.
Harris called the shooting a “senseless tragedy” and said it “doesn’t have to be this way.” She has called for nationwide red flag laws, universal background checks and an assault weapons ban.
Trump blamed a “sick and deranged monster” for the shooting. He has often argued in the wake of mass shootings that guns were not to blame but rather mental health issues. He’s referred to himself as the “most pro-gun” president in history and has not signaled he would enact any gun control measures if elected.
Overall, Trump has frequently claimed crime rates are rising despite violent crime being down across the country overall compared to last year. Harris, meanwhile, has leaned into her background as a prosecutor, saying she has a record of taking on drug cartels and corporations in the interest of everyday Americans. She also pledged to continue funding law enforcement agencies, touting the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan for investing $15 billion in public safety.
Foreign policy
Harris has, so far, adopted much of President Biden’s foreign policy stances. She said as president, she would continue to stand with Ukraine and NATO. She’s also pledged to “never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to protect U.S. forces and interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.”
On the Israel-Hamas war, Harris has reiterated support for Israel’s security but also expressed sympathy for the plight of civilians suffering in Gaza. She’s called for a cease-fire with hostages returned and said she is working with Biden to secure such a deal.
Trump has claimed neither the Israel-Hamas war nor the Russia-Ukraine war would have started if he were president. He’s signaled he would cut back U.S. aid to Kyiv and continues to criticize NATO allies who he says are not doing enough. He’s also expressed staunch support for Israel’s right to defense and to go after Hamas, but has also called for a quick end to the war.
Trump’s also sought to make Afghanistan a key topic in recent weeks after the third anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal of troops from the country. He’s slammed the Biden-Harris administration for the chaotic withdrawal, blaming them for the death of 13 U.S. service members who were killed in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate. Harris defended the decision to end America’s “longest war” and said she would take action to protect Americans against terrorist threats.
Democracy
Trump continues to make false claims about the 2020 election, asserting without evidence it was rigged or stolen. He currently faces state and federal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn his election loss, to which he pleaded not guilty. Last week, he appeared to admit he lost the 2020 election, saying he got more votes in his reelection campaign than in 2016 but still “lost by a whisker.”
In a major escalation of that rhetoric, Trump said that if he wins this race, those who “cheated” would “be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences.” He suggested his apparent threat of “legal exposure” applies to “Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials.”
Trump’s also sent mixed messages on voting methods this cycle, often doubling down on his calls for Election Day voting only and making groundless claims that mail-in voting is ripe for abuse while also encouraging supporters to cast their ballot whether it’s early voting, mail-in voting or other forms of voting.
Trump’s also accused Democrats of a “coup” after President Biden exited the race and endorsed Harris, who quickly secured enough party support to become the nominee.
Harris has been critical of efforts to cast doubt on the election, claiming Trump tried to “throw away” people’s votes and blaming him for what happened at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
She’s said as president, she would advocate for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to bolster voting rights and vowed to “hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power.”
ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Hannah Demissie, Fritz Farrow, Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim, Will McDuffie and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.