Biden says Netanyahu not doing enough to secure deal after 6 hostages killed
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden, as he returned to the White House on Monday to meet with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure an agreement.
Ahead of the Situation Room meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris and the negotiating team, Biden was asked if by a reporter, “Do you think it’s time Prime Minister Netanyahu to do more on this issue, do you think he’s doing enough?”
“No,” Biden replied, emphatically.
The president was also asked if he was planning to present a “final” proposed hostage deal to Israel and Hamas this week after months of tense negotiations have failed to reach to reach an agreement.
“We’re very close to that,” he said.
According to senior administration officials, President Biden is considering presenting Israel and Hamas a final proposal for a cease-fire and hostage deal in Gaza but nothing is definitive.
If the deal falls apart, there is a chance it could lead to the end of the U.S.-led negotiations, according to one of the officials.
Another senior official said that they all have a “sense of urgency and believe this negotiation needs to come to a close.”
Biden is deliberating whether the parties should continue hashing out the deal and its technical details, or if the U.S. should present a new proposal that bridges the gaps.
“President Biden expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder, and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders accountable,” the White House said in a statement after the meeting.
“During the meeting, President Biden and Vice President Harris received an update from the U.S. negotiation team on the status of the bridging proposal outlined by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt,” the White House said. “They discussed next steps in the ongoing effort to secure the release of hostages, including continuing consultations with co-mediators Qatar and Egypt.”
As Biden returned to Washington to speak with his team, protests were unfolding in Tel Aviv calling for Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas after six Israeli hostages were found dead in Gaza.
Netanyahu on Sunday said efforts to free hostages are ongoing and blamed Hamas for refusing “to conduct real negotiations.”
“He who murders hostages does not want a deal,” Netanyahu said in a recorded statement as he faced pressure to address Israelis.
Hamas, meanwhile, said it was Israel who “evading reaching a ceasefire agreement.”
Ninety-seven Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including seven Americans, three of whom are confirmed to be dead.
On Monday, the funeral procession is being held for Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem. The 23-year-old was at a music festival in south Israel celebrating his birthday on Oct. 7 when he was taken hostage by Hamas.
President Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” after Israel Defense Forces recovered the six killed hostages, including Goldberg-Polin.
“I have gotten to know his parents, Jon and Rachel. They have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable,” Biden said. “They have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions. I admire them and grieve with them more deeply than words can express.”
ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Monday denied former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ request to have the Arizona “fake elector” case against him moved to federal court from Arizona state court.
Meadows, along with 17 others, was charged in Arizona with forgery and conspiracy over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. He has pleaded not guilty.
In August, Meadows’ attorneys argued the case should be moved to federal court because the indictment “squarely relates to Mr. Meadows’s conduct as Chief of Staff to the President.” The argument is similar to the one Meadows has made for months in his Fulton County, Georgia, case, citing a law that calls for the removal of criminal proceedings when someone is charged for actions they allegedly took as a federal official.
U.S. District Court Judge John J. Tuchi said the state charges — nine felony counts for his role in the effort to overturn former President Donald Trump’s Arizona election loss — is “unrelated” to Meadows’ official duties.
“Although the Court credits Mr. Meadows’s theory that the Chief of Staff is responsible for acting as the President’s gatekeeper, that conclusion does not create a causal nexus between Mr. Meadows’s official authority and the charged conduct,” Tuchi said.
“The Court finds that Mr. Meadows fails to present good cause for his untimely filing of his Notice of Removal, and that in any event, an evaluation on the merits yields that he fails to demonstrate that the conduct charged in the state’s prosecution relates to his former color of office as Chief of Staff to the President,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement in response to the ruling. “The Court therefore will remand this matter to the state court.”
Earlier this summer, charges were dropped against former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis in exchange for cooperation in the case.
(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — Former President Donald Trump and his allies have quickly pivoted to attacking Vice President Kamala Harris since President Joe Biden on Sunday suspended his reelection campaign and the Democratic Party coalesced behind the president’s former running mate.
Both the Trump campaign and groups supporting him are accusing Harris of being “complicit” in a cover-up of what they claim is Biden’s decline making him unfit for office.
At the same time, they are painting her as an even more “radical” liberal.
Trump’s team and his allies have been fast in firing off new attacks on Harris, already running both television and online ads in key swing states.
A new campaign video released on Sunday shortly after Harris jumped in the race as a presidential candidate claimed Harris helped Biden “screw up the border,” emphasizing her role in the Biden White House as the “border czar” and accusing her of not visiting the border enough — rhetoric Trump has used in the past during his own border visits.
The Trump campaign has also launched new social media ads attacking Harris, highlighting her gaffes while describing her as a “far more radical” candidate.
Pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. too immediately launched an ad in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona, pushing unfounded claims alleging Harris had concerns about Biden’s mental fitness and worked to cover it up.
A source close to the super PAC told ABC News, “we will expand the buy,” adding that “there is going to be tremendous chaos within the Democratic Party and our job now is to seize on that.” The plan will be to continue to frame Harris as complicit in hiding Biden’s decline while also focusing on her record as a prosecutor and vice president, according to the source.
Trump himself has also been lashing out at Harris during his recent campaign stops as his campaign began privately polling Trump versus other candidates — increasingly name-calling her and attacking her credibility. Until recently, her name would only occasionally come up on Trump’s campaign trail — particularly during his border visits and while attacking her record on border security.
Just this past weekend, at a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trump poked fun at Harris’ laugh — a personality trait his campaign has also spotlighted.
“I call her ‘Laughin’ Kamala.’ Have you seen her laughing? She is crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. She is nuts,” Trump said.
Even before Biden dropped out on Sunday, Trump long argued that Harris, along with other members of the Democratic Party, was secretly running the show because Biden was not fit to be president — an argument that they hope will help them as they attempt to point the blame on Harris for policies from the Biden administration.
“When you vote for Biden, you’re probably voting indirectly for Harris anyway,” Trump added on Saturday.
“We’re going to defeat ‘Crooked Joe Biden’ and Laughin’ Kamala Harris,’ and we’re going to take back the White House, and we’re going to take back our country,” Trump similarly said at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, two weeks ago — shortly before he was rushed off the stage after an assassination attempt on him.
A campaign rally at his Doral golf course in Florida earlier this month, Trump zeroed in on Harris’ border record, saying she has the “worst border” in history.
“As vice president, Kamala Harris was given two jobs — two very important jobs, actually,” Trump said. “First, she was put in charge of the U.S. border security at the border. And she never showed up. She’s never gone.”
He then attacked Harris’ role in the Biden administration’s foreign policy, claiming she “failed” to deter Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.
“Both times the result was a deadly failure,” Trump said.
The RNC Research social media account, managed by the Trump campaign and merged with the Republican National Committee, also posted several “flashbacks” on Sunday following Biden’s departure from the ticket, using Harris’ own words in an attempt to remind voters on what they believe is a failed record.
Again, those attacks centered around the claim that Harris’ was complicit in a cover-up as well as her role on the border.
“The biggest scandal in a generation — and Kamala is right at the center of the coverup,” one post by the Trump campaign suggested.
In another video posted, Harris is seen on the 2019 Democratic primary debate stage, raising her hand to suggest she would make illegal border crossings a civil, not, criminal offense.
As the Trump campaign attempts to capitalize on outlining Harris’ border policies, Harris has been on the campaign trail talking about abortion. She has issued several attacks on Trump’s proposed abortion policy.
Abortion bans have emerged as a divisive issue among Republicans since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overrule Roe v. Wade’s nationwide guarantee to access the procedure.
“And understand, the former president wants to pass a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every single state, but we will not let him,” Harris said last month at an event in Texas. “We will not let that happen.”
Harris continued, “America must trust women, America must honor individual choice, America must defend freedom.”
Hailing from California where she served as attorney general, the Harris campaign is also starting to tout her previous role in contrast to Trump’s convictions, framing the potential battle between the two as prosecutor vs. criminal.
“Vice President Kamala Harris has held criminals accountable her entire career — and Donald Trump will be no different,” Harris for President Spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement. “That’s the contrast the American people will see over the next 106 days.”
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Washington and is preparing to roll out her economic plan on the road in North Carolina on Friday, which will mark her first major policy rollout since becoming the Democratic nominee. As Donald Trump looks for a campaign reset, he spoke with Elon Musk live on Tuesday and will deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Trump to deliver remarks on economy in North Carolina
Former President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday as the campaign works to recenter its campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The election’s coming up, and the people want to hear about the economy,” Trump said during an interview with Elon Musk on X Monday, directly blaming the Biden-Harris administration for the current state of the economy.
The economy has been one of the Trump campaign’s central election issues this cycle — the former president often spending a considerable amount of time discussing inflation, gas prices and the job market.
“I just ask this: Are you better off now, or were you better off when I was president?” Trump said Monday night as he was wrapping up his conversation with Musk.
Omar decries ‘shameful’ opponents in primary race
Following her Tuesday night primary victory, Rep. Ilhan Omar told supporters: “We run the politics of joy, because we know it is joyful to fight for your neighbors.”
“We know it is joyful to want to live in a peaceful and equitable world,” she added, per ABC News’ St. Paul affiliate KSTP-TV.
Omar also had harsh words for her main primary opponent Don Samuels, though did not mention him by name.
“I hope that they reflect in the shameful way they decided to divide our district and the incredible people we are grateful to represent,” she said of her challengers.
Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar wins primary
Rep. Ilhan Omar has won her Congressional primary in Minnesota, multiple media outlets projected Tuesday night.
Omar’s win follows defeats by two of her fellow squad members in their primaries — Cori Bush from Missouri, and Jamaal Bowman of New York.
Omar had been expected to win in her district despite a challenge from former Minneapolis city council member Don Samuels.
Bush lost her primary earlier this month to St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell. He was backed by more than $8 million from the pro-Israel United Democracy Project.
Bowman lost to Westchester County Executive George Latimer in June. Per AdImpact, the race was the most expensive House primary on record, with most of the funding coming from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) United Democracy Project PAC in support of Latimer. Latimer was recruited to run by AIPAC.
Walz says he’s ‘damn proud’ of military record, thanks Vance for his service
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in his first solo campaign appearance, defended his military record and thanked his vice presidential opponent, Sen. JD Vance, for his service.
“I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Walz said to applause at the AFSCME convention in California. “And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record. Anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
Vance has repeatedly criticized how Walz has talked about his military record, which included 24 years in the Army National Guard before he retired to run for Congress in 2005. Vance served as a combat correspondent for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Read more about Vance’s comments and Walz’s background here.
Biden says he would attend Trump’s inauguration if he were elected
President Joe Biden on Tuesday, as he was departing the White House, said he would go to Trump’s inauguration in January if he were to win this year’s election.
“I have good manners, not like him,” Biden told reporters after being asked if he’d attend. Trump did not attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
Biden also defended his calling Trump “a genuine danger to American security,” a comment he made during his CBS News interview over the weekend. Asked whether that contradicted his calls to cool heated political rhetoric, Biden shot back: “That’s just a statement. That’s a factual statement.”
-Fritz Farrow
Judge’s ruling means independent Cornel West can appear on North Carolina ballot
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West will be allowed on the general election ballot in North Carolina following a judge’s ruling that reversed a decision that would have kept him off the ballot in the battleground state.
In a ruling on Monday, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify Justice for All North Carolina as a political party in the state. That party, started by West’s campaign, is nominating him as its candidate in North Carolina and some other states. The board had previously voted to deny certifying the party over concerns about how signatures were gathered for its petition to become a certified party.
Justice for All North Carolina called the decision a “monumental day for our party” but West’s campaign still faces headwinds. The Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that West’s campaign received “illegal In-Kind Contributions” from firms it used to collect signatures for ballot access petitions in Arizona and North Carolina — allegations West has pushed back on.
“We’ve always said we’re going to ensure the third party candidates are playing by the rules, and it’s clear his campaign isn’t playing by the rules,” DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni told ABC News after the complaint was filed.
-Oren Oppenheim
Walz to make his 1st solo campaign appearance
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday will embark on his first solo Harris-Walz campaign event as Harris’ running mate with a stop in Los Angeles for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) international convention.
Walz is set to speak at 3:35 p.m. ET.
Walz emerged as a popular candidate among labor unions during Harris’ search for a vice president pick, sources said. AFSCME represents 1.4 million public service members, and the union’s president, Lee Saunders, previously released a statement endorsing Harris for president.
Harris to roll out economic plan on Friday
Harris will outline her economic policy in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, her campaign announced, making it her first major policy rollout since jumping into the race.
Harris’ speech will detail her plan to “lower costs for middle-class families and take on corporate price-gouging,” a campaign official said.
The vice president has heavily focused her stump speech on the economy while on the campaign trail in recent weeks, saying over the weekend she would look to eliminate taxes on tips earned by service workers — a proposal Trump announced earlier this summer.
Harris’ college sorority creates PAC
The historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of which Vice President Kamala Harris counts herself a member, started its own political PAC last week, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission posted Monday.
The committee is named Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc., or AKA 1908 PAC, the filing shows.
Harris has been an AKA since her days as a student at the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. Harris on Monday visited the campus, her office confirmed to ABC News, but it’s not clear why she was there.
In July, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Harris spoke at the AKA’s annual Boulé in Dallas, Texas. Since then, as a candidate, she’s also addressed similar national gatherings of two other historically Black sororities, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho.
Trump says he will return to Butler, Pennsylvania after assassination attempt
After discussing the assassination attempt made against him in Pennsylvania in July, former President Donald Trump said he’s planning a trip back to Butler in October.
“We’re going back to Butler; we’re gonna go back in October,” Trump said, adding, “Butler is a big, great area.”
Addressing what he’ll say when he returns, Trump told Musk, “I think I’ll probably start by saying I was so horribly interrupted.”
Trump discusses assassination attempt with Musk, says he turned head at ‘perfect angle’
During his conversation with Musk, former President Donald Trump addressed the assassination attempt made against him during a campaign rally in July.
“It was amazing that I happened to be turned just at that perfect angle,” Trump said of the bullet, which grazed his right ear while his head was turned.
During the discussion, Trump mentioned the man who was killed in the shooting, saying, it was a “very sad situation.”
“We lost somebody that was firefighter, a great Trumper,” Trump said of Corey Comperatore, adding, “He was a just a fantastic family [man] and a fantastic man.”
Trump and Musk’s conversation on X appears to be delayed
The conversation between former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be delayed, with many X users reporting they cannot access the Spaces conversation.
“This Space is not available,” appeared for some users on X.
The conversation was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Judge orders RFK Jr. off New York ballot
A New York judge ruled Monday that the thousands of signatures gathered by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign in the state were “invalidated” after a Democrat-aligned group argued he misled voters by listing as his home an address he rarely visits.
The judge, Christina Ryba, ordered the New York Board of Elections to not include Kennedy’s name on the ballot this fall.
A lawyer representing Kennedy told reporters last week they would appeal any ruling that went against them.
The ruling could prompt Democrats to bring similar lawsuits against Kennedy in other states where he gathered signatures from registered voters to appear on the ballot.
The FBI is investigating alleged attempts by Iran to target the then-Biden-Harris campaign, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The alleged targeting via spear-fishing emails occurred before Biden announced he would exit the 2024 presidential race, the sources said.
While the campaign was targeted, the alleged hack was not successful, sources added.
The FBI is investigating a purported hack of the Trump campaign, according to a brief statement from the agency earlier Monday.
The FBI did not attribute the hack to anyone in its statement.
A source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Trump adviser Roger Stone has also been informed that his email accounts have been compromised, and that he’s cooperating with any investigation into the matter.
The Washington Post first reported the news.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will Steakin and Katherine Faulders
Biden, Obama, Clintons tentatively slated to speak at DNC: Sources
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are all tentatively slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week, sources familiar said.
The working speaking schedule, which can always change, is as follows, according to the sources:
Monday: President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday: Former President Barack Obama Wednesday: Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, former President Bill Clinton Thursday: Vice President Kamala Harris
-ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks and Fritz Farrow
Trump posts on X ahead of Musk interview
Trump posted on X for the first time in nearly a year ahead of his conversation with Elon Musk scheduled for Monday night.
The video posted is a previously released campaign ad referencing his multiple indictments and telling supporters, “They are not coming after me, they are coming after you.”
The last time Trump posted on X was Aug. 24, 2023. It was a picture of his mugshot from Fulton County, when he turned himself in to authorities following his election interference indictment in Georgia.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim
Trump to be interviewed by Elon Musk tonight
Trump, in a post to his conservative social media site Truth Social, announced he will be interviewed live by Musk on X at 8 p.m. ET.
It will mark a major return for Trump to X, formerly known as Twitter, since he was banned from the site following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was reinstated in late 2022 but declined to become active on the site again, despite boasting 88 million followers.
Musk endorsed Trump following the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president. Recently, Musk has amplified misinformation about voting and elections on his X feed.
Walz discusses ‘whirlwind’ 1st week on the campaign trail
In a video posted on his X account, the Minnesota governor discussed what he called “not a normal week” since being named as Harris’ running mate.
Walz confirmed some details reported previously by ABC News and others, including that he informed Harris’ vetting team that he had not used a teleprompter before.
“Not a normal week, which is a good thing. Started by missing a call from the Vice President, pretty important one. And then got that call and honored to join the ticket with Kamala Harris to take us in a great direction,” Walz said.
“After that, it has been a whirlwind. We got on a plane and we flew to Philly, and they told me that in an hour I’d be giving a speech and there would be a teleprompter, something I had never used in my life, so certainly terrified, but was lifted up by the folks in Philly.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Harris wraps battleground state blitz, Vance makes rounds on Sunday shows
Over the weekend, Harris closed out a cross-country tour that included stops in battleground states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona, as well as North Carolina and Nevada.
New polling released Saturday showed Harris taking the lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin among likely voters. The New York Times/Siena College polls showed Harris at 50% among likely voters in each state, while Trump polled at 46%.
Vance, too, campaigned in key 2024 states and made the rounds on the Sunday shows. During his cable news appearances, Vance reiterated campaign talking points on immigration and repeatedly hit Harris for not sitting down for extensive media interviews and laying out her agenda. Harris has done brief gaggles with reporters and said she’d unveil an economic policy platform this week.
Vance responds to mass deportation plan: ‘Let’s start with one million’
Sen. JD Vance told ABC News he blamed Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration’s policies, such as ending “Remain in Mexico,” for the ongoing migrant crisis.
When asked how he and Trump would accomplish their stated goal of mass deporting as many as 20 million immigrants — a proposal experts previously told ABC News would be a “nightmare” — Vance said they would take a “sequential approach.”
“I mean do you go knock on doors and ask people for their papers? What do you do,” Karl asked.
“You start with what’s achievable,” Vance said. “I think that if you deport a lot of violent criminals and frankly if you make it harder to hire illegal labor, which undercuts the wages of American workers, I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem.”
“I think it’s interesting that people focus on, well, how do you deport 18 million people? Let’s start with one million. That’s where Kamala Harris has failed. And then we can go from there,” Vance said.
Harris cautions donors to ‘not take anything for granted’
Vice President Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser in San Francisco Sunday where she maintained her campaign “will win this election,” but cautioned donors to “not take anything for granted.”
“I know there’s a lot of enthusiasm out there,” Harris said, adding, “And you know, I’ve never been one to really believe in the polls — whether they’re up or they’re down.”
“What we know is the stakes are so high and we can take nothing for granted in this critical moment,” she continued. “So we will fuel our campaign as we have, with enthusiasm and optimism, but also with a deep commitment to the hard work it’s going to take, and to campaign.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi introduced Harris at the event, touting the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration and the background of vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, several times calling the Harris-Walz ticket “the freedom ticket.”
“[Harris] makes us all so proud. She brings us so much joy. She gives us so much hope,” Pelosi said, calling the vice president “politically very astute.”