Democratic ‘Blue Wall’ governors make case for Harris in final stretch
(WASHINGTON) — With just 16 days until Election Day, the Democratic governors of the three “Blue Wall” battleground states touted the strength of Vice President Kamala Harris’ ground game, and predicted she would prevail in their states but acknowledged how close the presidential race is.
“I think Kamala Harris wins, but make no mistake, it’s close,” Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “We’re not afraid of that… It causes us to get out and work, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers sat down with Raddatz in the Pittsburgh area for an exclusive interview that aired Sunday. The interview came during the governors’ bus tour through the critical battlegrounds that some pundits say represent Harris’ best path to the presidency.
The three so-called “Blue Wall” swing states are key to a Democratic victory. All three voted for Donald Trump in 2016 — the first time since 1992 that they backed the Republican candidate. Four years later, President Joe Biden won them back.
If Harris wins Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — plus the single electoral vote in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District — she would hit the 270-electoral vote threshold needed to win the White House, even if she lost the other four battleground states.
The race is statistically tied in all three “Blue Wall” states, according to 538 polling averages.
“Listen, the only people that are not surprised about these polls are us three. We all expect this. We are not upset about it, we’re not scared. We’re determined to make sure we do everything in our power to win this thing,” Whitmer said.
Evers said he believes the race is still “undecided” at this point because many voters simply aren’t paying much attention yet.
“I talk to people just about every day that are, are torn about what to… how they’re going to vote. And so I think there are people that can be convinced, absolutely,” Evers said. “There are people that, frankly, don’t follow this on a daily basis.”
With 19 electoral votes up for grabs — the most of the battleground states — Pennsylvania is the prize both campaigns want to win. The margins have been exceedingly close in recent presidential elections, with Trump taking the state by 0.7 of a percentage point in 2016 and Biden winning by 1.2 points in 2020.
No Democrat has won the presidency without Pennsylvania since 1948. Both campaigns have invested heavily in the Keystone State, pouring in more than $500 million collectively in TV ad spending and reservations through the end of the year, the New York Times reported.
“I think it’s a must-win, and we want to win here,” Shapiro said. “I think both candidates believe that Pennsylvania is critical. I just think we’ve got a better candidate. We got a better message.”
But Trump’s message resonates with about half of the voters in their states, polls show. Asked to explain Trump’s appeal, Shapiro acknowledged that people are frustrated with government.
“I think what people are craving are leaders who know how to get stuff done for them,” Shapiro said. “Donald Trump talks a good game about that. Now he has a history of failing to deliver over and over and over again. And I think part of our responsibility here is to make sure we’re letting folks know that … when he had the keys to the White House before, he failed the American people time and time again.”
“He’s a charlatan,” Whitmer added. “He’s convinced people that he is strong when he’s actually very weak.”
In all three states, Democrats need to see high turnout among the voting blocs that traditionally back their candidates, like Black voters concentrated in the metropolitan areas.
In Wisconsin, the decline in Black voter turnout since 2012 has been steep, dropping from 78% in 2012 to 43% in 2020, according to Census data.
But Evers said his state is in “a much better place this time” and pointed to an improved ground game to reach voters.
“I feel confident that it’s going to be much larger than the last time. And it’s important to make sure that all people in Wisconsin feel that this election means something to them, and so we’ve upped the ground game in all our areas around the state, whether it’s rural, whether it’s in the Milwaukee area,” he said.
In neighboring Michigan, Democrats remain concerned that Arab and Muslim American voters will not turn out for Harris due to frustrations with the Biden administration’s support for Israel as the war and suffering in Gaza continue a year after Hamas’ brutal attack against the U.S. ally.
Michigan is home to nearly 400,000 Arab Americans, according to the Arab American Institute. The Uncommitted Movement decided not to endorse a candidate in the presidential race, and the Abandon Harris campaign put its support behind Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s bid.
Pressed on how to convince these voters to support Harris, Whitmer said that dialogue is important. She also argued that Harris is the only candidate committed to finding solutions.
“At the end of the day, do you want a leader who’s going to throw gas on the fire to keep you angry so that you tune out?” asked Whitmer. “Or do you want one who’s going to try to get in there and solve problems?… That’s what Kamala Harris offers.”
Given what happened after Trump lost the 2020 election, whether he concedes defeat if he loses to Harris remains an open question. Trump has already started to cast doubt on the integrity of the election, baselessly claiming last week in a podcast interview, “If the election is not rigged, we’re going to win. If it is rigged, I guess that’s a different story.”
All three governors voiced confidence in the citizens of their states to lawfully administer election law and count the votes, while raising concerns about Trump.
“He’s already laying the groundwork to undermine the outcome of this election,” Whitmer said. “They are trying to pull the wool over the American public’s eyes once again, and we’re anticipating that they’ll continue to try to do that when they lose this election, assuming they lose this election. But I’m going to make sure every vote gets counted.”
“I’ve got great confidence in the good people in Pennsylvania to count the votes accurately and to respect the will of the people. I do not have confidence that Donald Trump won’t whine about it, won’t put out dangerous rhetoric and mis- and disinformation,” Shapiro added. “We’re prepared for anything Donald Trump throws at us, and we’re going to make sure the will of the people is protected.”
(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 attacks Harris on the economy, but talking little policy
Trump is in North Carolina to deliver remarks on the economy, but his speech so far has not revealed any new or detailed policy positions and instead is focused on bashing Harris on inflation and immigration.
“With four more years of Harris, your finances will never recover, they’re never going to recover. Our country will never recover, frankly, more importantly. It will be unrecoverable,” he said. “Vote Trump, and your incomes will soar, your savings will grow, young people will be able to afford a home and we will bring back the American dream bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”
Trump votes in Florida primary, speaks to reporters
Trump participated in early voting in Florida’s primary election at a polling location near his home in Palm Beach.
“Well, thank you very much, great honor to vote, done a fantastic job here, and we appreciate it,” Trump said as he walked out of the polling site.
Asked by reporters what the FBI had told him about the purported hack of his campaign’s email, Trump said, “They’re looking at it, and they’re doing it very professionally.”
He then insisted “it looks like it’s Iran,” while declining to say whether the FBI had told him it was Iran that hacked his campaign.
Trump also dodged questions about falsely accusing the Harris campaign of using AI-altered images to manipulate crowd sizes.
“I can’t say what was there, who was there. I can only tell you about ours,” he said. “We have the biggest crowds ever in the history of politics. We have crowds that nobody has ever seen before, and we continue to have that. We have a level of enthusiasm that nobody has seen before. They want to make America great again.”
Trump to hold press conference on Thursday
The former president announced Wednesday morning that he will hold a press conference in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday.
The presser is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Trump held a press conference last week at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he repeated numerous falsehoods as he criticized Harris.
Walz falsely claims he is first union member on presidential ticket since Reagan
Speaking to AFSCME members in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz claimed he was the “first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan.”
That claim is false: former President Donald Trump was a SAG-AFTRA member until he resigned in 2021 after the union’s national board found probable cause that Trump violated the group’s constitution by his actions on Jan. 6.
Trump was for years a member of the union, which represents more than 160,000 performers across a variety of media platforms, by virtue of his various appearances in films and television shows. He reported earning a pension from the union in his financial disclosures.
At a fundraiser later Tuesday, Walz repeated the claim, apparently unaware it was false.
Prior to his two terms as California governor, Reagan served twice as president of the Screen Actors Guild.
ABC News has reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment.
Harris, Walz to tour Pennsylvania ahead of the DNC
Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will take a bus tour through Pennsylvania on Sunday right before their appearance at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), ABC News has confirmed.
Sunday’s tour, first reported by CNN, will begin in Pittsburgh and will be the first time Harris, Walz and their spouses will appear on the campaign trail together. According to the campaign, they aim to have a cluster of intimate events with voters, ranging from canvass kick-offs to stops at local retail shops.
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.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Friday said he believes his administration is “breaking through with the truth” when it comes to misinformation surrounding the federal response to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
Though Biden also continued his vocal criticism of former President Donald Trump, who he said was “not singularly to blame” for the proliferation of false claims in recent weeks but “has the biggest mouth.”
The comments came as Biden met with Vice President Kamala Harris, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other officials at the White House to discuss the back-to-back storms that ravaged Florida, North Carolina and other parts of Southeast.
The president will travel to Florida on Sunday to visit areas impacted by Hurricane Milton, the White House announced.
Biden has called on lawmakers to return to Washington to pass certain additional disaster aid funding, though said he hasn’t yet spoken to House Speaker Mike Johnson directly on the issue.
“I’ve spoken to Republicans who want to speak with Speaker Johnson, and I think Speaker Johnson is going to get the message that he’s got to step up, particularly for small businesses,” Biden said.
Mayorkas said FEMA will be able meet immediate needs from the two storms. Funding is running low for the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program, however, Biden said in a letter to lawmakers last week.
Biden previously surveyed damage in North Carolina, Georgia and Florida in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which left more than 230 people dead and hundreds more displaced.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday evening. At least 16 people were killed in the storm and millions remain without power.
Biden has spoken to numerous state and local officials, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who he said was “very cooperative.” Asked if he would meet with DeSantis on Sunday, Biden said yes so long as the governor was available.
The White House has forcefully pushed back on any false claims about the federal storm response, including how much aid victims can receive. Biden and Mayorkas said the misinformation has hampered FEMA’s ability to help people affected by the destruction and is even resulting in threats against responders on the ground.
When asked if the storm misinformation was part of a new normal for the country, Biden said it may be “for some extreme people but I don’t think it’s what the country is about.”
“We’re breaking through with it. We’re breaking through with the truth,” he said, going on to say he was “proud” of Republican mayors and other state officials pushing back that such falsehoods have to stop and that Americans are coming together to help each other.
“But what bothers me the most is that is there’s a lot of people who get caught in these crises who are basically alone,” Biden said. “You know, widowers, people in hospitals, people who are by themselves, and they don’t know, and they lose contact, and they get, and they just get scared to death, scared to death. And anyway, so I think it’s — I think those who have been spreading these lies to try to undermine the opposition are going to pay a price for it.”
(PHILADELPHIA) — During the face-off between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump during Tuesday’s ABC News presidential debate, both candidates tried to score points by slinging barbs at each other.
Here are some of them:
Trump: “Wait a minute, I’m talking now, if you don’t mind, please. Does that sound familiar?”
— While Trump was trying to claim Harris supported defunding the police, she could be seen saying his statement was “not true.” Despite her microphone being muted. But Trump clearly heard her. His comment was a callback to Harris’ viral chiding of Mike Pence during their vice presidential debate in 2020 when she told him “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking” during one of the most viral moments of the night.
Harris: “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people.”
— When asked about Trump’s recent threat to prosecute those who “cheated” during the 2020 presidential election and his intimidation tactics, that was Harris’ response. She added that he is “having a very difficult time processing that,” referring to his refusing to concede he lost the 2020 election.
Trump: “She’s going to my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a MAGA hat.”
— Trump on how Harris’ earlier policies have evolved to be similar to his.
Harris: “He talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter.”
— Harris mocked what she said is Trump’s inability to address problems and engage in solutions and talked about topics he addresses instead in his rallies.
Trump: “Run, spot, run”
— Trump mocked Harris’ economic plan, which he said was copied from President Joe Biden’s plan, saying it’s as short as “four sentences” and summarized it as, “Run, spot, run,” despite that only being three words.
Harris: “Friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch.”
— When asked about Ukraine, Harris touted what her administration has done to “preserve the ability of [President Zolodymyr] Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians to fight for their independence.” Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats against neighboring Poland, she asked him, “And why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch.”
Harris: “You’re not running against Joe Biden, you’re running against me.”
— After Trump engaged in a series of criticisms of Biden and his handling of Ukraine, Harris was quick to point out who the current presidential candidate is.