Michelle Obama takes spotlight at DNC backing Kamala Harris and blasting Trump
(CHICAGO) — Former first lady Michelle Obama took center stage at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, along with her husband former President Barack Obama, to throw their formidable political weight behind Kamala Harris.
“Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it?” Michelle Obama said after a long standing ovation that followed her entrance at the United Center in Chicago, where she grew up and her husband began his political career.
“You know, we’re feeling it here in this arena, but it’s spreading all across this country,” she continued. “We love a familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for far too long. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the contagious power of hope.”
The opening message was a callback to the campaign slogan that defined Barack Obama’s White House run in 2008 when he became the first Black man elected president.
Harris, who is just the second woman to ever receive a major party’s nomination for president, will try to become the first woman to serve as president.
“The anticipation, the energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day,” Michelle Obama continued. “The chance to vanquish the demons of fear, division and hate that have consumed us and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation, the dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for. America, hope is making a comeback.”
Michelle Obama remains one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, despite her aversion to partisan politics. Her goodwill with the party is so high that when President Joe Biden struggled in his campaign this past year, her name was floated as a possible alternative to take his place atop the ticket, even though she’s repeatedly said she would never run for office.
That star power was on display as she addressed the convention for 20 minutes. Despite maintaining a relatively low profile this election cycle, previously appearing only in a campaign video endorsing Harris after Biden dropped out of the race, the crowd was rapt during her remarks.
“My girl, Kamala Harris, is more than ready for this moment,” she said. “She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency. And she is one of the most dignified.”
She sought to contrast Harris’ background and record with that of Donald Trump, who she expected to launch similar personal attacks against Harris that he did to the Obamas.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black,” she said.
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs?'” she added, prompting thunderous applause from the crowd. “It’s his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”
Michelle Obama advised that while Harris’ candidacy has reenergized the party, the matchup with Trump will still be a fight — a warning similar to that issued by former Secretary Hillary Clinton in her convention speech on Monday.
“We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right,” Michelle Obama said. “We cannot indulge our anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.”
The former first lady made an appeal to all voters, regardless of political party, to stand up “stand up for what we know in our hearts is right.”
After recounting a story about Harris’ mother telling her not to complain about things but to “do something,” Michelle Obama made a similar plea to those watching to take action throughout the campaign to help Harris get elected.
“So consider this to be your official ask: Michelle Obama is asking you to do something,” she said. “Because this is going to be close. In some states, just a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner. So we need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt. We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us.
(WASHINGTON) — On the presidential debate stage, Donald Trump was given an opportunity to acknowledge he lost the 2020 election. He did not take it.
ABC News moderator David Muir read aloud recent quotes from the former president in which he appeared to admit being defeated by President Joe Biden, including last week when he said he “lost by a whisker.”
“I said that?” Trump responded. He went on to say that such remarks were sarcastic and that he did not, in fact, accept his loss.
Trump’s false claims and grievances about the 2020 race have long been a central theme of his third campaign for the White House. But recently, his rhetoric’s escalated to threats to prosecute election workers and attempts to sow doubt on the 2024 outcome before a single vote has been cast.
In a social media post over the weekend, Trump pledged to jail election workers, donors, lawyers and others “involved in unscrupulous behavior” related to voting in the 2024 election if he wins. They’d be prosecuted, he said, under his scrutiny and “at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”
Election officials and law experts condemned the statement as irresponsible and damaging at a time when public servants charged with overseeing elections face increased threats and harassment.
“The remarks are despicable and dangerous,” Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, told ABC News.
“The continued claims of cheating are unsupported by any reliable evidence — but they will cause millions of people to continue to believe the false claims that U.S. elections are rigged,” Hasen said. “After Jan. 6, 2021, a responsible person would be more circumspect with rhetoric about elections and cheating. Donald Trump is doubling down.”
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat whose state was an epicenter of false claims of fraud in 2020, similarly worried about the impact of Trump’s statements.
“It makes me concerned that this will set other people off. I think the one thing that we’ve seen before is that words have consequences and meaning,” Fontes told ABC News. “And while we are concerned, we are also prepared. Elections officials across the country have been working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to monitor and track threats, to make sure we’re keeping our voters safe and make sure we’re keeping our elections officials safe.”
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who experienced protests at her home after Trump’s 2020 loss, said her duty is to “rise above the noise and continue to ensure our elections are fair, secure, accessible, and that the results are accurate.”
The Pennsylvania Department of State, noting it conducts two audits after every election, told ABC News it was “confident in the integrity of county officials and election administrators across the Commonwealth, despite irresponsible statements that are not based in fact or supported by evidence.”
Several secretaries of state, including Benson and Fontes, were on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to testify on their 2024 election preparations.
Asked for comment on the concern from officials, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump believes anyone who breaks the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including criminals who engage in election fraud. Without free and fair elections, you can’t have a country. Ask Venezuela.”
Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 election were debunked by his own administration officials. Dozens of legal challenges brought by his campaign or his allies in battleground states failed in the courts.
But the impact of the efforts to overturn results were tangible on election officials and poll workers.
Lawrence Norden, vice president of elections and government at the Brennan Center for Justice, earlier this year reported a survey of local election officials across the U.S. found 38% reported experiencing threats, harassment or abuse. Fifty-four percent said they were concerned about the safety of their colleagues. In some cases, Norden said, offices reported installing bullet proof glass or provided extra security training to staff. Some have left their positions altogether.
Norden said it was “very frustrating” to see Trump’s comments after the steps taken by election workers to bring down the temperature these past four years, including efforts to combat misinformation and to improve transparency.
“Any political leader, and certainly somebody running for president of the United States, implying that election officials could be prosecuted is potentially doing two things,” he said. “It’s not going to change the behavior of any election worker or election official, but it’s potentially encouraging further threats or violence, and it is laying the groundwork to potentially undermine or question election results that you don’t like later on.”
In addition to his threat to prosecute election workers, Trump has repeatedly accused Democrats of staging a “coup” in nominating Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden dropped out of the race. He’s sent mixed messaging on voting methods, at times encouraging his supporters to vote in any way possible and at other times baselessly claiming mail-in ballots are ripe for abuse, despite using a mail ballot in Florida’s 2020 primary. He’s said a focus of his campaign is to make sure Democrats don’t “cheat.”
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When asked during the CNN debate in June if he would commit to accepting the November outcome, he only said: “If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely.”
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is railing against FBI director Christopher Wray for testifying earlier this week that it was still unclear whether Trump was hit with a bullet — or something else — at his Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
“FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!) … ” Trump posted in part Thursday night on his Truth Social account.
Trump was reacting to Wray telling House lawmakers on Wednesday that the bureau still hasn’t reached a determination as to whether Trump’s ear was hit by an actual bullet.
“I think with respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” Wray said in response to a question from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan asking whether the FBI has accounted for all bullets fired by the shooter.
“It’s conceivable — although as I sit here right now I don’t know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing could have also landed somewhere else,” Wray said.
As he indicated, the FBI is still examining bullet fragments found at the rally site in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to a source familiar with the investigation, to determine what actually hit the former president.
On Friday, Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician who served while Trump was president, disputed Wray’s testimony in a letter on his congressional letterhead.
“There was no evidence it was anything other than a bullet,” Jackson wrote in the letter posted to X by Trump’s adviser Jason Miller. “Congress should correct the record as confirmed by both the hospital and myself. Director Wray is wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else.”
Jackson writes that he has been treating Trump in the aftermath of the assassination attempt and concurs with the assessment made by the doctors at the Butler Memorial Hospital the day of the shooting.
The hospital has not released any medical reports about Trump’s injury, the cause or any treatment Trump received. Nor is there an official account yet from the state or federal government or the Trump campaign, other than two letters from Jackson, an outspoken supporter.
A statement released by the FBI on Thursday said the attempted assassination resulted in Trump’s injury, but the exact manner how is still under investigation.
“The FBI’s Shooting Reconstruction Team continues to examine evidence from the scene, including bullet fragments, and the investigation remains ongoing.”
In his post on Truth Social, Trump insisted it was a bullet that struck him.
“No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard,” Trump wrote. “There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was.”
At his campaign rallies, Trump now says he “took a bullet for democracy.”
In the same social media post Thursday, Trump also said Wray “knows nothing” and has promised to fire him if he wins a second term.
ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
(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:
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.”