"The Talk of the Town"
(CHICAGO) — Oprah Winfrey will speak at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, multiple sources familiar with the program confirmed to ABC News.
CNN first reported the development.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(WASHINGTON) — Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., on Wednesday introduced a privileged resolution on the House floor to censure Rep. Clay Higgins. R-La., over his now-deleted post on X in which he called Haitians “thugs” and called Haiti the “nastiest country in the western hemisphere.”
Higgins was apparently reacting to reports that the leader of a nonprofit representing the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, invoked a citizen’s right to file charges against Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, over threats and disruptions the city has experienced since Trump and Vance spread unsubstantiated claims about legal immigrants there.
“Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters… but damned if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP,” Higgins wrote. “All these thugs better get their mind right and their a– out of our country before January 20th.”
Trump claimed in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris that Haitian migrants in Springfield were eating residents’ pets and animals from city parks. The city’s 15,000 Haitian immigrants — most of them who are in the country legally — have filled manufacturing, distribution and warehouse jobs but have put a strain on the city’s resources.
In the wake of Trump’s comments, the city has received more than two dozen bomb threats that have caused evacuations of schools and government buildings. The state has sent in additional state troopers and installed surveillance cameras to deal with the threats.
By its rules, the House must take up a privileged resolution within two legislative days, but that won’t happen until after the November election when the House returns from a long recess.
Horsford spoke on the House floor on Wednesday and said Higgins’ post was inciting “hate and fear.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about the post after votes on Wednesday and called Higgins a friend “and a very frank and outspoken person. He’s also a very principled man.”
“He was approached on the floor by colleagues who said that was offensive,” Johnson continued. “He went to the back. I just talked to him about it. He said he went to the back and he prayed about it, and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down. That’s what you want the gentleman to do. I’m sure he probably regrets some of the language he used. But you know, we move forward. We believe in redemption around here.”
But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in a statement, wrote: “The disgusting statement by Clay Higgins about the Haitian community is vile, racist and beneath the dignity of the United States House of Representatives. He must be held accountable for dishonorable conduct that is unbecoming of a Member of Congress.”
“Clay Higgins is an election-denying, conspiracy-peddling racial arsonist who is a disgrace to the People’s House. This is who they have become. Republicans are the party of Donald Trump, Mark Robinson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Clay Higgins and Project 2025. The extreme MAGA Republicans are unfit to govern,” Jeffries said.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said he spoke to Higgins and urged him to take the post down.
“Clay and I had a conversation about it, and I said I think it’s a bad statement – you should take it down,” Donalds said. “He came back a minute or two later and said he was going to remove it.”
Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost said he believes the post breaks the House code because it came from Higgins’ House social media account.
“It’s completely disgusting,” Frost said. “And a racist and bigoted tweet and I think it shows a lot about the Republican Party – the Republican conference – that they can’t just step up say, ‘You know what? That is wrong that he shouldn’t have posted it,” but yet their best defense is that he deleted the tweet.”
Donalds and congressional sources said a group of Democratic CBC members, including Reps. Frederica Wilson and Sheila Cherfilus McCormick, discussed the tweet with Higgins on the floor.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said she was frustrated that Republicans initially blocked Horsford’s motion to censure Higgins.
“It’s despicable. It’s outrageous, and to see Republicans go along with it means that you’re known by the company you keep — they’re complicit in this,” Lee said.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said she wants Higgins to be punished.
“It was hateful and he meant it,” she said, adding, “He needs to be censured.”
When reached by CNN about the post, Higgins told the news outlet it was “free speech.”
“It’s all true,” Higgins said. “I can put up another controversial post tomorrow if you want me to. I mean, we do have freedom of speech. I’ll say what I want.”
He added: “It’s not a big deal to me. It’s like something stuck to the bottom of my boot. Just scrape it off and move on with my life.”
ABC News has reached out to Higgins for comment.
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After endorsing Kamala Harris on X Sunday, former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona praised the vice president’s grasp of foreign policy and her proposal for tougher border restrictions on ABC News’ “This Week.”
With 37 days until Election Day, Flake said he made his endorsement now since he couldn’t participate in political activities in his role as ambassador to Turkey, which he stepped down from on Sept. 1.
“I think Republicans believe in the rule of law in particular, and it’s difficult to support a candidate who, having lost an election, tries to use the powers of the presidency to overturn that election,” Flake told ABC “This Week” anchor Martha Raddatz. “That is anything but respect for the rule of law.”He said that other conservative Republicans feel similarly.
In his endorsement, Flake wrote that he believes Harris will unite the country and “respect the will of voters.” He also discussed his endorsement in an interview with the Arizona Republic.
The former congressman and senator joins other prominent Republicans who have endorsed Harris, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
Flake is one of a handful of Republicans who have served in President Joe Biden’s administration, along with Cindy McCain, the widow of former Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Since leaving the Senate in 2019, Flake has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and urged Republicans to “move away from Trump-ism.”
Flake also endorsed Biden in 2020 on the first day of the Republican National Convention along with dozens of former GOP members of Congress.
He said that Harris “ought to court all voters,” particularly moderate and conservative Republicans.
Asked about his interactions with Harris during his time as an ambassador, Flake said that she is ready to serve as commander in chief.
“We have to support and work with our allies,” Flake said. “And she understands that.”
He pointed to Harris’ speech at the Munich Security Conference and each candidate’s approach to foreign policy during the ABC presidential debate.
“It was really stark watching the debate the other day and hearing the former president not be able to even cheer for Ukraine,” said Flake. “That’s a big issue for me.”
Raddatz pressed Flake on whether his endorsement would make inroads with voters in Arizona who are a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, of which he is a member. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah., another high-profile Mormon Republican opposed to Trump, has not endorsed Harris.
Flake demurred, responding that “I can only speak for myself and where I am.”
Raddatz asked Flake about his thoughts on one of the vice president’s biggest vulnerabilities after her visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, her first in three years. A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found that voters thought Trump was better suited to handle the border over Harris by 10 points.
Flake said that he was glad to see Harris visit the border and propose stricter asylum restrictions. He pointed to her work as a prosecutor and attorney general, saying, “She knows what it takes.” Harris’ campaign is looking to gain ground on an issue of high importance to voters.
While in Congress, Flake backed a bipartisan immigration proposal that failed to pass. When pressed by Raddatz on the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the southern border, Flake said there needs to be stricter asylum policies.
He applauded Harris for saying she would sign the immigration bill that failed in the Senate after Republican opposition led by Trump cratered the legislation.
“She knows how to work on a bipartisan basis, and if we do immigration reform that endures, it’s going to have to be bipartisan,” said Flake.
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(PITTSBURGH) — Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday to hunker down and prepare for the ABC News Sept. 10 debate with former President Donald Trump, according to a campaign aide.
Choosing to stay in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state, could potentially allow Harris to continue campaigning while she prepares for the debate — and what will be her first in-person meeting with Trump.
The debate is a critical moment for Harris as it could be her last opportunity to pitch herself to a large television audience.
Harris has been preparing for the debate for weeks now. She has been holding mock debates at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, D.C., with former Hillary Clinton aide Phillips Reines playing the part of Trump while wearing a wig, according to a source.
Reines isn’t the only one assisting Harris in her preparation — she’s also enlisted former White House aides Karen Dunn, Sean Clegg and Rohini Kosoglu. All three worked with her during her 2020 vice presidential debate against Mike Pence.
Asked by reporters Wednesday how her debate preparations were going, Harris responded, “So far, so good.”
While in Pittsburgh, Harris will work on maintaining a calm demeanor as she makes a case for her own presidency while holding Trump accountable for his, according to a source familiar with Harris’ debate preparations.
If Trump dodges a question or begins launching attacks, she wants to be able to successfully pivot the conversation, the source added.
That same source said the vice president will also focus on avoiding going down policy rabbit holes, which the source said was something she did during her 2019 debates.
Harris’ latest high-profile debates were during her presidential run four years ago and her vice presidential debate with Pence. This cycle, Trump debated President Joe Biden in June.
The ABC News debate will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 9 p.m ET. A prime-time pre-debate special will air at 8 p.m. ET.
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