Pete Hegseth says he will not ‘back down’ as scrutiny grows over misconduct allegations
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, said on Wednesday he will not “back down” after new misconduct allegations have caused growing concern among Republican lawmakers.
“I’m doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers. The Left is afraid of disrupters and change agents. They are afraid of @realDonaldTrump — and me. So they smear w/ fake, anonymous sources & BS stories. They don’t want truth. Our warriors never back down, & neither will I,” Hegseth wrote on X.
His comments come as a number of senators have privately signaled that they are not inclined to vote to confirm Hegseth as Trump’s next defense secretary, leading Trump’s advisers to begin discussing who may be a viable replacement, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Sources tell ABC News that at least six senators have privately indicated that they don’t intend to vote for Hegseth amid the growing allegations, including about his mistreatment of women.
Multiple sources also tell ABC News that Trump and Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about the job Tuesday and DeSantis expressed interest in it.
Hegseth is expected to be back on Capitol Hill Wednesday for meetings with more senators.
(WASHINGTON) — With five days until Election Day, Kamala Harris is attacking Donald Trump for saying Wednesday night in Wisconsin that, against his advisers’ advice, he is going to keep saying he will “protect the women” “whether the women like it or not.”
Both candidates continue their whirlwind campaigns in the West.
Harris seizes on Trump’s comment about protecting women ‘whether the women like it not’
Harris seized an opportunity to criticize Trump on abortion after for his comments at his rally Wednesday night in which he said he would protect women “whether the women like it or not.”
“Donald Trump thinks he should get to make decisions about what you do with your body,” Harris posted on X. “Whether you like it or not.”
Harris’ campaign clipped Trump’s comments and edited it into a loop with a split screen of headlines about Trump saying “he could prosecute women for abortions,” “might monitor pregnancies,” and other abortion-related headlines.
More than 59 million Americans have voted early
As of 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, more than 59 million Americans have voted early, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
Of the total number of early votes, 31,018,125 were cast in person and 27,952,363 were returned by mail.
Musk asks for $1 million lottery case to be moved to federal court
In a filing late Wednesday evening, Elon Musk sought to have the lawsuit against his $1 million giveaway moved into federal court, arguing the claims “turn principally on the allegation that defendants are somehow unlawfully interfering with a federal election.”
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has accused Musk and his America PAC of running an illegal lottery and violating state consumer protection laws.
The filing specifically states “this is not a case” about whether or not Musk violated state or federal laws that prohibit vote buying.
But Musk’s Wednesday filing notes the lawsuit’s repeated references to the upcoming presidential election. That includes Krasner’s claim that Musk and his PAC “hatched their illegal lottery scheme to influence voters in that election.”
“The complaint, in truth, has little to do with state-law claims of nuisance and consumer protection,” Musk’s attorney wrote in his filing.
“Rather, although disguised as state law claims, the complaint’s focus is to prevent defendants’ purported ‘interference’ with the forthcoming federal presidential election by any means.”
The filing argues any order in the case would “require judicial intervention into the progress of an ongoing federal election” — a move they say is not allowed.
The filing comes before a Thursday morning hearing in Philadelphia on the issue.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Harris responds to Trump’s comments on protecting women
Vice President Kamala Harris seized an opportunity to criticize former President Donald Trump on abortion after the Republican presidential nominee told a rally Wednesday night that he would protect women “whether the women like it or not.”
“Donald Trump thinks he should get to make decisions about what you do with your body,” Harris wrote on X. “Whether you like it or not.”
Harris’s campaign clipped Trump’s comments and edited it into a loop with a split screen of headlines about Trump saying “he could prosecute women for abortions,” “might monitor pregnancies” and other abortion-related headlines.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Harris slams Trump after reports he promised RFK Jr. public health role
Vice President Kamala Harris commented late Wednesday night on the promises former President Donald Trump has allegedly made to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Putting an anti-abortion conspiracy theorist in charge of our public health agencies says everything you need to know about how Donald Trump would govern,” Harris wrote on X.
“He is more unhinged than ever, and if he wins, he’ll have no one to hold him back.”
Trump said Sunday of RFK Jr.: “I’m going to let him go wild on health, I’m going to let him go wild on the food, I’m going to let him go wild on medicines.”
In response, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “No formal decisions about cabinet and personnel have been made, however, President Trump has said he will work alongside passionate voices like RFK Jr. to make America healthy again.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Kelsey Walsh, Soo Rin Kim and Lalee Ibssa
Harris woos 1st-time voters during Wisconsin concert series
Vice President Kamala Harris held another get-out-the-vote rally in Madison, Wisconsin, Wednesday, joined by musical stars including Mumford and Sons, The National’s Matt Berninger, Gracie Abrams and Remi Wolf.
Harris applauded the audience — many of whom were young first-time voters — for using their “power.”
“You grew up with active shooter drills, are fighting to keep our schools safe,” Harris said. “You will now know fewer rights than your mothers and grandmothers,” the vice president added.
“What I know about you is these issues are not theoretical,” Harris continued. “This is not political for you. This is your lived experience. And I see you and I see your power. I see your power, and I am so proud of you.”
Harris largely stuck to her usual stump speech, contrasting herself to former President Donald Trump by pledging that as president she won’t be looking to “score political points,” but to “make progress.”
-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie
‘Whether the women like it or not, I’m going to protect them,’ Trump says during rally
Following his press conference in a garbage truck, former President Donald Trump held a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin – still opting to sport his new orange safety vest.
He stuck to his stump speech heavily focused on immigration and the economy, he also made an appeal to women repeating he will be their “protector.”
Trump suggested that his campaign advised him to not say he’ll protect women, but he disagreed.
“We think it’s very inappropriate for you to say,” Trump said his campaign told him.
“I said, ‘Why, I’m president. I want to protect the women of our country.’ They said, ‘Sir, I just think it’s inappropriate for you to say,'” Trump explained.
“Well, I’m going to do it. Whether the women like it or not, I’m going to protect them,” Trump told the crowd. “I’m going to protect them from migrants coming in. I’m going to protect them from foreign countries that want to hit it, hit us with missiles and lots of other things.”
“I’m going to defend and I’m going to protect women. I’m not going to let people go up to the suburbs or go into places where they live, whether it’s suburbs or cities or farms. We’re going to protect our women, at the border, we’re going to protect our women, and also we’re going to protect our men and our children. We’re going to protect everybody.”
Trump then asked the crowd: “Is there any woman in this giant stadium who would like not to be protected? Is there any woman in this stadium that wants to be protected by the president?”
The moment was met with a large applause.
‘We all want the war in Gaza to end,’ Harris responds to ‘cease-fire now’ chants
A few chants of “cease-fire now” broke out as Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage during a rally at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Wednesday night.
“Listen, we all want the war in Gaza to end and get the hostages out as soon as possible,” Harris said in response to the chanting. “And I will do everything in my power to make it heard and known.”
As the chants continued, she said, “And everyone has a right to be heard. But right now I am speaking.” The remark garnered loud cheers.
The event was billed as a “Get Out the Vote” rally and took place at the University of Wisconsin-Madison featuring performances by Gracie Abrams and Mumford & Sons.
With less than a week before Election Day, Harris is taking her “closing argument” to voters on the road after a big speech at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night. (Pro-Palestinian protesters were also escorted out of that speech)
Harris’ remarks in Wisconsin lasted about 25 minutes. In them, she did not address President Joe Biden’s controversial comments Tuesday that seemed to refer to Trump supporters as “garbage.”
Trump’s final campaign stop ahead of Election Day scheduled to take place in Grand Rapids: Sources
Former President Donald Trump’s final campaign stop of the 2024 election is scheduled to take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Monday, Nov. 4, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Grand Rapids was where Trump concluded his 2020 campaign and 2016 campaign as well.
In addition to Grand Rapids, he’s expected to make multiple campaign stops in battleground states on the eve of the Election Day, including in Pennsylvania.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Kelsey Walsh and Lalee Ibssa
Trump rides to WI campaign stop in garbage truck
Days after a comedian labeled Puerto Rico a “pile of garbage” at Donald Trump’s MSG rally, the former president rode to a Green Bay, Wisconsin, rally in a Trump-marked garbage truck Wednesday.
Trump continued to bash President Joe Biden’s response to the controversial moment from the MSG rally in which he said that Trump’s supporters were garbage.
Biden clarified his comments and Vice President Kalama Harris told reporters, “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
Trump, however, told reporters while riding in the garbage truck that “250 million people are not garbage.”
“I can tell you who the real garbage is but I will not say that,” he continued.
Trump falsely claimed there was corruption in Pennsylvania.
Later pressed if he would accept election results if there’s no evidence of fraud, Trump reiterated claims about Pennsylvania, and then said, “If they find no evidence of cheating anywhere, I’ll accept it.”
Pressed on a potential role Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could play in his administration, Trump vaguely said he would work with him but while not confirming that he’d be given the top Health and Human Services job.
“We’ll work with him, and he’s a very talented guy. He wants women’s health. He wants health for people, and we’re going to work with him. He’s a very, very talented guy,” Trump said.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh and Soo Rin Kim
Philly hearing on Musk lawsuit moved up to Thursday
The judge overseeing the lawsuit against Elon Musk and his $1 million dollar giveaway to registered voters who sign a petition supporting the First and Second amendments has moved up a hearing in the case to Thursday at 10 a.m., bumping it up from Friday, according to a new order.
The order from Judge Angelo Foglietta states that “all parties must be present.”
Earlier Wednesday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner asked the court to “enhance its security” for the hearing.
Krasner said Musk’s post about the case on X has “triggered an avalanche of posts.” including “antisemitic attacks” against the prosecutor.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Thank you cookies to NC election workers prompts hazmat response
A thank you present of pineapple-shaped cookies delivered to the Wake County Board of Elections in North Carolina prompted a hazmat response on Tuesday after election workers raised concerns about a suspicious package mailed from Hawaii.
“We are just on high alert with these things automatically,” said Wake County elections specialist Danner McCulloh, who cited recent incidents of suspicious packages containing powder sent to election offices across the country.
The Raleigh Police and Fire Departments quickly responded to the incident and bomb technicians x-rayed the package, according to Lt. Jason Borneo of the Raleigh Police Department.
After the package was deemed to not be a threat, emergency responders opened the package to learn it was full of cookies shipped from the Honolulu Cookie Company. The operations at Wake County Board of Elections were not impacted during the incident, a county spokesperson said.
According to McCulloh, a person who heard a radio story about Wake County decided to send the cookies unannounced to thank election workers.
“It was a kind gesture,” McCulloh said, though he recommended against others sending cookies to his office.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Harris brings her closing argument to Pennsylvania: ‘Turn the page’
Harris brought her “closing argument” to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, highlighting what she said is a clear contrast between her and Trump, and encouraging voters to cast their ballots in the election’s final days.
“We know we have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other. That is who he is. But Pennsylvania, that is not who we are,” Harris said, swapping out “America” for “Pennsylvania” from her speech at the Ellipse the night before.
Harris was interrupted several times by pro-Palestinian protesters.
“We are six days out of an election. We are six days away from an election. And ours is about a fight for democracy. And your right to be heard. That is what is on the line in this election. That is what is on the line in this election,” Harris said as she was being jeered by a protestor holding up a large Palestinian flag.
“Look, everybody has a right to be heard. But right now, I am speaking. And one of the biggest issues that folks around the country want to talk about and hear is about how we are going to bring down the price of living for working people,” she said.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Voters, Dems ask Supreme Court to reject RNC appeal of Pennsylvania ballot case
Two Pennsylvania voters and the state’s Democratic Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject a Republican request to block counting of provisional in-person ballots cast by people whose mail-in ballots were not put into a required security envelope.
The Democrats argued the Pennsylvania Supreme Court delivered a “straightforward” decision that state law permits voters whose mail ballots were not counted to “exercise their statutory right to vote provisionally rather than be disenfranchised altogether.”
The party contends that the RNC has no standing to bring a challenge in the case because it involves two ballots from the 2024 Democratic primary in which the Republican Party could not have been “injured.”
They also argued that the so-called Purcell principle — of nonintervention by courts close to a voting period — does not apply to state courts.
The Democrats also said the Republicans’ request for segregation and non-counting of provisional ballots would be a “sweeping” intervention and imposition on county boards of election which are not even parties to the case.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer‘It’s invaded our home,’ PA nuns swept up in misinformation campaign
‘It’s invaded our home,’ PA nuns swept up in misinformation campaign
A nun in Pennsylvania who was swept up in a misinformation campaign boosted by a Republican activist said she’s praying to be left alone.
Cliff Maloney, who runs a door-knocking organization, claimed in an X post one of his staffers visited an address in Erie, Pennsylvania, last week and was told none of the 53 registered voters who used that address actually lived there.
However, the address is home to 55 resident nuns of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. All but two of the nuns are registered to vote.
“It’s invaded our home, if you want to describe it that way,” Sister Stephanie Schmidt, the prioress, told ABC News.
Maloney also posted the names and political affiliations of each nun on his X account, something Schmidt said made her empathize with countless other Americans caught up in misinformation on social media.
“It was very concerning, because this was a blatant lie, putting out to the public information that was just wrong,” she said.
“This campaign is filled with so much deceit, so much misinformation, and we have to wake people up, which is another reason why we’re going public with this, to alert people to not believe everything you read,” Schmidt added.
Maloney has not responded to repeated requests to answer questions from ABC News.
He later posted an update claiming his team was “analyzing” the new information about the nuns’ residence and said, “Once we have proof, we will be content.”
Schmidt says one of the things she’s praying for most is for this misinformation to leave them alone.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien
Trump slams Biden over ‘garbage’ comments, calls opponents ‘lowlifes’
Trump again responded to President Joe Biden’s Tuesday comments in which he appeared to refer to Trump supporters as “garbage.”
During his rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on Wednesday, the former president claimed, “Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters. He called them ‘garbage.’ And they mean it.”
“Frankly, they’ve treated you like garbage,” Trump added.
Although Biden later clarified his comments, in which he was responding to the derogatory comments about Puerto Rico made during Trump’s New York rally on Sunday, Trump labeled his opponents as “lowlifes” and claimed the current administration has “virtually destroyed” America.
“Kamala Harris, a low-IQ individual, is running a campaign of hate, anger and retribution. See, I’m very nice to them. They’re not nice,” he said.
Trump responded to a supporter who shouted, “She’s an idiot!” referring to Harris, sarcastically saying, “I didn’t say it. I didn’t say it. In fact, I’d like to admonish you, sir. You should not say that, please.”
Although Trump disavowed the supporter, his body language told a different story as he stood on stage laughing.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Soorin Kim
Michigan authorities charge ‘non-US citizen’ with illegal voting
Authorities in Michigan charged an unidentified non-U.S. citizen with allegedly illegally registering to vote and casting a ballot.
More specific details about the case, which took place in Ann Arbor on Sunday, were not immediately available.
The case was referred to law enforcement by a clerk, according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit.
“We are grateful for the swift action of the clerk in this case, who took the appropriate steps and referred the case to law enforcement. We are also grateful to law enforcement for swiftly and thoroughly investigating this case,” they said in a joint statement.
“Noncitizen voting is an extremely isolated and rare event. Investigations in multiple states and nationwide have found no evidence of large numbers of noncitizens registering to vote. Even less common is a noncitizen actually casting a ballot,” they added.
-ABC News’ Mike Levine
Nicky Jam walks back Trump endorsement following MSG rally
Last month, Reggaeton music artist Nicky Jam, who is half Puerto Rican, stood on stage with a MAGA hat and endorsed Trump in Las Vegas.
On Wednesday, he announced he was rescinding that endorsement, citing the offensive comments about Puerto Rico made at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.
In an Instagram video to his 43 million fans, Nicky Jam told his fans in Spanish he couldn’t overlook the inflammatory language in recent days.
“The reason why I supported Donald Trump was because I thought it was the best thing for the economy in the United States, where many Latinos live … I thought it was the best move. Never in my life did I think that a month later a comedian was going to come to criticize my country and talk bad about my country and therefore, I renounce any support to Donald Trump and I throw my sides to any political situation,” he said.
During the Vegas rally, Trump thought Nicky Jam was a woman and said, “She’s hot,” before bringing him on stage.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Judge grants Trump campaign request to extend early voting deadline for PA county
A Pennsylvania judge swiftly granted a request from the Trump campaign to extend the in-person mail-in-ballot deadline in Bucks County by three days — extending it to the end of the day on Friday.
The campaign had asked for one-day extension.
In his one-page order, Judge Jeffrey Trauger wrote that the county violated the Pennsylvania Election Code after “turning away voters who sought to apply for a mail-in ballot and receive one in person before the deadline.”
He ordered the county to allow anyone who wishes to “apply for, receive, vote, and return a mail-in ballot” to be able to do so before the close of business on Friday.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Philly DA asks for more security for Elon Musk hearing
DA Larry Krasner said in a new court filing Musk’s post about the case on X has “triggered an avalanche of posts.” including “antisemitic attacks” against the prosecutor.
One account was “inviting political violence” and posted Krasner’s home address, according to the filing.
“These posts, which unquestionable are criminal…. and remain posted on Musk’s X website today,” the filing states.
Another post read “Krasner loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home,” according to the filing.
“The directives to ‘mask up’ and to ‘leave all cellphones at home’ are to prevent identification of illegal actors by video, by eyewitnesses, and by cellphone geolocation,” the filing states.
Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to ABC News for comment.
The hearing in the case is set for Friday at 10am.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Harris stresses unity in Raleigh speech
Vice President Kamala Harris held her first of three Wednesday rallies in Raleigh, hammering a message of unity.
Harris encouraged North Carolinians to take advantage of early voting, which ends Saturday in the state.
“We have just six days left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime, and we have work to do,” she said.
“It is time for a new chapter where we stop … pointing fingers at each other and instead let us lock arms with one another, knowing we have so much more in common than what separates us,” she said.
When a protestor began shouting, Harris spoke about bringing people with opposing views into her tent.
“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at the table, and I pledge to be a president for all Americans and to always put Americans before myself,” she said.
Harris also gave a shoutout to Gen-Z supporters.
“I see the promise of America in all the young leaders who are voting for the first time,” she said.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Cheyenne Haslett, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Fritz Farrow
Trump campaign sues Pennsylvania county
The Trump campaign sued Pennsylvania’s Bucks County Board of Elections and others Tuesday night over claims the county “turned away voters,” according to a filing in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
The campaign filed a writ of summons, which contained no allegations or specific claims.
A spokesperson for Bucks County told ABC News in a statement Tuesday evening that the county “has been made aware that litigation may be filed tomorrow. We have no comment at this time.”
Lawyers for the county entered an appearance on Wednesday, according to the docket.
The county was previously accused of “suppressive and intimidating” tactics, including claiming voters were turned away and lines were closed early.
However, the county pushed back on any suggestion that what occurred in Bucks County amounts to intentional voter suppression.
“Contrary to what is being depicted on social media, if you are in line by 5 p.m. for an on-demand mail-in ballot application, you will have the opportunity to submit your application for a mail-in ballot,” the county said in a statement.
The county did acknowledge that there was indeed some “miscommunication” from officials on site.
Those in line applying for on-demand ballots were “briefly told they could not be accommodated,” the county said, but added that those individuals were ultimately allowed to submit their applications, according to officials.
In a post on X, the secretary of state’s office echoed that sentiment, asking for voters to “be patient.”
“Earlier today, we spoke with Bucks County election officials who assured us that every registered voter who goes to their county election office by 5 p.m. today will be provided an opportunity to apply for their mail ballot,” the post said. “Please be patient with all county election office staff as they work hard to ensure every registered voter is able to vote in this election,” he said.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Supreme Court allows Virginia to purge 1,600 voters
The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing Virginia to move forward with its purge of 1,600 alleged noncitizens from the voter rolls ahead of Election Day.
The conservative majority’s decision — which was not explained — reverses rulings by a federal district court judge and a unanimous appeals court panel.
Both had said that Virginia’s purge, initiated by an executive order from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, violated federal law prohibiting the “systematic” removal of voters from registration lists within 90-days of an election.
The Supreme Court’s decision suggests that the justices acted either under the Purcell principle — to keep federal courts from intervening in state election administration too close to voting — or under the belief that Virginia had compellingly argued that the federal law’s “quiet period” didn’t apply here.
The state advanced the idea that noncitizens — who were never “eligible” to vote in the first place — can be removed at any time. It also emphasized in court briefs that anyone erroneously removed as an alleged noncitizen is given two opportunities to correct his or her registration status.
The three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — indicated they would have kept the purge on hold.
Noncitizen voters are already prohibited from registering to vote for federal and state elections.
The Virginia voters who were purged, however, can still have a chance to vote if they use Virginia’s same-day registration option at the polls.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares tweeted on Wednesday “I am pleased to announce that the US Supreme Court granted Virginia’s emergency stay to keep noncitizens off our voter rolls.”
Damon Hewitt, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law which led the efforts in Virginia, blasted the decision.
“None of this activity is random. It’s all highly orchestrated, but it’s also orchestrated with a purpose,” he said in a statement,
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer and Beatrice Peterson
Arnold Schwarzenegger, former GOP governor, endorses Harris
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday that he was going to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The Terminator” actor and longtime Republican said in lengthy X post that he didn’t like either party now given the divisions and lack of progress from leaders in Washington, D.C.
However, Schwarzenegger said he was “furious” over Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election, anti-immigrant rhetoric, economic policies and actions on Jan. 6.
“We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know that former President Trump won’t do that. He will divide, he will insult, he will find new ways to be more un-American than he already has been, and we, the people, will get nothing but more anger,” he said.
“That’s enough reason for me to share my vote with all of you. I want to move forward as a country, and even though I have plenty of disagreements with their platform, I think the only way to do that is with Harris and Walz,” he said.
Will Nikki Haley campaign for Trump?
Nikki Haley recently said she is ready to campaign for Trump, despite not talking to him since June.
Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, when asked about whether Haley will make an appearance, said Tuesday he would “love” to see her on the trail, but said it was up to her schedule.
Haley was Trump’s last major challenger in the Republican primary. Despite hitting him hard in the final weeks of her campaign, she later endorsed him at the Republican National Convention.
And she’s continued some criticism of his campaign strategy. During an appearance on Fox News, she said the racist remark about Puerto Rico by a comedian at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally was “harmful” and that the campaign “need[s] to go and tell Puerto Ricans how much, you know, they do value them.”
She also said the Trump team had to improve its messaging to women.
“I mean, that this bromance and this masculinity stuff,” she said. “I mean, it borders on edgy to the point that it’s going to make women uncomfortable. You know, you’ve got affiliated PACs that are doing commercials about calling Kamala the ‘C-word,’ or you had speakers at Madison Square Garden, you know, referring to her and her pimps.”
“That is not the way to win women. That is not the way to win people who are concerned about Trump style,” Haley added.
Harris responds to Biden’s ‘garbage’ comments
On the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews about to depart for a day of campaigning, Harris was asked about President Joe Biden’s “garbage” comment seeming to refer to Trump supporters. The White House and Biden have said he was specifically referring to the racist remarks made by some speakers at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.
“Listen I think that first of all, he clarified his comments,” Harris said. “But let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”
“You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career, I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not,” she said. “And as president of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans, whether you vote for me or not.”
Trump escalates baseless rhetoric on Pennsylvania’s election system
It’s a state that could tip the result of the 2024 election.
And Trump is ramping up rhetoric sowing doubt on the state’s voting process.
In a post on his social media site on Wednesday morning, Trump claimed there’s “cheating” happening at “large scale levels.” He did not elaborate or provide evidence for his claims.
Some isolated incidents have emerged, including approximately 2,500 potentially fraudulent voter registration applications being investigated in Lancaster County, though officials stressed the system worked and that voters can be confident in the election.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim and Olivia Rubin
Harris hits the road with her closing pitch
Harris will take her closing argument to voters on the road after a big speech at the Ellipse in Washington on Tuesday night. She holds a 12:30 p.m. ET rally in North Carolina, a 4:35 ET event in Pennsylvania and a 9:30 p.m. ET rally in Wisconsin.
Trump will also be in North Carolina for a 1 p.m. ET rally before a 7 p.m. ET rally in Wisconsin.
Looming large over the campaign trail are President Joe Biden’s comments from a Vote Latino campaign call Tuesday night. His wording angered Republicans, who saw him as referring to the supporters of Trump as “garbage.” The White House and Biden himself, seeking to clarify the remark, argued he was referring to the racist rhetoric made by a speaker at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.
(WASHINGTON) — Election eve has arrived with the race for the White House still very tight — with the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll out Sunday showing Kamala Harris slightly ahead nationally but Donald Trump ahead in some key swing states — and the two candidates deadlocked in Pennsylvania.
Harris is spending her last full day campaigning in battleground Pennsylvania while Trump is hitting the trail in North Carolina and Pennsylvania before ending the day in Michigan.
Georgia Supreme Court reverses deadline extension for voters who received ballots late
In a win for the Republican National Committee, the Georgia Supreme Court on Monday ruled that thousands of voters whose mail-in ballots were delayed will not have extra time to send them back.
The ruling from the court reversed a lower judge’s ruling that had granted 3,000 voters an extension of the mail-in-ballot deadline, after Cobb County election officials admitted they missed the deadline to ship them out.
The deadline for mail-in ballots to be received in Georgia is Election Day — but the lower judge had given those voters an extension for them to be postmarked by election day and received by Nov. 8, the same deadline for overseas ballots.
The RNC had appealed the ruling, saying it was a violation of the election code and that voters still had other ways they could vote, including in person.
The Georgia Supreme Court ordered the Cobb board to “keep separate” the absentee ballots of those voters that are received after the deadline on Election Day but before Nov. 8 “in a secure, safe, and sealed container separate from other voted ballots.”
Cobb County had previously been ordered to ship out all of the delayed ballots by Nov. 1 with express shipping and overnight return envelopes.
The court also ordered the board to notify the voters by email, text or public announcement of the change.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Trump: ‘If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax’
At a rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Trump called on residents to turn out and vote tomorrow.
“If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax,” he said. “It’s over. It’s over.”
“We’re just one day away. Oh, we’ve been waiting for this. I’ve been waiting four years for this,” he said.
DC mayor says no known threats, but not taking any chances Washington, D.C., officials say they have no credible threats to the city, however, they will be fully activating police and have received support from Virginia and Maryland law enforcement agencies.
“I feel very strong about the district’s preparation,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday. “I feel very sad that this is the state of things to be honest with you, but the way that I deal with anxiety is to work and to make sure that we are as prepared as we can be, and that people, all people, win or lose, do the right thing.”
D.C. police will have increased patrols in key areas downtown and around the White House, Police Chief Pam Smith told reporters Monday.
“[The] proactive presence is a preventive measure, and while there is no credible threat to the District of Columbia, we want residents and visitors alike to feel sure that MPD is here prepared and dedicated to keep communities safe across all seven districts.,” Smith said.
The mayor said before Jan. 6 and the inauguration she expects to make a National Guard request for additional assistance, but no request will be made for election week.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Judge’s decision coming ‘shortly’ on Elon Musk giveaway case
Philadelphia Judge Angelo Foglietta said he plans to issue a decision “shortly” after a nearly six-hour hearing over Elon Musk’s America PAC’s million-dollar giveaway, as Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is seeking an emergency injunction to stop the sweepstakes.
During closing arguments, a lawyer for Krasner called Musk’s giveaway “one of the great scams of the last 50 years” by deceiving more than a million swing state voters to sign a petition in the hopes of winning a million dollars.
“There is nothing random about that process,” the lawyer, John Summers, said. “This was a profound, devastating and widespread deception.”
Summers argued that Musk attempted to “influence the election” by encouraging hundreds of thousands of voters to sign a petition while preselecting the winners based on their “suitability” to serve as spokespeople for the political action committee. Summers argued that even if the lottery was not random, it’s still illegal under Pennsylvania law.
“They essentially advertised this as a lottery. It’s not a defense that what we said it was isn’t true,” Summers said.
Andy Taylor, a lawyer for Musk’s America PAC, argued that the DA’s case falls apart after today’s revelation that the alleged lottery awarded preselected winners.
“It’s an opportunity to earn. It’s not a chance to win,” Taylor said, emphasizing the winners’ roles as spokespeople for the PAC.
Taylor emphasized that the case centers on a petition in support of the First and Second amendments, arguing that shutting down the giveaway would infringe on free speech.
“You are going to smother in the crib the rights of millions of Pennsylvanians from exercising constitutional magnitude free speech,” Taylor said.
Speaking outside court, Krasner’s attorney declined to comment on the specifics of the case, simply acknowledging, “It’s in the hands of the judge.”
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
CISA continues to see threats toward election officials
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency continues to see threats towards election officials a day before Election Day, according to a top official for CISA, the cyber arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
In a call to reporters Monday, Cait Conley, who is in charge of CISA’s election security portfolio, called these threats “fundamentally un-American.”
CISA Director Jen Easterly said most local elections officials are in touch with law enforcement.
“We’ve not seen specific reporting about violence at polling places, so I certainly don’t want voters to feel at all intimidated about going to voting locations,” Easterly said, saying it should “really be a day of celebration.”
Easterly said they “expect” disruptions throughout Election Day, and they are prepared for it. Foreign adversaries — particularly Russia, China and Iran — are looking to “undermine American confidence and the legitimacy of our elections and to stoke partisan discord,” she said.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Trump campaign looks to Vance to help them over the finish line in Pennsylvania
From the moment he arrived in Milwaukee, after being named former President Donald Trump’s running mate, it was clear that one of Sen. JD Vance’s primary roles was to help deliver battleground Pennsylvania for the former president.
The day Vance was announced as Trump’s vice presidential pick in July, Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jon Karl that he was “going to leave [Vance] in Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania’s importance in this election can’t be overstated — it’s a crucial swing state with 19 coveted electoral votes where Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck and neck. Whoever wins the state is very likely win the presidential election. During the 2020 election, Pennsylvania was the state that sealed the presidency for President Joe Biden.
Click here to read more about Vance’s efforts in Pennsylvania.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Musk’s sweepstakes winners were vetted, signed NDAs: Political adviser
Before announcing the winners of Elon Musk’s $1 million giveaway, America PAC employees conducted background checks on them, vetted their social media and had them sign non-disclosure agreements, Elon Musk’s political adviser Chris Young testified during an ongoing hearing in Philadelphia on Monday.
The inside look at how winners were selected is at odds with how Musk himself described the “random” selection process.
“Were you surprised that he used the word ‘randomly’?” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s attorney, John Summers, asked.
“That’s not the word I would have selected,” Young said.
Young testified that he reviewed candidates based on the location of Musk’s next rally before vetting the people who signed America PAC’s petition in support of the First and Second amendments.
“I essentially used the petition like a job application,” Young said, with America PAC considering the number of eligible voters that the candidate referred to the petition, their personality and social media history.
According to Young, Musk was notified when a candidate was selected. Young also said that winners signed non-disclosure agreements preventing them from talking publicly about their “consulting agreements.”
While the testimony contradicts Musk’s public statements, Young insisted that the winners “earned” their money by doing work on behalf of the PAC, seemingly supporting the defense argument that the giveaway is not an illegal lottery.
“Anyone who participated in the program knew what they were entitled to for their participation in the program,” Young said.
Closing arguments in the hearing will happen after a brief break.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
‘Candidates don’t get to decide who wins elections’: Michigan secretary of state
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was asked during a press briefing Monday about the possibility that Trump could declare victory tomorrow before all the votes are actually counted.
“Candidates don’t get to decide who wins elections, voters do,” Benson responded. “And so we will keep reminding folks of that truth. Candidates certainly can say and will say whatever they want to say, it doesn’t change the facts. It doesn’t change the tallies of the votes that are cast on paper ballots that will be audited after the fact and securely tabulated throughout the election to ensure the accuracy of the results, whatever those results may be.”
Benson added that they “hope and expect and ask all the candidates to respect the will of the people and respect those results, and to not claim something is true when it’s not.”
In 2020, Trump claimed to have won the election only hours after polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, before final results were in.
Benson said she and her staff will be debunking false statements and conspiracy theories as they arise, but that “truth and transparency are on our side.”
“We’ve seen how completely innocent things can be misused to spread false aspersions about our election, so let’s all be vigilant,” she said.
She also urged the public to question what they see on social media.
“Don’t assume anything that you’re seeing from a source other than a trusted voice or an election official has truth until you cross-check it with other sources of information,” she said.
-ABC News’ Mike Levine
Trump expected to host dinners at Mar-a-Lago on election night with club members, donors and close friends
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to host multiple dinners on election night at his Mar-a-Lago club — including with his close friends, donors and club members, multiple sources familiar with the dinners told ABC News.
Trump is expected to dine with an intimate group of close friends Tuesday night, and there will be a separate Mar-a-Lago club member dinner in the ballroom. A source familiar with the dinners said there won’t be any formal speeches but Trump will likely stop by to greet them all.
Earlier that day, Trump is expected to cast his vote in Palm Beach, Florida.
Several of the attendees of the dinners told ABC News that they’re planning on heading over to the Palm Beach Convention Center after the dinner.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Harris emphasizes unity while addressing canvassers in Pennsylvania
Harris addressed canvassers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, ahead of a rally later this afternoon in the battleground state, where she emphasized building community and unity.
“I can feel the mood in here because it’s the best of who we are as a democracy,” Harris said at the event at the Montage Mountain Resort. “We are a people-driven campaign, and we love the people, and we see in the face of a stranger a neighbor, right? And that’s the spirit of what we are doing.”
She said the “whole era of this other guy” and discussion about “trying to point fingers at each other and divide each other” makes people feel alone.
“As we are getting out to vote, as we are canvassing, let’s be intentional about building community, about building community, about building coalitions, about reminding people we all have so much more in common than what separates us,” she said.
CAIR sends 600,000 texts to Muslim voters asking them to vote
The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization has sent out 600,000 text messages to ask American Muslim voters to vote on Election Day. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has been targeting Muslim voters across the country, including those in key swing states.
CAIR has not endorsed a candidate and will not do so as a 501(c)(3) organization. However, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement, “Turnout numbers for our community so far are promising, but they need to be much higher. We encourage all remaining American Muslim voters to show up on Election Day.”
Acknowledging some Muslim American’s views on the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, Awad acknowledged that many may be “disillusioned and frustrated due to U.S. support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”
“But sitting on the sidelines of this election will not help the people of Gaza or anyone else,” Awad said. “Elected officials take communities seriously when they fully participate in the political process, including by exercising their right to vote. No matter who you support, showing up to vote is a display of political strength.”
In recent months, some Muslim American activists have called on Muslim Americans to mobilize as a way of leveraging the community’s power post-election.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Pennsylvania secretary of state: Election will be ‘safe and secure’
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt projected confidence about the security of the election, saying it will be “free, fair, safe and secure,” during brief remarks Monday.
Schmidt warned Pennsylvania voters to “remain vigilant” about any last-minute misinformation and disinformation that may try to persuade them not to vote.
Schmidt also seemed to try to set expectations for the timing of results in the key battleground state, reminding people that Pennsylvania has “never” had final official results on election night regardless of when the media have called the state.
“We can’t predict what percentage of those votes will be counted on election night,” Schmidt said.
He noted that 2 million mail-in ballots have been returned so far, which officials can’t begin opening until Tuesday morning.
“That means election officials can’t even remove the ballot from their envelope,” Schmidt underscored.
He said counties will begin to submit unofficial election results beginning at 8 p.m. ET — and will continue updating throughout the night and “in the subsequent days.”
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Trump tells hurricane victims to ‘sit back and relax’ at poorly attended NC rally
Former President Donald Trump kicked off his final day on the campaign trail Monday at a poorly attended rally in North Carolina, where the venue was at least a third empty.
Sparsely populated to begin with, dozens of people left the venue in a steady stream throughout the rambling, unfocused speech.
At one point, Trump told North Carolinians who are desperately waiting for help after hurricane devastation to “sit back and relax” until he takes office.
“Those people, they better get that FEMA here fast. But we’re going to on Jan. 20,” Trump said. “Just tell everybody to sit back, relax. On Jan. 20, you’ll see people come in and help you out like we did in the past.”
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Trump tells hurricane victims to ‘sit back and relax’ at poorly attended NC rally
Former President Donald Trump kicked off his final day on the campaign trail Monday at a poorly attended rally in North Carolina, where the venue was at least a third empty.
Sparsely populated to begin with, dozens of people left the venue in a steady stream throughout the rambling, unfocused speech.
At one point, Trump told North Carolinians who are desperately waiting for help after hurricane devastation to “sit back and relax” until he takes office.
“Those people, they better get that FEMA here fast. But we’re going to on Jan. 20,” Trump said. “Just tell everybody to sit back, relax. On Jan. 20, you’ll see people come in and help you out like we did in the past.”
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Philly DA wraps up testimony during hearing on Musk giveaway
During his two-hour testimony at an ongoing hearing over Elon Musk and his super PAC’s $1 million voter sweepstakes, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner characterized America PAC’s admission that winners are preselected as the “most amazingly disingenuous defense I have ever heard.”
“This was all political marketing masquerading as a lottery,” Krasner said during the hearing in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. “This has been a grift from the beginning. This has been a scam from the very beginning.”
According to Chris Gober, a lawyer for Musk and America PAC, the winners were selected based on their “suitability” as spokespeople, signed a contract and received the million dollars as a “salary” for their work, despite Musk himself publicly saying that winners would be selected “randomly.”
Krasner’s attorney, John Summers, described the claim as “a flat-out admission of liability.” While America PAC has openly acknowledged that winners would serve as spokespeople, the hearing marks the first time they have disclosed that the winners were preselected.
“It is deceptive. It is misleading. It is taking advantage of people,” Krasner said. “They are doing everything under the sun to cover it up.”
Musk’s lawyers have repeatedly argued that the case itself is politically motivated, accusing Krasner of creating a “political circus.” Krasner’s attorney attempted to counter that argument by mentioning that Krasner drives a Tesla — made by the electric car company owned by Musk — and would theoretically bring the same case against Taylor Swift if she arranged a similar scheme for Harris.
“I have brought action against Democrats in the past,” Krasner said. “I would have brought an action against Taylor Swift if she did this. As far as I know, she didn’t.”
The court is currently on a lunch break following testimony from Krasner, who was the hearing’s first witness.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Harris supporters say they know Republicans who are secretly voting for her
Several Harris supporters at her rally in battleground Michigan on Sunday told ABC News they were confident in Harris’ prospects because they knew Republicans in their community who are casting a ballot for Harris — many of them secretly.
Andrea Galindo said she believes Harris will win “because I know a lot of Republicans voted Democrat.”
Mike Arvizu said his father is a lifelong Republican who is voting for Harris.
“If my father-in-law can do it, there’s a lot more people out there,” Arvizu said.
Their optimism reflects a defining strategy of the Harris campaign: to reach every possible voter in battlegrounds, including Republicans and independents. In her final rally speeches, the vice president is stressing that she would invite those who disagree with her to have a seat at the table.
But voters said that the toxic and divisive nature of politics today means that many of these Republicans aren’t openly saying that they’re backing Harris.
“We’ve become so divided in this country that people don’t even have Thanksgiving with their own family members anymore. I think there is a fear in this country about even talking about politics, especially if you don’t know if someone agrees with you,” said Curtis Hertel, who is running for Congress in Michigan.
But Hertel said he’s seeing more conversation now across party lines, with Harris canvassers making headway even in deep-red areas like Livingston County.
-ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang
North Carolina elections chief pleads for ‘peaceful transition of power’
On the eve of Election Day, the head of elections in the battleground state of North Carolina has issued an on-camera plea to candidates on the ballot tomorrow: “I would just make a plea to the candidates and elected officials: Have a peaceful transition of power. Accept the results. Concede defeat when necessary,” Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of the state’s board of elections, said during a press conference Monday.
While saying that “there’s more hostility” this election, she also urged candidates, voters and others to “please recognize” that election workers are “members of this community” who have “sworn oaths … [as part of] a bipartisan effort to ensure that every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot, and that these results are tabulated and determined securely, accurately and correctly.”
“Please treat others with dignity and respect,” she said, adding that state and federal law forbids people from trying to intimidate voters or interfere with election officials carrying out there duties — and the penalties can include prison time or fines, or both.
-ABC News’ Mike Levine
‘Swifties for Kamala’ target 250,000 Pennsylvania voters via mailers in closing push
“Swifties for Kamala,” the grassroots organization of Taylor Swift fans working to elect former Vice President Kamala Harris, announced over the weekend they had sent over 250,000 mailers to Pennsylvania voters encouraging them to pledge their support to Harris, make a voting plan and encourage their friends to do the same.
Included in 50,000 of the mailers were friendship bracelets beaded with the words “voting era,” a reference to the bracelets fans trade at Swift’s Eras Tour.
“Every vote in this election matters, especially in Pennsylvania, which could be the state that makes the planets and the fates and all the stars align for VP Harris,” the mailers read. “We think you belong in the voting booth because we are never going back, like ever.”
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
Walz appeals to Wisconsin voters: Election ‘could be won’ through state
Tim Walz called on voters in battleground Wisconsin to vote for an “optimistic” future during a rally in La Crosse.
“This election could be won, quite literally, through the state of Wisconsin, and it could be won right here through La Crosse,” Harris’ running mate said. “That’s how close this thing could be. So we’re taking nothing for granted.”
Walz addressed policies he and Harris will focus on, including working to lower the cost of living for middle class Americans, addressing price gouging on groceries and making reproductive rights enshrined into law.
He said they have an opportunity to vote for “a future that either goes backwards — is divisive, dark and angry — or one that is hopeful, unified, inclusive.”
Musk’s attorney says winners of America PAC giveaway not chosen by chance
At an ongoing hearing in Philadelphia over Elon Musk and his super PAC’s $1 million voter sweepstakes, a defense attorney said the giveaway is a way to recruit spokespeople for America PAC, while the Philadelphia district attorney testified it is a “scam.”
According to defense attorney Chris Gober, the recipients of the million-dollar checks sign contracts after being selected from a pool of people who signed the petition to serve as a spokesperson for the PAC. Tomorrow’s winner has already been decided to be a registered voter from Michigan.
“They were not chosen by chance,” Gober said during the hearing in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
Minutes later, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s team played a video in court where Musk vowed the money would be awarded “randomly.”
“So I have a surprise for you, which is that we are going to be awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election,” Musk told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Oct. 19.
Testifying from the witness stand, Krasner slammed the giveaway as a “scam” and “grift” intended to “flood money into American elections.”
“That ain’t a contract and that’s not employment,” an animated Krasner, the first witness in the hearing, said. “There are certain words that stick out — awarding. Doesn’t sound like a spokesperson contract.”
“It is unquestionably supposed to be random selection despite what I think is a very disingenuous version of it that I think I heard today,” Krasner said.
Krasner testified that the America PAC has effectively scammed Philadelphia residents out of their personal information — which they entered to sign the petition to enter into the giveaway — while the giveaway never actually offered them a random chance of winning the million-dollar prize.
“They were scammed for their information,” said Krasner, who is asking a judge to immediately stop the giveaway.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Former Rep. Liz Cheney responds to Trump’s violent rhetoric about her, compares him to an autocrat
Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney responded to former President Donald Trump’s attacks on her in an interview with ABC’s “The View” on Monday, including a remark he made suggesting she should “have guns trained on her face.”
“He knows what he’s doing,” Cheney said. “He knows it’s a threat with the intent to intimidate. Obviously, the intimidation won’t work.”
Cheney emphasized Trump’s history of violent rhetoric, including how he responded to the violence on Jan. 6.
“For over three hours, he watched police officers be brutally beaten. He was told the vice president had been evacuated, he said, ‘So what?'” Cheney said. “People were rushing in, pleading with him, ‘Tell the mob to leave,’ and he wouldn’t.”
“That level of depravity, he knows he has no defense to that, and he knows that the American people will not entrust again with power anyone who would do something that cruel,” she continued. “And so because he can’t respond to that, he tries to change the subject, he tries to threaten. It’s what autocrats do to try to get their political adversaries to be silent.”
Vance: ‘Tomorrow is our last chance’
JD Vance addressed voters in Wisconsin during a rally in La Crosse on Monday.
“Tomorrow is our last chance,” Trump’s running mate said. “Tomorrow is the big day when we are going to vote in very big numbers in the state of Wisconsin. We’re going to vote for change. We’re going to vote for American prosperity.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is also campaigning in Wisconsin on Monday. Vance called it “tough work” to “convince the American people” that Harris can be president.
“I think that’s the toughest job in the United States of America,” Vance said, saying Harris is “more of the same” high grocery prices, unaffordable housing and “wide open border.”
Alabama GOP mobilizes 400 poll workers in Georgia and Alabama
The Alabama Republican Party announced on Monday it has launched its most comprehensive poll watcher deployment, with more than 400 poll watchers and election lawyers in Georgia and Alabama.
Over 200 Alabama poll watchers and dozens of election lawyers will be stationed in targeted districts across Alabama, which the party says is part of an effort to ensure a “secure and transparent election process.” The Alabama GOP added that the placement of election lawyers across the state “provides an extra layer of security and real-time responsiveness.”
The Alabama GOP is also deploying more than 200 poll watchers to Georgia, supporting the critical southern battleground state on behalf of former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
-ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Trump speaks at campaign rally in Raleigh
At a campaign rally Monday in Raleigh, former President Donald Trump urged his supporters to turn up to the polls on Election Day.
“If we get everybody out and vote, there’s not a thing they can do,” Trump told the crowd of North Carolinians, saying the state was “ours to lose.”
Trump smeared the Democratic Party as a “horrendously dangerous party that’s going to destroy our country.”
“We cannot let that happen,” he said. “So here’s my only purpose in even being here today: Get out and vote.”
Musk doesn’t show at hearing on Philly DA’s challenge to $1 million giveaways
Entering court without his client, Musk’s attorney, Chris Gober, criticized Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner for wanting to “silence Elon Musk for supporting Donald Trump.”
“We don’t allow our rights to be trampled upon bipartisan agendas masquerading as legal arguments,” Gober said.
In a late filing this morning, Krasner’s attorney continued to push for Musk to attend the hearing in person because his testimony would demonstrate “he is the beating heart of America PAC’s unlawful lottery and deceptive/unfair practices scheme.”
“Musk cannot distract from his central role by saying that he wants to be busy out campaigning, rather than attending to his responsibilities to this Court,” attorney John Summers said in the filing.
Earlier this morning, America PAC announced that the newest winner of their daily $1 million giveaway is a registered voter from Phoenix. One day remains until the sweepstakes ends on Election Day.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous and Chris Boccia
How Nebraska’s ‘blue dot’ could prove pivotal in the Electoral College
Amid an increasingly tight election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in several key swing states, Nebraska, and more specifically, its 2nd Congressional District, has taken on an outsize role in this year’s presidential election.
Because Nebraska currently awards three of its five Electoral College votes based on the results in each of its three congressional districts, the so-called “blue dot,” as the 2nd district has come to be known, could be critical to either campaign’s path to 270 electoral votes.
Early vote tops 78 million
As of 5:30 a.m. ET on Monday, more than 78 million Americans have voted early (a combination of absentee and early, in-person totals), according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
The total breaks down into 42,654,364 in-person early votes and 35,348,858 mail ballots returned.
The number of in-person early votes has surpassed 2020’s total number of in-person early votes. However, the overall number of early votes so far (including mail-in and absentee ballots) is still lower than 2020’s overall number.
-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim
Jeffries says Republicans ‘will take a blow torch’ to social security
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Good Morning America on Monday that Democrats are “on the right side” of the presidential election’s most pressing issues.
“The extreme MAGA Republicans have clearly and unequivocally articulated what they will do to America moving forward,” Jeffries said.
“They will take a blow torch to social security, they will take a blow torch to Medicare, they will take a blow torch to the Affordable Care Act,” Jeffries said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Jeffries said, is “closing with a positive vision” while former President Donald Trump and his Republican party are “trying to tear us apart.”
Jeffries will become House speaker if Democrats win back control of the chamber this week.
“The majority of current House Republicans voted not to certify the election in 2020,” Jeffries said. “My colleagues on the other side of the aisle don’t seem to be capable of unequivocally saying that they will certify the election and the verdict that is rendered by the American people.”
“As House Democrats, that’s what we will do,” Jeffries added.
“We believe in democracy even when we disagree with the outcome. That’s been part of what’s made America the greatest democracy in the history of the world.”
Candidates vie for every vote in key swing states
Highlighting how important Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes are to her campaign, Kamala Harris is spending her last full day on the trail with multiple events in the state.
Her search for voters includes a rally in Allentown and then she ends with an event in Philadelphia.
Donald Trump is trying to shore up support in battleground North Carolina – where Harris has made inroads – for a rally in Raleigh, before he, too, heads to Pennsylvania for events in Reading and Pittsburgh before ending his final day campaigning in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(WASHINGTON) — John Kelly, a former four-star Marine general and former chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, hammered his old boss in a stunningly public fashion on Tuesday — just two weeks before Election Day.
Kelly, who had previously refrained from discussing his time in the White House so openly, said in expansive interviews with The New York Times that Trump’s discussion of using the military against the “enemy within” — who, in Trump’s words included Democratic foes — pushed him to come forward.
“And I think this issue of using the military on — to go after — American citizens is one of those things I think is a very, very bad thing — even to say it for political purposes to get elected — I think it’s a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it,” Kelly said.
The former general held nothing back, arguing that Trump could fit the bill of a “fascist.”
“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” he told The Times.
“So, certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America,” he added.
Kelly went on to explain that Trump had said he wanted generals like those that Adolf Hitler had, a comment that Kelly found shocking and told the former president not to repeat.
The remarks from Kelly, while astounding coming from a veteran who attained such a high ranking in uniform, is just the latest to come from a former senior official in Trump’s administration.
Mark Milley, a retired Army general and former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump, told journalist Bob Woodward that Trump is a “fascist to the core.”
“He is the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country,” he said.
Mark Esper, Trump’s former defense secretary, said earlier this month that he feared Trump would use the military against his domestic critics and that he would likely have fewer guardrails in a hypothetical second term.
“My sense is his inclination is to use the military in these situations whereas my view is that’s a bad role for the military. It should only be law enforcement taking those actions,” Esper said on CNN.
“I think President Trump has learned, the key is getting people around you who will do your bidding, who will not push back, who will implement what you want to do. And I think he’s talked about that, his acolytes have talked about that, and I think loyalty will be the first litmus test,” he added.
Trump throughout his tenure has also praised authoritarians, including boasting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s intelligence, calling North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un “tough” and heaping praise on Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.
Trump’s campaign has hit back at the former officials, including going after Kelly on Tuesday.
“John Kelly has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated because he failed to serve his President well while working as Chief of Staff and currently suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
“President Trump has always honored the service and sacrifice of all of our military men and women, whereas Kamala Harris has completely disrespected the families of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, including the Abbey Gate 13,” he added, referencing the 13 service members killed during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The latest eye-popping comments from Kelly come as early voting is already underway and Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris fight for a small but significant slice of undecided voters.
The Harris campaign on Wednesday morning seized on Kelly’s comments, rolling out Republican former military leaders to both hammer Trump and underscore the seriousness of Kelly’s surprisingly public remarks.
“I had the honor of working aside him, and I know him speaking out this way was no small step for him,” said Kevin Carroll, who served as senior counsel to Kelly when he was Homeland Security secretary under Trump.
Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson mocked the fact that Trump “couldn’t qualify to be in the military — he has 34 felony convictions — so, how can we have the commander-in-chief be in charge of a military that he couldn’t possibly join?”
Harris’ campaign warned that voters should listen to those who have worked alongside Trump while he was president.
“The people who know him best are telling us Trump is unhinged and pursuing unchecked power that would put us all at risk. We should all listen,” Harris campaign spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement.
However, national debate over Trump’s character has raged largely unabated since 2015, leaving Republicans skeptical the latest comments will make an impact with voters.
GOP pollster Robert Blizzard said it’s “hard to believe this is going to be the ‘ah, gotcha now’ moment for Democrats.”
“I have a difficult time believing there is a single voter that doesn’t have a hard and fast opinion on Donald Trump. They’ve come to that conclusion themselves, and I can’t imagine these people, who the average voter has never heard of, change that opinion,” added a former senior Trump administration official.
