Sarah Huckabee Sanders swipes at Kamala Harris for not having biological children
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a town hall meeting moderated by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, on September 17, 2024. (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
(FLINT, Mich.) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris’ family life, saying the presidential candidate “doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.”
The governor said during a rally for former President Donald Trump that her children are a “permanent reminder of what’s important” and they “keep me humble.”
“You can walk into a room like this where people cheer when you step onto the stage and you might think for a second that you’re kind of special,” Huckabee Sanders told a crowd in Flint, Michigan. “Then you go home, and your kids remind you very quickly you’re actually not that big of a deal.”
She added, “So my kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.”
Whether politicians have biological children has become a partisan issue in recent weeks, following comments made by Sen. JD Vance, who is running alongside Trump. In a resurfaced interview from 2021, Vance argued that voters without children should be subject to a higher tax rate.
Vance also in 2021 took aim at Harris, saying she was among a group of “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made.” Speaking to Fox News, Vance accused that group of wanting “to make the rest of the country miserable too.”
When Taylor Swift endorsed Harris earlier this month, the pop star signed her endorsement with “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.”
Harris is the stepmother of two adult children, Cole and Ella Emhoff, from the first marriage of her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
“Cole and Ella keep us inspired to make the world a better place,” Kerstin Emhoff, their mother, said on social media in response to Huckabee Sanders.
She added, “Kamala Harris has spent her entire career working for the people, ALL families. That keeps you pretty humble.”
Megan Thee Stallion performs at a campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign rally at the Georgia State Convocation Center, July 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — World famous as entertainers, celebrities are not usually relied on for their political expertise.
Yet candidates across the political spectrum in 2024 have been keen on highlighting star power at their campaign events.
Musical performances by Megan Thee Stallion, Quavo, and Bon Iver brought crowds to their feet during recent Kamala Harris rallies.
Last month, musician Kid Rock and model Amber Rose were among the celebrities featured at the Republican National Convention.
It turns out, a new study finds, that celebrities do more than merely generate online buzz — they can actually influence elections.
According to the research by Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, there is “rigorous evidence that [celebrity] voices are incredibly powerful” in promoting civic engagement and altering polling numbers.
“Right now, young voters have relatively low levels of trust in a lot of leaders and institutions, including traditional news media — but celebrities are often a rare exception,” Ashley Spillane, the study’s author and a civic engagement and political expert, told ABC News.
Published on Friday, the study discusses how America falls behind other highly developed democratic nations in terms of the number of eligible voters who actually cast votes.
Spillane noted that “despite record-breaking voter participation levels in recent elections, the United States still ranks 31st out of 50 developed nations in terms of eligible voter participation.”
She says lack of motivation and mobilization is one of the main reasons behind that ranking, and celebrities could be key in addressing the lack of participation.
Spillane said the culture surrounding civic engagement needs to change.
“Voting should be the trendy, cool thing to do,” she said. “And the study shows there is evidence that when people feel this way about voting, they participate.”
In terms of shifting this culture, celebrities are “uniquely positioned to empower everyday Americans,” the study said. Online voter registration and poll worker volunteer rates were found to increase when a celebrity promoted them.
“What the study finds is that sharing information that allows people to take action (a registration link, a way to find your polling place, when Election Day is!) can have the most impact,” Spillane added.
Back in 2018, Taylor Swift encouraged her fans to register to vote by posting a simple Instagram story, resulting in 250,000 new Vote.org registrants in 72 hours.
In a similar fashion, Kylie Jenner utilized Instagram to urge her followers to vote in 2020, and “the site to which she linked reported a 1,500% increase in traffic compared to the day before — and an 80% increase in total users registering to vote,” the study said.
Actress Kerry Washington communicated outside her fanbase and recruited other celebrities to promote civic engagement. The study referenced $32 million in organic earned media coverage, as well as one billion online engagements as a result of her efforts.
Ariana Grande, David Dobrik, Hailey Bieber, Billie Eilish, Trevor Noah were among other celebrities studied. Offline engagements such as television, movies, and merchandise were included in the research set as well.
The study also emphasized how “authenticity moves the needle on civic engagement,” making it crucial for celebrity efforts to align with their public interests and overall platform in order to be effective.
Although some celebrities remain wary of “potential backlash and ‘canceling,'” the study found that those who encourage voter participation believe it is “good for democracy” and “good for their brands.”
As seen throughout the current election cycle, celebrities have even inspired civic engagement without their explicit knowledge or intention.
For example, Swifties for Kamala represents a group of Taylor Swift fans promoting Harris’ campaign. Their X account currently has over 57,000 followers.
Swift has yet to comment on the group created in her namesake, or on the election itself.
Though the Harvard study did not explicitly focus on such sub-groups, Spillane told ABC News that “fan communities getting involved in civic engagement enables them to be a part of something collaborative, which helps build trust in the democratic process and motivation to participate.”
Just this past month, British hyperpop artist Charli XCX posted, “Kamala IS brat,” on X, amassing over 54.5 million views and catalyzing millions of memes and video edits. This one celebrity post inadvertently contributed to the Harris campaign’s digital success and Gen-Z outreach.
“Charli XCX’s post is a great example of a celebrity’s ability to garner media coverage, attract large crowds, reach their fans, and influence conversation,” Spillane observed.
Gen-Z and millennial groups are of particular importance given that they will comprise the majority of voters by 2028, the study confirmed. In addition to the significant screen time that both groups average each day on social media, such platforms were also found to be their primary source of news.
Given such findings, a close eye is likely to follow celebrity voices throughout the remainder of this historic and tumultuous election cycle.
“The evidence is clear that, using their powerful platforms, these influential figures can encourage and empower more everyday Americans to use their voices and exercise their civic rights,” Spillane said.
(WASHINGTON) — Issues with a host of communications and technical difficulties with drone capabilities plagued the U.S. Secret Service at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where an assassin took a shot at former President Donald Trump, according to a new report released Friday by the agency.
The Secret Service said it failed to secure the line of sight to the former president, by not securing the roof of the AGR building near the Butler Fair Grounds and law enforcement did not communicate to all personnel involved that there was a threat to the former president, the report said.
The report also revealed there was no discussion with the Secret Service advance staff about positioning a local sniper team on top of the AGR roof and the “lack of due diligence” in the construction of the secure perimeter should have been focused on more acutely.
“It’s important that we hold ourselves accountable for the failures of July 13, and that we use the lessons learned to make sure that we do not have another failure like this,” U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said Friday.
The report was an effort from the Secret Service to be transparent about the failures that occurred on July 13, when Thomas Matthew Crooks allegedly climbed on top of a neighboring building and opened fire on Trump, striking him in the ear before being killed by a Secret Service sniper.
“We’re in a pivotal moment in the history of the Secret Service, and at a pivotal moment in history of our country, and I’ve directed that the Secret Service embark on a significant paradigm shift that will redefine how we conduct protective operations,” Rowe said Friday. “What occurred on Sunday demonstrates that the threat environment in which the Secret Service operates is tremendous and under constant threat, and we’ve been in this heightened and increasingly dynamic threat environment since July 13.”
“A consistent theme gathered from state and local law enforcement personnel who helped secure the Butler rally was the presence of communications deficiencies,” according to an executive summary of the report released on Friday.
The “deficiencies” included a lack of resources to share information, a “variety” of communications channels used by different law enforcement agencies, and the agency’s inability to convey the Secret Service’s “protective needs.”
“Some local police entities supporting the Butler venue had no knowledge that there were two separate communications centers on site (i.e., the Secret Service security room and the Butler County Emergency Services Mobile Command Post),” the executive summary said. “As a result, those entities were operating under a misimpression that the Secret Service was directly receiving their radio transmissions.”
Federal personnel on the scene were not informed through the radio of a description of the assailant, or vital information received from local law enforcement regarding a suspicious individual on the roof of the AGR complex, the report said.
The information was being passed through mobile devices in a “fragmented fashion” instead of being relayed through the Secret Service’s radio network, the report said.
“This failure was especially acute in terms of the [Former President’s] protective detail, who were not apprised of how focused state and local law enforcement were in the minutes leading up to the attack on locating the suspicious subject,” the executive summary said. “If this information was passed over Secret Service radio frequencies it would have allowed [Former President’s] protective detail to determine whether to move their protectee while the search for the suspicious suspect was in progress.”
The Secret Service was not made aware that a local agency was providing support to the Secret Service, according to the report.
“Neither the Secret Service’s Pittsburgh Field Office leadership nor anyone on the agency’s advance team were aware of this outreach for support,” the report said. “This led to a situation where the local tactical team operating on the second floor of the AGR building—a team that was providing mutual aid support—had no prior contact with Secret Service personnel before the rally.”
There was “no discussion” with the Secret Service about positioning that local team on the roof of the AGR building, according to the report’s executive summary.
Another challenge impacting the Secret Service on July 13 was its drone system was experiencing “technical difficulties,” the agency said.
The FBI director testified to Congress that Crooks flew a drone outside of the secure perimeter before the rally started.
“It is possible that if this element of the advance had functioned properly, the shooter may have been detected as he flew his drone near the Butler Farm Show venue earlier in the day,” the executive summary said.
The report also found that the Butler Farm Show site “as seen by the Secret Service and our local law enforcement partners as a challenge.”
It was selected by the campaign and local officials “because it was the better venue to accommodate the large number of desired attendees.”
“Advance personnel and multiple supervisors with oversight of the security plan at the Butler Farm Show venue recognized line of site concerns,” the report found. “However, the security measures to alleviate these concerns were not carried out on July 13, 2024 as intended. There was a lack of detailed knowledge by Secret Service personnel regarding the state or local law enforcement presence that would be present in and around the AGR complex.”
(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Matt Gaetz defeated his Republican primary opponent on Tuesday in one of Florida’s most conservative congressional districts, according to an Associated Press projection, handing former Speaker Kevin McCarthy a final blow to his so-called “revenge tour” against a handful of Republicans who helped oust him last year.
“Thank you FL-01. I will never stop fighting for you,” Gaetz posted on X shortly after the race was called.
Despite being outspent in the race — with a McCarthy-aligned group pouring $3 million into attack ads — Gaetz is projected to handily defeat former Navy pilot Aaron Dimmock, who he’d dismissed as a carpetbagger and criticized his previous work in diversity training.
Although Gaetz was the heavy favorite heading into Tuesday, he ramped up campaigning in recent weeks, holding a string of events across Florida’s 1st district, which featured several Republicans who had supported his effort to remove McCarthy from the speakership last year, including Arizona Rep. Eli Crane and Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett.
Gaetz’s win marks yet another defeat for McCarthy, who has looked to target the group of eight far-right members of Congress, led by Gaetz, who were instrumental in his removal as House Speaker, which led to weeks of chaos on Capitol Hill as Republican members scrambled to elect a new leader.
With Tuesday’s primary in the books, McCarthy’s efforts against his far-right rivals only resulted in one big win against the so-called “Gaetz eight,” helping defeat House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good in one of the most closely watched and expensive Republican primaries of the 2024 election cycle. Meanwhile, he failed to unseat any others, including South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, who won her primary decisively.
Gaetz’s for governor?
Tuesday’s primary victory will likely also fuel further speculation around Gaetz’s plans to run for governor of Florida in 2026, as Gov. Ron DeSantis will be term-limited from seeking re-election. Although the Florida congressman has consistently denied rumors that he is eyeing statewide office, some sources close to him suggest otherwise.
If Gaetz does decide to run, McCarthy’s revenge tour could continue. Allies of the former Speaker have already briefed donors on plans to continue targeting Gaetz if he pursues the governorship, sources tell ABC News. Ahead of Tuesday’s primary, a McCarthy-aligned group circulated a memo that suggested its efforts had damaged Gaetz’s chances of running for governor, pointing to polling data it had commissioned that showed Gaetz trailing in a prospective primary.
But those close to Gaetz told ABC News that the Florida congressman is likely to run for governor in 2026, and McCarthy’s efforts won’t deter him—in fact, they might even motivate him further.
“McCarthy did not do a single f—ing thing to dissuade Matt from running for governor,” a source close to Gaetz told ABC News. “If that was the effort, it’s been a piss-poor one.”
Still, Gaetz has publicly stated that he has no plans to run—at least not yet.
“I have no plans to run for governor. I like my job and I want to help President Trump in Washington,” Gaetz posted on X on Monday. “If those plans change, I hope I have opposition as incompetent as these dorks.”
