Second gentleman Doug Emhoff tells his love story with Harris in DNC speech
(CHICAGO) — Second gentleman Doug Emhoff reintroduced himself to America on the second night of the Democratic National Convention as Vice President Kamala Harris makes a historic bid for president that, if elected, would make him the first-ever first gentleman in the White House.
In a personal, down-to-earth speech that drew frequent laughs from the enthusiastic crowd in Chicago, Emhoff said he grew up the son of two Brooklynites and had a “typical suburban childhood.”
“The guys I grew up with are still my best friends. The group chat is active every day — and it’s probably blowing up right now,” he said.
He said he worked at McDonald’s in high school when money was tight and worked full-time so he could afford to go to college part-time.
“Thanks to partial scholarships, student loans and a little help from my dad, I got myself through law school and got my first job as a lawyer — which is also where I met the guys in my fantasy football league,” he said. “A lot has changed in our lives since the early ’90s, but my team name is still Nirvana — yes, after the band.”
He said he loved working as a lawyer, became a dad to son Cole and daughter Ella, got a divorce and then “something unexpected happened” — he was set up on a blind date with Harris. He said Harris saved his first bumbling voicemail to her — left at 8:30 a.m. — “and she makes me listen to it on every anniversary,” drawing laughs and cheers from the crowd.
On Harris, he said the vice president “finds joy in pursuing justice” and is “ready to lead.”
“She stands up to bullies — just like my parents taught me to. She likes to see people do well — and hates when they’re treated unfairly. She believes this work requires a basic curiosity in how people are doing. Her empathy is her strength.”
He talked about Harris coming to synagogue with him and making a “mean brisket for Passover.” He said Harris encouraged him — the first Jewish spouse, of any gender, for the presidency or vice presidency — to fight against antisemitism.
On their blended family, he said that Harris has “always been there for our children, and I know she’ll always be there for yours too.”
“Kamala is a joyful warrior,” he said. “It’s doing for her country what she has always done for the people she loves. Her passion will benefit all of us when she’s our president.”
This Thursday, as Harris accepts the party’s nomination for president, will be their 10th wedding anniversary, he noted (adding that means he’s “about to hear the most embarrassing voicemail of my life once again”).
“Kamala was exactly the right person for me at an important moment in my life. And at this moment in our nation’s history, she is exactly the right president,” he said.
Emhoff was one of the prime-time speakers Tuesday that also included former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will meet for the first time on Tuesday for the ABC News presidential debate.
It is the only debate the two have scheduled and comes at a critical point as polls show a neck-and-neck race with just eight weeks until Election Day.
The two will face off on key issues starting at 9 p.m. ET. The debate will air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Trump campaign spokesperson says he’s not engaged in traditional debate prep
Trump campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said Tuesday morning on ABC News Live that Trump “does not do traditional debate prep” and reiterated that he has been campaigning and engaging in policy discussions instead.
“I would say that the president does not do traditional debate prep. He’s on the campaign trail constantly. We see him in key battleground states every week, joined by tens of thousands of patriots,” she said. “We know that he does tough interviews, both nationally, locally.”
“That’s truly how he prepares for these debates, having those conversations every day. He’s ready to step back into the White House,” she continued. “We also know that he prefers to have those policy discussions, and he’s been doing that with elected members in Congress like Matt Gaetz, with former Congress member Tulsi Gabbard and others — very similar to what he did to prepare for that first debate against Joe Biden. He has prepared in a similar way again, just by getting out there and talking every day to voters and talking to media.”
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Harris not ‘underestimating’ Trump ahead of debate: Source
Just hours away from the debate, a campaign source is setting expectations that Harris is not “underestimating” Trump’s ability to debate, and that it would be a “mistake” to do so.
The Harris team expects Trump to be “good” at debating, stressing that Trump has done this more than anybody else, while it will be Harris’s first presidential debate.
The Harris campaign is “happy to get under [Trump’s] skin,” and they hope that bringing former Trump officials into the spin room later this evening will accomplish this.
On a campaign call last night, a source said Harris is ready for any version of Trump that shows up — whether it’s the presidential Trump, the more mellow Trump during the Biden debate or a more aggressive version.
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
8 hours until the Harris-Trump ABC debate, here is how to watch tonight
The consequential Harris-Trump face-off will air live tonight at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.
ABC News Live is available on Samsung TV+, The Roku Channel, Amazon Fire TV devices, YouTube, Tubi, the ABC app, and ABC.com.
ABC News Digital and 538 will live blog the latest from the debate stage with coverage, analysis and fact checks.
SiriusXM users can listen to the debate on Channel 370.
The prime-time pre-debate special, “Race for the White House,” will air at 8 p.m. ET and stream on ABC’s platforms.
President Joe Biden will be watching the debate from New York, where he’s going to be for 9/11 memorial events, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“The president will definitely be watching,” she said in Monday’s briefing.
Jean-Pierre wouldn’t give details on any conversations about the debate between Harris and Biden or whether he’s given her any takeaways from his own last face-off with Trump, but she said the president was “very proud” of Harris.
“What I can say is, that he’ll be watching, he supports, obviously, the vice president, is very proud of her, and I just don’t have anything else to add,” she said.
– ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
5 things to watch in the high-stakes Harris-Trump faceoff
Harris and Trump square off Tuesday at what could be their only presidential debate, setting high stakes for an event expected to be viewed by millions of Americans and a key sliver of undecided voters. Here’s what to look out for.
Can Trump stay focused on policy? Staying on message on his four-year economic record is key, while veering into personal attacks would be counterproductive, allies told ABC News.
Harris has dual goals: make the case for herself as someone who would be a capable president and get under Trump’s skin. How will she introduce herself to undecided voters?
Read the rest of the five things to watch for in the debate here.
Walz fundraising email says ‘Trump is sure to talk about his twisted version of freedom’
Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, previewed the vice president’s upcoming debate with Trump in a fundraising email on Tuesday morning — contrasting their campaign’s message on the economy and freedom with Trump’s platforms.
“She’s going to show everyone watching what this movement is all about: supporting families like yours and mine and building a future where everyone has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead,” the email reads. “Donald Trump is sure to talk about his twisted version of freedom,” Walz claimed in the email.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Harris and Trump to have various surrogates in spin room
Harris and Trump will have a handful of surrogates representing them in the spin room following the debate.
Harris will have Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gavin Newsom of California, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico representing her in the spin room post debate, a campaign official confirmed to ABC News.
In addition to attending a watch party hosted by the Trump campaign, GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance will also participate in the spin room.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Gov. Doug Burgum, tech entreprenuer Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Bryon Donalds, and Sen. Rick Scott are also expected to appear on behalf of Trump.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will McDuffie, Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa, and Soo Rin Kim
Debate will show ‘strength and success’ of Trump vs. ‘devastation and weakness’ of Harris: Stefanik
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik teed up her expectations for tonight’s presidential debate, telling reporters that Harris “cannot hide forever.”
“Tonight at the debate, the country will finally get to see the stark contrast between the strength and success of President Trump’s America-first policies and the devastation and weakness of Kamala Harris’s radical, failed, far-left agenda,” Stefanik, the fourth-ranked House Republican, claimed at a news conference in the Capitol Tuesday morning.
-ABC News’ John Parkinson
Harris campaign says it’s hosting 1,300 watch parties, Walz to deliver remarks in Arizona
Harris’ campaign said it’s hosting more than 1,300 debate watch parties across the country, and running mate Gov. Tim Walz will deliver remarks at one of them in Phoenix Tuesday night.
The watch parties will be in all 50 states, with more than 100 planned on college campuses, according to the campaign. The events will be used for volunteers to make calls to battleground-state voters and share debate content on digital platforms.
More than 300 of the planned watch parties will be group specific, including Republicans for Harris-Walz and Veterans for Harris-Walz events in Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia. There will also be Latino house parties in Arizona and labor-organized events in Pennsylvania, according to the campaign.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Adbul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Harris tweet: ‘America, see you tonight’
Looking ahead to Tuesday night’s debate, Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted “America, see you tonight.”
Before departing for Philadelphia on Monday, Harris told reporters that she’s feeling “good.” She also gave a thumbs up.
The vice president’s tweet also included a link to a list of debate watch parties the campaign is hosting across the country.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
Harris releases new ad repurposing Obama’s dig at Trump
Vice President Kamala Harris repurposed former President Barack Obama’s suggestive dig at Trump over what Obama called his “weird obsession with crowd sizes” while speaking at the Democratic National Convention last month.
“Here’s a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems …” Obama said in the clip used in the ad, just before a clip of Trump at rally plays.
“Ooh, she had a big crowd! Ooh, that crowd,” Trump said in the snippet, mocking news reports about turnout for Harris.
“This weird obsession with crowd sizes… it just goes on, and on, and on,” Obama says as the ad returns to him, followed by shots of small Trump crowds and sounds of crickets chirping.
“America’s ready for a new chapter. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris,” Obama says.
The Harris campaign said the ad, titled “Crowd Size,” will air on Fox News the day of the debate because “Trump is known to watch” the network.
The 30-second ad is set to air nationally on cable news and in local West Palm Beach and Philadelphia markets.
– ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, and Will McDuffie
Anthony Scaramucci among former Trump officials to serve as Harris surrogates in Philadelphia
Anthony Scaramucci and Olivia Troye, former Trump administration officials, will serve as Kamala Harris surrogates in Philadelphia today, the Harris campaign announced.
“Listen, don’t take it from us: Take it from the ones who know Donald Trump the best and who are telling the American people exactly how unfit Trump is to serve as president,” Harris spokesman Michael Tyler said.
Scaramucci served as Trump’s White House communications director. Troye served as the Homeland Security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, as well as a top aide on the Trump White House coronavirus task force.
According to the campaign, they plan to discuss their support of Harris ahead of tonight’s debate.
They are among numerous former Trump staffers who continue to speak out.
– ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Fritz Farrow, and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Debate day arrives in Philadelphia
The stage is set for tonight’s high-stakes showdown in Philadelphia.
The lecterns are placed six feet apart at the National Constitution Center – where Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will meet in person for the first time.
The 9 p.m. ET matchup comes with just eight weeks to go until Election Day amid a tumultuous and unpredictable campaign.
The debate, moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis, will air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. Viewers can also stream the debate on the ABC app on a smartphone or tablet, on ABC.com and connected devices. A prime-time pre-debate special will start at 8 p.m. ET.
(MOSCOW) — Ukrainian forces have yet to set up defensive lines as they continue their operation into the Kursk region of Russia, a U.S. official told ABC News on Wednesday.
While this might reflect Ukrainian confidence in further success for the offensive, there is concern among some American officials that failure to dig in soon could leave its troops vulnerable to a coming Russian counterattack.
“Russia didn’t take it very serious at first,” the U.S. official said. On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. had seen only a “small number” of Russian forces heading to Kursk.
But the U.S. now sees a significant second wave of Russian troops preparing to reinforce the region, coming from positions in both Ukraine and Russia, according to the official, who said some units could arrive within days, with the majority of reinforcements expected within two weeks.
It could be a costly tradeoff for Ukraine to seek incremental gains in the region at the expense of shoring up its defenses, according to Mark Cancian, former Marine colonel and senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“They should draw the most defensible line inside this enclave and dig in … and then try to hold that,” Cancian said.
This advice is in line with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s stated goal of creating a “buffer zone” inside Russia.
“When you’re on the attack, you tend to take more casualties,” Cancian said. “And it would be fine if that opens up the front for some follow-on movement, but that’s doesn’t appear to be what’s going on. It looks like they’re just sort of plodding forward.”
Despite the danger posed by incoming Russian forces, and risks of being overextended, having foreword units cut off, or leaving other areas of the front undermanned, experts say Ukraine’s initiative in Kursk has already succeeded in forcing Russia to make hard decisions about how to allocate its finite resources; in boosting confidence in the Ukrainian military both domestically and with key allies; and in obtaining territory that could be used as bargaining leverage later on.
The Kremlin was by all accounts taken off guard by Ukraine’s incursion, but Kyiv might itself have been surprised by its quick gains.
“It was initially intended for psychological purposes, similar to the Doolittle Raid after Pearl Harbor, but it has evolved based on its success,” said Mick Mulroy, an ABC News contributor who served as a CIA paramilitary officer and deputy assistant secretary of defense.
Ukrainian forces have now been in the Kursk region for more than two weeks.
“Over the next couple days, we’ll see what the Ukrainians do and whether they keep this strategy of just nibbling away, whether they go on to the defensive, whether they try to make a big attack, which I think is unlikely, but not impossible,” Cancian said.
(WASHINGTON) –The Pentagon will send an additional fighter squadron and more warships to the Middle East to help defend Israel should Iran react militarily to this week’s assassination of Hamas’ top political leader in Tehran that Iran has blamed on Israel.
The United States will also maintain an aircraft carrier presence in the Middle East as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt that was on a short-term deployment to the Middle East.
The deployments follow President Joe Biden’s commitment to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday about “new defensive US military deployments” to the region.
Austin “ordered adjustments to U.S. military posture designed to improve U.S. force protection, to increase support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies,” the Pentagon said in a statement issued Friday.
Austin also ordered the deployment of an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East “reinforcing our defensive air support capability,” the statement said.
“Additionally, Secretary Austin has ordered additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command regions,” according to the statement.
“The Department is also taking steps to increase our readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense,” it continued.
This week’s assassinations of Hamas’ senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Fouad Shukur, a top Hezbollah commander, in Beirut, have raised concerns that an Iranian retaliation could spark a broad regional beyond Israel’s war with Hamas.
The new deployments announced Friday will serve as a deterrent to prevent a larger conflict and are also intended to assist Israel should Iran reprise last April’s missile barrage of hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles targeted at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria, that killed a top Iranian military leader.
The overwhelming majority of those drones and missiles were shot down by a combination of Israeli air defense systems and U.S. fighter jets that had been deployed to the region ahead of a possible Iranian retaliation.
The deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group will provide a consistent carrier presence in the region that might not have been possible if the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group ended its short-term deployment to the region on time.
Currently deployed to the western Pacific, it’s unclear when the Lincoln would arrive in the Middle East to replace the Roosevelt, which is currently in the Gulf of Oman.
There are six U.S. Navy destroyers currently deployed to the Middle East region, and it’s possible that some of them could be moved through the Suez Canal into the Eastern Mediterranean as part of the moves ordered by Austin on Friday.
There are currently two other destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean that are part of a regular mission to provide ballistic missile defense capabilities in that region.
Also stationed in the eastern Mediterranean are the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship and two other amphibious ships that are carrying the 2,200 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)
U.S. officials have said that the ships and the Marines aboard could be used to carry out an evacuation of U.S. personnel in the region should that become necessary.