Trump campaign looks to Vance to help them over the finish line in Pennsylvania

(LEWISBURG, Pa.) — If elections are about “the economy, stupid,” Ben McDuffee has not had the kind of confidence-boosting year that would make him feel good about keeping Democrats at the top of the ticket for four more years. And he is a Democrat.

The Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, resident lost his job late last year. He worked in financing for the auto industry and was unemployed for three months. During that time, he applied to more than 200 jobs. In March, he accepted a position at a local credit union — and a $30,000 pay cut.

That income hit, combined with higher prices at the grocery store and a recent increase in their monthly rent, meant tightening the budget. He and his wife put plans on hold to buy a home for themselves and their 11-year-old son, as interest rates rose, too.

“You know, ultimately, the question that voters ask when they go to the polls every four years is, am I in a better spot than I was four years ago? And when we’re swiping our card for groceries every week, we are absolutely not in a better spot than we were four years ago,” McDuffee said in an interview with ABC News at his home.

“So, we have to balance that with — what do we think will happen with the country if we pick the other guy?”

From what he sees everyday in his rural Pennsylvania town — a sliver of one of the most critical swing states in the country — dislike of “the other guy,” former President Donald Trump, might not be enough for Vice President Kamala Harris to overcome what he sees as a major liability: the economy.

It’s the reality of this election, and it rings especially true in his battleground state: despite a strong recovery from the global pandemic — including record-low unemployment, increased wage growth and consistently sturdy consumer spending — the economy is still a top concern for voters.

According to an ABC News-Washington Post/Ipsos poll, more than 85% of adults rank the economy and inflation as highly important for their vote for president, by far the two highest-ranking issues. And voters trusted Trump over Harris on both issues by 9 points.

“There’s a disconnect between these macroeconomic numbers that are coming out and then what we’re hearing people are reporting about how they feel about the economy,” Heidi Shierholz, the president of the Economic Policy Institute and a former chief economist for the Department of Labor during the Obama administration.

A major reason it’s such a steep political challenge, she says, is that high prices are more obvious to people on a daily basis than national statistics or even their own pay raise.

“People’s living standards are actually growing despite the higher price level. So what’s going on now is actually what we want to see,” Shierholz said. “But it still is frustrating when you go to the grocery store or wherever and you see these high prices. You don’t always think in the back of your head, ‘Well, I also got that big wage increase, I can cover this and still be okay’.”

Since the peak of the pandemic recession, the U.S. has seen an increase in overall consumer prices by 20%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the inflation-adjusted wages have also risen, on average, by about 25%.

That leaves some people feeling worse off than they actually are — and for people like McDuffee, who have seen their income fall or stay flat, the squeeze of higher prices is particularly sharp.

“I don’t doubt the numbers. But it all comes down to what you can do with the money that you have for your family. And you don’t feel all of all these great numbers,” McDuffee said.

It’s a perception Harris knows she will need to reverse to win over voters in critical battleground states like Pennsylvania, which could be key to winning her the presidency.

“Today, by virtually every measure, our economy is the strongest in the world,” Harris said in a recent campaign rally focused on the economy in North Carolina. But she was also careful to try not to alienate voters who don’t feel those impacts.

“We know that many Americans don’t yet feel that progress in their daily lives. Costs are still too high. And on a deeper level, for too many people, no matter how much they work, it feels so hard to just be able to get ahead,” Harris added.

To address this concern, Harris and President Joe Biden have pushed a “lowering costs” campaign, a handful of policies aimed at bringing down daily prices for people.

Efforts like negotiating down the price of drugs covered by Medicare, so seniors pay less for their prescriptions, and passing regulations that require companies to disclose “junk fees” on products like hotel rooms or concert tickets. For nearly 4.8 million people, the administration has canceled student loans.

For McDuffee, these policies aren’t cutting through.

He will reluctantly vote for Harris, he says, but he knows that many voters will prioritize their bank accounts in November.

“The only thing that I think a lot of consumers feel is when they swipe their card at the gas pump, at the grocery store, you know, buying back-to-school clothes, all of those items are more expensive than they were four years ago,” McDuffee said. “And I think that’s what resonates.”

Three hours southeast, though, Philadelphia City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson says she’s an example of why the Biden administration’s piecemeal policies are working — and have exponentially changed her family’s economic trajectory.

“No hesitation at all. I’m better off than I was four years ago. My family is better off because of the work of the Biden-Harris administration. And my children will be better off because of the Biden-Harris administration, if nothing more,” she said in an interview at her home in West Philadelphia.

Richardson, who has worked for the city for over 20 years, had her student debt canceled as part of major reforms to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or PSLF, which allows peoples’ remaining debts to be forgiven after they’ve worked in public service and made loan payments for 10 years.

She has since helped her husband and her sister, who both work in non-profits and social work, respectively, to have their debts canceled, as well.

Through her family’s savings on student debt payments, Richardson, a mother of three, enrolled her two youngest children in one-on-one reading camp this summer.

Yet Richardson knows that receiving debt relief is a unique reason to feel good about the economy. Of the 43 million Americans with student loan debt, roughly one in 10 have so far had loans canceled by the Biden-Harris administration.

“I do hear from my constituents who have a number of concerns regarding the economy and their ability to be able to afford good quality housing to, you know, for food costs and to be able to take care of their families,” Richardson acknowledged.

Still, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and a big fan of both Biden and Harris, Richardson says she believes her story reflects ongoing efforts to reduce financial burdens and a reason to re-elect the Democrats.

“I think we have to do a better job of telling that story and talking about the work that they’re seeking to do,” she said.

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(WASHINGTON) — In honor of former President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, the North Lawn of the White House will feature a display that includes the number “100” with the message “Happy Birthday President Carter,” according to the first lady’s office.

The display will be installed the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 1, and remain on the North Lawn through the end of the day.

Carter, who entered home hospice care in February 2023, became on Tuesday the first former U.S. president to live to be 100. The 39th president, who held office from 1977 to 1981, is the longest-lived former chief executive in U.S. history.

President Joe Biden wished Carter a happy birthday in a new video from the White House.

“On behalf of the entire Biden family and the American people, happy 100th birthday,” Biden said. “Mr. President, you’ve always been a moral force for a nation in the world.”

Biden said that he admires Carter “so darn much” and said that Carter has been “a good friend.”

“Your hopeful vision of our country, your commitment to a better world, and your unwavering belief in the power of human goodness continues to be a guiding light for all of us,” Biden said.

Biden praised Carter as one of “the most influential statesmen in our history” and praised the successes of the Carter Center.

“The moral clarity you showed throughout your career showed through again. And your commitment through the Carter Center and the Habitat for Humanity, you’re solving conflicts, advancing democracy, preventing disease, so much more. It’s transforming the lives of people, not only at home, but around the world,” Biden said.

Biden also talked about how this is a bittersweet birthday for Carter, as this is the first birthday he has since the death of his wife Rosalynn Carter. Rosalynn Carter died in November 2023 at the age of 96.

“We know this is the first birthday without Rosalynn. It’s bittersweet, but we also know she’s always with you. She’s in your heart. She’ll never go away, she may be gone, but she’s always going to be with you,” Biden said.

“Jill and I send to you and your incredible family our love and God continue to bless you, Mr. President,” Biden said. “You’ve been a good friend.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the most prominent and influential unions in the country, said Wednesday it will not endorse any presidential candidate this year.

The 1.3-million-member union has historically thrown its weight around in presidential cycles and endorsed Democratic presidential candidates in recent cycles, with 1988 being the last time it supported a Republican, then-Vice President George H. W. Bush. However, hours before the union was set to announce its highly coveted endorsement on Wednesday, the Teamsters released polling of union members showing a nearly two-to-one preference for former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables. Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who took on the role in 2022, said in a statement.

“Democrats, Republicans, and Independents proudly call our union home, and we have a duty to represent and respect every one of them. We strongly encourage all our members to vote in the upcoming election, and to remain engaged in the political process,” he added. “But this year, no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters’ International Union.”

Blue-collar union workers have been a mainstay of Democratic support for several cycles, but Trump has made inroads with voters without a college degree, a key demographic that helped eat away at Democrats’ union advantage.

Most of the country’s largest unions, including the AFL-CIO and United Auto Workers union, endorsed President Joe Biden before he dropped out, and that support was reiterated for Harris after she took over as Democrats’ nominee. The Teamsters, however, stayed out of the fray.

The union sought to hold meetings with Biden and Trump, and it met with Harris earlier this week before making any decision.

O’Brien ruffled Democrats’ feathers when he addressed the Republican National Convention earlier this summer — a move that was fiercely criticized by some of his counterparts — and praised Trump, though he accused the former president of backing “economic terrorism” when he expressed support for firing striking workers, which is illegal under federal law.

“I want to be clear. At the end of the day, the Teamsters are not interested if you have a ‘D,’ ‘R,’ or an ‘I’ next to your name,” O’Brien said on the stage in Milwaukee. “We want to know one thing: ‘What are you doing to help American workers?’ As a negotiator, I know that no window or door should ever be permanently shut.”

The union’s decision Wednesday marks a blow for both candidates.

Trump had wooed the union, inviting O’Brien to Mar-a-Lago and culminating in O’Brien’s primetime RNC speech.

Harris, meanwhile, has sought to shore up support among non-college educated voters, particularly in the industrial Midwest, a key region in this year’s election where the Teamsters hold sway. The Biden administration has also repeatedly touted its pro-union bona fides, and Biden himself became the first sitting president in history to walk a picket line. However, unions were peeved at the role the administration played in averting a rail strike in late 2022.

After the union’s announcement, the Harris campaign said she has “stood strong with organized labor for her entire career.”

“As the Vice President told the Teamsters on Monday, when she is elected president, she will look out for the Teamsters rank-and-file no matter what – because they always have been and always will be the people she fights for,” Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement.

Trump’s campaign said while the Teamsters didn’t endorse a candidate, “they want President Trump back in the White House.”

“These hardworking men and women are the backbone of America and President Trump will strongly stand up for them when he’s back in the White House,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

The internal polling the Teamsters released earlier Wednesday showed that straw polls of members supported Biden over Trump by an 8-point margin, 44-36%.

In explaining its decision, the Teamsters union cited the lack of “majority support” for Harris and “no universal support among the membership” for Trump. However, it did note that Harris had pledged to sign pro-union federal legislation and that Trump would not commit to vetoing national “right to work” legislation, which would allow workers to opt in or out of unions in unionized workplaces — laws that are enacted in several states that national groups like the Teamsters say weakens collective bargaining power.

Still, the Teamsters’ National Black Caucus and several Teamsters’ local chapters got out in front of the national organization and endorsed Harris on their own in recent weeks, including Local 623 in Philadelphia, which pointed to work done during the Biden administration, Harris’ pledge to “expand union rights” and challenge “any anti-union ‘right to work’ legislation,” and the “threat posed by Donald Trump.”

ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Oren Oppenheim, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

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