Trump casts ballot early in Florida primary: Here’s what he has said about early voting
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(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump voted early in the Florida Republican primary on Wednesday, casting his ballot at a polling location near his home in Palm Beach. But Trump’s participation in early voting offers a stark contrast to some of his previous criticisms of the practice.
Walking out of the polling site on Wednesday, Trump called it a “great honor to vote” and praised the “fantastic job” done by the poll workers.
However, he has repeatedly flip-flopped in his messaging to supporters, sometimes encouraging them to vote early or by mail — while at other times making false and misleading claims about the security of the process.
“Mail-in voting is totally corrupt,” Trump falsely claimed in February at a campaign rally in Michigan. “Get that through your head. It has to be.”
In March, Trump again falsely claimed that “anytime the mail is involved, you’re going to have cheating,” which he said during an interview with the far-right British politician Nigel Farage.
That rhetoric was central to Trump’s attempt to undermine the results of the 2020 election false claims pushed by him and his supporters that electoral fraud stole victory from him in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that year.
No widespread vote-by-mail fraud has ever been found despite the claims.
A Washington Post analysis of data collected in three vote-by-mail states from 2016 and 2018 showed that instances of double voting and people voting on behalf of deceased people made up just 0.0025% of the more than 14.6 million ballots cast. That amounts to 372 possible instances of fraud, far from what would be required to swing a national election.
With polls predicting neck-and-neck races in crucial battleground states, Trump and his allies have sought to retool their message around early and absentee voting in recent months while still trying to hold on to the hard line Trump drew against those practices in 2020.
“President Trump has been very clear in his remarks and rally speeches throughout this campaign cycle that Americans should vote early if their states allow,” Trump campaign’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News.
“[Elections] used to be one day, now it’s, you know, two months,” Trump said, complaining about early voting at a Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in June. But then, during the same speech, he urged his supporters to vote early if they wanted.
“Do it early. Do it. Just do it. You’ve got to vote. And watch your vote, guard your vote, and follow your vote,” he said.
Republican National Committee Co-Chair Mark Whatley, who was hand-picked by Trump following the ouster of former party chair Ronna McDaniel, has advocated for creating a “national early-vote program” that will target and encourage voters to get to the ballot box.
“Voters can vote early. They can vote on Election Day. They can vote by mail. Do I care how they vote? No, I do not,” Whatley said at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in June. “I care that they vote.”
Asked about Trump’s comments against mail-in voting, Whatley claimed the Republican Party is investing a significant amount of resources “protecting the vote” to ensure “election integrity” so voters can trust the system.
“We are spending a very significant amount of our time protecting the vote. We are building the Protect the Vote campaign around it,” Whatley said, referring to the latest iteration of the Republican Party’s get-out-the-vote effort.
At campaign rallies in recent weeks, the former president’s campaign has also promoted mail-in and early voting, putting up signs encouraging supporters to request mail-in ballots or pledge to vote early in person.
Trump echoed that message during a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, last month while still falsely alluding to the idea that the 2020 election was stolen.
“If you want to save America, get your friends, get your family, get everyone you know, and vote,” Trump said in the state, which will kick off early voting for the general election on Sept. 16 — the first in the country. “Vote early, vote absentee, vote on Election Day. I don’t care when you vote, but whatever you do, you have to vote and make sure your ballot counts.”
(CHICAGO) — As the Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago, four Illinois voters spoke with ABC News about what issues are most important to them leading up to the 2024 election.
Seated around a table at Green Door Tavern, one of the city’s oldest, they discussed how they view the state of the economy, immigration and health care. A recent ABC News poll found those three issues ranked high in importance for U.S. adults this cycle, with 89% of respondents listing the economy as their top issue.
For Edgar Diaz, a 43-year-old Chicago resident and moderate voter, a top concern was the cost of living.
“I believe that the middle-working class were the engine of the economy but when we have millions of folks that are unable to afford health care, housing, child care, I mean that holds back our economy,” he said. “So I want to make sure that those are addressed, and that our folks that are working to achieve that, that their voices are heard, that they’re that they’re supported, and also making sure that you know their their work is valued for this economy as well too.”
Diaz said he believed Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will protect workers, and it was a major reason why he plans to vote for them in this race.
Valerie Jencks, a Democrat who is also supporting the Harris-Walz ticket, agreed with Diaz that workers are the backbone of the country and should be taken care of.
“We have gotten to this place where we’re labeling and categorizing so many different things, and it’s these people against these people. And if I give something over here, then I’m taking away something over here. And that simply is not the case,” she said.
“We need to get back to recognizing that we are one country with a variety of people and a variety of needs,” Jencks continued. “Helping everybody with health care is not socialism. Providing everybody with housing is not socialism. What we’re talking about is providing for the basic needs of human beings who are members of one country, and preserving that and the issues that support those ideas are absolutely fundamentally what I believe in.”
David Spada, a conservative Republican who will back his party’s candidates this cycle, jumped in to question government resources spent on immigrants coming to the country while many Americans struggle financially.
“But how is it fair that people are coming to this country getting free health care, whereas people who work hard and have jobs and can’t afford health insurance have to basically struggle and have enormous doctor bills?” he said.
A lively exchange ensued between the voters on immigration, which Spada said he believed was a top issue for most Americans along with the economy and safety.
Grace Walters, 25, said she will likely support Harris and Walz in November because of their willingness to address constituent concerns and adapt their political stances.
While Walters expressed disagreement with their approach to international issues, specifically the Israel-Gaza war and military aid for Israel, she said they are more aligned on other key issues for her.
“But as far as things like same-sex marriage protection and abortion rights and a woman’s right to choose and all of those things, I think the only people that I see really talking about that and caring about that are Harris and Walz,” she said.
(WASHINGTON) — When Gov. Josh Shapiro took the stage ahead of the newly minted Democratic ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he told the crowd — made up of thousands of his constituents — how much he enjoyed being their governor.
“I want you to know, every single day, I go to work for you,” he said to loud cheers.
Shapiro, who had been informed hours earlier he would not be Harris’ running mate, expressed the same sentiment in an earlier post on X after Harris announced her selection of Walz.
Indeed, Shapiro — whose strong popularity in a critical swing state made him an instant front-runner to join the Harris ticket — had concerns about leaving his role as governor, which he assumed just last year, a person familiar with the vetting process told ABC News.
The person cited Shapiro’s “love” of the job and, notably, of being in an executive role, suggesting that playing second fiddle to Harris may not have been a good fit.
In a condensed vetting process to find Harris’ running mate, in which the vice president’s team looked into roughly a dozen candidates, just three ended up holding in-person meetings with Harris and her team Sunday in Washington, D.C.: Walz, Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
Kelly met with Harris for roughly an hour and “walked out of it feeling really good,” a person with knowledge of his vetting process told ABC News, though Harris quickly appeared to narrow her options to Walz and Shapiro by Sunday night.
The near immediate emergence of Kelly’s name as a possible running mate surprised his team, and the opportunity “fell out of the sky” for a former astronaut who had not run for elected office until 2019, the person said, adding that Kelly was “playing with house money.”
That’s not to say the senator appreciated being passed over.
“He’s a very competitive guy,” a person who knows Kelly well, but hasn’t spoken to him in recent days, told ABC News.
“He doesn’t like losing.”
During the two-week sprint to find Harris’ running mate, the final vice presidential hopefuls received praise from Democratic strategists and elected officials — but each endured negative headlines.
Shapiro received the brunt of negative attention when progressives attacked him relentlessly for what they perceived to be a lack of empathy toward pro-Palestinian campus protestors this spring. Shapiro, who is Jewish, encouraged University of Pennsylvania officials to disband a pro-Palestinian encampment this spring, though he has also been critical of Israel, calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “one of the worst leaders of our time.”
The governor was also challenged over his support for school vouchers and a nearly $300,000 settlement his administration entered into to resolve a sexual assault complaint against an ex-aide, who thereafter resigned.
U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Washington and is preparing to roll out her economic plan on the road in North Carolina on Friday, which will mark her first major policy rollout since becoming the Democratic nominee. As Donald Trump looks for a campaign reset, he spoke with Elon Musk live on Tuesday and will deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Walz falsely claims he is first union member on presidential ticket since Reagan
Speaking to AFSCME members in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz claimed he was the “first union member on a presidential ticket since Ronald Reagan.”
That claim is false: former President Donald Trump was a SAG-AFTRA member until he resigned in 2021 after the union’s national board found probable cause that Trump violated the group’s constitution by his actions on Jan. 6.
Trump was for years a member of the union, which represents more than 160,000 performers across a variety of media platforms, by virtue of his various appearances in films and television shows. He reported earning a pension from the union in his financial disclosures.
At a fundraiser later Tuesday, Walz repeated the claim, apparently unaware it was false.
Prior to his two terms as California governor, Reagan served twice as president of the Screen Actors Guild.
ABC News has reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment.
Harris, Walz to tour Pennsylvania ahead of the DNC
Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will take a bus tour through Pennsylvania on Sunday right before their appearance at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), ABC News has confirmed.
Sunday’s tour, first reported by CNN, will begin in Pittsburgh and will be the first time Harris, Walz and their spouses will appear on the campaign trail together. According to the campaign, they aim to have a cluster of intimate events with voters, ranging from canvass kick-offs to stops at local retail shops.
Trump to deliver remarks on economy in North Carolina
Former President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday as the campaign works to recenter its campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The election’s coming up, and the people want to hear about the economy,” Trump said during an interview with Elon Musk on X Monday, directly blaming the Biden-Harris administration for the current state of the economy.
The economy has been one of the Trump campaign’s central election issues this cycle — the former president often spending a considerable amount of time discussing inflation, gas prices and the job market.
“I just ask this: Are you better off now, or were you better off when I was president?” Trump said Monday night as he was wrapping up his conversation with Musk.
Omar decries ‘shameful’ opponents in primary race
Following her Tuesday night primary victory, Rep. Ilhan Omar told supporters: “We run the politics of joy, because we know it is joyful to fight for your neighbors.”
“We know it is joyful to want to live in a peaceful and equitable world,” she added, per ABC News’ St. Paul affiliate KSTP-TV.
Omar also had harsh words for her main primary opponent Don Samuels, though did not mention him by name.
“I hope that they reflect in the shameful way they decided to divide our district and the incredible people we are grateful to represent,” she said of her challengers.
Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar wins primary
Rep. Ilhan Omar has won her Congressional primary in Minnesota, multiple media outlets projected Tuesday night.
Omar’s win follows defeats by two of her fellow squad members in their primaries — Cori Bush from Missouri, and Jamaal Bowman of New York.
Omar had been expected to win in her district despite a challenge from former Minneapolis city council member Don Samuels.
Bush lost her primary earlier this month to St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell. He was backed by more than $8 million from the pro-Israel United Democracy Project.
Bowman lost to Westchester County Executive George Latimer in June. Per AdImpact, the race was the most expensive House primary on record, with most of the funding coming from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) United Democracy Project PAC in support of Latimer. Latimer was recruited to run by AIPAC.
Walz says he’s ‘damn proud’ of military record, thanks Vance for his service
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in his first solo campaign appearance, defended his military record and thanked his vice presidential opponent, Sen. JD Vance, for his service.
“I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Walz said to applause at the AFSCME convention in California. “And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record. Anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
Vance has repeatedly criticized how Walz has talked about his military record, which included 24 years in the Army National Guard before he retired to run for Congress in 2005. Vance served as a combat correspondent for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Read more about Vance’s comments and Walz’s background here.
Biden says he would attend Trump’s inauguration if he were elected
President Joe Biden on Tuesday, as he was departing the White House, said he would go to Trump’s inauguration in January if he were to win this year’s election.
“I have good manners, not like him,” Biden told reporters after being asked if he’d attend. Trump did not attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
Biden also defended his calling Trump “a genuine danger to American security,” a comment he made during his CBS News interview over the weekend. Asked whether that contradicted his calls to cool heated political rhetoric, Biden shot back: “That’s just a statement. That’s a factual statement.”
-Fritz Farrow
Judge’s ruling means independent Cornel West can appear on North Carolina ballot
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West will be allowed on the general election ballot in North Carolina following a judge’s ruling that reversed a decision that would have kept him off the ballot in the battleground state.
In a ruling on Monday, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify Justice for All North Carolina as a political party in the state. That party, started by West’s campaign, is nominating him as its candidate in North Carolina and some other states. The board had previously voted to deny certifying the party over concerns about how signatures were gathered for its petition to become a certified party.
Justice for All North Carolina called the decision a “monumental day for our party” but West’s campaign still faces headwinds. The Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that West’s campaign received “illegal In-Kind Contributions” from firms it used to collect signatures for ballot access petitions in Arizona and North Carolina — allegations West has pushed back on.
“We’ve always said we’re going to ensure the third party candidates are playing by the rules, and it’s clear his campaign isn’t playing by the rules,” DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni told ABC News after the complaint was filed.
-Oren Oppenheim
Walz to make his 1st solo campaign appearance
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday will embark on his first solo Harris-Walz campaign event as Harris’ running mate with a stop in Los Angeles for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) international convention.
Walz is set to speak at 3:35 p.m. ET.
Walz emerged as a popular candidate among labor unions during Harris’ search for a vice president pick, sources said. AFSCME represents 1.4 million public service members, and the union’s president, Lee Saunders, previously released a statement endorsing Harris for president.
Harris to roll out economic plan on Friday
Harris will outline her economic policy in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, her campaign announced, making it her first major policy rollout since jumping into the race.
Harris’ speech will detail her plan to “lower costs for middle-class families and take on corporate price-gouging,” a campaign official said.
The vice president has heavily focused her stump speech on the economy while on the campaign trail in recent weeks, saying over the weekend she would look to eliminate taxes on tips earned by service workers — a proposal Trump announced earlier this summer.
Harris’ college sorority creates PAC
The historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of which Vice President Kamala Harris counts herself a member, started its own political PAC last week, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission posted Monday.
The committee is named Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc., or AKA 1908 PAC, the filing shows.
Harris has been an AKA since her days as a student at the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. Harris on Monday visited the campus, her office confirmed to ABC News, but it’s not clear why she was there.
In July, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Harris spoke at the AKA’s annual Boulé in Dallas, Texas. Since then, as a candidate, she’s also addressed similar national gatherings of two other historically Black sororities, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho.
Trump says he will return to Butler, Pennsylvania after assassination attempt
After discussing the assassination attempt made against him in Pennsylvania in July, former President Donald Trump said he’s planning a trip back to Butler in October.
“We’re going back to Butler; we’re gonna go back in October,” Trump said, adding, “Butler is a big, great area.”
Addressing what he’ll say when he returns, Trump told Musk, “I think I’ll probably start by saying I was so horribly interrupted.”
Trump discusses assassination attempt with Musk, says he turned head at ‘perfect angle’
During his conversation with Musk, former President Donald Trump addressed the assassination attempt made against him during a campaign rally in July.
“It was amazing that I happened to be turned just at that perfect angle,” Trump said of the bullet, which grazed his right ear while his head was turned.
During the discussion, Trump mentioned the man who was killed in the shooting, saying, it was a “very sad situation.”
“We lost somebody that was firefighter, a great Trumper,” Trump said of Corey Comperatore, adding, “He was a just a fantastic family [man] and a fantastic man.”
Trump and Musk’s conversation on X appears to be delayed
The conversation between former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be delayed, with many X users reporting they cannot access the Spaces conversation.
“This Space is not available,” appeared for some users on X.
The conversation was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Judge orders RFK Jr. off New York ballot
A New York judge ruled Monday that the thousands of signatures gathered by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign in the state were “invalidated” after a Democrat-aligned group argued he misled voters by listing as his home an address he rarely visits.
The judge, Christina Ryba, ordered the New York Board of Elections to not include Kennedy’s name on the ballot this fall.
A lawyer representing Kennedy told reporters last week they would appeal any ruling that went against them.
The ruling could prompt Democrats to bring similar lawsuits against Kennedy in other states where he gathered signatures from registered voters to appear on the ballot.
The FBI is investigating alleged attempts by Iran to target the then-Biden-Harris campaign, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The alleged targeting via spear-fishing emails occurred before Biden announced he would exit the 2024 presidential race, the sources said.
While the campaign was targeted, the alleged hack was not successful, sources added.
The FBI is investigating a purported hack of the Trump campaign, according to a brief statement from the agency earlier Monday.
The FBI did not attribute the hack to anyone in its statement.
A source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Trump adviser Roger Stone has also been informed that his email accounts have been compromised, and that he’s cooperating with any investigation into the matter.
The Washington Post first reported the news.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will Steakin and Katherine Faulders
Biden, Obama, Clintons tentatively slated to speak at DNC: Sources
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are all tentatively slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week, sources familiar said.
The working speaking schedule, which can always change, is as follows, according to the sources:
Monday: President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday: Former President Barack Obama Wednesday: Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, former President Bill Clinton Thursday: Vice President Kamala Harris
-ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks and Fritz Farrow
Trump posts on X ahead of Musk interview
Trump posted on X for the first time in nearly a year ahead of his conversation with Elon Musk scheduled for Monday night.
The video posted is a previously released campaign ad referencing his multiple indictments and telling supporters, “They are not coming after me, they are coming after you.”
The last time Trump posted on X was Aug. 24, 2023. It was a picture of his mugshot from Fulton County, when he turned himself in to authorities following his election interference indictment in Georgia.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim
Trump to be interviewed by Elon Musk tonight
Trump, in a post to his conservative social media site Truth Social, announced he will be interviewed live by Musk on X at 8 p.m. ET.
It will mark a major return for Trump to X, formerly known as Twitter, since he was banned from the site following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was reinstated in late 2022 but declined to become active on the site again, despite boasting 88 million followers.
Musk endorsed Trump following the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president. Recently, Musk has amplified misinformation about voting and elections on his X feed.
Walz discusses ‘whirlwind’ 1st week on the campaign trail
In a video posted on his X account, the Minnesota governor discussed what he called “not a normal week” since being named as Harris’ running mate.
Walz confirmed some details reported previously by ABC News and others, including that he informed Harris’ vetting team that he had not used a teleprompter before.
“Not a normal week, which is a good thing. Started by missing a call from the Vice President, pretty important one. And then got that call and honored to join the ticket with Kamala Harris to take us in a great direction,” Walz said.
“After that, it has been a whirlwind. We got on a plane and we flew to Philly, and they told me that in an hour I’d be giving a speech and there would be a teleprompter, something I had never used in my life, so certainly terrified, but was lifted up by the folks in Philly.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Harris wraps battleground state blitz, Vance makes rounds on Sunday shows
Over the weekend, Harris closed out a cross-country tour that included stops in battleground states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona, as well as North Carolina and Nevada.
New polling released Saturday showed Harris taking the lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin among likely voters. The New York Times/Siena College polls showed Harris at 50% among likely voters in each state, while Trump polled at 46%.
Vance, too, campaigned in key 2024 states and made the rounds on the Sunday shows. During his cable news appearances, Vance reiterated campaign talking points on immigration and repeatedly hit Harris for not sitting down for extensive media interviews and laying out her agenda. Harris has done brief gaggles with reporters and said she’d unveil an economic policy platform this week.
Vance responds to mass deportation plan: ‘Let’s start with one million’
Sen. JD Vance told ABC News he blamed Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration’s policies, such as ending “Remain in Mexico,” for the ongoing migrant crisis.
When asked how he and Trump would accomplish their stated goal of mass deporting as many as 20 million immigrants — a proposal experts previously told ABC News would be a “nightmare” — Vance said they would take a “sequential approach.”
“I mean do you go knock on doors and ask people for their papers? What do you do,” Karl asked.
“You start with what’s achievable,” Vance said. “I think that if you deport a lot of violent criminals and frankly if you make it harder to hire illegal labor, which undercuts the wages of American workers, I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem.”
“I think it’s interesting that people focus on, well, how do you deport 18 million people? Let’s start with one million. That’s where Kamala Harris has failed. And then we can go from there,” Vance said.
Harris cautions donors to ‘not take anything for granted’
Vice President Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser in San Francisco Sunday where she maintained her campaign “will win this election,” but cautioned donors to “not take anything for granted.”
“I know there’s a lot of enthusiasm out there,” Harris said, adding, “And you know, I’ve never been one to really believe in the polls — whether they’re up or they’re down.”
“What we know is the stakes are so high and we can take nothing for granted in this critical moment,” she continued. “So we will fuel our campaign as we have, with enthusiasm and optimism, but also with a deep commitment to the hard work it’s going to take, and to campaign.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi introduced Harris at the event, touting the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration and the background of vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, several times calling the Harris-Walz ticket “the freedom ticket.”
“[Harris] makes us all so proud. She brings us so much joy. She gives us so much hope,” Pelosi said, calling the vice president “politically very astute.”
