Trump discussed with RFK Jr. potential role in second Trump administration: Sources
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke multiple times in the span of a few days this month, multiple people familiar with the conversations told ABC News, including an in-person meeting in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention where the two presidential candidates discussed ways Kennedy could be involved in a second Trump administration.
At least one idea floated, according to two people with knowledge of the talks, was for Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who speaks often about the perils of chronic disease, to oversee the Health and Human Services Department under a possible Trump administration.
According to one source, the in-person meeting, which took place the Monday of the convention, never reached a point where Trump and Kennedy had a deal in place for Kennedy to exit the race and endorse the former president in exchange for a role in the administration. Rather, it was an “informal,” “free flowing” conversation, the source said.
The two men initially spoke by phone on the evening Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally, one source told ABC News, adding that they agreed on that phone call to meet in Milwaukee the next week.
The Washington Post first reported the existence of the conversations.
Two people familiar with Kennedy’s thinking told ABC News that the agreement to meet with Trump stemmed from Kennedy’s desire for national unity.
According to one of the sources, Kennedy has tried to connect with Democratic leaders regularly for roughly a year to try to discuss ways to “bring the party back to its roots,” but has not succeeded in having those conversations.
Kennedy, who initially ran for the Democratic nomination last year, pivoted to an independent run in October.
“President Trump met with RFK and they had a conversation about the issues just as he does regularly with important figures in business and politics because they all recognize he will be the next President of the United States,” Trump spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez told ABC News in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment.
Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy’s running mate, told ABC News in a statement that she was aware of Kennedy’s dialogue with Trump this month, and was supportive.
“I was aware of it and support American Unity and health. We are willing to speak with anyone on unwinding the corporate capture of our agencies,” she said.
(WASHINGTON) — When Jotaka Eaddy, the founder of Black women’s leadership network Win With Black Women, heard Sunday that President Joe Biden had decided he wouldn’t run for reelection, clearing the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic Party’s first Black woman presidential nominee, her first thought was “Oh my God, what a time to be alive.”
Her second? “Oh, our Zoom call tonight — I’m gonna have to shift the agenda.”
Formed in 2020, Win With Black Women has met by Zoom most Sundays for almost four years, drawing hundreds of attendees and support from names like Oprah Winfrey and Dionne Warwick. But Eaddy said they had never had a call anything like this past Sunday’s, which drew tens of thousands of viewers, raised more than $2 million for the just-launched Harris campaign, and inspired a similar call led by Black men the next night that raised $1.3 million more for Harris’ campaign.
“We thought, ‘Well, we probably gonna hit 1,000 [people]. And so we were prepared for 1,000,” Eaddy said. “I knew something was different when at about 8 o’clock … I couldn’t get in my own Zoom because it was at capacity.”
Win With Black Women’s Zoom call this past Sunday — joined throughout the night by prominent Black woman politicians such as Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, California Rep. Maxine Waters and Former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile — could herald a surge of support from Black voters and organizers, women, in particular, who could make up lost ground for Democrats in critical battleground states and down-ballot races nationwide.
Black voters helping to swing red states blue
Many Georgia Democrats are looking to the change at the top of the Democratic ticket to help keep Georgia blue.
“For all of our clients, we will need to revise our projections for turnout upward,” Georgia Democratic strategist Amy Morton told her team Tuesday after a flood of Harris endorsements early in the week. “That’s the impact Harris will have on the ticket.”
Since Biden announced on Sunday that he was leaving the 2024 race, Harris has secured commitments from enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee if they all honor their commitment when voting, according to ABC News reporting. And Morton said having Harris as the nominee “is energizing” to the party and could lead to high turnout rates with voters.
“Black women have been critical to Democratic victories in Georgia for as long as I’ve been working in local space,” Morton continued. “And I think that having Harris at the top of the ticket is energizing for all Democrats.”
“I expect to see turnout in November that approaches 2020 levels,” she added. In 2020, the voter turnout rate was the highest for any national election since 1900.
Georgia played a crucial role in Biden’s 2020 victory, going blue for the first time since 1992 due in significant part to organizing efforts from former Georgia Rep. Stacey Abrams, who spent years spearheading get-out-the-vote efforts in Black communities.
In North Carolina, another Southern battleground state with a large Black population, many Democrats said they hope that Harris could reproduce the energy that powered former President Barack Obama to the party’s last presidential-election victory in the state in 2008.
“President Obama was the last one who was able to mobilize Black people the way that he did back when he ran for office in ’08 and ’12,” said Aimy Steele, who leads a North Carolina voter engagement organization focusing on Black and Hispanic voters.
Black voter turnout peaked in North Carolina in 2008 with a record 73% of Black registered voters turning out to vote, according to North Carolina’s Board of Elections. For comparison, 2016 saw 64% and 2020 saw 68% in the state.
But with Harris at the top of the ticket, Steele said, “I expect the same thing to happen again, if not exceed what he was able to do.”
Hoping to ensure that happens, several Black groups have responded to grassroots enthusiasm for Harris with new efforts to mobilize voters to the polls.
Quentin James founded Collective PAC, an organization that supports Black candidates at all levels of government around the country. James helped organize the Monday night Win with Black Men Zoom call — telling ABC News that the call was just the beginning.
“As someone who’s done a lot of fundraising, I’ve never raised $1.3 million over three or four hours from grassroots donors, I’ve never seen that kind of momentum,” James said. “The energy is inspiring. Each one of those people on the call can organize 10 people or 100 people, and we hope to mobilize all of them.”
On Monday, the presidents of the group of nine historically Black sororities and fraternities known as the “Divine Nine” wrote in a press release that they had agreed to collaborate on “an unprecedented voter registration, education, and mobilization coordinated campaign.”
Harris joined Divine Nine sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha when she attended Howard University, a historically Black university.
Alpha Kappa Alpha International President Danette Anthony Reed said there is enthusiasm among the sorority’s ranks for Harris as a candidate.
“We are just ecstatic and excited that a member of our organization, as well as the first woman of color, has the opportunity to become a candidate for president,” Reed said.
‘We know when we organize, mountains move’
Already the campaign is seeing the return on Harris’ momentum. The campaign has reported a record-breaking $126 million in donations in the 48-hours after Biden’s endorsement. The campaign said 74,000 of those who donated were from new recurring donors, with two-thirds of these recurring donors signing up for weekly donations. There has also been a surge of 100,000 volunteers, according to the campaign.
Although there are few polls out that have data to fully capture this moment, Harris is already seeing significantly higher numbers in favorability with Black voters.
In a memo outlining the campaign’s path forward Wednesday, Campaign Chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon wrote that the vice president has “multiple pathways to 270” thanks to her support among different groups of voters, including Black, Latino and women voters.
Recently, Harris delivered remarks to another Divine Nine sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, which, like AKA, was also founded at the vice president’s alma mater, telling the women that “we know when we organize, mountains move.”
Lois Lofton-Donivei, a teacher from Houston, Texas, heard Harris’ call and was ready to answer it.
“I’m ready to hit the pavement and to do whatever I can to get her elected as the first female president,” said Lofton-Donivei. “We’re finally acknowledging that women have the ability to lead.”
(CHICAGO) — The Democratic National Convention is in full swing as party leaders and members gather in Chicago to celebrate the Harris-Walz ticket and address the top issues facing the nation.
ABC News spoke to DNC attendees at the United Center on Wednesday who shared their highlights from the convention thus far, the “electrifying” atmosphere and what they hope to see from the campaign in the months leading up to the 2024 election in November.
“So this is actually my first time attending any political convention and I have to say that it’s been one filled with many outstanding speakers and a lot of high energy,” Zach Pahmahmie, vice-chairman of the Potawatomi Nation Tribal Council, told ABC News.
Pahmahmie noted that this year’s DNC will be a “very important” moment in American history.
Echoing Pahmahmie’s sentiments about the energy the DNC has delivered this year, fellow members of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation said watching former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama speak on Day two was “amazing.”
“You could really feel his energy, the emotion, the way he captured the crowd — and it was just really amazing,” Bill Evans said, adding “I am truly thankful that I was able to be here and able to witness and be a part of this.”
Tribal Council member Raphael Wahwassuck told ABC News he hopes the next administration will focus on representing America’s indigenous groups.
“Concentration needs to be focused on indigenous tribes and reservations and all the different nations throughout the United States. We do matter,” Wahwassuck said.
“I think it’s real important right now to make sure we have the correct party on board here,” Wahwassuck added.
The Tribal Council members addressed the economy, saying Harris’ support for the middle class, rather than the top 1%, separates her from former President Donald Trump in this election.
“I think the focus that we’ve heard so far from a lot of the speakers and also Kamala Harris herself is the focus on the majority of America, not just the top 1% of America, and really building up and solidifying the middle class with jobs and the resources they need to make their everyday lives better and to move America forward, in a positive direction,” Pahmahmie said.
Another first-time DNC attendee, Randon Sprinkle, told ABC News the “diversity and inclusion” of the party has been on display in Chicago.
“I just left the LGBTQ+ caucus meeting, and we continue to see that across all of our amazing caucuses … we talked about the need for continued trans representation, not only as delegates but also at the DNC,” Sprinkle said.
“I think we have continued to grow and allow more people at the table,” Sprinkle added of the Democratic party.
Jessie McGrath, a transgender delegate from Nebraska, told ABC News attending the DNC has been “electrifying.”
“We’ve got to hear some incredibly inspiring national speeches. And the mood is just so electrifying. The crowds in the convention hall — it starts off really hot and then it gets hotter,” McGrath said.
McGrath said that watching President Joe Biden hand over the candidacy to Harris was “moving” to witness in person.
“It was so moving to see him and get a chance to say goodbye and to pass the torch, which was an incredibly selfless thing to do,” McGrath said.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ post-debate campaign visits to North Carolina and Pennsylvania on Thursday and Friday, respectively, represents the start of a “more aggressive” campaigning stage, her campaign said.
Harris is set to hold two rallies in North Carolina and one in Pennsylvania as part of the kickoff for her “New Way Forward Tour,” which her campaign said is an effort to “capitalize on her decisive victory” against former President Donald Trump at the ABC News debate.
The campaign said that Harris had such a “commanding debate performance” that it spent Wednesday going through the footage to pinpoint moments they can use in upcoming ads in the coming days.
This phase will also see the vice president do more media engagements primarily targeting battleground states and other important constituencies, the campaign said, with local media interviews set for the coming days. She will also participate in a discussion with the National Association of Black Journalists next week.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Gov. Tim Walz and Gwen Walz will each hit the road as part of the tour as well.
Emhoff will be in Arizona and Nevada on Thursday; Gov. Walz will be in Michigan on Thursday and Wisconsin on Friday; and Mrs. Walz will be in New Hampshire on Thursday.
The campaign’s new tour will also feature surrogate events, including a Republicans for Harris function in Phoenix, Arizona, an HBCU student event in Savannah, Georgia, and a veterans and military families event in Columbus, Georgia.