US holds firm against Ukraine using American weapons to strike deep inside Russia
by Marc Guitard/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The White House is expected to keep in place its restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American long-range weapons deep inside Russia, despite pressure from a delegation of Ukrainian officials that arrived in Washington on Thursday, a U.S. official said.
Ukrainian Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, and Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, arrived with a list of Russian targets that Kyiv believes it could strike using U.S. weapons if given permission, according to several officials.
According to a Ukrainian official, the officials will argue that such strikes could be effective in altering the course of the conflict, which is now in its third year.
All of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss ongoing private talks between the two countries.
The Biden administration has already eased some restrictions on the use of U.S. arms, allowing Ukraine to launch limited defensive strikes against Russian forces across its border.
Among Ukraine’s most coveted items is a long-range missile system — the Army Tactical Missile System, or “ATACMS,” which the Biden administration has delivered. And this spring, after months of pressure by the Ukrainians, the U.S. shipped a longer-range version that could strike as far as 190 miles, enabling it to hit targets inside Russian-occupied Crimea.
But while the U.S. has made its support for Ukraine clear, it’s also sought to avoid deep strikes inside the Russia homeland, seeing such a move as a major provocation with both U.S. and NATO trying to avoid direct conflict with Moscow.
According to a U.S. official familiar with the latest round of discussions, the reluctance by the White House to relax its rules on the use of ATACMs to hit far-flung targets inside Russia is due in part to the limited number of them.
The system is successfully being used in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, including Crimea. And pulling those systems to focus on other targets wouldn’t likely be useful, the official said.
Another question for Washington would be whether loosening restrictions on the use of U.S. weapons would make much of a difference.
Recent intelligence suggests Russia is believed to have relocated more than 90 percent of its aircraft out of range of the system, according to the U.S. official.
“There’s not a silver bullet to win the war,” the official said. And a change in policy “means Ukraine would have to choose between striking in the Donbas in Crimea or inside Russia with limited resources.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky has long advocated for more weapons from the West with no restrictions. At an Aug. 24 press conference in Kyiv, he said he plans on attending the United Nations General Assembly in September where he’ll present the U.S. and other world powers a path to victory in the war.
“We need no less determination from our partners in these matters. Each of our friends who can persuade our allies to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons can truly help bring our shared victory closer,” he said.
Minnesota Governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz gestures as he speaks on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug.21, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
(CHICAGO) — Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention saw the party’s vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, introduce himself to Americans in the keynote speech, as well as several heavy-hitters, in a night that stressed what the party calls the politics of “joy.”
Here’s a look at some of highlights and key takeaways, as the DNC gears up for the fourth and final night featuring Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the party’s nomination for president.
Walz introduces himself
Walz did his job in his convention speech. He touted his own background, rattling through his experience in the Army National Guard and as a high school teacher.
“It was those players and my students who inspired me to run for Congress. They saw in me what I hoped to instill in them: a commitment to the common good,” he said.
He also promoted his policy accomplishments, garnering particularly loud applause for his policy providing free breakfast and lunch in Minnesota public schools.
Walz said that while Republicans were banning books in schools, “we were banishing hunger in ours.”
And then, he served the duty of a loyal No. 2 — boosting his boss.
“If you’re a middle class family or a family trying to get into the middle class, Kamala Harris is going to cut your taxes,” he said. “If you’re hoping to buy a home, Kamala Harris is going to help make it more affordable.”
And then, in true Friday Night Lights fashion, he issued a call to action with a football metaphor.
“We’re down a field goal, but we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball,” he said before touting Harris as the team leader. “We’re driving down the field, and boy, do we have the right team.”
‘Joy’ a key word of the night
Oprah Winfrey urged voters to “choose joy.”
Former President Bill Clinton called Harris the “president of joy.”
Walz said Harris has consistently served “with energy, with passion and with joy.”
Speakers at the DNC mentioned the word “joy” approximately 35 times Wednesday night, as they worked to paint a bright future with Walz and Harris in the White House and their ticket the most logical one.
Clinton called Harris the “clear choice.”
Winfrey made the choice between Harris and Trump one of choosing “optimism over cynicism,” “common sense over nonsense” and “the sweet promise of tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday.”
Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, said the GOP is “chaotic and crazy, and the only thing left to do is dump Trump.”
“These days, our party acts more like a cult. A cult worshiping a felonious thug,” he said. “Look, you don’t have to agree with every policy position of Kamala Harris. I don’t, but you do have to recognize her prosecutor mindset that understands right from wrong, good from evil.”
Election pegged as a ‘fight for our freedoms’
The theme of the night was “A Fight for Our Freedoms.” Speakers addressed that in part Wednesday night by frequently invoking the conservative blueprint Project 2025 and what it would mean for issues like reproductive rights.
Veteran SNL actor Kenan Thompson even performed a variety skit that poked fun at “Project 2025.” He brought the prop “Project 2025” book and talked with people across the country about how the conservative policies would harm them, drawing boos and laughs from the crowd.
A portion of the programming also put the insurrection in the spotlight, with speakers including Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Jan. 6 committee, which after a yearlong investigation recommended the Justice Department bring criminal charges against Trump over the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Duncan referred to the aftermath of the 2020 election in his remarks, noting that his path to the DNC podium began when Trump tried to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden in Georgia.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke to the assault’s threat to democracy without mentioning Trump by name.
“Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy, so gleefully embraced political violence, so willfully betrayed his oath of office,” she said.
“Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on Jan. 6. He did! But let us not forget who saved democracy that day. We did,” she said.
She said lawmakers returning to the Capitol that same night demonstrated that “American democracy prevailed” and called on voters now to “reject autocracy” and “choose democracy” by electing Harris and Walz.
Parents of Israeli-American hostage make emotional plea
In one of the more emotional moments, the parents of an Israeli-American hostage brought many delegates to tears as they recounted 320 days of anguish and pushed for a cease-fire deal to bring their son home.
Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were greeted with huge cheers and chants of “Bring them home,” as they spoke on stage, fighting back tears. The 23-year-old was at a music festival in south Israel celebrating his birthday on Oct. 7.
“That was 320 days ago. Since then, we live on another planet,” Goldberg said.
Polin said that he and his wife have met with Biden and Harris numerous times at the White House.
“They’re both working tirelessly for a hostage and cease-fire deal that will bring our precious children, mothers, fathers, spouses, grandparents and grandchildren home. And we’ll stop the despair in Gaza,” he said to cheers.
DNC brings out top talent
Following Tuesday night’s cameo-filled roll call, Wednesday night saw performances from more big names, including music legend Stevie Wonder.
John Legend and Sheila E. performed a tribute to Prince, a Minnesota legend, in honor of the Minnesota governor.
Amanda Gorman, who gained national fame after reciting her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the Biden-Harris inauguration in 2021, also read a new poem at the DNC that stressed unity.
In a rare act so far for the musical acts, Wonder addressed the crowd directly.
“This year I prayed very hard for peace to come to our world’s nations, but also to each one of our hearts,” he said in remarks before his performance of his classic “Higher Ground.”
“Even though our hearts have been beaten and broken beyond prayer, I know the important action and now is the time to understand where we are and what it will take to win. Win the broken hearts. Win the disenchanted,” he said. “Now is the time.”
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Secret Service is making arrangements for former President Donald Trump to resume outdoor campaign rallies by surrounding his podium with bulletproof glass, multiple sources told ABC News.
The measure is typically used exclusively for sitting presidents, but the Secret Service is making an exception following the first attempted assassination of a presidential candidate since Robert Kennedy in 1968.
The Secret Service declined to comment on its use of ballistic glass. Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The Secret Service recommended that Trump stop holding outdoor rallies last month after a gunman in Butler, Pennsylvania, fired at him from a rooftop 400 feet from the stage, nicking his ear. A man in the crowd was killed in the attack.
Since July 13, Trump has held nearly a dozen campaign events, all of them indoors.
Trump has privately expressed a desire to campaign outdoors and has sought assurances it would be safe, the sources said.
At a rally at an indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on July 31, Trump complimented the size of the venue then told the crowd, “They’d prefer that we be in an arena. I don’t know why. But we’re not giving up the outdoor rallies. You know, all those people that we had to turn away today, at an outdoor rally you can have.”
Trump’s protective detail is preparing for glass panels to surround him on three sides, according to the sources — though it’s not immediately clear when that would start.
“The Secret Service use of UpArmored glass around former President Trump is another step to ensure the campaign is and remains secure,” said ABC News contributor Don Mihalek, a retired senior Secret Service agent. “This isn’t just a piece of glass but a large, bulky and heavy armored glass that will require extensive logistics capability, normally reserved for large-scale outdoor events.”
Typically, the ballistic glass is flown aboard a military cargo plane. In Trump’s case the Secret Service is ordering multiple sets to be stored around the country so it can be trucked wherever it’s needed, sources said.
Former Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, in the aftermath of the Butler shooting, beefed up the protective details for Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris, and their running mates. Other protectees, like second gentleman Doug Emhoff, also received an increase in protection, sources said.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has begun to shut down the possibility of a second match against Vice President Kamala Harris after debating her Tuesday night, claiming he doesn’t need to debate her again because he won the debate.
“Well she wants a second debate because she lost tonight, very badly,” Trump told ABC News late Tuesday night during a surprise appearance in the spin room after participating in the presidential debate hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia.
“So, we’ll, you know, think about that. But she immediately called for a second,” Trump said, refusing to commit whether he’d participate.
Less than an hour after the ABC News presidential debate ended Tuesday night, Harris’ campaign called for another matchup. The campaign put out an email touting her performance at the debate and blasting Trump for his responses and demeanor.
Pressed by ABC News why Trump wouldn’t commit if she lost the debate, Trump said he’s looking at polls, boasting about what he believed is a lead over Harris in polling numbers. Harris leads Trump, 47% to 44%, according 538’s polling average.
Trump’s non-commitment to a second debate comes after the former president in May said he accepted what was going to be a fourth presidential debate with NBC News between Trump and then-candidate President Joe Biden — after debates with CNN, ABC News and Fox News.
In August, after Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket, Trump again agreed to participate in a debate hosted by NBC, after ABC News and Fox News’ debates. Trump ended up doing a town hall with Fox News last week after Harris declined to participate.
But since the ABC News debate, Trump has been gradually escalating the rhetoric that he doesn’t need a second match with Harris, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday night, “I sort of think maybe I shouldn’t do it.”
“I have to think about it, but if you won the debate, I sort of think maybe I shouldn’t do it. Why should I do another debate?” Trump said on “Hannity.”
During his visit to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Wednesday afternoon to honor the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Trump said he was thinking about the possibility of a second debate.
“We’re looking at it, but, you know, when you win, you don’t really necessarily have to do it a second time. So we’ll see, but we had a, I thought we had a great debate last night,” Trump said. “I just don’t know. We’ll think about it.”
On Wednesday morning, Trump called into “Fox and Friends” and said he’d be “less inclined to” do a second debate with Harris. Still, he kept his options open without shutting down the possibility of a second debate completely: “Let’s see what happens.”
And on Wednesday afternoon, Trump posted on his social media site, “In the World of Boxing or UFC, when a Fighter gets beaten or knocked out, they get up and scream, ‘I DEMAND A REMATCH, I DEMAND A REMATCH!'”
“Well, it’s no different with a Debate,” he continued. “She was beaten badly last night. Every Poll has us WINNING, in one case, 92-8, so why would I do a Rematch?”
538 has collected three national polls and one swing-state poll that were conducted since the debate. In all of them, more people who watched the debate said Harris won the debate than said Trump did. On average, 57% of debate watchers nationally said Harris turned in the better performance; only 34% said Trump did.
Showing up in the spin room after the debate, Trump claimed Tuesday night was his “best debate ever,” suggesting his spin room visit had nothing to do with needing to clean up his debate performance.
“We thought it was our best debate ever. It was my best debate ever,” Trump said to a large group of reporters that surrounded him in the spin room.
“It showed how weak they are, how pathetic they are, and what they’re doing to destroy our country, on the border, with foreign trade, with everything. And, I think it was the best debate I’ve ever personally — that I’ve had,” Trump continued.
But after the debate, Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law and Republican National Committee co-chair who served as the former president’s surrogate in the spin room, said he had a “fine night,” adding she wished there were more debates.
“I think he had a night that we expected to see, which is that Donald Trump was four years in the White House. We all remember how our lives were then,” Lara Trump said when asked about Trump’s performance.
Pressed by reporters if she means her father-in-law didn’t have a great night, Lara Trump said, “I mean, he had a fine night,” and then added: “He had a night that was absolutely necessary, and I am so happy we finally got to see these two people on the stage.”
“I wish we had two more debates. We usually have three presidential debates. Kamala Harris has said — she only wants one, so far,” Lara Trump said just minutes before the Harris campaign called for a second debate. “Donald Trump would certainly be willing to do another debate.”
Some Democrats on Capitol Hill said Wednesday weighed in on the prospect of another Harris-Trump debate.
Sen. Tim Kaine said he supports another presidential debate between Harris and Trump, but said he didn’t think the former president would agree.
“I’m sort of not expecting that President Trump will accept a second debate, but [Harris] is very willing to do it and that’s good,” Kaine said.
Asked if another debate is needed, Sen. Cory Booker said “I don’t know about the word ‘needs.'”
“I mean this one debate was so revelatory, it so exposed Donald Trump,” Booker said. “I think it was a reminder for a lot of people just how unhinged and unchecked this guy is; how he can’t control himself.”
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
