Vance, possible 2028 candidate, viewed by supporters as Trump’s ‘enforcer’ with midterm 1 year away
Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
(WASHINGTON) — With almost a year as vice president — and one year until the midterm elections, JD Vance’s supporters say he is settling into his role in the Trump administration, being used as the president’s “fixer” and “enforcer,” a source familiar with their relationship told ABC News.
“Vance really has been an enforcer and fixer for the president and his administration, and he’s been able to do it on a wide variety of topics,” the source, someone familiar with the relationship between Vance and Trump, said. “Unlike past vice presidents who demanded a specific policy portfolio, Vance never did that, which allows the president to put JD in the game whenever he sees a need for him to be put in the game.”
This has allowed Trump to dispatch Vance to advance his agenda, the source said.
“I think that dynamic has benefited the president, the vice president and the entire administration,” the source added, saying trust between the two — and others in the administration with whom Vance has forged relationships for years — has led to Vance’s role.
Vance’s role in the Trump White House has sharpened as the 2026 midterm elections approach and his name has been floated as a possible 2028 presidential candidate — even by Trump himself.
Proponents of Vance say his role as the “enforcer” and “fixer” was on display last summer as the White House worked to push Trump’s massive tax and spending bill through Congress.
In the days leading up to the bill’s passage, Vance — who served as a senator from Ohio before becoming vice president — held a series of meetings with conservative and moderate holdouts and with Senate leadership to help move the bill forward.
“He was a big part of getting it across the finish line and then promoting it afterwards,” a former White House official told ABC News about Trump’s megabill.
When asked by ABC News how they view Vance’s role in the administration, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said in a statement that Vance is Trump’s “trusted partner” who has helped deliver on Trump’s agenda.
“Vice President Vance is a trusted partner to President Trump and has played a critical role in helping the President keep all of the promises he made to the American people including delivering the largest tax cut in history for middle and working class Americans, securing the border, and putting American workers first,” Huston said.
Vance also took the lead in facilitating the TikTok framework that would transfer majority ownership of the app to Americans, but the deal has not been fully solidified. Vance was heavily involved in developing a strategy to reach the TikTok framework leading up to the U.S.-China summit in Madrid, where officials discussed the matter and joined Trump in the Oval Office when he signed the executive order on the framework.
A critical moment for Vance during this past year was his angry exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office where he chastised the world leader for not being thankful for the support the U.S. has provided to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance said to Zelenskyy in February. “Right now, you guys are going around enforcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
The eyebrow-raising exchange underscored Vance’s willingness to publicly defend Trump and the lengths he would go to do so. But Trump appeared to shut down Vance in the meeting: “But you see, I think it’s good for the American people to see what’s going on. I think it’s very important,” Trump said.
Vance and Trump have not always been aligned. In March of this past year, Vance showed a rare instance of appearing to break with Trump in a Signal group chat with other top US officials and questioned whether the president recognized that a unilateral U.S. attack on the Houthis to keep international shipping lanes open was at odds with his tough talk about European nations paying their share of such efforts.
Still, Vance’s skills as a communicator have been useful for the administration — especially during the ongoing government shutdown, the former White House officials said.
“I would say one thing there that sort of ties to where he’s been in general as a help in the administration, is that he’s a very good communicator, and like you saw when he took the podium at the beginning of the shutdown to talk about, you know, the White House’s position on it,” the official said.
Joel Goldstein, a vice-presidential scholar and former professor at Saint Louis University Law School, told ABC News that Vance follows the footprint of vice presidents as an administration spokesperson — but takes it even further.
“Vice presidents are generally spokespersons for the administration they serve, but Vice President Vance seems unusually active in this regard, including on social media, and more confrontational than most recent vice presidents in some of his rhetoric against political opponents and the discourse he uses or doesn’t rebuke,” Goldstein said. “He has also performed in visible diplomatic roles as have his predecessors, but has often been more confrontational towards traditional allies as he was at the Munich Security Summit and in the Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy.”
Republican political operatives said Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference was a breakout moment as vice president.
In February, Vance delivered a stinging message to European allies, saying that the biggest threat to Europe did not come from Russia or China, but from within Europe itself, and that he was concerned Europe was moving toward censorship and away from democracy.
Vance added another title under his portfolio when he became the Republican National Committee finance chair, a key fundraising role in the organization and the first time a sitting vice president has held the position.
In a statement to ABC News, RNC press secretary Kiersten Pels said that Vance will be critical for the national party heading into next year’s midterms — calling Vance a “fundraising powerhouse for the RNC.”
Vance has also been involved in trying to maintain Republicans’ slim majority in the House ahead of next year’s midterm elections. In August, Vance traveled to Indiana, where he made the pitch to Republican lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map.
With a year until the midterm election, a source close to the vice president said Vance will be involved.
“I think you can probably expect, as we get closer to midterms, for the vice president to be a regular presence on the campaign trail for Trump-endorsed candidates across the country,” the source said.
Next year’s election will also be critical for Vance as he’s viewed as a possible 2028 candidate and someone who could take on the mantle of leading the MAGA movement once Trump leaves office.
In a recent interview with Pod Force One, Vance shared that during a private lunch at the White House six months ago, Trump floated the idea of him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the Republican ticket in 2028.
“It feels so premature, because we’re still so early. And what I always say to people is, if we take care of business, the politics will take care of itself,” Vance said to podcast host Miranda Devine.
Trump himself recently said Vance and Rubio would be “great” options as 2028 presidential candidates.
“I’m not sure if anybody would run against those two,” Trump said on Oct. 27 of Vance and Rubio. “I think if they ever formed a group it would be unstoppable.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) participates in a public forum on the violent use of force by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on February 03, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Expanding her probes into Trump administration policies, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is demanding answers from Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the impact of federal immigration surges on children’s health.
In a letter to Kennedy first obtained by ABC News, Warren, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, and other congressional Democrats expressed concern that the health department is failing in its responsibility to protect the wellbeing of children.
“This disregard for child welfare undermines the government’s core child-protection obligations,” the lawmakers wrote. “Yet your agency [HHS] does not appear to be taking any action to speak out against or investigate the impacts of the Trump Administration’s immigration agenda on children,” they wrote.
The letter says the federal operations from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “risk traumatizing children and depriving them of access to education and basic services, with lasting consequences for their behavioral, physical, academic, and emotional wellbeing.”
Warren told ABC News, “Donald Trump promised two things: he would lower costs for American families and he would keep families safe.”
“Costs are up and, thanks to ICE targeting, families are more at risk than at any time in living memory,” she said.
The Massachusetts senator urged Kennedy to respond to her inquiry and remind the world of the health department’s responsibility to children.
“That means not putting [kids] through the trauma of violent separation from their parents, having flash bangs thrown at them, having them gassed, or using them as bait to try to snare their family members,” Warren told ABC News at the Capitol on Wednesday.
HHS spokeswoman Emily Hilliard asserted that “The Department remains committed to the safety and well-being of all unaccompanied minors in its care.”
“Any claims otherwise are baseless and inaccurate,” she said.
More than 50 lawmakers signed on to the letter requesting that Kennedy provide any information HHS has regarding the impact of ICE and CBP operations on children’s mental health and development by Feb. 18. Their letter comes amid Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, where Trump’s border czar Tom Homan announced Wednesday the government will reduce about a quarter of the 3,000 federal troops in the state effective immediately. Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith told ABC News the federal operation has resulted in a precipitous drop in school attendance that will have a “dramatic” and “long-lived” impact on children and families.
Warren’s letter stressed that ICE and CBP’s tactics include the alleged use of tear gas, explosives, attack dogs and window-smashing in or near schools and child care centers in places like Minnesota, Illinois and Texas. It also recounts at least four students who have experienced “raids” at schools, day care centers, and a child’s birthday party.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has stressed that the agency is not invading or raiding classrooms. However, a DHS memo outlining the department’s approach said “[ICE] Officers would need secondary supervisor approval before any action can be taken in locations such as a school. We expect these to be extremely rare.”
National Parents Union President Keri Rodrigues said she spent the last week with parents in Minnesota and told ABC News that it’s “deeply unsafe” for children to be walking through what she described as “war zones” to get to school.
“Parents want the expectation that in places like schools, their kids are going to be safe,” Rodrigues said. “You got ICE agents that are stalking kids walking to elementary school. You got guys with binoculars banging on the doors of the schoolhouse — like none of this is going to work for parents,” she added.
Neither DHS nor the White House responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
Warren, a fierce defender of public education and vocal Trump critic, has used Trump’s second term to fight back against his policies.
Last year, Warren launched her “Save Our Schools” campaign in opposition to Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education and another investigation called the Social Security War Room, a coordinated effort to combat the administration’s so-called “attack on Americans’ Social Security” at the Social Security Administration.
Meanwhile, the impact of Trump’s immigration curb is having a ripple effect across the country, according to education leaders and experts who’ve spoken to ABC News, saying it’s leaving some families and communities fearful of returning to school each day — from the nation’s capital to Los Angeles, California —
To-wen Tseng, a substitute teacher in California, said her students ask her ‘What will happen if the ICE agents come to our classroom?'” “I told them that won’t happen because the school won’t let them in and I won’t let them enter the classroom [either],” Tseng told ABC News. “But the truth is, I don’t know what I can do if ICE really shows up at my classroom door,” she said.
“I keep telling my children and my students that they are safe, just because I don’t want them to worry, and I feel it should be our responsibility to protect them,” Tseng added. “We should keep them safe.”
Sen. David McCormick leaves the Senate Republicans’ lunch meeting in the Capitol, Nov. 19, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Congressional Republicans appeared split Monday in their responses to the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday — from calling for an investigation to remaining silent or backing the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has not issued a statement on the shooting and his office has not responded to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune issued a statement on Monday that did not directly address the shooting but applauded the White House dispatching border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota in hopes of “turning down the temperature,” while encouraging Minnesota officials to work with the Trump administration in getting “dangerous criminals off America’s streets.”
More than two dozen congressional Republicans have called for a thorough investigation, according to ABC News’ count.
At least eight GOP senators said they support an investigation into the shooting, including Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick — a Trump ally.
“As I have often said, I support the Border Patrol, ICE, and the critical work they do to enforce our laws. Irresponsible rhetoric and a lack of cooperation from Minnesota’s politicians are fueling a dangerous situation. I also agree with the NRA and others — we need a full investigation into the tragedy in Minneapolis. We need all the facts,” McCormick said in a post on X.
Moderate Senate Republican Lisa Murkowski urging, in a post on X, that a “comprehensive, independent investigation of the shooting must be conducted in order to rebuild trust and Congressional committees need to hold hearings and do their oversight work. ICE agents do not have carte blanche in carrying out their duties.”
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy called for a joint state and federal investigation into the shooting — warning “the credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake.”
While he did not call for an investigation, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz criticized the administration’s rhetoric on the shooting.
“What I think the administration could do better is the tone with which they’re describing this — that immediately when an incident like this happens, they come out guns blazing that we took out a violent terrorist, hooray,” Cruz said on his podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz” on Monday.
More than a dozen House GOP lawmakers echoed similar sentiments, including House Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino, who expects a “full investigation” into the shooting.
“CBP and ICE have already been invited, and I expect each to testify before the Committee in the coming weeks. It is critical that Congress conduct its due diligence to ensure the safety of law enforcement officers and the communities they protect. I take my oversight duties of the Department of Homeland Security seriously, and we expect recent events to be thoroughly discussed at our hearing,” Garbarino said in a statement.
Moderate New York Rep. Mike Lawler called for an independent investigation into the shooting but said calls to “abolish” ICE are “misguided.”
“Let this be a moment for Americans of common sense and good will to come together and work towards a solution,” he said.
Despite this, several Republicans have also rushed to the Trump administration’s defense.
“The governor and local leaders’ rhetoric has empowered criminals and put federal law enforcement’s lives at risk. It’s dangerous and has made the situation in Minneapolis much worse. Unlike my Democrat colleagues, I’m going to let law enforcement conduct their investigation and not jump to asinine conclusions. We are grateful no Border Patrol officers were harmed,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said in a statement.
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona urged Americans to “stop interfering with federal enforcement officers.”
Responding to Trump’s social media post that called for deporting “criminal illegal aliens,” Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said, “We cannot back down. Trump is right: ICE will continue to enforce the law in Minnesota. Deport them all.”
(WASHINGTON) — High-profile races are unfolding across the country on Tuesday, including New York City’s mayoral election and governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia.
In California, voters will consider a ballot measure that puts forth a redrawn congressional map that could net Democrats five House seats.
The elections come with high-stakes for both Democrats and Republicans, and will provide a picture of how Americans feel about President Donald Trump’s first nine months in office.
Here’s how the news is developing.
Polls close in New Jersey
Polls are now closed in New Jersey, one of only two states holding gubernatorial races this November. The race tightened in the run-up to Election Day.
ABC News projects Spanberger will win Virginia governor’s race
ABC News projects Democrat Abigail Spanberger will win the Virginia governor’s race, based on an analysis of the vote.
Polls now closed in Virginia
Polls are now closed in Virginia, where there is a closely watched governor’s race.
New Jersey voters focused on taxes and economy: Exit polls
Taxes and the economy are the most important issues for New Jersey voters, according to a preliminary exit poll analysis by ABC News.
Most New Jersey voters said the economy in the state was doing “not so good” or “poor,” and that property taxes were “a major problem” where they live, according to the analysis.
Most New Jersey voters also said electricity costs where they live are “a major problem,” according to the analysis.
-ABC News’ Emily Guskin
Kentucky election official informs state voters there is no election this year following complaints
Election officials in Kentucky felt compelled to address a surprising complaint from some constituents on Tuesday: Why are polling places closed?
The answer? There aren’t any elections in Kentucky.
That didn’t keep some voters in the state from flocking to polling places, only to be disappointed to learn that they could not vote for high-profile races in Virginia and New York, according to Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams.
“We’re getting calls about polls being closed. They are closed because we do not have elections today,” he wrote on X. “Kentucky votes next year. You cannot vote today in Kentucky for the mayor of New York City or the Governor of Virginia. Sorry.”
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman
NYC voters are concerned about the cost of living: Exit poll
More than half of voters in New York City said Tuesday that the cost of living was the most important issue facing the city, dwarfing the other issues measured in preliminary ABC News exit polling.
-ABC News’ Emily Guskin
Schumer refuses to say who he voted for in NYC mayoral election
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dodged a question by a reporter who asked if he voted for Mamdani or Cuomo in the election.
“Look I voted, and I Iook forward to working with the next mayor to help New York City,” he said before taking another question.
Schumer has not publicly supported Mamdani since he won the Democratic primary in June.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
NYC 2025 vote surpasses 20-year high, with hours to go until polls close
As of 3 p.m. ET, roughly 1.4 million New York voters have cast a ballot in this year’s elections, with six hours before polls close marking the highest turnout for a city election in 20 years, the city’s Board of Elections said.
Roughly 1.1 million voters cast a ballot in the 2021 election, according to city BOE data.
The last time a city election vote exceeded 1.3 million was in 2005, when Michael Bloomberg was re-elected to a second term, according to BOE records.
Of the 1.4 million cast so far in 2025, 716,625 votes, about 49%, were cast on Tuesday, while the remaining were cast at early voting polling sites.
NYC 2025 vote surpasses 2021 total, halfway through the day
As of 3 p.m. ET, roughly 1.4 million New York voters have cast a ballot in this year’s elections, with six hours before polls close, the city’s Board of Elections said.
Roughly 1.1 million voters cast a ballot in the 2021 election, according to city BOE data.
Of the 1.4 million cast so far in 2025, 716,625 votes, about 49%, were cast on Tuesday, while the remaining were cast at early voting polling sites.
‘Another baseless claim,’ California officials dismiss Trump
The California secretary of state slammed President Donald Trump over his unfounded claims about the state’s election.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement that Trump’s comments appeared to be “another baseless claim”– and urged voters to head to the polls.
“California voters will not be deceived by someone who consistently makes desperate, unsubstantiated attempts to dissuade Americans from participating in our democracy,” she said.
Additionally, a spokesperson for the state’s attorney general said that Trump is “continuing to spread lies,” adding that elections in California are “fair, safe, and secure.”
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin
Trump says California redistricting vote is under ‘criminal review’
After President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post that California’s Proposition 50 should be under “very serious legal and criminal review,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House is “looking into” providing “executive action.”
“The White House is working on an executive order to strengthen our elections in this country, and to ensure that there cannot be blatant fraud, as we’ve seen in California with their universal mail-in voting system. It’s absolutely true that there’s fraud in California elections. It’s just a fact,” Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.
Leavitt’s comments come after Trump laid into the proposal — where Californians are deciding if the state will adopt a new Democratic-friendly congressional map in response to mid-decade redistricting in Texas — calling it a “GIANT SCAM.”
“The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED. All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!” Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.
2 hours and 49 minutes ago
Trump has made his thoughts on NYC mayoral election ‘quite clear,’ White House says White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump has made his thoughts on the New York City mayoral election “quite clear.”
“The president is a New Yorker, and he loves New York. He has made his thoughts on this election quite clear,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt also addressed Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s comments accusing the Trump administration of attempting to “intimidate voters with baseless allegations of voter fraud,” saying his comments are “based on zero evidence.”
“I think this is just another example of how the Democratic Party unfortunately stands for nothing. All they stand against is President Donald Trump, and I think it’s quite sad to see that we have someone at the top of the ticket on election day today saying such things about the president, when he obviously had nothing to do with those threats,” Leavitt said on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Mamdani addressed reports of voter intimidation in New Jersey, saying these incident are “incredibly concerning.”
“I think that it is an illustration of the attacks we’re seeing in our democracy,” he continued, accusing the Trump administration of adopting a “general approach” of attempting to “intimidate voters with baseless allegations of voter fraud as a means of trying to repress the voice of Americans across this country,” Mamdani said.
Trump endorsed Cuomo on Monday in a social media post. “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job,” Trump wrote.
3 hours and 50 minutes ago
Trump and Newsom square off on Prop 50
President Donald Trump and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom are sparring over the vote on Proposition 50, the ballot proposition where Californians are deciding if the state will adopt a new Democratic-friendly congressional map in response to mid-decade redistricting in Texas.
On social media, Trump laid into the proposal as a “GIANT SCAM” and that voting process itself is “rigged.”
“The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED. All ‘Mail-In’ Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are ‘Shut Out,’ is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!” Trump wrote.
Newsom hit back on X: “The ramblings of an old man that knows he’s about to LOSE.”
Democrats feel particularly bullish about their chances in California tonight.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
3 hours and 58 minutes ago
GOP groups attack Mamdani, attempt to link him to broader Democratic Party
As voters head to the polls, various Republican groups have released statements and memos attacking New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, as the Republican Party continues to tie the self-described democratic socialist to the broader Democratic Party as a way to paint Democrats as radical and out of touch.
The messaging, while not new, reflects how the Republican Party hopes to use Mamdani as an albatross against Democrats.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, in a memo released on Tuesday morning framing Republicans as having more momentum one year out to the 2026 midterms, claimed that Democrats are fully on board with “the socialist agenda.”
“Democrats are now fully embracing the socialist agenda, with Hakeem Jeffries endorsing radical socialist Zohran Mamdani just last week,” the committee wrote, calling this “electoral poison for Democrats” because Democrats view socialism more negatively than capitalism.
Additionally, the National Republican Senatorial Committee — the campaign arm of Senate Republicans — sent out a flurry of at least seven memos early Tuesday tying Democratic primary candidates in key Senate races to Mamdani.
In a press release on Monday, the Republican National Convention grouped Mamdani with the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, saying they “are all cut from the same far-left cloth.”
-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim, Brittany Shepherd and Emily Chang
12:05 PM EST
Cuomo says Trump ‘does not support me’ but ‘opposes Zohran Mamdani’
While casting his vote for himself on Tuesday morning, independent candidate for mayor of New York City and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo said President Donald Trump does not support him but “opposes Zohran Mamdani.”
“The president does not support me. The president opposes Zohran Mamdani,” Cuomo said when asked if he accepts Trump’s recent endorsement.
Cuomo was also asked what’s at stake nationally in this election, to which he told reporters, “I think what you’re seeing is a civil war in the Democratic Party that has been growing for a while.”
The former governor said Trump believes Mamdani is an “existential threat” and that the “momentum is on our side.”
-ABC News’ Halle Troadec
11:27 AM EST
Vance urges support for New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Ciattarelli as race tightens
Vice President JD Vance urged voters in New Jersey to cast their vote for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, as the race tightens between Ciattarelli and the Democrats’ pick, former Navy helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill.
“Get out there and vote for Jack if you live in NJ. New Jersey is such a great state but it’s suffered too long under crap leadership,” Vance wrote on Tuesday.
According to a Quinnipiac poll, Ciattarelli is lagging Sherill only by single digits in the race, with Sherill leading Ciatttarelli by 8 points in the full ballot matchup.
Former President Barack Obama has previously endorsed Sherill, saying her “integrity, grit and commitment to service are what we need right now in our leaders.”
In addition to being backed by Vance, Ciattarelli also boasts the support of President Donald Trump.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
11:10 AM EST
Implications of NYC’s mayoral race stretch beyond the Big Apple
While New Yorkers are focused on solving key issues of affordability and public safety, the implications of the mayoral race could stretch beyond the five boroughs.
This local off-year election has garnered national attention and is considered representative of political headwinds ahead of the 2026 midterms. Candidates are zeroed in on navigating the impacts of President Donald Trump’s second term, and Zohran Mamdani’s candidacy has shed light on how the Democratic Party has struggled to balance its progressive and moderate sides.
-ABC News’ Emily Chang
10:49 AM EST
Cuomo votes, calls Trump ‘pragmatic’ for encouraging Republicans to back him
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who appeared to cast his ballot at a polling place on the East Side of Manhattan on Tuesday morning, called President Donald Trump “pragmatic” for encouraging Republican voters to support him in the New York City mayoral election, instead of the GOP nominee, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, to blunt a victory for Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
“President Trump is pragmatic. He is telling them the reality of the situation, which is, if you do not vote, Mamdani is going to win. Who is Mamdani? I don’t know, but he’s a Democratic socialist that brings socialism to New York City. New York City will not thrive with a socialist economy,” Cuomo, who is running as an independent, said on Fox News on Tuesday. “So Republicans, you have to get up and come out and vote. Even if you’re not voting for a Republican, you’re voting to save New York City.”
Cuomo went on to say that Mamdani’s campaign promises to lower costs and expand government resources — by freezing the rent temporarily on rent stabilized units, providing government-run grocery stores and free city busses — is “all BS.”
“It’s not up to the mayor. It’s up to the state. State said they’re not going to do it. It’s all BS, it’s all campaign rhetoric. None of it will change anybody’s life,” Cuomo argued.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
10:37 AM EST
Mikie Sherrill says there’s ‘no credible’ threats to New Jersey voting
Accompanied by her husband and children, New Jersey’s Democratic nominee for governor Mikie Sherrill appeared at a Montclair voting center to cast her ballot and address the press.
Sherrill sought to assure voters that it is currently safe to cast ballots throughout the state, after multiple polling places temporarily closed in northern New Jersey after precincts fielded emailed bomb threats later deemed to be not credible, prompting election officials to direct some voters to other polling places.
“We’ve checked out all the bomb threats. There are no credible ones yet. Law enforcement is working overtime to keep our elections safe, so I don’t see any threat to voting,” Sherrill said. She called the scare an “attempt to suppress the vote.”
-ABC News’ Emily Chang and Lucien Bruggeman
10:24 AM EST
Mamdani casts his ballot: ‘We are on the brink of making history’
Just moments after casting his ballot on the morning of Election Day, New York City mayoral Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani proudly branded an “I voted” sticker and emphasized his vision to “usher in a new era in this city.”
“Today is Election Day. It is a day that we have been dreaming of for more than a year,” he began. “We are on the brink of making history in our city, on the brink of saying goodbye to a politics of the past.”
Mamdani emphasized his platform centered on affordability, touting his plan to “transform the most expensive city of the United States of America into one that’s affordable for each and every person that calls it home.”
Asked by ABC News’ Aaron Katersky on what he would say to New Yorkers concerned that President Donald Trump will follow through on his threats, Mamdani reiterated his resolve to stand up to Trump and argued that the president’s words sometimes hold no weight.
“I look forward to representing those New Yorkers, and look forward to fighting for every single dollar this city is owed. What we see in the language of Donald Trump is a premise, as if it is his decision on whether or not to fund the city the very money that this city is owed … That means using the courts, that means using the bully pulpit, that means ensuring that we actually follow the letter of the law,” he said.
Mamdani is facing off against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, along with some other independent and third-party candidates.
-ABC News’ Emily Chang
10:13 AM EST
Voters head to polls in 1st major elections of Trump 2.0
It’s Election Day in America, and voters across the country are heading to the polls in statewide and local elections.
It’s the first major election cycle since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The results from Tuesday’s races will give voters an opportunity to weigh in on the state of the country and their communities.
Trump joined election eve tele-rallies supporting Republican candidates in Virginia and New Jersey, where he focused on energy costs and crime. He also threw out an eleventh-hour endorsement in New York City’s mayoral election, urging voters to support Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani.
