Walz kicks off weeklong post-debate campaign, media blitz in battleground Pennsylvania
Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign on Wednesday announced that following a “strong” vice-presidential debate performance from running mate Gov. Tim Walz Tuesday night, he’ll embark on a weeklong travel and media blitz — including rallies, direct voter engagement events, fundraisers and two national TV interviews — that begins in battleground Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
“Walz will participate in more media interviews and engagements to reach key demographics and target voters that the campaign is working to win, combining national, battleground state, and specialty media interviews with high-impact digital engagements including with sports content creators and podcasts,” the campaign said.
Walz will also make his late-night TV debut as Harris’ running mate and be a guest on a “top pop culture podcast” during an upcoming swing on the West Coast, the campaign said — though specific details have not yet been disclosed.
Walz’s interactions with national media have been rare since he hit the campaign trail, with his only national interviews being the ABC News and MSNBC post-presidential debate interviews on Sept. 10 and the joint sit-down interview with Harris on CNN on Aug. 29.
Walz is kicking off the swing with a central Pennsylvania bus tour on Wednesday with Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman — a trip meant to be done with Harris, however her schedule shifted to focus on Hurricane Helene. On Wednesday, Harris visits Georgia to survey the storm damage, give updates on the government response and hear from local officials on the ground.
Walz’s Pennsylvania bus tour includes stops in Harrisburg and Reading before Fetterman joins him for a campaign rally in York.
Pennsylvania is a critical battleground state where both campaigns will focus their time in the remaining weeks until Election Day. Pennsylvania went for former President Donald Trump by over 44,000 votes in 2016 before President Joe Biden took it back by over 80,000 votes in 2020.
On Saturday, Walz will be fundraising, starting with an Ohio swing in Cleveland and Cincinnati. He’ll then travel to the West Coast to fundraise, with stops in California and Washington.
According to the campaign, Walz will also continue his campaigning with stops in the Sun Belt. He will make another visit to Reno, Nevada, to hold a campaign rally that was originally postponed in light of the Davis wildfires in September. He then goes to Arizona for a series of political events to kick off the start of early voting in the state.
“With just over 30 days until the election, the Harris-Walz ticket is entering the final stretch of the campaign aggressively, with a robust travel and media schedule to ensure that every American voter knows what’s on the line in November,” the campaign said.
Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, leaves the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 06, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, attempted to enlist support from the U.S. Ambassador to Italy in 2016 to arrange a business meeting on behalf of Burisma for a prospective energy deal, according to his attorney.
The New York Times first reported the overture, which occurred during Joe Biden’s time as vice president.
In a statement to ABC News on Tuesday night, Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, characterized Hunter Biden’s letter to John Phillips, the U.S. ambassador in Rome at the time, seeking a “simple introduction” as a “normal and proper practice.”
“No meeting occurred, no project materialized, no request for anything in the U.S. was ever sought, and only an introduction in Italy was requested,” Lowell said.
The New York Times reported that it had secured records related to Hunter Biden’s request after a lengthy legal fight with the State Department. The newspaper said in Tuesday’s news article that it initially filed the request for these records in June 2021 and later sued when the department failed to turn them over.
The Times also reported that a State Department official said the timing of the release of these particular documents — just weeks after Joe Biden ended his presidential campaign — was a coincidence.
The actual text of Hunter Biden’s 2016 letter to Ambassador John Phillips was not included in the documents obtained by the Times. But according to Lowell, Hunter Biden reached out to the embassy to see “if they could make a simple introduction of Burisma’s Geothermal company to the President of Tuscany where such projects were being considered.”
The response Hunter Biden received from an embassy aide suggested unease with official U.S. cooperation.
“I want to be careful about promising too much,” a Commerce Department official based in Rome replied to Hunter Biden, according to the Times. “This is a Ukrainian company and, purely to protect ourselves, [U.S. government] should not be actively advocating with the government of Italy without the company going through the [Commerce Department] Advocacy Center.”
Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma for nearly five years and earned more than $2 million from the energy firm during that time, according to court records filed as part of his tax case in California.
This latest revelation builds on recent allegations that Hunter Biden attempted to leverage his proximity to power for business gains.
Last week, prosecutors contended in court filings that the younger Biden accepted payments from a Romanian businessman who wanted him to “influence U.S. government agencies” while his father was vice president.
Lawyers for Hunter Biden criticized the allegations related to the Romanian businessman in court filings.
“The Special Counsel’s unnecessary change of tactic merely echoes the baseless and false allegations of foreign wrongdoing which have been touted by House Republicans to use Mr. Biden’s proper business activities in Romania and elsewhere to attack him and his father,” attorneys for Hunter Biden wrote.
In related news, Hunter Biden first addressed his role at Burisma in an interview with ABC News in Oct. 2019. He acknowledged at the time that he would “probably not” have been offered the role at Burisma if his last name hadn’t been Biden, but insisted he “did nothing wrong at all” by accepting overseas work while his father was vice president.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(WILMINGTON, N.C.) — Former President Donald Trump is returning to the key battleground state of North Carolina on Saturday amid a major controversy revolving around North Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who the former president had previously supported and called “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
Robinson, the sitting Republican lieutenant governor of North Carolina, allegedly posted inflammatory comments on a message board of a pornography website more than a decade ago, according to a report out Thursday from CNN.
Robinson is not expected to attend Saturday’s rally, though sources caution plans could always change. Trump has not given any indication that he intends to pull his endorsement of Robinson.
The controversy has become a new headache for Trump in the final stretch of the 2024 election cycle.
Trump has campaigned for Robinson multiple times this election cycle, including inviting him to speak at his rallies in North Carolina this year and hosting him at his Mar-a-Lago estate for a fundraiser last year. Also, Trump’s advisers are keenly aware just how important battleground North Carolina is for the former president’s victory in November.
People close to the former president told ABC News that they were bracing for the Robinson story on Thursday. Sources said the campaign was planning to put more distance between Trump and Robinson, but initially did not have plans to call on him to drop out.
“President Trump’s campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving this country. North Carolina is a vital part of that plan,” Trump campaign’s National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a statement to ABC News in response to allegations about Robinson.
When it comes to winning North Carolina, the Trump campaign “will not take our eye off the ball,” Leavitt said.
Trump has yet to make any direct comment on the Robinson controversy. His running mate Sen. JD Vance dodged reporters’ questions about it on Thursday, later, in a post on X, he repeated attacks on Harris as his “comment on Mark Robinson.”
Among the controversial comments Robinson allegedly made online many years ago, according to CNN’s reporting, is one comment where he allegedly referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” CNN reports the comments were made by Robinson between 2008-2012 under the username “minisoldr” on “Nude Africa,” a pornographic website that includes a message board.
ABC News has not confirmed this reporting or the online username alleged to be linked to him.
Robinson has denied he made the comments and claimed the allegations were “salacious tabloid lies.” Defending his character, Robinson vowed to stay in the race as the deadline to drop out as a candidate in North Carolina approached on Thursday.
While Robinson’s alleged past comments online have received a lot of attention, so too have Trump’s past comments in support of Robinson.
“This is Martin Luther King on steroids,” Trump said at a rally in March 2024 while campaigning in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Taking the stage after Robinson’s speech, Trump said, “I told that to Mark. I said, ‘I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.'”
Trump later said he was “outstanding” and set to “be the next governor” of North Carolina.
In December 2023, at a private Mar-a-Lago fundraiser supporting Robinson, Trump said people should “cherish” Robinson like a “fine wine.”
“We have to cherish Mark. We have to cherish him. It’s like a fine wine, because that’s what you have, you have a fine wine,” Trump said in a social media video posted by North Carolina politician Robert Ward, who attended the fundraiser.
Trump further called Robinson an “outstanding person” that he “got to know fairly quickly,” asking donors gathered at his property to donate to Robinson and to get out and vote because he has a “tough opponent.”
“You got to help him financially, because you all people that have a lot of money — I know, rich as hell. So anything you were going to do, quadruple it,” Trump said.
Trump campaigned with Robinson twice at his North Carolina rallies in August. In Asheville, on Aug. 14, Robinson was the final speaker of the pre-programming prior to Trump’s arrival, and Trump called him a “good man” and a “fighter” in a relatively short shout out.
“I want to thank a very good man, and he’s in there fighting,” Trump said about Robinson. “… We know he’s a fighter. The next governor of North Carolina, Mark Robinson. Thanks, Mark. This is Mrs. Robinson. Thank you. They’re a great, great couple. Thank you both.”
In Asheboro, on Aug. 21, Robinson did not speak on stage, but Trump gave him a shout out during his speech and briefly brought him on stage.
The Harris campaign has been capitalizing on Trump and Robinson’s relationship on social media, firing off a series of posts featuring Trump’s praising past comments on Robinson and calling them “best friends.”
On Friday, the Harris campaign released a new ad that seeks to tie Trump to Robinson, saying “they’re both wrong for North Carolina.”
The ad, which will air in North Carolina, features past clips of Trump praising Robinson. The 30-second spot also highlights Robinson’s hard-line comments on abortion.
The ad does not include the alleged comments and conduct outlined in CNN’s article.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
(CHICAGO) — The final day of the Democratic National Convention wraps up with Kamala Harris’ big moment: her acceptance speech in which she gets to tell her story to the millions of Americans watching.
Her campaign says, in addition to describing her middle-class upbringing, she will continue to stress optimism and patriotism — the “politics of joy” — the overall themes we’ve heard throughout the gathering.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Harris, Emhoff wish each other happy 10th anniversary
Vice President Kamala Harris wished her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff a happy anniversary on Thursday ahead of her acceptance speech at the DNC. The couple are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.
“To the best partner I could ask for: Happy anniversary, Dougie,” Harris posted on social media, with a picture of the two visiting campaign headquarters in Wilmington the day after she announced her candidacy.
Earlier Thursday, Emhoff did the same, posting a slideshow of photos of himself and Harris.
“Ten years of marriage, forever to go,” Emhoff wrote. “Happy anniversary, @WRQ11HGNB. I love you.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
Meet the oldest DNC delegate, Angie Gialloreto
Angie Gialloreto, 95, has attended every Democratic National Convention since 1976, when Jimmy Carter was on the ticket.
Since the 99-year-old former president could not attend this year’s DNC due to his health issues, Gialloreto is the oldest delegate to travel to Chicago, where she will watch Harris accept her party’s nomination.
The Pennsylvania native told ABC News the possibility that Harris could become the first woman to serve as president was a long time coming because women “have taken a back seat many years and now we’ll have a leader.”
When asked how she would celebrate if Harris ends up victorious during the November general election against Donald Trump, Gialloreto said she will focus on “getting ready for the next election of local candidates.”
-ABC News’ Morgan Gstalter
Walz meets with former students in Chicago
The morning after accepting his party’s nomination for vice president, Walz gathered in Chicago with former staff, family, friends and former students — including some of the football players who appeared on-stage Wednesday night at the United Center.
ABC News spotted Walz at a Chicago hotel on Thursday morning.
During that meeting, he mingled with several of his former Mankato West High School students over an informal breakfast, according to a source familiar with Walz’s movements. Some of those who met with Walz at the hotel were observed by ABC News donning “Harris-Walz Alumni” T-shirts.
Earlier in the day, Walz posted a video on X showing him hug and greet the students backstage at the convention.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Allison Pecorin and MaryAlice Parks
How Harris prepares for big speeches
Former campaign managers and senior staffers who worked Harris through the years shed light on how she prepares for big speeches.
They said she’s a trial lawyer at her core, and so preparation was key as well as being ready for audience reactions.
In crafting a speech, she would start with themes, outline and then focus in on what she wanted to say well in advance. She would be intimately involved in every speech, making edits and collaborating with those around her.
They said like most people she gets nervous, but would relax, review the remarks, save her voice, conserve energy and rest up.
-ABC News’ Zohreen Shah
What some of Chicago’s young voters think about the 2024 election
Three young voters — one liberal, one moderate and one conservative — discussed their thoughts on the 2024 election while in Chicago for the DNC.
-538’s Nathaniel Rakich
Trump to do live play-by-play of Harris’ speech on Truth Social
Former President Donald Trump said he will do a “LIVE PLAY BY PLAY on TRUTH Social” of Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech at the DNC Thursday night.
“We will start at 10 P.M., Eastern, and be covering and commenting on some of the earlier Speeches made, prior to hers,” Trump posted on his social media platform before going on to slam the dropout of President Joe Biden and saying he was going to “expose” Harris’ policies.
-ABC News Lalee Ibssa
Harris campaign dodges question on why there isn’t a Palestinian speaker at DNC
The Harris campaign at a briefing Thursday morning dodged a question from ABC News on why there isn’t a Palestinian speaker at the convention and why simply saying former President Donald Trump would be worse for Arab-Americans is not the campaign taking their votes for granted.
“No, we’re absolutely not taking their votes for granted,” campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said. “I think, as it relates to uncommitted delegates at this convention, we’re proud, glad that they are here. We’ve worked to engage them throughout the convention.”
Tyler noted a panel conversation that was held with members of the uncommitted movement and said Harris recently engaged with the movement’s leadership in Michigan. He also emphasized that the vice president is working toward a resolution to the Israel-Hamas conflict “with a permanent cease-fire that allows Israel to fully secure itself, that fully continues and make sure that we have full humanitarian aid, but also make sure that Gazans are able to peacefully live and prosper in Gaza.”
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
12:58 PM EDT Gun control to be featured ahead of Harris’ remarks
Before Vice President Kamala Harris takes center stage Thursday night, gun violence survivors and gun safety advocates will address the DNC, according to Harris-Walz campaign spokesman Michael Tyler.
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, Rep. Maxwell Frost and the “Tennessee Three” — state Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, are also expected to speak.
Tyler told reporters Govs. Gretchen Whitmer and Roy Cooper, Sens. Mark Kelly and Elizabeth Warren, and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger — a member of Jan 6. select committee — will give remarks too.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
10:11 AM EDT Kamala Harris to tell her personal story in acceptance speech
The fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention is leading up to a dramatic finale: Kamala Harris giving her acceptance speech and getting to tell her personal story — in her own words — to an audience of millions.
She’s expected talk about a middle-class upbringing with a working mother. She will continue to stress the themes we’ve heard from speakers throughout the convention: optimism and patriotism — the “politics of joy” — drawing a contrast, her campaign says, with the “dark” vision of Donald Trump.
