August 8, 2024, presidential campaign news

Our live coverage has ended. Follow the?latest 2024 election news?here or read through the posts below.

Vice President Kamala?Harris and Former President Donald Trump

Former President?Donald Trump?on Thursday?repeatedly demeaned Vice President?Kamala Harris, calling her “barely competent,” and made a string of false?and?often confusing claims about?her new running mate, Minnesota Gov.?Tim?Walz.

The former president took a variety of questions for about an hour at Mar-a-Lago.

Meantime, Harris and Walz continued their blitz of battleground states with an event in Detroit this afternoon before heading to Arizona.

Here are the top headlines:

?Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are?rallying voters across the Midwest?this week,?looking to build on support from key union leaders as they promote a message of pro-labor policies that?they say?benefit the middle class.

At the leadership level, the?Democratic?ticket’s been deemed a clear choice. Shawn Fain, the president of the United Auto Workers who endorsed Harris last week and appeared alongside the pair Tuesday, called them a “Democratic Dynamic Duo.”

The public show of support follows weeks of behind-the-scenes maneuvering to renew support from the unions that had backed?President Joe Biden, who called himself the most pro-union president in history, until he made a surprise exit from the race last month.

Since then, Harris has set out to prove that she won’t veer from Biden’s agenda — working the phones with union leaders, holding early campaign events alongside the American Federation of Teachers and the UAW, and notching the endorsement from a major hospitality union, despite a proposal by former President Donald Trump to?increase service workers’ take-home pay.

And the selection of Walz as the ticket’s No. 2 is seen as bolstering those labor bona fides: Walz and his wife were both union members, and?his?tenure as governor?includes infrastructure, climate and paid leave legislation.

Fain projected confidence later Thursday during an interview with CNN’s Erica Hill, insisting that an “overwhelming majority” of union members will vote for Harris and Walz in November.

Keep reading about the role unions are playing in this election.

President Joe Biden offered praise tonight for Kamala Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, according to a source in the room where he spoke to his former Wilmington-based campaign staff.

“When you get to know him, he’s the real deal,” he added.

First lady Jill Biden also spoke. She echoed her handwritten note, thanking them for “(believing) in Joe” and expressing her appreciation, per another source in the room.?

President Joe Biden spoke to several hundred members of his former Wilmington-based campaign staff at The Queen Theatre Thursday night, thanking them for their support of his presidential bid, a campaign official told pool reporters traveling with the president.?

There were a few tears from some staff members, the official told the pool.

Biden took photos with every person who wanted one.

Donald Trump spent the first half of 2024 juggling a busy court and campaign schedule as he defended himself in several criminal cases while also vying for a second term in the White House.

After a seven-week trial this spring in Trump’s New York hush money trial, a jury found the former president guilty on all 34 felony counts. The charges?stem?from his alleged falsification of business records?with the intent to conceal illegal conduct connected to his 2016 presidential campaign.

Judge Juan Merchan had set a sentencing hearing for?July 11, a week before the Republican National Convention. But after the US Supreme Court issued its ruling in Trump’s immunity case, Merchan?pushed the sentencing hearing?to September 18 “if such is still necessary.”

Also in September, Trump is set to debate Vice President Kamala Harris on ABC.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to audience members at a campaign rally at United Auto Workers Local 900 on Thursday, August 8, in Wayne, Michigan.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, newly selected Democratic vice presidential candidate, is facing scrutiny over his military service record, with critics, including his Republican rival Sen. JD Vance,?accusing?Walz of falsely suggesting he saw combat during his time as an Army reservist.

It’s not the first time Walz has encountered such criticism.

A CNN KFile review reveals that similar accusations were made in 2006, during Walz’s first run for Congress. That year, multiple letters to his local paper in Mankato, Minnesota, accused him of making misleading statements about his service, including whether he had served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Walz found the accusations serious enough that he personally responded to them both.

At issue were a selection of political ads and statements on Walz’s website describing his overseas military service. While they described Walz as having served overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, they neglected to specify that he did so while serving in Italy, not Afghanistan.

Walz was more specific in other statements and interviews with the media from 2006, in which he did say that, “by luck of the draw,” he was posted to Italy, and not Afghanistan.

Read more about this here and what more about this reporting below:

- Source: cnn " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/630e4819-4e3a-4cc2-95ca-ebc7531db4a8.png?c=16x9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/630e4819-4e3a-4cc2-95ca-ebc7531db4a8.png?c=16x9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="" data-byline-html="

" data-timestamp-html="

Updated 11:22 PM EDT, Thu August 8, 2024

" data-check-event-based-preview="" data-is-vertical-video-embed="false" data-network-id="" data-publish-date="2024-08-09T00:58:10.783Z" data-video-section="" data-canonical-url="" data-branding-key="" data-video-slug="Walz military" data-first-publish-slug="Walz military" data-video-tags="" data-details="">

Video Ad Feedback

c0a59c78-1002-4629-a4f6-6008523306c1.mp4

03:54 - Source: cnn

Donald Trump continues to juggle multiple legal issues while preparing to face Kamala Harris in the November election.?

The special counsel’s office wants more time before having to detail what the Justice Department’s next steps could be in the 2020 election case against Trump, which would push any activity in the case into September at the earliest, just months before the presidential election.

Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s office said in a filing Thursday that they are still working through what the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this summer – which granted Trump sweeping immunity for official acts as president – means for the case and how it proceeds.

The request marks a notable change in federal prosecutors’ approach in this criminal case putting the option of a delay on the table after the special counsel spent a year urging the case forward to trial so voters could quickly have answers. The move by Smith also contrasts sharply with Chutkan’s, who, ready to move forward in the days after she was given the case back last week, issued two rulings and set a quick schedule.

Chutkan had scheduled an August 16 hearing to go over the case’s schedule moving forward but prosecutors are asking the judge to push that date back into September.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys had a call earlier Thursday and the “defense was happy to provide this extra time,” according to a source familiar with their thinking. The two sides also spoke on a call earlier this week.

Click here to see where all the criminal cases against Trump stand.

Kamala Harris’ campaign is blasting Donald Trump over suggesting during his news conference earlier today that he is open to revoking access to the abortion pill, mifepristone.

Trump was asked by a reporter: “There are other things the federal government could do, not just an [abortion] ban. Would you direct your FDA, for example, to revoke access to mifepristone? That’s one of the things.”

Trump answered, “So, you could do things that will be, would supplement. Absolutely. And those things are pretty open and humane, but you have to be able to have a vote. And all I want to do is give everybody a vote, and the votes are taking place right now as we speak.”

Pushed by the reporter: “And that’s something you would consider?”

Trump said, “There are many things you can do on a humane basis that you can do outside of that, but you also have to give a vote.”

During CNN’s presidential debate in June, Trump said he would not try to block access to the abortion pill mifepristone if reelected and said he agreed with the US Supreme Court’s decision to reject a lawsuit challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s approach to regulating the abortion pill.

“The Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill, and I agree with their decision to have done that and I will not block it,’ Trump said.

ABC News will allow other networks to broadcast its September 10 presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, an ABC spokesperson told CNN on Thursday.?

Details about the debate’s format and rules have yet to be confirmed publicly, but the 90-minute face-off will likely take place in Philadelphia, a source familiar with the matter said.

ABC News anchors David Muir and Lynsey Davis will moderate the debate, the network previously said.

During the first presidential debate of the 2024 season between President Joe Biden and former President Trump, CNN allowed other networks to air the debate but with strict requirements around its promotion and broadcast.

More than 51 million people watched the debate in June across 22 networks.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has qualified for the ballot in Texas, the Texas Secretary of State’s office announced on Thursday.

In May, the Kennedy campaign submitted over 245,000 signatures to the Texas Secretary of State. Kennedy and his running mate Nicole Shanahan appeared in person to help carry boxes of signatures into the state’s elections office in Austin, part of the campaign’s effort to highlight the strength of its signature-gathering operation by petitioning in the state with one of the largest signature thresholds in the country for independent candidates.

On Thursday, Texas Director of Elections Christina Adkins informed the Kennedy campaign in a letter that Kennedy will appear on November’s ballot, after his petition was found to contain 122,513 valid signatures, more than the 113,151 signatures needed to qualify.

In July, Texas Democrats sent a letter asking the Secretary of State’s office to reject Kennedy’s petition, arguing Kennedy’s signatures violated several state laws on the proper formatting guidelines for petition signatures. The letter to the Kennedy campaign did not acknowledge the Texas Democrats request.

Including Texas, Kennedy has qualified for the ballot in 16 states. He’s also gained ballot access in New Jersey,?Vermont, Michigan, North Carolina, Colorado, New Mexico, Tennessee, Minnesota, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Delaware, California, Nebraska, Hawaii and Utah.

Kennedy is now eligible for 212 electoral college votes.

Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala?Harris?speaks with members of the media before boarding Air Force Two at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, on Thursday, August 7.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday defended her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military service in the face of criticism by Republicans, including GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, who have accused Walz of embellishing his record.

“Listen, I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country, and I think that we all should,” Harris told reporters as she prepared to depart Detroit with Walz.

On Wednesday in Michigan, Vance, also a veteran, accused Walz of ducking service in Iraq when he left the Army National Guard and ran for Congress in 2005 and falsely claiming he had served in a combat zone.

Some context: Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years before retiring. He launched a campaign for Congress in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District that year and was elected in November 2006. He retired two months before his unit received alert orders to deploy to Iraq. He did not deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq or a combat zone as part of his service.

In a?2009 interview?for the Library of Congress, Tim Walz said he left the Army National Guard to focus full time on running for Congress, citing concerns about trying to serve at the same time and the Hatch Act, which limits political activities for federal employees.?

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed two state proclamations this week that highlight aspects of his record and background playing a prominent role in his first days as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.

On Wednesday, Walz signed a proclamation naming August 7, 2024, as “Combat Wounded Veterans Purple Heart Day” in Minnesota. On Thursday, Walz signed another proclamation labeling today as “Farm Family Recognition Day” in the state. The two proclamations are Walz’s first official actions as governor since being tapped as Harris’ running mate on Monday.

The honorary proclamation recognizing wounded veterans comes amid renewed scrutiny of his record of military service. Republicans, including GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, have accused Walz of inflating his service record and skirting a deployment to Iraq while enlisted in the Army National Guard. Walz retired two months before his unit received alert orders to deploy to Iraq. He has previously referred to guns as weapons “I carried in war,” despite not being deployed to a combat zone during his 24 years of service.

In the?proclamation, Walz recognized the sacrifice paid by wounded veterans.

Walz’s recognition of family farm workers aligns with the Harris campaign’s attempt to highlight Walz’s Midwestern roots, in part to rural voters in the region. On the day Walz was announced as Harris’ running mate, the campaign released a camouflage hat bearing the Harris-Walz campaign logo.

“I grew up working on a family farm. I know the work our farmers, ranchers, and producers do is tough under the very best of conditions,” he?wrote on social media in a post sharing the proclamation. “I’ll always make the case: We owe them our full support to keep feeding Minnesota and the world.”

Vice President Kamala Harris waits to speak at a campaign rally at United Auto Workers Local 900 on August 8, in Wayne, Michigan.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday posted on social media that she is looking forward to debating former President Donald Trump on September 10.

CNN previously reported Trump and Harris are set to debate on ABC on September 10 after the former president said during a news conference earlier today that he agreed to it along with two others next month.

Harris also told reporters before boarding Air Force Two in Detroit that she is “happy” to discuss further debates.

“I’m glad that he’s finally agreed to a debate on September 10. I’m looking forward to it and I hope he shows up,” Harris said.

When asked if she would be open to the other debates mentioned by Trump, Harris said: “I’m happy to have that conversation about an additional debate for after September 10.”

During a press conference earlier today, Trump indicated he would debate Harris on September 4 with Fox and September 25 with NBC — in addition to the now-agreed upon September 10 debate.

Asked when she will sit down for her first interview, Harris said she’s talking to her team and wants to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month.

President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 8.

President Joe Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews Thursday he’s confident in Vice President Kamala Harris’ ability to debate former president Donald Trump, following the news the two candidates have agreed to participate in at least one debate next month.

Asked if he’s confident in his vice president’s ability to debate the GOP nominee, Biden appeared first not to hear the question, before responding, “Yes, I am, as long as you keep him talking!”

He then boarded AF1 for New Castle, Delaware.

Union members listen as Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Democratic vice presidential nominee, speak at a campaign rally at United Auto Workers Local 900, on August 8, in Wayne, Michigan.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz rallied union members in a local union hall in Michigan Thursday, working to drum up support amongst organized labor and draw a sharp contrast between the Democratic ticket and Trump when it came to labor issues.??

In remarks focused on unity and community, Harris highlighted the strength and basic “fairness” of collective bargaining as she drew a throughline to how she believes it’s reflected in her campaign.

Harris has touted her support of unions in the past including walking the picket line with striking workers in 2019. She praised unions for their contributions.?

Walz, who was a union member as a teacher, thanked the auto workers for the “privilege” of joining their picket line last year, and sharply criticized the former president on labor issues.??

“We know that unions built the middle class,” he said, adding, “you know who doesn’t believe that? Donald Trump.”?

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain offered a warm welcome to the Democratic ticket, telling members that Harris and Walz are both “one of us.”

While Harris and Walz joined autoworkers on picket lines during their major strike last year, Fain noted Trump was “nowhere to be found,” and instead visited Detroit to go to a non-union business?

In September, instead of participating in the second Republican presidential primary debate, Trump visited Drake Enterprises, a non-union auto parts supplier in Clint Township, to appeal to a group of current and former union workers.

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally on August 8, in Wayne, Michigan, with Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Vice President Kamala Harris would not answer a question from CNN on whether she will commit to three debates against former president Donald Trump in September.

Harris and Trump are slated to debate on ABC on September 10 after the former president said Thursday at a news conference that he had agreed to it, along with two others.

It is not immediately clear whether Harris will attend the other debates that Trump mentioned Thursday. Harris deflected most questions from several reporters, including CNN, along the ropeline after her campaign event in Detroit today.

The two candidates have been at odds for weeks over the issue. Harris previously agreed to the ABC debate on September 10 – which was originally accepted by Trump and former?President Joe Biden?before the latter dropped out of the race. Earlier this week, Trump had said that?he would not debate Harris?if she did not agree to attend the proposed Fox News debate on September 4.

The Harris campaign responded to Donald Trump’s news conference this afternoon, saying the former president “took a break from taking a break to put some pants on to host what it called a “public meltdown.”

The campaign knocked Trump for not campaigning all week, while Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are on a battleground campaign blitz.

“He hasn’t campaigned all week. He isn’t going to a single swing state this week. But he sure is mad Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are getting big crowds across the battlegrounds,” the campaign said.

During his news conference, Trump argued he hasn’t been campaigning because “I’m leading by a lot and I’m letting their convention go through,” in response to a question from CNN’s Kristen Holmes at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that inflation virtually did not exist during his presidency – drawing a contrast between his administration and that of President Joe Biden whose early years in office were plagued by decades-high inflation.?

“I had 1% inflation. I had actually no inflation because if you look at the categories, we had just about no inflation,” he said at his Mar-a-Lago press conference. “I actually had a positive inflation. It was a perfect number because you don’t want zero …? I had a perfect number, right around the 1%.”?

Facts First: Trump’s comment is false. Inflation was low, but not 1%.?

The Consumer Price Index, a common measure of inflation, rose about 8% during Trump’s four years in office. In January 2021, his final partial month in office, it increased 1.4% from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Trump campaign is downplaying the significance of the Democratic Party reshuffling its ticket to elevate Vice President Kamala Harris replacing President Joe Biden, arguing that despite the change in the dynamics of the race, the “fundamentals” of the campaign have remained the same.?

Trump campaign officials told reporters on Thursday they believe Harris’ improvement over Biden in public polls can be attributed to “irrational exuberance,” arguing that Harris is making up ground with voters who supported Biden in 2020 but had moved away from Democrats before Harris moved to the top of the ticket.?

The official pushed back on Harris’ attacks on Trump’s presidential record, crystallized in the campaign’s new slogan, “We are not going back,” which Harris and her supporters have latched on to at recent campaign events.?

“When you ask voters whether they’d rather return to the Trump economy, or stay with the Biden economy, we win that two to one,” the official said.??

The official said the campaign’s internal data showed Harris has increased enthusiasm among Democratic voters and does better with undecided voters than Biden, but contended she still trails Trump in both voter motivation and popularity with undecided voters. Officials also said Harris was doing better among Black voters then President Joe Biden was, a demographic that Trump’s team has been heavily targeted this cycle.?

Former President Donald Trump once again claimed that he signed the largest tax cut in history during his administration.

“Our tax cuts, which are the biggest in history, our tax cuts are coming due as you know very soon,” Trump said in his Thursday news conference.

Facts First: This claim is false. Analyses have found that Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was not the largest in history, either in percentage of gross domestic product or inflation-adjusted dollars.

The act made numerous permanent and temporary changes to the tax code, including reducing both corporate and individual income tax rates.

In a report released in June, the federal government’s nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office looked at the size of past tax cuts enacted between 1981 and 2023. It found that two other tax cut bills have been bigger – former President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 package and legislation signed by former President Barack Obama that extended earlier tax cuts enacted during former President George W. Bush’s administration.

Former President Donald Trump tried to distance himself from his previous calls to lock up Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the 2016 presidential election. During a Mar-a-Lago news conference on Thursday, he said that while his supporters “used to say, ‘lock her up, lock her up,’” he wouldn’t echo those calls and instead “would say just, ‘relax, please.’”??

“I was very protective of (Clinton). Nobody would understand that, but I was. I think my people understand it. They used to say, ‘lock her up, lock her up,’ but I would say just, ‘relax, please,’” Trump said.??

Facts First:?Trump’s suggestion that while his supporters chanted “lock her up,” he merely told them to “relax” is misleading at best. Trump sometimes went silent and paused his remarks as his supporters engaged in the chants, giving them time to continue, but he has used those exact words and similar language on other occasions.

Historically, Trump used such rhetoric while criticizing Clinton’s email practices as secretary of state during the Obama administration, which prompted a federal investigation. She was never charged with a crime.

“For what she’s done, they should lock her up,” Trump said after the crowd chanted “lock her up” at an October 2016 rally in North Carolina.??

“‘Lock her up’ is right,” he said at an October 2016 rally in Pennsylvania.?

Trump has also explicitly called for Clinton’s imprisonment using different phrasing.??

“Hillary Clinton has to go to jail, OK? She has to go to jail,” he said in a June 2016 speech in California. “She has to go to jail,” he repeated in an October 2016 speech in Florida. At a presidential debate in October 2016, after Clinton said, “It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country,” Trump responded, “Because you’d be in jail.”???

Trump softened his rhetoric shortly after he defeated Clinton in the election, saying he didn’t want to hurt her and didn’t feel strongly about prosecuting her. In his 2020 campaign for reelection, though, he again made calls to “lock her up.”??

“You should lock her up, I’ll tell you,” he said at a January 2020 rally in Ohio. At an October 2020 rally in Georgia, after the crowd chanted “lock them up” in relation to the Biden family, Trump said, “You should lock them up. Lock up the Bidens. Lock up Hillary.”

Former President Donald Trump repeated his false claim that Vice President Kamala Harris, a lawyer who was elected as San Francisco’s district attorney and then as California’s attorney general, “couldn’t pass her bar exam.”?

Facts First: It’s not true that Harris “couldn’t pass her bar exam.” She did fail on her first attempt to pass the bar exam, according to The New York Times, but then succeeded. She was admitted to the California bar in 1990, the year after she graduated from law school.??

Trump could fairly say that Harris couldn’t initially pass the bar exam, but his news conference comments made it sound like she never passed.?

A large group of pro-Trump protesters stand on the East steps of the Capitol Building after storming its grounds on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed at a Mar-a-Lago news conference Thursday that “nobody was killed on Jan. 6.”?

Facts First: This is not true. ?

Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from Maryland, was fatally shot by a US Capitol Police employee as a mob tried to force its way toward the House Chamber. Three other people died of “medical emergencies” during the riot. In addition, Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was?attacked with pepper spray during the riot, died after suffering strokes the next day; the medical examiner found that Sicknick died of natural causes, but also?told The Washington Post?that “all that transpired played a role in his condition.”?

A car charges at EV fast-charger manufacturer Kempower on April 23, in Durham, North Carolina.

Former President Donald Trump claimed during today’s remarks to reporters that?“everybody’s going to be forced to buy an electric car” if Democrats win the 2024 election, a claim he has made repeatedly at campaign rallies.

Facts First:?Trump’s claim is false. President Joe Biden has not mandated that everyone will be forced to buy an EV, or outlawed cars powered by gasoline. Biden’s administration has?finalized regulations?pushing automakers and consumers to move toward electric vehicles, as well as more efficient gas-powered hybrids.?

Earlier this year, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized ambitious new tailpipe emissions regulations for automakers that boost both EVs and plug-in hybrids – cars that run on electric batteries and a smaller gas-powered engine.

The Biden administration has also offered tax credits to people who buy certain electric vehicles, invested in new EV charging stations and ordered federal entities to purchase electric vehicles, among other policies promoting the adoption of these vehicles. In 2023, EVs made up just 7.6% of new car sales, according to Kelley Blue Book.

The new rule is targeting 35% to 56% for EVs in 2032, and 13% to 36% for plug-in hybrids.?

But there is no Biden requirement that “everybody” has to drive an electric vehicle and no Biden proposal to prohibit citizens from continuing to use gasoline-powered engines.?

Former President Donald Trump said during his news conference Thursday that the United States wouldn’t have experienced “any inflation” had it not been for “bad energy problems” during the Biden administration.?

Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. He appeared to be referencing the spike in gas prices that occurred after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. That certainly contributed to inflation at the time, but it was trending higher before then as a result of pent-up demand from the pandemic and labor shortages.??

It’s also worth noting that domestic oil production was higher in 2022 compared to when Trump was president, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.

Ahead of their event at the United Auto Workers local 900 union hall, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz filmed campaign content for digital platforms, the campaign said.?

The two spent a little over an hour at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Detroit where they filmed videos. The stop was closed to the press, according to pool reporters traveling with her.

Migrants seeking asylum from Central and South America walk alongside border fencing after illegally crossing over into the U.S. on June 24, in Ruby, Arizona.

In a news conference Thursday from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, former President Donald Trump repeated his familiar story about how migrants are supposedly arriving in the US after having been deliberately freed by foreign leaders from prisons and mental health facilities.?

“Why is it that millions of people were allowed to come into our country from prisons, from jails, from mental institutions, insane asylums?” he said. “These are institutions that are being emptied out, not in South America, all over the world, including South America, all over the world. Prisons are being emptied out into our country because we have a president that’s the worst president in the history of our country.”?

Facts First: There is no evidence for Trump’s claim that jails and mental health facilities around the world are being emptied out so that their inhabitants can travel to the US as migrants. Last year, Trump’s campaign was unable to provide any evidence for his narrower claim at the time that South American countries in particular were emptying their mental health facilities to somehow dump patients upon the US.?

Representatives for two anti-immigration organizations told CNN at the time they had not heard of anything that would corroborate Trump’s story, as did three experts at organizations favorable toward immigration. CNN’s own search did not produce any evidence. The website FactCheck.org also found nothing.?

Secret Service agents surround former President Donald Trump after a gunman shot at him during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

When former President Donald Trump was asked about his ear following an assassination attempt at one of his rallies?last month, he said it has “pretty much recovered.”

He said he doesn’t have any hearing damage, saying “I got very lucky.”

When asked if there’s a scar on his ear, Trump said, “yeah, a little bit. Not much.”

Former President Donald Trump said he hasn’t been campaigning because he’s “leading by a lot and I’m letting their convention go through,” in response to a question from CNN’s Kristen Holmes at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence Thursday afternoon.?

After saying Holmes asked a “stupid question,” Trump defended his lack of public events in the past week.

Trump said his Democratic rival Kamala Harris “can’t do a news conference. She doesn’t know how to do a news conference. She’s not smart enough to do a news conference.”

He promised to travel to campaign more “after their convention,” adding that he’s “going out to certain places to help certain senators get elected, not even for me.”

The Democratic National Convention will take place in Chicago from August 19 to 22.

Former President Donald Trump repeated his claim at a news conference Thursday that Vice President Kamala Harris acted as a “border czar” during the Biden administration and that “essentially, she never went to the border” during her time as vice president, discounting her 2021 border visit as one to “a location that was not part of the problem, that was not really going to the border.”

Facts First:?Trump repeated two false claims here. First, Harris did go to the border as vice president,?in Texas in mid-2021;?many Republicans had criticized Harris prior to the visit?for not having gone, and some later argued that she didn’t go frequently enough, but the?recurring?claim that she “never went” has not been true for more than three years. Second, Harris was never made Biden’s “border czar,” a label the White House has always emphasized is inaccurate. In?reality, Biden gave Harris a more limited immigration-related assignment in 2021, asking her to lead diplomacy with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras?in an attempt to address the conditions that prompted their citizens to try to migrate to the United States.

Various news outlets,?including CNN, reported as early as the first half of 2021 that the White House emphasized that Harris had not been put in charge of border security as a whole, as “border czar” strongly suggests, and had instead been handed a diplomatic task related to Central American countries.

A drone view shows the stage where former President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 14.

Former President Donald Trump said the FBI did a “very good job” with the investigation into his assassination attempt last month.

“The FBI came to?see me about the shooter. I?think they’ve done a very good?job, and I think they did a very?good job with respect to this other lunatic that they have in?custody,” Trump said at a news conference on Thursday.

The former president was referring to a Pakistani man who has alleged ties to the?Iranian government who was arrested in New York. The man was charged by the Justice Department earlier this week with seeking to carry out political assassinations,?according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.

FBI investigators believe that Trump and other current and former US government officials were the intended targets of the plot, a US official briefed on the matter said.

Victim interviews, like the one Trump participated in with the FBI after his attempted assassination at a rally in July, are a routine part of criminal investigations, but are voluntary.

Former President Donald Trump said he believes abortion “has become much less of an issue” ahead of the November election.

“I think it’s actually going to be a very small issue,” Trump said.

Trump repeated that he believes in abortion exceptions for instances of rape, incest and the life of the mother.

“I believe strongly,” he said Thursday in Palm Beach, Florida, at a news conference. “I think that that’s a very important thing.”

Former President Donald Trump said he thinks “it’s very?important to have debates” during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago this afternoon.

He said he has agreed to three upcoming dates with Fox, ABC and NBC.

A senior Trump adviser and an ABC source familiar with the matter both said the correct dates Trump has agreed to with networks are: September 4 with Fox, September 10 with ABC and September 25 with NBC.?

Trump said “minor details” are still being worked out including audience and locations. He also said Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has to agree to the terms.

CNN has reached out to NBC and the Harris campaign for comment.

More background: Harris had previously agreed to the ABC debate on September 10.??

ABC News’ Washington Bureau Chief Rick Klein confirmed on Thursday that the ABC debate was on, posting on X, “The @abc debate will be Sept. 10 - with Trump and Harris now both confirmed.”

An ABC source was confident their debate would be first, as the Harris campaign has indicated she will not agree to the Fox News debate.

A source familiar with the NBC negotiations says September 25 was “one of the dates” given to the campaigns. While they’ve been in discussion with both camps, the Harris campaign has not formally accepted.

Details on location, rules and moderators will be determined closer to the debate date.

This post has been updated with additional background on the presidential debates.

Former President Donald Trump stands onstage with Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance during a campaign rally on July 20, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Former President Donald Trump praised his vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, while addressing media Thursday from Florida.

Vance mirrored the Democratic ticket’s schedule this week in battleground states, and held an event in Wisconsin on Wednesday, where he reopened a line of attack into Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota’s military record.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8, in Palm Beach, Florida.

Former President Donald Trump said he wants three presidential debates before the election in November.

He said at a news conference on Monday that he hopes to take the stage with Vice President Kamala Harris several times before voters start casting their ballots.

Trump also acknowledged the possibility of a vice presidential debate and praised his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

Vance has been holding events in key battleground states this week — often in the same place as the Harris campaign. On Wednesday, both Vance and Harris were in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The day before, on Tuesday, they both had events in Philadelphia.

Former President Donald Trump said he “hasn’t recalibrated strategy at all” since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee.

He also accused Harris of being “weak on crime” and having “open borders.”

“I think she’s worse than Biden,” Trump said at a Thursday press conference in Palm Beach, Florida.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8, in Palm Beach, Florida.

Donald Trump described how he views the current Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris became the former president’s new opponent.

Trump attacked Harris’ policy stances and said that she is a “radical left person.”

Harris became the official Democratic nominee for president earlier this week after Biden announced that he would not run for reelection last month.

This is the former president’s first news conference since Harris announced that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be her running mate on Tuesday.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8, in Palm Beach, Florida.

Former President Donald Trump is now speaking after he said this morning that he would hold a news conference at Mar-a-Lago this afternoon.

Trump has looked to respond to the sudden change in his opponent after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race last month and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

Secret Service agents remove former president Donald Trump from the stage with blood on his face during a campaign rally in Butler, Philadelphia, on July 13.

US security officials are on alert for possible “retaliatory” attacks against Democrats following the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump last month, according to a new intelligence report obtained by CNN.?

The threat assessment — prepared by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies, including local police in Illinois — outlines various potential security concerns surrounding the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which kicks off on August 19.?

While the motive of the gunman who fired upon Trump remains a mystery to investigators, the bulletin says that “politically and socially divisive topics have prompted violence in the past,” and adds that some extremists “will view political and social tensions as an opportunity to use or promote violence to further their ideological goals.”

The intelligence assessment is common for major gatherings deemed National Security Special Events by the DHS secretary, and includes many of the security concerns outlined in a joint report federal law enforcement?issued last month?ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.?

CNN has reached out to?DHS and the FBI for comment on the threat assessment.

Read more about the DNC threat assessment.

Correction: This post has been updated to indicate the Democratic National Convention starts Tuesday, August 19.

While the spotlight has been on both parties’ vice presidential nominees in recent weeks, it’s the top of the ticket that has remained in focus on the airwaves as presidential ad wars continue to escalate.?

Across the country and a series of key battleground states in particular,?ad spending soared to the highest single-week total of the presidential campaign so far last week, seeing a combined total of more than $82 million in presidential advertising. Democrats outspent Republicans during that stretch from July 30 through August 6 by about $50 million to $32.6 million.

Since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and its allies have launched a mix of ads, both promoting her record and biography and attacking former President Donald Trump.

The Trump campaign and its allies, meanwhile, have poured millions into amplifying concerns about immigration and crime, assigning equal blame to Biden and Harris.

These are the states that saw the most presidential ad spending last week, according to AdImpact data:

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan, on August 7.

Vice President Kamala Harris tackled the angst within her own party over the conflict in Gaza head-on at a campaign rally in Detroit Wednesday night, moving quickly to shut down protests interrupting her event.

“Because we believe in democracy, everyone’s voice matters, but I am speaking now,” she said as a group of about eight women interrupted the event with pro-Palestinian messages.

As the shouting continued, Harris grew blunter, saying, “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

The episode highlights how Harris is navigating the complex dynamics of the Israel-Hamas war on both the diplomatic level and a political one as she now leads the Democratic ticket.

The conflict in Gaza has proven to be a key issue for progressive and young voters as well as Arab American and Muslim communities. That includes those in the critical battleground state of Michigan, which is home to significant Arab American and Muslim communities including in cities like Dearborn.

Like Biden, Harris is confronting a political and diplomatic tightrope not entirely in her control. While the White House holds out hope for a hostage and ceasefire deal that would bring an end to fighting in Gaza and lower regional temperatures, the power to reach such an agreement rests with Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — neither of whom has given final sign-off.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have pressed for the United States to wield pressure on Israel using arms sales and other assistance as leverage — decisions that, for now, are not Harris’ to make. While Biden has said he would withhold some weapons shipments to Israel, he has so far stopped short of major steps that would cut off American assistance to its ally.

In substance, her positions have not been at odds with Biden’s. Behind the scenes, however, she has advocated for a more empathetic approach to the Palestinians and in public has sometimes struck a more forceful tone than Biden when discussing the situation in Gaza.

The Trump campaign on Thursday continued to press Vice President Kamala Harris to answer more questions from reporters.

The new statement from the campaign echoes recent attacks from former President Donald Trump and his running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance that Harris has not answered enough questions from media since becoming the Democratic nominee.

“When is your next press conference?” the statement from the campaign reads.

Trump said he will hold a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort Thursday afternoon.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump claimed that “Kamala refuses to do interviews because her team realizes she is unable to answer questions, much like Biden was not able to answer questions, but for different reasons. He is just plain ‘shot,’ and she is just plain ‘Incompetent.’”

Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz released a new piece of political merch, and the internet has thoughts.

What do sport hunters and fans of breakout queer pop star Chappell Roan have in common? Well, not much, perhaps. But now you can add at least one item to that list: Kamala Harris’ and Tim Walz’s new campaign cap.

The pair’s first joint merch offering was unveiled Tuesday, just hours after the vice president named the Minnesota governor and hunting enthusiast as her presidential running mate. At first glance, their?“Harris-Walz” caps?presented a classic outdoorsy combination of camouflage (every hunter’s pattern of choice) and bright orange (used for visibility and avoiding mistaken identity).

However, online commentators were quick to highlight the striking similarity between the design and Roan’s own merchandise — specifically her “Midwestern Princess” trucker hats, which reference her debut album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.”

The 26-year-old singer-songwriter seemed surprised, posing the question?on X, “Is this real”? Despite the similar designs, campaign officials told CNN that new merchandise was not a direct reference to Roan but instead reflected Walz’ own camo hat that he wears frequently as governor.

While officially unintentional, the twinning of Walz’ hat and Roan’s merch comes hot off the heels of Harris’?embrace of Charli XCX’s “Brat” green, and appears to some as another instance of her campaign reacting quickly to the Gen-Z zeitgeist.

The Democratic Party’s alignment — even if inadvertent —?is in keeping with two of the themes we have already seen in Harris’ short campaign: appearing cool by association and feeding the viral meme-makers who are burnishing her credentials among young voters.

Leaders of the?Uncommitted National Movement said they briefly spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz?backstage at the Democratic ticket’s rally in Detroit on Wednesday.?

The short encounter comes as Harris is navigating the complex dynamics of the Israel-Hamas conflict at both a diplomatic level and a political one as she now leads the Democratic ticket.

Layla Elabed and Abbas Alawieh, the cofounders of the Uncommitted National Movement, an effort aimed at showing disapproval for President Joe Biden’s handling of the conflict in Gaza, expressed to Harris and Walz their concerns about the US supplying weapons to Israel and the plight of Palestinian civilians in the strip, according to a statement from the group.

A Harris campaign spokesperson described the short meeting as an extension of her continued engagement with Arab, Muslim and Palestinian communities about the war in Gaza since October 7.

The spokesperson continued:

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz delivers remarks at a campaign event, on August 7, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate, refused to drop out of his congressional race in 2005 despite an Army National Guard announcement of a possible deployment, according to a statement from his campaign at the time.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate,?accused Walz of ducking service in Iraq?when he left the guard and ran for Congress in 2005.?

Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years before retiring in 2005. He launched a campaign for Congress in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District that year and was elected in November 2006.?

Walz filed?paperwork?with the Federal Election Commission as a candidate for Congress on February 10, 2005.?The next month, after the guard announced a possible deployment to Iraq within two years,?Walz’s campaign issued a statement saying he intended to stay in the race.

“I do not yet know if my artillery unit will be part of this mobilization and I am unable to comment further on specifics of the deployment,” Walz said in the March 2005 campaign release.?

“As Command Sergeant Major I have a responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on. I am dedicated to serving my country to the best of my ability, whether that is in Washington DC or in Iraq,” he said. “I don’t want to speculate on what shape my campaign will take if I am deployed, but I have no plans to drop out of the race. I am fortunate to have a strong group of enthusiastic supporters and a very dedicated and intelligent wife. Both will be a major part of my campaign, whether I am in Minnesota or Iraq.”

Walz retired from the Army National Guard in May 2005, according to the Minnesota National Guard.?Service members often submit their paperwork for retirement months before their retirement date. It’s unclear when Walz submitted his papers for retirement.?

In a?2009 interview?for the Library of Congress, Tim Walz said he left the Army National Guard to focus full time on running for Congress, citing concerns about trying to serve at the same time and the Hatch Act, which limits political activities for federal employees.?

“I left in April of 2005 and for me it was just short of 25 years and it was to run for this office. We were really concerned that we were going to try and do both. There’s always the Hatch Act and some of the things that you have to be very careful of,” Walz said in the interview.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond when asked about when Walz?submitted his retirement paperwork.

Sen. JD Vance speaks in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.

It was?the first big day?of the wrestle for the Midwest that is likely to decide the 2024 election, and someone important was missing —?former President Donald Trump.

The Republican nominee left it to his vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, to troll the newly minted Democratic ticket through the critical swing state territory Wednesday as a fresh 90-day race for the White House burst into life.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate,?Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, held two high-energy rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan that showed the euphoria inside a once-despairing Democratic Party for its two new candidates.

The Democratic nominee borrowed a trick from Trump’s playbook, performing a dramatic arrival scene aboard Air Force Two in Michigan that mirrored his past use of the bigger presidential jet before a packed airport rally.

For the second day in a row, Harris appeared before thousands of excited supporters who spelled out a collective warning sign for Trump — who is known to obsess over crowd sizes. She appeared to be quickly settling into her novel role as her party’s official candidate, displaying flashes of charisma and increasing confidence as her political honeymoon showed no signs of ending.

Read the full analysis.

Then-Rep. Tim Walz and Rep. Louise Slaughter hold a news conference in 2012.

The Trump campaign is eager to define Tim Walz as a far-left liberal on the wrong side of the culture wars, particularly when it comes to his support for transgender youth.

His backers, however, call him a “prairie populist,” focused on meeting the everyday needs of working Americans, as demonstrated by policies like free school meals for kids and paid family and medical leave. They say that if he’s changed, it’s because his constituents have, too.

Democrats say they think Republicans will struggle to paint Walz as an ultra-liberal, and that many of the criticisms the Trump campaign is launching at Walz – from his handling of the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a police officer to raising questions about his military service – already fell flat during the governor’s 2022 reelection bid. Walz won by nearly 8 percentage points.

How it started: Walz’s political career began when he flipped Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District – a red, rural seat that had only been held by one other Democrat in 100 years – in 2006, a wave?midterm?year for his party.?Walz went on to serve six terms in the seat, which is now represented by a Republican.

Despite his more?conservative voting record in the House, there have been several through-lines in Walz’s policies. Healthcare has been a key part of his platform since 2006, when he campaigned on lowering costs. He later voted for the Affordable Care Act, which made him a target during the Tea Party wave of 2010.

How it’s going: His biggest shift has been on gun control. Though he’d previously received an A rating from the National Rifle Association and is an avid hunter, he donated his NRA contributions after the October 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting. In February 2018, following the Parkland shooting, he wrote a Star Tribune op-ed seeking to clarify his stance in support of “common sense” gun reforms.

Walz faced blowback on the issue during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, particularly in his Democratic primary.

“I’m a staunch supporter of Second Amendment rights to own firearms,” Walz said in an interview explaining his about-face. “But I also recognize the need to have some common-sense changes in this. I reject the notion that it’s one or the other. Those folks out there who are responsible gun owners ― their hearts are breaking every time you see one of these shootings.”

Read more about Walz’s political journey here.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris will speak at a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan, around 3 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Harris will appear with her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz before they travel to Phoenix, Arizona, for an event.

The duo were welcomed by a massive crowd in an airplane hangar in Detroit during their first joint rally as the presumptive Democratic ticket in the battleground state of Michigan on Wednesday.

“It’s been a pretty interesting 24 hours for me, I have to be honest. I don’t know how I can explain to you walking into that arena in Philly or that field out in Wisconsin or right here, to what I have been told is the largest rally of the campaign,” Walz remarked to the thousands of?Michigan?voters crowded into an airplane hangar, many standing for several hours packed together on a sunny day.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump announced he would be holding a news conference at Mar-a-Lago at 2 p.m. ET Thursday.?

CNN’s Ali Main contributed reporting to this post.

The Harris-Walz campaign on Thursday released a new ad targeting Latino voters in key battleground states as they try to court the key demographic.

The 60-second ad begins with a collage of photos from Harris’ childhood and highlights her upbringing as the daughter of immigrants and the success of her political career.

“With that same determination, she always defended us. As a prosecutor, she protected us from violent criminals. As attorney general, she beat the banks that kicked families out of their homes. As our vice president, she fights for women’s reproductive rights—every day. And she beat the pharmaceutical companies to lower costs for insulin and prescriptions,” it continued.?

Remember: A recent??New York Times/Siena College poll?conducted after President Joe Biden ended his campaign for reelection found that Harris improved on Biden’s standing among?Latino voters, shifting from 50% Trump to 41% Biden in the earlier poll to 57% Harris to 38% Trump now.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris

A CNN Poll of Polls average of general election polling continues to find no clear leader between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, with each holding 49% support in an average of recent polls testing the head-to-head matchup.

The latest Poll of Polls incorporates six surveys released in the weeks since Joe Biden announced his decision to exit the campaign. All six show a race within the margin of error.

A new?Marquette Law School poll, fielded July 24-August 1 and released Thursday morning, finds Harris taking 52% to Trump’s 48% among registered voters in a head-to-head matchup, with a +/- 4.1 percentage point margin of error. When third-party candidates are included, the poll finds Harris leading Trump, 47% to 41%, among registered voters, with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. taking 9%, Jill Stein taking 2% and Cornel West and Chase Oliver at 1% each.

In the Marquette Law School poll, 10% of voters are so-called “double haters” — those with unfavorable opinions of both Harris and Trump. In Marquette’s May poll, 21% had unfavorable views of both Biden and Trump. About 4 in 10 registered voters (41%) in the new Marquette poll describe Harris as “very liberal,” while 48% describe Trump as “very conservative.”

Former President Donald Trump announced he will hold a news conference at Mar-a-Lago at 2 p.m. ET Thursday.

“I will be doing a General News Conference at 2:00 P.M. at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach. Thank you!” Trump posted on Truth Social.?

Rep. Debbie Dingell speaks at a news conference in May.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he doesn’t have confidence there will be a peaceful transition of power if former President Donald Trump loses in November, comments supported by Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell.

Biden on Wednesday pointed to comments from the Republican presidential nominee suggesting the only way he’d lose is if the election is stolen from him.

When asked Thursday if she agreed with Biden’s comments, Dingell responded, “Yes.”

Earlier this year, Trump warned that if he lost the 2024 election it would be a “bloodbath” for the US auto industry and the country — comments Biden and his then-campaign quickly leaped on, claiming the former president was inciting political violence.

Biden also warned that Trump was preparing to challenge the election results again in November as he did in 2020, including by putting in place sympathetic local election officials.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz deplane ahead of a rally at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, on August 7.

Kamala Harris’ campaign is highlighting its organization in the so-called “Blue Wall” states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan?which will be key to its electoral map in November, pointing to Harris’ new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as an asset in rural areas of these states.?

As Harris and Walz continue their battleground blitz in Michigan on Thursday, the campaign pointed to its growing infrastructure, including more than 600 coordinated staff across those three critical states, with another 150 staffers joining in the coming weeks, Harris-Walz battleground states director Dan Kanninen said in a memo Wednesday.?

By the numbers:?

People attend a campaign rally with Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on August 7.

And as voters get to know Walz, Kanninen pointed to his record and biography: “As a governor, congressman, football coach, veteran, and high school teacher, Walz has championed working families his entire life,” he said, echoing Harris’ introduction in Philadelphia.?

Kanninen highlighted Walz’s experience as a congressman from a red district and specifically noted that he “consistently outperformed national Democrats in his House district, including in counties that have supported Trump, offering a blueprint for how to cut margins in rural areas across the country.”

He suggested that the campaign will focus Walz’s time and efforts on messaging to rural voters: “Our campaign will continue to go everywhere, and Governor Walz will be a key messenger in these rural areas where we’re focused on limiting Republicans’ margins.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appear on stage together during a campaign event in Romulus, Michigan, on August 7.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are campaigning in Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday —?key states on the path to the presidency.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance also held events in both states today, underscoring the importance of reaching voters there. Harris is expected to be back in Michigan tomorrow.

Donald Trump won both of those states eight years ago but they have vexed Republicans ever since.

Along with Pennsylvania, Trump’s stunning 2016 victories in Michigan and Wisconsin produced a seismic crack in the so-called blue wall of states Democrats had relied on in every election going back to 1992. Trump’s particular success with blue-collar voters gave Republicans optimism for a political realignment that could turn the Rust Belt red for the foreseeable future.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks at a campaign event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on August 7.

Instead, Republicans have struggled to replicate Trump’s initial success in subsequent elections, including in 2020 when Biden narrowly won all three states en route to victory. Democrats in that time also took over the governors’ offices in Michigan and Wisconsin and?flipped a Senate seat in Pennsylvania?in 2022 which proved crucial to maintaining control of the chamber.

In both states, efforts to subvert the 2020 election — including by?enlisting fake electors?— have also roiled Republican politics, at times aided by Trump.?

Still, gone are the days when Democrats could comfortably count on these states to deliver in national elections. Biden won Michigan in 2020 by more than 150,000 votes. The margin was much tighter in Wisconsin, where he came out ahead by about 21,000 votes — a victory of about 0.7 percentage points.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

A CNN?Poll?of?Polls average of national?polling finds a close general election race with no clear leader between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Trump currently holds 49% support in the average of five recent?polls testing the matchup, while Harris holds 48%.

The latest?Poll?of?Polls includes an?NPR/PBS News/Marist?poll?released Tuesday that also finds no clear leader in a head-to-head matchup between the candidates, with Harris taking 51% and Trump taking 48% among registered voters nationally.

The NPR/PBS/Marist?poll?finds that Americans trust Harris over Trump to handle the issue of abortion (56% say Harris would do a better job, compared with 41% Trump) and the preservation of democracy (53% say Harris, 46% Trump). Americans prefer Trump on immigration (52% say Trump would better handle the issue, 46% Harris), with a closer split on who would better handle the economy (51% say Trump would be better, 48% Harris).

More about the poll:?The?CNN Poll?of?Polls includes the five most recent national?polls measuring the views of registered or likely voters in a 2024 presidential general election between Harris and Trump.