September 5, 2024, presidential campaign news

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The judge overseeing the New York hush money case against former President Donald Trump informed both Trump and the Manhattan district attorney that he will render his decision Friday on whether to delay the Republican presidential nominee’s sentencing date, according to a Thursday court filing.

The former president is currently scheduled to be sentenced on September 18, but Trump asked to delay the sentencing until after Election Day, a request Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office did not oppose.

An attorney for Bragg’s office reported the timing of Judge Juan Merchan’s decision in a letter filed with a federal court in New York where Trump is fighting to move the state case to federal court.

Trump was?convicted earlier this year?of 34 charges?of falsifying business records, stemming from hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. takes the stage alongside Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump?

Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a fundraising email Thursday that he wants his supporters to back former President Donald Trump “no matter what state you live in,” a departure from his previous call to supporters to back Trump only in key battleground states and support him in non-competitive states.

When suspending his own presidential campaign last month, Kennedy said he would withdraw his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states but urged his supporters to vote for him in the states where his name would remain on the ballot. He also suggested that he could still win the presidency through a contingent election.

But Kennedy said in Thursday’s email that that the margin of victory may be too narrow to risk voting for anyone besides Trump, adding that a “disputed election result would be a disaster” for the country.

Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, left, poses for photos with Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance ahead of a rally in Asheboro, North Carolina, on August 21.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said Thursday that while he isn’t helping former President Donald Trump prepare for next week’s debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, he and his running mate are “constantly trading ideas.”

Vance also added that Harris is hoping for a debate?moment where she can tell Trump, “I’m speaking,” as she did at the 2020 vice-presidential debate with then-candidate Mike Pence.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to hold a press conference in New York on Friday around noon.

The campaign did not announce the topic of the press conference.

Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23.

Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined health care policies he would like to see former president Donald Trump take if he’s reelected, including calling for budget cuts to the National Institute of Health and advocating for alternative health treatments.??

In a?Wall Street Journal op-ed published Thursday, Kennedy suggested Trump could “unite the country” by addressing higher incidence of chronic diseases and focusing on several health-related policies he said would “make America healthy again.”

Kennedy suspended his own presidential bid late last month and immediately endorsed Trump. The former president said if he is reelected, Kennedy would work with a panel he promised to create that would investigate rising rates of chronic disease diagnoses.

Among the recommended policies, Kennedy proposed redirecting half of “research budgets” away from NIH and a new regulation to prevent NIH funds from being distributed to “researchers with conflicts of interest.”

The proposals directed at NIH come after Kennedy has spent years attacking the agency and its former director Dr. Anthony Fauci for his role in the research behind various vaccines, including the Covid-19 vaccine.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance argued Thursday that strict gun laws are not the determining factor in preventing school shootings and instead advocated for bolstering school security, following a school shooting in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday.

Vance said schools are “soft targets” for shooters to make headlines and bolstered school security would solve the problem.?

As a parent of three young children, Vance said he doesn’t want his kids to go to school with additional security. But, he added, “if these psychos are going to go after our kids, we’ve got to be prepared for it.”?

Vance also alleged in response to a question from CNN that Vice President Kamala Harris’ solution to gun violence “is to take law-abiding American citizens’ guns away from them.”

This post has been updated with additional comments from JD Vance.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday appeared to address recent public criticism of his political views that he has received from family while campaigning in a narrowly divided county in battleground Pennsylvania.

While arguing that former President Donald Trump’s policy agenda includes tax cuts “for the wealthy” and curtailing reproductive rights, Walz remarked that Trump “openly says these things that we need to talk to our relatives about.”

The reference, which was met by some laughter in the crowd, comes after Walz’s older brother, Jeff, posted in comments on social media last week that he is “100% opposed” to his brother’s political views and was considering officially endorsing Trump.?

Jeff Walz, who said he hadn’t spoken to his brother in eight years, told NewsNation on Tuesday that he didn’t intend to “influence the general public” with the posts and said he has no plans to be campaigning?for or against his brother’s campaign ahead of November’s election.

The Democratic vice presidential nominee often brings up his conservative family, friends and neighbors on the campaign trail and in interviews as a way to relate to rural and working people.

Trump’s running mate JD Vance later Thursday dismissed endorsements from the family members of politicians, after late Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s son exclusively told CNN this week he plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.

“John McCain died what five, six, seven years ago? And the media is turning into a story what John McCain’s family says about Donald Trump,” Vance said, arguing the opinions of Walz’s family are a “bigger story.”

This post has been updated with comments from JD Vance.

Candidates are investing an enormous amount of money working to get their message out on television in crucial states like Pennsylvania. Democrats have reserved more than 78 million dollars, while Republicans have reserved more than 72 million.

And Pennsylvania voters are taking notice.?

“Oh I hate them,” 64-year-old college administrator Larry Mercurio said of the influx of television ads. “Every election cycle it gets worse. And this year, it’s very bad already.”

“How can anybody be swayed by this BS,” Mercurio’s partner, Tammy Ryan, 63, chimed in, dismissing the ads attacking Vice President Kamala Harris.?

Ryan says she’s excited Harris is using Pittsburgh as her home base to prep for next week’s crucial debate.

The couple describe the Democratic nominee as more qualified, compassionate and prepared than former President Donald Trump, though Mercurio said he hasn’t always voted solely for Democratic candidates.?

Some of the college students walking just off Forbes Avenue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh were not aware the vice president was in town, but all of them told CNN they were registered to vote.??

They cited issues like reproductive rights and the economy as the issues of most concern to them but some didn’t want to disclose who they were voting for in the fall.?

Sabina Kadariya, a freshman, said she wasn’t sure if she was informed enough to make a “proper vote,” but said the economy was her number one issue and that she’d consider voting for Trump.

Rishi Wadgaonkar, a 23-year-old grad student at Carnegie Mellon studying mechanical engineering, said he’s most worried about LGBTQ rights and women’s rights and that Harris best reflects his values. He recently changed his voter registration from New York to Pennsylvania.?

“Pennsylvania is really a state that really could go either way,” he told CNN.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at IBEW Local Union 5 in Pittsburgh on September 2.

As the Harris campaign worked to capitalize on post-convention momentum, the message to donors was clear: As much money as possible, as quickly as possible.

The goal, donors close to the campaign say, is to front-load as much spending as possible in swing states where early voting is getting underway.

Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state Harris will crisscross in the coming days as she prepares to debate Donald Trump, begins in-person early voting September 16.

“We’re 64 days out from this election,”?Harris told a crowd of union leaders in Pittsburgh on Sept. 2, urging them to get out the vote. “Ballots in Pennsylvania will start dropping in 14 days.”

Absentee ballots in North Carolina are expected to be distributed beginning Friday, September 6, though in-person early voting doesn’t begin until October 17.?

And Georgia, a state once outside Democrats’ path to victory with Biden as the candidate, begins early voting October 15.

Harris raked in $310 million in July, a month in which she spent just 10 days at the top of the ticket. If the current trajectory holds, the Harris campaign would rake in well over $1 billion over the course of just 107 days between her ascension to the party’s presumptive nominee and election day.

It has been an interesting thing to watch Trump and Elon Musk circle each other this year.

Musk had already been clearly gravitating toward Trump, but it was in the moments after Trump was shot in July that Musk officially endorsed Trump, in a post to X.?

The Wall Street Journal later reported, incorrectly it seems, that Musk would be supporting a Trump-aligned super PAC with tens of millions of dollars.?

Musk later said the support would be at a “much lower level,” as CNN’s Chris Isidore pointed out. Isidore also charted Musk’s path from criticizing Trump over climate change to supporting Trump, despite the former president’s dislike of electric vehicles like Tesla.

In the months since, Musk has become a frequent peddler of conspiracy theories about US election security and a vocal opponent of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Musk and Trump overcame technical difficulties for an extremely friendly chat —?it wasn’t exactly an interview?— that broadcast on X in August, in which Musk suggested a government efficiency commission.

Thursday, in a speech laying out his economic plan, Trump endorsed the idea and said he would appoint Musk to be part of it.

On X, Musk shared a photo of a slimmer version of himself standing at a podium that read, “Department of Government Efficiency, D.O.G.E.”

DOGE also happens to be the moniker for Musk’s cryptocurrency, which at least foreshadows the idea that any Musk public service would echo if not amplify his own business.

It would be something interesting to witness if Musk did join Trump’s administration — although it would also seem like a comedown for the world’s richest man to spend his days digging through federal bureaucratic red tape.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance speaks at a campaign event in Phoenix on September 5.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance told volunteers and supporters at the?Trump-Vance Campaign Phoenix office that former Donald President Trump is “pissed off” about Project 2025, and urged them to remind voters that no one speaks for Trump except himself.

Swinging by the office with his wife, Usha, before a Phoenix event, Vance asked the room what they’re hearing as they knock on doors and make phone calls to voters.?

One person said she hears concerns about Trump’s association to Project 2025 through Kamala Harris campaign ads.

“Of course, Kamala Harris is running dishonest TV advertisements because Kamala Harris is a dishonest person who doesn’t have a record to run on,” Vance said. “When you’re talking to people, just remind them: ‘Look, I know this from experience nobody speaks for Donald J. Trump except for Donald J. Trump.’”?

Project 2025 is?the conservative blueprint for the next Republican president organized by the Heritage Foundation. Trump has?publicly rejected?Project 2025 and denied knowing who is behind it, despite?at least 140 people?who formerly worked for him being involved.

“Just say look, Donald Trump will set a Trump 47 agenda. Donald Trump will set the January 20,?2025 agenda. No one else will do it. Don’t believe the lies. Believe what you see,” Vance said.?

As CNN?previously reported, Vance wrote the forward for a forthcoming book by Project 2025 architect Kevin Roberts. Vance has not endorsed the blueprint, previously saying it has “no affiliation with the Trump campaign.”

In this August 6 photo, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign rally in Philadelphia.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz echoed Vice President Kamala Harris’ calls for a ceasefire-hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas while calling the conditions in Gaza a “humanitarian crisis” in his most fulsome public comments on the Israel-Hamas war since joining the Democratic ticket last month.?

Walz condemned the October 7?attack as a “horrific act of violence” and endorsed Israel’s right to self-defense. But he also said protesters opposed to the US facilitating Israel’s military operation in Gaza are “speaking out for all the right reasons.”

Walz specifically referenced Arab-Americans and Muslims in Michigan who have opposed the Biden administration’s handling of the war.

While the interview marks Walz’s first substantial foray into the politics around the Israel-Hamas war, they reflect the position Harris has taken since taking over the top of the Democratic ticket in July.

Harris has repeatedly called for a ceasefire-hostage deal to be reached soon. In a CNN interview last week, Harris said “far too many Palestinians have been killed” during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the West Bank.

Former President Donald Trump plans to ban mortgages for undocumented immigrants, he said in a speech at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday.

Trump claimed the measure would help address housing affordability because a “flood” of people entering the country illegally are pushing up housing costs, but undocumented immigrants only make up a tiny portion of the mortgage market.

Key context: In 2023, only 5,000 to 6,000 mortgages were made to holders of Individual Tax Identification numbers, according to a recent?Urban Institute report. Those who are not legally authorized to work in the US obtain ITINs to file taxes, since they are not eligible for Social Security numbers. Most ITINs are issued to those from Latin American countries.

It’s often very difficult for undocumented immigrants to obtain home loans, even though the USA Patriot Act of 2021 allowed banks to accept ITINs as a form of identification.

More from Trump: The former president said he would make housing more affordable by getting rid of regulations that increase costs and by opening up some federal land available for large-scale housing construction in low-tax, low-regulation zones.

He also said falling interest rates will send mortgage rates down to 3% or even lower, which will make financing less expensive for homebuyers.

Judge Tanya Chutkan has set a schedule in the federal election subversion case against Donald Trump that will allow prosecutors to release never-before-seen evidence, such as grand jury transcripts, before the presidential election.

The deadline for the filing from prosecutors is September 26, according to the latest order from the judge, which largely sides with special counsel Jack Smith’s proposed schedule discussed at Thursday’s hearing. Trump’s defense team had sought to delay the public release of evidence in the case until after the November election.

The schedule allows the judge to resolve enduring immunity disputes on a much quicker timeline than the former president proposed, with the final round briefs on the matter set for October 29.

Chutkan also requested that Trump file his challenge to the legality of Jack Smith’s appointment and for the special counsel to respond in late October, with the final brief from Trump on that issue due on November 7, two days after the election.

At Thursday’s hearing,?Chutkan made clear she would not take into account the presidential campaign in crafting the next steps in the case. She rebuffed the defense team’s concerns about the government getting to decide what evidence is aired on the public court record during a “sensitive time” close to the election.

This post has been updated with additional details about the schedule.

President Joe Biden speaks to guests during an event at the Vernon Electric Cooperative on September 5, 2024 in Westby, Wisconsin.?

President Joe Biden sought to lift up Vice President Kamala Harris while also attacking her opponent former President Donald Trump during a stop in Westby, Wisconsin, tonight.

Biden said his vice president has “fought like hell for all of you and for a future worthy of your aspirations.”

Biden criticized Trump’s impact on taxes during his time as president, while touting a recent announcement of more than $7 billion in financing for rural clean energy projects, made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act. It was an official White House event — not a campaign event — as the president seeks to highlight key pieces of his administration’s agenda.

The president also called out Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin for voting against the bill, while praising the state’s Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is running for re-election.

“Ron Johnson voted against every one of the things I talked about today. Every single thing I talked about in terms of rural economy, he voted against it,” Biden said adding that the decision is “hard to imagine” in a rural state “so large and so consequential as the state of Wisconsin.”

Donald Trump unveiled a slate of new economic plans in a speech on Thursday as his campaign attempts to contrast the former president’s economic plans with those of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Here’s a look at the plans Trump outlined today:

The Trump campaign, which views the economy as its top issue ahead of the November election, planned the former president’s Thursday address in an effort to contrast his economic plans with those of Harris, Trump advisers said.

Harris has in recent days unveiled?a slew of economic proposals,?including measures aimed at aiding small businesses and at making housing, groceries, child-rearing and health care?more affordable?for the middle class and working Americans.

Read more about the campaign promises Trump has made so far.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks on Thursday in Pennsylvania.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made the case for stricter gun safety measures in response to the Apalachee High School shooting in Georgia that left four people dead, arguing during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Thursday that “none of the things we’re proposing” impede on the constitutional right to bear arms.

While speaking to volunteers in Erie, Kamala Harris’ running mate called for Americans to be able to enjoy the “freedom for our kids to go to school without being shot,” and indicated support for federal laws that replicate gun safety measures he approved in Minnesota, including universal background checks and a “red flag” law to restrict access to guns for people with high risk of injuring themselves or others.??

Walz said the issue of gun safety is “heavy on every one of our hearts” after the shooting in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday.?

The gun used in Wednesday’s shooting was an “AR-platform style weapon,” according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. Walz has previously endorsed an assault weapons ban.?

Walz insisted the stricter gun safety measures he proposed would not dampen the Second Amendment rights of gun owners.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Economic Club of New York in New York City on September 5.

Asked at an economic forum Thursday whether he would commit to prioritizing legislation that would make child care affordable, former President Donald Trump pivoted to tout the economic growth that he says his policies, particularly tariffs, would promote if re-elected.

Trump said child care is “a very important issue” and that the country under his leadership would be able to “afford to take care of its people.”

“We are going to be taking in trillions of dollars. As much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it is relatively speaking not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in,” he said in a speech at the Economic Club of New York.

Some background: Child care is a major financial burden for many families in the US. Parents with two kids in a child care center paid on average at least twice as much for that care as they did for the typical rent in 11 states and the District of Columbia in 2023, according to a Child Care Aware of America report released in May.

Placing two kids at a child care center cost at least 25% more than the typical rent, on average, in every state in the US.

And the tab exceeded annual typical mortgage payments in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, according to the Child Care Aware report, which looked at care for an infant and 4-year-old.

Nationwide, the average annual cost of care rose to $11,582 per child last year, up 3.7% from the prior year. It was the smallest annual increase since the pandemic began and trailed?inflation.

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he would reduce the corporate tax rate to 15%, from 21% — but only for companies that make their products in the US.?

Trump has said repeatedly that he’s interested in lowering the corporate levy further than the 21% rate put in place by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, one of his signature achievements during his first term. Prior to the law, the corporate tax rate was 35%.?

He argues that reducing the rate, along with making other provisions of the TCJA permanent and enacting additional tax cuts, would grow the economy, raise revenue and cut the deficit. However, the economic effects of the 2017 law remain a matter of debate among experts.

Also, slashing the rate that low could prove a hard sell in Congress, which would have to approve the measure amid concerns about the rising federal debt. Trump pushed for a 15% corporate tax rate as part of his 2016 presidential campaign, but Republicans opted for the 21% rate even though they controlled Capitol Hill at the time.

Slashing the rate to 15% would reduce federal revenue by $673 billion over a decade, according to the Tax Foundation, which also estimates the proposal would boost the economy by 0.4% over the long run.

Reducing the corporate tax rate is among the many contrasts Trump is drawing with his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. She supports raising the rate to 28% as part of her aim to make big companies and the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes to raise funding for her proposals aimed at supporting the middle class and working Americans.

As the campaign season continues without President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate, his son is making his way back into the spotlight.

Hunter Biden is offering to plead guilty to the nine tax offenses he faces in federal court, without a deal with prosecutors, his attorneys said in court Thursday.

Biden had earlier attempted to resolve his?federal tax evasion case?in California with a plea in which he would maintain his innocence but still accept punishment.

The arrangement wouldn’t have become final until District Judge Mark Scarsi, a Trump appointee who has presided over the tax case, gave his stamp of approval in open court.?He said Thursday that he would make that decision at a later date. This type of arrangement, called an “Alford plea,” would have seen Biden acknowledge that special counsel David Weiss has enough evidence to convict him – and then he would accept whatever sentence Scarsi eventually hands down.

But in a surprising turn Thursday afternoon, Biden’s team changed course and instead said Biden is prepared to admit that his conduct satisfied the elements of the tax offenses with which he had been charged.

Prosecutors from Weiss’ team had said they would object to an Alford plea. Prosecutor Leo Wise told the judge that Lowell’s comments in court earlier in the day were the first time he learned about a potential plea change.

Lowell had earlier “there has not been an agreement” between the parties – like a plea agreement – in which Biden would plead guilty to some charges in exchange for other charges being dropped. The only offer that Hunter’s team ever got from prosecutors, Lowell said, was for him to plead guilty to all nine counts.

The potential resolution of the tax case came on the brink of a trial in downtown Los Angeles. This would have been Biden’s second criminal trial this year, after he was?convicted?in June on three federal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware.

Read more on his case here.

This post has been updated with more details on today’s developments.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is planning a slew of organizing events this weekend designed to appeal to Republican voters who are wary of Donald Trump’s agenda, tying the GOP nominee to the conservative policy proposal Project 2025.

The organizing push will feature Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff, Alex Padilla and Amy Klobuchar appearing at events in battleground states, the campaign announced Thursday.

The push comes as the Harris campaign looks to capitalize on support from prominent Republican figures, including endorsements this week from former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney and 1st Lt. Jimmy McCain, son of the former Republican presidential nominee John McCain.?

The Harris campaign will host over 2,000 events and 20,000 volunteer shifts in hopes of reaching over 1 million voters in battleground states, the campaign said.

The slate of events is the latest effort by the Harris campaign to link Trump to the Heritage Foundation policy document crafted with help from many of his allies and former members of his administration. Democrats frequently cite proposals in the document to portray Trump’s agenda, while the former president has repeatedly denied any connection to Project 2025.

Former President Donald Trump answers questions during a campaign event at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday.

Former President Donald Trump promised Thursday to make gasoline dirt-cheap again by slashing red tape and drilling for more oil.

“We’re going to get gasoline below $2 a gallon,” Trump said at the New York Economic Club.

However, some experts warn it could take an economic calamity to make that happen.

Trump vowed to “end Kamala Harris’ anti-energy crusade,” a claim that does not match up with the fact that America is producing more oil now than at any point under his presidency.

US oil production recently stood at 13.4 million barrels per day, according to?weekly federal data. That is higher than the pre-Covid peak of 13.1 million under Trump – and?it is higher any other point in US history.

Trump on Thursday bragged about gas prices tumbling to $1.87 a gallon during his time in office. In fact, at one point in the spring of 2020 gas prices dropped below $1.80 a gallon.

However, many Americans could not take advantage of those ultra-low prices because they took place during the height of the Covid-19 crisis.

“I don’t think anyone wants to return to those pandemic times,” Lipow said.

The first ballots in the nation are scheduled to start going out Friday in North Carolina, but that may be delayed after a judge ordered a temporary pause to ballot distribution.??

The ruling came in response to a request from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remove his name from the ballot.??

North Carolina’s State Board of Elections rejected that request last week, saying that it wouldn’t be practical to reprint ballots and delay the start of voting.?

Kennedy challenged that decision in court.?

Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt denied Kennedy’s request, but also ordered a 24-hour pause to allow Kennedy to appeal.?

After the hearing, state board general counsel Paul Cox instructed counties to not send ballots out Friday morning.?

However, Cox said that ballots would need to be go out Friday afternoon, unless an appeals court ordered a further delay.

In a speech Thursday, former President Donald Trump greatly overstated the number of people who lost their job in the past year.

Trump falsely claimed that “1.3 million workers have become unemployed in the past 12 months” when speaking at the Economic Club of New York.

Trump appears to be citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ survey of households, which is one of two surveys that feeds into the monthly?jobs?report. As of July 2024, the estimates from the household survey show there were 7.163 million “unemployed persons,” an increase of 1.259 million from July 2023.

People are classified as “unemployed” if they do not have a job, were available for work and have actively tried to find work. In addition to permanent and temporary job losers, the BLS’ definition of unemployed includes people who have newly entered the labor force, as well as those who have re-entered the workforce.

Through the 12 months that ended in July, that 1.259 million increase was broken down as follows:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the chamber of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on July 24 in Washington, DC.?

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday Elon Musk has agreed to lead the government efficiency commission that Trump proposed creating if reelected in November.?

The commission was first proposed by Musk. Trump made the comments as he unveiled a slate of new economic plans during his remarks at the Economic Club of New York.

Trump said, “And Elon, because he’s not very busy, has agreed to head that task force, be interesting, if he has the time, he’d be good to do it. But he’s agreed to do it.”

Republican Jewish Coalition chairman Norm Coleman on Thursday said that the organization has committed to raising $5 million from Jewish donors for former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.?

The RJC is in the middle of a?$15 million independent expenditure to?mobilize the Jewish community in support of Trump this November – “a record high number for any Jewish group in a presidential campaign,” he claimed.?

He said that RJC’s field staffers have already been on the ground in battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada, and that their national staff will deploy to these states for GOP get-out-the-vote efforts.

“We’re working hard at recruiting volunteers, making phone calls, knocking on doors, sending text message, making inroads with local communities in battleground states,” he said. “We know this election much like 2016 and 2020 will be decided by very narrow margins, including just a few households in certain precincts.”?

Former President Donald Trump’s allies on Thursday slammed Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic proposals during a press call ahead of his scheduled speech in New York where he is expected to unveil a set of new economic plans.

A day after Harris proposed a new wave of economic proposals aimed at boosting small businesses and entrepreneurs, the Trump campaign argued “we should reject these failed ideas,” claiming that her time serving in the Biden administration has only contributed to high costs and inflation.

The call, hosted by the RNC and Trump campaign, highlighted that Trump is expected to spend less time focused on criticizing Harris’ agenda and instead emphasize “he has the plan that works.”

Vice President Kamala Harris will attend a rank-and-file roundtable with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at the union’s headquarters in Washington, DC, on September 16th, the union announced Thursday.?

It marks Harris’ latest effort to win over union support, especially from rank-and-file members that former President Donald Trump is also making a play for in November.?

The Teamsters have yet to offer an endorsement in the election. Trump and President Joe Biden each met with the group earlier his year.?

Harris will meet with rank-and-file members, the Teamsters general executive board, general President Sean O’Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman.

Former President Donald Trump is set to dedicate a substantial portion of the speech he’s delivering Thursday at the Economic Club of New York to calling out what he considers excessive government spending, a source familiar with his remarks told CNN.

In an effort to cut down on spending, he’s expected to unveil a commission focused on government efficiency. Absent this, government spending is already inching down.

For much of Trump’s presidency, government spending was fairly flat — that was, until the pandemic.

To stimulate the?US economy?after much of it came to a standstill during Covid, government spending ramped up significantly. From fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, it increased from $5.31 trillion to $7.72 trillion, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

It stayed above $7 trillion until fiscal year 2022, when it was $6.48 trillion. For the 2023 fiscal year it fell even more, to $6.13.

Even though that’s almost $1 trillion more than what the government spent in fiscal year 2019, it amounts to 23% of gross domestic product for that year, just two percentage points higher than in 2019.

But federal outlays are projected to increase to almost 25% of GDP by 2034, according to the latest projection by the Congressional Budget Office.

Former first lady Melania Trump on Thursday promoted her upcoming memoir, stating in a new video that she feels “a responsibility to clarify the facts.”?

Trump said, “I believe it is important to share my perspective: The truth.”?

The black and white video showed clips and photographs from the former first lady’s time in office, including her trips abroad and her interacting with children.?Her post linked to a page to pre-order her book.?

The text, “My Story. My Perspective. The Truth,” flashed on screen.?

The former first lady’s office announced last month her memoir titled “Melania” would be released this fall and described the book as “a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has carved her own path, overcome adversity and defined personal excellence.”

The former first lady has maintained a low profile throughout Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and has not appeared at a campaign event with him except to attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month.

Stickers reading "I Voted By Mail" are displayed as the Wayne County Board of Elections prepares absentee ballots in Goldsboro, North Carolina, in September 2022.

With the first presidential ballots going out tomorrow in North Carolina, the Harris and Trump campaigns – and their allies – are pouring advertising money into the key battleground state.

Between President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race and Labor Day weekend, North Carolina voters were bombarded by $46.4 million in total presidential advertising, ranking sixth?among all states during that stretch, according to AdImpact data.

Republicans outspent Democrats in that period by about $26.3 million to $19.98. million, ramping up their efforts to prevent a GOP loss in the state for only the second time since 1976.

The Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville) media market drew the most spending in that period, about $8.7 million total, and Republicans outspent Democrats by about $4.9 million to $3.8 million there.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to unveil a slate of new economic plans during his remarks at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, including the creation of a presidential commission focused on government efficiency?first proposed by Elon Musk, a source familiar with his speech told CNN.?

The commission would conduct “a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government,” Trump is expected to announce, and be tasked with finding and eliminating fraud, the source said.

Trump is also expected to outline new proposals aimed at tackling government regulations, including those aimed at energy production, and vow to withdraw unspent funds appropriated during the Biden administration. His speech will also address his recent embrace of cryptocurrency and reaffirm his plan to place sweeping tariffs on imports.

The Wall Street Journal first reported?Trump’s planned announcement.

Trump and Republicans have sought to rescind funding boosts contained in recent legislation that Democrats have pushed through Congress, including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which funneled about $80 billion over 10 years to the Internal Revenue Service and put in place a wide array of climate measures. Congressional Republicans have already succeeded in paring back?$20 billion of the IRS funds.

Also, Trump and congressional Republicans have long pointed to combatting waste, fraud and abuse as ways to save the federal government money. But that refrain is “often an excuse to do nothing,” said Marc Goldwein, senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.?

Trump’s commission would have to be given a broad mandate to review the largest federal spending programs – Social Security, Medicare and defense – to be most effective, he said.

The Trump campaign, which views the economy as its top issue ahead of the November election, planned the Thursday address as an effort to contrast the former president’s economic plans with that of Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump advisers said.?

Economic issues, which posed a notable weak point for President Joe Biden, remain the topic most often chosen by voters when asked what matters to their choice for president; with an average of 39% of likely voters across the six top battleground states choosing the economy as their top issue,?a recent CNN poll found.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visited Pamela’s Diner in Pittsburgh on Thursday, an unannounced stop on his schedule during his two-day swing through Pennsylvania.?

A restaurant staff member told CNN that Walz and his daughter Hope ate breakfast at the popular Pittsburgh restaurant on Thursday. The press pool traveling with Walz did not accompany him to the restaurant.??

The staff member said Walz and his daughter ordered hot cakes and eggs, and shook hands with workers and restaurant goers during his visit. The staff member described Walz as “nice.”

As Donald Trump prepares to lay out his plans for the American economy, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign will argue the former president’s proposals would cost “trillions” of dollars and disproportionately hurt the middle class.?

In a memo obtained by CNN, Brian Nelson, a top economic adviser to Harris, contends that Trump’s economic policies will “serve billionaires and big corporations” and his proposals would lead to “massive tax windfalls” for the wealthy.

Trump, who lowered the corporate tax rate to 21% in his first term, has promised another cut for businesses if elected again, as well as eliminating taxes on tipped wages. He has also proposed sweeping tariffs across the economy in hopes it will generate revenue to pay for these new cuts and encourage more investments in the US.

Nelson, who until recently served as the US Department of the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, pointed to analyses from economists across the political spectrum who have cautioned Trump’s approach could backfire and set off a trade war that would bring economic growth to a standstill.?

As CNN and others have reported,?many economic experts warn?that a broad and unprecedented hike in tariffs could cause considerable harm and lead to a sharp spike in prices on goods for Americans and kill jobs.

“But Donald Trump is denying this broad, bipartisan consensus, ‘hoping that most economic analyses of his ideas are dead wrong’ and blatantly lying to the American people about the severe costs and consequences of his economic plans,” Nelson wrote in the memo, which the campaign intends to release as Trump speaks Thursday.

Trump will deliver remarks at the Economic Club of New York Thursday – a day after Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled the latest piece of her economic agenda

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was “going to let her talk” when asked about his upcoming debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.?

“You know when I had Biden, you and I had the same discussion and I let him talk. I’m going to let her talk,” Trump said to Fox News host Sean Hannity during a town hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.?

“It depends a lot on ABC, will they be fair or not?” Trump said. “I hope they will be fair.”?

ABC News on Wednesday officially announced the rules of next week’s presidential debate between Harris and Trump, and both candidates have agreed to the format that microphones will be muted while the other is speaking.

Trump claimed Wednesday Harris’ team “wanted notes” and “wanted a desk” but that Trump objected. The rules set out by ABC News do not allow for notes, and the candidates will be standing behind podiums.?

Trump also made the baseless claim that he had “already heard” that Harris’ team would “get the questions in advance.”

Kamala Harris’ campaign on Thursday launched its second ad highlighting Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for the next Republican president that has attracted considerable blowback.

The ad, which began airing this morning in Georgia, specifically warns of the impact the plan would have on Black Americans, and emphasizes the threat to abortion rights.

Trump and his campaign have made efforts to distance the former president from the controversial policy blueprint, as it’s become a focus of Democratic attacks. A?CNN analysis, however, found nearly 240 people with ties to both Project 2025 and Trump.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff during a prayer vigil at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, DC on September 3 to honor the six Israeli hostages killed in Gaza and those who remain in Hamas captivity.?

The murders of?six more Israeli hostages?marked a critical new moment for?Doug Emhoff, who’s speaking out on his own and Kamala Harris’ behalf, as only a Jewish American and the spouse of a presidential candidate can.

For Emhoff, it’s?a reflection of historical circumstances:?he has spoken often about how he reconnected to his Judaism after seeing the response he received?when?Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris for the ticket four years ago.?Then as second gentleman, he felt compelled first by the rise in antisemitism and then the October 7?Hamas?terror attacks to speak up about how much hurt he felt.

Now, with his wife suddenly the Democratic nominee and?both of them?thrust more into the spotlight?— and as the world?approaches?the anniversary of those attacks and?Israel’s ensuing war?in Gaza — friends and advisers say they’re seeing a man continuing to search for his own response to an issue that is policy, politics and personal all?at once.

Continue reading about Emhoff’s reaction to the hostage murders.

Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on August 30.

Former President Donald Trump wants to spend trillions of dollars on tax cuts. His plan to pay for that is alarming some mainstream economists.

Trump proposed?sweeping tariffs?on all $3 trillion worth of imports into the United States, including a 60% tariff on imports from China and a 10% across-the-board tariff on imports from other nations.

Recently, Trump doubled down on the threat, saying he is?considering tariffs of up to 20% on most imports?in a bid to protect working-class jobs and punish what he labels unfair trading practices.

In theory, the unprecedented tariff hikes could raise trillions of dollars, funds that would help cover the cost of the tax cuts. However, many economists warn that those tariffs could backfire — badly — by raising prices on American families, killing jobs and setting off a global trade war.

It’s part of the reason Goldman Sachs in an analyst note this week said Trump’s economic policies — particularly on trade — would cause America’s economy to shrink. By contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic policy proposals would grow the economy, Goldman Sachs predicted.

Goldman and other experts fear Trump’s tough proposed trade tactics could worsen the affordability crisis in America.

Kelly warned that tariffs are a “perfect stagflation machine,” threaten to scramble supply chains and invite a punishing response from trading partners.

Ian Sams, a?spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign, emphasized that Vice President Kamala Harris is “her own candidate,” separate from President Joe Biden, when pressed about her decision to break from Biden on her capital gains tax proposal.

Sams continued that, “when it comes to something like the capital gains tax rate, she thinks that 39.6% is too high and that we can come down a little lower to 28% to better incentivize the kind of investment and entrepreneurs that we want to see in this country.”?

He added, “I think as the campaign continues, you’ll see places where there are distinctions because she’s her own candidate.”

The Trump campaign on Wednesday warned staff against talking to the press in a memo, telling staffers that “information is power.”

This is not the first time top campaign officials have lectured staffers on talking to press. CNN has reported on the extensive?efforts since the campaign began to curb leaking to the press among campaign staffers. It was not immediately clear if a specific story or event prompted this memo or if the memo is simply a routine warning against leaks.

“Information is power - and the press doesn’t give a damn if you lose your job because you spoke out of school,” LaCivita and Wiles wrote.?

NBC News was first to report the leaked campaign memo.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign stop in North Hampton, New Hampshire, on Wednesday.

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday, according to her campaign, where she is expected to remain as she prepares for the presidential debate next week.?

CNN previously reported that Harris intentionally pared back her travel leading up to the upcoming presidential debate at National Constitution Center in Philadelphia to dedicate time to preparation. While in Pittsburgh, she will prepare with her team, according to two sources familiar with the planning, and will stay for several nights until the debate Tuesday.

It’s the second time the vice president will visit the city this week after?campaigning with President Joe Biden?on Labor Day.?She plans to make community stops while she’s in Pittsburgh and stay on the campaign trail in a critical battleground state, according to one of the sources.

Meanwhile, her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will travel to Erie, Pennsylvania, on Thursday. In Erie, he will participate in “a series of campaign engagements” before speaking at a rally at 6 p.m., according to a news release from the Harris campaign.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez,?Kristen Holmes?and?Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.

ABC News has officially announced the rules of next week’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump — meaning both candidates have agreed to the format,?including that microphones will be muted while the other candidate is speaking.

Additionally, a virtual coin flip held this week was won by Trump,?to determine podium placement and order of closing statements. Trump chose to offer the last closing statement, and Harris chose the right podium position on screen.?

Whether microphones would be cut was the last sticking point for the Harris campaign, after Trump’s team had already agreed to the rules last week.?

Over the weekend, Harris posted on X that Trump is “surrendering to his advisors who won’t allow him to debate with a live microphone. If his own team doesn’t have confidence in him, the American people definitely can’t.”

“We are running for President of the United States. Let’s debate in a transparent way — with the microphones on the whole time,” she added.?

Last week Trump said at a campaign stop that while they had already agreed to the rules, he didn’t mind if the mics were on.??

The ABC News debate rules largely mirror those used by CNN in its presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Trump in June, when the Biden campaign, at the time, was the one that advocated for muted microphones.?

In addition to the muted microphones, the rules state there will be no audience, the candidates will not be permitted to have written notes, no staff can visit them during the two commercial breaks and they cannot ask questions of one another.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he plans to visit battleground states, where his name remains on the ballot, as part of a “Make America Healthy Again tour” to support former President Donald Trump.

RFK Jr. has removed his name from the ballot in several key states but has faced obstacles in?Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

Asked if he would be campaigning alongside the former president, Kennedy said that he plans to do so.

Last month, RFK Jr. announced that he was?suspending his independent presidential campaign?and endorsing Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, exit their campaign bus in Savannah, Georgia, on August 28.

Vice President Kamala Harris is adding tax relief for small businesses to her economic policy platform aimed at helping middle-class and working Americans.

Harris unveiled Wednesday a proposal to massively increase the existing small business tax deduction for startup costs and cut the red tape that impedes small businesses’ formation and growth.

Her goal: 25 million new small business applications by the end of her first term, up from the record 19 million received under the Biden administration as of mid-August.

Harris on Wednesday also proposed?raising the capital gains tax rate, though not by as much as President Joe Biden has called for.

The measures come three weeks after?Harris released a four-part package?aimed at making housing, groceries, child rearing and prescription drugs more affordable. Many of the proposals?build upon efforts the Biden administration has already unveiled.

Here’s what we know about Harris’ economic proposals:

Find out what else Harris is proposing for the economy here.

The 2024 presidential race?has entered a critical stretch,?with Vice President?Kamala Harris and former President?Donald Trump?preparing to debate in less than a week and the first ballots going out Friday in North Carolina.

Read about?other upcoming campaign events here.