March 17 - 2024 campaign updates

Former President Donald Trump listens as Sen. J.D. Vance speaks at a campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16.

GOP Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio on Sunday slammed what he called a “ridiculous attack” on Donald Trump following the former president’s comments Saturday in which he warned of a “bloodbath” for the US auto industry and country should he lose the election.

“It shows how low the media is willing to go to cover for Joe Biden,” he continued, pointing to the importance of “real journalists” and “X.com.”?

Vance, who has been floated as a possible running mate for the former president, said that “Trump has great instincts on people” but that speculation is “way premature,” adding he has not spoken with Trump about his pick for vice president.

“I like being a senator, and I plan to keep on being a senator, but of course, if the president asked me, I would have to think seriously about it,” Vance said.

Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a Super Tuesday election night party at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 5.

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday renewed his commitment to debating President Joe Biden, saying he would do it “anytime, anyplace,” and would “even debate minutia.”

Trump on Fox News pushed back on potential criticism he could receive for agreeing to debate the?presumptive nominee of the 2024 Democratic Party?but not his GOP primary opponents, asking?rhetorically,?“Why would I go out, say?‘Oh, let’s go, let’s have some fun, and be shouted at by 12 people that have absolutely no chance of being elected?’”

“I always want to debate the Republican versus the Democrat, no matter what the score is. I wanted to debate last time. I always want to debate the Republican and the Democrat. Those are the two people left and they should debate,” he said.

Biden weighed in Saturday night on the prospect of debating the presumptive Republican nominee, but declined to say definitively if he expects to come face-to-face with Trump.?

“I don’t know if he’s serious,” Biden told CNN after the Gridiron Dinner when asked if he expects to debate the former president ahead of the 2024 election.?

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” played some role in the death of opposition leader Alexey Navalny in a Russian prison, but largely avoided placing blame on the Russian leader.

“I don’t know, but perhaps. I mean, possibly, I could say probably. I don’t know,” Trump said in an interview airing Sunday on Fox News.

He said Navalny was a “young man,” so “statistically he’d be alive for a long time, if you go by the insurance numbers, he’d be alive for another 40 years,” acknowledging, “something happened that was unusual.”

Trump has repeatedly declined to criticize Putin, an authoritarian leader whom he often praises, and came under fire last month for calling his own legal entanglements “a form of Navalny.”

The former president also declined to commit to continuing aid to Ukraine, saying “I feel very hurt because that’s a war that should have never happened,” and claiming, without evidence, that?he could have avoided the conflict.

Former President Donald Trump told an entirely fictional story on Saturday about how he had supposedly outwitted his Democratic opponents by releasing “the tape” of the?2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky?that was a key factor in?Trump’s first impeachment.

Speaking at a Saturday campaign rally in Ohio, Trump?claimed?he let Democrats make “wilder and wilder” claims about what he said to Zelensky, “and then we released the tape.” Trump proceeded to claim that when Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, who was then the speaker of the House, “heard” this tape, she was angry that she had been deceived by her allies’ previous “false” descriptions of the call; he claimed that Pelosi said to “her people”: “What the hell did you get me into? You hear this call? He didn’t do any of this stuff!”

Trump claimed that Pelosi was told, “Let’s just pretend he did and keep going forward.” He continued, “After they made up the story and then after that they heard the tape, they died. They didn’t know that phone call was taped. That was one good case of a phone call being taped. And they were taped and they got caught.”

Facts First:?Trump’s story is a complete fabrication. No tape of his call with Zelensky was ever released; Pelosi could not possibly have been angry with her allies after hearing a tape of the call because she has never heard a tape of the call. In fact, as of nearly five years after the July 2019 call, there is?no?known US recording?of the conversation. What Trump’s White House actually released in September 2019 was a?rough written transcript?of the call — which?corroborated, rather than contradicted, a?government whistleblower’s central allegations?about what Trump had said. Pelosi spokesperson Aaron Bennett said Sunday that Trump’s story is “fact-free nonsense.”

Read more here.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the only Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching former President Donald Trump?for?his attempt to overturn the 2020 election,?still won’t say?whether he will endorse?him?in 2024.?

“At this point all I can say is that I plan to vote for a Republican for the presidency of the United States,” the Louisiana Republican said on NBC’s?“Meet the Press.”

Cassidy previously told CNN?that he didn’t think Trump would be able to win a general election and called for him to drop out of the race over the former president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Former President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, on March 9.

Former President Donald Trump said in an interview airing Sunday he would make a decision “pretty soon” on supporting a national abortion ban.

Trump told Fox News last month he remained undecided about backing a national abortion ban but said, “More and more I’m hearing about 15 weeks.” The New York Times also reported Trump has privately expressed support for a 16-week abortion ban.

Later in the interview, Trump acknowledged the political potency of the issue for Republicans, saying he thinks it is “very, very hard to get elected” without “the three exceptions,” without naming what he was referring to.

“You have to go with the exceptions, and the number of weeks, I’ll be coming out with a recommendation, fairly soon. I think the recommendation will be accepted,” he said without elaborating further.

On the issue of abortion, Trump said, “you have to go with your heart. But beyond that, you also have to get elected.”

Republican Rep. Mike Turner defended Donald Trump on Sunday after the former president made a series of controversial remarks about election outcomes, immigration and the US Capitol insurrection during a rally in Turner’s home district.

Asked about Trump’s comments, specifically that there would be a “bloodbath”?in the auto industry and the country?if he lost the general election in November, Turner?said, “The president’s statements were about what would happen in the auto industry” adding that it is “incredibly important that that be accurately portrayed.”?

Trump warned Saturday that if he were to lose the 2024 election, it would be a “bloodbath” for the US auto industry and the country. The remark came as the former president promised a “100% tariff” on cars made outside the US,?arguing that domestic auto manufacturing would be protected only if he is elected.

At the same rally, Trump went on to characterize undocumented immigrants who commit crimes as “animals.”

Turner said Sunday there are, “many statements he [former President Trump] makes that many Americans would not agree with and many that they would” and defended the former?president’s immigration rhetoric and policy saying, “When you talk about what happening at the border, this is absolutely a crisis that has been created by this administration.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is not endorsing his former boss Donald Trump for president, said Sunday that Trump’s reference to people convicted for their role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol as “hostages” is “unacceptable.”

While Pence said that Capitol rioters who were “caught up in the moment” are entitled to due process of law for “non-violent activities,” he maintained, “The assaults on police officers – ultimately an environment that claimed lives – is something that I think was tragic that day and I’ll never diminish it.”

Rep. Nancy Pelosi is pictured during an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on March 17.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi on Sunday cited Donald Trump’s “bloodbath” comments at an Ohio rally as she sought to establish the stakes for Democrats in the 2024 presidential election.

Trump warned Saturday that if he were to lose the 2024 election, it would be a “bloodbath” for the US auto industry and the country. The remark came as Trump promised a “100% tariff” on cars made outside the US,?arguing that domestic auto manufacturing would be protected only if he is elected.

“We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected,” Trump said during a rally in Vandalia, Ohio. “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole – that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it.”

The comment came in the midst of an extended riff on the auto industry, unions, the transition to electric vehicles and auto plants in Mexico.?

California Rep. Adam Schiff is pictured during an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on March 17.

California Rep. Adam Schiff said Sunday he partially blames the Department of Justice for the risk that some of former President Donald Trump’s trials will not be completed before the 2024 presidential election.?

Schiff warned that the Justice Department’s pace and Trump’s tactics of filing legal motions and appeals in his court cases could lead to “delaying justice.”

“There is a chance that he could evade justice by delaying justice. This is a tried and true tactic of Trump throughout his career,” Schiff said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson holds a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 30.

House Republicans, who have seen their time in the majority devolve into a seemingly endless series of internal party feuds, now have a new problem: GOP lawmakers targeting other sitting members in their primaries.

In at least four primaries – in South Carolina, Illinois, Texas and Virginia – Republican members are actively campaigning against one of their own, inflaming tensions in the conference.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, has already begun targeting two of the GOP incumbents, Reps. Mike Bost of Illinois and Tony Gonzales of Texas.

However, the primary attacks are going both ways, with many Republicans targeting seats held by Freedom Caucus members.

Half a dozen House Republicans who are normally allied with leadership, including House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers, are slated to attend an upcoming fundraiser for the Republican candidate challenging Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, according to multiple sources.

Good was one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy and has created his share of enemies inside the conference with his brash style – including fellow Virginia Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans, who is among those boosting Good’s primary opponent, Navy SEAL John McGuire.

President Joe Biden’s campaign effort brought in $53 million in February, a sign of accelerating donor interest over a month that saw the election rematch?crystalize between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

The figure, which includes funds from Biden’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and related joint fundraising committees, contributed to the $155 million Biden had in the bank at the end of February.

Other top cash-generating moments included the Republican primary in South Carolina, which brought in $1.6 million for Biden’s effort, and an email from First Lady Jill Biden following the release of special counsel Robert Hur’s report, which raised $853,000.

President Joe Biden attends a meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 22.

President Joe Biden told attendees at Saturday night’s?Gridiron?Club Dinner that “freedom is under assault” at this moment in history, according to reporters in the room.

Earlier Saturday, former President Donald Trump – Biden’s likely general election rival – told his supporters in Ohio, “If this election isn’t won, I’m not sure that you’ll ever have another election in this country.”

President Joe Biden toasted to a free press at Saturday evening’s Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington, DC, while making jokes about age and his likely 2024 campaign rival Donald Trump.

“One candidate’s too old and mentally unfit to be president, the other guy’s me,” Biden said of his predecessor and likely 2024 opponent, according to pool reporters in the room.

The Gridiron Dinner is hosted annually in Washington and attended by hundreds of journalists, including from CNN.

The president also told dinner attendees, which included cabinet secretaries and members of Congress, that he admired the “courage” of the journalists in the room and made a toast to a free press, according to reporters. Biden added that he is doing?“everything”?to bring detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich back from Russia.

Former President Donald Trump arrives for a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16.

President Joe Biden’s campaign spokesperson James Singer said in a statement Saturday that former President Donald Trump “wants another January 6” after Trump said during a campaign speech that there would be “bloodbath” if he lost the 2024 election.?

“American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge,” Singer said.

Trump’s remark came as he promised a “100% tariff” on cars made outside the US.

The campaign manager for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential bid said Saturday that Nicole Shanahan, an attorney and entrepreneur, is among the candidates being considered as the independent candidate’s running mate.?

Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, Kennedy’s daughter-in-law and campaign manager, wrote on social media acknowledging Kennedy’s team met with Shanahan.

Fox Kennedy highlighted Shanahan’s advocacy on a range of issues, including “children’s and maternal health,” and said the campaign’s meeting with Shanahan was “one of the highlights of the VP discernment process.”?

In the lengthy social media post, Fox Kennedy also expounded on the qualifications of other candidates on the VP shortlist, including NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, praising his “consistent record of keeping the courage of his convictions.”?

CNN reported Wednesday that Rodgers engaged in conspiracy theories about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in conversations with two people, including CNN’s Pamela Brown. Rodgers responded Thursday, saying he has “never been of the opinion that these events did not take place” without denying the content of those conversations.

On Thursday, Kennedy campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear called the shooting “a horrific tragedy.”

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday mocked Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, the former lead prosecutor in the Georgia election subversion case who resigned Friday.

“We have these two low lives trying to take down a president of the United States,” Trump said at a rally in Vandalia, Ohio. ?

The former president’s remarks come after a Fulton County judge ruled Friday that either Willis or Wade would have to leave the case as they had a romantic relationship. Wade sent his letter of resignation just hours later, saying he was resigning “in the interest of democracy.”

Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants face state charges in Georgia stemming from their alleged efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 electoral defeat.?Trump has pleaded not guilty.

Read more on Friday’s ruling here.

Former President Donald Trump?speaks to supporters during a rally at the Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday.

Former President Donald Trump suggested Saturday that if he were to lose the 2024 election, “it’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”

The remark came as Trump promised a “100% tariff” on cars made outside the US.

Trump appeared at the rally just outside of Dayton with Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, whom the former president has endorsed in the GOP primary to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Trump called Moreno to the stage toward the end of the remarks, and the Senate hopeful praised the former president as “a good man.”

Moreno had previously been critical of the former president. CNN’s KFile found that Moreno deleted tweets in which he called Trump a “fake republican” who stokes “hatred and fear,” and said there was “no scenario” in which he would support Trump.

Five days after suggesting he was open to cuts to Social Security and Medicare, former President Donald Trump promised Saturday to protect entitlements and claimed that President Joe Biden’s policies and the influx of undocumented immigrants arriving in the US would destroy them.?

Trump suggested that his energy policies, including domestic drilling, would enrich the economy and leave entitlements untouched.?

On the trail, Trump has repeatedly vowed to “always defend Medicare and Social Security,” but on Monday, he told CNBC, “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements.”?

His campaign said Trump was “clearly talking about cutting waste, not entitlements.”

Republican businessman and Senate candidate Bernie Moreno speaks in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16.

Republican businessman Bernie Moreno, who is battling for a chance to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, said Saturday that Ohioans can rid the state of the “RINO establishment” and give him the opportunity to crack down on undocumented immigrants in America.?

Moreno, who is backed by former President Donald Trump, also gave a firm warning to those who are “in this country illegally.”

“Starting in January of 2025, you will be deported,” Moreno said at a rally just north of Dayton, Ohio, where Trump is set to speak this afternoon.?

Moreno is competing in Tuesday’s GOP primary against Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan.

The Trump-backed candidate had previously been critical of the former president. CNN’s KFile found that Moreno deleted tweets in which he called Trump a “fake republican” who stokes “hatred and fear,” and said there was “no scenario” in which he would support Trump.

Former President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, on March 9.

In one of his first moves after taking over the job, House?Speaker Mike Johnson announced?in November he would release all Capitol Hill security footage from January 6, 2021, that does not contain sensitive information.

GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia is spearheading the Republican-led investigation into the work of the former January 6 select committee, going after star witnesses of the probe and alleging the former select committee withheld witness transcripts from the public to undercut some of their most explosive claims.

That’s earned Loudermilk being called a “hero” by Donald Trump at that rally in Georgia.

Meanwhile, leading Trump ally GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida introduced a largely symbolic resolution last month declaring Trump did not incite an insurrection or rebellion on January 6. More than one-third of the House Republican Conference have signed on.

Some are true believers. Some, said GOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, are attached because “I’m sure they are afraid not to.”

Some Republicans argue it’s the Democrats who are keeping the issue alive.

President Joe Biden speaks at the Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club in Milwaukee on March 13.

After President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both spent last campaigning weekend in Georgia ahead of the state’s primary Tuesday, the rest of the week for the two nominees were very different.

Biden’s embarked on a weeklong tour of five electoral battlegrounds. The president encountered swing-state voters at a high school gym, an industrial event space, an indoor tennis court, a Boys & Girls Club and a supporter’s front porch.

But the president came face to face with a relatively small number of supporters – much less undecided voters. The audiences for his speeches numbered in the hundreds, not thousands, and his invitation-only events were mainly intended for the party faithful and friendly local officials.

Advisers say the president’s first order of business is to excite Democrats and ease any concerns about his decision to run. His campaign is planning to dramatically scale up its brick-and-mortal presence in battleground states this month, and Biden is expected to make stops in Nevada and Arizona next week.

This sketch shows former President Donald Trump in court with his lawyers and Judge Aileen Cannon of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, top right, during a classified documents hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, on March 14.

Meanwhile, Trump was in a Florida courtroom. The former president tried to get charges dismissed in his classified documents case, arguing that the law prosecutors used to charge him for allegedly retaining national defense records without authorization was too vague to be used against him. However, fewer than three hours after the hearing, Judge Aileen Cannon rejected that claim.

In Trump’s separate hush money case in New York, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said it’s willing to delay trial for up to 30 days, according to a court filing. The trial is currently scheduled to start on March 25.

Raul Ortiz and Jose Martin sit in a restaurant under a TV broadcasting the first debate between then-President Donald Trump and then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Miami on September 29, 2020.

Former President Donald Trump has long argued the Commission on Presidential Debates is biased, even though multiple Republicans are involved with it.

The Republican National Committee withdrew from cooperating with the commission in 2022, although Trump has?since cleaned house at the RNC, streamlining the organization with his campaign and installing a new chair and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as co-chair.

It remains to be seen if Trump will indeed make use of the commission debates or propose some other platform, or if Joe Biden will agree to debate Trump.

Trump has a?history of complaining?about debate moderators who he frequently argues are biased. At one point in 2016, Trump suggested debates proceed?without moderators. But a candidate would have to be completely confident of victory to forego general election debates altogether.

Read more on the brief history and uncertain future of presidential debates here.

Former Vice President Mike Pence stands at the podium after suspending his presidential campaign in Las Vegas on October 28.

Former Vice President?Mike Pence?on Friday said he “cannot in good conscience” endorse presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, a stunning repudiation of his former running mate and the president he served with.

The former vice president, after ending his own presidential bid?in October,?withheld?an endorsement in the 2024 Republican primary, but he previously vowed to back the eventual GOP nominee. Trump had said after Pence dropped out that his former vice president should endorse him, saying, “I chose him, made him vice president. But … people in politics can be very disloyal.”

While he said he is “incredibly proud” of the record of the Trump-Pence administration, Pence argued that the former president has walked away from conservative issues, pointing to Trump’s stance on abortion and US national debt and his reversal on TikTok.

“During my presidential campaign, I made it clear there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues. And not just our difference on my constitutional duties that I exercised January 6th,” Pence said on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”

Read more on Pence’s comments here.

Supporters of former President Donald Trump cheer during a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on March 2.

The rallies start with a recording of January 6 prisoners singing the national anthem. Campaign staff hand out pre-made “Too Big to Rig” signs to supporters. When the candidate takes the stage, he calls the rioters “people who love our country” and “hostages unfairly imprisoned for long periods of time.”

There is nothing subtle about how central Donald Trump has made January 6, 2021, to his campaign. More than just continuing to feed denialism and conspiracies about the 2020 election, he is constantly distorting the reality of what happened that day, preaching vindication to his?base of voters.

In ways big and small – but often overlooked because they have become so commonplace at his events –?the former president?glosses over the violence. He promises pardons for the people who committed it.

On this, Trump and President Joe Biden agree: January 6 itself is a central issue of the 2024 campaign and will be even if Trump’s trials on related indictments get delayed past Election Day.

It’s Biden’s campaign aides who have been surprised how much that’s true.

Sen. Sherrod Brown listens during a hearing in Washington, DC, on June 21.

Whoever emerges from Tuesday’s Republican primary in Ohio, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is in for a tough race in a state that former President Donald Trump twice carried by 8 points. But like Montana Sen. Jon Tester, the other Democrat running in a Trump state this year, he’s done it before.

Republicans need to flip just one or two seats – depending on who wins the White House – to control the Senate, and they’ve already effectively picked up one, assuming West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin?follows through on his announcement?not to run for reelection.

Key context: The early money laid down in Ohio shows just how competitive both parties are expecting it to be. Senate Majority PAC, the super PAC tied to Democratic leadership, has reserved $65 million for TV ads – by far the most of any of the seven states where it made early reservations. On the Republican side, Senate Leadership Fund and an affiliated group have booked about $80 million.

Campaign resources will also be incredibly important in this race, especially since candidates receive more favorable advertising rates than outside groups.

Donald Trump?would normally have little reason to be at a rally in Ohio – a state the presumptive Republican nominee twice carried comfortably – eight months before the November election.

But the former president’s endorsement, the most coveted in a GOP primary, hasn’t yet sealed the deal for businessman?Bernie Moreno, who’s locked in a three-way primary that will be this year’s first test of Trump’s cachet in a contested Senate race.

Tuesday’s winner will take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown –?one of two Democrats running for reelection in Trump states whose fates are crucial to Senate control this fall.

Key context: Democrats are carefully eyeing the high-stakes Republican primary, with an outside group running ads that boost Moreno over state Sen. Matt Dolan and Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Their spending suggests they see Moreno as the preferred candidate to go toe-to-toe with Brown in a state that’s been trending red. The state went for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 before swinging to Trump four years later.

Read more on Ohio’s Senate race here.

Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump clinched their parties’ presidential nominations Tuesday night, setting up a rematch in November.

Biden and Trump won their parties’ presidential primaries in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington, while Trump also won the Republican caucuses in Hawaii.

In a post to the social media platform X, Biden?celebrated his status as his party’s presumptive nominee, calling it “a time of choosing” in a new campaign video.

Trump’s campaign posted a video on X of the former president later Tuesday, shortly after he clinched the nomination.

The shorter slate of elections follows?last week’s Super Tuesday, when Biden and Trump dominated across the map, putting both on the cusp of winning a majority of the delegates needed to be crowned their parties’ presumptive nominees. Their rematch – long anticipated, but hardly clamored for – is broadly expected to mirror the 2020 campaign, though Trump will run this time under the specter of?91 felony charges.