The latest on the 2024 presidential race

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he will be “campaigning actively” for former President Donald Trump after Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed the Republican nominee on Friday.

The endorsement comes after Kennedy and Trump met multiple times to discuss the possibility in exchange for a role in a potential future Trump administration. Kennedy denied Trump had made any “commitments.”

Kennedy again said he plans to withdraw his name from the ballot in “10 swing states” while remaining on the ballot in others where he wouldn’t be a “spoiler.” Kennedy said he and Trump had discussed which states he would withdraw from.

Kennedy said his family’s continued opposition to his campaign and their condemnation of his endorsement of Trump has not affected him.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday he’s hopeful Vice President Kamala Harris will eventually show some daylight?between her?and President Joe Biden?on whether the US should continue to supply weapons to Israel.

Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, has been vocal about his opposition to the US continuing to provide weapons to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

When asked about the exchange in rocket fire overnight between Israel and Hezbollah amid ongoing ceasefire and hostage release negotiations, Sanders said he’s hopeful that a deal can be reached.

?“Clearly we have a very volatile situation in the Middle East. We have had that for a long time now. The good news is that it appears that both Hezbollah and Israel are trying to de-escalate. I hope that happens, and I hope we reach a ceasefire with Hamas – Israel and Hamas as soon as possible.”

When pressed on other issues where Sanders and Harris may not see eye to eye, like immigration, the military or healthcare, the Vermont Senator defended the vice president and noted he believes she is a far better choice than the alternative – former president Donald Trump.

“When you look at her positions versus Trump, the issue is clearly day and night. Her positions are far, far more superior,” Sanders said.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks at a campaign rally on August 15, in New Kensington, Pennsylvania.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said former President Donald Trump would veto a federal abortion ban as president if such a bill were passed by Congress.

In an interview that will air on Sunday at 9 a.m. ET, the Ohio senator told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” that it is Trump’s view that the legalization of abortion should be left up to the individual states.?

“We don’t want to have a nonstop federal conflict over this issue,” Vance added.?

Trump?said in April he would not sign a national abortion ban if elected to the White House again, reversing a promise the former president made as a candidate in 2016 and stood by during his first term in office.

Trump, who has changed his public stance on the topic numerous times, also expressed support for abortion being a state-by-state issue during the CNN Presidential Debate in late June, saying “the states control it. That’s the vote of the people.”??

Vance himself has also shifted his tones on abortion.?CNN previously reported?that Vance argued in 2022 that people seeking abortions often travel from states where abortion is banned to states with liberal abortion laws, necessitating federal action.?

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Democratic National Convention on August 22.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign said Sunday that it has raised $540 million since she launched her presidential bid just over a month ago. The total marks a record for any campaign in history for this time span, according to Harris’ team.?

The campaign saw a surge of grassroots donations during last week’s Democratic National Convention, raking in $82 million, according to a memo by campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon. The hour following Harris’ speech on the final night of the convention also marked the campaign’s best fundraising hour since launch day.

Harris’ team said a third of last week’s donations were from first-time contributors, two-thirds of whom were women. Teaching and nursing continue to be among the most common occupations for donors, the campaign said.

In addition to hauling in a hefty amount of donations, the campaign said it marked its biggest week of organizing, with nearly 200,000 volunteers signing up for shifts since Monday.??

Harris’ camp called the DNC a “galvanizing moment” that energized and mobilized volunteers and grassroots supporters alike, but added the campaign isn’t slowing down as the race enters its final stretch to Election Day.

Heading into Labor Day, the campaign plans to build on momentum by “taking no voters for granted and communicating relentlessly with battleground voters every single day between now and Election Day – all the while Trump is focused on very little beyond online tantrums and attacking the voters critical to winning 270 electoral votes.”

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will kick off a bus tour in Georgia on Wednesday, marking their first time campaigning in the state together and underscoring the campaign’s focus on the key battleground. The vice president is also set to host a rally in Savannah on Thursday to “speak directly to Georgians about the stakes of this election.”

Former President Donald Trump points to supporters at a campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23.

While former President Donald Trump campaigns in two “blue wall” states this week, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will visit another key battleground.

Trump will deliver remarks on the economy in Potterville, Michigan, Thursday afternoon, according to his campaign. The former president is also set to host a town hall that evening in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Trump “will meet with Wisconsinites to listen to their concerns and share his promising agenda: to make America affordable again,” the campaign said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Harris and Walz will kick off a bus tour in Georgia on Wednesday, concluding with a rally in the Savannah area on Thursday, according to their campaign.

Few battlegrounds will be more closely watched than Georgia — where President Joe Biden won by fewer than 12,000 votes four years ago — for signs of how voters are responding to campaign outreach.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is bracing for more unfavorable polling news in the days to come.

A memo from Trump pollsters Tony Fabrizio and Travis Tunis sent out by the Trump campaign Saturday predicts a convention bump in polls after the Democratic National Convention for Vice President Kamala Harris.?

In July, Fabrizio wrote he expected a “honeymoon” period for Harris after she replaced President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket – a prediction that has certainly come to pass. Before ending his re-election campaign, Biden’s support in CNN Poll of Polls registered at 45%, behind Trump at 49%. Heading into the convention, the race had shifted, with Harris at 50% and Trump at 48%, the CNN Poll of Polls found.?

Fabrizio now anticipates the honeymoon for Harris extending, blaming it largely on favorable media coverage of the vice president.?

The memo went on to caution against reading too much into national polls that may show Harris pulling ahead.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are joined by their spouses onstage on the final day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday, August 22.

A new presidential candidate, a slew of celebrities and slick programming helped propel Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris to a ratings win at this week’s Democratic National Convention, surpassing the television viewership of last month’s Republican gathering.

Viewership of the four-day festivities in Chicago drew an average of 21.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen data, eclipsing the audience of the Republican National Convention by nearly 15%.

On the final evening this week, Harris’ acceptance address was watched by 28.9 million viewers, narrowly outdrawing former President Donald Trump’s speech in Milwaukee, which drew 28.4 million viewers across 15 television networks. Trump’s more than 90-minute address, the longest convention acceptance speech in recent history, came just days after he survived an assassination attempt.

Harris’ viewership victory amounted to a blow for Trump, who is?famously obsessed?with television ratings and the size of his crowds.

Excitement over her candidacy?— as well as high-profile speeches by former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former first lady Michelle Obama — helped fuel viewership. So did appearances by a host of celebrities, including Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Pink, Kerry Washington and Mindy Kaling.

Viewership was also likely boosted by a non-appearance: Speculation ran wild online that music superstar Beyoncé would make a surprise performance on the final night. The singer had previously given the Harris campaign permission to use her 2016 hit?“Freedom,”?which played Thursday night as she took the stage.

The DNC turned normally staid moments into slickly produced spectacles, including a?raucous take on the ceremonial roll call?that featured music from each state, as well as a surprise performance by rapper Lil Jon.

Read more here about the Democrats’ convention ratings win.