September 25, 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 (left) and former President Donald Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump campaigned?in battleground states today and made their pitch to voters on the economy, a?top issue?this campaign cycle.

During remarks in battleground Pennsylvania, Harris outlined differences between her and Trump’s stance on growing the economy, while Trump spoke in North Carolina about prioritizing US goods.

As the two candidates continue to court voters, a new CNN Poll of Polls of surveys conducted in Pennsylvania in mid-September finds no clear leader in the key battleground state. Vice President Kamala Harris averaged 49% of support among likely voters compared with 47% for former President Donald Trump. That is unchanged from the prior CNN Poll of Polls in Pennsylvania.

Here’s what you should know:

Harris talks economics in Pittsburgh and with MSNBC:

Trump’s comments on foreign policy:

Upcoming VP debate:

Government spending bill:

US President Joe Biden appears on ABC's "The View" on Wednesday.

Biden on The View:

Sexual misconduct allegations:

Kari Lake, Arizona Republican Senate candidate, did not say Wednesday how she would have voted on the Right to IVF Act — which would enshrine into federal law a right for individuals to receive IVF treatment — if she were in the US Senate.

Lake said that she “absolutely” supports IVF treatments and that she has many relatives and friends who were able to start a family because of IVF.

Senate Republicans voted last week to?block advancing a Democratic-led bill?that would guarantee access to in vitro fertilization nationwide. Many GOP senators criticized the bill as unnecessary overreach and a political show vote, while saying they do support IVF.

Lake is locked in a competitive Senate race in Arizona against Democratic opponent Ruben Gallego, who supports access to IVF.

Lake on Wednesday also unveiled her policy proposal to tackle the home affordability crisis in Arizona.

Lake called for an expansion of federal rental and mortgage assistance programs for senior citizens and families with children under 18 “so that nobody is thrown out on the street during this difficult time,” among other measures. To help first-time home buyers, Lake is proposing rate buydowns, arguing it’s a better option than down payment assistance.

Bernie Moreno, the Republican candidate for the US Senate in Ohio, continued to defend his comments?that suburban women are “single issue voters” on abortion, during an interview on Fox Wednesday.

During a town hall Friday , Moreno said abortion is the only issue many suburban women vote on and questioned why women over 50 would care about the issue, according to video obtained by WCMH in Columbus, Ohio.

A Moreno campaign spokeswoman said the remarks were a “tongue-in-cheek joke.”

His opponent, Sen. Sherrod Brown slammed the remarks Tuesday saying “I think that 57% of Ohioans have said that abortion, that they want abortion rights for our country, for our state, and Bernie Marino apparently doesn’t care what they think.”

CNN reported earlier Wednesday that Ohio now ranks as the most expensive congressional race on record.

Cornel?West?(left) and Claudia De la Cruz

Third party and independent presidential candidates Cornel?West?and Claudia De la Cruz have been disqualified from receiving votes for president in Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday.

The Georgia Supreme Court upholds rulings by Fulton County judges in favor of Democrat-supported challenges to keep both West and De la Cruz off of ballots.?The decision reversed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s decision last month that West, who is running as an independent, and De la Cruz,?the?Party for Socialism and Liberation’s nominee?who had been on the state’s ballot as an independent, would be included on Georgia’s presidential ballot in November.

Because it is too late to reprint ballots, county election offices are already testing equipment, and overseas and military ballots have already been mailed out, all Georgia ballots will still have West and De la Cruz’ names on them. Signs at each precincts polling location will have signs posted informing voters they have been disqualified and that votes for them won’t count.

Raofensperger’s Office did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. CNN is reaching out to West and De la Cruz campaigns for comment.

Georgia is one of the states where Democrats challenged third party and independent candidates from being included on presidential ballots. Democrats argued that both West and De la Cruz should be removed because their electors didn’t file petitions in their own names.

Raffensperger intervened, pushing to keep all the candidates on the ballot, until the courts overruled his decision.

Sen. JD Vance speaks at a campaign event on Wednesday, September 25, in Traverse City, Michigan.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance defended his upcoming debate against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz next week, despite his running mate, Donald Trump, saying it is “too late” to debate Vice President Kamala Harris again since voting has already started.

Asked if he thinks his debating Walz is “bad for America” based on what Trump has said about his own prospects for an October debate, Vance answered: “Well, the president already did a debate. I thought he did a hell of a job.”

Vance claimed that the “majority” of undecided voters say they’re voting for Trump after watching him in previous debates, saying “if a majority of undecided voters are voting for one guy, I’d say that guy won the debate.”

Harris announced over the weekend that she agreed to participate in a second debate hosted by CNN on October 23. Trump told a crowd in North Carolina that would be “too late” to debate in late October after early voting has begun.

In response to another question about how he’s preparing for the debate against Walz, Vance said that he views it as an opportunity show that the “the team of substance, the team that actually has a record that we’re proud of instead of running away from, and the team that actually has a plan is the team of Trump-Vance.”

He said he and Trump speak to Americans “like they’re citizens,” while arguing Harris speaks to voters “like they’re children,” and said he hopes to communicate to the national audience “how I think we can make their lives better” through policy.

Vance also brought up the vice president’s first solo network sit-down interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, which aired today as Vance was speaking in Michigan.

He said when Harris is asked to lay out specific plans to curb inflation, “Kamala will say, ‘Well, did you know that I grew up in a middle class family? I had a very nice lawn back there in Berkeley, California.’ It’s like, well, that might be true. What the hell does that have to do with lowering inflation?”

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to use her trip to the US-Mexico border on Friday to slam former President Donald Trump for scuttling a bipartisan border deal and lean into her work as California attorney general, according to a campaign aide.

The Harris campaign announced Wednesday the vice president will make a stop at the US southern border while visiting Arizona Friday, confirming CNN reporting.

Some Harris campaign officials remain concerned about the gap in polling, which shows Trump holding a lead on the issue, but also see an opportunity to narrow a gap they believe is closing and try to shut down GOP attacks over her not visiting the border enough, according to a source familiar.

The campaign has touted endorsements by border town mayors, pointed to a dramatic drop in border crossings to argue that the Biden-Harris administration has strengthened border security, and cited the bipartisan border bill, which included some of the toughest border measures in recent memory.

But that’s so far done little to convince voters who place more trust in Trump than Harris on handling the US-Mexico border. Recent polling shows that Trump continues to hold an edge on Harris on the issue of immigration.

Harris previously visited the border while vice president and has cited her work as a border state senator?and attorney general.

Vice President Kamala Harris accused former President Donald Trump of having “a history of taking care of very rich people” as she attempted to combat Trump’s apparent strength on economic issues in the minds of voters during an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, suggesting Trump’s economic proposals would “invite a recession by the middle of next year.”

Harris responded to a question about Trump’s relatively higher approval on economic issues compared to Harris by claiming his administration lost “at least 200,000” manufacturing jobs prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and portrayed his economic agenda as one that would “shrink the economy” and could potentially increase the likelihood of a recession.

She said “top economists” have compared her economic plan with Trump’s.

A view of the Senate floor on Wednesday, September 25, after passing the government funding extension to avert a shutdown at the end of this month.

The Senate has voted to pass the government funding extension to avert a shutdown at the end of this month. The bill will now go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law after the House approved the measure earlier today.

The Senate vote was?78 to 18.

The bill will fund the government until December 20, setting up a high-stakes fight over spending right before the?Christmas holiday. It also includes $231 million for the US Secret Service in the wake of two apparent assassination attempts against GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The bill does not include the SAVE Act, a controversial measure targeting non-citizen voting that Trump had pushed for Republicans to include.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event hosted by The Economic Club of Pittsburgh on Wednesday, September 25, in Pittsburgh.

Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that, if elected, she will expand the nation’s manufacturing industry during a wide-ranging economic speech in Pittsburgh.

Some details about Harris’ plans were shared in a?policy paper?released by the campaign following her speech. Specifically, Harris is calling for a new tax credit that she would call “America Forward.”

The tax credit would be targeted at investment and job creation in key strategic industries, according to the policy paper, which mentions steel and iron, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, aerospace, autos and farming.

The tax credits would prioritize companies that protect the right to organize.

Seeking to counter Trump’s claims that she is a Marxist, Harris described herself in the speech as a capitalist and said she believes that “an active partnership between government and the private sector is one of the most effective ways to fully unlock economic opportunity.”

Harris’ focus on manufacturing would be a continuation of the policies under President Joe Biden, who signed three major laws that provide federal investments for domestic industries.

Harris also promised in her speech that by the end of her first term, she’d double the number of registered apprenticeships, which she described as “tough duty.” Registered apprenticeships have been a focus of the Biden administration, which has invested more than $750 million in expanding registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs, according to Harris’ policy paper. It notes that new programs increased by 10% during Biden’s term.

In another bid for working class votes, Harris said she backs eliminating degree requirements and increasing skills-based hiring.

The Biden administration has also sought to boost skills-based hiring, announcing in April that it is implementing such hiring practices for certain federal information technology positions. It has pushed to grow the nation’s cybersecurity workforce through skill-based hiring and apprenticeships.

Vice President Kamala Harris appears during an interview with MSNBC, released on Wednesday, September 25.

Vice President Kamala Harris said former President Donald Trump’s plan to increase tariffs in all foreign imports demonstrates he is “not very serious” in his thinking around economic issues during an interview with MSNBC released on Wednesday.

In the interview, taped earlier Wednesday around Harris’ economic remarks at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Harris responded to a question about the appropriate use of tariffs in economic policy by suggesting that Trump’s proposal to add tariffs of up to 20% on products coming into the US is a “talking point ending in an exclamation point at a political rally” rather than a “real plan.”

The full interview is expected to air on MSNBC at 7 p.m. ET.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal speaks with the media on Wednesday, September 25.

Senators expressed outrage over allegations of sexual misconduct by a Secret Service agent against a Kamala Harris staffer as Congress continues to investigate the agency’s shortcomings around the assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the homeland security committee’s investigative subcommittee, called for new leadership, noting that the agency “has been plagued by scandal.”

Sen. John Kennedy speaks to the media on Wednesday, September 25.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy agreed that major reforms are necessary.

“Most of the people at Secret Service do extraordinary work, and I want to make that clear. I don’t want to paint with too broad a brush, but I’m beginning to suspect that our problem at Secret Service is not just money; I think it’s management, I think it’s role, I think it’s scope, I think it’s mission,” Kennedy said.

Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner speaks with the media on Wednesday, September 25.

Senators from both parties left their classified briefing this afternoon deeply disturbed by threats of foriegn interference in US elections.

Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, who also received a separate two-hour briefing on this issue earlier today, told reporters that “Russia’s goal is to undermine Harris, Iran’s goal is to undermine Trump, and China is focused more on down ballot races. That’s the challenge.”

Warner noted he is especially concerned about misinformation in the days after the election, as adversaries work to undermine American trust in the results.

GOP Sen. Mitt Romney?added that foreign interference has focused on stealing information from campaigns so far this cycle. “I think at this stage, the interference is by trying to capture information about campaigns and give it to their opponents, and also influence public opinion. It’s not a disruption of our technology that allows us to count votes,” he said.

Independent Sen. Angus King?told CNN: “We’re doing a good job, but I think the best defense is for the public to understand what’s happening, and then they can shrug it off.”

Romney and?GOP Senator Dan Sullivan?both argued the US should be more willing to go on offense, rather than try to combat disinformation as it comes.

Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks with the media on Wednesday, September 25.

Sullivan noted that he plans to bring legislation that would warn foreign adversaries not to spread misinformation within the US, unless they want the US to go on a public relations campaign against their own leaders.

Vice President Kamala Harris addresses the Economic Club of Pittsburgh on the Carnegie Mellon University campus in Pittsburgh, on Wednesday, September 25.

Vice President Kamala Harris laid out her vision for an “opportunity economy” and called for greater investments in manufacturing for new technologies to boost the American economy, particularly in historic manufacturing cities like Pittsburgh, where she spoke on Wednesday.

Harris told a theater with dozens of volunteers and supporters at Carnegie Mellon University she believes her plans will meet the “extraordinary economy” to strengthen the middle class and drive US economic competitiveness globally.

Harris pledged, as president, to invest in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain, biomanufacturing and aerospace, tying her pledge to historic industrial commitments from past presidents.

Harris also pledged to focus investments in manufacturing in “factory towns,” pledging not to “abandon” those in towns where industrial manufacturing plants have been closed in recent years.

She drew a sharp contrast with former President Donald Trump’s economic policy, portraying the Republican presidential nominee as looking to shape the economy to benefit the wealthiest Americans, claiming Trump “has no intention to grow our middle class.”

Harris also hit Trump for increasing the trade deficit with China, claiming Trump both increased China’s economic leverage over the US and facilitated China’s military growth.

Mark Cuban appears on CNN on Wednesday, September 25.

A recent CNN poll found that voters trust former President Donald Trump more than Vice President Kamala Harris when it comes to handling the economy. Entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban offered advice to anyone who might be worried about her closing in on that gap: “Be patient.”

He went on to commend Harris’ speech in battleground Pennsylvania Wednesday, where she outlined key differences between her and Trump’s economic policy.

“I think her speech today went a long way to really convey to voters that she is pro-business, that she wants to partner with businesses, that she wants to incent businesses,” Cuban said.

Earlier this month, Cuban and dozens of other high-profile business leaders signed a letter endorsing Harris.

The House voted to pass the government funding extension to avert a shutdown at the end of this month – with Speaker Mike Johnson once again turning to Democrats for votes to get the bill over the finish line after facing GOP defections.

The vote was?341 to 82?with?132?Republicans voting in favor of the bill and?209?Democrats voting in favor.?Eighty-two?Republicans voted against.

The bill will fund the government until December 20, setting up a high-stakes fight over spending right before the?Christmas holiday. It also includes $231 million for the US Secret Service in the wake of two apparent assassination attempts against GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The bill does not include the SAVE Act, a controversial measure targeting non-citizen voting that Trump had pushed for Republicans to include.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, September 25.

During remarks in battleground Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris outlined differences between her and former President Donald Trump’s stance on growing the economy, a top issue for voters this campaign cycle.

She went on to continue criticizing Trump’s policies, saying that “his agenda would weaken the economy and hurt working people and the middle class.”

Read about Harris’ and Trump’s campaign promises on key issues.

The Butler Farm Show, site of the campaign rally where former President Donald Trump was wounded, is seen Monday July 15, in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump’s campaign has officially announced the former president’s plans to return to Butler, Pennsylvania for a rally on October 5.

CNN previously reported Trump’s plans to return on that date.

“During his visit, President Trump will honor the memory of Corey Comperatore, who heroically sacrificed his life to shield his wife and daughters from the bullets on that terrible day. President Trump will also recognize the two other Americans who were wounded by the shooter, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. He will express his deep gratitude to law enforcement and first responders, and?thank the entire community for their outpouring of love and support in the wake of the attack,” the campaign added.

Read more about the visit here.

Former President Donald Trump made a last-minute private pitch to some House Republicans on a hardline funding strategy that differs dramatically from one that Speaker Mike Johnson is about to bring to the floor, according to two GOP sources familiar with the conversation.

Trump has phoned several House Republicans, including two who voted against the initial proposal on the floor last week — reiterating his calls that voting measures must be added to the government funding proposal. This is not what Johnson is putting on the floor on Wednesday, after the initial plan — which included a measure requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote — failed.

Johnson was then forced to seek Democratic buy-in for a bipartisan bill, which is expected to easily pass later Wednesday.

Trump told one of the GOP lawmakers in a call Tuesday that if the initial plan — with the voting measure — came up again, he wants the lawmaker to vote “Yes,” one of the GOP sources said.

A Secret Service agent is on administrative leave over alleged sexual misconduct against a staffer for Kamala Harris, the agency confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.

The incident allegedly occurred during a trip for advance security planning in Wisconsin.

RealClearPolitics was first to report on the incident.

When asked about the incident, a?spokesperson for the Office of the Vice President said in a statement that “the Office of the Vice President take the safety of staff seriously.”

“We have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct. Senior OVP officials were alerted by the USSS about an incident involving an agent and informed that USSS initiated an investigation,” the spokesperson said. “The Office of the Vice President will not be releasing further information.”

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Mint Hill, North Carolina, on Wednesday, September 25.

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky?and claimed he “refuses to make a deal” amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

This marks Trump’s most explicit criticism of Zelensky’s handling of the war to date.

Trump criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ ongoing support for Ukraine and again signaled he would end US aid to the nation if reelected.

“A deal could have been made if we had a competent president instead of a president that egged it all on. And Biden and Kamala allowed this to happen by feeding Zelensky money and munitions like no country has ever seen before,” Trump said.

Trump said of the Ukrainian leader, “Every time he came to our country, he’d walk away with $60 billion. He’s probably the greatest salesman on Earth.”

CNN has reported that Trump and Zelensky are not currently scheduled to meet while the Ukrainian leader is in the US for the United Nations General Assembly. Trump’s campaign has been blasting Zelensky over an interview with the “New Yorker” published Sunday in which Zelensky called Trump’s running mate JD Vance “too radical.”

In his speech Wednesday, Trump blamed Biden and Harris for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Trump again said he “got along very well” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and “spoke to him a lot” when he was president. Trump has a long history of praising Putin, even going as far as to side with the Russian president over US intelligence about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Vivek Rallabandi

Both 2024 presidential candidates are trying to reach voters with their message on the economy — a top issue for many people in this election.

Even though The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates earlier this month, Americans’ attitudes toward the economy remain shaky, with many voters saying that the cost of goods and housing is still too high.

Vivek Rallabandi, 21, is a college student in Pennslyvania. He told CNN he is upset about how President Joe Biden has handled and talked about the economy for the past four years.

Rallabandi, a registered Republican who considers himself a moderate, said he feels like the president has downplayed Americans’ concerns, approaching the rising cost of goods with a “very nonchalant” attitude that has not sat well with him.

After the first presidential debate between Harris and Trump earlier this month, Rallabandi said he’s still “not thrilled with either” of the candidates. In an email, he said he didn’t think Trump articulated his vision for the economy very well and was instead circling back to other topics like immigration. As for Harris, Rallabandi said she “displayed verbal poise,” but he wonders why she hasn’t implemented her economic proposals as vice president.

Chappell Roan attends the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards at on September 11, in Elmont, New York.

Pop star Chappell Roan announced on social media that she plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November, ending days of speculation after?she told the Guardian in an interview published Friday that “there’s problems on both sides.”

Roan,?whose fame skyrocketed over the summer after drawing eye-popping crowds at the Lollapalooza and Governor’s Ball music festivals, told the Guardian, “I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone,” but that for her, the most important issue is “trans rights. They cannot have cis people making decisions for trans people, period.”

That response drew fierce blowback from critics, especially following the news she’d declined an invitation to perform at a White House LGBTQ+ Pride event earlier this year—in a separate interview with Rolling Stone published earlier this month, Roan said she made the decision over the White House’s position on the war in Gaza, telling the outlet, “I won’t be a monkey for Pride.”

In a pair of videos posted to TikTok this week, however, Roan — who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and has often credited drag queens for inspiring her music and performances — sought to clarify her comments on the upcoming election.

“If you come to my shows, if you read my full interviews, if you literally know anything about me and for what I stand for, you know that this is not lip service, this is not virtue signaling … actions speak louder than words, and actions speak louder than an endorsement,” she said in?a video posted Monday. “So, hearing from my mouth if you’re still wondering — no, I’m not voting for Trump, and yes, I will always question those in power and those making decisions over other people, and I will stand up for what’s right and what I believe in.”

And in?an additional post Wednesday, she again clarified her comments, reiterating that while “I don’t agree with a lot of what is going on with like policies– like, obviously, f*** the policies of the right, but also f*** some of the policies on the left.”

CNN has reached out to the Harris campaign. A representative for Roan declined to comment further when contacted by CNN.

Read more about her endorsement here.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will attend the football game between the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Saturday, a campaign official told CNN.

Kamala Harris’ running mate will also meet with University of Michigan students during his stop in Ann Arbor, the official said.

The visit leans into Walz’s history as a former high school football coach, an aspect of his identity the Harris campaign has frequently played up at campaign rallies and messaging around the Minnesota governor.

Vice President Kamala Harris attends a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday.

In a wide-ranging upcoming economic speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris will pitch herself as a policy pragmatist with a populist bent, sources briefed on the speech say, as voters indicate they need more information about her positions with five weeks until Election Day.

Harris is expected to stake out positions on manufacturing, childcare, and competition, sources say, largely retreading prior policy rollouts and showing her willingness to incentivize business toward certain activities with both sticks and carrots.

The goal of the speech, according to four sources with knowledge of it, is to familiarize voters with Harris’ economic philosophy and what she would do if elected. The supporting role of the vice presidency — coupled with the lack of a robust primary season for Democrats — has meant voters are less aware of Harris’ positions than they are Trump’s.

What polls are showing: In a recent New York Times-Siena poll, about 25% of respondents who identified as likely voters said they needed to learn more about Harris, compared with 10% who said they needed to learn more about Trump.

The speech is expected to highlight proposals she’s already introduced — like plans to defray the cost of housing and groceries — while doubling down on popular Biden-era policies to incentivize American manufacturing, subsidize childcare costs, and punish “bad actors” in business that threaten competition.

Advisers hope the gradual awareness of Harris’ position will move the needle with voters, who consistently cite the economy as their top issue. While Harris has gained ground in polls over the course of her nascent candidacy, she still trails Trump on that issue.?A recent poll?conducted by SSRS for CNN showed that, among likely voters, 39% trust Harris more on the economy, and 50% trust Trump more.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Mint Hill, North Carolina, on Wednesday.

Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday if he were president, he would tell Iran or any country that if they harm a “leading candidate” in a US presidential election, “we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier in the day that the US government is?“intensely?tracking” an ongoing threat by Iran against current and former US officials, and CNN has reported that law enforcement officials have been concerned about the persistent threat of Iran potentially attempting to assassinate former Trump officials and the former president himself.

“If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country — in this case Iran — that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens. We’re going to blow it to smithereens. You can’t do that. And there would be no more threats,” Trump said during a campaign speech in Mint Hill, North Carolina.

“But right now we don’t have that leadership or the necessary people, the necessary leaders,” Trump said.

Trump said it didn’t matter if that candidate were a Republican or a Democrat. Trump also thanked Democrats in Congress for voting to approve a bill that ensures he and Vice President Kamala Harris receive the same level of Secret Service protection as a sitting president.

Trump also continued to criticize leadership at the FBI and claimed, without evidence, that they were focused “on the sitting president’s political opponents.” Trump regularly claims without evidence that the justice system is being weaponized against him.

Trump on Wednesday also said he’s been “threatened very directly by Iran” and “we all need to pull together to thwart these attempts.”

This post has been updated with more of Trump’s comments.

Ad wars are escalating across a series of highly competitive Senate races, each representing a pivotal contest as Democrats look to defend their one-seat majority.

Ohio now ranks as the?most expensive congressional race?on record,?while critical races in Pennsylvania and Montana have drawn hundreds of millions of dollars in total advertising buys.

Here’s a rundown of the ad spending totals and notable new ads airing in some of the top contests:

Ohio Senate race: The 2024 Senate race in Ohio has become the most expensive Congressional race on record, according to AdImpact data, as the parties have combined to spend a total of more than $422 million on ad buys, including spending since the start of 2023 and on future reservations. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown’s precarious position in the red-trending state; and a high-stakes battle over Democrat’s razor-thin Senate majority. Since the primary on March 19, through today, Republicans have outspent Democrats on advertising for the Ohio Senate race by about $129.3 million to $115.1 million. Brown has outspent GOP challenger Bernie Moreno by a wide margin — $43.5 million to just $1.6 million directly from Moreno’s campaign — but a network of GOP outside groups have more than made up the difference, targeting the race with tens of millions of dollars.

Pennsylvania Senate race: Since the primary on April 23, through today, Democrats have narrowly outspent Republicans on advertising for the Pennsylvania Senate race by about $93.3 million to $91.7 million. Keystone Renewal PAC, a super PAC formed to support GOP nominee Dave McCormick and funded by several of his former business associates and partners, leads all advertisers, and accounts for $35.3 million of the ad spending so far, providing a major lift to Republicans in this key race. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign, meanwhile, has outspent McCormick’s campaign by about $31.3 million to about $7.5 million.

Montana Senate race: Since the primary on June 4, through today, Democrats have outspent Republicans on advertising for the Montana Senate race by about $68.5 million to $58.2 million. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester leads all advertisers, accounting for $26.7 million of the of the Democratic total, while a network of Democratic outside groups have spent more than $40 million combined on pro-Tester advertising. GOP challenger Tim Sheehy’s campaign has spent just $5.1 million on advertising, but he’s supported by a network of GOP groups that have spent nearly $50 million on independent expenditures, while the NRSC has invested about $5 million in a joint ad buy with Sheehy’s campaign.

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he has “no plans” to further support the scandal-plagued North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson.

On Monday, Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued a similar statement, and the Republican Governor’s Association acknowledged that “no further” ad buys would be made in North Carolina.

This comes after CNN’s K-File reported that Robinson made a series of inflammatory comments on a porn forum more than a decade ago, including referring to himself as a “black NAZI,” expressing support for reinstating slavery and saying he enjoyed watching transgender pornography.?Robinson denied the posts were his.

National Review first reported the statement from Youngkin.

Senators are expected to briefed on foreign interference in elections at 4 p.m. ET by intelligence community directors today, according to a Senate aide.

National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Gen. Timothy Haugh, director of the NSA, and Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, will provide the briefing, the Senate aide said.

US Sen. JD Vance, left, and former President Donald Trump attend a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in July.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said he doesn’t “have to prepare that much” for the upcoming debate with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, because he is proud of former president Donald Trump’s record and doesn’t have to hide from it.

“We have, I think, well-developed views on public policy, and so we don’t have to prepare that much. I think what we’re going to focus on is making sure that I make as concise and direct an appeal to the American people as possible about Donald Trump’s successful policies and Kamala Harris’s failed policies,” Vance said on a Trump campaign and Republican National Committee call with reporters.

As CNN reported, Vance has spent the last month engaging in intense prep sessions and is expected to participate in a mock debate this week with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer playing the role of Walz.

President Joe Biden speaks with hosts Ana Navarro, left, and Joy Behar during a commercial break of "The View" on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden offered a muted reaction to former President Donald Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric, calling his predecessor “unusual.”

Asked to defend his own rhetoric going after Trump’s attacks on democracy, the president offered some restraint.

“I think he is the most unusual president,” Biden said during an interview on “The View” Wednesday.

He continued, “There’s not a lot of social redeeming value there. He really does not – does not believe in democracy and the guardrails that our system has set up for the abuse of power.”

Biden encouraged Americans to listen to Trump’s words and watch his actions.

“Look at what he did on January 6. January 6 was absolutely bizarre – bizarre,” he said.

As the show’s host questioned whether Trump is “just trying to stay out of jail,” Biden largely declined to engage.

“I’m not sure he even understands what he’s doing,” he said.

President Joe Biden remains confident he would have beaten former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election – but said he understands the “human nature” of people wanting him to step aside.

Speaking in a rare live TV interview on ABC’s “The View” Wednesday, Biden was asked by CNN contributor Alyssa Farrah-Griffin about prominent Democrats publicly urging him to leave the race. She specifically asked about the state of his relationship with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“My relationship is fine,” Biden said. “Look, I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance of my running again. I didn’t sense that.”

The president pointed to his poll numbers against Trump, which he described as “always within range of beating this guy.”

“It makes sense. There were some folks who’d like to see me step aside so they get the chance to move on. I get that. That’s just human nature,” he said, “but that wasn’t the reason I stepped down.”

Biden said ultimately his age that was the deciding factor.

“It’s hard for me to even say how old I am,” he said with a laugh. “I give my word it’s like, holy God that can’t be right. This can’t be right.”

But he maintained he would have been reelected.

“I was confident I would beat Trump,” Biden said. “He’s a loser.”

US President Joe Biden appears on ABC's "The View" on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday told The View that he told Kamala Harris to be herself as she takes on former President Donald Trump.

Asked what advice he would give his vice president, Biden responded she should “be herself. Look, she is smart as hell, number one. She’s tough. She was a first-rate prosecutor. She is a United States senator of significant consequence. And as vice president, there wasn’t a single thing that I did that she couldn’t do.”

With 41 days to go until Election Day, the president also touted his vice president’s accomplishments while adding that the vice president has the “guts to do the right thing.”

“She has the energy, she has the intelligence, she has the grit, she has the stamina, and she has the guts to do the right thing,” he added.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s events on Thursday in Georgia are postponed due to Hurricane Helene, a campaign official told CNN.

The hurricane continues to rapidly-intensify Wednesday morning, with top sustained winds of 80 mph. It is barreling toward Florida and much of the Southeast and is expected to be the strongest hurricane to hit the US in about a year.

A new CNN Poll of Polls of surveys conducted in Pennsylvania in mid-September finds no clear leader in the key battleground state.

Vice President Kamala Harris averaged 49% of support among likely voters compared with 47% for former President Donald Trump. That is unchanged from the prior CNN Poll of Polls in Pennsylvania.

The poll comes as Harris is heading to Pittsburgh today to pitch her economic agenda to the voters in the battleground state that could potentially define this election.

The new average includes two additional polls that both suggest no clear leader in the race, with support for Harris and Trump within each poll’s margin of sampling error.

More on the Poll of Polls: The CNN Poll of Polls in Pennsylvania is an average of the six most recent non-partisan, surveys of likely voters there that meet CNN’s standards and ask about a 2024 presidential general election between Harris and Trump. Results that include all candidates who will appear on the ballot in Pennsylvania are included where available. When a pollster has released multiple polls in that timeframe, only their most recent is included in the average.

US Sen. Richard Blumenthal talks to CNN on Wednesday.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for new leadership of the Secret Service and said “the buck definitely stops” with the leader of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

His comments come following a new bipartisan Senate report detailing leadership failings from the agency after?the first assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

“The buck definitely stops with the head of the agency, the Department of Homeland Security, Alexander Mayorkas, has to take charge clean house, replace this leadership and provide full disclosure, which so far, DHS has been blocking,” Blumenthal told CNN.

Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who is leading the subcommittee’s investigation, said that there had clearly been a lack of leadership and the top management of the Secret Service needs to be replaced.

Meanwhile, Senate Homeland Security chairman Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, and ranking member Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, also highlighted the lack of accountability from Secret Service from the report.

“We had bipartisan, unanimous support that the assassination could have been prevented, that there were multiple failures of the Secret Service, and that things have to be better,” Paul told reporters on Wednesday morning.

Paul called for firings within the agency and argued that the increased funding for the Secret Service included in the government funding extension will not solve the problem. Peters, however, said that they should hold off on firings until they have more information.

The chairman also noted that this is an interim report – and stressed that a full report will come later.

This post has been updated with additional reporting.

Kamala Harris speaks during an event at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 20.

Step into the Rebel Teahouse and look to the right: a stack of Kamala Harris campaign brochures on the shelf gives away a big change here.

Owner Christine Nguyen has a candidate now and is not only excited to cast her vote but is also doing a little extra to help the vice president, including making a place for the brochures and plans to hold a voter registration event at the teahouse just before the Georgia deadline.

“I’m proud to say there is somebody who is able to, like, voice the things that we as a people have been shouting for, like, the past four years,” Nguyen said in a recent interview.

That’s a big shift from?when we first met Nguyen?back in April, when she told us she did not vote in 2020 because she felt no connection to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump. At the time, she said she was undecided about this year’s election and dreading the prospect of a Biden-Trump rematch.

Nguyen is one of more than 70 voters participating in our?“All Over The Map” project, an effort to track the 2024 election through the eyes and experiences of voters who live in key battlegrounds.

Rebel Teahouse is in Decatur, in reliably blue suburban DeKalb County just outside Atlanta.?It is one of the places that helped Biden to his stunning, razor-thin 2020 Georgia win and is now a key test of whether Harris can assemble a similar winning coalition.

That formula begins with giant support — and turnout — among Black Americans. But other voters of color are also critical: In 2020, voters of color made up 39% of the Georgia presidential electorate, and Biden won 81% support of that vote. That lopsided margin helped Biden win the state, by?fewer than 12,000 votes, even though Trump won?69% among White voters.

In a?CNN poll?released Tuesday, Harris was well ahead of Trump among Black (79% support) and Latino (59%) likely voters, but still trailed Biden’s?winning percentages?with those groups in 2020 – 87% and 65%, respectively.

Read more about the challenge the Harris campaign faces in Georgia.

Election Day is less than 40 days away, and Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump remain deadlocked in the presidential race, according to the latest CNN polling.

Both candidates are back on the campaign trail this week, pitching their agendas to voters in battleground states that could define the race.

Here’s where the candidates are headed to:

Harris is traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she is expected to deliver remarks at a campaign rally at 3:15 p.m. ET. During her speech, Harris will focus on American manufacturing and expand on her economic agenda, according to a senior campaign official.

Harris is also expected to participate in an interview from Pittsburgh with MSNBC that will air at 7 p.m. ET.

Trump is traveling to North Carolina and is expected to deliver remarks at 1 p.m. ET in Mint Hill about his economic agenda. He is expected to focus on his previous presidential term and record, highlighting the Buy American Act and his plan to prioritize US goods.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is not expected to participate in any public events todays and will remain in St. Paul conducting internal meetings.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance wil participate in a press call at 11:15 a.m. ET that is hosted by the Republican National Committee and Team Trump on the campaign’s union support.

Walz and Vance are also preparing to face off in their first vice presidential debate on Tuesday.

Read more about the 2024 candidates.

This post has been updated with more details on the candidates’ schedules.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the media upon her arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday, September 22, 2024.

Vice President?Kamala Harris?is?planning to visit the US-Mexico border?while in Arizona on Friday, according to a source familiar with the discussions, as Harris tries to close the gap with former?President Donald Trump?on the issue of immigration.

Details of the visit – which CNN first reported Monday that campaign officials were weighing – are still being sorted.

Harris previously visited the border in her capacity as vice president and has cited her work as a US senator and state attorney general representing a border state – California.

Immigration has featured prominently in the?2024 presidential election. Democrats, grappling with years of border crises, have tried to flip the script on Republicans after the GOP blocked a bipartisan border measure earlier this year.

Some Harris campaign officials remain concerned about the gap in polling, which shows Trump holding a lead on the issue, but also see an opportunity to narrow a gap they believe is closing and try to shut down GOP attacks over her not visiting the border enough, according to one of the sources.

Trump on social media Tuesday bashed Harris over her planned trip to the US-Mexico border, saying it was a “disgrace that she waited so long.”

Read more?about Harris’ expected visit to the border Friday.

CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed reporting to this post.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will each participate in town halls hosted by Univision next week, the network announced Tuesday.

The Trump town hall will air on October 8 from Miami. The Harris town hall will air on October 10 from Las Vegas.

The town halls on the Spanish-language network come as both candidates race to garner the support of Hispanics, a key voting group.

The leading super PAC backing Kamala Harris for president launched?a new TV ad?on Wednesday, mocking Donald Trump’s false claims about Haitian immigrants during the debate earlier this month, and contrasting his rhetoric with Harris’ remarks on the economy.

The ad, from Future Forward PAC, opens with the clip from the debate, with Trump saying, “They’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the pets. This is what’s happening in our country,” over images of pets with concerned expressions.

“It is important that we move forward and address the needs of the American people. Address the housing shortage, support our small businesses, address bringing down the price of groceries. And I pledge to you that I will,” Harris says in the clip.

It’s the first TV ad from Democrats in the presidential race that has highlighted Trump’s controversial remarks, which?elevated?a set of?false social media claims?about migrants to sudden national prevalence. Those false claims have roiled the presidential campaign trail in the weeks since the debate, and?sparked turmoil?in Springfield, Ohio, the locus of the false claims.

Trump and his running mate JD Vance, however, have?defended?their rhetoric and continued to reference Springfield as they criticize immigration policies.

President Joe Biden greets Vice President Kamala Harris at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Phoenix Awards dinner in Washington, DC, on September 14.

As he approaches the lame duck era of his first and only term, President Joe Biden is showing signs that he’s less constrained by the scrutiny of a campaign.

On Wednesday, that means he’s taking a little time to enjoy “The View.”

Joining the more freewheeling format of ABC’s signature talk show signals a shift for a president who did a pair of high-stakes network interviews in July defending his capacity to serve as he fought for his political future. Now unburdened by the pressures of campaigning, particularly the constant and intense focus on his age and verbal slips, the president is ramping up his unscripted engagements and making appearances focused on shoring up his legacy.

“Joe Biden is back to being the relaxed, authentic person we all knew,” said one former Biden aide.

There is an implicit understanding that the future of Biden’s policy legacy is?directly tied to Harris’ success in November.?The president’s strategy in the coming weeks before the election, a White House official said, is to “do as much as possible in the remainder of his term to help his partner, Vice President Harris, get elected and meet Americans where they are to communicate what we are getting done for them.”

Biden is expected to focus more on his accomplishments – implementation of key legislation; his decades-long championing of the “Violence Against Women Act”; and his broader “unity agenda” of mental health access, caring for veterans and his work to end cancer, among other topics – than on Harris’ candidacy during the interview on “The View,” according to another source familiar with the appearance.

That focus could be aimed at placing?some strategic separation?between the president and his former running mate. In a national NBC News?poll released earlier this week, 40% of voters “say they’re more concerned that Harris will continue the same approach as Biden.”

Read the full story.

Former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage by Secret Service agents after being shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

A bipartisan Senate committee revealed in a new report Wednesday that Secret Service agents failed to take charge of decision-making for security at the?Butler, Pennsylvania, rally where former President Donald Trump was shot in July, leading to key lapses in preparation and communication that day.

The report, citing interviews with top Secret Service officials and local law enforcement who oversaw the security for the rally, said the failures were “foreseeable, preventable” and found that many of the problems identified by the committee “remain unaddressed” by the Secret Service.

Some of the problems highlighted include the Secret Service failing to set up visual barriers around the rally that may have blocked shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks’ view of Trump, the lack of a plan on how to secure the building the shooter took aim from and the general chaos of communication around the shooter’s movement leading up to the attempt on the former president’s life.

Read more about the failures on that day here.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday is expected to expand on her economic agenda during remarks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, focusing in part on US manufacturing, according to a senior campaign official.

Harris is expected to outline her plans to ensure that the US dominates the manufacturing industry. She will highlight that she believes the city of Pittsburgh helped build the middle-class by sparking the rise of American industrial manufacturing a century ago, including birthing the American labor movement. The vice president, according to the official, also believes that Pittsburgh represents how America has led industries of the future to protect and expand the middle-class.

Harris’ speech comes the day after former President Donald Trump outlined his vision for a “manufacturing renaissance” in the US at a rally in Savannah, Georgia.

Trump said that his proposal to reduce the corporate tax rate to 15% for companies that produce their goods in America – along with his plan to hike tariffs on imports – will both unleash a domestic manufacturing boom and entice foreign companies to shift their operations to the US.

He slammed Harris for wanting to raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, which he said will prompt companies to leave the US.

A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS found likely voters overall say they trust Trump over Harris to handle the economy (50% Trump to 39% Harris). Even among those who say Trump’s views and policies are too extreme, 15% say they trust him over Harris to handle the economy.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris holds a 12-point lead over former President Donald Trump among voters younger than 35 – a group that’s largely dissatisfied with the influence it holds in American politics, but remains optimistic about the country’s future, according to new CNN polling conducted by SSRS.

Harris leads Trump 52% to 40% among these likely voters younger than 35. That still suggests a tighter race among this group than in 2020, when President Joe Biden ended up with a 21-point margin among the same age group, according to exit polls. But it marks a return to more typical voting patterns after polls earlier in the year showed Biden struggling to rally youth support for a second term.

The gender gap seen across voters of all ages is present among this group as well. Where female likely voters younger than 35 prefer Harris over Trump, 53% to 39%, male likely voters are closely divided. And among registered voters, young women are 15 points likelier than men to express a positive view of Harris.

Read more about young voters’ presidential preference here.

Crime scene tape marks off an area where law enforcement investigates the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 17.

Prosecutors filed the charge of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate against the man accused of camping outside of Donald Trump’s West Palm beach golf course on September 15.

Federal Judge Aileen Cannon — the same Florida judge who was assigned to oversee the Trump classified documents case — will oversee the case, according to the indictment. Federal judges are assigned to cases at random.

The man, Ryan Routh, allegedly “stalked” Trump in Florida for more than a month, prosecutors told a federal magistrate judge on Monday, with cell phone data allegedly placing Routh at the golf course as well as Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence across several days between August 18 and the day Routh was arrested.

Routh was originally charged with two gun-related offenses — including obliteration of a firearm’s serial number and possessing a firearm while a convicted felon — while the investigation continued. In addition, charges against Routh also include possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer.

According to the indictment, Routh “did forcibly assault, oppose, impede, intimidate, and interfere with ‘Secret Service Special Agent #1,’ an officer and employee of the United States.”

He is scheduled to be arraigned next Monday.

According to prosecutors, investigators found a handwritten note after detaining Routh that included venues and locations where Trump had or was planning to visit in the months leading up to the 2024 election.

In a letter brought forward by a witness, Routh allegedly wrote, months prior to his arrest, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you.”

According to prosecutors, the letter was found inside a box the witness said Routh left at his home. The witness told investigators he didn’t open the box until he heard about the events at Trump’s golf course.

The Senate unanimously passed GOP Sen. Rick Scott’s bill guaranteeing that former President Donald Trump will receive the same level of Secret Service protection as a sitting president.

The bill will now head to President Joe Biden’s desk. Scott added that he hopes Biden “acts quickly to sign it into law.”

Called the Protect Our Presidents Act, Scott brought the bill to the floor almost one week after the House of Representatives passed a companion bill unanimously, 405-0.

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy chose not to object, though he noted that he doesn’t believe it changes the way that the Secret Service assesses threats.

A?Quinnipiac University poll of the presidential race released Tuesday finds no clear leader?among likely voters nationally, with Donald Trump taking 48% to Harris’s 47% when third party candidates are included — nearly identical to the CNN poll released earlier.

In a head-to-head race between just Harris and Trump, Quinnipiac finds the two candidates tied at 48%.

In the Quinnipiac poll, 43% of likely voters say Harris would make a great or good president, 10% that she’d be “so-so,” and 46% that she’d be bad or terrible; for Trump, 47% say he’d be great or good, 6% that he’d be so-so, and 47% that he’d be terrible.

A 74% majority of Harris supporters and 60% of Trump supporters say they’d be “extremely upset” if their chosen candidate lost the election.

About the poll: Quinnipiac surveyed 1,728 likely voters by phone between September 19 and 22, with a margin of sampling error of +/- 2.4 percentage points.

The?race for president?between Vice President?Kamala Harris?and former?President Donald Trump?is exceedingly close.

Harris’ support is resting on stronger personal appeal, while Trump draws on a die-hard base and a wide advantage on handling the economy to run about even despite less positive views of him, his empathy and temperament.

Among likely voters nationwide, a?new CNN poll conducted by SSRS?finds 48% support Harris and 47% Trump, a margin that suggests no clear leader in the race. About 2% say they plan to vote for Libertarian?Chase Oliver?and 1% for Green Party nominee?Jill Stein. Both Harris and Trump hold positive support from the majority of their backers – 72% of Trump’s supporters say their choice is more for him than against Harris, while 60% of Harris’ supporters say their choice is more for her than against him.

That’s a major shift in voters’ attitudes toward the race compared with earlier this summer. In the?last national CNN poll in July, shortly after?President Joe Biden?ended his campaign for president and Harris threw her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination, Harris’ backers were evenly divided between affirmative support for her and those driven by anti-Trump sentiment. And Biden’s supporters in earlier polls said they were largely expressing opposition to Trump with their choice.

CNN Political director David Chalian breaks down the poll below:

Read more on the latest polling.