September 29, 2024, presidential campaign news

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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Vice President Kamala Harris will visit areas affected by Hurricane Helene, a White House official said, as soon as it is possible without disrupting emergency response operations.

Harris offered her condolences Sunday to those impacted by Helene, which made landfall last week as the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend region.

A White House official said Harris was briefed by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on the federal response to Helene, which tore through multiple states,?killing at least 95 people, knocking out power to millions and trapping families in floodwaters.

Harris also spoke with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper about rescue and recovery efforts, and reached out to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the White House official said.

Vice President Kamala Harris waves while boarding Air Force Two in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign said it raised $55 million between two fundraisers hosted by the Harris Victory Fund in California this weekend.

A Saturday fundraiser at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco raised $27 million, the campaign said. The event included remarks from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a performance from singer Andra Day.

A Sunday fundraiser at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live raised $28 million, the campaign said. Notable guests included Stevie Wonder, Demi Lovato, Jessica Alba, Keegan-Michael Key and Sterling K. Brown. The reception also featured performances by Halle Bailey and Alanis Morissette.

Some background: Harris’ campaign has been on a fundraising blitz since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July and endorsed her. Harris brought in nearly $190 million directly to her campaign in August — more than quadrupling the $44.5 million that Donald Trump’s campaign said flowed to its principal campaign account that month.

Harris’ broader network announced it had raised a?total of $361 million?in August, nearly triple the $130 million Trump’s operation said it brought in. Harris’ fundraising dominance has helped give Democrats a significant edge in advertising bookings this fall, including in key battleground states.

CNN’s David Wright?and?Fredreka Schouten contributed to this post.

Vice President Kamala Harris projected confidence about her chances in November’s presidential election at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sunday, stressing the race is “as close as it can be” but telling donors that “we are going to win.”

Harris noted that voters are already able to cast their ballots in some key battlegrounds and remained confident she would defeat former President Donald Trump when all the votes are counted.

“This race is as close as it can be,” she continued, “and we are the underdog, friends.”

Harris reiterated many of her positions on the economy, drawing a contrast with her proposals and those of Trump, who she called an “unserious man.” She also joked about her crowd sizes in an apparent effort to antagonize the former president.

“So as I say, everywhere I go and I’m traveling our country, I say — and the crowd’s pretty big,” Harris said as attendees applauded.

“And everywhere I go, I say and people say it back — ‘We are not going back.’ We don’t have to, because ours is truly a fight,” she added.

The last time Kelly Ayotte was on the ballot with?Donald Trump,?she lost. The former one-term Republican senator is?giving it another go?in New Hampshire this year, running in the most competitive governor’s race in the country.

But the shadow of the top of the ticket looms large, with some Republicans in the Granite State worrying how many Kamala Harris voters Ayotte can win over when Trump looks likely to lose here.

While Democrats attempt to nationalize the contest — attacking Ayotte on abortion and on Trump — Republicans are trying to localize it by zeroing in on Democratic nominee Joyce Craig’s past tenure as the mayor of Manchester, tying her to the city’s homelessness and drug problems.

“It’s not her fault, but it didn’t seem like she did anything to help,” Ray Lawrence, 73, said of Craig while finishing lunch on a recent drizzly Friday here in New Hampshire’s largest city. He likes Ayotte’s record as a senator and former state attorney general, and he’s also voting for Trump.

Around the corner on Manchester’s main drag, Claudette Laroche, 71, of Hooksett had a four-word response for why she’s backing Craig: “She’s advocating for women.”

With political opinions as hardened as they are,?the neck-and-neck race?to succeed retiring Republican Gov. Chris Sununu will test the endurance of ticket-splitting in a state that’s more prone to it than most but that’s also been trending bluer at the federal level. Hillary Clinton carried New Hampshire by less than half a point?in 2016;?Joe Biden?won it by 7 points?four years later.

Read more about the New Hampshire race here.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Cochise College Douglas Campus in Douglas, Arizona, on Friday.

The next president could have the power to dramatically reshape the Supreme Court with one or more appointments. But for Vice President Kamala Harris, that might not be possible.

If Republicans regain control of the Senate, Harris would have to rely on the next GOP leader to schedule a vote on a Supreme Court nominee.

And in interviews with CNN last week, the two leading candidates to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would not commit to putting a Harris Supreme Court nominee on the floor for a confirmation vote.

Cornyn added: “If I’m in a position to make the decision, I’m not going to schedule a vote on some wild-eyed radical nominee, which I know she would love to nominate.”

Senate GOP Whip John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, had a similar refrain.

“We’ll cross the bridge when we come to it,” Thune said when asked last week whether he’d allow a Harris Supreme Court pick to be confirmed. “But, you know, it probably depends on who it is, and that’s the advantage of having a Republican Senate.”

The next GOP leader will be decided in the lame-duck session of Congress after the November elections.

Read more here.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz’s team has dubbed its debate prep sessions “Camp North Star,” an indication of the relaxed atmosphere in woodsy northern Michigan the campaign is seeking to bring out authentic aspects of the Minnesota governor’s identity, a source familiar with the sessions told CNN.

Walz’s debate enclave in Harbor Springs, Michigan, is “about the governor being the governor and staying true to who he is, not turning him into a slick debater like Vance,” the source said, referring to Walz’s Republican counterpart, JD Vance.

Walz has gone for a hike and eaten pizza at a downtown Harbor Springs restaurant during his stay. On Sunday, he visited a local farm, where he petted goats and rabbits, purchased some farm goods and shot pumpkins from a hydraulic launcher.

Televisions at the property where Walz and his staff are staying have been tuned to professional and college football games this weekend, with staff showing up in gear supporting their favorite teams. Some staff have been tossing a football around between sessions, the source said.

But not every participant in “debate camp” arrived in casual camp gear. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has been portraying Vance in prep sessions, surprised staff by showing up in a red tie, mimicking the attire often worn by the Ohio senator on the campaign trail.

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday appeared to call for police brutality to counter retail theft in America.

At a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump said, without evidence, that progressive policies were preventing police from adequately fighting crime, and indicated authorities should be permitted to unleash a physical crackdown on shoplifters.

As CNN has reported, despite viral videos of mobs of shoplifters ransacking stores in certain places,?retail crime has not meaningfully gone up nationwide?in the past few years, and it has even gone down in many places.

Trump has faced criticism in the past for appearing to call for police brutality.

In 2017,?Trump was rebuked?by the acting head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration after the then-president addressed an audience of law enforcement officers and said police should get rougher on suspects in their custody.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz said Sunday that his debate prep is “going great” ahead of his Tuesday matchup with his Republican counterpart, JD Vance.

“Good, it’s going great. This is the fun part,” the Minnesota governor told reporters during a stop at Pond Hill Farm in Harbor Springs, Michigan, where he is hunkering down for “debate camp.”

Walz; his wife, Gwen; and their daughter, Hope, browsed baked goods, peppers and other items from the farm’s store.

He also took part in “squash launching” on the farm, where he fired pumpkins through a hydraulic launcher at a set of targets. Walz hit one target on his fourth shot, but then admitted he was aiming for a different target, according to reporters traveling with him.

VP debate: CNN previously reported that Walz is fighting off nerves heading into his debate against Vance. The pressure is high: For the first time in modern campaign history, the?vice presidential debate?on Tuesday?could be the last marquee event before Election Day.

With many voters still saying they don’t know enough about Vice President Kamala Harris, it could be up to Walz to help convince them to trust a vice president he barely knew himself before she picked him.

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday again accused Vice President Kamala Harris of being “mentally impaired” and said she should be impeached for failing to secure the border.

The comments marked a notable escalation of his insults toward the vice president and prompted a rebuke from Larry Hogan, the Republican former governor of Maryland.

Trump spent much of his nearly two-hour campaign speech Sunday railing against Harris on border and immigration issues, playing videos highlighting crime committed by migrants.

“She should be impeached and prosecuted for her actions,” he said.

He later called Harris a “stupid person,” prompting the crowd to chant, “Lock her up,” a refrain first popularized at Trump campaign events in 2016 and directed toward his then-rival, Hillary Clinton.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.

Former President Donald Trump slammed Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday for fundraising on the West Coast this weekend after Helene became the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend region.

He said Harris was in San Francisco, which he claimed she “totally destroyed” as district attorney, “right now” for a fundraiser, though Harris is slated to attend a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sunday before holding a rally in Las Vegas. She fundraised in San Francisco on Saturday.

Trump, speaking at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, said Democrats “raise a lot of money for bad people, fundraising events with their radical-left lunatic donors, when big parts of our country have been devastated by that massive hurricane and is underwater with many, many people dead.”

The former president offered his condolences to those affected by Helene, which has caused at least 90 deaths, saying, “I’d like to send my love and prayers to the families of those who have died — a lot of death — and all of those who are displaced and suffering in the wake of the hurricane’s destruction in the South.”

He said Harris “ought to be down in the area where she should be. That’s what she’s getting paid for, right?”

Some background: Harris’ West Coast fundraising swing came after her campaign raised $361 million in August, giving her $404 million cash on hand, while Trump’s operation raised $130 million last month.

An aerial picture taken Saturday shows damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Valdosta, Georgia.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday is expected to visit Valdosta, Georgia, where he will receive a briefing on the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and “facilitate the distribution of relief supplies.”

The former president will then give remarks to the press at 2 p.m. ET, according to his campaign.

Trump on Sunday sent his condolences to those affected by?Helene, which was the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend region.

As of Sunday afternoon, at least 90 people have died in relation to?Helene in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday previewed his event next weekend in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the first assassination attempt on him this summer.

“We’re going back. That’s a big deal. We have a lot of people coming,” Trump said at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, of the event scheduled for Saturday, predicting it will be “the safest place on Earth.”

“I think I’ll start the speech by saying, ‘As I was saying,’” he quipped, referencing how his July event in Butler was cut short when a gunman fired on the crowd and a bullet grazed Trump’s ear minutes after he started speaking.

Trump claimed Butler has become a “big tourist site,” and said he would celebrate Corey Comperatore, the man killed in the July shooting.

He pointed out Republican Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, the chair of the bipartisan House task force investigating the assassination attempt, saying the work of the panel has been “amazing” and “very bipartisan.”

Vice President Kamala Harris holds a campaign rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on September 12.

We’ve heard a lot about the groups of voters that Kamala Harris?seems to be struggling with?— or at least not doing as well as Joe Biden did with them four years ago. Yet, the vice president has a small national edge over Donald Trump. How is that possible?

It turns out that Harris is also doing particularly well for a Democrat among groups with whom recent presidential nominees of her party have fared poorly.

One such group is senior citizens. Harris may be the first Democrat to carry voters ages 65 and older since Al Gore?in 2000.

Take a look at the recent national polls. The?CNN/SSRS poll?out last week found Harris leading the former president 50% to 46% among senior citizens. Our survey is not an outlier. The average poll has Harris up by 3 points over Trump among seniors.

This is a marked turnaround from before Biden dropped out of the race in July and from the?final?estimates?from 2020. Both the polling average from earlier this year and the post-election findings from 2020 had Trump up by 4 points over Biden among voters who were 65 or over.

The fact that Harris is doing better with seniors than other Democrats before her isn’t the biggest surprise. Biden did considerably better with older voters in 2020 than Barack Obama did?in 2012, despite a similar national performance among all voters.

Still, any inroads with seniors would come at a necessary time for Harris, who is struggling a bit — for a Democrat —?among young voters?in the average national poll.

Read more about Harris’ inroads with senior voters here.

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

President Joe Biden told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews Sunday he has “confidence” in Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ahead of the vice presidential candidate’s debate against Donald Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance Tuesday.

Asked after disembarking Air Force One if?he has any advice for Walz, Biden told a reporter, “I have confidence in him.”

On Saturday, CNN reported Walz is “nervous” about his debate performance, which could be the last marquee event before Election Day and Walz’s chance to help convince voters to trust a vice president he barely knew himself before she picked him.

Vice President Kamala Harris is trying to shore up support among Latino voters when she stops in Las Vegas on Sunday, concluding her West Coast swing.

The visit comes on the heels of new polling?from NBC News, Telemundo and CNBC?of Latino registered voters that shows Harris ahead of former President Donald Trump among the group, but lagging behind other recent Democratic nominees.

“Nevada continuously gets tighter and tighter,” a Harris campaign official told CNN.

Harris and Trump are competing for the Latino vote, a growing segment of the electorate, ahead of November. Democrats have been contending with signs of waning support among the bloc, compared, for example, with Biden’s 2020 support in CNN exit polling of Latino voters in that year’s election.

Overall, 54% of Latino registered voters in the poll released Sunday said they supported Harris and 40% backed Trump. The survey suggests Harris has held on to a wide advantage among Hispanic women (leading 60% to 34% now) but is now running evenly with Trump among Hispanic men (who split evenly between Trump and Harris, 47% each).

The Harris campaign is using Sunday’s stop in the key swing state to try to maintain an edge against Trump, officials said. Harris campaign officials have touted their campaign infrastructure in the state, arguing that their ground game is outperforming Republicans.

“We’ve known and have been preparing for this to be a close race. That’s why we’ve invested in the type of ground game we’re running,” the campaign official said.

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to travel to Nevada on Sunday for an event in Las Vegas, her campaign said, to rally in a state that she believes is part of her “many paths to 270.”

The vice president is expected to speak at 7:30 p.m. PT Sunday. It’s Harris’ eighth visit to Nevada in the last year and her second trip to Las Vegas since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in late July, her campaign said.

Some background: Former President Donald Trump narrowly lost Nevada in 2016 and 2020. CNN polls conducted by SSRS last month found Nevada voters almost evenly split between the candidates, with 48% backing Harris to 47% for Trump.

Over the past week, Americans were more likely to hear news about former President Donald Trump than about Vice President Kamala Harris, according to The Breakthrough, a CNN polling project that tracks what average Americans are actually hearing, reading and seeing about the presidential candidates throughout the campaign.

But after a spate of high-profile news that drew attention largely across the political spectrum — including the presidential debate and the?first assassination attempt?against Trump — this week’s data shows a significant divergence between what Democrats and Republicans each recalled hearing about the GOP nominee.

Republicans focused more on the?assassination attempt?against the former president in Florida earlier this month, while Democrats continued to say they were hearing more about?his baseless claims?about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.

In the most recent survey — conducted September 20-23 by SSRS and Verasight on behalf of a research team from CNN, Georgetown University and the University of Michigan — three-quarters of Americans said they’d consumed at least some news about Trump, slightly outpacing the 69% who said the same about Harris. That’s a shift from late August and early September, when roughly equal shares recalled hearing news about each of the candidates.

Read more here.

Maryland GOP Senate candidate Larry Hogan speaks during a campaign event in Silver Spring, Maryland, on September 19.

Maryland GOP Senate candidate Larry Hogan on Sunday called Donald Trump’s recent comments questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’ mental ability “outrageous and unacceptable” in an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“That’s insulting not only to the vice president but to people who actually do have mental disabilities,” Hogan said. “I’ve said for years that Trump’s divisive rhetoric is something we can do without.”

At a campaign rally Saturday, Trump attacked his opponent while referencing her visit to the US-Mexico border, claiming she is “mentally disabled” because of how the Biden-Harris administration has been handling the border crisis.

Hogan has been an outspoken critic of Trump and previously?made?headlines after he rejected an endorsement from the former president. He has said that he will not endorse either presidential candidate, emphasizing a focus on “country over party” this election.

“We have a separate identity,” Hogan said Sunday. “I stand up to him, probably more than just about anyone, and I’ll continue to.”

Hogan, the former Republican governor in the otherwise deep blue state of Maryland,?is running for the Senate against Democrat Angela Alsobrooks.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 20.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday it’s natural to “adapt your policies to meet the moment” as he sought to defend Vice President Kamala Harris’ border policy against former President Donald Trump’s attacks.

On Friday, Harris visited the US southern border in Arizona to address immigration and border security, a point of vulnerability in her presidential campaign so far. In her speech, she outlined plans to expand on President Joe Biden’s border restrictions that crackdown on asylum seekers — a drastic shift from her previous support of decriminalizing illegal border crossings.

As CNN previously reported, Pritzker was more critical last year of the Biden administration’s handling of immigration, demanding that it take steps to address the crisis that he said was approaching a breaking point in Chicago.

On Sunday, Pritzker defended Harris, saying, “What Kamala Harris has put forward is that she would stand up for the bipartisan border security bill that Donald Trump torpedoed.”

“It’s a challenging issue to resolve without legislation,” Pritzker added.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on September 28.

Former President Donald Trump is wildly distorting new statistics on immigration and crime to attack Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump falsely claimed Friday and Saturday that the statistics are specifically about criminal offenders who entered the US during the Biden-Harris administration; in reality, the figures are about offenders who entered the US over multiple decades, including during the Trump administration. And Trump falsely claimed that the statistics are specifically about people who are now living freely in the US; the figures actually?include people who are currently in jails and prisons serving criminal sentences.

“Kamala should immediately cancel her News Conference because it was just revealed that 13,000 convicted murderers entered our Country during her three and a half year period as Border Czar,” Trump wrote in?one?post on Friday, the day Harris?visited?the southern border in Arizona. Harris “allowed almost 14,000 MURDERERS to freely and openly roam our Country,” Trump wrote in another Friday?post. They “roam free to KILL AGAIN,” he?wrote, escalating his rhetoric, on Saturday.

Facts First:?Trump’s claims are false in two big ways. First, the?statistics he was referring to?are not specifically about people who entered the country during the Biden-Harris administration. Rather, those statistics are about noncitizens who entered the country under any?administration, including Trump’s; were convicted of a crime at some point, usually in the US after their arrival; and are now living in the US while being listed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “non-detained docket” — where some have been listed for years, including while Trump was president, because their country of citizenship won’t let the US deport them back there. Second, that ICE “non-detained” list includes people who are still serving jail and prison sentences for their crimes; they are on the list because they are not being held in immigration detention in particular.

Read more here.

Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks during a news conference at on July 31, in Washington, DC.?

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a top ally of former President Donald Trump, said that he did not think Vice President Kamala Harris was mentally impaired, a comment Trump has been making recently, but did call her a “crazy liberal.”

In a campaign rally speech on Saturday, Trump had said: “Kamala is mentally impaired. Joe Biden became mentally impaired. … If you think about it, only a mentally disabled person could have allowed this to happen to our country.”

Graham has long stressed that Trump should avoid personal attacks on his opponent and focus instead on policy.

“And here’s what I would tell President Trump, when people look at the state of play, they trust you on the economy, the border, inflation and foreign policy by wide margins. Focus on those,” Graham said.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event in Pittsburgh on September 25.

New polling?from NBC News, Telemundo and CNBC finds Vice President Kamala Harris solidly ahead of former President Donald Trump among Latino registered voters, but faring less well than other recent Democratic nominees with this?growing segment of the electorate.

Overall, 54% of Latino registered voters in the poll said they supported Harris, while 40% backed Trump. The survey suggests that Harris has held on to a wide advantage among Hispanic women (leading 60% to 34% now), but is now running evenly with Trump among Hispanic men (who split evenly between Trump and Harris, 47% each).

Harris holds a wide advantage among Latino voters overall on several issues tested in the poll, including leads of 30 points or more on treating immigrants humanely and protecting immigrant rights (57% Harris to 18% Trump); handling abortion (56% Harris to 24% Trump); and addressing the concerns of the Hispanic community (53% Harris to 23% Trump), but trails Trump by narrower margins on handling the economy (45% Trump to 41% Harris); dealing with inflation and the cost of living (46% Trump to 37% Harris); and securing the border and controlling immigration (47% Trump to 34% Harris).

The survey suggests that Latino voters’ views on immigration as an issue have shifted since 2016. Back then, 69% said that immigration helps the US more than it hurts, while now, just 62% hold that view, and the share of Latino voters saying that immigration does more to hurt than help has more than doubled over that time, from 16% in 2016 to 35% now.

The new poll adds to a growing body of evidence that Democrats have lost ground among some voters of color.

Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

As vice presidential candidates Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are preparing to?take the debate stage on Tuesday, CBS News announced the official rules, including a 90-minute debate with no opening statements or studio audience.

The network notes it “reserves the right to mute the candidates’ microphones,” however, unlike the presidential debates, mics will otherwise be hot, according to a?release from CBS News.

Walz will appear on the right side of the screen to viewers and Vance on the left side. As the candidate of the incumbent party, Walz will be introduced to the stage first. The candidate who is asked a question will have two minutes to answer and the other candidate will have two minutes to respond. Candidates will have one minute for additional rebuttals. An additional minute to continue a topic may be given at the moderator’s discretion.

Candidates are not permitted to interact with staff during breaks. They are provided a pen, a pad of paper and a water bottle, but no props or prewritten notes are allowed. There will be two commercial breaks.

The debate begins at 9 p.m. ET in New York City and is moderated by Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.

Ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday questioned the “mental capacity” of those involved in the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policy, defending former President Donald Trump’s controversial comments during a Wisconsin rally that Harris is “mentally impaired.”

“If you were in charge in an administration, you allowed that to happen, I’m going to question your mental capacity,” McCarthy said to Manu Raju on CNN’s “Inside Politics.”

McCarthy referenced New York and Massachusetts as regions struggling with an influx of immigrants, which he sought to tie to acts of violent crime such as murder and rape, similar to Trump.

“If you think about it, only a?mentally?disabled?person could’ve allowed this to happen to our country,” Trump had said during his campaign speech in Wisconsin, as he continued to stoke fears about undocumented immigrants and claim they were “rapists” and “murderers.”

“Joe Biden became?mentally?impaired. Kamala was born that way,” Trump said.

The former president falsely claimed that new statistics related to immigration and crime are specifically about criminal offenders who entered the US during the Biden-Harris administration; in reality, the figures are about offenders who entered the US over multiple decades, including during the Trump administration.

And Trump falsely claimed that the statistics are specifically about people who are now living freely in the US; the figures actually?include people who are currently in jails and prisons serving criminal sentences.

McCarthy on Sunday broke away from Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s false claims that Haitian migrants were eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, encouraging the candidates to instead “stick to the issues.”

“I would stick to the issues. I think you stick to the issues, Republicans have a lot of places to go, but more importantly, America will be a safer place,” McCarthy said in reaction to a post by Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins calling Haitians “thugs.”

US Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake attends a NATO ceremony in Washington, DC, on March 7.

Former Arizona GOP Sen.?Jeff?Flake?on Sunday endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, saying he wants to support a candidate who “respects the will of the voters.”

A longtime critic of former President Donald Trump, Flake said he knows both Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and has seen first hand their “fine character” and “love of country.”

In 2021, President Joe Biden tapped Flake to serve as ambassador to Turkey.

Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance pauses during an event at Kenosha City Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 20, 2024.

In the closing months of a crowded Republican primary for?a?US Senate seat?in Ohio,?JD Vance found himself stuck in the middle of the pack.

The pollster for a supportive super PAC warned that Vance’s campaign was in “precipitous decline,” arguing that he had failed to convince Republican voters of his conservative?bona fides?and loyalty to Donald Trump.

“Vance needs a course correction ASAP,” the pollster wrote in a February 2022 memo.

It arrived a month later. With the?five main primary contenders?meeting?onstage?for the umpteenth time, the two perceived front-runners nearly came to blows. As they stood nose to nose, one readied to fight while the other uttered a sexist expletive. Vance, seated at the edge of the stage, pounced.

“Think about what you just saw. This guy wants to be a US senator and he’s up here, ‘Hold me back. Hold me back,’” Vance said to loud applause. “What a joke. Answer the question. Stop playing around.”

It was a breakthrough moment for Vance, one that?led to a second look from GOP voters in his state?and from Trump. Clips of the exchange and other debate moments impressed Trump, sources told CNN, and played a role in?Vance?securing a race-defining endorsement from the former president.

On Tuesday, that ability will be tested once again. Vance, now?the Republican nominee for vice president, will join his Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for the first time on a debate stage in New York.

Vance, at just 40 years old and two years into his political career, is still a largely unproven commodity.?Also unknown?is whether?he?can successfully pick apart the Democratic ticket while?improving — or at least not further jeopardizing — his likability among voters.

Read more on Vance’s story.

Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz delivers remarks at an election campaign event in Superior, Wisconsin, on September 14, 2024.

Tim Walz?is telling people he’s just as nervous about facing JD Vance as he was the?Sunday afternoon?in August when he warned?Kamala Harris?in his running mate interview that he was a bad debater.

Maybe more?nervous, according to multiple people who’ve spoken to him.

And the pressure is even higher, when for the first time in modern campaign history, the?vice presidential debate?Tuesday?is likely to be the last marquee event before Election Day. With many voters still saying they don’t know enough about Harris, it could be up to Walz to help convince them to trust a vice president he barely knew himself before she picked him.

Talking to the aides who have coalesced around him in Minnesota, Walz constantly comes back to how worried he is about letting Harris down, according to close to a dozen top campaign?staffers?and others who have been in touch with the governor and his team.?He doesn’t want?Donald Trump?to win. He doesn’t want Harris to think she made the wrong choice.

He feels genuine contempt for and confusion over what he views as?Vance’s abandonment of?their common roots, and for flipping so many of his positions to fit with Trump. The digs he takes at Vance by saying he didn’t know many Midwesterners who went to Yale are a glimpse into his anxiety that his opponent learned to be a sharp debater there, according to people who know Walz.

Walz’s debate strategy:?The plan for Tuesday night, several people involved told CNN, will be to largely skip Vance and go right at Trump — but to also squeeze the Ohio senator between his attempts to appeal to undecided voters.

Read more here.