What to watch on the campaign trail today
- Former President Donald Trump held a rally this afternoon in Asheville, North Carolina, where he said his administration would commit to slashing energy costs if he wins in November. In a speech that was meant to focus on the economy, Trump veered off topic numerous times to engage in personal attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris and his former opponent, President Joe Biden.
- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's itinerary today included speaking at campaign receptions in Denver and Boston, where he mocked the intelligence of Sen. Tommy Tuberville. Walz's GOP rival, Sen. JD Vance, held a rally in western Michigan.
- Walz accepted one of four VP debate dates CBS News proposed this afternoon. Vance did not commit to a date but said his team would "figure out when we can debate."
Google says it observed Iran trying to hack the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns
Google said in a research report today that it detected efforts by Iranian hackers to target both the Trump and the Biden-Harris campaigns in May and June, part of a larger email phishing operation that still persists.
Google’s announcement adds credence to the Trump campaign’s claim Saturday that it had been hacked as part of an Iranian campaign to interfere with the election.
In its report, Google’s Threat Analysis Group, which tracks government-backed cyberattacks, said it had disrupted a “small but steady” phishing operation from a hacking unit tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Pennsylvania poll: Democrats are more enthusiastic about Walz than Republicans are about Vance
A new Quinnipiac poll of Pennsylvania out today finds that 58% of likely Democratic voters are more enthusiastic about Harris' candidacy because she picked Walz as her running mate.
By contrast, just 42% of Republican likely voters say Trump's selection of Vance as his running mate makes them more enthusiastic about voting for Trump.
The enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans over the vice presidential candidates is striking, as Vance was picked in large part to help Trump win Pennsylvania in November and Walz was picked over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who would have been expected to assist in Harris' efforts to win the state.
Trump’s economy speech veers into familiar territory: Personal attacks against Harris and Biden
Trump today delivered what had been billed as remarks focusing on his plans for the economy, but he went on numerous tangents about Biden, Harris, Walz and windmills.
Trump spoke before an enthusiastic crowd in Asheville, North Carolina, as Trump allies and advisers have been urging him to focus on his policy differences with Harris and veer away from personal attacks. While Trump outlined several areas where the two diverge on policy, they were overshadowed by insults lobbed at top Democrats.
“For four years, she’s cackled while the economy burned,” Trump said of Harris. “That’s the laugh of a crazy person, I tell you. She’s crazy.”
Walz mocks Sen. Tommy Tuberville's intelligence at Boston fundraiser
Walz mocked the intelligence of Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., at a fundraiser in Boston tonight.
“I feel like one of my roles in this now is to be the anti-Tommy Tuberville, to show that football coaches are not the dumbest people," said Walz, who was a high school football coach.
Walz also claimed that he doesn't name-call, saying, "This thing about describing the behavior of Donald Trump and his running mate as weird and out of touch with the rest of us, that was an observation, not name-calling. Nobody’s asking for the things they’re asking for.”
Walz also took aim at Trump's remarks at his rally in Asheville, North Carolina, today suggesting that more oil drilling would help to dramatically reduce energy and electricity prices.
“That is nonsense. We’re producing more oil than we ever have," Walz said. "That’s not the issue. The issue is for us to be able to transition and transition smartly."
Harris to call for federal ban on corporate price gouging, campaign says
In an economic address Friday, Harris will call for imposing the first federal ban on corporate price gouging in the food and grocery industries.
The policy would set "clear rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive corporate profits on food and groceries," the Harris campaign said in a statement.
If elected, Harris will also "direct her Administration to crack down on unfair mergers and acquisitions that give big food corporations the power to jack up food and grocery prices," her campaign said.
"These actions stand in stark contrast to Trump’s economic agenda, which would increase inflation and costs for middle-class families," the campaign said.
Harris is scheduled to deliver the address at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, just days after Trump delivered an economic address in the state.
Other proposals she will announce Friday will deal with prescription drug costs and housing costs.
X’s AI image generator debuts with few guardrails on political content
An upgraded version of X’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, can now generate images — of almost anything. And some users have noticed just how few guardrails this latest language model has, compared with its competitors.
The model, Grok-2, appears to carry few limitations on creating fake images of political figures. Since its rollout yesterday in beta, X users have shared Grok-generated images of everything from Trump locking lips with Elon Musk to Trump and Harris giving a thumbs up to the camera from a pilot’s cockpit as the two seemingly re-create 9/11.
Most of the images are high-quality but not quite photorealistic, and many of them are easily identified as having been computer-generated. Some, however, might pass for a real photo at first glance.
Vance's past comments responding to a podcast host about the role of 'postmenopausal women' resurface
In a 2020 interview on "The Portal" podcast, Vance appeared to respond affirmatively when host Eric Weinstein made a claim about the role of women past child-bearing age in raising children.
Weinstein said of grandmothers helping to raise grandchildren, “That’s whole purpose of the postmenopausal —"
“Yes,” Vance responded.
“... female in theory,” Weinstein continued, finishing his thought.
The interview four years ago was recently resurfaced by The Heartland Signal, a digital news site linked to a progressive radio station in Chicago.
A spokeswoman said Vance did not agree with the host's claim.
“The media is dishonestly putting words in JD’s mouth — of course he does not agree with what the host said," the spokeswoman, Taylor Van Kirk, said in a statement. "JD reacted to the first part of the host’s sentence, assuming he was going to say: ‘that’s the whole purpose of spending time with grandparents.’ It’s a disgrace that the media is lying about JD."
The remarks resurfaced after Vance has already faced criticism over past comments disparaging "childless" women in positions of political power.
NBC News’ Garrett Haake is on the campaign trail with Trump as he slams Harris for the nearly 20% rise in prices over the last four years. But Trump again veered into personal attacks, despite growing Republican appeals to focus on Harris’ record instead of unleashing insults.
Bob Casey says he hopes to speak at DNC
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who is up for re-election in November, told NBC News he hopes to be speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week. Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are confirmed as speakers at the convention.
Casey’s opponent, Dave McCormick, spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month. Their race will help determine the balance of power in the Senate.
With Harris and Walz now at the top of the ballot, McCormick told NBC News, the change after Biden's departure from the race “crystallized the choice,” saying, “This is a race between what I believe the strength and weakness but also a common-sense practical set of policies to get our country back on track versus a very liberal agenda. A very San Francisco liberal agenda.”
McCormick said he never thought this race was going to be easy, saying, “This is going to be tough … but I’m optimistic we’re going to win.”
“I see enormous energy among people who aren’t just Republicans but independents, Democrats, and the reason I say that is because these problems that we have — sky-high inflation, wide-open border, fentanyl crisis, crime — these are not just Republican problems,” McCormick said. “They are Republican problems, independent problems, Democratic problems. And I think they’re mobilizing the people to think this election really matters.”
Casey told NBC News this week, “I think every candidate and every campaign has gotten a great lift” from having Harris and Walz at the top of the ticket.
Trump campaign revives attacks that his opponent is hiding
The Trump campaign is again accusing its opponent of hiding, trying to draw a contrast with Trump's remarks today.
"Team Trump Speaks to American People while Kamala Hides," read the subject line of a fundraising email the Trump campaign sent out this evening after he spoke in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Trump team frequently referred to Biden as "Hidin' Biden" and said he was holed up in his basement during the 2020 campaign, during which Biden often held virtual events amid the Covid pandemic.
Harris is set to deliver remarks Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, just two days after Trump's rally in the state.
Republicans claim betrayal as cryptocurrency PAC backs Democrats
Reporting from Jackson Hole, Wyo.
A leading pro-cryptocurrency political group has dumped millions of dollars into high-profile Michigan and Arizona Senate races to back Democrats against Trump-endorsed candidates, angering top Republicans who viewed the industry as an ally, not an opponent.
Fairshake PAC and its affiliated super PAC are reserving millions in advertising spending to influence three Senate races this cycle and have announced commitments of about $3 million each to Democratic Reps. Ruben Gallego, who is running in Arizona, and Elisa Slotkin, a candidate in Michigan, it said today.
The spending risks upending GOP efforts to secure seats in two key battleground states in the fight for control of the Senate and comes as top Republicans — amid a hostile regulatory environment — have leveraged their political capital to broker closer ties to the cryptocurrency industry.
Trump tries to take credit for lower insulin costs
Trump claimed at this afternoon's rally that the Biden administration had improperly taken credit for lower insulin costs.
"You know who did that? I did that. I did that. I did the insulin, and it kicked in," Trump said. "I got it done — $35 insulin — and now they take credit for it. It's terrible, terrible."
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed by Biden in 2022, included a provision that lowered the out-of-pocket cost for people on Medicare to $35 a month and covered all insulin products. While the cap didn't apply to people with private insurance, insulin manufacturers voluntarily lowered the out-of-pocket cost to $35 a month for people with private insurance after the law took effect.
The health policy research nonprofit organization KFF has pointed out that in 2020, the Trump administration launched a model in which participating Medicare Part D prescription drug plans could voluntarily cover at least one of each dosage form and type of insulin product at a capped price of $35 per month.
The Inflation Reduction Act required that all Part D plans limit the cost for all covered insulin products to $35 monthly and capped cost sharing for insulin covered under Part B at the same price.
Before today's rally, Trump had accused Biden of taking credit for his work on lowering insulin prices, writing on Truth Social in June that Biden "had NOTHING to do with it. It was all done long before he so sadly entered office."
Walz accepts one of four VP debate dates proposed by CBS News
CBS News today proposed four dates for a VP debate in New York between Vance and Walz.
The network proposed Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8.
Walz quickly responded on X by saying, "See you on October 1, JD."
“Harris for President has accepted CBS’ invitation to a Vice Presidential Candidate Debate on October 1. Governor Walz looks forward to debating JD Vance -- if he shows up,” a Harris-Walz campaign official said about the CBS News debate invite.
Vance's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump says his administration would commit to cutting energy and electricity prices 'by half'
Trump said at a rally in Asheville, North Carolina, today that he plans to dramatically reduce energy and electricity prices if he is elected.
"Under my leadership, the United States will commit to the ambitious goal of slashing energy and electricity prices by half, at least half," Trump said.
Rising natural gas prices have increased electricity costs, leading energy bills to balloon in many cities.
The U.S. is already producing more crude oil than any other country in history, according to a data analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Trump has also said he opposes spending on wind and solar power.
Arrest warrant issued in burglary of Trump campaign office in Virginia
Authorities filed an arrest warrant today for Toby Shane Kessler over burglary charges in connection with a Trump campaign office in Ashburn, Virginia.
The alleged break-in took place Sunday night in a building that also houses the state's 10th District Republican Committee, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office alleges that Kessler forced himself into the building via a back door and was identified by security video inside the campaign office. Police said it is still unclear whether anything was taken.
Trump falsely claims he passed ‘largest tax cuts in history’
Speaking at his rally in Asheville, North Carolina, Trump again made the false claim that he “passed the largest tax cuts in history.”
In real dollars, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Trump signed into law was the fourth-largest tax cut, and as a percentage of gross domestic product, it was the 12th-largest, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Vance appears to confuse energy secretary and agriculture secretary
At his event earlier today in Michigan, Vance appeared to confuse Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack when taking questions from reporters.
Just after a reporter asked about the steps a Trump-Vance administration would take to lower food prices, an audience member shouted: "Fire Granholm!"
Vance chuckled, saying, "That's right," before adding, "Well, the first is, we’re going to fire — we’re going to fire the agriculture secretary, right? She’s not doing a very good job."
A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
RFK Jr. appeals judge's ruling in New York ballot case
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed an appeal today in his New York ballot access case after a judge blocked him from appearing on the ballot.
In a statement, Kennedy called the ruling an "assault on New York voters who signed in record numbers to place me on their ballot."
Kennedy's attorney, William F. Savino, said the appeal is "based on numerous arguments," including what he called the judge's refusal "to address the unconstitutionality of New York placing higher restrictions on candidate residency than allowed by the 12th amendment."
The judge's ruling this week said Kennedy misrepresented his residency as being New York-based. Kennedy resides in California with his wife, but in testimony he said they had always intended to move back to New York.
Vogue features Walz's dog, Scout, in article
![Tim Walz and Scout Walz.](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2024-08/240814-Scout-Walz-ch-1442-70c9d7.jpg)
While Walz has been in the forefront since he became Harris' running mate, the Walz family dog, Scout, is making headlines in a new article from Vogue.
The new article, "Scout Walz Is Man's (And Maybe America's) Best Friend," details Scout's journey into the family after Walz made a promise to his son that they would get a dog if he won the 2018 election for governor of Minnesota.
Before Walz won, Scout had been an abandoned rescue dog who was left behind in Oklahoma. After the election, the family adopted him from Midwest Animal Rescue, a Minnesota nonprofit organization.
Detailing the dog's personality and habits, the article explores how Scout quickly became an integral part of the Walz family.
"He rescued us as much as we rescued him," the Walz family told Vogue.
'I can’t say what was there, who was there,' Trump says about his false claims about AI-generated crowd at Harris rally
After he voted early in the Florida primary, Trump addressed his false claim that members of the audience at a Harris rally were generated by artificial intelligence.
"I can’t say what was there, who was there. I can only tell you about ours," he told reporters. "We have the biggest crowds ever in the history of politics."
Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday reposting a conspiracy theory that pointed to a photo of the rally and said Harris' team "A.I.'d" it. The Harris campaign has denied the photo was manipulated. Video from the event has matched the photo, and people at the rally have denied Trump's claim.
Vance derides Harris for inflation that prevents families from affording 'a nice meal'
In his remarks at a campaign event in Michigan, Vance repeatedly mentioned people's lack of ability to eat "a nice meal" because of inflation.
Vance mentioned a woman he met on the campaign trail who used to make steak with her family every Friday, but "now she told me it’s gone: 'We just do hamburgers.'"
Vance added, "There’s nothing wrong with hamburger, but it’s not a steak."
He also blasted Harris for detailing her plans for her first day as president, saying, "Day one was four years ago, Kamala Harris, and because of your policies, too many children can’t afford a nice meal. Too many children have been killed by fentanyl. Too many grandparents are raising kids they didn’t plan for, and too many families can’t afford a special meal on a Friday night."
Comer says he wants info from Google and Meta on potential censorship of Trump assassination attempt
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said today that his panel is launching an investigation into reports related to Meta's AI assistant and a Google search function and the assassination attempt on Trump.
In separate letters, Comer requested documents and information from Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
In his letter to Google, Comer cited reports that said that when people searched Trump's assassination attempt on Google, the search function provided information only about assassination attempts on other presidents and leaders but omitted information about the Trump incident.
In his letter to Meta, Comer also referred to reports that said Meta's AI assistant claimed the assassination attempt on Trump was a "fictional" event.
"The Committee has long been concerned with how large technology companies leverage their businesses to influence public opinion, especially against the backdrop of an alarming pattern of speech suppression and censorship peddled through technology and social media companies," the committee said in its announcement of the probe.
Vance accuses Harris of crafting energy policy to benefit donors
During a campaign stop in Byron Center, Michigan, Vance accused Harris of "[raising] the price of American energy."
"Michigan suffered. You suffered. Good American jobs suffered," Vance added, asking the crowd, "But you know who made a lot of money? Kamala Harris’ donors."
Senate Intelligence Committee condemns efforts by foreign adversaries to influence the election
Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, D-Va., and Vice Chair Marco Rubio, R-Fla., condemned efforts by foreign adversaries to influence the election in the wake of attempts to hack the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns.
“With less than 100 days to go before the election, it is clear that our foreign adversaries are intently interested in disrupting our democratic process,” Warner and Rubio said in a statement. “While we await additional information from the Intelligence Community and law enforcement on the extent of recent foreign efforts against presidential campaigns, indications from Microsoft that foreign cyber actors may have penetrated a presidential campaign’s infrastructure are grounds for serious concern.”
Warner and Rubio called for additional measures to protect election integrity in the face of foreign meddling.
“Protecting the integrity of our elections from foreign meddling requires constant attention,” they wrote. “This includes bolstering campaign cybersecurity, heightened vigilance from media outlets on the potential of spreading hacked or manipulated content from foreign intelligence services, and a commitment by both political parties to call out foreign election influence efforts.”
Warner and Rubio said they “condemn any type of potential influence effort” by foreign adversaries and urged the Intelligence Community and law enforcement agencies to “urgently examine” reports of suspicious activities that could influence elections. They also called for those affected by those efforts and the public to be notified of reports.
“Foreign adversaries must also be put on notice that there will be consequences to interfering in the American democratic process, and the Administration and both political parties must make that clear,” they wrote.
The FBI on Monday said it is investigating attempted hacks of both the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns. The probe includes efforts to hack three Biden-Harris campaign staffers, as well as Roger Stone, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, NBC News reported.
Biden jokes with influencers at White House that he’s ‘looking for a job’
Trump casts early vote in Florida primary election
Trump is at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office this afternoon, casting an early vote in the state's primary election.
He did not take questions from press assembled outside when he arrived.
Harris makes gains in Latino voter support, but many are still in play
Vice President Kamala Harris has quickly turned around lagging support from Latinos for the Democratic ticket, though the backing is currently a few points short of the level Joe Biden achieved in 2020, a poll released Wednesday by Equis Research shows.
With 80 days to go in the election, Harris “is on track to hold off a GOP surge” in support from Latino voters, according to a memo on the poll. Equis Research is a Democratic polling firm that focuses on Latinos.
But a significant portion of registered Latino voters, many of them new voters, are still an unknown on whether they will vote or whom they will support. Where these voters eventually land could determine the outcome in some battleground states, the polling firm said in the memo.
“Out the gate, the vice president has quickly amassed the support of a wide swath of discontented Hispanic voters, and she still has running room,” it stated. “What those last Latino voters do could determine the overall result in hotly contested states."
As Trump and Harris call to end tip taxes, a wider minimum wage war heats up
Vice President Kamala Harris’ call to scrap taxes on tips adds to the bipartisan support for a proposal her rival, former President Donald Trump, floated two months earlier. But the fate of the policy idea could hinge on broader disagreements on base pay regardless of who wins the election.
Unlike Trump, Harris proposed pairing the elimination of federal taxes on tip income with a bump in the national minimum wage, which has been $7.25 an hour since 2009.
Many tip earners, however, are paid a much lower “subminimum” wage that requires employers to make up the difference whenever gratuities don’t add up to the federal pay floor. The U.S. subminimum, which a handful of states have replaced with across-the-board hourly minimums, has been $2.13 an hour since 1991.
“It’s heartening that everybody’s talking about it,” said Saru Jayaraman, president of the labor advocacy group One Fair Wage and director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. But “it means nothing until we raise these workers’ wages and end the subminimum wage for tipped workers,” she said.
Survey shows broad opposition to abortion restrictions among women of reproductive age
The group most directly affected by restrictions on abortion — women of reproductive age — are broadly against them, new survey results have found.
According to findings released today by KFF, a nonprofit health think tank, 74% of women in the U.S. ages 18 to 49 think abortion should be legal. Around 70% support a federal right to abortion — the position held by Harris in a presidential election in which abortion rights are expected to be a motivating factor for many voters.
Nearly half of Republican women of reproductive age said abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
Hush money judge rejects 3rd Trump motion to recuse himself
Judge Juan Merchan has rejected for a third time Trump's demand that he step aside from the New York hush money case because of an alleged conflict of interest involving his daughter.
Trump made the new request earlier this month, contending Merchan should step aside before the former president is scheduled to be sentenced on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment. His attorneys contended the judge has a conflict because Harris used his daughter’s firm for digital fundraising during the 2020 presidential campaign, and she and her family could benefit from a Harris victory in November.
In a ruling yesterday, the judge called Trump's claims "stale and unsubstantiated."
"Defendant has provided nothing new for this Court to consider. Counsel has merely repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts," Merchan wrote, adding he "now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear - innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create."
Trump's recusal motion also cited the partial gag order Merchan slapped on the former president prior to trial, which the judge loosened in June. The order still bars Trump from making public attacks on the judge's daughter ahead of sentencing - something the presidential candidate had done repeatedly before the trial started.
Merchan brushed off Trump's arguments that the gag order is "unjust and unconstitutional." He noted the order has already been affirmed by state appeals courts, and "therefore difficult to rationalize how Defense Counsel can, in good faith, claim that the Order is unconstitutional."
Trump complained about that part of the order in a Truth Social post today, calling it "voter interference" and added that he "must get U.S. Supreme Court involved. New York is trying to steal the Election!”
Harris spokesperson responds to criticism from Trump about plan to not tax tips
In an interview with CNN this morning, Harris campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler responded to criticism from Trump after Harris announced that she supports ending the taxing of tips.
Trump, who has previously said he wants to end taxes on tips, has said Harris stole his idea after she voiced her support for the proposal at a campaign event with the Culinary Workers Union.
"I would say that there’s only one candidate in this race that actually has a track record of standing up and working for working people, and that’s Kamala Harris," Tyler said.
Tyler added, "But she also understands what Donald Trump doesn’t understand, that that’s not enough. That’s why we have to increase the federal minimum wage."
Trump to hold news conference at his N.J. golf club tomorrow
Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. ET, his campaign announced.
Instagram failed to act on 93% of abusive comments aimed at female politicians, study says
Instagram failed to remove 93% of abusive comments directed at female politicians out of 1,000 examples flagged to the app for most likely violating its rules, according to a report today from the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate.
The center said it collected the abusive comments this summer from the Instagram accounts of 10 female officeholders — five Republicans and five Democrats. It said it reported the comments through the app and then checked back a week later to find the vast majority of them still online.
Many of the abusive replies Instagram left up were sexually degrading or included violent threats likely to be in violation of Instagram’s community guidelines, according to the center. Some comments included explicit language about rape, injury or death in connection with the female politicians, and Instagram left them up, the center said.
MAGA-aligned Minnesota candidate is set to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November
Royce White, a former college and professional basketball player, is set to face off against Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in November after winning the Republican Senate primary for her seat.
White had led some Black Lives Matter protests in his state in 2020 but later became more aligned with Trump’s MAGA base. He has gained attention for inflammatory comments about women, using homophobic slurs to attack the press and more.
White’s Senate bid is viewed as a long shot, with Klobuchar easily winning re-election in previous cycles. This year's race is not considered competitive, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Walz will campaign in Omaha on Saturday
Walz will do a campaign event in Omaha on Saturday, a source told NBC News.
Biden to stop by digital creators conference
Biden is expected to stop by a White House conference that's assembling 100 digital creators and industry professionals to discuss issues such as artificial intelligence, pay equity and mental health, a White House official said.
Some of the government officials taking part are Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden, the White House official said.
Doug Emhoff to speak at campaign events in Illinois
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is scheduled to speak at campaign events today in Illinois.
He'll be speaking in Chicago and Glencoe.
More than 1,000 veterans sign letter to support Walz amid Republican attacks on his military record
More than 1,000 veterans and military family members signed an open letter in support of Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, saying they are “appalled” at Trump and Vance’s “politically motivated attacks” accusing him of lying about his decades of military service.
“JD Vance’s recent comments attacking Governor Walz’s service record are disrespectful and deeply disappointing, especially given Vance’s own service — which we are also profoundly grateful for,” the letter, obtained by USA TODAY, reads. “But given Donald Trump’s long record of expressing disdain for service members, veterans, and their families, it’s unsurprising that his running mate has stooped to such lows.”
The letter was circulated by the left-leaning veterans advocacy group VoteVets, USA Today reported.
Walz, who served in the National Guard for 24 years, has defended his military record as Republicans seek to cast doubt on his military career. In remarks in Los Angeles last night, marking his first solo event on the campaign trail, he said, “I am damn proud of my service to this country.”
Walz also took aim at Republicans who cast doubt on his military record, saying, “I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record.”
“To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice,” he added.
Trump says no one knows 'Kamala's' last name
Trump said in an interview with Univision that no one knows Harris' last name and again mispronounced her first name.
"We’re being attacked. It’s a new form of crime in the U.S.. It’s called migrant crime, and it’s caused because of Harris. Kamala," Trump said, mispronouncing her name.
"You know Harris? Nobody knows her last name. It’s Harris. No, everyone thinks of her as Kamala. So it’s Kamala Harris," Trump added.
This comes as Trump's allies have publicly and privately urged him to stay on message and avoid ad hominem attacks against his Democratic opponent.
Trump dreads a Fed rate cut. It's now practically certain.
This morning's slightly cool inflation reading practically sealed the case for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September, which is all-but-certain to draw Trump's ire.
The former president told Bloomberg weeks ago that a pre-election cut would be a boost to Democrats. Indeed, lower interest rates heading into the holiday shopping season could be a boost to consumer sentiment, especially as prices cool in several key categories, including groceries.
While Trump appointed Jerome Powell to be Fed chair, he has been a fierce critic of the central banker. Trump has said he would let Powell serve out his term if he were to return to the White House, but has also suggested he could push Powell out, even though he has no authority to do so.
Trump has also argued that he should have more of a say in Fed decisions on interest rates if he were re-elected. "I think that in my case, I made a lot of money, I was very successful, and I think I have a better instinct than, in many cases, people that would be on the Federal Reserve or the chairman," he said at a press conference last week.
The Fed's policy-setting meeting in September is the last one before Election Day.
Harris-Walz Pennsylvania bus tour starting Sunday in Pittsburgh
A Harris campaign official confirms that the vice president and her running mate will embark on a Pennsylvania bus tour Sunday, ahead of the Democratic National Convention kickoff next week.
Harris and Walz will start in Pittsburgh, with more stops expected along the way. Their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, will join as well, the official said.
Buttigieg and Pritzker expected to speak during prime-time slots at the DNC
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is expected to deliver remarks Wednesday evening at the Democratic National Convention next week, a source familiar with the planning told NBC News.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is also expected to speak in the prime-time hours of the convention Tuesday night.
Buttigieg and Pritzker were among the group of running mate contenders the Harris campaign's vetting team had met with before she ultimately chose Walz to join her on the ticket.
Will Stancil, prominent social media personality, loses Minnesota state House primary
Will Stancil, who is primarily known for his frequent social media posts on U.S. politics, lost the primary election in his district for the Minnesota state House of Representatives.
He was defeated by Katie Jones, who won 43% of the vote in the deep blue district that represents several neighborhoods in Minneapolis.
Stancil, an attorney and civil rights advocate, wrote in a post on X late last night, “Hey, you can always lose an election, that’s politics. Nothing ventured nothing gained”
Harris campaign denies Walz had 'personal relationship' with cleric who has shared antisemitic content
The Harris-Walz campaign is denying Walz had a “personal relationship” with a cleric who has spread antisemitic content on Facebook, after a video surfaced of Walz praising the cleric.
The Washington Examiner obtained the video. The outlet says it’s from an event hosted by the Muslim American Society of Minnesota during Walz’s first gubernatorial campaign in 2018. In the clip, Walz praises Imam Asad Zaman, executive director of the organization hosting the event, as a “master teacher.”
“They don’t have a personal relationship and the Governor condemns Hamas’ terrorism and antisemitism of any kind,” Lauren Hitt, a Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson, tells NBC News.
Walz’s appearance alongside the Muslim cleric came after Zaman had shared a link in 2015 to a neo-Nazi propaganda film that portrayed Adolf Hitler in a positive light. Zaman had also shared a Hamas press release in 2016 mourning the death of a politician who was executed after being found guilty of war crimes.
NBC is reaching out to Imam Asad Zaman. He told CNN that he does not have a “personal relationship” with Walz and said that he sometimes shares links on social media “without fully looking at them.”
“I support organizations, leaders and efforts to bring greater justice, equality and well-being to all people whether Muslim or Jewish, Christian or Hindu, believer or atheist,” he told CNN. “Desiring harm to people is against my faith and my personal convictions.”
Here's what Vance is doing today
Vance will speak this afternoon at a campaign rally in Byron Center, Michigan.
Later this week, he'll be in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Nikki Haley calls on Trump and allies to 'quit whining' about Harris
Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Republicans should “quit whining” about Harris and turn their focus to policy and messaging.
“Republicans should not be surprised that we are now running against Kamala Harris. It was her all the time,” Haley told Fox News anchor Bret Baier yesterday. “There was no way Joe Biden, in the condition that we saw him, could take on the stresses of a presidential election. So that was something I believed in then. It’s why I constantly referred back to her, because I knew that Kamala Harris was the person that we had.”
“And the one thing Republicans have to stop doing: Quit whining about her,” she added. “We knew it was going to be her.”
Haley, who served as United Nations ambassador under the Trump administration, cited Trump’s skepticism over large crowds at Harris’ recent rallies and argued that his messaging should center around policies he would push for if elected.
“You can’t win on those things. The American people are smart. Treat them like they’re smart,” she said. “It’s not about her. It’s about the American people. Talk to them and let them know you need their vote.”
Haley’s comments come as Trump allies have privately urged the former president to pivot away from race-focused or personality-driven attacks against Harris and instead refocus his messaging on issues at stake, NBC News reported.
Houston’s former mayor is the Democrats’ nominee to succeed the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was picked yesterday as the Democrats’ nominee to succeed the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died last month after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Turner, 69, will appear on the November ballot after securing the most support from local Democratic precinct chairs during a party meeting in Houston. Jackson Lee had already won the Democratic nomination for what would have been a 16th term before her death July 19, leaving party officials to select her replacement.
Turner left the mayor’s office in January after serving eight years, the most allowed by term limits. He was previously a longtime state lawmaker.
The House district in Houston is solidly Democratic. Turner will face Republican challenger Lana Centonze.
Harris has access to an untapped voting bloc: The Divine Nine
Greek organizations tend to be the domain of colleges, with students pledging and developing lifelong connections in fraternities and sororities. But Harris’ presidential campaign is thrusting Black Greek organizations into the political sphere. She is the first presidential nominee to come from a Divine Nine Greek organization, so she would be the first president from the Black Greek system if she is elected.
That means Harris has ready access to the Divine Nine’s more than 2 million members — including activists, community leaders, philanthropists and more — and what could be a powerful voting and mobilization bloc.
Harris, 59, is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the oldest Black Greek-letter sorority in the country and one of the Black sororities or fraternities that make up the “Divine Nine.” It’s a sisterhood that has rallied behind Harris since her ascent to the vice presidency, especially as the organizations encourage lifelong membership and community involvement beyond one’s college years. Last week, Kiahna W. Davis, a regional director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc., formed an AKA political action committee to support Harris.
Here's where Walz is going today
Walz will speak at a pair of campaign receptions today.
He'll be in Denver before he heads to Boston.
Where is Trump today?
Trump will travel to Asheville, North Carolina, to speak about the U.S. economy at a rally.
Trump has made the economy one of his top campaign issues, with a particular focus on inflation.