Politics
Harris and Trump court voters outside of their base
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump sought to appeal to voters outside of their natural bases of support in a series of interviews Wednesday, a reflection of how tight the presidential contest is with less than three weeks until election day.
In the most combative interview since Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee, she discussed border policy, taxpayer-funded benefits for transgender prisoners and President Biden with Fox News’ Bret Baier on his program “Special Report.”
Harris, who has repeatedly been asked where she differed with Biden during their tenure, has struggled to provide examples without being disrespectful to the man who chose her to be his running mate. She offered her clearest answer on the matter during the interview.
“Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency, and like every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas,” Harris said. “I represent a new generation of leadership. I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C.”
Trump sought to appeal to Latinos and women during appearances on Univision and Fox News.
During a town hall in front of an all-women audience in Georgia, the former president was questioned about championing the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the federal right to abortion and its impact on reproductive services such as in vitro fertilization.
After falsely claiming wide agreement among legal scholars for the issue of abortion rights being returned to the states, Trump declared himself “the father of IVF.”
Trump said he learned from Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), whom he described as “just a fantastically attractive person,” about the impacts on fertility treatment.
“And within about two minutes, I understood it. I said, ‘No, no, we’re totally in favor of IVF,’” Trump said, adding that he put out a powerful statement and the entire Republican Party came out strongly in favor of access to fertility treatments. “We want fertilization.”
The presidential candidates’ appearances in front of disparate audiences reflect the tightness of the presidential race, and how both are trying to increase their support among groups that are traditionally less likely to support them.
Harris’ half-hour interview with Baier, her first formal sit-down with the cable channel, took place amid a media blitz by the Democratic nominee, and was testy at times. Fox News’ chief political anchor frequently interrupted Harris as she responded to his questions, and frequently referred to her as “ma’am” rather than “vice president.”
But Harris struggled when pressed on positions she had previously taken about issues such as allowing undocumented immigrants to receive driver’s licenses, free college tuition and free healthcare.
“Listen, that was five years ago, and I’m very clear that I will follow the law,” she said. “I have made that statement over and over again, and as vice president of the United States, that’s exactly what I’ve done.”
Pressed with a follow-up question about her previously expressed support for using taxpayer dollars to fund gender transition care for prison inmates, Harris argued that a similar policy existed during Trump’s tenure. She accused Trump of fearmongering with ads about the issue.
The Trump campaign painted Harris’ appearance on Fox as a victory for the Republican.
“Kamala Harris’ interview with Bret Baier was a TRAIN WRECK. Kamala was angry, defensive, and once again abdicated any responsibility for the problems Americans are facing,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “She couldn’t give a straight answer to a single question because she has no answers.”
Harris sought to turn several questions to Trump’s fitness for office, repeating her increasingly frequent characterizations of him as unfit and unstable.
“The American people have a concern about Donald Trump, which is why the people who know him best, including leaders of our national security community, have all spoken out … and have said he is unfit and dangerous and should never be president of the United States again, including his former vice president,” she said.
Earlier in the day, Harris spoke at Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia that will be key to determining who wins the battleground state. It’s the site of George Washington’s historic crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776 alongside 2,000 troops en route to a significant victory in Trenton, N.J., during the American Revolution.
Underneath a red banner reading “Country over party,” Harris appeared alongside several Republicans, including former Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Barbara Comstock and Denver Riggleman of Virginia, Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania and former Trump administration official Olivia Troye.
Harris said she was joined by more than 100 Republicans from across the nation who are supporting her campaign.
“Now, in a typical election, you all being here with me, would be surprising. But not in this election. Because at stake in this race are the democratic ideals that our founders, and generations of Americans, have fought for. At stake in this election is the Constitution itself,” she said. “We are here today because we share a core belief: that country must come before party.”
A spokesperson for Harris said the event with Republicans and the Fox News interview are aimed at independents and Republicans who backed candidates such as former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley who may be open to supporting the vice president’s candidacy.
“We feel like like we definitely achieved what we set out to achieve in the sense that she was able to reach an audience that is probably been not exposed to the arguments she’s been making on the trail and she also got to show her toughness in standing tall against a hostile interviewer,” spokesman Brian Fallon told reporters aboard Air Force Two on a Wednesday evening flight between Trenton and Milwaukee.
Harris’ campaign has seized upon comments Trump made this week about using the military to go after “enemies from within” in the United States. The former president reiterated his stance, citing Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) as examples.
“They are marxists and communists and fascists,” Trump said on Fox News. “These people, they’re so sick, and they’re so evil. If they would spend their time trying to make America great again, we would have — it would be so easy to make this country great. But when I heard about that, they were saying, I was, like, threatening. I’m not threatening anybody. They’re the ones doing the threatening. They do phony investigations. I have been investigated more than Alphonse Capone. He was the greatest gangster.”
Also on Wednesday, Trump faced sharp questions about his views on immigration, the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, climate change, his handling of the pandemic and other issues during a Univision town hall with Latino voters in Florida. One Republican explained his concerns about the former president before saying he wanted to give him an opportunity to earn his vote back.
“Maybe we’ll get your vote,” Trump replied, according to the New York Times. “Sounds like maybe I won’t, but that’s OK too.”
Mehta reported from Los Angeles and Bierman from Washington Crossing.
Politics
'Illegal, unconstitutional and void': Georgia judge strikes down new election rules after legal fights
A Georgia judge struck down several rules recently passed by the State Elections Board (SEB) Wednesday, measures that were a subject of fierce debate between Trump and Harris surrogates in the key battleground.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox ruled the new provisions “illegal, unconstitutional and void” in an opinion released Wednesday evening, according to multiple outlets.
It comes hours after he weighed two lawsuits related to the rules, one led by the Georgia Democratic Party and a second by civil rights groups that included current and former GOP state officials.
One of the measures, a requirement for all ballots to be hand counted by three county election officials after they had been machine tabulated to ensure the totals match, has become a political lightening rod in recent weeks.
GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE
That rule was temporarily blocked in a separate ruling Tuesday night challenging the SEB’s new measures. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney did not take issue with the rule’s intent but argued it would be untenable at this late stage.
Cox’s ruling invalidates that measure, while also invalidating a rule directing county officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results and giving them the ability “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections.”
TRUMP VS. HARRIS ROUND 2? VOTERS IN KEY GA COUNTY REVEAL IF THEY WANT SECOND DEBATE
Cox also blocked new signature and photo ID requirements for people dropping off absentee ballots for others.
The rules were passed last month in a 3-2 vote by the Republican majority on the elections board.
Democrats had accused the GOP officials of trying to sow doubt and chaos in the election process, while supporters of the rule changes said they were necessary guardrails to ensure voter confidence.
In the wider ranging of the two cases Wednesday, led by Eternal Vigilance Action, a group founded by former GOP state legislator Scot Turner, the plaintiffs argued the SEB was out of its scope of authority in establishing the new rules.
“Three members of the state election board, kind of like Napoleon, they put a crown on their head and say, ‘We are the emperors of election,’” the plaintiffs’ lawyer said. “No, that is not the way our system of government works.”
GEORGIA DEMS CHAIR REVEALS MESSAGE TO UNDECIDED GOP VOTERS AS HARRIS WORKS TO BUILD BROAD BASE
But the defendants and supporting groups, including attorneys for the Georgia Republican Party, argued the state’s General Assembly gave the SEB the scope to craft such rules.
“They don’t say which one of those statutes should be found unconstitutional because, remember, to rule in favor of the plaintiffs here, you’re going to have to find that the General Assembly’s grant of authority to the agency was unconstitutional,” a lawyer for the GOP said.
“They don’t say which one of the three powers we have that they violated. Could be all three of them. Could be one of the three. And if it’s a constitutional challenge, you can’t have something that’s that vague to bring into a court to ask you to declare it to be unconstitutional.”
Both former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaigns have dedicated significant time and resources to Georgia, which President Biden won by less than 1% in 2020.
Harris’ campaign lauded Tuesday’s ruling that blocked the hand-counting ballots rule, declaring, “Our democracy is stronger thanks to this decision.”
Fox News Digital reached out to both the Trump and Harris campaigns for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Politics
Where Are Trump and Harris Campaigning?
With just weeks left until Election Day on Nov. 5, the final stage of the 2024 presidential race has seen a blizzard of campaigning. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump, along with their running mates, are mobilizing supporters, appealing to donors and fighting for every last undecided voter in the seven critical battleground states.
The pace has been frenzied because of the unusually compressed timeline, with the current race only taking shape after President Biden dropped out in July and Ms. Harris officially became her party’s nominee in August. Joined by their running mates, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump are crisscrossing the country as the polls show an increasingly tight race in the swing states.
Ariz.
Calif. Mich. Minn.
Nev.
N.Y.
N.C. Ohio
Pa. Texas
Wash.
Wis. D.C.
Ariz. Calif.
Ga. Mass.
Mich.
Minn.
N.Y.
N.C. Pa. S.C.
Va.
Wis.
D.C.
8
13
6
Tim Walz took place in around the country.
6
7
10
JD Vance took place in around the country.
The New York Times is cataloging the candidates’ public events, speeches, fund-raisers and interviews to shed light on each campaign’s on-the-ground strategy and operation.
Number of events attended by the candidates
Interviews
23
5
46
15
Campaign events
8
16
11
11
Public appearances
10
12
10
11
Remarks
8
5
15
12
Rallies
8
10
15
7
Fund-raisers
4
15
5
9
Politics
Accused Afghan terrorist radicalized 2 years after entering US, officials say
U.S. officials believe the Afghan national accused of plotting an Election Day terror attack was radicalized two years after coming to the U.S. on humanitarian parole as part of Operation Allies Welcome.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi initiated an extension of his lawful parole status in August 2023, Fox News has learned, and cleared another round of screening and vetting at that time, adjudicated through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
AFGHAN NATIONAL ACCUSED IN TERROR PLOT WAS NOT VETTED FOR SIV STATUS, DESPITE PAST BIDEN ADMIN CLAIMS
He was previously vetted in September 2021 when he was paroled into the U.S. by the Department of Homeland Security as part of Operation Allies Welcome.
At both junctures, officials say no derogatory information was missed – they believe none existed at that time.
It wasn’t until August 2024 that derogatory information on Tawhedi was identified simultaneously by federal law enforcement partners and DHS’ external recurrent vetting systems. When Tawhedi popped up on the federal law enforcement radar, the recurrent vetting systems had also flagged him, and DHS was already communicating with the FBI at the local level.
U.S. authorities acted quickly on this derogatory information, and also tipped off French authorities to a relative of Tawhedi – who they say was engaged in discussion about a similar planned attack in France.
AFGHAN ISIS TERROR PLOT: BIDEN ADMIN AGENCIES POINT FINGERS AS LAWMAKERS DEMAND ANSWERS
This past weekend, French authorities arrested a 22-year-old Afghan national, a relative of Tawhedi, on suspicion of planning an ISIS-inspired attack in France.
The FBI shared this statement with Fox News’ David Spunt, regarding the French arrest: “The recent arrests in France and by the FBI’s Oklahoma City field office demonstrate the importance of partnerships to detect and disrupt potential terrorist attacks. The coordination between the United States and French law enforcement contributed to these outcomes. The FBI’s top priority is preventing acts of terrorism, and we are committed to working with our partners both overseas and in the United States to uncover any plots and protect our communities from violence.”
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