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    • Trump on Hannity; Harris in DC; new polls
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    Trump on Hannity; Harris in DC; new polls

    Vaseline Posted on

    Marina Pitofsky
    , 
    Phillip M. Bailey
    , 
    Karissa Waddick
    , 
    David Jackson
    , 
    Francesca Chambers
    , 
    Rebecca Morin
    , 
    Sudiksha Kochi
    , 
    Savannah Kuchar
    , 
    Riley Beggin
    , 
    Bart Jansen
    , 
    Sam Woodward
    , 
    Mark Robison
    , 
    Rachel Barber
    , 
    Zac Anderson
     
    USA TODAY

    play

    Just one week until former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris face off on Election Day.

    Trump on Tuesday is holding a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, located about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The former president is looking to notch a victory in the Keystone State, after he won Pennsylvania in the 2016 presidential election but lost it in 2020.

    Harris was in the nation’s capital on Tuesday. She delivered a “closing argument” for her campaign at the Ellipse, the same spot where Trump gave a fiery speech nearly four years ago before a crowd of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capital on Jan. 6, 2021.

    Catch up with the USA TODAY Network’s live coverage from the campaign trail.

    During an 80-minute speech in Allentown, Trump did not discuss allegations of racism stemming from the Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden. However, he did ask shadow U.S. Senator Zoraida Buxo of Puerto Rico to join him on stage. She praised Trump to the cheering crowd.

    In a formal endorsement, Buxo said Trump would “make Puerto Rico shine again.”

    – David Jackson

    When Donald Trump called Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on stage during his rally in Pennsylvania, the lawmaker told the former president about a comment President Joe Biden made Tuesday night.

    Biden referred to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe calling Puerto Rico a “floating pile of garbage” at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend and added: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s, his, his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”

    Republicans immediately criticized the comment as being insulting to all of the former president’s supporters – but Democrats said Biden was only referring to Hinchcliffe.

    – Marina Pitofsky, David Jackson

    Victor Martinez’s radio stations were flooded with calls. Yesenia Westerband’s food truck customers were buzzing about it. Guillermo Lopez’s Facebook feed was full of comments.

    “Como Puertorriqueño te diré que eso no tiene manera de disculparse!!!” one listener commented on Martinez’s show. “As a Puerto Rican there’s no apology that will do.”

    As Donald Trump descended on Allentown, Pennsylvania Tuesday for a rally, remarks by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at the former president’s Madison Square Guardian event Sunday calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” were rocketing through the community’s sizeable Puerto Rican population.

    For many Puerto Ricans, the “garbage” comments were an October surprise that shocked and engaged them on the cusp of a big election where their votes could be decisive said Martinez, who now owns a chain of five radio stations in Pennsylvania that are based in Allentown.

    – Zac Anderson

    Harris, Trump attack each other over foreign policy

    Kamala Harris described Donald Trump as a national security threat during her speech in Washington, D.C.  

    “World leaders think Donald Trump is an easy mark,” she said. “Easy to manipulate with flattery or favor, and you can believe that autocrats like Putin and Kim Jong Un are rooting for him in this election.” 

    Former U.S. officials and cybersecurity analysts say that foreign governments are trying to influence the election, but not all for Trump. While they say Russia’s meddling efforts are in favor of Trump, Iran has also interfered to try and prevent him from winning.  

    Trump during his rally in Pennsylvania alleged Harris would drag the country into World War III, an accusation he’s leveled for months has he’s attacked the vice president’s foreign policy stances.

    –Karissa Waddick and Josh Meyer 

    Kamala Harris calls for unity during DC speech   

    Kamala Harris on Tuesday sought to paint herself as the unity candidate in the 2024 presidential election, knocking comments Donald Trump has made about an “enemy from within.”   

    “The fact that someone disagrees with us does not make them the enemy within. They are family, neighbors, classmates, co-workers,” Harris said. “They are fellow Americans, and as Americans, we rise and fall together.    

    Harris addressed concerns from voters that they know little about her, saying that she was “not perfect” but would listen to voices from across the aisle. The approach isn’t new. Trump and Harris have lobbed personal attacks at one another throughout the campaign and have described each other as highly-partisan figures.

     – Karissa Waddick   

    The former president claimed there’s a basic reason that Democrats from Kamala Harris and Biden to former first lady Michelle Obama have increased their attacks on him: “Desperation.”

    Obama hit the campaign trail for Harris over the weekend, telling a Michigan audience “I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a little frustrated that some of us are choosing to ignore Donald Trump’s gross incompetence while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn.”

    Before this week, Trump rarely if ever said anything negative about the former first ;ady. Now he has called her “nasty” two days in a row.

    – David Jackson

    Donald Trump during his rally claimed one Pennsylvania county has already been “caught” perpetrating election fraud, though he misrepresented what is going on.

    Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, officials announced that an investigation has been started after workers flagged about 2,500 voter registration forms for potential fraud. No determinations have been made. Trump supporters have also made complaints in other places.

    – David Jackson

    Harris says her presidency would be different than Biden because of new challenges facing the country

    Kamala Harris on Tuesday said her presidency will be different than President Joe Biden’s because of new challenges facing the country, like high costs.

    “My presidency will be different, because the challenges we face are different,” she said, adding that four years ago she and Biden were focused on ending the pandemic and protecting the economy. “Now, our biggest challenge is to lower costs, costs that were rising even before the pandemic and that are still too high.”

    Harris has been repeatedly asked how she will be different from the current administration, but has been reluctant to draw contrast between her and her boss, Biden.

    – Rebecca Morin

    Trump: Are you better off now than four years ago?

    Trump kicked off his Pennsylvania rally on Tuesday by asking voters his standard opening question: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

    The audience responded: No. He quickly joked that Americans will “fire” Kamala Harris on Election Day, a reference to his catch phrase on the reality show “The Apprentice.”

    He also reflected on his 2024 campaign at the event, telling the crowd he is now in the last week of political rallies that have defined his political career since he announced his first presidential campaign in June 2015.

    –David Jackson

    Kamala Harris to undecided voters: ‘We know who Donald Trump is’

    In the opening remarks of her “closing argument,” Kamala Harris on Tuesday told voters the ballot they cast in this election will “probably be the most important vote you ever cast.”

    Standing at the Ellipse, the same location that Donald Trump spoke at on Jan. 6, 2021, Harris said on that day nearly four years ago, the former president sent “an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election.”

    “We know who Donald Trump is,” she said. “While Donald Trump sat in the White House watching as the violence unfolded on television, he was told by his staff that the mob wanted to kill his own vice president, and Donald Trump responded with two words: So what?”

    – Rebecca Morin

    Harris’ ‘closing argument’ draws 75,000 to DC event, campaign estimates

    Over 75,000 people are on the National Mall for Kamala Harris’ “closing argument” to voters on the Ellipse, the Harris campaign said.

    She is expected to draw a contrast between her and former President Donald Trump’s vision for the United States.

    Before this event, the largest event that Harris has held was a rally in Houston, Texas that global superstar Beyoncé attended, with 30,000 people, according to the Harris campaign.

    – Rebecca Morin

    Nikki Haley criticizes Donald Trump campaign’s efforts to win women voters

    Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley delivered blunt criticism about the Trump campaign’s outreach to women during an appearance Tuesday night on Fox News and said she hasn’t spoken to the former president since June.

    Haley, a former Republican primary rival of Trump who has endorsed his campaign, said Trump and his allies need to “look at how they’re talking about women.”

    “This bromance and this masculinity stuff. I mean, it borders on edgy to the point it’s going to make women uncomfortable,” Haley said. “You’ve got affiliated PACs that are doing commercials about calling Kamala (an offensive name insulting to women.) Or you’ve got speakers at Madison Square Garden referring to her and her ‘pimps.’”

    Haley has not appeared alongside Trump on the campaign trail ahead of the Nov. 5 election but will campaign with Republican Pennsylvania U.S. Senate nominee David McCormick on Wednesday in suburban Pittsburgh. Haley said she is on “standby” if the campaign calls.

    – Joey Garrison 

    Sharlie Goodson, 29, who lives a mile and half from the White House rode a scooter to Harris’ Tuesday speech with one of her friends because she couldn’t miss seeing history. 

    She believes Harris is trying to take back the power of historically significant places and is happy that she’s stopping in Washington to talk to the American public as a whole. 

    “Her being here is a way of, kind of, like resetting what we’ve all known the last few years of the Ellipse being,” she said. “People have asked, like, ‘Why is she here?’ Like, DC is gonna vote for her. But this is where she’s lived the past few years, and this is where she hopefully will continue to be.”

    Harris is delivering a speech at the Ellipse in Washington, where Donald Trump spoke before a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and tried to disrupt Congress’ certification of the 2020 election.

    – Rebecca Morin

    Harris supporters line up to see ‘history’

    Thousands of Kamala Harris’ supporters waited in a line that stretched along the National Mall in Washington.  

    Street vendors walked up and down the crowd selling t-shirts, buttons and other gear to support the Democratic nominee. Many attendees wore t-shirts in support of Harris’ candidacy, while others wore shirts that said “Vote” and “Black Lives Matter.” Some were even dressed up as Harris’ signature shoe: Converse.

    Music filled the air as a man with a guitar and speaker serenaded those waiting in line.

    Karina Pena, who has lived in Washington D.C. for almost 10 years, said joy is in the air as she waits to see whether she will make it into the event. Attendees who cannot make it onto the Ellipse will be held in an overflow area at the Washington Monument.

    “Just like walking up and down this line, seeing the diversity of the people that are here to support her, seeing people having a happy moment, that inspires confidence and joy,” the 34-year-old said.

    – Rebecca Morin

    Kamala Harris is likely to hold an Election Day event at Howard University in Washington, D.C., a source familiar with the planning told USA TODAY.  

    Discussions are still taking place about the size of the gathering, and whether it will be a large election night rally or a smaller event, the person said.

    The person requested anonymity to speak about the event that is still in the planning stages. Howard is an HBCU and Harris’ alma mater.

    – Francesca Chambers

    No insulting jokes about Puerto Rican voters or Latino voters in Allentown tonight.

    Warm-up speakers for this Trump rally in Pennsylvania city are on their best behavior, unlike the Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden that featured a number of offensive comments.

    In a city with a large Latino population, in a state that could decide the election, Trump surrogates are keeping it clean. One prominent speaker, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, even spoke Spanish to the appreciative crowd.

    Another speaker: Shadow U.S. Senator Zoraida Buxo of Puerto Rico, who announced her endorsement on Trump.

    – David Jackson

    More: Trump’s NYC rally sparks backlash after comedian calls Puerto Rico ‘island of garbage’

    It is not clear exactly when the election results will be announced, as the timing depends on a variety of factors. Each state handles its elections differently, ranging from weeks-long early voting to strict voter ID laws.

    But you can anticipate delays.

    Some key swing states that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are vying for, like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, aren’t permitted to start processing absentee and mail-in ballots until Election Day, which is expected to slow down the count.

    – Sudiksha Kochi and Sam Woodward

    Trump: No one has done more for Puerto Rico than me

    Donald Trump addressed the Puerto Rico issue during a senior citizens’ forum in Pennsylvania on Tuesday – sort of.

    The Republican presidential nominee touted his record while in the White House on Puerto Rican issues, but did not mention a supporter’s crude remarks about the island as a comedy warm-up act during Sunday’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York.

    Citing disaster relief, Trump said: “No president has done more for Puerto Rico than I have.”

    The comments came after a questioner at the forum in Delaware County, Pa., told Trump: “I just wanted to tell you that I moved here in 1981 from Puerto Rico, and I want you to know that Puerto Rico stands behind you, and Puerto Rico loves you!”

    The Trump administration’s response to Hurricane Maria in 2017 was heavily criticized. An inspector general’s report found that tensions within the administration led to delays in disbursement of congressionally approved funds. Trump’s own visit to the stricken island also triggered criticism. At one point, he distributed rolls of paper towels by shooting them at the crowd like basketballs. 

    – David Jackson

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Robert F. Kennedy’s request that he be taken off the presidential ballot in Wisconsin and Michigan, two battleground states where Kennedy does not want to draw votes away from former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5.

    Kennedy, who endorsed Trump after ending his own campaign in August, missed the deadline for withdrawing from the ballot in those states. But he argued the deadlines are unconstitutional because they are different than the rules for candidates running on the Democratic or Republican ticket.

    Lower courts rejected that argument and also said there wasn’t enough time to change the ballots. Voting is already underway.

    Wisconsin and Michigan are two of the seven states expected to determine the outcome of the presidential election.

    When Kennedy suspended his campaign, he said his name would remain on the ballot and he encouraged his supporters to vote for him in most states.

    But he said he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states “where my presence would be a spoiler.”

    – Maureen Groppe

    Trump and Harris in dead head in Arizona and Nevada, new polls find

    Trump and Harris are in a dead heat in two key Western swing states a week out from the Nov. 5 election in new CNN polls conducted by SSRS.

    Harris is leading Trump 48% to 47% among likely voters in Arizona, while Trump is leading Harris 48% to 47% among likely voters in Nevada. 

    The poll was conducted among 781 registered voters in Arizona and 683 registered voters in Nevada, with CNN noting that likely voters included all registered voters in the poll “weighted for their predicted likelihood of voting in this year’s election.”

    Both candidates were within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points among likely voters in Arizona and plus or minus 4.6 percentage points among likely voters in Nevada. The poll was conducted between Oct. 21 and Oct. 26.

    – Sudiksha Kochi

    Pennsylvania Republicans lose lawsuit to set aside overseas ballots for screening

    A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit from several Republican congressmen who wanted overseas ballots set aside in the crucial swing state for extra vetting and potential exclusion from the Nov. 5 election results.

    The Republicans – who filed the lawsuit Sept. 30, 36 days before the election – asked the U.S. district court to direct Pennsylvania county election boards to segregate overseas ballots for possible exclusion and to create new verification procedures. U.S. Judge Christopher Conner said the congressmen themselves weren’t able to “fully flesh out” the new verification procedures they wanted, even three weeks into the lawsuit.

    Such a court order “at this late hour would upend the Commonwealth’s carefully laid election administration procedures to the detriment of untold thousands of voters, to say nothing of the state and county administrators who would be expected to implement these new procedures on top of their current duties,” wrote Conner, who was appointed to the bench in 2002 by Republican President George W. Bush.

    The lawsuit was part of a flurry of legal challenges to state election procedures in the final weeks before Election Day. Judges in Georgia have also blocked last-minute rule changes from going into effect there ahead of Nov. 5.

    – Aysha Bagchi

    Biden plans to watch Harris’ speech Tuesday evening

    President Joe Biden plans on watching Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ speech on the Ellipse on Tuesday evening, which her White House campaign has billed as a “closing argument” to voters. 

    During a stop at a local Baltimore ice cream shop, Biden was asked by reporters traveling with him why he would not be in attendance for the speech. 

    “It’s for her,” he said. “It’s her night.”

    – Rebecca Morin

    ‘Unstable’: Harris to say Trump wants to divide United States

    Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected during her Tuesday night address from Washington, D.C., to say that Republican rival Donald Trump’s priorities for a second term are focused on retribution against Americans who disagree with him. 

    In excerpts of remarks released by her campaign, Harris plans to label Trump as someone who is “unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power.“

    “Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other,” Harris is expected to say in the speech on the Ellipse near the White House. “That’s who he is. But America, I am here tonight to say: that’s not who we are.”

    Harris’ prepared remarks mention that if elected president she’d seek common ground with people who agree and disagree with her. She also is expected to promise to “always put country above party and above self.”

    “I pledge to listen to experts. To those who will be impacted by the decisions I make,” the Harris speech excerpts say. “And to people who disagree with me. Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at my table.”

    – Rebecca Morin

    Trump to go on Fox with Sean Hannity tonight

    It looks like Trump will be finished with his Allentown rally by 9 p.m. He has an appointment at that time with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

    “I will be doing a Major Interview on The Sean Hannity Show tonight at 9 PM EST. ENJOY!” Trump announced on Truth Social.

    Hannity is a frequent stop for Trump when he is under political attack, as he is now over a surrogate’s insults to Latino voters.

    The Allentown rally is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., although Trump often runs late.

    – David Jackson

    Republican consultant: Trump could have a Latino problem – especially in Pennsylvania

    Amid the furor of a Trump backer’s insults to Puerto Rico and Latinos, Donald Trump could not have picked a more sensitive city for tonight’s rally: Allentown, Pa.

    Republican consultant Mike Madrid said there are 450,000 Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania – and around 33,500 in Allentown alone. Those numbers are big enough to make the difference in Pennsylvania, a state both the Trump and Harris campaigns are competing in their bid to win the election.

    “The racial slurs at Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden could cost him the election,” said Madrid, author of “The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy.”

    Madrid added: “Even if it just moves Pennsylvania marginally, it’s game over – and it’s likely to move Latinos and Republicans there.”

    – David Jackson

    Jennifer Lopez, Maná will campaign with Harris Thursday

    Jennifer Lopez, a Latina-American entertainer of Puerto Rican descent, and the Mexican rock band Maná will campaign with Kamala Harris in Las Vegas on Thursday.

    Maná will perform and Lopez will explain why she is endorsing the Democratic ticket, the campaign announced Tuesday. The Nevada “get out the vote” event will take place just days before Election Day in the evening on Oct. 31, which is also Halloween.

    – Rachel Barber

    In an effort to energize a crucial Nevada county’s voters for Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee’s campaign took over the exterior of the Sphere, the giant ball of immersive entertainment on the Las Vegas Strip.

    Nevada is considered a swing state in the presidential election as Harris tries to hold off former President Donald Trump, who has made polling gains in the state. Republicans have a lead of 40,000 voters over Democrats in early turnout. Just in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, Democrats have cast about 3,000 more votes than Republicans so far.

    The Sphere is owned by the Dolan family, which also owns Madison Square Garden in New York City, where Trump held a large rally over the weekend.

    On Thursday, Harris has rallies planned in Reno and Las Vegas while Trump has one in Henderson.

    – Mark Robison

    Voting rights officials in key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin continued to warn Tuesday the winner is unlikely to be known on election night Nov. 5.

    The Keystone and Badger states each prohibit election officials from beginning to count absentee ballots until 7 a.m. Election Day, when they must also deal with in-person voting. Advocates warned about the processing delays to avoid confusion about late results.

    “Election night is not results night,” said Philip Hensley-Robin, advocacy group Common Cause’s executive director in Pennsylvania.

    Jay Heck, Common Cause’s executive director in Wisconsin, said in-person voting in his state is expected to be counted before midnight on Election Day. But tabulating absentee ballots, which already total more than 700,000, for the combined unofficial results could take until 2 a.m., he said.

    “Election results in Wisconsin won’t be known until after midnight,” Heck said. “People have to be patient.”

    -Bart Jansen

    After fires destroyed hundreds of ballots in drop boxes in Oregon and Washington, officials at voting rights group Common Cause said they have not seen problems elsewhere with vandalism to boxes collecting absentee ballots.

    “We have not seen a trend coming out of the fires that we’ve seen earlier,” Suzanne Almeida, the group’s director of state operations, told reporters Tuesday. “Ballot drop boxes are still an incredibly valid way to return your ballot.”

    Election and postal officials have recommended mailing ballots by Tuesday, a week before the Nov. 5 election, to ensure they arrive on time. Almeida said she would recommend using a drop box rather than the mail until Election Day.

    Absentee and early voting has been popular this year, with 45 million votes cast already. Jay Heck, Common Cause’s executive director in Wisconsin, said more than 1 million absentee ballots were requested in his state and 72% had already been returned by Tuesday.

    “Voter interest is through the roof,” he said.

    -Bart Jansen

    “I’m afraid of politics,” 50 Cent said in an interview with “The Breakfast Club” Tuesday, as reason why he turned down an invitation from the Trump campaign to perform Sunday. 

    The rapper said he was offered $3 million for an appearance at the former president’s controversial Madison Square Garden rally. 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, told the radio show co-hosts he declined due to his distaste for politics. 

    “It’s because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel, someone passionately disagrees with you,” 50 Cent said. 

    Some rappers, such as Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow, have embraced Trump, in part because of his pardoning some of them or their associates. Meanwhile others have come out in support of Harris, including Eminem who recently performed at a rally for her in Detroit. 

    -Savannah Kuchar 

    Trump is still mad at former first lady Michelle Obama.

    After criticizing one of his long-time targets, former President Barack Obama, Trump told supporters today at Mar-a-Lago: “His wife wife was very nasty to me the other day.”

    As he did during a Monday night rally in Atlanta, Trump proclaimed that Michelle Obama said things she should not have; he did not elaborate on what he meant.

    During a weekend event for Harris, Michelle Obama said people are holding Harris to a higher standard than Trump: “I hope that you’ll forgive me if I’m a little angry that we are indifferent to his erratic behavior, his obvious mental decline, his history as a convicted felon, a known slum lord, a predator found liable for sexual abuse, all of this while we pick apart Kamala’s answers from interviews that he doesn’t even have the courage to do.”

    Before this week, Trump rarely if ever said anything negative about the former First Lady. Now he has called her “nasty” two days in a row.

    -David Jackson 

    Republican Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake repeatedly refused to answer whether she lost the 2022 state’s gubernatorial race against Democrat Katie Hobbs in a combative exchange with CNN host Kaitlan Collins on “The Source.”

    When asked if she lost the race, Lake said, “Why are we looking backward? I’m looking forward.” 

    Collins pressed her multiple times on the question, noting that Lake never directly answered it. At one point during the exchange, Lake said, “I want to make sure our elections are run properly, and I’m still in litigation, so I don’t want to speak to that. But I do want to look forward.”

    Multiple courts have dismissed Lake’s lawsuits claiming election fraud in the gubernatorial race.

    Lake is running against Democrat Ruben Gallego for the Arizona Senate seat to replace independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who is retiring. She has previously dodged the question of whether she would certify the 2024 election, regardless of the outcome, if elected to the Senate. 

    –Sudiksha Kochi

    A news conference it was not.

    Trump used his scheduled “remarks to the press” to give a 55-minute rally-like sustained attack on Harris – with no references to a surrogate’s recent insults to Puerto Ricans or Latinos, an issue that is roiling his campaign.

    The former president took no questions from reporters.

    The topic will shadow Trump at a rally tonight in Allentown, Pa. – a city with a large Puerto Rican community, in a battleground state with a huge Latino vote that could make the difference in a close race.

    At the end of his Mar-a-Lago speech, Trump did praise Sunday’s rally at Madison Square Garden – but did not specifically refer to the backlash from some voters over the insults to Puerto Rico, Latinos, women, and people of color in general.

    Instead, Trump criticized opponents who likened the event to an infamous Nazi rally in 1939. Trump said his supporters were there to express “love for our country.”

    -David Jackson

    During an interview with comedian Tim Dillon released Saturday, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance slammed former Republican vice president Dick Cheney, specifically for his support of the Iraq War in the early 2000s.

    “Dick Cheney, who I legitimately think is the single worst vice president easily of my lifetime, ” Vance said last weekend. 

    “But effective,” Dillon cut in. 

    “Effective at like destroying the country,” Vance said. “Maybe that’s why he’s endorsing Kamala Harris, he’s like, ‘Finally somebody’s come along who’s been even worse than I have, is Kamala Harris.'”

    Cheney endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket last month. His daughter and former third-highest ranking House Republican Liz Cheney has endorsed and campaigned with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the final stretch of the election.

    −Sam Woodward

    Puerto Rico residents upset with comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s insulting jokes at Donald Trump’s rally Sunday will not have the opportunity to make their voice heard in the presidential election.

    The nearly 3.3 million Puerto Ricans living in the territory can not vote for president, despite being U.S. citizens and helping select each party’s nominee. 

    However, roughly 5.8 million Puerto Ricans live in Washington D.C. or one of the country’s 50 states, according to Pew Research Center. Those residents can cast a ballot in this year’s general election. They make up the second-largest Latino group in the country after Mexican Americans, and some live in key battleground states like Pennsylvania.

    – Rachel Barber, Eric Lagatta, Sudiksha Kochi, and Rebecca Morin

    So far, Trump’s “remarks to the press” are a reprise of his rallies, and an extended attack on Harris.

    Trump is echoing his rallies by focusing on illegal border closings, “migrant crime,” inflation, and the economy, larded with plenty of insults lobbed at Harris and President Joe Biden.

    “A total train wreck,” he said at one point during the event at Mar-a-Lago that included cheering supporters as well as reporters.

    The alleged press event has also included remarks by Trump supporters who have lost loved ones or experienced economic difficulty in the past four years. Trump is also playing anti-Harris videos he uses at rallies.

    So far, no references to a surrogate’s insults to Puerto Ricans or Latinos, an issue that is roiling his campaign.

    -David Jackson

    Running some 80 minutes late, the former president has finally begun a speech at Mar-a-Lago billed as a “prebuttal” to Harris’ anti-Trump address tonight in Washington, D.C.

    A sign on the stage read: “Trump will fix it!”

    No sign yet on whether Trump will address the backlash from some voters over a surrogate’s insults to Puerto Rico and Latinos in general.

    Trump may take questions from reporters after his remarks.

    -David Jackson

    Melania Trump dismisses claims her husband praised Hitler

    The former first lady came to Donald Trump’s defense on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday.

    The former president’s ex-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly alleged he praised Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Germany dictator responsible for the murder of 6 million Jewish people, while in office. Kamala Harris called the former president a “fascist” after Kelly also said the GOP nominee “falls into the general definition” of one.

    The former president rebutted the criticism last week.

    “It’s terrible,” the former first lady added Tuesday. “He’s not Hitler.”

    — Rachel Barber

    Senate poll roundup: Democrats have narrow edge in Michigan, Pennsylvania

    A new poll from Emerson College gives Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a 2 percentage point lead over former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., in the Great Lakes state. The poll was conducted Oct. 25 to 27.

    Conservative group American Greatness also published a poll conducted Oct. 22 to 26 in Pennsylvania that put Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., up 3 percentage points from GOP challenger David McCormick. 

    The results of both polls are within the margin of error, meaning the two candidates could also be effectively tied. The Emerson College poll has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points and the American Greatness poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.

    They both reflect ongoing polling patterns in each state of an extremely narrow lead for Democrats.

    — Riley Beggin

    Barbara Bush, daughter of George Bush, campaigns for Harris 

    Former President George W. Bush, 78, has said he will not be weighing in on this year’s divisive, coin-toss election.  

    But his daughter, Barbara Bush, 42, is backing Harris. She spent part of last weekend campaigning for the vice president in Pennsylvania, People reported. 

    “It was inspiring to join friends and meet voters with the Harris-Walz campaign in Pennsylvania this weekend,” Barbara Bush said in a statement to the magazine. “I’m hopeful they’ll move our country forward and protect women’s rights.” 

    Her namesake and late grandmother, former first lady Barbara Bush, told USA TODAY’s Susan Page in 2018 that she “probably” would not still consider herself a Republican, in an interview months before her death. The matriarch of a prominent GOP family blamed Trump for making the party unrecognizable to her. 

    — Savannah Kuchar 

    Harris knocks Trump’s calls for retribution

    Harris, who is set to address voters at the Ellipse (the site of Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021) on Tuesday, said on the radio show “The Breakfast Club” that part of her speech will focus on the stark differences between her candidacy versus Trump’s candidacy. 

    “I would ask people to imagine the Oval Office…it’s either going to be Donald Trump sitting behind that desk writing out his enemies list of who he’s going to seek revenge and retribution on, or it’s going to be me working on behalf of the American people,” she said. 

    She added that her presidency will focus on lifting up discourse that is “not about trashing people all the time,” referencing comments made about Puerto Rico at Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

    Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called the U.S. territory a “floating island of garbage” at the rally, which drew backlash from both Democrats and Republicans.  

    “Even back to the point of Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny has endorsed me. He knows and Jennifer Lopez – and they love Puerto Rico, and they are proud in terms of that heritage, and they know how demeaning and destructive Donald Trump can be on things like that,” she said. 

    — Sudiksha Kochi

    Harris addresses claims that she’s losing support from Black men

    Harris dismissed claims that she’s not speaking directly to Black men and the issues that matter to them in a live interview on the radio show “The Breakfast Club” featuring co-host Charlamagne tha God Tuesday morning. 

    “The brothers aren’t saying that,” Harris said, noting that she’s spoken with Black men at a recent stop in Philadelphia and at rallies who support her.

    “The Black men in particular who are at the rallies have recently been saying to me, ‘Don’t you listen to that, and they got to stop with all that noise. We support you,’” she said.

    A New York Times/Siena College October poll found that 70% of Black men said they would vote for Harris, while 20% picked Trump. Ten percent were undecided or declined to answer. That’s down from the 87% of Black men who supported President Joe Biden in 2020.

    “Black men are no different than any other voter. You have to earn their vote,” Harris added in the interview. “And part of the challenge, I think, with the perspective and this narrative has been to suggest anybody’s got Black men in their pockets. No, you have to earn the vote, which is why I’ve been out talking with folks.”

    — Sudiksha Kochi

    When is Donald Trump’s news conference today? 

    Trump will make remarks to the media this morning, at a news conference scheduled for 10 a.m. ET. 

    The former president will be at Mar-a-Lago, his home in Palm Beach, Florida, for the conference. 

    — Savannah Kuchar and Fernando Cervantes Jr. 

    What time is Kamala Harris’ rally today? 

    Harris is scheduled to be in Washington Tuesday evening for a rally slated to begin at 7 p.m. ET. 

    Attendees can begin to gather at 3 p.m. and the event is expected to conclude by 9 p.m. 

    The vice president will deliver her speech at the Ellipse, or President’s Park South, located south of the White House. This is the same site where Trump held his “Stop the Steal” rally before the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

    — Savannah Kuchar and Fernando Cervantes Jr. 

    Steve Bannon released from prison after serving four month sentence

    Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist under the Trump administration, was released from a Connecticut prison on Tuesday – a week from Election Day – after serving a 4-month sentence. 

    Bannon reported to prison in July for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. 

    He is the host of the “War Room” podcast – a favorite among Trump supporters – that has garnered millions of listeners. Since Bannon’s imprisonment, his podcast has featured guest hosts including Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.

    Bannon has made false claims about the 2020 election on the podcast, including that it was impacted by voter fraud. Trump has made similar false claims about voter fraud impacting the 2020 race, allegations that have been rejected by courts.

    — Sudiksha Kochi

    Archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico calls on Trump to apologize for Hinchcliffe’s comments

    Roberto O. González Nieves, archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico, asked Trump in an open letter to “disavow” comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s comments that Puerto Rico is a “floating island of garbage.” Hinchcliffe made the remarks at the former president’s rally in Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday.

    “Hinchcliffe’s remarks do not only provoke sinister laughter but hatred. These kinds of remarks do not have a place in a society founded upon ‘liberty and justice for all,’” Nieves wrote in the letter shared on Facebook. 

    He called on Trump to “disavow these comments as reflecting in any way your personal or political viewpoints.”

    “It is not sufficient for your campaign to apologize. It is important that you, personally, apologize for these comments,” Nieves wrote. 

    — Sudiksha Kochi

    Kamala Harris to remind voters of Jan. 6 attack in closing argument

    With the White House as her backdrop, Vice President Kamala Harris will remind Americans on Tuesday that the last time Donald Trump held office, thousands of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to pressure lawmakers to overturn his election loss, according to a senior Harris campaign official.

    Harris will deliver her speech in the same location Tuesday evening that Trump spoke just before the Jan. 6 insurrection – at the Ellipse, a park that separates the White House from the National Mall. 

    In her closing argument, Harris will tell voters that they have two paths on Election Day, her campaign says: one that is focused on delivering for the American people and another that is steeped in grievances and retribution.

    –Francesca Chambers and Rebecca Morin

    Former President Donald Trump — while attacking all manner of opponents from Vice President Kamala Harris to former first lady Michelle Obama — claimed Monday it is Democrats who are using “disgusting” rhetoric to define his campaign, as he tried to woo all-too-important Georgia voters just a week before the 2024 election. 

    Trump’s rally at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta aimed at getting voters to the polls ahead of the consequential Nov. 5 election. “We love Georgia,” he told the crowd, to cheers at the opening of his roughly 75-minute speech.  

    –David Jackson and Karissa Waddick

    The 2024 race for the White House is set to be neck-and-neck up to Election Day. In Real Clear Politics’ average of national polls, Trump leads Harris by just 0.2 percentage points, well within the margin of error for the surveys included in the average.

    It’s even closer in some swing states. For example, Trump leads Harris by just 0.1 percentage points in Real Clear Politics’ average of Michigan polls.

    – Marina Pitofsky

    Got election questions? Sign up for USA TODAY’s On Politics newsletter for breaking news and exclusive analysis.

    Kamala Harris will deliver a “closing argument” for why she believes she should be voters’ choice in the 2024 election on the National Mall on Tuesday, a senior campaign official confirmed to USA TODAY last week.

    Harris, a former prosecutor, will make the case for the country to turn the page away from Trump at the Ellipse, which is the same place he delivered a fiery speech nearly four years ago before a crowd of his supporters stormed the Capital on Jan. 6, 2021.

    The VP is using the symbolic venue to make a call for voters to end Trump’s “era of chaos and division,” and talk about a new path, the Harris campaign official said.

    – Phillip M. Bailey

    Donald Trump is holding a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia on Tuesday. He is also scheduled to hold a news conference with the media at 10 a.m. ET from Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

    In the last full week of the 2024 campaign, Trump is zeroing in on major swing states, holding rallies and laying out his pitch to voters in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Nevada later in the week.

    Trump picked up North Carolina in the 2020 race for the White House, but he lost Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada to President Joe Biden.

    – Marina Pitofsky

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