Kamala Harris distanced herself from her former running mate, declaring she would not pursue a "continuation" of Joe Biden's policies if she is elected president.
During a heated interview with Fox News' Brett Baier, Harris repeatedly dodged tough questions about the Biden-Harris administration's record, especially on immigration.
The interview was contentious, as Harris repeatedly talked over Baier with her prepared talking points.
On immigration, Harris blamed Trump for undermining an immigration reform bill this year, but she pointedly did not acknowledge any mistakes in the Biden-Harris administration's approach to the southern border since January 2021.
Baier asked Harris if she regrets the termination of Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy, but she dodged the question and touted an immigration bill that Biden pushed on day one - which Baier noted was "essentially a pathway to citizenship" for illegal immigrants.
While she failed to explain specifically how she would be different from Biden, Harris tried to portray herself as the change candidate - as an incredulous Baier pushed Harris on her messaging about "turning the page" on Trump, who has been out of office since 2021.
'"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. I represent a new generation of leadership," Harris said.
The Harris campaign has painted Trump as a danger to the country, but polls show that Americans favor Trump's policies on the economy and immigration.
In her interview with Fox, Harris strained to portray Trump as the incumbent, as she pivoted from her unpopular record to blaming Trump for America's deep political divide.
"That is about turning the page on rhetoric that people are frankly exhausted of, Bret. People are exhausted," Harris said.
Biden sought to put on a united front with Harris this week, after stoking rumors of a grudge by overshadowing her campaign in recent days.
The 81-year-old lame duck president, who has been seldom seen on the campaign trail since he was pressured to drop out by Democrats over the summer, effectively disavowed his own legacy, saying Harris would "cut her own path."
The Trump campaign called Harris' interview a "trainwreck," adding, "Kamala can’t handle the pressure of an interview with Fox News — she certainly can’t handle the pressure of being President of the United States."
Barron Trump has decided to live at his family's Trump Tower residence as he undertakes his first year of college studies.
The youngest child of Donald Trump is studying at New York University's Stern School of Business, located in lower Manhattan.
Barron grew up in his family's Manhattan penthouse before moving to Palm Beach, Florida with his parents in 2019. Barron graduated from high school in West Palm Beach earlier this year.
While Barron's father studied at UPenn's Wharton School, Barron chose to attend school close to his family's longtime residence in New York.
With speculation circling over Barron's college experience, his mother Melania announced that Barron made the decision to live at home.
“I could not say I’m an empty nester. I don’t feel that way,” she told Fox host Ainsley Earhardt.
“It was his decision to come here that he wants to be in New York and study in New York and live in his home, and I respect that," Melania added.
Melania Trump is known to be close to her son, who has been kept out of the public eye since Donald Trump launched his tumultuous political career.
The Dean of Stern Business School, where Barron is attending, signed a 2020 faculty letter declaring President Trump a "threat to the Republic."
Trump was convicted earlier this year on criminal charges brought by Manhattan's Democratic prosecutor, and he is facing a staggering $454 million civil judgment in New York for business fraud. An appeals court has called the exorbitant punishment "troubling."
In her new memoir, Melania shared that her son was denied a bank account because of his relationship with his father.
“I was shocked and dismayed to learn that my long-time bank decided to terminate my account and deny my son the opportunity to open a new one,” Melania wrote in her book, Melania.
Barron is being guarded closely by Secret Service as he attends school, with two assassination attempts on his father adding to concerns about the family's safety.
“I’m very proud of what he grew up to [be]. His strength. His intelligence. His knowledge, his kindness. It’s admirable,” Melania told Fox News. “I hope he will have a great experience because his life is very different than any other 18, 19-year old child.”
The judge in Jack Smith's January 6th case granted Donald Trump a small victory, rejecting a push by media organizations to unseal more details in the case.
With a jury trial potentially slipping away, Smith has sought to keep his case in the headlines as early voting begins in the 2024 presidential election. Trump, and legal analysts across the political spectrum, have accused Smith of improperly trying to damage Trump's electoral prospects, as well as his right to a fair trial.
A group of press organizations urged judge Tanya Chutkan, who has consistently ruled against Trump, to unseal more details, citing the public interest in the case, the New York Sun reported.
But Chutkan called the request "largely moot" after she released to the public a redacted 165-page filing from Smith that accused Trump of "resorting to crimes" to stay in power.
The press organizations had requested the immunity filing and its appendix in redacted form - and Chutkan has already agreed to unseal both.
The judge rejected a request to "unseal those filings with only those redactions that are both ‘essential to preserve higher values’ and ‘narrowly tailored to serve that interest.’"
Chutkan defended the redactions as being "consistent with both the common-law and First Amendment rights of public access to judicial proceedings.”
"Applicants’ reliance here on the First Amendment is therefore unavailing; it does not compel unsealing any of the redactions that the court has approved," she wrote.
It's a small victory for Trump, who has accused Chutkan and Smith of jointly waging a witch hunt against him.
The New York Sun noted that Chutkan may be trying to avoid a reversal on appeal, which already happened in the case when the Supreme Court sided with Trump on presidential immunity.
The Supreme Court's ruling forced Smith to tailor his indictment, effectively delaying the trial beyond the election. Smith's "October surprise" immunity filing is meant to convince Chutkan that Trump's alleged crimes are private acts, and not official acts covered by the Supreme Court's ruling.
At the core of Smith's case are accusations about Trump's communications with former vice president Mike Pence - interactions the Supreme Court described as presumptively immune.
Smith controversially kept the Pence accusations in the superseding indictment, despite the Supreme Court's ambivalence about them. Chutkan has to decide whether the Pence allegations can stay - and it's possible the Supreme Court will revisit the issue, putting Smith's case in jeopardy.
Chutkan has been open about the fact that she doesn't care about the political impact of the case, calling it "not relevant" despite Trump's status as a presidential candidate in an extremely polarized race.
The judge has approved the release this Friday of the appendix in Smith's filing, over the objections of Trump's lawyers.
Kamala Harris is losing support from Hispanic voters as Donald Trump gains popularity with the traditionally Democratic demographic - despite years of attempts to paint Trump as a racist.
A New York Times/Siena College poll found Harris ahead with Hispanic voters by 19 points, a "dangerously low" advantage for Democrats, the Times reported.
56% of Hispanic likely voters are backing Harris, against 37% for Trump. Harris' Hispanic support is a stark decline from 2016, when 68% of Hispanics backed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and 28% backed Trump.
The latest numbers add to Trump's gains with Latinos in 2020, when he won 36% of the Hispanic vote and Joe Biden won 62%. All told, the Democratic advantage with Hispanics has fallen by a net 20 points since 2016.
Among Hispanic men, Trump's support is 45%, just shy of Harris' 48%, reflecting a broader gender gap that has Democrats concerned about losing support with black men.
The poll was taken from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6 among 902 Hispanic voters. The survey has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
The Latino shift toward Trump comes despite years of efforts to paint Trump as racist toward Hispanic immigrants.
30% of Hispanic voters born in the U.S. said they think Trump's immigration rhetoric targets them, while 67% said they do not believe Trump is talking about them.
Harris attempted to court Hispanic voters last week on the Spanish-language TV network Univision, where she redoubled her pledge to seek a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants even as she tries to sound tougher on the border.
That balanced approach mirrors the attitudes of most Hispanic voters, according to the Times survey. More than one-third of Latinos support building a wall and deporting illegal immigrants, but a majority also support providing a pathway to citizenship for all illegal aliens currently living in the U.S.
Trump has doubled down on his tough-on-immigration message in the final days before the election, pledging to mass deport illegal aliens and dangerous criminals who have "conquered" towns like Aurora, Colorado.
According to the Times poll, 50% of Hispanics said crime is "out of control" in big cities, while 35% of Hispanics said Trump's policies helped them personally, and 30% said Trump's policies hurt them.
Overall, Hispanics are "more likely to believe that Mr. Trump’s policies helped them than to believe that Mr. Biden’s policies were beneficial," the Times added in its report.
As Harris struggles to distance herself from Biden's record, it's not surprising that her support with Hispanics is slipping.
Now that Barron Trump is 18 and in college, more media outlets are interested in his future, especially given the fact that his father could once again become the president of the United States.
But Barron Trump also has a past, and it was no surprise to learn that the young, handsome son of a president had a girlfriend while he attended school in New York.
Reports indicated that Barron Trump's "first girlfriend" has gone public with the information through her TikTok channel, telling her followers that Barron Trump was "the nicest" and had nothing but positive things to say about him.
The two reportedly only went their separate ways because Barron Trump ultimately chose to spend his summers in Florida, where he ultimately enrolled in school.
Maddie, who goes by the TikTok name "Maddatitude" released a bombshell video revealing that she was Barron Trump's first girlfriend and also revealed that he had taken his whole class to the White House to meet his father.
"For those asking, I went to school with Barron Trump, and he was my first bf. When Trump was elected he brought the entire class to the White House. We gotta save my bae!"
MSN noted:
In an explosive clip, the young teenager showed pictures of her and Barron posing together as children in what appears to be a school photo at the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York's Upper West Side.
Maddie doubled down on what appears to be solid proof of her claims, uploading a picture that shows her with several of her classmates posing next to the former president and Melania Trump at the White House.
The trip to the White House, which reportedly took place in 2017, was described as a "secret trip," presumably due to security concerns for Barron Trump's class.
The outlet added:
After followers asked what kind of person Barron is, Maddie gushed over her former beau, saying that he was 'the best' and 'the nicest'.
In another video, Maddie also featured a selfie she shared with the 78-year-old GOP presidential nominee at her fifth-grade graduation and revealed that both of her parents discouraged her to do so.
Donald Trump confirmed in recent days that Barron just started at the Stern School of Business.
Many of his classmates at NYU seemed open, if not eager, to befriend the youngest Trump.
Some admitted that political ideologies would get in the way of that possibility.
So far, Barron Trump is killing it in college and undoubtedly he'll go on to do great things.
Arizona Democrats had quite a scare over the past week after shootings that forced them to close one of their offices and move operations to an undisclosed location.
According to The Hill, Democrats shut down their Tempe, Ariz offices after a series of three shootings caused too much of a security concern for staffers to return.
The offices were reportedly a base for not only Arizona Democratic congressional candidates but also for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Arizona is one of a handful of key swing states that could play a critical role in determining who carves a path in the Electoral College vote to claim the White House next month.
Reports from the Tempe Police Department indicated that an individual or individuals shot at the Tempe-based Democrat offices in the middle of the night, noting that nobody was inside the building at the time.
The police said they were looking for a "silver Toyota Highlander with an unknown plate."
If this app is good for anything, it’s that someone here can narrow down the #Toyota #Highlander model year used to terrorize the Harris Walz campaign field office in Tempe. pic.twitter.com/43QGOY85vY
— Liane Yvkoff (@yvkoff) October 12, 2024
According to other reports, Lauren Kuby, a state Senate candidate in Legislative District 8, confirmed that they moved the office to an undisclosed location out of an abundance of caution.
Notably, the latest shooting incident came just days before First Lady Jill Biden and former President Barack Obama are expected in the state to campaign for VP Harris.
Police said two other shooting incidents -- possibly with a gun or BB gun -- caused damage to the building. Those incidents occurred in late September.
The police department posted a message on X with a poster showing the type of vehicle, indicating that the suspect is wanted for "unlawful discharge of a firearm." Social media users weighed in.
"Probably a Jussie smollet type incident. Look for the one guy with a Kamala sign in their yard, bingo," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Sad this is what has happened in a country that used to be the most highly regarded democracy in the world."
The incidents are still under investigation and as of this writing, police have not announced any leads.
Barack Obama lectured black men for their reluctance to support Kamala Harris, saying "the brothers" have only one reason - misogyny - for not supporting a candidate who understands their "struggles."
Obama is launching a campaign blitz for Harris as the presidential election enters its home stretch, and Democrats fret her initial surge of "joy" is fading, placing Obama's entire legacy at risk.
Speaking to a crowd in Pittsburgh, Obama painted Harris as a compassionate defender of the working class - as he scolded men who find Trump's "bullying" appealing.
“I’m sorry, gentlemen, I noticed this, especially with some men who seem to think Trump’s behavior pulling and putting people down is a sign of strength,” he said. “And I am here to tell you that is not what real strength is.”
Prior to the speech, at a "Black Voters for Harris" event, Obama noted that Harris' support from the Democratic base is weakening, especially among "the brothers."
"We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities, as we saw when I was running,” Obama said.
“Now, I also want to say that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers,” Obama said.
Obama went on to scold black men for having "excuses" not to back Harris, whose female-centric, abortion-first campaign has struggled to appeal to men in general.
The former president said the choice for black men is clear, adding Harris understands their "struggles."
“[Y]ou’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses," Obama said. "I've got a problem with that."
Obama insisted the only reason black men are not flocking to vote for Harris is that she is a woman.
“Because part of it makes me think — and I’m speaking to men directly — part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president," he said.
A recent NAACP survey found that one in four black men under age 50 are supporting Trump, reflecting historically low support for Democrats from a core part of their base.
Trump relished Obama's comments on Truth Social, joking that Obama might vote for Trump too.
"Obama admits a total lack of enthusiasm for Kamala, especially with Black Men,” he wrote. “I think Obama will be voting for me because he doesn’t like the fact that Kamala is an extremely Low IQ Person!"
Former U.S. Senator Tim Johnson, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in South Dakota, died Tuesday night. He was 77.
The cause of death was complications from a stroke, the AP reported.
"Tim always quipped that neither the left, nor the right, had a monopoly on all of the good ideas, but that working together, we can find common ground for the good of our country,” Johnson’s family said in a news release. “In his work and life, Tim showed us never to give up.”
The news rocked Johnson's home state and Washington D.C., where Johnson worked for decades as a congressman and senator.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican, ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff in Johnson's honor.
"I worked with Tim Johnson and appreciated that his heart was for the people of South Dakota. He was a true servant. On behalf of the State of South Dakota, our prayers go out to his entire family," she said.
Johnson represented South Dakota's single congressional district from 1987 to 1997. He narrowly defeated Republican senator Larry Pressler in 1996.
Johnson never lost a race, although he came close in 2002 when about 500 votes separated him and Republican John Thune, who had succeeded Johnson in the House of Representatives.
Johnson was known for his bi-partisan streak, voting for restrictions on late-term abortion. He also prioritized infrastructure projects to deliver clean drinking water to South Dakotans, KELO-TV reported.
In 2006, Johnson had a brain hemorrhage that took him away from Washington for nine months. He returned to the Senate to a standing ovation.
In 2015, as South Dakota shifted to the right, Johnson retired from the Senate, citing the increasingly polarized climate in Washington.
The Canton, South Dakota native served in the state legislature and worked at his own law practice before coming to Washington.
Johnson's former rival, current Senate minority whip John Thune, called Johnson an advocate for rural America.
“Known for his tenacity and work ethic, Tim was a steadfast leader who dedicated his life to serving the people of South Dakota with integrity and compassion,” Thune said in a statement. “He fought tirelessly for rural America and leaves a legacy that will have a lasting impact for years to come.”
President Biden, who served in the Senate with Johnson for about a decade, issued a statement, saying Jonhson "always put South Dakotans first."
Jack Smith is taking a risk by prosecuting Donald Trump for communications with former vice president Mike Pence, according to a legal analyst.
Smith was forced to modify his January 6th indictment after the Supreme Court ruled in July that presidents have broad immunity for their "official acts."
In a stunning move that was widely seen as legally improper, Smith released a trove of evidence against Trump to the public last week.
While many see Smith as trying to interfere in the presidential election, the official purpose of his filing was to convince judge Tanya Chutkan that the charges against Trump can stand as "private acts" after the Supreme Court's immunity ruling.
While Smith removed some charges against Trump, he preserved many of the original allegations but characterized them as "private acts" of a presidential candidate.
Smith's efforts to retain some of the allegations against Trump have raised eyebrows. In particular, Smith has alleged that Trump's communications with his vice president, Mike Pence, constituted private acts.
The Pence allegations cut to the core of Smith's conspiracy narrative: that Trump pressured Pence to overturn the 2020 election results. But some legal analysts are skeptical that Smith's argument will fly.
Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, said he is skeptical that Judge Chutkan, and higher courts, will agree that Trump's conversations with his vice president were private rather than official conduct.
"Communications with Pence will be the hardest challenge for Smith, who has to persuade Chutkan and then higher courts that the conversations between the president and his running mate in this period are personal," Gillers said.
Trump's best chance of exoneration, however, likely depends not on the caprices of Judge Chutkan but the will of American voters.
Chutkan has been overwhelmingly favorable to Smith, so it appears quite possible that she would retain the Pence allegations, however legally groundless they may appear to outside observers.
It was Chutkan who allowed Smith to release 165 pages of evidence against Trump just weeks before the presidential election, in what has been widely criticized as a breach of legal norms.
Smith's filing has widely been condemned - not just by Trump, but by legal analysts across the political aisle - as an improper attempt to litigate the case in the court of public opinion and damage Trump's hopes of winning re-election, with a jury trial in doubt.
Smith is well aware that if President Trump wins the election, he could dismiss the case and tell Smith to pound sand.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stormed out of the briefing room Monday after Fox News' Peter Doocy asked a question she didn't like.
The dramatic scene unfolded as Doocy probed Jean-Pierre on the federal response to Hurricane Helene, which has left a trail of devastation in the southeastern U.S., especially western North Carolina.
In the wake of the deadly storm, the federal government has been accused of prioritizing illegal immigrants and foreign nations over Americans impacted by the hurricane.
During Monday's briefing, Doocy pressed Jean-Pierre on $157 million that the administration is sending to Lebanon, as the death toll from Helene rises past 230 and many remain missing.
Doocy asked why Biden has to urge Congress to authorize additional disaster aid when his administration has funds readily available for Lebanon.
The reporter asked what the discrepancy says about Biden's "values," but Jean-Pierre avoided the question and accused Doocy of spreading "misinformation" - a favorite catchphrase of liberals calling for censorship.
“Your whole premise of the question is misinformation, sir,” Jean-Pierre said.
“Excuse me?” Doocy shot back.
“Yes, yes, it’s misinformation,” she said. “I just mentioned to you that we provided more than $200 million to folks who are impacted in the area.”
As the shouting match continued, Doocy asked whether Joe Biden was spreading "misinformation" with his letter to Congress asking for additional disaster aid.
"No, the way you’re asking me the question is misinformation,” she told Doocy. “There is money that we are allocating to the impacted areas, and there’s money there to help people who truly need it.”
“You can’t call a question that you don’t like ‘misinformation,’” Doocy responded. “That’s very unfair.”
Despite claiming there is enough money to support the victims of Helene and Hurricane Milton, Jean-Pierre urged Congress to "do their job" and authorize more funding - before snapping her binder and storming off.
Jean-Pierre has long faced scrutiny for her labored - and often evasive - responses to questions from the press corps. At times, she has been known to storm out of the room when subjected to tough questioning.
At a different briefing last week, Jean-Pierre incorrectly stated that it is "false" that FEMA has given federal resources to support illegal migrants.
The administration - and the liberal media - have taken pains to point out that disaster relief money is separate from a $650 million FEMA program to support illegal immigrants. However, that hasn't stopped the administration's critics from questioning why FEMA aid is going toward migrants at all.
With just weeks left in his term, lame duck Joe Biden promoted Jean-Pierre to a senior adviser position on Monday.