Live Updates
By Shania Shelton and Serena Golden, CNN
Updated 1:22 PM EDT, Sat October 26, 2024
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Hear Trump’s apology for arriving almost 3 hours late to rally
02:24 - Source: CNN
What we're covering
• On the trail: Former President Donald Trump will rally in the battlegrounds of Michigan and Pennsylvania on Saturday. Kamala Harris will campaign tonight with Michelle Obama, who’s set to rally with the vice president for the first time at an event promoting voter turnout in Michigan.
• A tied race:Harris and Trump remain locked in a tight contest with 47% of likely voters supporting each candidate,a new CNN poll finds. Election Day is just 10 days away.
•What to know before you cast your vote:Withearly voting underwayin several states, readCNN’s voter handbookto see how to vote in your area, and read up on the2024 candidates and their proposals on key issues. Sendus your questions about the election here.
10 Posts
Vance on Chinese hackers targeting phone: "I've heard that they did it," which "sucks"
From CNN's Kate Sullivan in AtlantaRepublican vice presidential candidate JD Vance speaks at a campaign rally in Atlanta on October 26.
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance acknowledgedthat Chinese government hackers have targetedhis and former President Trump’s phones, arguing China is trying to prevent a Trump victory.
CNN reported Friday that Chinese hackers also targeted people affiliated with the Harris-Walz campaign and senior Biden campaign officials. But Vance said he believes the hack demonstrates that China views Trump as a stronger leader.
“What it shows is that the Chinese recognize that Kamala Harris provides weak leadership and Donald Trump provides strong leadership, so they’re trying to do everything they can to prevent Trump from getting back in the White House,” Vance said.
Harris will meet with healthcare providers in Michigan on Saturday ahead of rally, campaign says
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg and Ali MainVice President Kamala Harris is expected to meet with healthcare providers ahead of her Kalamazoo, Michigan rally, her campaign said Saturday. She plans to make a stop at a doctor’s office in Portage, Michigan where she is expected to meet with both healthcare providers and medical students, the campaign added.
The vice president’s visit Saturday to a doctor’s office is part of her campaign’s larger push in the final 10 days of the election to lean into her abortion rights message. Harris’ events Saturday come on the heels of her Houston rally — where she warned voters across the country that Texas-style abortion bans would end up in their states ifDonald Trumpreturns to the White House.
Harris has long been the administration’s voice on abortion rights. She became the first sitting US president or vice president is to visit an abortion provider when she traveled to a Planned Parenthood in March of this year, before she became the party’s 2024 presidential nominee.
The vice president will be joined by former first lady Michelle Obama at her Kalamazoo, Michigan rally, where both are expected to speak at around 5 p.m. ET. Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Sen. Gary Peters are both expected to appear at the rally, per the campaign.
The battleground state of Michigan voted to codify abortion access in its constitution in 2022, in an election that also yielded major Democratic wins across the state.
These Republicans think voting against Trump could save the GOP
From CNN's John KingMichael Pesce is conservative in the truest sense of the word.
He speaks with an economy of words. He holds himself to a high standard but prefers not to judge others. He gets through tasks methodically, wasting no time or energy —even when enjoying his hobbies.
Pesce is a hunter, and Pennsylvania deer season overlaps with election season. Archery hunting is open now, with a rifle hunting period set to open in November. So Pesce stopped by the ranges at a state park recently to check his gear.
“Hunting season is starting,” Pesce said. “That’s more important than any election for a lot of people.”
Pesce’s conservative principles tell him he can never vote for Donald Trump. And they tell him he has to vote for Harris, to try to keep Trump out of the White House, even though Pesce doesn’t like surprises and does not believe the vice president has clearly laid out a governing vision.
“That’s the scary part,” Pesce said. “I am not voting for a candidate. I’m not voting for a policy. I’m voting against a candidate and policies, and not even all the policies. Just, you know, the unstableness. Some of the things he says are truly scary.”
Pesce is part of ourAll Over The Map project, an effort to track the 2024 campaign through the eyes and experiences of voters who live in key battlegrounds and are part of potentially decisive voting blocs.
Read more Republicans’ stories here.
Harris ignores shouted questions on Iran and Musk as she departs Houston
From CNN's Betsy KleinVice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two in Houston, on Saturday, October 26.
Vice President Kamala Harris ignored shouted questions from reporters on Israel’s strikes on Iran and Elon Musk’s conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin Sunday morning as she departed Houston.
Harris arrived to applause on the tarmac from a group of supporters and staff, posing for a photo before climbing the steps to Air Force Two. She waved at the top.
Harris is en route to Michigan, where she will tape an interview with CBS News and rally supporters alongside former first lady Michelle Obama in Kalamazoo.
Trump says he’s open to eliminating income taxes as he pushes sweeping tariff proposal on Joe Rogan podcast
From CNN's Kate SullivanFormer President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference on October 25 in Austin, Texas.
Former President Donald Trump said on Joe Rogan’s podcast Friday that he would be open to eliminating income taxes, while pushing his sweeping tariff proposal and praising the economic policies of the late 19th century.
While talking about tariffs, Trump was asked by Rogan, “Did you just float out the idea of getting rid of income taxes and replacing it with tariffs?”
“Well, OK,” Trump said during the interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Rogan asked, “Were you serious about that?”
“Yeah, sure. Why not?” the former president said. “Because, we, ready, our country was the richest in the, relatively, in the 1880s and 1890s. A president who was assassinated named McKinley — he was the tariff king. He spoke beautifully of tariffs.
“And then around in the early 1900s, they switched over stupidly to frankly an income tax. And you know why? Because countries were putting a lot of pressure on America: ‘We don’t want to pay tariffs, please don’t.’ You know they, believe me, they control our politicians,” Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly said he plans to impose an across-the-board tariff of either 10% or 20% on every import coming into the US, as well as a tariff upward of 60% on all Chinese imports, in a bid to encourage American manufacturing.
Read more about Trump on Rogan’s podcast.
Harris will blitz in Philadelphia area Sunday with church, restaurant and basketball stops
From CNN's Betsy KleinVice President Kamala Harris will blitz the Philadelphia area Sunday with a number of campaign stops targeting key coalitions in the City of Brotherly Love.
Harris will focus on the city’s Black and Latino neighborhoods as she makes a push for voter turnout that could be critical to her margins in battleground Pennsylvania, where a tight race is expected.
She will attend service and deliver remarks at a Black church in West Philadelphia and visit with young Black men at a barbershop in the area, a senior Harris campaign official said.
The vice president will also travel to North Philadelphia, where she will stop by a local Puerto Rican restaurant, and will meet with families at a youth basketball facility in the northwest part of the city, according to the official.
The official cast the Sunday stops as both intimate and interactive, signaling the way Harris is engaging with Black and Latino voters in the final days of her campaign.
With just over a week to go before Election Day, the Harris campaign is canvassing across the commonwealth, volunteers knocking on doors on her behalf. For her part, Harris has visited Pennsylvania 14 times since launching her campaign in July, including seven visits to the Philadelphia area, per the official.
Democrats have outspent Republicans in TV advertising since Harris launched her campaign
From CNN's David WrightandAlex Leeds MatthewsDemocrats have outspent Republicans in TV advertising for the presidential raceby wide marginsin key swing states over the three months since Vice PresidentKamala Harrislaunched her campaign,buoyed byrecord-breaking grassroots fundraising and outside groups funded by deep-pocketed donors.
That’s set to change, however, in the final stretch of the campaign. According to a CNN analysis of AdImpact data covering spending and TV reservations from October 22 through Election Day, Republicans are poised to seize the edge in a few important battlegrounds asDonald Trump’s campaign and hisown wealthy supporterscounter with a late surge.
A focus on Pennsylvania: Through it all, Pennsylvania has loomed large as the top target for both sides: The commonwealth alone has accounted for roughly 22% of all ad buys during the condensed general election matchup, including bookings through Election Day. (Advertising from both sides over the 15 weeks sincePresident Joe Bidendropped out, including future reservations, has crossed $2 billion.)
Harris and Trump, along with their respective allies, have identified Pennsylvania as the premier battleground of the election, spending more there than in any other state. In fact, the Keystone State saw about $100 million more in advertising than the second-ranked state, Michigan. Democrats have outspent Republicans in Pennsylvania by about $37 million over the past three months.
Underscoring that status, both sides have been running campaign ads tailored to court Pennsylvania voters. Harris’ campaign has produced multiple spots featuringPhiladelphianstoutingher appeal, while Trump’s campaign has run adshighlightingthe state’s lucrative fracking industry.
Read more on the advertising in key swing states.
How a ruling on a Mississippi voting law could have national implications
From CNN's Tierney SneedA panel of three judges appointed by former President Donald Trump ruled Friday that Mississippi wasviolating federal law by counting mail ballotsthat arrive afterElection Day.
While the court stopped short of blocking the policy before the election, thedecision could nevertheless impact voting-related lawsuitsthis fall.
Here’s what to know:
Divided reactions: Theruling from the 5thUS CircuitCourt of Appealsis a victory for the Republican National Committee and others who brought the case in Mississippi — a non-battleground state with very little mail-in voting — hoping for a consequential ruling bya far-right circuit courtfriendly to their arguments.
Democrats and voting rights advocates fear that a ruling in Republicans’ favor will be used to boost challenges to late-arriving ballots in other states, which could make the difference if the margins are right in key races.
Key states have similar laws: Among the states that allow for late-arriving ballots are Nevada, Ohio and Virginia, as does Maryland, the site of a competitive Senate race.
California and New York also allow post-election ballot receipt — both states that could make a major difference in which party controls the House.
What happens next: The 5thCircuit’s ruling is only binding on the three Southern states covered by the circuit, and for now, the panel is not ordering that the policy be blocked in Mississippi for the current election, instead sending the case down for more proceedings.
Judge Andrew Oldham, joined by Judges James Ho and Kyle Duncan, instructed the lower court to give “due consideration to ‘the value of preserving the status quo in a voting case on the eve of an election’” as it considered the next steps in the case.
The upshot: Even as the ruling has no immediate effect on the coming election, it could help propel any legal challenges that Republicans seek to bring against any of the roughly other 20 states and jurisdictions that count ballots that arrived after Election Day.
Harris embraces Beyoncé in abortion rights-focused Texas rally
From CNN's Gregory Krieg,Priscilla AlvarezandKaanita IyerVice President Kamala Harris, left, and Beyoncé embrace on stage during a campaign rally on October 25 in Houston.
Vice President Kamala Harris, afterbeing endorsed and embraced onstagein Houston by music superstar Beyoncé, warned voters across the country Friday night that Texas-style abortion bans would end up in their states ifDonald Trumpreturns to the White House.
Harris has leaned hard into her abortion rights message in the final days of the campaign, amplifying the stories of women affected by the state-level restrictions that followed the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. Texas was chosen as the location for the rally, campaign officials said earlier, because of its harsh abortion ban.
“Know this,” Harris said, addressing a national audience. “If you think you are protected from Trump abortion bans because you live in Michigan or Pennsylvania or Nevada or New York or California, or any state where voters or legislators have protected reproductive freedom, please know: No one is protected if there is a Trump national abortion ban.”
Beyoncé, whose song “Freedom” is played at Harris rallies, made a rare appearance at the event. After being introduced by her mother, the Houston native — joined onstage by former Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland — said the country was on the “brink of history.”
“I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician,” said the singer, who did not perform Friday. “I’m here as a mother.”
Read more on Harris’ Texas rally.
Here’s what the candidates will be up to today
From CNN staffFormer President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
There are just 10 days to go until Election Day, with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump bringing out some of their top surrogates for a final dash through swing states.
Here’s what we know about each campaign’s plans on a busy Saturday:
Harris: The vice president is expected to hold a joint rally with former first lady Michelle Obama in Kalamazoo, Michigan, this evening, where they will encourage voter turnout.
This marks Michelle Obama’s first time out on the campaign trail this election cycle and her first joint rally with Harris. Saturday is the first day of early voting statewide in Michigan.
Trump: The former president is expected to hold a noon rally in Novi, Michigan, before delivering remarks at another rally scheduled for late afternoon in State College, Pennsylvania, the home of Penn State University.
The dual rallies come in a pair of pivotal “blue wall” states that could be the key to the election.
Tim Walz: The Democratic vice presidential nominee is expected to travel to Window Rock and Phoenix, Arizona, to campaign on behalf of the Harris-Walz ticket.
JD Vance: Donald Trump’s running mate is expected to hold a town hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, marking appearances for both members of the Republican ticket in the Keystone State on Saturday.
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