Live updates: Trump to attend charity dinner, Harris campaigns in Wisconsin ahead of Election Day
Posted on 10/18/2024
Walz attacks Trump for refusing to back off false claims about migrants during rally featuring Bill Clinton
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz attacked former President Donald Trump for his recent remarks on immigration, telling supporters at a rally in Durham, North Carolina, on Thursday that Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, are putting immigrants “at risk” by spreading “disgusting, untrue” conspiracy theories about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colorado.
Walz referenced Trump’s refusal to back off the false conspiracy theory that Haitian migrants are eating pets in Springfield during a Wednesday night Univision town hall. Walz also attacked Trump for spreading conspiracy theories about immigrants and portrayed Trump and Vance as “outsiders” along the same lines Republicans have characterized the impact immigrants have on the country.
Walz attacked Vance for saying at a Pennsylvania rally on Wednesday that Trump did not lose the 2020 presidential election “not by the words I would use.” Walz said in that remark, Vance showed his “fealty” is to Trump, rather than the Constitution.
Walz introduced former President Bill Clinton at the rally, where he praised the 42nd president as “the comeback kid,” admired Clinton’s grasp of the political moment and thanked him for joining the campaign.
During his remarks, Clinton invoked Trump’s repeated criticism of his wife, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, for using a private email during her time as Secretary of State as he attacked Trump for promoting “conspiracy theories.”
Throughout his remarks, Clinton sought to draw the contrast between Harris and Trump, arguing Harris would be a more stable leader and offer more to middle-class families.
North Carolina reports strong early voting with more than 209,000 ballots cast so far
The North Carolina State Board of Elections says they are at 209,644 early voting ballots as of Thursday afternoon.
This isn’t a complete total — voting is ongoing and not all counties are reflected in this tally — so there isn’t an exact apples-to-apples comparison for previous years. But the numbers, as of late afternoon, suggest the state is on track to come close to (or potentially exceed) the 2020 early vote numbers.
The state election board is expected to report a more complete tally of today’s early vote numbers Friday morning.
Below are the numbers for the first full day of early voting, by year, for the past several federal elections, according to the state election board:
October 18, 2012: 166,617
October 23, 2014: 121,209
October 20, 2016: 165,947
October 17, 2018: 136,454
October 15, 2020: 348,599
October 20, 2022: 137,387
Harris blasts Trump for referring to January 6 as a “day of love”
Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday blasted former President Donald Trump for referring to January 6 as a “day of love.”
During a town hall hosted by Univision on Wednesday, Trump tried to downplay the severity of the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, claiming it was a “day of love” and that there was “nothing done wrong at all” on his part.
Harris continued to rail against Trump’s rhetoric and again called him “increasingly unstable and unhinged,” adding he “will stop at nothing to claim unchecked power for himself.”
In a pitch to Wisconsin voters, Harris hit Trump on a number of policy issues, including healthcare, his economic agenda and abortion rights. And she warned of the stakes of a second Trump term.
The vice president reminded voters that early voting begins in Wisconsin next Tuesday as she urged them to vote.
US "can’t afford" to extend Trump-era tax cuts without raising revenue, treasury secretary says
In a question-and-answer session following remarks Thursday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the Biden administration’s decision not to repeal Trump-era tariffs on China, telling the moderator: “I think the main reason for that is that we look to China to address the practices that were emphasized in the [Section] 301 action, which went to issues of unfair competition, and China really did not address any of those issues.”
Trump implemented sweeping tariffs on about $300 billion of Chinese-made products when he was in office. President Joe Biden has kept those tariffs in place and, after the US Trade Representative’s Office finished a multiyear review earlier this year, decided to increase some of the rates on about $15 billion of Chinese imports.
Yellen also offered a more direct swipe at some of the policies Trump has proposed on the campaign trail during Thursday’s event, including a pledge from Republicans to extend Trump-era tax cuts.
“I believe it’s important for our nation to have a responsible fiscal policy and to be on a sustainable fiscal path, and some of the proposals that have been put forward on the Republican side — and I should say I’m covered by the Hatch Act and want to be careful not to comment on electoral politics,” she said. “But, for example, the CBO has said that [extending tax cuts] would result in $5 trillion of additional deficits over the next 10 years, and I believe, unless that’s paid for in some way, that’s something that we just can’t afford.”
Vance says he might not prefer mail-in voting, but Republicans have to deal with "reality"
When asked to reconcile how the Trump campaign previously cast doubt on mail-in voting — but has since been pushing the method for voters in 2024 — Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said that while he might not prefer this type of voting, Republicans have to deal with “reality.”
As CNN previously reported, Pennsylvania overhauled its election law in 2019, which included allowing for earlier mail-in voting and lowering the barriers to vote by mail.
Without citing evidence, Vance claimed a “number of international organizations” have talked about “the fact that mail-in voting can sometimes introduce problems.”
“You’ve got to make sure that mail-in votes are properly — have a proper signature matching. You got to make sure the mail-in votes are properly tracked to a real registered voter. There are all these things that we can do, and the Republican Party is fighting every single day, not just for our own voters, but for everybody,” he said. Vance claimed Republicans “only want the legal ballots to count, not the illegal ballots.”
On the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s website, it states, “Voting by mail is safe and secure, and no evidence exists of widespread mail voting fraud in Pennsylvania.”
It also explicitly notes, “Pennsylvanians won’t always know the final results of all races on election night, and any changes in results that occur after election night are not evidence that an election is rigged.’”
Vance claims Trump wouldn’t use military force to target opponents after his "enemy from within" comments
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Donald Trump would not use the military to target people who oppose him in a potential second administration, after the former president recently suggested that he would use the military to handle the “enemy from within” on Election Day.
Trump on Fox News earlier this week described “the enemy within” as being worse than immigrants whom the former president has repeatedly attacked with dehumanizing rhetoric.
“I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people. Radical left lunatics,” he said, adding “I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”
Vance also said “everybody believes” those who committed acts of violence on January 6, 2021 “should be prosecuted,” but suggested that the media tends to forget about the riots and looting in the summer prior, referring to the unrest surrounding police brutality protests following the death of George Floyd.
On Wednesday, Trump continued to downplay the severity of the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, claiming it was a “day of love” and that there was “nothing done wrong at all” on his part.
In podcast interview, Trump says Zelensky should "never have let that war start"
Former President Donald Trump in a podcast aired Thursday tried to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and said he thought Zelensky “should never have let that war start.”
“I think Zelensky is one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen. Every time he comes in, we give him $100 billion,” Trump said on the PBD Podcast. “Who else got that kind of money in history? There’s never been. And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help him because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start. That war is a loser.” 10:26:37
More on Trump’s relationship with Putin and Zelenksy: Trump said earlier this week he wouldn’t comment on reporting by journalist Bob Woodward that he has spoken to Putin multiple times since leaving office but added, “If I did, it’s a smart thing.”
Trump has a long history of praising the Russian leader and when he was president, Trump went as far as to side with Putin over the US intelligence community over Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump met with Zelensky at Trump Tower in New York last month when the Ukrainian president was in the US for the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting came days after Trump criticized Zelensky’s handling of the war and claimed he “refuses to make a deal” amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. As he stood next to Zelensky, Trump said, “We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin.”
Polls open today for early voting in North Carolina. Here are key things to know
Early voting is underway on Thursday in pivotal swing state of North Carolina. Here’s what to know if you plan to go to the polls before Election Day:
Impact of Hurricane Helene damage: The North Carolina State Board of Elections website has updates about relocated polling places, how constituents can vote if they lost their identification in the storm and how displaced voters can request new absentee ballots.
No more grace period for mail ballots: Voters considering casting a ballot by mail should note that their ballots need to be received by 7:30 p.m. ET on Election Day.
New voter ID rules: Residents of the Tar Heel State will be required to present identification when they show up to vote.
Read the full story and visit CNN’s voter handbook to see how to vote in your area.
Vance says Harris "dipped and dodged questions" in Fox News interview
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Vice President Kamala Harris “couldn’t answer a direct question” and failed to acknowledge or explain her role in contributing to what he sees as failures of the Biden-Harris administration, including on the border, in her interview with Fox News Wednesday night.
Vance said Harris is trying to do a “bait and switch” by blaming former President Donald Trump for tanking a bipartisan border deal, which the Ohio senator claimed “wouldn’t have secured the border.”
“They came in saying they were going to undo Donald Trump’s border policy. They did that. The predictable consequences ensued. Admit that. Admit it. Admit that you guys screwed up and change course. Don’t blame it on Congress because you guys refused to do your job,” Vance said.
Vance also criticized Harris for pivoting to Trump when answering what she is “turning the page” from in her own campaign.
“She pretends that Donald Trump bears the responsibility for problems that happened while she was the sitting vice president,” Vance said.
Nikki Haley records robocall for Trump in closing weeks of campaign
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is lending her voice to support Donald Trump in the closing weeks of the campaign in a robocall that acknowledges her past disagreements with the former president but emphasizes the stakes of the upcoming election.
Haley, who was a GOP primary rival of Trump, goes on to praise the former president’s record on the economy, immigration, and foreign policy, drawing a stark contrast between his administration and that of Vice President Kamala Harris.
She accuses the Biden-Harris administration of presiding over “record inflation,” an “open border,” and weakening America’s global standing.
“I’m voting for Trump, for my family and for yours,” Haley urges, asking voters to support Trump on November 5.
The robocall was confirmed to CNN by Betsy Ankney, Haley’s former campaign manager, and two Trump campaign advisers. The Trump campaign declined to provide further details on the call.
The call comes after the former US ambassador to the United Nations endorsed Trump at the Republican National Convention after clashing with him during the primary campaign in which she sought to present herself as a more moderate alternative within the GOP.
CNN’s Alayna Treene contributed reporting to this post.
Harris will campaign across Wisconsin today. Here's what is on her agenda in the key battleground state
Vice President Kamala Harris will make campaign stops in Milwaukee, La Crosse and Green Bay, Wisconsin on Thursday as she continues to campaign across Blue Wall states, according to a campaign official.
Harris will first stop by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she will drop by a business class while on campus and outline her economic agenda as she meets with students.
The vice president will then travel to La Crosse where she will hold a rally at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in an effort to engage young voters. Harris will wrap up her day with a rally in Green Bay, alongside Wisconsin leaders.
Harris’ team is touting their ground game in the Badger State, with over 250 coordinated staffers and more than 50 offices across the state, according to the campaign.
Why this state is key: Wisconsin, Michigan, and above all Pennsylvania have been a top priority for both Harris and former President Donald Trump – just as they have in seemingly every recent presidential election.
Trump won the presidency in 2016 by stunning Democrat Hillary Clinton to win all three states by a combined margin of about 80,000 votes. President Joe Biden won back the White House in 2020 by recapturing all three states by a combined margin of around 260,000 votes.
Read more about the importance of these three states in presidential elections.
CNN’s Ronald Brownstein contributed reporting to this post.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz attacked former President Donald Trump for his recent remarks on immigration, telling supporters at a rally in Durham, North Carolina, on Thursday that Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, are putting immigrants “at risk” by spreading “disgusting, untrue” conspiracy theories about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colorado.
Walz referenced Trump’s refusal to back off the false conspiracy theory that Haitian migrants are eating pets in Springfield during a Wednesday night Univision town hall. Walz also attacked Trump for spreading conspiracy theories about immigrants and portrayed Trump and Vance as “outsiders” along the same lines Republicans have characterized the impact immigrants have on the country.
Walz attacked Vance for saying at a Pennsylvania rally on Wednesday that Trump did not lose the 2020 presidential election “not by the words I would use.” Walz said in that remark, Vance showed his “fealty” is to Trump, rather than the Constitution.
Walz introduced former President Bill Clinton at the rally, where he praised the 42nd president as “the comeback kid,” admired Clinton’s grasp of the political moment and thanked him for joining the campaign.
During his remarks, Clinton invoked Trump’s repeated criticism of his wife, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, for using a private email during her time as Secretary of State as he attacked Trump for promoting “conspiracy theories.”
Throughout his remarks, Clinton sought to draw the contrast between Harris and Trump, arguing Harris would be a more stable leader and offer more to middle-class families.
North Carolina reports strong early voting with more than 209,000 ballots cast so far
The North Carolina State Board of Elections says they are at 209,644 early voting ballots as of Thursday afternoon.
This isn’t a complete total — voting is ongoing and not all counties are reflected in this tally — so there isn’t an exact apples-to-apples comparison for previous years. But the numbers, as of late afternoon, suggest the state is on track to come close to (or potentially exceed) the 2020 early vote numbers.
The state election board is expected to report a more complete tally of today’s early vote numbers Friday morning.
Below are the numbers for the first full day of early voting, by year, for the past several federal elections, according to the state election board:
October 18, 2012: 166,617
October 23, 2014: 121,209
October 20, 2016: 165,947
October 17, 2018: 136,454
October 15, 2020: 348,599
October 20, 2022: 137,387
Harris blasts Trump for referring to January 6 as a “day of love”
Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday blasted former President Donald Trump for referring to January 6 as a “day of love.”
During a town hall hosted by Univision on Wednesday, Trump tried to downplay the severity of the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, claiming it was a “day of love” and that there was “nothing done wrong at all” on his part.
Harris continued to rail against Trump’s rhetoric and again called him “increasingly unstable and unhinged,” adding he “will stop at nothing to claim unchecked power for himself.”
In a pitch to Wisconsin voters, Harris hit Trump on a number of policy issues, including healthcare, his economic agenda and abortion rights. And she warned of the stakes of a second Trump term.
The vice president reminded voters that early voting begins in Wisconsin next Tuesday as she urged them to vote.
US "can’t afford" to extend Trump-era tax cuts without raising revenue, treasury secretary says
In a question-and-answer session following remarks Thursday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the Biden administration’s decision not to repeal Trump-era tariffs on China, telling the moderator: “I think the main reason for that is that we look to China to address the practices that were emphasized in the [Section] 301 action, which went to issues of unfair competition, and China really did not address any of those issues.”
Trump implemented sweeping tariffs on about $300 billion of Chinese-made products when he was in office. President Joe Biden has kept those tariffs in place and, after the US Trade Representative’s Office finished a multiyear review earlier this year, decided to increase some of the rates on about $15 billion of Chinese imports.
Yellen also offered a more direct swipe at some of the policies Trump has proposed on the campaign trail during Thursday’s event, including a pledge from Republicans to extend Trump-era tax cuts.
“I believe it’s important for our nation to have a responsible fiscal policy and to be on a sustainable fiscal path, and some of the proposals that have been put forward on the Republican side — and I should say I’m covered by the Hatch Act and want to be careful not to comment on electoral politics,” she said. “But, for example, the CBO has said that [extending tax cuts] would result in $5 trillion of additional deficits over the next 10 years, and I believe, unless that’s paid for in some way, that’s something that we just can’t afford.”
Vance says he might not prefer mail-in voting, but Republicans have to deal with "reality"
When asked to reconcile how the Trump campaign previously cast doubt on mail-in voting — but has since been pushing the method for voters in 2024 — Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said that while he might not prefer this type of voting, Republicans have to deal with “reality.”
As CNN previously reported, Pennsylvania overhauled its election law in 2019, which included allowing for earlier mail-in voting and lowering the barriers to vote by mail.
Without citing evidence, Vance claimed a “number of international organizations” have talked about “the fact that mail-in voting can sometimes introduce problems.”
“You’ve got to make sure that mail-in votes are properly — have a proper signature matching. You got to make sure the mail-in votes are properly tracked to a real registered voter. There are all these things that we can do, and the Republican Party is fighting every single day, not just for our own voters, but for everybody,” he said. Vance claimed Republicans “only want the legal ballots to count, not the illegal ballots.”
On the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s website, it states, “Voting by mail is safe and secure, and no evidence exists of widespread mail voting fraud in Pennsylvania.”
It also explicitly notes, “Pennsylvanians won’t always know the final results of all races on election night, and any changes in results that occur after election night are not evidence that an election is rigged.’”
Vance claims Trump wouldn’t use military force to target opponents after his "enemy from within" comments
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Donald Trump would not use the military to target people who oppose him in a potential second administration, after the former president recently suggested that he would use the military to handle the “enemy from within” on Election Day.
Trump on Fox News earlier this week described “the enemy within” as being worse than immigrants whom the former president has repeatedly attacked with dehumanizing rhetoric.
“I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people. Radical left lunatics,” he said, adding “I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”
Vance also said “everybody believes” those who committed acts of violence on January 6, 2021 “should be prosecuted,” but suggested that the media tends to forget about the riots and looting in the summer prior, referring to the unrest surrounding police brutality protests following the death of George Floyd.
On Wednesday, Trump continued to downplay the severity of the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, claiming it was a “day of love” and that there was “nothing done wrong at all” on his part.
In podcast interview, Trump says Zelensky should "never have let that war start"
Former President Donald Trump in a podcast aired Thursday tried to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and said he thought Zelensky “should never have let that war start.”
“I think Zelensky is one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen. Every time he comes in, we give him $100 billion,” Trump said on the PBD Podcast. “Who else got that kind of money in history? There’s never been. And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help him because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start. That war is a loser.” 10:26:37
More on Trump’s relationship with Putin and Zelenksy: Trump said earlier this week he wouldn’t comment on reporting by journalist Bob Woodward that he has spoken to Putin multiple times since leaving office but added, “If I did, it’s a smart thing.”
Trump has a long history of praising the Russian leader and when he was president, Trump went as far as to side with Putin over the US intelligence community over Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump met with Zelensky at Trump Tower in New York last month when the Ukrainian president was in the US for the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting came days after Trump criticized Zelensky’s handling of the war and claimed he “refuses to make a deal” amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. As he stood next to Zelensky, Trump said, “We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin.”
Polls open today for early voting in North Carolina. Here are key things to know
Early voting is underway on Thursday in pivotal swing state of North Carolina. Here’s what to know if you plan to go to the polls before Election Day:
Impact of Hurricane Helene damage: The North Carolina State Board of Elections website has updates about relocated polling places, how constituents can vote if they lost their identification in the storm and how displaced voters can request new absentee ballots.
No more grace period for mail ballots: Voters considering casting a ballot by mail should note that their ballots need to be received by 7:30 p.m. ET on Election Day.
New voter ID rules: Residents of the Tar Heel State will be required to present identification when they show up to vote.
Read the full story and visit CNN’s voter handbook to see how to vote in your area.
Vance says Harris "dipped and dodged questions" in Fox News interview
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Vice President Kamala Harris “couldn’t answer a direct question” and failed to acknowledge or explain her role in contributing to what he sees as failures of the Biden-Harris administration, including on the border, in her interview with Fox News Wednesday night.
Vance said Harris is trying to do a “bait and switch” by blaming former President Donald Trump for tanking a bipartisan border deal, which the Ohio senator claimed “wouldn’t have secured the border.”
“They came in saying they were going to undo Donald Trump’s border policy. They did that. The predictable consequences ensued. Admit that. Admit it. Admit that you guys screwed up and change course. Don’t blame it on Congress because you guys refused to do your job,” Vance said.
Vance also criticized Harris for pivoting to Trump when answering what she is “turning the page” from in her own campaign.
“She pretends that Donald Trump bears the responsibility for problems that happened while she was the sitting vice president,” Vance said.
Nikki Haley records robocall for Trump in closing weeks of campaign
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is lending her voice to support Donald Trump in the closing weeks of the campaign in a robocall that acknowledges her past disagreements with the former president but emphasizes the stakes of the upcoming election.
Haley, who was a GOP primary rival of Trump, goes on to praise the former president’s record on the economy, immigration, and foreign policy, drawing a stark contrast between his administration and that of Vice President Kamala Harris.
She accuses the Biden-Harris administration of presiding over “record inflation,” an “open border,” and weakening America’s global standing.
“I’m voting for Trump, for my family and for yours,” Haley urges, asking voters to support Trump on November 5.
The robocall was confirmed to CNN by Betsy Ankney, Haley’s former campaign manager, and two Trump campaign advisers. The Trump campaign declined to provide further details on the call.
The call comes after the former US ambassador to the United Nations endorsed Trump at the Republican National Convention after clashing with him during the primary campaign in which she sought to present herself as a more moderate alternative within the GOP.
CNN’s Alayna Treene contributed reporting to this post.
Harris will campaign across Wisconsin today. Here's what is on her agenda in the key battleground state
Vice President Kamala Harris will make campaign stops in Milwaukee, La Crosse and Green Bay, Wisconsin on Thursday as she continues to campaign across Blue Wall states, according to a campaign official.
Harris will first stop by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she will drop by a business class while on campus and outline her economic agenda as she meets with students.
The vice president will then travel to La Crosse where she will hold a rally at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in an effort to engage young voters. Harris will wrap up her day with a rally in Green Bay, alongside Wisconsin leaders.
Harris’ team is touting their ground game in the Badger State, with over 250 coordinated staffers and more than 50 offices across the state, according to the campaign.
Why this state is key: Wisconsin, Michigan, and above all Pennsylvania have been a top priority for both Harris and former President Donald Trump – just as they have in seemingly every recent presidential election.
Trump won the presidency in 2016 by stunning Democrat Hillary Clinton to win all three states by a combined margin of about 80,000 votes. President Joe Biden won back the White House in 2020 by recapturing all three states by a combined margin of around 260,000 votes.
Read more about the importance of these three states in presidential elections.
CNN’s Ronald Brownstein contributed reporting to this post.
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