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Trump claims he’s ‘opposite of a Nazi’ amid racist joke fallout ahead of press conference: Election live updates

Donald Trump to host latest Mar-a-Lago media event on Tuesday before Kamala Harris speaks in Washington DC at site of his ‘fight like hell’ speech prior to the Capitol riot

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With just a week left in the 2024 US presidential election cycle, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are making their final pitches to voters across the country, particularly the battleground states.

On Monday, Trump was in Atlanta, Georgia, where he denied being a Nazi while continuing to spew hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric and took a swipe at former first lady Michelle Obama, saying she had been “nasty” to him in recent criticisms and ominously warning she had made “a big mistake” by doing so.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen stumped for Harris in Philadelphia, with the 44th president taking aim at his Republican successor’s Madison Square Garden rally in New York and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s racist joke about Puerto Rico.

In a possible setback for the Democrat, it has emerged that she was caught on a hot mic over the weekend discussing the race with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and admitting: “We need to move ground among men.”

Trump will host another press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday before the Vice President delivers a “closing argument” at the Ellipse in Washington DC, the site of his notorious “fight like hell” speech on January 6 2021.

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Michael Bloomberg belatedly donating $50m to Harris

The former New York City mayor has reportedly been under “extraordinary pressure” and “months of arm-twisting” from his fellow billionaires like Bill Gates and Reid Hoffman to donate to the Democratic campaign, according to The New York Times, and has now finally done so, paying out to the Future Forward USA Action PAC after speaking privately to Kamala by phone.

“Bloomberg’s decision conforms to a strategy that has become his trademark: Confounding Democratic operatives by refusing to make early investments – only to come in hot and heavy in the homestretch,” the NYT observes.

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 12:50

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‘Appalled’ Archbishop of San Juan demands apology over comedian’s Trump rally joke about Puerto Rico

One person who is not letting Hinchcliffe off the hook so easily is Roberto Octavio Gonzalez Nieves, who has written an open letter to the Republican presidential nominee expressing his shock and anger at the comic’s cruel joke at his island’s expense.

“I enjoy a good joke. However, humor has it’s limits,” Nieves wrote to Trump.

“It should not insult or denigrate the dignity and sacredness of people. Hinchcliffe’s remarks do not only provoke sinister laughter but hatred. These kinds of remarks do not have a place in society founded upon ‘liberty and justice for all.’”

The archbishop said that Puerto Rico “is a beautiful country” and pointed out that “more Puerto Rican soldiers died in the Vietnam War as part of the United States military than soldiers from any state in the United States.”

He continued: “Hinchcliffe’s remarks do not promote a climate of equality, fraternity and good will among and for all women and men of every race, color and way of life which is the foundation of the American dream. These kinds of remarks should not be a part of the political discourse of a civilized society.”

Nieves then called on Trump to personally “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.”

Here’s Io Dodds on how the outcry might have been even worse had Hinchcliffe been allowed to say exactly what he wanted to about Kamala Harris.

The ‘red flag’ joke that was too far for Trump rally comic who insulted Puerto Rico

Reports say campaign staff nixed a foul-mouthed barb aimed at Kamala Harris from the stand-up’s Madison Square Garden routine

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 12:30

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Vance says he’s ‘so over’ people getting offended at racist jokes in defense of MSG rally comedian

Trump’s running mate says the uproar over Tony Hinchcliffe’s Puerto Rico gag is symptomatic of people “getting so offended at every little thing in the United States of America” and advises we all just “take a chill pill”, rather than engage with the hateful rhetoric being spouted on behalf of the campaign he represents.

Rhian Lubin reports.

JD Vance is ‘so over’ people getting offended at racist jokes amid Hinchcliffe row

The Ohio senator weighed in on the widespread backlash to Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke about Puerto Rico

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 12:10

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Listen: Harris appears to get caught on hot mic admitting campaign struggle

Kamala was in the Trak Houz Bar and Grill in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with that state’s governor Gretchen Whitmer when the leak in question took place, with the VP overheard to admit: “We need to move ground among men.”

Listen: Kamala Harris appears to be caught on hot mic admitting campaign struggle

Kamala Harris appeared to be caught in a hot mic moment admitting a campaign struggle as she spoke to Gretchen Whitmer over the weekend. On Saturday (26 October), the vice president visited Trak Houz Bar and Grill in Kalamazoo with the Governor of Michigan. The pair chatted to patrons before sitting down at the bar together when Ms Harris appeared to say in a low voice: “We need to move ground among men.” Ms Harris and Ms Whitmer then turned to face the camera before the Democratic presidential candidate said: “Oh, we have microphones and listening to everything. “We just told all the family secrets, s***.”

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 11:50

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Watch: Trump tells faith summit why he doesn’t drink

At the same event, the nominee also reflected on his lifelong abstinence from booze, recalling the sad death of his brother Fred, which was dramatised in the recent film The Apprentice.

Donald Trump reveals real reason he doesn’t drink alcohol

Donald Trump has opened up about the real reason he doesn’t drink alcohol. The former US president and Republican presidential candidate revealed his older brother Freddy, who died at the age of 43 in 1981, was an alcoholic. Speaking to the National Faith Advisory Board at the Inaugural National Faith Summit in Powder Springs on Monday (28 October), Trump said: “I had a brother who was a great guy, but he had an alcohol problem. “It’s a hard problem to cure and I’ve never had a glass because of him.” Trump added: “I think I have the type of personality where I probably would have a problem.”

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 11:30

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Watch: Trump bizarrely claims he was shot because God wanted him to win election

The Republican was speaking at the Inaugural National Faith Summit in Powder Springs, Georgia, yesterday, an event compered by his former White House spiritual advisor Paula White (known for speaking in tongues) at which he did his best Elmer Gantry act, pretending to reflect piously on his brush with death this summer in the hope of tying up those Christian votes.

Trump bizarrely claims he was shot because God wanted him to win election

Donald Trump bizarrely claimed he was shot because God wanted him to win the presidential election. The former US president and Republican presidential candidate made his remarks to the National Faith Advisory Board at the Inaugural National Faith Summit in Powder Springs on Monday (28 October). Speaking about the assassination attempt on his life at the Butler rally in Pennsylvania, Trump told the crowd: “I would like to think it’s because he [God] wants our country and maybe the world to be helped. Now we have to win the election.”

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 11:10

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Truth Social: Trump warns of mail-in voting fraud in Pennsylvania, attacks Fox for covering Harris and rebukes sidelining of Biden

Over in the Republican’s seething social media swamp, he’s been getting his election denials in early, attacking Fox News for daring to cover the Democratic ticket and shedding crocodile tears for Joe Biden.

Also in the Magaverse, his son Barron Trump’s closest pal found himself brutally fact-checked on Elon Musk’s X over his false claim about the capacity of Madison Square Garden.

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 10:50

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Where are the candidates campaigning on Tuesday?

Here’s where the main players will be today:

Kamala Harris will deliver her “closing argument” at the Ellipse in Washington DC this evening, the same site where Trump gave his notorious speech telling his supporters to “fight like hell” on January 6 2021, kicking off the Capitol riot.

Tim Walz will be appearing in Columbus, Georgia.

Michelle Obama will be stumping for Harris again, this time in College Park in Atlanta, Georgia.

Joe Biden will be in Baltimore, Maryland.

Bill Clinton, John Fetterman and Joe Walsh will be speaking in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Doug Emhoff will be in Savanah, Georgia, and then at the University of Nevada.

Gwen Walz will be speaking in Phoenix, Arizona.

Donald Trump will deliver another of his meandering press conferences at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, before taking part in a roundtable in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, this afternoon and then a rally at Allentown in the same state.

JD Vance is speaking at rallies in Sagniaw and Holland in Michigan.

Melania Trump will be making a guest appearance on Fox and Friends this morning.

Robert F Kennedy Jr and Tulsi Gabbard will be together in Madison, Wisconsin.

Lara Trump will be speaking in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 10:30

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Harris pledges to free American hostages from Gaza and fight for democracy

The Democratic presidential nominee herself was speaking in Ann Arbor, Michigan, last night alongside running mate Tim Walz and singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers and pledged to do “everything in her power” to free American hostages still being held more than a year on from October 7.

Drawing a contrast with her White House rival, she told her audience: “We are not about the enemy within. We know we are all in this together. That’s what we are fighting for.”

The Vice President was also on CBS yesterday and had this appropriately withering response to Norah O’Donnell’s naivety on Trump’s Project 2025 denials:

Here’s Andrew Feinberg with news of the “closing argument” she intends to make to the American people at the Ellipse in Washington DC this evening.

Harris will call Trump unfit to serve in closing speech, campaign official says

Harris will deliver her ‘closing argument’ to voters at a rally in Washington, DC at the same place where Trump fomented a violent mob nearly four years ago

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 10:10

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Barack Obama rebukes Trump for ‘racist, sexist, bigoted’ Madison Square Garden rally

In the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen spoke on Harris’s behalf in Philadelphia on Monday evening.

The 44th president took aim at his Republican successor’s Madison Square Garden rally in New York on Sunday where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe drew fire for a racist joke, commenting: “The man holds this rally and the warm up speakers were peddling the most racist, sexist, bigoted stereotypes.

“One guy called Puerto Rico an ’island of garbage.’ These are fellow citizens he’s talking about... If somebody doesn’t respect you, you should not vote for them.”

He also cautioned Arab Americans against voting for Trump as a protest over the Biden administration’s failure to stop the war in Gaza while The Boss played the hits and again branded Trump “an American tyrant” in waiting.

Joe Sommerlad29 October 2024 09:50

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