Election 2024 highlights: Harris and Walz to sit for their first campaign interview; Trump indicted again in election case (2024)

Vance to address firefighters union this week, after Walz

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be unable to remove himself from the ballots in the key swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin, election officials confirmed today, days after heended his independent presidential campaign and endorsedTrump.

Kennedy is on the ballot in Michigan as a candidate for theNatural Law Party, which nominated him at its convention this year. Cheri Hardmon, a spokesperson for the Michigan secretary of state’s office, confirmed that “minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election.”

In Wisconsin, the state election commissionmet todayto certify ballot access for presidential and vice presidential candidates. Even though Kennedy asked to withdraw his nomination petition as an independent candidate, the commission voted to decline the request, according to an archived video of the proceedingspublished by WisconsinEye, a nonprofit public affairs network.

Read the full story here.

The gunman who tried to assassinate Trumplast month gained access to the roof he fired from by getting atop an air-conditioning unit, a source briefed on the investigation into the shooting told NBC News today.

Trump was shot in the ear on July 13 during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a rallygoer was killed and two others were wounded before a Secret Service countersniper shot and killed the 20-year-old gunman.

The source said video recorded from a nearby ice cream shop shows the shooter using an air-conditioning unit to climb onto the roof of a building to get into position about 450 feet from where Trump was starting his speech.

Read the full story here.

A police organization that's backing Trump criticized Harris today over her remarks at a 2020 Senate hearing at which she linked slavery, Jim Crow and policing in describing systemic racism in America.

“When we say that America has a history of systemic racism, we mean that from slavery, Jim Crow laws, lynchings and policing, our institutions have done violence to Black Americans,” Harris said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on policing not long after a police officer murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Harris later posted her remarks online but changed “policing” to “the criminal justice system.”

“We call on her to retract and apologize for her comments equating policing to lynching and slavery,” Michael McHale, president of the National Association of Police Organizations, said in a statement. “Far from being today’s cruel slavers, the men and women of America’s police agencies are the single biggest force for public safety, freedom, and liberty in our nation.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., joined a "Swifties for Kamala" Zoom call tonight to campaign for the Harris-Walz ticket among Taylor Swift fans.

Warren talked about abortion rights, climate change and protecting against big corporations' "screwing you over."

"Yes, I'm looking at you, Ticketmaster," Warren said, referring to the chaos Swift fans faced when they tried to buy tickets for her blockbuster Eras Tour.

A conservative nonprofit group plans to spend $10 million in the hope of chipping away at Harris’ key base of Black voter support by criticizing the White House’s proposal to ban menthol cigarettes, which it postponed this year.

The new ad campaign from Building America’s Future and Americans for Consumer Protection, which a Building America’s Future official described to NBC News, will target primarily Black voters in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Through digital advertising, text messages and direct mail, the message will try to frame the Biden-Harris administration as out of touch for focusing on banning menthol cigarettes over other issues.

Read the full story here.

Reporting from Washington

A group of Democratic strategists is launching a super PAC focused on supporting the party’s legal efforts around election protection and battles that could come after Election Day.

The group is anticipating that Trump and his allies will repeat their large-scale attempt to undermine confidence in the election before Nov. 5 and then work to overturn election outcomes by challenging ballots and results in court in the days and weeks after the voting.

The new group, which can raise and spend unlimited sums of money, is called Democracy Defenders. It will be chaired by Jim Messina, who was campaign manager for President Barack Obama’s successful 2012 re-election campaign.

Read the full story here.

Vance commented on special counsel Jack Smith's superseding indictment of Trump over his efforts to overturn 2020 election results, saying, "I don't think that it changes anything legally."

“Looks like Jack Smith doing more of what he does, which is filing these sort of lawsuits in an effort to influence the election," Vance said, noting that he had not read the full indictment, as he came off of a plane in Nashville, Tennessee.

"He should be ashamed of himself, but it’s one of the reasons why we have to win, because he should not be anywhere near power," Vance said of Smith.

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she is "concerned" about the court's immunity ruling last month, arguing it appeared to create a different standard for presidents.

"I was concerned about a system that appeared to provide immunity for one individual under one set of circ*mstances when we have a criminal justice system that had ordinarily treated everyone the same," Jackson told CBS News in a clip of an interview that will air in full Sunday.

Jackson wrote a scathing dissent in the Trump v. United States decision last month, saying, "The court declared for the first time in history that the most powerful official in the United States can, under circ*mstances yet to be fully determined, become a law unto himself.”

The Pennsylvania State Department said today it's aware of phishing scam messages designed to mislead voters about their registration status.

The scams are messages by third parties claiming recipients aren't registered to vote and seeking personal identifying information, the state agency said.

"Voters should be aware that opportunistic bad actors may attempt to use this campaign season to send phishing or smishing emails/texts," a spokesperson for the State Department wrote in a statement.

The spokesperson warned voters in the battleground state not to click on links from sources they aren't sure are credible or provide personal identifying information in response to such messages.

Harris addressed an African Methodist Episcopalian church conference in recorded video remarks today, thanking church groups both for their support and for organizing a “souls to the polls” get-out-the-vote effort.

“We are just 10 weeks out from the election, and I know you are already hard at work from the Women’s Missionary Society to the Young People’s Division to the Lay Organization organizing souls to the polls, making sure your members are registered to vote,” Harris said.

The church, a civil rights bastion that has boasted speakers such as Martin Luther King Jr., has been a focus for the Harris campaign and previously the Biden campaign.

The Harris campaign said today that both the vice president and Trump had publicly expressed willingness to debate with "unmuted mics" in the presidential debate scheduled for Sept. 10 but that Trump's team was meddling in a push against hot mics.

“Both candidates have publicly made clear their willingness to debate with unmuted mics for the duration of the debate to fully allow for substantive exchanges between the candidates — but it appears Donald Trump is letting his handlers overrule him. Sad!" a campaign spokesperson said in a statement.

A campaign official separately told NBC News that discussions continue with host network ABC News over microphone rules.

Harris and Walz will sit for their first interview since rising to the top of the Democratic ticket.

CNN announced today that anchor Dana Bash will host a joint sit-down interview with Harris and Walz on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET in Georgia.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly criticized Harris for not holding an interview in the weeks since President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid and endorsed her on July 21. During a recent news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said that Harris “can’t do an interview” and disparaged her as “barely competent.”

Vance and his mother, Beverly Aikins, dropped by an A&W fast-food restaurant in Big Rapids, Michigan, today to meet with local voters.

Asked about campaigning alongside her son, Aikins said, "It's amazing," adding that she hopes voters can "know him like I know him."

"He’s an amazing human being, and he really, truly thinks he can make a difference," she added.

Vance, in turn, said it has “been a lot of fun” to have his mother join him today. “She’s having a good time,” he added.

Reporting from Washington

Trump has once again been indicted for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, an effort that culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment that charges him with the same four counts he faced in the original indictment returned last August: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

The superseding indictment was returned following the Supreme Court’sdecisionon presidential immunity last month, which barred the government from using certain “official acts” Trump took in his role as president in its prosecution.

Read the full story here.

Vancesaid this afternoon that he hopes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will have a role in a future Trump administration but that it is too early to name a specific post.

“We’ll cross that bridge once we come to it, because right now we’re thinking about how to win this election,”Vancetold reporters following his remarks on the economy in western Michigan.

While he said, “It’s a little premature to talk about specific roles,” Vance emphasized that for now Kennedy will be “advising the president on making critical selections for who’s going to go in the government.” He added that he hopes Kennedy will have an expanded role down the line.

“I hope RFK has a role, because I think he’s a smart guy,”Vancesaid.

Trump on Saturday reposted an image on his Truth Social page that was shared by an account that has spread antisemitic claims and used the N-word.

The reposted image showed a flag that said "Trump or Communism" and was originally shared by an account on X whose handle is @TheRISEofROD and goes by the name Machiavelli. The account has nearly 168,000 followers.

According to the liberal-leaning watchdog organization Media Matters, the account wrote last year, “Adolf Hitler was right" and said this year, “Hitler didn’t kill 6 million jews, but Stalin did kill 50 million Christians.”This month, using a racial epithet, the account wrote "Jews have been capitalizing" on Black people "for thousands of years."

The Trump campaign did not return a reply to for comment on Trump's repost.

First-term Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., is sharing her story about her experience with depression, saying she sought treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after it recently became more severe.

Caraveo, 43, a pediatrician, said she disclosed her treatment to help destigmatize a mental illness that so many others experience.

“Like many Americans, I struggle with depression. As a doctor, I always urge my patients to take care of their health first and receive the support that they need. In recent months, my depression became more severe, so I decided to take my own advice and seek treatment at Walter Reed Medical Center,” Caraveo said yesterday in astatement on X.

“I am grateful for the time and attention their team has provided me with — the type of care every American deserves — while continuing the work for Colorado’s 8th district.”

Read the full story here.

Speaking for the first time at a solo event behind bulletproof glass, Vance criticized Harris’ record on the economy and the border.

“They are cooking the books to hide how bad the economy really is under Kamala Harris,” Vance said this afternoon in Big Rapids, Michigan.

“Kamala Harris wants to open the border on day one,” he continued. “Donald Trump is going to close the southern border, and his message to every illegal immigrant is pack your bags, because you’re going home.”

Michael Sparks, who was the very first rioter to enter the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, was sentenced in Washington today to more than four years in federal prison.

During the hearing, Sparks told the judge that he still, “to this day,” continues to believe Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.

The Harris campaign has launched an ad about her plans to lower housing costs.

The ad, titled “Full House,” is part of a $150 million August paid media blitz highlighting Harris’ middle-class upbringing, the campaign said in a news release. In the ad, Harris talks about being raised by her working mother, who she says saved up for more than a decade to buy a home.

“I was a teenager when that day finally came, and I can remember so well how excited she was,” Harris says in the ad. “I know what homeownership means, and sadly right now it is out of reach for far too many American families.”

Harris also touts her record of taking on big banks and vows to crack down on exploitative landlords and build 3 million new homes and rentals if elected.

Walz discussed issues involving house gutters on an episode of "Subway Takes," which is a popular Instagram and TikTok series with comedian Kareem Rahma.

The Democratic vice presidential nominee brought it up when Rahma asked him, "So, what's your take?"

"My take is the most neglected part of homeownership is the gutters. It’s personal for me," Walz said. "I’ve had problems with gutters before. You get your basem*nt wet, you get ice dams, cause a lot of problems."

The defense in the Arizona "fake electors" case will continue to argue for charges to be dismissed when the court is back in session at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Defense lawyers will make an argument revolving around Arizona's anti-SLAPP statute, which is aimed at protecting free speech rights. The defense’s arguments were slated to conclude yesterday, but the lawyers for the defendants made lengthy arguments.

Like yesterday, defendants like state Sens. Anthony Kern and Jake Hoffman as well as Turning Point USA's Tyler Bowyer are expected to appear in person. High-profile out-of-state defendants like Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows are expected to appear virtually or by telephone.

Judge Bruce Cohen will hear the arguments but is not expected to rule on the motion to dismiss the case during the hearing.

Trump has added Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team, a senior campaign adviser confirmed in a statement.

"As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team," the senior adviser, Brian Hughes, said.

"We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team as we work to restore America’s greatness," he added.

The New York Times reported Kennedy and Gabbard had been tapped for the transition team.

Kennedy endorsed Trump on Friday after ending his independent bid for president, and Gabbard, a former Democrat, expressed support for the former president at an event yesterday.

More than 200 Republicans who worked for both Bush presidents, the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney declared their endorsem*nt of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in an open letter released yesterday.

The letter comes after several Republicans who are openly critical of former President Donald Trump delivered remarks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week.

In their letter, which was first reported by USA Today, the former staff members noted that they had come out against Trump during the 2020 election cycle and said they “jointly declare that we’re voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz this November.”

Read the full story here.

Reporting from aboard Vance's campaign plane

Making her first public appearance on the campaign trail since her son accepted the Republican vice presidential nomination in Milwaukee, Vance's mother, Beverly Aikins, is traveling alongside the senator today ahead of his two campaign appearances.

Starting their day from Washington, Vance and Aikins will travel first to Big Rapids, Michigan, for an event billed as remarks on the economy and manufacturing. The pair will then fly to Nashville, where Vance will address a closed-press campaign fundraising event.

In his month and a half on the Trump campaign, Vance has often traveled with family members or special guests, including several members of Congress. His wife, Usha Vance, has made multiple trips on the campaign plane —even Atlas, the family's German Shepherd, made the quick journey to Wisconsin earlier this month.

Bernie Moreno, the Republican Senate nominee in Ohio whose past as a car dealer has been mocked and scrutinized by his Democratic rival, is preparing a return to the auto industry.

In a recently filed personal financial disclosure statement, Moreno identified himself as a manager of two companies — including a realty business that he lists as an asset — that, according to public records, are developing a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

Moreno, who has said several times during his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown that he sold off all of his businesses to avoid conflicts of interest, confirmed his involvement in an interview. He described himself as an investor in the venture, which will be run by his son Kevin.

Read the full story here.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., will be in Wisconsin today to campaign for Harris and Walz.

Warren, who ran against Harris in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, will start the day in Green Bay and later head to Appleton.

She is expected to talk about how the 2024 election will impact working families and the middle class.

Oklahoma is holding 10 state primary runoffs today.

Half of Oklahoma's 28 state Senate seats and all 101 House seats will be up for grabs in November. Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers and many races in November will be uncontested or will not feature a Democratic challenger.

Of the runoffs today, three of them feature incumbents who did not garner an outright majority of the vote in the June 18 primary.

Two of those incumbents — State Sen. Blake "Cowboy" Stephens and State Rep. Kevin Wallace — have Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's endorsem*nt.

Emhoff, the second gentleman, will stump for Harris again today by delivering remarks at a campaign reception in New York.

The Democratic candidate in a Montana congressional district is launching a new ad today that she filmed in an Airbnb property held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., accusing him of fueling the state’shousing crisis.

The candidate, Monica Tranel, begins the 30-second ad outside the property and takes the viewer inside, walking around the condo by Whitefish Lake in Whitefish, where Zinke grew up.

“We’re about to go inside one of Ryan Zinke’s real Airbnb rentals,” she says. “He’s buying up properties across Montana and jacking up the rent. $16,000 a month for this place ... Housing profiteers like Ryan Zinke are the reason it’s so expensive to live here.”

Walz, Harris' running mate, does not have any campaign events scheduled today.

Like yesterday, the Minnesota governor will remain in St. Paul today and conduct "internal meetings," according to a campaign news release.

Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, will campaign in Michigan and Tennessee today.

He is scheduled to deliver remarks on the economy, inflation and manufacturing at a horse farm in Big Rapids, Mich., in the afternoon before participating in a fundraising event in Tennessee with the state's two GOP senators: Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.