The campaigns of Vice President and former President are arguing in advance of their high-stakes Sept. 10 debate over whether except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak. President Joe Biden鈥檚 campaign team made microphone muting a condition of its decision to accept any debates this year. Trump on Sunday suggested he might not show up for the ABC-hosted debate.
Trump traveled to Michigan on Monday to address the National Guard Association of the United States conference in Detroit. He was joined by former Democratic Rep. .
Meanwhile, Harris' campaign said it has now raised and saw a surge of donations during the Democratic National Convention last week.
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Here鈥檚 the Latest:
Strategist who ran DeSantis鈥� ill-fated bid is working with Musk to help organize voters for Trump
Ron DeSantis鈥� senior political aides were gathered last year at the Florida governor鈥檚 campaign headquarters, an office across the street from a Red Lobster on Tallahassee鈥檚 north side, planning the announcement of his candidacy for president.
Some wanted the Republican to go to a baseball stadium in Tampa, near , for what they hoped would be a photogenic rally with his young family. Campaign manager Generra Peck supported a different idea, according to people familiar with the matter 鈥� one she had quietly been working on for weeks with Elon Musk, the then-new owner of the platform still known at the time as Twitter. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose internal deliberations.
DeSantis opted for an audio-only conversation with Musk on Twitter Spaces. Initially drawing interest and curiosity, the call was a disaster. The feed crashed due to technical glitches, for what would ultimately be DeSantis鈥� ill-fated campaign.
Peck, who was , and Musk are now working together again, this time on a super political action committee, America PAC, dedicated to electing Donald Trump, who beat DeSantis on his way to .
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Georgia judge rules independent and third-party candidates ineligible
A judge says four independent and third-party candidates are ineligible to appear on Georgia鈥檚 presidential ballot.
The final decision is now up to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after Monday鈥檚 rulings by Michael Malihi, an administrative law judge. If affirmed, the rulings would block independents Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West, as well as the Green Party鈥檚 Jill Stein and the Party for Socialism and Liberation鈥檚 Claudia De la Cruz.
Kennedy has said he wants to withdraw his name in Georgia and some other closely contested states after he endorsed Donald Trump. Democrats legally challenged whether all four qualify for the ballot, seeking to block candidates who could siphon votes from Democratic nominee and Vice President after Joe Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020.
Raffensperger must make a decision before Georgia mails military and overseas ballots beginning Sept. 17. Spokesperson Mike Hassinger said Raffensperger鈥檚 office is reviewing the decisions and will decide each as soon as possible. If finalized by Raffensperger, the rulings mean that Georgia voters will choose among only Harris, Trump and Libertarian Chase Oliver in the presidential race.
Voter Voice: 鈥業 wish he would just state the facts鈥�
Michelle Boyack of Salt Lake City was heartened by Trump鈥檚 speech because, she said, 鈥淚 appreciate the way he supports the military.鈥�
And although Boyack, a 45-year-old national guard spouse, plans to vote for Trump, she said she wished he would have been less aggressive in criticizing Biden and more focused on policy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard because we鈥檙e not supposed to be political,鈥� said Boyack. 鈥淚 wish he would just state the facts of what he plans to do if elected, and not so much going after Biden.鈥�
Jill Stein will remain on Wisconsin presidential ballot
Green Party presidential candidate will remain on the ballot in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin after the state Supreme Court decided on Monday not to hear a Democratic challenge seeking to oust her.
The presence of independent and third party candidates on the ballot could be a deciding factor in a state where four of the last six presidential elections have been decided by between 5,700 votes and about 23,000 votes.
The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court decided against hearing the by David Strange, an employee of the Democratic National Committee, who sought to oust Stein from the ballot. The court did not explain its reasoning.
Michael White, co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party, called the complaint a 鈥渕ark of fear by the Democratic Party鈥� and hailed the court鈥檚 decision not to consider it.
Stein last appeared on the Wisconsin ballot 2016, when she won just over 31,000 votes 鈥� more than Donald Trump鈥檚 winning margin of just under 23,000 votes. Some Democrats have blamed her for helping Trump win the state and the presidency that year.
Voter Voice: 鈥楿nfortunately, decorum has gone out of town鈥�
Karen Dill said she didn鈥檛 mind Trump鈥檚 harsh criticism of Biden, the U.S. military鈥檚 commander in chief, in part because both major party candidates were invited to speak. Harris declined the invitation.
鈥淭here is a big difference between our military now and before, when he was president,鈥� said Dill, the 66-year-old retired accountant whose husband is a 42-year-retired national guardsman. 鈥淪o, I didn鈥檛 think it was out of order.鈥�
鈥淎nd, unfortunately, decorum has gone out of town,鈥� said Dill, who plans to vote for Trump. 鈥淲ould it be great if he didn鈥檛 act like that? Wouldn鈥檛 that be great and wonderful. It鈥檚 just where we are now.鈥�
Families of killed service members are still fighting for answers
In a media call on Monday with Trump鈥檚 running mate JD Vance and Republican congressmen, families of some of the service members who were killed by the bombing three years ago said they had not heard from Harris and they are still fighting for answers on how their loved ones died.
Alicia Lopez, the mother of Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, said she wanted to be present when they fired those responsible for the operation that led to their deaths.
鈥淔or them to think that is OK and treat it as another page in a book that they鈥檙e just flipping over for the next chapter it saddens me and frightens me all at the same time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 do have a son that鈥檚 currently serving, and I pray that I don鈥檛 get another knock on my door because of the lack of responsibilities this administration has for our military.鈥�
Mark Schmitz, father of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, said he wanted politicians from both parties to ask harder questions at the Afghanistan War hearings.
鈥淭his is not a Republican versus Democrat issue, this is an American issue. This is a lack of leadership, and this is the result. America needs to recognize that when choosing a leader,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hose that are privileged enough to challenge these people in the committee setting need to take full advantage of that to get to the bottom of it.鈥�
Tulsi Gabbard endorses Trump against former foe Harris
Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has endorsed presidential bid, furthering her shift away from the party she sought to represent four years ago and linking herself to the of Vice President and the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal.
Appearing Monday with Trump in Detroit, Gabbard, a National Guard veteran who served two tours of duty in the Middle East, said that the GOP nominee 鈥渦nderstands the grave responsibility that a president and commander in chief bears for every single one of our lives.鈥�
The pair appeared at the National Guard Association of the United States on the third anniversary of the at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans. Gabbard accompanied Trump earlier Monday to Arlington National Cemetery, when the former president laid wreaths in honor of three of the slain service members 鈥� Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss.
鈻� Read .
Takeaways from the AP鈥檚 review of Tim Walz鈥檚 descriptions of his military record
Democratic vice presidential nominee served in the National Guard for 24 years, rising through the enlisted ranks and receiving an honorable discharge. It is a seen as one of his political strengths. Republicans are trying to turn it into a weakness.
They have seized on criticism from former National Guard members denouncing Walz, the Minnesota governor, for retiring from the military in 2005 to run for Congress shortly before his unit was deployed to Iraq and for overstating the rank he held after he left the service. They also have pointed to a comment Walz made that implied he had seen combat, when he had not.
It is a risky strategy for Republicans that invites comparison between Walz, with decades of military service, and former President Donald Trump, who to avoid serving in Vietnam, including one attained with a physician鈥檚 letter stating he suffered from bone spurs in his feet.
鈻� Read .
Trump takes stage at National Guard Association's conference in Detroit
Former President Donald Trump has taken the stage at the National Guard Association of the United States鈥� general conference in downtown Detroit鈥檚 Huntington Center conference hall.
It鈥檚 the first of several stops for the Republican presidential ticket this week in Michigan, a pivotal state in the race for 270 Electoral College votes. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance plans to campaign in Michigan Tuesday and Trump plans to be back Thursday.
Walz鈥檚 exit from Minnesota National Guard left openings for critics to pounce on his military record
John Kolb, a retired Minnesota National Guard colonel, knew by reputation as an 鈥渆xcellent leader鈥� who adroitly guided the enlisted troops in his field artillery battalion. But Kolb was stunned by what he saw when Walz left the military and entered politics.
Walz retired from the National Guard in 2005 to run for Congress just before his unit received an order to mobilize for the war in Iraq. Then during the campaign, Walz overstated the rank he held at the point he left the service.
鈥淭hat is not the behavior I would expect out of a senior noncommissioned officer,鈥� Kolb said in an interview.
Those two sides of Walz鈥檚 service have been in the spotlight now that the Minnesota governor is the Democratic nominee for vice president. Supporters have lauded Walz鈥檚 24 years of service in the National Guard, where he rose through the enlisted ranks and received an honorable discharge.
鈻� Read .
She鈥檚 the sitting vice president. She鈥檚 the candidate of change. How Harris is having it both ways
She鈥檚 the sitting vice president who has been in office for 3 1/2 years. She鈥檚 also the presidential candidate of just five weeks promising a 鈥渘ew way forward.鈥�
is having it both ways as she hits the campaign trail after the , taking credit for parts of record in rallies staged in front of Air Force Two while casting herself as a new leader who rails against 鈥渢he politics of the past.鈥�
In every presidential cycle candidates run on experience or freshness, but Harris so far appears to be successfully harmonizing two seemingly competing messages, much to the frustration of former President and his allies.
鈥淪he has this powerful and unique and interesting advantage that we have never seen before in our politics,鈥� said Patrick Gaspard, CEO of the Democratic-leaning think tank Center for American Progress Action Fund and a former executive director of the Democratic National Committee under President Barack Obama.
鈻� Read .
Harris campaign says it鈥檚 raised $540 million and saw a surge of donations during the convention
campaign says it has now raised $540 million for its election battle against Republican nominee .
The campaign has had no problems getting supporters to open their wallets since President Joe Biden announced on July 21 he was ending his campaign and quickly endorsed Harris. The campaign said it saw a surge of donations during last week鈥檚 Democratic National Convention in Chicago where Harris and her vice presidential running mate, , accepted their nominations.
鈥淛ust before Vice President Harris鈥� acceptance speech Thursday night, we officially crossed the $500 million mark,鈥� campaign chair Jen O鈥橫alley Dillon wrote in a memo released by the campaign on Sunday. 鈥淚mmediately after her speech, we saw our best fundraising hour since launch day.鈥�
鈻� Read .
Trump tries to connect Harris to the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal on anniversary of attack
Former President on Monday is tying Vice President to the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal on the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, laid wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of three of the slain service members 鈥� Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss. Later in the day, he was going to Michigan to address the National Guard Association of the United States conference.
Monday marks three years since the at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed the American service members and more than 100 Afghans. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.
鈻� Read .
Trump would veto legislation establishing a federal abortion ban, Vance says
Republican vice presidential candidate says would not support a national abortion ban if elected president and would veto such legislation if it landed on his desk.
鈥淚 can absolutely commit that,鈥� Vance said when asked on NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� whether he could commit to Trump not imposing such a ban. 鈥淒onald Trump鈥檚 view is that we want the individual states and their individual cultures and their unique political sensibilities to make these decisions because we don鈥檛 want to have a nonstop federal conflict over this issue.鈥�
The Ohio senator also insisted that Trump, the former president who is the Republican nominee this year, would veto such legislation if it were passed by Congress.
鈥淚 mean, if you鈥檙e not supporting it as the president of the United States, you fundamentally have to veto it,鈥� he said in an interview that aired Sunday.
鈻� Read .
Behind the rhetoric, a presidential campaign is a competition about how to tell the American story
Kamala Harris 鈥渙n behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth.鈥� America, , 鈥渋s ready for a better story.鈥� that the Biden administration 鈥渋s not the end of our story,鈥� and Donald Trump to 鈥渨rite our own thrilling chapter of the American story.鈥�
鈥淭his week,鈥� comedian and former Obama administration speechwriter Jon Lovett said Thursday on NBC, 鈥渉as been about a story.鈥�
In the discourse of American politics, this kind of talk from both sides is unsurprising 鈥� fitting, even. Because in the campaign season of 2024, just as in the fabric of American culture at large, the notion of 鈥渟tory鈥� is everywhere.
This year鈥檚 political conventions were, like so many of their kind, curated collections of elaborate stories carefully spun to accomplish one goal 鈥� getting elected. But lurking behind them was a pitched, high-stakes battle over how to frame the biggest story of all 鈥� the one about America that, as Harris put it, should be 鈥渢he next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.鈥�
鈻� Read .
In boosting clean energy in Minnesota, Walz lays foundation for climate influence if Harris wins
When strolled onstage to welcome a conference of clean power advocates to Minneapolis in May, he was quick to note that his state is now getting a little over half of its power from renewables. In the next breath, Walz said Minnesota would never get to 100% 鈥� a goal he helped set 鈥� without changing what he called 鈥渙utdated鈥� permitting laws.
鈥淭here are things we are doing that are too cumbersome, they don鈥檛 fit where we鈥檙e at, they add costs, and they make it more prohibitive to get where we need to go,鈥� Walz told the industry group American Clean Power.
A few weeks later, he signed legislation to speed things up. Developers no longer have to demonstrate that a clean energy project 鈥� that is, solar and wind, storage and transmission projects 鈥� is needed as part of Minnesota鈥檚 energy system. And they no longer have to study alternative sites and transmission line routes 鈥� a requirement that had effectively doubled the possible opponents for a project.
Walz鈥檚 effort to resolve a major obstacle to the clean energy transition nationwide is getting new attention since he was tapped as running mate. His experience enacting such laws in Minnesota could position him as a leader on climate issues if Harris wins in November.
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The Associated Press
