Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are both focusing on Michigan, a crucial battleground state, on Friday.
Harris will make three campaign stops in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Oakland County. President Trump is also scheduled to attend a roundtable event in Oakland County and will hold an evening rally in Detroit.
Michigan, along with other battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, could easily determine the outcome of the 2024 White House election. As the election approaches, Democratic and Republican candidates are expected to tailor their campaigns to these states.
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Report questions President Trump’s gambling market surge
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that four mysterious accounts have amassed $30 million in cryptocurrency bets on a popular prediction market for Trump to win, raising questions about the legitimacy of the outcome.
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Just two weeks ago, Polymarket, a betting site often promoted by billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk, was posting similar odds for a Harris or Trump victory; Trump has a 62% chance of winning, while Harris has a 38% chance.
According to Arcam, a firm that analyzes blockchain and cryptocurrency activity, this spike is due to $30 million in Trump’s bets from four polymarket accounts, each funded by deposits from the same U.S. cryptocurrency exchange. It is said that it occurred at the same time.
“There is strong reason to believe these are the same entity,” Arkham founder Miguel Morell told the Journal.
While not illegal or necessarily egregious, some observers see the bet as part of a campaign to generate buzz on social media and create the perception that Trump is leading in what polls say is a very close race. WSJ reported that.
Election prediction website FiveThirtyEight, which relies on poll-based models, gives Mr. Trump a 48% chance of winning, while Ms. Harris has a slight advantage of 52%.
− Joey Garrison
President Trump talks about Lincoln and the Civil War: Why wasn’t it resolved?
A day after blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Trump on Friday questioned Abraham Lincoln and how the historic American leader handled a particularly violent part of the Civil War. It seems like I did.
“Lincoln was probably a great president,” Trump said in an interview on “Fox & Friends.”I’ve always said, “Why didn’t they settle this?” “You know, I’m a guy who… That doesn’t make sense. There was a civil war.” The Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, abolished slavery in the United States.
Mr. Trump had previously questioned Mr. Lincoln’s stewardship, responding to a video question from a childhood viewer who asked him about his favorite president.
Although the Republican candidates did not elaborate on their analysis of the war, Fox host Brian Kilmeade noted that Southern states seceded from the Union before Lincoln took office in March 1861. “Half the country seceded before Lincoln arrived,” Kilmeade said.
On social media, Trump’s opponents were outraged. “Did Trump just blame Lincoln for the Civil War?” said the organization “Republicans vs. Trump on X.”
− David Jackson
Judge unseals documents in Trump election conspiracy case
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has unsealed nearly 1,900 heavily redacted pages of court documents filed by Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith in support of the election conspiracy case against former President Donald Trump. Earlier this month, Mr. Chutkan released a 165-page brief filed by Mr. Smith arguing that Mr. Trump’s prosecution should proceed despite the Supreme Court’s ruling granting the former president broad immunity from prosecution. insisted.
The document includes President Trump’s indifference to the January 6, 2021, riot in which a mob of his supporters occupied the Capitol and temporarily halted the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. It contained harmful details. The documents released today are from an appendix of documents supporting Mr. Smith’s claims.
In authorizing the release of the documents, Chutkan wrote that President Trump’s “‘concerns about the political consequences of these proceedings’ are not discernible legal bias.”
President Trump denounced the judge as “the most evil person” and called Smith a “sick puppy” in an interview on The Dan Bongino Show on Friday.
Republicans appeal to Georgia Supreme Court to reinstate hand-counting rules for ballots
The Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Georgia are appealing a court ruling invalidating seven new rules for the upcoming election, including one that would require thousands of poll workers to hand count ballots. did.
Georgia Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr. ruled that the seven rules violated state election law and were beyond the authority of the Georgia State Board of Elections. The board passed a series of controversial new requirements in the final months before the election.
Many of the new rules were passed by the board’s three-member Republican majority, whom former President Donald Trump praised as “pit bulls” at a rally in August. In some cases, that majority rejects Republican Attorney General Chris Carr’s assessment that the proposed rules are probably illegal.
Republican groups are appealing directly to the state’s highest court, the Georgia Supreme Court.
– Aisha Bagki
President Trump roasts his own joke writer
A day after Al Smith’s acerbic performance at the dinner party, President Trump did not identify the joke writers or praise their work. “A lot of people helped me. A lot of people helped me,” Trump said in a friendly interview on Fox & Friends.
Trump also told the host that “we actually have some people from Fox.” I shouldn’t say that, but they wrote a joke. ”
He added: “For the most part, I didn’t like any of it.”
– David Jackson
President Trump doesn’t want negative ads on FOX
President Trump ended a friendly interview on Fox & Friends, telling the hosts that he would be meeting with their bigwig Rupert Murdoch today to discuss campaign coverage. Trump said he would tell Murdoch that he did not want to see negative ads or critical commentators on Fox in the final weeks of the campaign. “Mr. Rupert, I’m going to say, please do this,” Trump said. “And we’re going to come out with a win, because I think everyone wants to win.”
– David Jackson
Barack Obama and Michelle Obama campaign with Harris in Georgia, Michigan
Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will campaign in two battleground states next week with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Harris’ campaign announced Friday.
Barack Obama is scheduled to join Harris at a voting event in Georgia on Thursday, October 24th. Michelle Obama will campaign with Harris in Michigan two days later on Saturday, October 26, which will be the first day of early voting across the state.
The campaign did not immediately provide additional details, including the city where the event will be held.
This is the first time Michelle Obama, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago earlier this summer, has appeared on Harris’ campaign trail. This will be the first time that Obama and Harris will campaign directly with Harris ahead of the November 5 election.
Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail last week with a solo campaign rally supporting Harris in Pittsburgh. The former president repeatedly criticized President Trump during his speech, saying, “There is no evidence that this man cares about anyone but himself.”
In earlier remarks at Harris’ campaign office, President Obama also admonished black men who have been reluctant to support her, saying they are not rallying behind her candidacy because she is a woman. He suggested that there were some people. He urged them to come off the sidelines and support Harris.
– Joey Garrison
Trump’s speech at last night’s Al Smith dinner infuriates Harris and de Blasio
Former President Donald Trump used the spotlight at Thursday’s Catholic Charities Dinner to hurl insults and attacks at targets ranging from Vice President Kamala Harris, who was absent, to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
At the 79th Al Smith Annual Dinner, President Trump made several comments about white people, including what even Trump called a “terrible” joke about the breakup of Harris’ spouse Douglas Emhoff’s first marriage. The tie elicited groans and boos from the audience. Mr. Trump attacked Ms. Harris on a variety of points, from her late entry into the race to her laughing manner.
– David Jackson
How many days until Election Day?
17 days left until voting day. Check out the election countdown clock here.
– Kinsey Crowley
Where do Harris and Trump stand in the polls?
As Election Day approaches, national polls show Harris and Trump tied. Real Clear Politics’ average national poll shows Harris leading Trump by 1.5 percentage points.
It’s even closer in key battleground states. For example, Real Clear Politics polling average shows Trump leading Harris by 1.1 percentage points in Arizona.
– Marina Pitovsky
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Where is President Trump campaigning on Friday?
Donald Trump is holding a rally in Detroit, Michigan on Friday.
President Trump spoke at the Detroit Economic Club last week, outlining his agenda for higher tariffs as a way to support the auto industry, but also criticizing Detroit as a model for the nation.
President Trump is also scheduled to appear in Oakland County, northwest of Detroit, on Friday. He will be joined by Republican Mike Rogers, who is running against Rep. Elissa Slotkin for Michigan’s open Senate seat, at a roundtable event hosted by a group called Building America’s Future.
– Todd Spangler, Clara Hendrickson
Where is Harris campaigning on Friday?
Harris is scheduled to participate in three events in Michigan on Friday in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Oakland County. She will return to Detroit on Saturday for her fifth event in the Great Lakes state this week.
– Rachel Barber
