Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are closing in on the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.
On Thursday, Harris focused her campaign on a pivotal state: Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Trump is attending a longtime political tradition in New York City, known as the Al Smith dinner.
Regardless of where they’re hitting the campaign trail, Harris and Trump will spend the weeks leading up to Election Day making their final pitches to voters across the country, outlining how they’d approach issues ranging from inflation to the southern border and abortion rights.
Check back here for live coverage from across the USA TODAY network.
Donald Trump to ‘work the fryers’ at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s on Sunday
Donald Trump is planning another campaign stop in the Philadelphia suburbs, this time at a McDonald’s in Lower Southampton, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, according to sources familiar with the visit.
Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.
The 2024 presidential candidate plans to stop at the fast food chain in the early afternoon, according to a source who did not have permission to publicly comment.
Trump reportedly plans to “work the fryer” behind the counter, a stop he referenced at a rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, late last month – a job Harris said she had when she was growing up.
– Chris Ullery and Jo Ciavaglia
Harris addresses hecklers in crowd
About 20 minutes into Harris’ remarks at a Thursday campaign rally in La Crosse, Wisconsin, some members of the crowd shouted as the vice president talked about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally,” Harris joked before taking a jab at Donald Trump. “No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.”
– Marina Pitofsky, Francesca Chambers
Harris says Americans are ‘exhausted’ with Trump
Kamala Harris took a swipe at Donald Trump over his claim at a Univision town hall that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was “a day of love.”
“It points out something that everyone here knows: the American people are exhausted with his gaslighting,” she said. “Enough.”
Harris also made light of her combative interview on Fox News at the campaign stop in La Crosse, saying that she is campaigning for the vote of every American, “no matter their political party, where they live or where they get their news.”
“And on that point, last night, you may have seen I went on Fox News,” she said, laughing.
She used the aside as a set up for her comments about Trump.
– Francesca Chambers
Mark Cuban calls Trump ‘The Grinch’ in attack on tariff plan
Harris got an assist Thursday from billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, who excoriated Trump’s plan for across-the-board tariffs on China as he sought to bolster the Democratic nominee’s economic pitch to voters.
Cuban, a host of ABC’s “Shark Tank” and minority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, coined Trump “The Grinch” at a campaign rally in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The campaign surrogate argued Trump’s plan for 60% tariffs on all imports from China will result in higher costs for consumers come holiday season.
“Donald Trump wants you to have a lousy Christmas,” Cuban said. “Donald Trump is ‘The Grinch’ that wants to steal your Christmas.” Cuban said Trump has “so little understanding of tariffs, he thinks that China pays for them. This is the same guy who also thought that Mexico would pay for the wall.”
The Harris campaign is using a swing Thursday and Friday through the Midwest battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan to drive home an economic message. That includes emphasizing Harris’ proposal for tax deductions for new small businesses. While most polls suggest Trump has an advantage on who voters perceive is better equipped the economy, Harris has made up ground.
“This election is a battle for entrepreneurs. This election is a battle for small businesses,” Cuban said, highlighting Harris’ goal to grow the number of small businesses in the U.S. from 33 million to more than 50 million.
– Joey Garrison
When will we know the results of the 2024 election?
It’s not clear. Voters from coast to coast will want to know whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris won the 2024 race for the White House on Election Day, but it’s not likely.
Election officials will have millions of votes to tabulate, following specific procedures, and the candidates could launch legal challenges in some states.
– Marina Pitofsky
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Vance on whether Trump lost in 2020: ‘No’
Joe Biden may be in the White House, but Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance stated unequivocally Wednesday that he believes Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election.
Vance was asked by a reporter during an event in Pennsylvania what message it sends “to independent voters when you do not answer the question, did Donald Trump lose in 2020?”
“I’ve answered this question directly a million times,” Vance said. “No. I think there are serious problems in 2020. So did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use.”
Trump has insisted without evidence that the 2020 election was rigged. Vance often has parried questions about Trump’s unfounded election fraud claims, such as during his debate with Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz.
Walz asked Vance “Did Trump lose the 2020 election?” Vance responded that he is “focused on the future,” leading Walz to call it a “damning non answer.”
Vance’s comments at the event in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, were an unambiguous embrace of Trump’s claim that he didn’t lose, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
-Zac Anderson
McConnell called Trump ‘despicable’ and a ‘narcissist,’ cried after Capitol riot, new book says
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell privately described then-President Donald Trump as “stupid as well as being ill-tempered,” “despicable” and a “narcissist,” after the 2020 election, according to excerpts from a forthcoming biography of the longtime Senate power broker.
The remarks, recorded by McConnell and shared with Associated Press Deputy Washington Bureau Chief Michael Tackett, are McConnell’s strongest condemnation yet of the former president, despite years of a famously frosty relationship between the two men.
In the weeks following Election Day in 2020, when Trump and his campaign were working to overturn the election results, McConnell said in his recordings that “it’s not just the Democrats who are counting the days” until Trump left office, according to the AP.
– Riley Beggin
Kamala Harris to address Al Smith dinner via video
Kamala Harris won’t be at the Al Smith charity dinner, a white tie event that raises money for Catholic charities and typically features candidates trading jabs. But she is going to address the dinner by video on Thursday, according to multiple reports.
Harris’ campaign had previously said she was focusing on campaigning in battleground states and wouldn’t travel to the event. The vice president is in Wisconsin today, one of the states that could ultimately decide the 2024 election.
Trump is set to attend the dinner in person in New York City.
− Marina Pitofsky
Harris says Sinwar’s death presents moment for ‘day after’ in Middle East
Kamala Harris said “justice has been served” following the death of Hamas Yahya Sinwar in a brief statement to reporters on the campaign trail in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
“Sinwar was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent including the victims of October 7 and hostages killed in Gaza. He had American blood on his hands,” Harris said. “Today, I can only hope that the families of the victims of Hamas feel a sense and measure of relief.”
Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, commended the work of U.S. intelligence officials who worked in tandem with Israeli to locate Sinwar.
“And I will say, to any terrorist who kills Americans, threatens the American people, or threatens our troops or our interests, know this: We will always bring you to justice,” Harris said. “Israel has a right to defend itself, and the threat Hamas poses to Israel must be eliminated today. There is clear progress toward that goal.”
She said Sinwar’s death “gives us an opportunity” to end the conflict in Gaza. “And it must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination,” Harris said.
−Joey Garrison
3 controversial swing-state counties to watch in 2024 election
In county governments across the country, officials who fear elections are vulnerable to fraud have been taking matters into their own hands, lodging protests and investigations.
Many have delayed and voted against certifying elections since former President Donald Trump falsely claimed his 2020 loss was due to voter fraud. In Nevada, a commissioner of a key swing county said she learned information that warranted “further investigation.”
In Mohave County, Arizona, a commissioner who voted to delay a certification vote said it was a statement of solidarity with other counties that were delaying certification. In Michigan, two members of a county board of canvassers in the Upper Peninsula didn’t believe three recall elections all could have had a similar margin.
An official in Colorado breached her own county’s voting machines, and another in Ohio was investigated for a potential attempted breach.
Then there are counties that attempt to replace machine-counting ballots with having humans hand-count their ballots, a practice that studies show is less accurate and timely than using machines.
Some of these counties are in key swing states, or blue states where Vice President Kamala Harris is dependent on electoral votes to win.
Check out the full report here on the three swing-state counties where officials have created controversy over elections, and how they could affect the presidential election.
– Erin Mansfeld
3 ways the election loser could try to reverse the outcome
When Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform Act in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s post-2020 election effort to reverse his loss, leaders in both parties said it would help safeguard future elections.
There are still holes that could be exploited, however, especially at the local level. Some of those holes are already being tested by local officials, such as refusing to certify elections at the county level, according to Matthew Seligman, a fellow at Stanford’s Constitutional Law Center and co-author of the 2024 book “How to Steal a Presidential Election.”
“Due to the changes in the Electoral Count Reform Act, the effort has shifted to try to get county boards of elections, and then potentially state-level boards of election, to have some kind of authority to refuse to certify the election results,” Seligman told USA TODAY.
Check out the full report here on what the Electoral Count Reform Act did and three possible strategies for overturning the election in spite of it.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump visits a Bronx barbershop
While preparing for Thursday night’s appearance at the Al Smith dinner in New York City, Trump made an unscheduled visit to a Bronx barbershop.
The former president arrived to the Knockout Barbershop at around 1:45 p.m., according to video posted on social media.
No word yet on whether the famously coiffed Trump is actually getting a hair cut.
− David Jackson
Florida’s Senate race not slowed by Helene, Milton storms
The heated campaign barbs between Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and his Democratic challenger, former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, weren’t cooled by the double blow of hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In fact, the storms provided more campaign fodder as the sides clashed over disaster response efforts of the federal government, as well as climate change and property insurance.
“Another hurricane. More devastation. And Rick Scott is making it worse,” Mucarsel-Powell stated in an ad released Oct. 2, six days after Helene made landfall at Dekle Beach in Taylor County. She went on to criticize Scott for receiving $3 million in campaign donations from property insurance companies as premiums skyrocketed in recent years.
Scott responded two days later – six days before Milton barreled into Sarasota County – with his own ad blasting Mucarsel-Powell for claiming he “doesn’t care about hurricane victims.”
Each candidate has sought to help victims of the disasters.
Scott, in his trademark U.S. Navy hat familiar from his days overseeing recovery efforts as Governor, viewed the devastation, met with local officials and pressed President Joe Biden to issue a disaster declaration to release FEMA money.
He later met with Biden when the president toured damage in Taylor County following Helene, and also in St. Pete Beach to view Milton’s destruction.
Mucarsel-Powell helped clear beaches in Pinellas after Helene and helped fill sandbags for residents ahead of Milton. She also toured damage in Palm Beach County from one of the tornados spawned by Milton.
– Gary Rohrer
Trump blames Ukraine’s Zelenskyy for Putin’s invasion
Trump, long sympathetic toward Russia President Vladimir Putin, is casting blame on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the invasion of Ukraine that was in fact authorized by Putin.
Criticizing Zelenskyy’s requests for U.S. aid to Ukraine, Trump told the PBD Podcast released Thursday: “I feel very badly for those people – but he should never have let that war start … that war is a loser.”
Trump, as he often does, also blamed President Joe Biden for the war on Ukraine, saying the American president “instigated” the war begun by Putin and Russia.
– David Jackson
Georgia election board loses again in court
For the second time in two days, a Georgia judge delivered a major blow to the state election board’s efforts to change the rules for the upcoming 2024 election.
Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr. struck down seven new rules from the board in a late-Wednesday ruling, including a controversial ballot hand-count rule that another judge had already temporarily blocked on Tuesday. Cox said the rules exceeded the state board’s authority.
“An administrative agency can only act to implement existing statutory schemes; they hold no authority to create new requirements or otherwise expand their own authority,” Cox wrote.
The board has come under increasing scrutiny after its Republican majority passed a flurry of new requirements within weeks of the election, despite being cautioned by the state’s Republican attorney general that some rules were likely unlawful.
– Aysha Bagchi
Trump cancels NRA appearance
The Republican nominee has canceled an Oct. 22 appearance before the National Rifle Association because of scheduling conflicts, the campaign and the NRA said Wednesday.
Trump had been scheduled to attend a “Defend the 2nd” (amendment) gun rights event Tuesday in Savannah, Ga.
While the Harris campaign tries to use gun violence as an issue against Trump, the NRA said in its cancellation notice that it still backs Trump.
“The NRA is committed to ensuring Donald Trump wins in November and returns to the White House,” the organization said.
Trump has also canceled media interviews with CNBC and CBS’ ’60 Minutes’ in recent days.
-David Jackson
What is the Al Smith Dinner?
The annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a white-tie charity event in New York City, is known for prominent political figures poking fun at one another and the issues of the moment.
The Al Smith dinner benefits Catholic charities. Smith was known for his sense of humor, and speakers at the event often take jabs at themselves or others.
In 2016, Trump and his opponent Hillary Clinton took swipes at one another, but some of the audience booed at Trump, feeling he went too far. Trump is scheduled to speak but Harris declined the invitation for the annual event.
– Kinsey Crowley
Harris thanks Carter
Kamala Harris seized the opportunity to thank a special supporter: Former President Jimmy Carter.
“President Carter, thank you for your support,” Harris said on the X social media platform.Carter, who turned 100 years old earlier this month, used Georgia’s early voting period to cast his ballot for the Democratic vice president.
– David Jackson
Who will control the U.S. Senate next year?
While a large chunk of the national attention in the 2024 battle for control of the U.S. Senate rests in the same presidential battlegrounds – think Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada – several other states that are likely slam dunks for Kamala Harris or Trump also have potentially competitive contests too.
Without a Senate controlled by their own party, the next president will likely struggle to pass the most ambitious parts of their campaign platform. The Senate is also solely responsible for confirming a president’s Cabinet officials and judges, from federal district courts up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where four of the nine justices will soon be in their 70s.
– Riley Beggin
Trump gives thumbs down to Harris’ performance on Fox News
Not surprisingly, Trump gave a negative review to Harris’ interview on Fox News, saying all she did was criticize him.
“She has a massive and irredeemable case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,”Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump, who has been critical of Fox’s coverage of the Harris campaign, gave a thumbs-up to interviewer Bret Baier, who frequently interrupted and clashed with the vice president. “Great job by Bret Baier,” Trump said.
– David Jackson
Where do Kamala Harris, Donald Trump stand in the polls?
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are neck-and-neck in the 2024 race for the White House. In a Real Clear Politics average of national polls, Harris leads Trump by 1.7 percentage points.
It’s even closer when it comes to polling averages from the battleground states. Trump leads Harris by 1.1 percentage points in Arizona, for example, and Harris leads Trump by 0.3 percentage points in Wisconsin.
– Marina Pitofsky
Where is Donald Trump campaigning on Thursday?
Donald Trump on Thursday is attending the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a white-tie charity event in New York City. It’s known for prominent political figures poking fun at one another and the issues of the moment.
The Al Smith dinner benefits Catholic charities. Smith was known for his sense of humor, and speakers at the event often take jabs at themselves or others.
The Harris campaign confirmed with USA TODAY that the Democratic presidential nominee will not attend the dinner scheduled for Oct. 17, as they want to focus on the battleground states so close to the election.
– Kinsey Crowley
Where is Kamala Harris campaigning on Thursday?
Kamala Harris is bringing her presidential campaign back to Wisconsin Thursday with stops in Milwaukee, La Crosse and Green Bay.
Harris’ upcoming travel to the battleground states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan comes as the race with Donald Trump reaches its final weeks. Thursday will mark her sixth visit to Wisconsin, and her third stop in Milwaukee County. She launched her presidential campaign in Wisconsin in late July with a rally in West Allis.
– Mary Spicuzza and Hope Karnopp
