Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are taking their presidential campaigns back to Pennsylvania on Monday. About 7 million votes are up for grabs in the largest battleground state, where mail-in voting is well underway.
Harris is going to speak in Erie while Trump is holding a town hall in suburban Philadelphia.
Harris unveiled a plan intended to empower Black men. President Joe Biden received strong support from Black men in 2020, but Harris advisers believe some African American men would rather not vote than cast a ballot for Harris or Trump.
Meanwhile, a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults are more likely than the overall U.S. population to view legal immigration as a “major benefit” that contributes to economic growth. Trump has focused on the threat of immigration in his campaign.
Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
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Pelosi decries threats to government federal emergency workers after hurricane
LONDON — House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi decried the threats being made against federal emergency workers in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene during a talk Monday in London.
“Imagine that right now, while people are trying to save lives in North Carolina, they’ve had to withdraw humanitarian assistance because trucks of these people are hunting FEMA workers,” Pelosi said, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, during a wide-ranging conversation at Chatham House, the international think tank.
The California Democrat was asked about the potential for another Jan. 6-style attack on the U.S. Capitol following this year’s presidential election and she insisted there’s “no place for political violence.”
Walz praises 2 Republicans in podcast interview
Gov. Tim Walz is heaping praise on a couple of Republican former colleagues — a message that echoes Vice President Kamala Harris’ promises to nominate a member of the GOP for her Cabinet if she’s elected.
In an interview with the SmartLess podcast aired Monday, the Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota governor showered compliments on Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford and Jeff Flake, a former U.S. representative and U.S. senator from Arizona who also served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey until last month.
Lankford authored a bipartisan immigration deal that appeared to have a chance of passing before falling apart earlier this year after former President Donald Trump expressed his opposition to it.
“That guy is the most conservative person I ever met, but he’s also one of the most honorable,” Walz said of Lankford. “Some of these people need to be put in a position where they truly have the ability to influence things because they are ethical and they care about this country.”
Flake, who describes himself as a “conservative Republican,” last month endorsed Harris and Walz.
Walz described Flake as “super conservative” and “as honest as anything.”
The SmartLess podcast is hosted by Hollywood actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes.
Walz served in the U.S. House from 2007 to 2019. He was inaugurated as Minnesota governor on Jan. 7, 2019.
Arab American PAC declines to endorse either Harris or Trump
LANSING, Mich. — A political action group of Arab American leaders is withholding endorsement from both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election. It’s the first time in over two decades that the Arab American PAC will not back the Democratic presidential nominee, according to Osama Siblani, a co-founder of the group and publisher of the Arab American News.
In a statement, the group expressed that “neither candidate represents our hopes and dreams as Arab Americans,” adding that “both are a threat to our principles and they cannot be entrusted with our domestic and foreign policies.”
Michigan, home to the nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, has seen each presidential campaign vying for endorsements from community leaders for months. Siblani had engaged in discussions with top Democratic leaders throughout the past year, including an August meeting with Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Harris’ campaign manager, to address tensions in the community.
Founded in 1998, the Arab American PAC was created to organize and promote political engagement among Arab Americans. Many Arab American elected officials in the state are or were members of the PAC, Siblani said.
Pennsylvania is generating the most attention by far in both campaigns
Pennsylvania has generated the most attention by far from the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns. Including Monday’s scheduled events, the candidates will have made 46 stops in the state, according to The Associated Press’ tracking of the campaigns’ public events. Michigan, with 33 visits, and Wisconsin, with 29, are the next most-visited states, illustrating how both campaigns are focusing on winning states that had been part of the Democrats’ so-called blue wall until Trump emerged as the Republican standard-bearer.
Harris will be interviewed on Fox News
Vice President Kamala Harris will be interviewed by Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Wednesday in Pennsylvania as she steps up her travel and conversations with news outlets in the closing stretch of the presidential campaign. The network announced the interview in a news release on Monday. It will be Harris’ first sit-down with the network, and her first interview with a news outlet outside of her ideological comfort zone since becoming the Democratic nominee. Harris has previously granted interviews to CNN and CBS’ “60 Minutes,” as well as friendly venues including ABC’s “The View” and Howard Stern’s radio show.
Harris seeks to energize Black male voters
Vice President Kamala Harris talks about her economic agenda and how Black men will benefit from it in a pair of interviews released Monday.
The interviews are part of a push by the Democratic presidential nominee to energize a key voting block that has Democrats concerned about a lack of enthusiasm. The interviews with Roland Martin Unfiltered and The Shade Room were released as Harris announced a plan to give Black men more economic opportunities and other chances to thrive.
On Tuesday in Detroit, Harris will also sit for an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, another prominent Black media personality.
Harris’ Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, has been appealing to men, and making a strong pitch to Black men in particular, as he campaigns to be reelected to a second term.
In the interviews released Monday, Harris says Trump has no proposals that would help the people who will be watching her conversations.