Harris and Walz kick off Georgia bus tour to build momentum in battleground states
Good morning to all readers of the American Politics Blog. There are seven battleground states expected to decide who will vote in the November presidential election: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia. The last state will be the one to watch in particular. Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz Over the next two days, they Joe Biden Four years ago, Harris became the first Democrat to win the electoral vote since 1992. The two began a bus tour of the state's southern counties on Wednesday, with Harris set to conclude the tour on Thursday with a rally in Savannah.
Their campaigns said Ms. Harris and Ms. Walz were seeking to build on momentum after accepting the party's nomination amid Democratic enthusiasm at last week's convention and to win states that may be the toughest to hold in November. In opinion polls, generally Donald Trump He has an advantage among Georgia voters, but that lead has narrowed since Harris entered the race. Let's see what the vice president and the Minnesota governor encounter as they tour the state today.
Here's something else that's happening:
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Trump During a visit to Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week, election workers got into an altercation with officials who tried to prevent them from taking photos in an area where only employees are allowed to take photos. NPR reportsThe Trump campaign denied their account of the incident.
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Cook Political ReportNorth Carolina is currently seen as a “50-50” presidential election by respected forecasters, and the state hasn't voted for a Democratic candidate since 2008.
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Senate Republican Campaign Organization Buying ads from current employees Ted CruzIn the polls for the Democratic reelection race, Colin Allred In Republican strongholds, it may be too close for comfort.
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The Trump campaign has denied the episode, which it blamed on an “unnamed individual” who was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode”. The national cemetery told NPR that it had filed a report over the incident.
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Here’s more:
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A source with knowledge of the incident said the cemetery official tried to prevent Trump staffers from filming and photographing in a section where recent US casualties are buried. The source said Arlington officials had made clear that only cemetery staff members would be authorized to take photographs or film in the area, known as Section 60.
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When the cemetery official tried to prevent Trump campaign staff from entering Section 60, campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the official aside, according to the source.
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Trump participated in an event to mark the third anniversary of a deadly attack on US troops in Afghanistan as US forces withdrew from the country; 13 US service members were killed in the attack. The Trump campaign has blamed President Biden and Vice President Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee, for the chaotic withdrawal.
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In a statement to NPR, Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s spokesman, strongly rejected the notion of a physical altercation, adding: ‘We are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made.
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‘The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,’ Cheung said in the statement.
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The Trump campaign declined to make that footage immediately available.
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In a statement to NPR, Arlington National Cemetery said it ‘can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed.’
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Kamala Harris has not done a single sit-down interview since embarking on her presidential campaign, but that will change on Thursday at 9pm ET when CNN airs a joint interview with Tim Walz.
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The network says the candidates will talk about their swing through Georgia, and we can expect the vice-president to also be asked for her thoughts on Joe Biden ending his bid for a second term and clearing the way for her to become the Democratic nominee.
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It’s just one interview, though, and is unlikely to quiet the attacks from Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance and other Republicans who claim that Harris and Walz can’t handle scrutiny from the press. We’ll see if the pair schedule more encounters with the media in the weeks to come.
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Good morning, US politics blog readers. There are seven swing states whose voters are expected to decide the November presidential election: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia. It’s that last state which will be getting special attention from Kamala Harris and Tim Walz over the next two days, as they look to preserve inroads made by Joe Biden four years ago, when he became the first Democrat to win its electoral votes since 1992. The pair is kicking off a bus tour of the state’s southern counties on Wednesday that will culminate on Thursday with Harris holding a rally in Savannah.
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Their campaign says that Harris and Walz are aiming to build off their momentum from last week’s convention, when they accepted the party’s nomination amid enthusiasm from Democrats. They’re also aiming to win a state that may be the toughest to hold in November – polls generally show Donald Trump with the advantage among Georgia voters, though the gap has grown narrower since Harris entered the race. We’ll see what the vice-president and Minnesota governor encounter as they traverse the state today.
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Here’s what else is happening:
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Trump earlier this week visited Arlington national cemetery, and his campaign staff had an altercation with an official who tried to prevent them from taking pictures in area where only employees are allowed to do so, NPR reports. The Trump campaign has rejected their description of events.
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The Cook Political Report, the closely watched forecaster, now views North Carolina as a “toss up” in the presidential election. The state hasn’t voted for a Democratic candidate since 2008.
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The Senate GOP campaign arm is buying ads for incumbent Ted Cruz, in a sign that polls of his re-election race against Democrat Colin Allred in the Republican bastion may be too close for comfort.
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Main Events
Trump campaign staffer gets into 'verbal altercation and physical altercation' with Arlington National Cemetery official over photo op, reports say
2 staff members Donald TrumpCampaigners got into “altercations and physical altercations” with Arlington National Cemetery officials over filming and taking photographs at a site for recent war victims. NPR reports.
The Trump campaign denied the incident and blamed it on “an unnamed individual who clearly had a mental illness.” The national cemetery told NPR that it had filed a report about the incident.
Learn more:
A source familiar with the incident said cemetery officials tried to prevent Trump staff from taking videos and photos in the area where recent US military casualties are buried. Arlington officials made it clear that only cemetery employees were allowed to take photos and videos in the area, known as Section 60, the sources said.
According to sources, when cemetery staff tried to block Trump campaign staff from entering Section 60, the campaign staff yelled at them and pushed them away.
As U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan, President Trump took part in an event marking the third anniversary of a deadly attack on U.S. troops in the country that left 13 U.S. soldiers dead. The Trump campaign has blamed President Biden and Vice President Harris, who is now the Democratic presidential nominee, for the chaotic withdrawal.
In a statement to NPR, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang strongly denied the notion that a physical confrontation took place, adding that the campaign “is prepared to release the footage if such defamatory allegations are made.”
“The facts are that a private photographer was permitted on the premises, but for some reason, an anonymous individual, who was clearly suffering from a mental illness, decided to physically disrupt members of President Trump's team during the solemn ceremony,” Chang said in a statement.
The Trump campaign declined to immediately release the footage.
In a statement to NPR, Arlington National Cemetery said it “can confirm an incident occurred and a report has been filed.”
Why are Kamala Harris and Tim Walz heading to rural south Georgia?
Democrats have struggled in rural areas in recent elections across the country, instead garnering support from urban and suburban areas.
but Politico reports Democrats' push into Georgia's backwoods is part of a strategy to gain support in urban areas while limiting losses in rural areas, a strategy they plan to replicate in other battleground states.
“Even when we don't think we can win outright, we have to close the gap and make progress,” said Harris Waltz, chief deputy campaign manager. Quentin Fulks “I know I'm going to lose that county, but just showing up there can make a difference between 5 and 10 percentage points, and just having an office there can make a difference,” he told Politico.
Harris and Waltz are scheduled to appear in their first joint interview with CNN on Thursday.
Kamala Harris They have not given a single interview since launching their presidential campaign, but that will change on Thursday when CNN airs a joint interview with them at 9 p.m. ET. Tim Waltz.
The network says The candidates will talk about their campaigns in Georgia, and the Vice President is expected to be asked about his thoughts on campaigning in the state. Joe Biden It ended his bid for a second term and paved the way for her to become the Democratic nominee.
But this was just one interview. Donald TrumpHis vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance And some Republicans have argued that Ms Harris and Mr Walz cannot stand up to the media scrutiny, so it will be interesting to see whether the pair schedule more meetings with the press in the coming weeks.
Harris and Walz kick off Georgia bus tour to build momentum in battleground states
Good morning to all readers of the American Politics Blog. There are seven battleground states expected to decide who will vote in the November presidential election: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia. The last state will be the one to watch in particular. Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz Over the next two days, they Joe Biden Four years ago, Harris became the first Democrat to win the electoral vote since 1992. The two began a bus tour of the state's southern counties on Wednesday, with Harris set to conclude the tour on Thursday with a rally in Savannah.
Their campaigns said Ms. Harris and Ms. Walz were seeking to build on momentum after accepting the party's nomination amid Democratic enthusiasm at last week's convention and to win states that may be the toughest to hold in November. In opinion polls, generally Donald Trump He has an advantage among Georgia voters, but that lead has narrowed since Harris entered the race. Let's see what the vice president and the Minnesota governor encounter as they tour the state today.
Here's something else that's happening:
-
Trump During a visit to Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week, election workers got into an altercation with officials who tried to prevent them from taking photos in an area where only employees are allowed to take photos. NPR reportsThe Trump campaign denied their account of the incident.
-
Cook Political ReportThe noted forecaster sees North Carolina as a “50-50” chance in the presidential election, as the state hasn't voted for a Democratic candidate since 2008.
-
Senate Republican Campaign Organization Buying ads from current employees Ted CruzIn the polls for the Democratic reelection race, Colin Allred In Republican strongholds, it may be too close for comfort.
