“Kamala Harris campaigned through Pennsylvania’s conservative interior on Friday, aiming to shave a few percentage points off former President Donald Trump’s winning margins in parts of the state where he remains popular,” the New York Times reports.
Trump Keeps Talking About January 6
“When a moderator asked Donald Trump about Jan. 6, 2021, at the presidential debate, the former president slipped immediately into a now-familiar revisionist history of the attack on the U.S. Capitol,” the New York Times reports.
“He falsely claimed that he had nothing to do with the assault, blaming it on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the police officers who protected the building that day against a mob of his supporters.”
“But then Mr. Trump made a brief but telling remark: He used the pronoun ‘we’ to describe some of the rioters, grammatically placing himself among those who have been charged with storming into the Capitol.”
Harris Sits for First Solo Interview as Nominee
“Kamala Harris sat for a one-on-one interview with a local station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday, sharing how she offers a ‘new generation of leadership,’” Axios reports.
“It’s the first formal, solo interview Harris has done since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.”
GOP Campaign Staffer Resigns After Scuffle with Police
“A campaign aide for Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno resigned Friday in connection with a confrontational encounter between the staffer and police officers during the arrest of another Moreno campaign aide on suspicion of drunken driving,” WKYC reports.
“Colton Henson, whom the campaign described as a contracted political adviser, resigned the same day the Chillicothe-based newspaper Scioto Valley Guardian published police body-camera video showing Henson arguing with police officers as they arrested Moreno campaign finance assistant Abby Wright in the Pickaway County village of Ashville on Sept. 1.”
Harris Still Struggling to Blunt Trump’s Edge on Economy
“Some allies of Kamala Harris worry that the Democratic nominee has yet to seal the deal with voters as the presidential candidate who can best manage the economy, a task they say is crucial to building a durable lead in the battleground states,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Obamas and Clintons to Hit Campaign Trail for Harris
“Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with former first lady Michelle Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are preparing to lend their political star power to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign in the final stretch of the election,“ NBC News reports.
“The high-profile surrogates all felt ‘energized’ by their roles in the Democratic National Convention last month and have offered to help the Harris team in any way that would be most helpful.”
Ballots with Incorrect Dates Won’t Count in Pennsylvania
“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Friday that mail ballots that are improperly dated won’t be counted in November, a move that could have major implications in the closely divided battleground state,” NBC News reports.
“The decision reverses a lower court ruling from last month that found it was unconstitutional to reject mail ballots that had a missing or incorrect date.”
Quote of the Day
“I observed him to be a man who is not mentally fit for the job… He’s a narcissist, and he’s a pathological liar.”
— Former Rep. Jim Greenwood’s (R-PA), on MSNBC, explaining why he’s voting for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump.
Harris Expands Lead Nationally
A new Data for Progress survey finds Kamala Harris now leading Donald Trump by four points nationally, 50% to 46%.
Trump Escalates Rhetoric About Haitian Immigrants
Donald Trump used increasingly harsh rhetoric Friday in describing Haitian migrants in Ohio, saying they’re “destroying their way of life” and threatened mass deportations, Politico reports.
Said Trump: “Illegal Haitian migrants have descended upon a town of 58,000 people, destroying their way of life.”
New York Times: “Trump repeated his promise to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history, but said he would start in Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colo., two cities at the center of baseless and misleading claims he has made about migrants taking over buildings and bringing crime and disease to towns.”
J.D. Vance Says Haitian Immigrants Are Spreading HIV
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) “doubled down on debunked claims about Haitian immigrants abducting pets to eat them and falsely linked the migrant community to rising rates of HIV and tuberculosis in Springfield, Ohio,” the Advocate reports.
Ohio Mayor Has Had Enough
“The mayor of the Ohio city at the center of a firestorm over immigration says that his town needs help — not the hate that has been stirred by politicians and extremists,” the New York Times reports.
Said Mayor Rob Rue (R): “We are hurting.”
He added: “It’s frustrating when national politicians, on the national stage, mischaracterize what is actually going on and misrepresent our community.”
Prosecutors Won’t Charge Georgia’s Lt. Governor
“A state prosecutor on Friday announced he would decline to pursue criminal charges against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R) regarding his efforts to aid Donald Trump as the former president sought to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Trump Claims He’s Not Selling Stake in Trump Media
Shares of Trump Media surged Friday after majority owner Donald Trump said he is not selling his stake, NBC News reports.
Said Trump: “I have absolutely no intention of selling.”
Trump Defends Laura Loomer as GOP Unrest Grows
Donald Trump downplayed the significance of right-wing agitator Laura Loomer traveling with him on his private plane earlier this week, describing her to reporters as “a free spirit” who “speaks very positively of the campaign,” Semafor reports.
Biden Denounces Trump for False Rumors Over Pet Eating
“President Biden angrily denounced former President Donald Trump on Friday for continuing to traffic in false rumors about Haitian immigrants eating cats and dogs, unfounded tales that have roiled a community in Ohio and inflamed the presidential campaign,” the New York Times reports.
Said Biden: “It’s simply wrong. There’s no place in America. This has to stop, what he’s doing. It has to stop.”
Lawmaker’s Wife Says ‘Satan Has Rewritten Our Marriage’
Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) was accused by his wife of having an affair with a 32-year-old woman after being corrupted by his time in Congress, warning that his peers may become “intoxicated with power and adoration,” the Nashville Banner reports.
Said Camilla Green: “He is living life greatly deceived. I have offered reconciliation, and he wants nothing of it and has insisted on a divorce. Satan has rewritten our marriage in his mind.”
Pope Says U.S. Election Is Choice Between ‘Two Evils’
“Pope Francis on Friday described the choice US voters must make in the presidential election as one between the “lesser of two evils,” deeming former President Donald Trump’s anti-migrant policies and Vice President Kamala Harris’ support of abortion rights as both being ‘against life,'” CNN reports.
Said Francis: “One must choose the lesser of two evils. Who is the lesser of two evils? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know. Everyone with a conscience should think on this and do it.”
