Trump heckler removed from Coachella rally while he insults Biden and praises ‘fierce’ Xi Jinping: Live

Former president Donald Trump chose to hold a rally in the Democrat-heavy state of California on Saturday evening, ultimately leading to a heckler being removed from his rally.

As soon as Trump took the stage at Coachella, a heckler shouted at him from the stands behind him. He turned around and responded to them, “Back home to mommy, she goes back home to mommy.”

The former president then continued to go on his usual rant about immigration, falsely claiming there are mass amounts of “migrant crime” that pose a threat to everyday citizens. There is no evidence that immigrants commit more violent crimes than US citizens – nor of mass “migrant crime”.

After blaming Harris for allowing migrants into the United States, Trump turned his attention to President Joe Biden who he accused of falling asleep in front of the media and being “the worst president in history.”

However, the former president did praise the president of China Xi Jinping of being a “fierce man.”

Trump’s California rally comes hours after Harris released her medical information in a challenge to Trump, whose health and age are coming under increased scrutiny.

Key Points

• Harris shares medical report saying she has ‘physical and mental resilience’ to be president

• Trump campaign reposts year-old medical report in response to Harris record release

• Trump repeats lies about Venezuelan gang in Aurora

• Harris comments on Trump’s mental acuity while he claims Democrats want ‘no more cows'

• Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump? Latest poll updates

After Christie criticizes Trump, former president brings up ‘fat pig’ at rally

02:35 , Ariana Baio

Trump is seemingly angry at New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for claiming he is cognitively declining. At his rally on Saturday evening, Trump brought up the phrase he claims a rallygoer once used to describe Christie: “a fat pig”.

Though the former president brought up the phrase, he also claimed it was not nice to say and scolded those who use it.

The former New Jersey governor told The New York Times that he sees a “decline” in Trump’s “skills”.

“I saw a decline in his skills in ’20 from ’16, and you see significant declines still,” Christie said. “What masks it is that he is still physically pretty vibrant and energetic, unlike the president.”

He added: “But if you listen to him and his ability to make a point, it’s not nearly as good now as it was in 2016, not nearly.”

Trump praises Xi Jinping for ruling ‘with an iron fist'

02:33 , Ariana Baio

At multiple points during Trump’s rally in California, he praised the president of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping – calling him “fierce” and praising his leadership.

“He’s a brilliant guy,” Trump said. “Got 1.4 billion people – he rules it with an iron fist. And the press gets upset when I say he’s a smart man”

Heckler removed from Trump rally

02:16 , Ariana Baio

As Trump began his rally in Coachella he stopped his speech to turn and face the crowd behind him where an apparent heckler shouted at the former president.

“Back home to Mommy, she goes back home to Mommy,” Trump said. “Was that you, darling? And then she gets the hell knocked out of her.”

Trump supporters booed and pointed at the heckler who was then removed.

Trump takes the stage in Coachella

01:46 , Ariana Baio

Donald Trump is on stage in Coachella, California delivering familiar remarks about inflation, the economy, homelessness and migrants.

Underneath the blazing sun, Trump took the stage and put on a MAGA hat. The former president immediately began talking about immigration, claiming the country would become like “migrant camps” in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Harris packs hurricane relief packages in North Carolina

01:30 , Ariana Baio

Vice President Kamala Harris met with local leaders and helped pack up hurricane relief supplies in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday evening.

While campaigning in the western part of the state, Harris stopped at The Pit, a barbeque restaurant and met with local Black leaders in the community.

She then helped local volunteers pack up necessary supplies going to victims of the recent hurricanes, including baby wipes, diapers, Advil, Band Aids, soap, baby formula and more.

Actor Dennis Quaid endorses Trump

01:16 , Ariana Baio

Dennis Quaid, the actor known for his performances in The Parent Trap and The Rookie, spoke in favor of Donald Trump on Saturday evening at his Coachella, California rally.

Quaid walked onto the stage and told rallygoers “It’s time to pick a side.”

“Are we going to be a nation that stands for the Constitution or for TikTok?” Quaid asked.

Trump’s Coachella rally lineup

Sunday 13 October 2024 00:45 , Ariana Baio

Trump’s rally in Coachella, California featured a lineup of prominent public figures and officials who encouraged a large crowd to vote for the former president despite being in the blue-heavy state.

Robert O’Brien, a former national security advisor in the Trump administration, made a brief appearance.

Kash Patel, the former chief of staff to the Secretary of Defense and Trump loyalist

Richard Grenell, the former US Ambassador to Germany

Dennis Quaid, an actor

Matt Gaetz, a Florida representative

Ken Calvert, a California representative

Trump national security advisor says his ‘gates of hell’ will be ‘unleashed’ if they win

Sunday 13 October 2024 00:30 , Ariana Baio

Michael Flynn, the Trump administration’s National Security Advisor, told a crowd of people to focus on winning the 2024 election before thinking about holding people ‘accountable’ – a reference to prosecuting current officials.

An audience member at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in Pennsylvania asked Flynn if he would head “a military tribunal to not only drain the swamp, but imprison the swamp, and on a few occasions, execute the swamp.”

The question seemed to be an allusion to Trump promising to go after current government officials, judges and more who have disputed him or pursued legal action against him.

Flynn essentially said he would so long as Republicans win in November.

“We have to win. These people are already up to no good. So we gotta win first. We win, and then Katie, Bar The Door. Believe me, the gates of hell, my hell will be unleashed.”

Lincoln Project trolls Trump over Coachella rally

Sunday 13 October 2024 00:15 , Ariana Baio

The Lincoln Project is trolling Donald Trump for holding a rally in Coachella, California tonight by releasing a Coachella music festival-esq graphic listing various Project 2025 positions.

Vance says it’s ‘deranged’ for women not to have children due to climate change

Sunday 13 October 2024 00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

JD Vance has said it is “deranged” and “very crazy” for women not to have children due to concerns about the climate crisis in his latest comments wading in on the choices of childfree Americans.

Read the full story here:

JD Vance says it’s ‘deranged’ for women not to have children due to climate change

Melania Trump: It’s ‘tricky’ to trust the government

Saturday 12 October 2024 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Melania Trump has claimed that it’s “tricky” to trust the US government as she continues her media blitz to plug her new memoir.

The former first lady, whose book Melania was released this week, appeared on Some Future Day podcast where she revealed her skepticism about there being “so many rules” for the American people.

“Trust, it’s [an] interesting word,” she said.

Rachel Sharp has the full story.

Melania Trump claims it’s ‘tricky’ to trust the government

Walz bags no birds at Minnesota pheasant hunting season opener

Saturday 12 October 2024 23:00 , AP

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz spent Saturday morning tramping through tall grass on the opening day of Minnesota‘s pheasant hunting season, giving the campaign a chance to highlight the governor’s rural roots and love of outdoor sports.

Neither Walz nor Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan managed to bag any pheasants as they hunted near Sleepy Eye, a town about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Minneapolis. But others in their parties shot six birds on a beautiful fall day, the governor’s office said.

Continue reading...

Walz tramps through tall grass on Minnesota's pheasant hunting season opener but bags no birds

Watch: Harris speaks to reporters about Trump’s mental acuity ahead of North Carolina visit

Saturday 12 October 2024 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Latest poll updates: Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump?

Saturday 12 October 2024 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Alicja Hagopian takes us through the latest polling data.

Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump? Latest poll updates from the 2024 election

Harris comments on Trump’s mental acuity while he claims Democrats want ‘no more cows'

Saturday 12 October 2024 22:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Kamala Harris talks to reporters about releasing her medical report before taking off for North Carolina and adds to the pressure on Donald Trump to do the same and release his own health assessment: “It's clear to me that he and his team do not want the American people to really see… if he is fit to be the president.”

Asked about Trump’s mental acuity, Harris said: “I invite the public to watch Trump’s rallies and be the decision-maker on his acuity. You will see in his rallies how he goes off on tangents, how he is not focused on the needs of the American people with solutions to the issues that concern them the most.”

Here is Trump speaking at a Hispanic roundtable in Clark County, Nevada, this afternoon claiming that Democrats want to get rid of cows.

Trump cited ‘incorrect’ article to prove he was named ‘Man of the Year’

Saturday 12 October 2024 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump confidently touted to attendees at the Detroit Economic Club luncheon on Thursday that he was named the “Man of the Year” by the county’s Republican Party in 2013. The only problem is that he was not, and the newspaper clipping he brought to prove it had to issue a correction over it.

Ariana Baio reports.

Newspaper says Trump cited ‘incorrect’ article claiming he was ‘Man of the Year’

‘Is that a positive message?’ asks Trump

Saturday 12 October 2024 21:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump wrapped up his remarks at a Hispanic roundtable in Clark County, Nevada, with a dark and forboding message.

The former president said: “We have a problem of survival of our country because we are run by very stupid and probably evil people, and we cannot have it.”

He then added: “I hope that is a positive message. Is that a positive message?”

New poll shows Trump with commanding lead in Arizona as Harris support firms up in Pennsylvania

Saturday 12 October 2024 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

With just over three weeks until election day, a new pair of polls from the key battleground states of Arizona and Pennsylvania tell very different stories for both the Harris and Trump campaigns.

The New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena College polls show Donald Trump holding a six-point lead in Arizona. At the same time, Kamala Harris has a four-point lead in Pennsylvania when using unrounded figures.

Read on...

New polls reveal state of Trump v Harris race in Pennsylvania and Arizona

Watch: Trump claims to be up in all swing states at campaign event in Las Vegas

Saturday 12 October 2024 21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump is ‘fascist to the core’ and ‘most dangerous person to this country’ according to top general

Saturday 12 October 2024 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Mark Milley, the US Army general who Donald Trump appointed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now says the current Republican presidential nominee is a “fascist to the core” and says no person has ever posed more of a danger to the United States than the man who served as the 45th President of the United States.

Milley, a decorated military officer who became a target for right-wing scorn after it became known that he expressed concerns over Trump’s mental stability in the wake of his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, is described by journalist Bob Woodward in his new book, War, as incredibly alarmed at the prospect of a second Trump term in the White House. The Independent obtained a copy ahead of the book’s October 15 release date.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Trump’s top general calls ex-president ‘fascist to the core’

Walz kicks off pheasant hunting season

Saturday 12 October 2024 21:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Recap: Harris medical report finds ‘physical and mental resiliency’ to be president

Saturday 12 October 2024 21:17 , Oliver O'Connell

A medical report on the health of Vice President Kamala Harris has been released with less than a month to go before the presidential election.

According to a letter from her doctor, Harris is in “excellent health” and “possesses the physical and mental resiliency” required to serve as president.

In contrast, the report increases scrutiny of Donald Trump’s fitness to serve.

Read on...

Harris medical report finds ‘physical and mental resiliency’ to be president

Watch: Harris spokesperson calls for Trump to release medical records

Saturday 12 October 2024 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Roger Stone suggests sending ‘armed guards’ to voting stations in undercover video

Saturday 12 October 2024 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Newly surfaced video footage reveals former Donald Trump adviser and longtime ally Roger Stone suggesting the deployment of Trump-backed “armed guards” at vote counting areas.

The notorious self-styled GOP “dirty trickster” was secretly recorded responding to a question about how Democrats can be stopped from “stealing” the election while mingling with attendees at his Jacksonville, Florida, event: ‘A Night with Roger Stone.’

“We have to fight it out on a state-by-state basis, but you have to be ready,” Stone can be heard replying in the undercover recording first given to Rolling Stone by documentarian Lauren Windsor.

James Liddell reports.

Trump ally Roger Stone suggests sending ‘armed guards’ to voting stations

Watch: Vance still won’t say who won 2020 election

Saturday 12 October 2024 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Saturday 12 October 2024 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

With 24 days until election, Trump promotes crypto project

Saturday 12 October 2024 20:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch: Vance says ‘knuckleheads’ to blame for Jan 6 violence, not Trump

Saturday 12 October 2024 20:35 , Oliver O'Connell

‘The Apprentice’ bio-pic gets ‘most things’ right, Trump’s ghostwriter says

Saturday 12 October 2024 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter who wrote Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal, has said the new bio-pic about the former president gets the most important thing about him right.

Schwartz said in an op-ed for The New York Times he now sees The Art of the Deal “as an unintended work of fiction.” Trump is “exhibit A” when it comes to the difference between how “leaders and other high achievers” present themselves and “how they feel on the inside,” Schwartz writes.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Trump’s ghostwriter says ‘The Apprentice’ bio-pic gets ‘most things’ right

Watch: Vance asked if he condemns Capitol riot

Saturday 12 October 2024 20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch: Charlamagne Tha God rips Trump’s Detroit remarks

Saturday 12 October 2024 20:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Full story: Harris medical report finds ‘physical and mental resiliency’ to be president

Saturday 12 October 2024 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A medical report on the health of Vice President Kamala Harris has been released with less than a month to go before the presidential election.

According to a letter from her doctor, Harris is in “excellent health” and “possesses the physical and mental resiliency” required to serve as president.

Meanwhile, more questions are being raised about Donald Trump’s health and mental fitness.

Read on...

Harris medical report finds ‘physical and mental resiliency’ to be president

What is on Kamala Harris’s schedule this weekend?

Saturday 12 October 2024 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Vice President Kamala Harris will depart Washington, DC, this afternoon and will spend the rest of the weekend in North Carolina, with campaign events scheduled in Raleigh and Greenville.

Tonight, Harris will meet with local Black elected, faith, and community leaders at a restaurant in Raleigh. Her campaign says she will also work with local volunteers to prepare supplies as a part of a hurricane relief supply drive to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene in the western part of the state.

On Sunday, Harris will attend a church service in Greenville and provide remarks at a community church, as faith leaders from across the country are launching a “Souls to the Polls” effort to turn out Black churchgoers ahead of Election Day.

At 4.40pm on Sunday the vice president will hold a campaign rally in Greenville ahead of the start of early voting beginning in the state on Thursday. Harris will meet with black farmers to discuss her economic policy plan ahead of the rally, according to the campaign.

Watch: Lincoln Project rips Trump over medical records

Saturday 12 October 2024 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Vance: ‘Deranged’ for women not to have children due to climate change

Saturday 12 October 2024 19:18 , Oliver O'Connell

JD Vance has said it is “deranged” and “very crazy” for women not to have children due to concerns about the climate crisis in his latest comments wading in on the choices of childfree Americans.

Donald Trump’s running mate has struggled to shake off the backlash for calling Kamala Harris and other Democrats “childless cat ladies” in a resurfaced interview with Tucker Carlson from 2021.

Now, in a new interview with The New York Times published on Saturday, the VP candidate was confronted once again about his past sexist comments less than one month out from the election.

Rachel Sharp reports.

JD Vance says it’s ‘deranged’ for women not to have children due to climate change

‘Selfish child’: Chris Christie slams Trump for politicizing Hurricane Milton

Saturday 12 October 2024 19:00 , Rachel Sharp

Chris Christie has slammed Donald Trump for politicizing Hurricane Milton as Florida begins recovery efforts from the “once in a lifetime” storm.

“He is a selfish child,” Christie told The New York Times opinion journalist Frank Bruni.

“And he doesn’t care that these people in North Carolina are suffering the way they are, if caring costs him one bit of perceived political advantage.”

Trump has been peddling conspiracies about the federal government’s response to both Hurricanes Helene and Milton, including a debunked claim that money from FEMA is being diverted away from hurricane survivors towards illegal migrants.

Chris Christie latest to sound alarm over Trump’s ‘significant’ mental decline

Saturday 12 October 2024 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Donald Trump ally turned staunch critic Chris Christie has become the latest to sound the alarm over the former president’s apparent mental decline, saying that he has seen a “significant” change in his capabilities.

The former New Jersey governor told The New York Times opinion journalist Frank Bruni that the Trump he saw during his first White House bid in 2016 appears to be very different to the man running for a third time today.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Chris Christie sounds alarm over Trump’s ‘significant’ mental decline

Biden says he’ll approve Trump request for military aircraft for campaigning as election nears

Saturday 12 October 2024 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden told reporters that he would be happy to approve Donald Trump’s request to use military aircraft in the final stages of the campaign, as long as “he doesn’t ask for F-15s”, ABC News reports.

“Look, what I’ve told the department is to give him every single thing he needs for his — as if he were a sitting president,” he said. “Give him all that he needs. If it fits within that category, that’s fine. But it doesn’t, he shouldn’t.”

Here’s our report on the former president’s request for great protection on the campaign trail.

Trump wants a military plane to fly citing Iran threats

How Melania Trump’s book sets the stage for her businesswoman revamp

Saturday 12 October 2024 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Sheila Flynn writes:

The first image posted was arresting, an ethereal watercolor rendering of just Melania Trump’s eyes – specifically identified as cobalt blue – staring out intently from her’s personal Instagram page.

The design, the accompanying December 2021 announcement explained, was the inaugural in Melania’s new line of cryptocurrency digital artwork – NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, essentially online collectibles meant to hold value.

And alongside that intense ocular image, significantly, was the Instagram account’s first mention of MelaniaTrump.com.

Up until that point, @melaniatrump – created eight months beforehand, one day after the former first lady posted her farewell message to the American people on her now-archived FLOTUS account – had featured occasional messages promoting patriotism and echoing her White House platforms to combat cyberbullying and support foster care.

The sleek and sexy eye artwork, however, marked a departure – and the soft launch of a newly-revamped “Brand Melania.”

Continue reading...

Brand Melania: The former first lady’s book sets the stage for a big revamp

Harris is trying to fix her Latino problem

Saturday 12 October 2024 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

The divide reveals the thorny trail that Harris must navigate when it comes to immigration reform and Latino outreach. For decades, Democrats believed that Republicans’ anti-immigrant stance would render them unable to win over a population that largely came to the United States as migrants. But the data has not borne that out.

Continue reading...

Kamala Harris is trying to fix her Latino problem

Gateway Pundit acknowledges no election fraud in Georgia in 2020 after settlement with poll workers

Saturday 12 October 2024 17:10 , Oliver O'Connell

The Gateway Pundit has posted a statement on its website acknowledging there was no voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 election and that Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss were cleared of any wrongdoing.

Georgia officials concluded that there was no widespread voter fraud by election workers who counted ballots at the State Farm Arena in November 2020. The results of this investigation indicate that Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss did not engage in ballot fraud or criminal misconduct while working at State Farm Arena on election night. A legal matter with this news organization and the two election workers has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement.

The two election workers reached a settlement in their defamation lawsuit against the Missouri-based conservative website that falsely accused them of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, according to a court filing earlier this week.

The lawsuit against The Gateway Pundit, its owner Jim Hoft and his brother Joe Hoft “has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement,” lawyers for Freeman and Moss said on Friday.

After mocking Harris over teleprompter use, Trump stops rally to remove sign that fell on his

Saturday 12 October 2024 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

After mocking Vice President Kamala Harris over her teleprompter use, Donald Trump’s rally in Reno, Nevada, ground to a halt as he was was forced to fix his on-stage after a campaign sign fell on it.

“Thank god I don’t use teleprompters too much,” Trump told rallygoers after the sign fell on the teleprompter, causing the script to stop being projected. “I look at the teleprompter, it’s totally gone. I say ‘What the hell happened.’ The sign fell on top of it.”

Ariana Baio has the story.

Trump fixes teleprompter after mocking Harris for using a teleprompter

Trump campaign reposts year-old medical report in response to Harris record release

Saturday 12 October 2024 16:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Following the release of Kamala Harris’s latest medical report, the Trump campaign has responded by releasing the former president’s medical reports... sort of.

A statement from Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director, reads:

President Trump has voluntarily released updates from his personal physician, as well as detailed reports from Dr. Ronny Jackson who treated him after the first assassination attempt. All have concluded he is in perfect and excellent health to be Commander in Chief. He has maintained an extremely busy and active campaign schedule unlike any other in political history, whereas Kamala Harris has been unable to keep up with the demands of campaigning and reveals on a daily basis she is wholly unqualified to be President of the United States. Her schedule is much lighter because, it is said, she does not have the stamina of President Trump. Polls are reflective of this.

Linked underneath are two letters from Rep Ronny Jackson, Trump’s former physician, concerning the wound to the former president’s ear after the attempt on his life, and a letter from Trump’s current doctor that provides little detail and is dated November 20, 2023.

California rejects further SpaceX rocket launches after Musk’s ‘aggressive’ presidential race involvement

Saturday 12 October 2024 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

State officials have rejected SpaceX’s plans to launch further rockets in California, after Elon Musk’s recent “aggressive” insertion into the US presidential race.

Questions have been raised as to whether actions by the space exploration company, owned by Musk, should be considered federal or private activity.

Mike Bedigan reports.

California rejects more SpaceX launches after Musk’s presidential race involvement

New poll shows Trump with commanding lead in Arizona as Harris holds lead in Pennsylvania

Saturday 12 October 2024 16:09 , Oliver O'Connell

With just over three weeks until election day, a new pair of polls from the key battleground states of Arizona and Pennsylvania tell very different stories for both the Harris and Trump campaigns.

The New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena College polls show Donald Trump holding a six-point lead in Arizona. At the same time, Kamala Harris has a four-point lead in Pennsylvania when using unrounded figures.

Trump has 51 per cent of support among likely voters in Arizona to Harris’s 46 per cent, while 2,000 miles away in Pennsylvania, the vice president appears to be consolidating a lead of 50 per cent to Trump’s 47 per cent, having led in that state for the third consecutive poll.

However, the Times notes that neither candidate can rest on their laurels over the coming weeks:

Victory is far from secured for either candidate in either state. Other surveys from high-quality pollsters have shown tighter races in both states. According to New York Times polling averages, Mr Trump is ahead by just two percentage points in Arizona, and Ms Harris is ahead by just one point in Pennsylvania.

Both states also feature hotly contested Senate contests with the Democratic candidate in each holding a clear advantage, according to the new polling.

In Pennsylvania, Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat, is holding a slim lead against David McCormick, a Republican businessman, 48 percent to 44 percent. Mr McCormick’s four-point deficit is down from nine points last month, and 8 percent of voters said they remained undecided.

In the Senate contest in Arizona, Representative Ruben Gallego, the Democratic candidate, maintained his lead over Kari Lake, a former television anchor and outspoken Trump ally, 48 percent to 41 percent. But a fairly large share of voters, 10 percent, said they remained undecided.

Harris was asked to name three of Trump’s ‘virtues’. She couldn’t

Saturday 12 October 2024 16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Vice President Kamala Harris could not come up with three virtues about former president Donald Trump when she was asked to do so on Thursday evening at a Univision town hall event.

The Democratic presidential nominee laughed upon hearing the question, posed by an audience member, and immediately shared a negative trait about Trump that she does not like.

Ariana Baio reports.

Harris was asked to name three of Trump’s ‘virtues’. She couldn’t

What about Trump’s medical report?

Saturday 12 October 2024 15:40 , Oliver O'Connell

As Kamala Harris’s office released her medical report this morning, her campaign highlighted recent media reports raising questions about Donald Trump’s health and mental acuity and his failure to provide information about his health status and medical history.

Trump, 78, eagerly questioned President Joe Biden‘s health when the 81-year-old president was seeking reelection. Since Biden was replaced on the ticket with Harris, Trump’s own health has drawn more attention.

Regular readers of this blog will be all too familiar with the former president’s rambling, non-sensical diversions when he delivers campaign speeches or sits for interviews which some observers say indicates that not all is well.

Last November, Trump marked Biden’s birthday by releasing a letter from his physician that reported the former president was in “excellent” physical and mental health.

The letter posted on Trump’s social media platform contained no details to support its claims — measures like weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, or the results of any test.

Comment: Trump has a problem with women. Does that include Melania?

Saturday 12 October 2024 15:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Jon Sopel writes:

Donald Trump has a women problem. We know that because it is the reason he now has a criminal record over the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. We know that because of the jury in New York finding Trump liable for sexual abusing the writer E Jean Carroll and awarding her tens of millions of dollars in damages.

And just look at the polls. This could be the most gendered election ever, with a women’s vote splitting decidedly in favour of Kamala Harris, while Trump goes for the “bro vote” – the locker-room-bantering, towel-snapping, beer-chugging frat boys. Oh, and young, macho, Black and Latino men, too.

After the overturning of Roe v Wade – the seminal ruling that gave women a right to choose on abortion – Harris has been piling up the votes among women. And remember, women go out to vote in larger numbers than men, and in the US there are many more women than men.

But what I want to do is dwell on one woman in particular: his wife, Melania Trump. And the question: does he have a problem with her, too?

Continue reading...

Trump has a women problem – but does that include Melania?

Why is Harris’s medical report important?

Saturday 12 October 2024 15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The release of Kamala Harris’s medical report showing that she is in “excellent health” and “possesses the physical and mental resiliency” required to serve as president is significant because her campaign hopes to use the moment to draw a contrast with Republican Donald Trump, who has released only limited information about his health over the years.

They want to raise questions about his fitness to serve, according to a campaign aide who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Trump has released very little health information, including after his ear was grazed by a bullet during an assassination attempt in July.

‘I know and believe she will win’: Stevie Wonder endorses Kamala Harris

Saturday 12 October 2024 14:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Stevie Wonder has endorsed Kamala Harris in her bid to become the next US president.

Wonder, the legendary musician behind hits such as “Superstition” and “Sir Duke”, recorded a video with filmmaker Spike Lee in which he throws his support behind Harris.

Louis Chilton reports.

Stevie Wonder endorses Kamala Harris for president: ‘I know and believe she will win’

Read the letter in full from Kamala Harris’s doctor

Saturday 12 October 2024 14:28 , Rachel Sharp

DeSantis denies that climate change is making hurricanes more powerful

Saturday 12 October 2024 14:00 , Ariana Baio

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis denied that the climate crisis is making hurricanes more powerful, contrary to the opinion of scientists.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday in the wake of Hurricanes Milton and Helene, DeSantis said there was a “precedent” for the immense destruction.

“There is precedent for all this in history,” DeSantis said. “It is hurricane season. You are going to have tropical weather.”

The governor said that Milton had hit Florida with a barometric pressure of 950 millibars. The lower the barometric pressure, the stronger the storm.

DeSantis’ remarks come in stark contrast to warnings made by scientists, who say that human-caused climate change has intensified Milton‘s rainfall by 20 to 30 percent and strengthened its winds by about 10 percent.

Mike Bedigan reports;

DeSantis denies that climate change is making hurricanes more powerful

Harris shares medical report saying she has ‘physical and mental resilience’ to be president

Saturday 12 October 2024 13:40 , Rachel Sharp

Kamala Harris has released a health summary from her White House physician, which states that she “possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”

In the summary released on Saturday morning, the vice president’s physician Joshua Simmons writes that she is in “excellent health.”

Harris is releasing her medical information in a challenge to Donald Trump, whose health and age are coming under increased scrutiny.

Roy Cohn: The ‘evil’ master architect who mentored Donald Trump, as seen in The Apprentice

Saturday 12 October 2024 13:00 , Ariana Baio

Decades before Trump erected his Tower, an insidiously well-connected New York power-player was cutting a ruthless path through US society, politics and courtroom battles. A new film charts Roy Cohn’s outsized influences on America and the 45th president, writes Sheila Flynn

Roy Cohn: The ‘evil’ master architect who mentored Donald Trump

Trump’s plan for mass deportations invokes 226-year-old law used to detain Japanese Americans

Saturday 12 October 2024 12:00 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump wants to immediately invoke a more than 200-year-old wartime law that grants the president unilateral authority to deploy federal law enforcement for rounding up and deporting immigrants as soon as he enters office.

The former president, speaking from Aurora, Colorado on Friday, told supporters that he plans to revive the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which would give the president unprecedented ability to target foreigners for removal, without a hearing or due process, based solely on their place of birth or citizenship.

His “Operation Aurora” — named after the Colorado city he has denigrated as a “war zone” from “migrant crime” — would also dispatch “elite squads of ICE, border patrol, and federal law enforcement officers to hunt down, arrest, and deport every last illegal alien gang member until there is not a single one left in this country,” he said.

Read more here:

Trump’s plan f or mass deportations invokes ‘dangerous’ 226-year-old law

Even Marjorie Taylor Greene’s GOP colleagues are outraged by her hurricane conspiracies

Saturday 12 October 2024 11:00 , Mike Bedigan

House Republicans are becoming more and more frustrated with their colleague Marjorie Taylor Greene and her bizarre, and debunked, claims that Democrats are “controlling the weather” following the recent devastation caused by hurricanes in the southeastern US.

The Maga firebrand from Georgia has doubled down on her conspiracy, leading even her fellow party members to speculate that she “needs [her] head examined.”

Greene claimed online last week that “they” can control the weather after Hurricane Helene killed more than two dozen people in her state and more than 230 in total. On Wednesday she doubled down, clarifying that she was referring to governmental organizations including NOAA.

Her remarks have been met with outrage, including from representatives whose districts have been directly affected by both Helene and now Milton. One described Greene’s remarks about the weather to Axios as “loony tunes”.

Carlos Gimenez, who represents a Hurricane-prone district in South Florida, replied to one of Greene’s posts writing, “NEW FLASH —> Humans cannot create or control hurricanes. Anyone who thinks they can, needs to have their head examined.”

Barack Obama uses diaper joke to mock Donald Trump at Pittsburgh rally for Kamala Harris

Saturday 12 October 2024 10:00 , Holly Patrick

Comedian laughs in Trump’s face when he claims ‘he’s basically a truthful person’

Saturday 12 October 2024 08:00 , Rhian Lubin

Comedian Andrew Schulz laughed in Donald Trump’s face when the former president joined him on his podcast and claimed he “is basically a truthful person.”

During the interview on Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant with Akaash Singh podcast, released on Wednesday, Trump launched into his familiar attacks on Kamala Harris calling her “a liar” and saying that she “lied” that he is against access to IVF treatment.

“Everybody knows that’s false,” Trump said on the podcast.

Referring to the election, he continued: “But this is a thing [that’s] gonna end in 29 days, so they can say what they want,” Trump said. “I have a hard time doing it to them, because … I’m basically a truthful person, but —”

Schulz struggled to compose himself when Trump said this.

Finding the statement so amusing, the comedian leaned back in his chair and laughed out loud.

“What does that mean?” Schulz asked the former president, who tried to continue talking over the laughter.

Detroit mayor slams Trump after trashing his ‘mess’ of a city

Saturday 12 October 2024 06:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has slammed Donald Trump after he criticized his city in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club, saying Detroit would be badly impacted if Vice President Kamala Harris was elected in the two-hour address on Thursday.

“The whole country is going to be like, you want to know the truth? It’ll be like Detroit. Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president. You’re going to have a mess on your hands,” he said. “We’re not going to let her do that to this country. We’re not gonna let it happen.”

Duggan responded to Trump on X.

“Detroit just hosted the largest NFL Draft in history, the Tigers are back in the playoffs, the Lions are headed to the Super Bowl, crime is down and our population is growing. Lots of cities should be like Detroit. And we did it all without Trump’s help,” Duggan wrote. “Numbers and Facts don’t lie. Detroit is the beacon of light. The beacon of progress. The beacon of resurgence.”

Duggan added on Instagram: “We’ve got record low homicide rates and we’re growing our population for the first time since the 1950s.”

Harris was asked to name three of Trump’s ‘virtues’. She couldn’t

Saturday 12 October 2024 05:00 , Ariana Baio

Vice President Kamala Harris could not come up with three virtues about former president Donald Trump when she was asked to do so on Thursday evening at a Univision town hall event.

The Democratic presidential nominee laughed upon hearing the question, posed by an audience member, and immediately shared a negative trait about Trump that she does not like.

“Let me start with this, based on a life experience I know that a vast majority of us have much more in common than what separates us and part of what paints me is the approach that, frankly, Donald Trump and some others have taken – which is to suggest that it’s us vs. them, whoever that may be,” Harris said.