WASHINGTON — The presidential election campaigns are moving forward without interruption this week, even as numerous law enforcement agencies investigate a possible assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, sought to secure the support of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in a private interview with the organization on Monday before heading off to several campaign events later this week.
Trump, the Republican candidate whose campaign is raising funds A gunman shoots an AK-47 through the fence at his golf course in Florida before being confronted by the Secret Service, is expected to resume his normal schedule.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, will also be campaigning after making headlines over the weekend when he apparently admitted to making up a story about Haitian immigrants in Ohio before reiterating the false claim.
“If I have to invent stories to get the American media to actually pay attention to the suffering of the American people, then I will do that,” Vance said during a combative interview with Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on CNN.
Vance then stressed that he echoed the concerns of his constituents, even though officials and police in Ohio said there was no evidence that immigrants ate geese or cats.
“I say we create a story, which means we create the American media that focuses on it,” Vance added.
Vance’s comments and repeated criticism of Harris came shortly after her campaign released a list of 17 Reagan administration officials who supported her candidacy for the Oval Office.
“Our votes in this election are less about supporting the Democratic Party and more about showing our unwavering support for democracy,” they wrote. “We hope this letter signals to other Republicans and former Republicans that supporting Democrats this year is the only path to an America that is strong and viable for our children and grandchildren in the years to come.”
Reagan administration officials who publicly expressed support for Harris included Ken Adelman, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. arms control director; Carol Adelman, deputy director of USAID; Robert Thompson, senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers; Gahl Burt, White House corporate secretary; B. Jay Cooper, deputy assistant to the president; Kathleen Shanahan, staff assistant at the National Security Council; and Pete Souza, official White House photographer.
NABJ chat, stops in swing states
The campaign schedule for Tuesday calls for a packed day of public events for all key campaign participants.
- Harris is expected to participate in a fireside chat with the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia, months after Trump’s Panel interview on stage with three NABJ journalists caused controversy within the organization and made headlines with Trump’s answers to their questions.
- Trump will hold a town hall meeting in Flint, Michigan, that evening, moderated by his former press secretary and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Trump also spontaneously announced an XSpaces event on the social media platform for Monday evening at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
- Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris’s vice presidential candidate, is expected to attend events in Macon and Atlanta, Georgia, before Go to Asheville, North Carolina, to give a campaign speech.
- Vance is expected to speak at a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Also on Tuesday, US District Judge Denise Page Hood spoke will hear arguments about whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name should be removed from the Michigan ballot.
“Before a court can grant a preliminary injunction, it must ensure that the applicant has presented convincing evidence of irreparable and imminent harm and that the applicant has made all reasonable efforts to notify the opposing party,” Hood wrote.
Kennedy, who suspended his candidacy for the Oval Office last month, had called for an immediate decision, but the judge refused.
