The lines that have long defined the two parties’ policy priorities are blurring as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump seek to expand their coalitions in the final weeks of a hotly contested presidential election. The outcome of the contest could depend on how many disaffected suburban Republicans vote for Harris and how many of the Democrats’ customary voters – African-Americans, Latinos, teenage people and union members – defect to Trump.
This results in both candidates taking positions that would previously have been anathema to their voting base, challenging long-held assumptions about what their respective parties stand for.
Trump is expected to travel to the swing state of Pennsylvania on Monday to discuss his plans to combat U.S. dependence on China with a group led by a loyalist who served as his top intelligence official. Monday’s event will focus on proposals to improve America’s food supply and protect American farmers. Harris will visit Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
Later Monday, Trump is expected to rally voters at 7 p.m. Eastern time in Indiana, Pennsylvania, a city east of Pittsburgh, where he hopes conservative, white, working-class voters will facilitate him get ahead of Harris.
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Here is the latest information:
Vance and Walz choose replacement candidates to prepare for vice presidential debate
Doppelgängers have been selected to facilitate prepare for next week’s vice presidential debate.
In Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s mock debates, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will appear in the role of JD Vance.
Meanwhile, Vance’s preparations include Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer taking on Walz’s role.
The decisions were announced by people who know about the candidates’ preparations.
The duel between Walz and Vance is scheduled for October 1st.
Harris reaches agreement with Biden administration on transition planning
Vice President Kamala Harris’ transition team has reached an agreement with the General Services Administration to accept pre-election assistance from the federal government to prepare for her possible presidency.
The agency, which is required by law to provide office space, technical support and other resources to major party candidates, posted the agreement on its website on Monday. The signed memorandum, which governs IT, archiving and ethics policies, is dated September 19.
There was no information on whether former President Donald Trump’s team would reach an agreement before Election Day, but the agency said it was willing to provide services to Trump’s transition team once an agreement was reached and the services were accepted.
Across the federal government, transition planning is in full swing ahead of President Joe Biden’s handover of power to Trump or Harris on January 20, 2025.
Last week, Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zients hosted a meeting of the White House Transition Coordinating Committee – the administration’s highest-level transition planning group – that included representatives from Harris and Trump for the first time this year. And the agencies are preparing detailed briefing memos on their activities to present to the eventual winner’s team.
Trump travels to Pennsylvania to win the fight against China
Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail on Monday and is expected to travel to the swing state of Pennsylvania to talk about his plans to counter U.S. dependence on China, backing a group led by a loyalist who served as his top intelligence official.
The former president and Republican presidential candidate will attend the event at 3 p.m. Eastern Time in a rural area outside Pittsburgh, hosted by the Protecting America Initiative, which is led by Richard Grenell, Trump’s former deputy director of national intelligence, and former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin.
Trump has championed tariffs to appeal to working-class voters who oppose free trade deals and the outsourcing of factories and jobs. Monday’s event will focus on proposals to improve America’s food supply and protect U.S. farmers.
The National Agricultural Law Center estimates that 24 states prohibit or restrict undocumented foreign nationals, foreign companies or governments from owning private farmland. The issue arose after a Chinese billionaire bought more than 130,000 acres near a U.S. Air Force base in Texas and another Chinese company wanted to build a corn factory near an Air Force base in North Dakota.
Later Monday, Trump is scheduled to rally voters at 7 p.m. Eastern time in Indiana, Pennsylvania, a city east of Pittsburgh, where he hopes conservative, white, working-class voters will facilitate him win over his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris is also visiting Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
Man accused of alleged assassination left note suggesting he wanted to kill Trump
The man accused of allegedly assassinating Donald Trump on a Florida golf course left a note declaring his intention to kill the former president and had a handwritten list of dates and locations where Trump wanted to appear in his car, the Justice Department said Monday.
The fresh charges were contained in a Justice Department detention memo. During a hearing on Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe agreed with the Justice Department that Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, should remain incarcerated pending trial because “the evidence against the defendant is strong.”
The note, addressed “Dear World,” was left with an unknown person who contacted federal authorities after Ryan Wesley Routh’s arrest last Sunday. The box, which also contained ammunition, a metal pipe and other items, was not opened by the person until after Routh was taken into custody.
