Trump appears on stage in Arizona with RFK Jr after he drops out of race and endorses former president: Live

Trump took the stage at event outside Phoenix on Friday, where he was joined by Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Trump said Kennedy, who had earlier endorsed him, “brought together people from across the political spectrum grounded in the values of his father, Robert F. Kennedy, a great man, and his uncle John F. Kennedy.”

The former president told the crowd that he’d appoint an independent commission to investigate presidential assassinations, a subject both men can relate to personally after a gunman injured Trump last month at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Kennedy praised Trump for what he said were commitments to tackle chronic illness, improve the quality of food, and end foreign wars.

The independent candidate suspended his presidential campaign on Friday and announced his support for Trump, as he slammed Democrats and baselessly claimed a vast media conspiracy to elect Kamala Harris.

Members of the Kennedy family called RFK Jr’s endorsement a “betrayal of the values that our father and family hold most dear” and a “sad ending to a sad story.”

On Thursday night, as Harris delivered her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Trump launched into a live trolling by unleashing a stream of inflammatory falsehoods across 59 posts — more than one per minute Harris spoke — and repeatedly referring to his rival as “Comrade Kamala Harris” and as a “Marxist.”

Key Points

• RFK Jr. joins Trump onstage to huge applause

• RFK Jr. praises Trump for stance on health issues and foreign wars

• Donald Trump blasts ‘all talk’ Kamala Harris in furious Truth Social ‘fact check’ of DNC speech

• Secret Service members placed on leave after Trump shooting

• Catless child man JD Vance struggles to order donuts and make small-talk

ICYMI: Members of Kennedy family call RFK Jr.’s endorsement of Trump a ‘betrayal’

02:04 , Josh Marcus

Members of the Kennedy family are disgusted that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is endorsing Donald Trump.

They weighed in today on social media to show their dismay.

More pictures of Trump’s Glendale rally

01:35 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump falsely claims Kamala Harris lost hundreds of thousands of migrant kids who ended up ‘sex slaves’ or dead

01:26 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is falsley claiming Kamala Harris lost more than 300,000 migrant children, most of whom ended up dead or sex slaves.

“She allowed them to be trafficked into our country,” Trump said. “Many of them are in sex slavery or dead, probably mostly dead.”

Trump is exaggerating here.

The former president is refering to a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General, which found that between 2019 and 2023, ICE was “not able to account” for all the locations of 32,000 unaccompanied minors who had been settled in the U.S. after exiting immigration detention while they awaited next steps, and more than 291,000 of the kids were not placed into removal proceedings because ICE had never served them notices to appear or scheduled a court date for them.

What Trump declined to mention was that this period involved two of his own years in office.

Here’s our full report on what the IG report actually says.

Department of Homeland Security may have lost track of thousands of child migrants

Trump is still complaining the Joe Biden is out of the race

01:19 , Josh Marcus

Does Donald Trump…miss Joe Biden?

The former president has complained on multiple occasions today in Arizona about how he’s now facing Kamala Harris instead of the Democratic incumbent.

“I was up 18 points, they said, ‘Joe, you can’t win, you’re getting out of the race,’” Trump said.

The former president accused Democrats of carrying out an “unconstitutional coup” to elevate Harris.

“She’s the only person ever to get a nomination of the party without getting one vote,” Trump said. “Hey, maybe she’s smarter than we think. You know you could look at it that way.”

Trump again denies knowing what Project 2025 is, despite close ties

01:12 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is again claiming he isn’t familiar with Project 2025, telling the crowd in Arizona he doesn’t know “what the hell” the far-right model agenda even is.

Here’s more of our reporting on Project 2025, which makes Trump’s claim on the subject very hard to believe.

Project 2025 leader says Trump ‘very supportive’ of their work

Meyers calls out Trump’s ‘flagrant lie’ that he ‘knows nothing’ about Project 2025

JD Vance says it’s time to ‘load the muskets’ in foreword on new Project 2025 book

Watch: Donald Trump announces plans to release remaining JFK records

01:08 , Josh Marcus

Both Donald Trump and RFK Jr. have been impacted by political assassinations in their lifetimes, the former with a recent shooting attempt on the campaign trail, and the latter with the infamous assassinations of his father and uncle.

Onstage in Arizona, Trump said “in honor of Bobby” he would be releasing the remaining JFK assassination records as part of a commission investigating presidential assassinations.

RFK Jr. praises Trump for stance on health issues and foreign wars

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:58 , Josh Marcus

What exactly unites RFK Jr. and Donald Trump?

The independent candidate, speaking to the crowd in Glendale, said it came down to health issues and foreign policy.

“Our children are the unhealthiest, sickest in the world. Don’t you want healthy children? Don’t you want the chemicals out of our food?” Kennedy asked the crowd.

“That’s what President Trump told me that he wanted,” he added, arguing Trump will tackle corporate influence over regulations on food.

“He also told me he wanted to end the grip of the neocons on U.S. foreign policy,” Kennedy continued. “He said he didn’t want any more $200bn wars in Ukraine that we could use that money back here in the United States.”

RFK Jr. joins Trump onstage to huge applause

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:48 , Josh Marcus

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined Donald Trump onstage, receiving a rock star’s welcome, complete with pyrotechnics and a Foo Fighters song.

Onstage, Trump praised RFK Jr., who he said “brought together people from across the political spectrum grounded in the values of his father, Robert F. Kennedy, a great man, and his uncle John F. Kennedy.”

The crowd then began chanting, “Bobby! Bobby!”

Are Democrats really joining the Trump campaign ‘like wildfire’?

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:42 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is claiming scores of Democrats are switching to back his campaign.

“They are joining like wildfire,” the former president said tonight in Glendale.

The polls say otherwise.

Read our analysis on the polls here.

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

Trump begins with insults and 2020 election lies

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:36 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is beginning his Arizona rally with familiar bits of his stump speech, branding Kamala Harris “Comrade Kamala,” and falsely claiming he won the 2020 election by “millions, millions” more votes than in 2016.

Trump takes the stage in Arizona

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:30 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump has taken the stage in Glendale.

Follow live for all the latest news on his big speech.

Secret Service puts ‘multiple’ agents on leave over Trump assassination attempt investigation

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:27 , Josh Marcus

The US Secret Service has reportedly placed multiple agents on leave, including the agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, in the aftermath of an assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

Their leaves comes as the agency’s internal affairs division continues to investigate how a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle was able to fire at the former president during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, grazing his ear and killing one attendee and injuring two others.

“Five or six” agents have been placed on leave as “disciplinary action,” according to MSNBC.

Kari Lake threatens ‘largest repatriation operation this world has ever seen’

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:20 , Josh Marcus

Kari Lake, who is running for Senate in Arizona, is echoing calls from Donald Trump to pursue a mass deportation operation in office, telling the crowd today in Glendale she wants “the largest repatriation option this world has ever seen.”

“We will define the drug cartels as foreign terrorists and we will use every ounce of energy our law enforcement and military has to put them out of business for good,” she said.

Here’s more on Trump’s immigration proposals.

Trump’s Arizona rally in pictures

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:11 , Josh Marcus

The RFK Jr. campaign’s mixed messaging on Trump

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:09 , Josh Marcus

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate Nichole Shanahan expressed doubts about Donald Trump and said their campaign would never “sell out,” hours before RFK Jr. endorsed the former president.

“We would never sell out this campaign ever. It’s not what we would ever choose to do nor are we defeated in this moment, but I have to say something. We are up against something that is unprecedented,” she said in a podcast interview.

More details here.

RFK Jr’s VP pick says ‘we’d never sell out campaign’ – hours before he endorsed Trump

Trump expected soon at event in Glendale

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:01 , Josh Marcus

Donald Trump is expected to take the stage any minute in Arizona.

The former president was expected to appear at 7pm ET today at Glendale’s Desert Diamond Arena.

Fans turned out for hours outside the arena ahead of the event.

Trump to headline Glendale, Arizona event with far-right Turning Point

Saturday 24 August 2024 00:00 , Alex Woodward

A long line of Trump-allied Arizona candidates are speaking at a rally in Glendale, Arizona, where Trump is set to deliver remarks after receiving Robert F Kennedy Jr’s endorsement.

Rally speakers include former Republican congressional nominee Abe Hamadeh, who also lost a race for state attorney general, and Kari Lake, a close Trump ally who is running for US Senate.

Anti-trans activist Riley Gaines also spoke at the rally.

“How amazing was it to see Bobby Kennedy Jr endorse Donald Trump?” asked Turning Point’s Charlie Kirk, whose far-right activist group is co-hosting the event.

What does Trump think about Republicans at the DNC? Michael Cohen: ‘I don’t care about his feelings’

Friday 23 August 2024 22:32 , Alex Woodward

Michael Cohen was among many former and current Republicans at the Democratic National Convention, appearing either virtually, on stage or in the crowd.

Asked by CNN’s Jim Acosta how he thinks his former boss feels about the anti-Trump GOP joining Democrats in Chicago, Cohen said, “I don’t really care what he’s thinking.”

“This isn’t about him,” said Cohen, who is currently asking the Supreme Court to get involved in his lawsuit against Trump over his retaliatory incarceration. Cohen also was a star witness against his former boss during his hush money trial, which Trump lost.

“It’s not my first Democratic convention that I have ever been at. This is a massive mistake that is regularly made by people,” Cohen said. “I have been a Democrat virtually my entire life.”

Cohen said he doesn’t care “about his feelings.”

“What I care about is seeing a big, gigantic blue wave come November and not just for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz but the entire down ballot,” he said.

Watch: Trump celebrates RFK Jr’s endorsement

Friday 23 August 2024 22:00 , Alex Woodward

RFK Jr’s wife Cheryl Hines says she ‘deeply’ respects his decision to support Trump

Friday 23 August 2024 22:00 , Alex Woodward

Robert F Kennedy Jr once joked that his wife would divorce him if he supported Donald Trump. The actor Cheryl Hines has reportedly privately worried about her husband’s endorsement.

In a statement on Friday, she said she “deeply” respects his decision, but she does not mention whether she is also joining in support of Trump.

“I deeply respect the decision Bobby made to run on the principle of unity,” she wrote.

Kennedy family calls RFK Jr’s Trump endorsement ‘betrayal’

Friday 23 August 2024 21:29 , Alex Woodward

As Robert F Kennedy Jr. announced the end of his presidential campaign and endorsement of Trump, members of the Kennedy famiyl said his endorsement is a “betrayal of the values that our father and family hold most dear.”

“It is a sad ending to a sad story,” they wrote.

The statement was signed by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Courtney, Kerry, Chris and Rory Kennedy, children of Robert F Kennedy, who was assassinated while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968.

Full story: RFK Jr ‘suspends’ presidential campaign and endorses Trump as he rails against ‘rigged’ system

Friday 23 August 2024 20:51 , Alex Woodward

Dark horse presidential contender and well-known vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Friday that he is suspending his independent bid for the White House and throwing his support to Donald Trump.

“The mainstream of American politics and journalism derided my decision [to run],” Kennedy, 70, insisted during a press conference Friday afternoon, where he railed against chronic disease, “corruption” in health agencies, and the Democratic Party.

“In an honest system, I believe that I would have won the election,” the independent candidate claimed, slamming the media, without evidence, as being “tainted by government propaganda.”

Justin Rohrlich has more:

RFK Jr ‘suspends’ campaign, endorses Trump as he rails against ‘rigged’ system

Meanwhile in Vegas, Trump welcomes RFK’s support

Friday 23 August 2024 20:39 , Alex Woodward

Trump opened his remarks in Las Vegas to gush over Robert F Kennedy Jr’s endorsement.

“That’s big,” Trump said. “He’s a great guy, respected by everybody.”

Trump is set to hold an event outside Phoenix on Friday where he will be “joined by a special guest” — fuelling speculation that Kennedy will be joining him.

RKF Jr says endorsing Trump is ‘agonizing’ and destroying, but will give him ‘internal peace’

Friday 23 August 2024 20:36 , Alex Woodward

Endorsing Trump is “agonizing” and will hurt his relationships with his wife and family, but there is a “certainty, that this is what I meant to do,” according to Robert F Kennedy Jr.

“That certainty gives me internal peace,” he said.

He largely based his decision around what he thinks a Trump administration will do to combat chronic disease, which he blames on pharmaceutical companies and healthcare agencies.

He said Trump was “anxious” to talk with Kennedy about chronic disease and “explore avenues of cooperation” when they talked on the phone after his assassination attempt. They also met in person the next day.

“A few weeks later, I met again with President Trump and his family members and closest advisers in Florida in a series of long, intense discussions, I was surprised to discover that we are aligned on many key issues. In those meetings, he suggested that we join forces as a unity party, we talked about Abraham Lincoln’s Team of Rivals,” he said.

Democrats to RFK Jr: ‘Good riddance’

Friday 23 August 2024 20:25 , Alex Woodward

In response to Robert F Kennedy Jr’s announcement that he is suspending his presidential bid, Democratic National Committee had two words: “good riddance.”

His announcement “should come as no surprise, his candidacy has never been anything other than a spoiler campaign for Trump,” according to the DNC.

“He was recruited into the race by MAGA Republicans like Steve Bannon, he was propped up by Trump’s largest donor, and he parroted MAGA attacks on Democrats.”

DNC senior advisor Mary Beth Cahill said that “the more voters learned about RFK Jr. the less they liked him.”

“Donald Trump isn’t earning an endorsement that’s going to help build support, he’s inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate,” she added. “Good riddance.”

RFK Jr says he discussed a ‘unity’ ticket to ‘join forces’ with Trump

Friday 23 August 2024 20:17 , Alex Woodward

Despite being a “ferocious critic of many of the policies during his first administration,” Robert F Kennedy Jr says he is “aligned on many issues” with Donald Trump.

He said the former president proposed that they “join forces” as a “unity party,” where they could both disagree publicly and privately, “but we are aligned with each other on other key issues.”

Kennedy say he is not ‘ending’ his campaign, only withdrawing from battleground states

Friday 23 August 2024 20:08 , Alex Woodward

Robert F Kennedy Jr says he is not “terminating” his presidential campaign, but he is withdrawing his name from ballots in battleground states where his presence — which could draw thousands of votes that could be the difference between a Trump or Harris victory — could be a “spoiler.”

“I am simply suspending it, and not ending it. My name will remain on the ballot in most states,” he said.

RFK Jr begins remarks by slamming Democratic party and thanking his campaign staff

Friday 23 August 2024 19:55 , Alex Woodward

Robert F Kennedy Jr, moments before he announces he’s dropping out of the presidential race, recounts why he left the Democratic Party, the party of his family, by accusing the party of abandoning the “core values” he grew up with.

He accused the media of conspiring to wage a censorship campaign that ignores him to help elect Kamala Harris.

Kennedy said the Democratic Party is no longer “champions of the Constitution” or civil rights, nor standing against authoritarianism, colonialism, imperialism and “unjust wars,” nor does it stand for government transparency or the environment, according to Kennedy.

“I began this journey as a Democrat, the party of my father, my uncle, the party I pledged my own allegiance to long before I was old enough to vote,” he said. “I left that party in October because it had departed so dramatically from the core values I grew up with.

After President Biden dropped out of the race, Democrats’ “media organs” had “engineered a surge of popularity” around Harris based on “nothing,” only “smoke and mirrors,” Kennedy claimed.

Just in: RFK Jr is endorsing Trump, according to court filings

Friday 23 August 2024 19:27 , Alex Woodward

Moments before his remarks from Arizona, Robert F Kennedy Jr’s team revealed in a court filing in Pennsylvania that he will be endorsing Donald Trump after dropping out.

Kennedy had been challenging attempts to keep him off the ballot in the state.

But “as a result of today’s endorsement of Donald Trump for the office of President of the United States hereby withdraw their opposition,” the filing states.

RFK Jr to make announcement about the future of his campaign

Friday 23 August 2024 19:00 , Alex Woodward

Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr is delivering remarks about “his path forward” and is expected to announce his withdrawal from the race.

His announcement comes after his withdrawal from Arizona ballots, though his campaign submitted ballot signatures in at least two New England states on Friday.

Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks from Arizona later today, where he is touting a “special guest,” fueling speculation that Kennedy is endorsing him.

Watch live:

Live: Robert F Kennedy Jr makes statement on the future of his presidential campaign

Trump claims he ‘will be great for women and their reproductive rights’

Friday 23 August 2024 18:35 , Alex Woodward

In a post on his Truth Social on Thursday, after spending hours raging against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz online and on various right-wing media networks, Trump posted a single sentence:

“My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.”

Trump, of course, has repeatedly taken credit for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade, and his running mate JD Vance has said he wants abortion to be illegal. Vance also recently joined efforts among members of Congress calling on the Justice Department to ban abortion drugs in the mail, a key component of Project 2025’s anti-abortion crusade.

Trump has not presented any plans to protect abortion rights and reproductive healthcare decisions.

Does Trump have PTSD?

Friday 23 August 2024 18:15 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump’s behavior in recent weeks has reportedly raised concerns in his camp that he could be suffering from PTSD, as he is said to be replaying the clip of the assassination attempt “over and over again.”

One close Republican ally recently told Vanity Fair that he “may actually legit have PTSD.”

The Independent’s Rhian Lubin spoke to some experts to find out.

Trump insider said he has PTSD from shooting. Here’s what experts say

Secret Service puts ‘multiple’ agents on leave over Trump assassination attempt investigation

Friday 23 August 2024 17:45 , Alex Woodward

The US Secret Service has reportedly placed multiple agents on leave, including the agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, in the aftermath of an assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

Their leaves comes as the agency’s internal affairs division continues to investigate how a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle was able to fire at the former president during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, grazing his ear and killing one attendee and injuring two others.

More:

Secret Service puts ‘multiple’ agents on leave over Trump assassination attempt

Vance rinsed over ‘medieval’ haircut at disastrous donut shop visit

Friday 23 August 2024 17:20 , Joe Sommerlad

As if things weren’t going badly enough for Trump’s unpopular running mate, he’s now fallen afoul of a rogue barber.

Harry Fletcher takes a closer look.

JD Vance’s ‘medieval’ haircut roasted after awkward donut shop interaction

Trump promotes new crypto platform to take on banks

Friday 23 August 2024 16:50 , Joe Sommerlad

Donald Trump has announced plans to launch a new cryptocurrency platform that he claims will challenge the dominance of big banks and take on “financial elites”.

The Republican candidate, who in recent months has pitched himself as the first “crypto president”, promoted the new DeFiant Ones platform in a post to Truth Social on Thursday, though gave few details about what it will involve.

“For too long, the average American has been squeezed by the big banks and financial elites,” the former president wrote in the post to his 7.5 million followers.

“It’s time we take a stand – together.”

The post included a link to a channel on the messaging app Telegram, which has already attracted more than 40,000 subscribers.

The channel offers no further information about the project, though promises the followers that it will be “the future of finance”.

Here’s more from Anthony Cuthbertson.

Donald Trump promotes new crypto platform to take on banks

Team Trump tease ‘special guest’ at upcoming Arizona rally

Friday 23 August 2024 16:20 , Joe Sommerlad

This is surely just RFK Jr right?

But what if it’s Beyonce…

Elon Musk’s own AI system creates video of him and Trump committing armed robbery

Friday 23 August 2024 15:50 , Joe Sommerlad

Musk’s own AI system Grok has created videos of him committing armed robbery – and it’s surprisingly realistic.

Not long after the X/Twitter CEO Musk participated in a glitch-ridden talk with controversial former president Donald Trump, people have used his own AI tech to create a video of both of them committing crimes.

Ellie Abraham has more.

Elon Musk’s own AI system creates video of him and Trump committing armed robbery

Stephen Colbert roasts Trump over Truth Social DNC ‘fact check’ – and one particular post about Walz

Friday 23 August 2024 15:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s Rhian Lubin with the latest from late-night, as Colbert ridicules the former president for his failed troll-a-thon last night.

Stephen Colbert roasts Trump over post about Walz in ‘fact check’ of Harris’s speech

Meet Trumpy Trout

Friday 23 August 2024 14:50 , Joe Sommerlad

Why not express your admiration for the 45th president of the United States by shelling out $59.99 for an animatronic talking fish on a plastic wall mount?

‘Trumpy Trout’ advertisement features talking fish head resembling Donald Trump

What happens if RFK Jr drops out? Where polls say his voters will go

Friday 23 August 2024 14:20 , Joe Sommerlad

We’re expecting a “big announcement” from the chaotic independent candidate later today, which will presumably be the suspension of his disastrous campaign in exchange from a favor Trump that may or may not honor.

Here’s our data correspondent Alicja Hagopian’s look at where RFK Jr’s support might go if he does indeed shut it down.

What happens if RFK Jr drops out? Where polls say his voters will go

Catless child man JD Vance struggles to order donuts and make small-talk

Friday 23 August 2024 13:50 , Joe Sommerlad

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance managed to turn even the joyous task of ordering donuts into a deliciously awkward encounter during a campaign stop in Georgia.

The Ohio Senator walked into a donut shop in Valdosta on Thursday, where he introduced himself to a server who immediately said she did not want to be filmed, kicking off a stilted exchange that is not helping the GOP man divorce himself from the “weird” label.

Kelly Rissman has the full story.

D’oh! JD Vance struggles to order donuts and make small-talk in awkward video

Trump to hold ‘awards gala’ for Capitol rioters at New Jersey golf club

Friday 23 August 2024 13:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Of course he is. Why wouldn’t he?

Graig Graziosi reports.

Trump will hold an ‘awards gala’ for rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6

Arizona man arrested over alleged death threats to Trump

Friday 23 August 2024 12:50 , Joe Sommerlad

An Arizona man has been detained after he allegedly made several social media threats to kill former president Donald Trump.

Ronald Syvrud, 66, made the threats over the last few weeks, a spokesperson for Cochise County told CNN.

The Benson resident has several outstanding warrants, including DUI charges, felony hit and run, as well as failing to register as a sex offender, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.

Gustaf Kilander has more.

Arizona man arrested over alleged death threats to Trump

Trump still obsessing about Biden ‘coup’ at Arizona border

Friday 23 August 2024 12:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Before the Republican presidential nominee’s big night online, he was out in the sun STILL grieving Biden’s departure from the Democratic ticket.

Here’s an official image from his late immigration stunt in which he looks like a hot corpse.

He’ll be addressing a rally in Glendale near Phoenix on Friday (Harris was there earlier this month) and may well bring out RFK Jr to offer his sleazy endorsement.

‘Central Park Five’ warn against Trump after his death penalty crusade

Friday 23 August 2024 11:50 , Joe Sommerlad

When five Black and Latino teenagers were wrongly convicted of the rape of a jogger in New York City’s Central Park in 1989, Donald Trump bought out full-page ads in all four major New York newspapers with a headline screaming to “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY.”

“I want to hate these murderers and I always will,” Trump wrote. “I am not looking to psychoanalyze or understand them, I am looking to punish them.”

Their convictions were vacated in 2002 and the city paid $41m in 2014 to settle a civil rights lawsuit. Trump has refused to recant or apologize for those statements.

One of those teens, Yusef Salaam, now 50, spent nearly seven years in prison for his wrongful conviction. Last year, he was elected to New York’s City Council, representing Harlem.

On Thursday, Salaam stood on stage at the Democratic National Convention to endorse the woman running against the man who wanted him jailed.

Here’s Alex Woodward’s report.

Exonerated Central Park Five warn against Trump after his death penalty crusade

Watch: Harris and Trump’s keynote convention speeches compared

Friday 23 August 2024 11:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Watch: Eric Trump makes latest fruitless, televised appeal for father’s love

Friday 23 August 2024 10:50 , Joe Sommerlad

Trump calls into Fox and Newsmax to bemoan Harris

Friday 23 August 2024 10:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Trump subsequently called into Fox News and then Newsmax to continue raving about his new challenger in the race for the White House, whom he has struggled to come to terms with since she stepped in to succeed Joe Biden a month ago.

Here are a few choice snippets.

James Liddell has more on Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier’s polite efforts to get Trump to hang up.

Fox News hosts struggle to cut off Trump as he goes on rant after Harris’s DNC speech

Trump blasts ‘all talk’ Harris in furious Truth Social ‘fact check’ of DNC speech

Friday 23 August 2024 09:50 , Joe Sommerlad

Good morning!

If you’re just joining us, Donald Trump launched into a live trolling session on his Truth Social platform on Thursday night as Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Promising he would be “fair but critical”, the Republican duly unleashed a stream of inflammatory falsehoods across 59 posts, more than one per minute Harris spoke, repeatedly referring to his rival as “Comrade Kamala Harris” and as a “Marxist.”

Here’s a fairly typical example of the 45 or so posts he made during the 45 minutes she was speaking, which surely constitutes a meltdown.

John Bowden watched the Madness of King Donald unfold.

Trump blasts ‘all talk’ Harris in furious Truth Social ‘fact check’ of DNC speech

Neil Young lets Tim Walz use his song – the one he sued Trump for using

Friday 23 August 2024 09:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Legendary rocker Neil Young gave Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz permission to use his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” as an entrance theme at the Democratic National Convention.

Walz reportedly specifically sought permission from Young to use the song, CNN reports.

It’s not the first time the song has been used by a political candidate; back in 2015 Donald Trump also used the song, but famously not with Young’s permission to do so.

Here’s Graig Graziosi with more details…

Neil Young gives Tim Walz permission for his song – after he sued Trump for using it

Beyoncé threatens Trump campaign over ‘Freedom’ video

Friday 23 August 2024 08:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Beyoncé has reportedly threatened to send a cease-and-desist letter to the Trump campaign over the unauthorized use of her song “Freedom.”

On Tuesday (August 20), Donald Trump’s campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung posted a 13-second video on social media of the Republican nominee deplaning in Michigan. The clip, which sees Trump giving a two-handed fist pump as he walks the tarmac, is overlayed by the singer’s 2016 song.

Inga Parkel reports.

Beyoncé threatens Trump campaign with cease-and-desist letter over ‘Freedom’ video

ICYMI: Hakeem Jeffries gets DNC crowd laughing with Trump dig

Friday 23 August 2024 07:15 , Oliver O’Connell

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ignited the crowd on the third night of the Democratic National Convention when he likened Donald Trump to an “old boyfriend” who “won’t go away” during a fiery speech.

The New York Democrat compared the former president to an ex that isn’t taking the hint that to move on, prompting the crowd to erupt into laughter on Wednesday night at the Chicago convention.

Kelly Rissman has the story.

‘An old boyfriend who won’t go away:’ Hakeem Jeffries’ Trump dig gets crowd laughing

Trump launches attack on Governor Josh Shapiro

Friday 23 August 2024 06:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump launched a blistering middle-of-the-night attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro branding him “the highly overrated Jewish Governor”.

The Republican presidential nominee’s rant appeared to have been provoked by Shapiro’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, where he hit out at Trump saying that he “isn’t offering freedom at all” to the American people.

Rhian Lubin reports.

Trump launches overnight attack on ‘highly overrated Jewish governor’ Josh Shapiro

Trump blasts ‘all talk’ Harris in furious Truth Social ‘fact check’ of DNC speech

Friday 23 August 2024 05:36 , John Bowden

Donald Trump couldn’t let the Democratic National Convention end on Thursday without one last attempt to grab the spotlight from Kamala Harris.

The Vice President became the first Black woman to headline a major party’s nomination for the presidency on the convention stage Thursday evening as she officially took on the mantle of the Democratic Party. She delivered a moving speech that touched on her childhood while also broaching the topic of her 2024 opponent and the threat she says that he poses to the country’s future.

All the while, Trump himself was firing back — not in front of the cameras, but on Truth Social, his social media platform largely populated by his own diehard supporters.

Trump blasts ‘all talk’ Harris in furious Truth Social ‘fact check’ of DNC speech

Arizona man arrested over alleged death threats to Trump

Friday 23 August 2024 05:15 , Gustaf Kilander

An Arizona man has been detained after he allegedly made several social media threats to kill former president Donald Trump.

Ronald Syvrud, 66, made the threats over the last few weeks, a spokesperson for Cochise County told CNN. The spokesperson didn’t say which platform Syvrud used to make the threats.

The Benson resident has several outstanding warrants, including DUI charges, felony hit and run, as well as failing to register as a sex offender, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.

Arizona man arrested over alleged death threats to Trump

VIDEO: Kamala Harris attacks ‘unserious man’, Donald Trump

Friday 23 August 2024 05:03 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump spews falsehoods about how many Americans live in poverty

Friday 23 August 2024 04:47 , Gustaf Kilander

Tim Walz is clearly a midwest ‘man’s man’. But he’s the antidote to toxic Maga masculinity

Friday 23 August 2024 04:45 , Andrew Feinberg

There’s no way to argue that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz isn’t a man’s man.

The 60-year-old teacher-turned-politician, who vice-president Kamala Harris tapped as her running mate less than three weeks ago, exudes a certain rural sensibility that pervades midwestern states.

He served nearly a quarter-century in the National Guard, is a gun owner who won a congressional marksmanship contest, and is an avid hunter.

He’s also a man who spent years coaching high school football, the most American of pastimes that whole generations of men across the country have cited as a formative experience in their lives. It’s so central to the cultural zeitgeist that entire films and TV shows have been built around telling the stories of high school football teams.

Tim Walz is a midwest ‘man’s man’. But he couldn’t be further from Maga masculinity

Trump continues using immigration to bash Harris during Fox News interview

Friday 23 August 2024 04:45 , Gustaf Kilander

Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Martha McCallum had to cut Trump off as they ended their interview with the former president following the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention where Kamala Harris accepted her party’s nomination.

Trump bashed the bipartisan border bill as “horrible” and calling it a “joke.”

“She doesn’t need a bill. I didn’t have a bill. I closed the border. I had the safest border in the history of our country,” Trump rambled. “I closed it up as president. Now she’ll have to get Joe to do it, but she could probably have a lot to do with that.”

Harris has ‘done nothing for three and a half years but talk,’ Trump says

Friday 23 August 2024 04:18 , Gustaf Kilander

Following the conclusion of Harris’s speech Trump said “She didn’t mention China, she didn’t mention fracking, she didn’t mention Energy, she didn’t mention, meaningfully, Russia and Ukraine, she didn’t mention the big subjects of the day, that are destroying our Country.”

“There are 60 million people in poverty in the U.S., under their watch, and she doesn’t even talk about them!” he added.

These comments came after Trump claimed Harris has “done nothing for three and a half years but talk, and that’s what she’s doing tonight, she’s complaining about everything but doing nothing!”

“She should leave the Speech right now, go to Washington, D.C., close the Border, allow fracking in Pennsylvania and other places, and start doing the things she’s complaining about aren’t done!” he added.

Friday 23 August 2024 04:15 , Oliver O’Connell

‘Trumpy Trout’ advertisement features talking fish head resembling Donald Trump

Trump calls Harris ‘radical Marxist’

Friday 23 August 2024 04:12 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump bizarrely claimed that Harris “just called to give all Illegals CITIZENSHIP, SAY GOODBYE TO THE U.S.A.!”

“SHE IS A RADICAL MARXIST!” Trump wrote.

This came after Trump blasted the bipartisan border bill as “one of the worst ever written, would have allowed millions of people into our Country, and it’s only a political ploy by her! It legalizes Illegal Immigration, and is a TOTAL DISASTER, WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE!”

“She doesn’t need a Bill. As President, Crooked Joe and her could have just said, ‘CLOSE THE BORDER!’ like I did – I didn’t have a Bill, I didn’t need a Bill. The Border Patrol respected me, they did their job. We had the Safest Border in Recorded History!” he added.

Trump pushes back against Harris on abortion

Friday 23 August 2024 04:07 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump falsely claimed that “Everybody, Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, and Conservatives, wanted Roe v. Wade TERMINATED, and brought back to the States.”

This came as Harris said she would sign abortion protections into law.

“Like Ronald Reagan and myself, most believe in EXCEPTIONS. Now the people are voting, which is the way it was supposed to be,” Trump claimed. “I do not limit access to birth control or I.V.F. – THAT IS A LIE, these are all false stories that she’s making up, that I’ve never even heard of. It’s just words coming out of her mouth.”

Seemingly rattled, he added: “I TRUST WOMEN, ALSO, AND I WILL KEEP WOMEN SAFE! SHE WON’T, BECAUSE THE INVASION OF OUR COUNTRY AT HER OPEN BORDER IS DESTROYING THE LIVES OF WOMEN, AND THE FAMILIES AND JOBS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AND HISPANICS.”

Trump: Harris is ‘all talk’ and ‘no action’

Friday 23 August 2024 04:03 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump accused Harris of being “all talk” and “no action.”

“No specific programs, ALL TALK, NO ACTION — Why didn’t she do it three and a half years ago?” he wrote on Truth Social.

“She said she’s going to lower the Cost of Housing, but Houses were More Affordable under TRUMP! Also, why didn’t she do it?” he added.

Trump uses immigration to claim Harris will ‘obliterate’ social security and medicare

Friday 23 August 2024 04:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump falsely claimed that Harris “will obliterate Social Security and Medicare by giving it away to the Millions of Illegal Immigrants who are infiltrating our Country!”

This claim came after he noted that “she’s talking about the Middle Class, but she’s the one who broke the Middle Class, and made it UNSAFE AND UNAFFORDABLE!”

“She said, ‘Chart a new way forward,’ but she’s had three and a half years, and has done nothing but HARM!” he added.

Trump again attempts to distance himself from Project 2025

Friday 23 August 2024 03:56 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump complained that the prosecutions against him “were all started by her and Biden against their Political Opponent, ME!”

“IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME?” he later added as Harris slammed Trump as a threat to democracy.

Trump went on to accuse Harris of “lying again about Project 2025” which he claimed to have “nothing to do with.”

‘Kamala’s biography won’t lower prices’

Friday 23 August 2024 03:52 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump blasted Harris for not speaking enough about the cost of living, saying that her “biography won’t lower prices at the Grocery Store, or at the Pump!”

“She talked about the Rule of Law but, as Border Czar, she allowed 20 Million people into our Country, many of them Criminals, who are MAIMING and KILLING our people!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Why didn’t she do something about the things of which she complains?”

“The Chaos and Calamity is allowing our Country to be infiltrated by Millions of Criminals!” he added as Harris slammed Trump for the insurrection and the Supreme Court for giving him partial immunity for official acts.

“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails!” she said.

‘We’ve got to get to the Border’

Friday 23 August 2024 03:47 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump complained that Harris began by speaking too much about her childhood.

“We’ve got to get to the Border, Inflation, and Crime!” he said.

MAGA activist weight-shamed Melania aide after DNC speech – but the internet has her back

Friday 23 August 2024 03:45 , Mike Bedigan

When MAGA conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer criticized Donald Trump’s former press secretary over her weight, the internet was having none of it.

Stephanie Grisham, who was also Melania Trump’s press secretary and chief-of-staff, delivered remarks at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night. During her remarks, she told attendees that the former president mocks his supporters behind closed doors, calling them “basement dwellers.”

Grisham said she resigned on January 6, 2021 – the day of the Capitol insurrection – because she “couldn’t be part of the insanity any longer.”

She added: “Kamala Harris tells the truth, she repsects the American people and she has my vote.”

MAGA activist weight-shamed Melania aide after DNC speech. The internet hit back

Trump returns to well-worn cudgel

Friday 23 August 2024 03:43 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump returned to his well-worn cudgel of using Hunter Biden, simply stating “WHERE’S HUNTER?”

He also noted that Harris’s running mate Tim Walz “was an ASSISTANT Coach, not a COACH.”

“She’s talking about how great San Francisco was before she destroyed it, probably not a good idea!” Trump added.

‘Too many thank yous’

Friday 23 August 2024 03:40 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump announces that he’ll “be doing a call in to Bret Baier and group after her Speech. They’d like to know what I thought of it — I will be very honest in my assessment!”

He went on to say that Harris began her speech with “Too many ‘Thank yous,’ too rapidly said, what’s going on with her?”

Trump ‘getting ready to be fair but critical’

Friday 23 August 2024 03:34 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump said he’s “getting ready to be fair but critical of Comrade Kamala Harris. My Play by Play will be on TRUTH Social, starting SOON!”

“We’ve assembled a small group of people, GREAT PATRIOTS ALL, and we’re currently watching her ‘puff piece’,” he added.

‘A weak man pretending to be strong’: Kinzinger blasts Trump

Friday 23 August 2024 03:17 , Gustaf Kilander

Former Republican Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger slammed Trump at the DNC as “a weak man pretending to be strong.”

“He is a small man pretending to be big. He’s a faithless man pretending to be righteous. He’s a perpetrator who can’t stop playing the victim,” Kinzinger added.

Feds may have lost track of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children

Friday 23 August 2024 03:15 , Oliver O’Connell

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may have lost track of thousands of children who immigrated to the country as unaccompanied minors, imperiling both the children’s safety and the effectiveness of the immigration process, an internal watchdog report found.

Between 2019 and 2023, more than 32,000 unaccompanied minors failed to show up for their immigration court hearings, and ICE was “not able to account” for all of their locations, according to a report from the ICE inspector general’s office.

Josh Marcus reports.

Department of Homeland Security may have lost track of thousands of child migrants

Gretchen Whitmer slams Trump: ‘His first word was probably chauffeur’

Friday 23 August 2024 03:09 , Gustaf Kilander

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer slammed Trump even as she praised Vice President Kamala Harris.

“As President, she will fight to lower the cost of health care and elder care for every family. She has lived a life like ours. She knows us. Donald Trump doesn’t know you at all,” she said. “You think he understands that when your car breaks down, you cannot get to work? No, his first word was probably chauffeur.”

“You think he has ever had to take items out of the cart before checking out? Hell. You think he’s ever been to a grocery store? That’s what the chauffeur is for,” she added.

‘He’s never changed, he never will:’ Exonerated Central Park 5 warn against Trump after his death penalty crusade

Friday 23 August 2024 03:03 , Alex Woodward

When five Black and Latino teenagers were wrongly convicted of the rape of a jogger in New York City’s Central Park in 1989, Donald Trump bought out full-page ads in all four major New York newspapers with a headline screaming to “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY.”

“I want to hate these murderers and I always will,” Trump wrote. “I am not looking to psychoanalyze or understand them, I am looking to punish them.”

Their convictions were vacated in 2002, and the city paid $41m in 2014 to settle a civil rights lawsuit. Trump has refused to recant or apologize for those statements.

Exonerated Central Park Five warn against Trump after his death penalty crusade

Trump shares surprisingly kind message for Georgia governor

Friday 23 August 2024 02:51 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump issued a surprisingly kind message on Truth Social to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, whom he has often attacked for not going along with his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

“Thank you to #BrianKempGA for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country,” Trump said. “I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Supreme Court grants RNC request to reinstate Arizona voter ID law requiring proof of citizenship

Friday 23 August 2024 02:45 , Ariana Baio

The Supreme Court handed the Republican National Committee a partial win on Thursday, granting their request to reinstate an Arizona voter ID law that requires new voters to prove their citizenship when using a state form.

“Huge win for the integrity of elections,” the GOP wrote on X in response to the ruling.

However, the court denied the portion of the RNC’s request to prohibit voters from participating in the presidential election or by mail unless they provide proof of citizenship.

Supreme Court grants RNC request to reinstate Arizona voter ID law

Analysis: Tim Walz is clearly a midwest ‘man’s man’. But he’s the antidote to toxic Maga masculinity

Friday 23 August 2024 02:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Andrew Feinberg reports from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Tim Walz is a midwest ‘man’s man’. But he couldn’t be further from MAGA masculinity

VIDEO: Trump names ‘nastiest speaker’ at Democratic National Convention, slamming her ‘total hatred’ with ‘no bounds’

Friday 23 August 2024 01:45 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump gave this New York drug dealer clemency. Now he’s accused of attacking his wife and her family

Friday 23 August 2024 01:15 , Oliver O’Connell

A New York drug smuggler and loan shark who Donald Trump gave clemency was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly punching his 75-year-old father-in-law in the head during a domestic dispute – adding to the list of his violent history.

Ariana Baio reports.

Trump gave a New York drug dealer clemency. Now he’s accused of attacking his family

Donald Trump brings back ‘Pocahontas’ insult for Elizabeth Warren as she speaks at the DNC

Friday 23 August 2024 00:49 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump brought back his “Pocahontas” insult for Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as she spoke at the DNC.

The crowd’s raucous welcome brought tears to the senator’s eyes.

“Pocahontas is now speaking at the DNC. She used her fake Indian heritage to scam the system,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Her mother told her she had ‘high cheekbones,’ and therefore she was Indian, who would use this hoax on applications everywhere. It worked until she got caught. 10024th Indian, remember?”

JD Vance struggles to make small talk and order donuts from unimpressed workers in awkward video

Friday 23 August 2024 00:45 , Kelly Rissman

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance turned the joyous task of ordering donuts into a deliciously awkward encounter, a new video reveals.

The Ohio Senator walked into a donut shop in Georgia ahead of his remarks in Valdosta, Georgia on Thursday, where he introduced himself to a server who immediately said she did not want to be filmed, in a stilted exchange that is not helping the Republican candidate divorce himself from the “weird” label.

“I’m JD Vance. I’m running for vice president,” Vance tells the donut shop worker, who simply replies: “Okay.”

JD Vance struggles to make small talk and order donuts in awkward video

Trump goes on unhinged five-minute rant about Tim Walz’s DNC speech

Friday 23 August 2024 00:15 , Oliver O’Connell

Donald Trump ranted for five minutes straight after Tim Walz criticized the Republican nominee during his DNC speech.

Walz accepted the vice presidential nomination on the third night of the DNC and gave a powerful speech, in which he mentioned Trump’s ties to Project 2025 — claims that set off Trump into a lengthy, rage-filled ramble on Fox & Friends hours later.

One of the show’s hosts asked Trump about the “many different lies” that Walz and the Democrats were spreading at the convention in Chicago. The former president was asked to react to Walz’s claims that Trump and his running mate JD Vance were tied to the Project 2025 “playbook.”

Kelly Rissman reports on what he said.

Trump goes on unhinged five-minute tear when asked about Tim Walz’s DNC speech

‘LOOK AT ALL THE WALL THAT I BUILT’: Trump boasts as he visits Arizona

Friday 23 August 2024 00:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump made a boastful post on Truth Social as he visited Arizona on Thursday.

“I’m in Arizona. LOOK AT ALL THE WALL THAT I BUILT. HUNDREDS OF MILES, AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE. Anti-Climb panel on top!!! WALLS WORK!!!” he wrote.

Trump arrived at the southern border just after 12pm on Thursday, meeting with Cochise County officials at the border wall.

The former president began his remarks by blasting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking to the press surrounded by law enforcement officials and families of victims of crimes by people who crossed the border unlawfully, according to the Arizona Republic.

Calling Harris a “Marxist,” Trump falsely claimed the vice president wants “open borders.”

Trump spoke at an area where the border wall remains unfinished, pointing to pieces of the wall piled up at the scene.

“It could have been put up in a matter of weeks,” he claimed, saying that it was the “Rolls-Royce” of walls.

Vance forced to listen to insult after insult during excruciating media interviews

Thursday 22 August 2024 23:45 , Oliver O’Connell

Senator JD Vance was subjected to a gauntlet of his Democratic opponents insulting him during several recent interviews, Graig Graziosi reports.

JD Vance forced to listen to insult after insult during excruciating media interviews

Thursday 22 August 2024 23:15 , Oliver O’Connell

JD Vance awkwardly tries to make small talk as he struggles to order donuts

Trump claims US will be ‘reduced to ashes’ if Democrats win in November

Thursday 22 August 2024 22:55 , Gustaf Kilander

VIDEO: JD Vance awkwardly tries to make small talk as he struggles to order donuts

Thursday 22 August 2024 22:52 , Reann Philogene

Hakeem Jeffries gets DNC crowd laughing with Trump dig: ‘An old boyfriend who won’t go away’

Thursday 22 August 2024 22:45 , Oliver O’Connell

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ignited the crowd at the third night of the Democratic National Convention when he likened Donald Trump to an “old boyfriend” who “won’t go away” during a fiery speech.

The New York Democrat compared the former president to an ex that isn’t taking the hint that to move on, prompting the crowd to erupt into laughter on Wednesday night at the Chicago convention.

“Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won’t go away,” he said. “He has spent the last four years spinning the block trying to get back into a relationship with the American people.”

Kelly Rissman reports.

‘An old boyfriend who won’t go away:’ Hakeem Jeffries’ Trump dig gets crowd laughing

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