US presidential election briefing: Harris courts Republicans with Liz Cheney as Trump says he was ‘saved’ by God

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/22/us-presidential-election-trump-harris-updates

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Kamala Harris toured swing-states with the Republican, while Donald Trump appeared with faith leaders with 15 days to go until the presidential election

Kamala Harris continued to court conservative voters and disaffected Republicans as she was joined on the campaign trail by Liz Cheney. Cheney, a former Republican congressperson and abortion rights opponent, condemned Republican-imposed bans on the procedure as she appeared with the Democratic presidential nominee at three events in battleground states.

“I’m pro-life and I have been very troubled, deeply troubled by what I have watched happen in so many states since Dobbs,” said the daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, visited hurricane-damaged North Carolina and spoke at a faith leaders meeting, where he told Christian voters to “stand up and save [their] country”.

With only 15 days to go until election day, the candidates are hammering home their areas of comparative advantage. A new poll found Trump may have lost his edge among voters when it comes to handling the economy, while Harris is viewed more favourably overall.

Here’s what else happened on Monday:

Kamala Harris election updates

Harris started the day cheering the White House announcement of a push to allow women with private health insurance to receive birth control without a prescription under the Affordable Care Act. “Today, our Administration is proposing the largest expansion of contraception coverage in more than a decade,” Harris said in a statement. Joe Biden signalled the move aimed to pressure congressional Republicans ahead of 5 November, saying in a statement: “Republican elected officials have made clear they want to ban or restrict birth control … vice-president Harris and I are resolute in our commitment to expanding access to quality, affordable contraception.”

Harris then visited three battleground states alongside longtime opponent of abortion rights Liz Cheney, speaking in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Cheney, an outspoken Republican critic of Trump, condemned members of her party for enforcing abortion bans and urged conservatives to support Harris.

Tim Walz defended the Democratic campaign’s collaboration with Republicans, saying many conservatives want to “move off the Maga stuff.” Appearing on The Daily Show, Walz said Harris’ endorsements from Liz Cheney and former vice-president Dick Cheney “give permission to those folks who want to find a reason to do the right thing”. Earlier, he spoke about meeting voters who are searching for reasons to not vote for Donald Trump, adding: “We need to give them that.”

Walz also appeared on daytime talkshow The View, where he said Elon Musk’s daily $1m voter giveaway was a sign Trump’s ticket had “no plan” while Trump’s comments about deploying the national guard against political enemies showed he would bend the country’s “constitutional guardrails”.

Biden shouted out Harris while honoring winners at an arts and humanities medal ceremony, telling the crowd female medallists were “proving a woman can do anything a man can do, and then some – that includes being president of the United States of America”.

Donald Trump election updates

Trump spent the day in North Carolina, first visiting the city of Asheville to survey the damage Hurricane Helene brought last month. He doubled down on debunked claims about the federal government’s hurricane recovery efforts and promoted baseless conspiracy theories about immigration. Trump has falsely accused the White House of deliberately diverting assistance away from Republican areas after the storm ravaged the region and killed about 100 people.

Trump also held a rally in Greenville, before attending a faith leaders meeting in Concord, alongside his son Eric and Dr Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon and former US housing secretary. At the Concord event, the former president leaned into religious messaging. “God saved me for a purpose,” he said of his assassination attempt, later adding: “I’m here tonight to deliver a simple message to Christians across America. It’s time to stand up and save your country.”

The Central Park Five sued Trump for defamation after he falsely said during the presidential debate that they had pleaded guilty to a brutal rape 35 years ago, despite the fact that they had their convictions overturned.

Key rightwing legal groups tied to Trump and his allies have banked millions of dollars from conservative foundations and filed multiple lawsuits challenging voting rules in swing states.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail

Jill Biden acknowledged on Monday that her husband made “the right call” by stepping down from his run for re-election.

A Republican county supervisor in Arizona who refused to certify the 2022 midterm election has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour.

The politics writer Olivia Nuzzi and New York magazine have parted ways after she was placed on leave following the disclosure that she had engaged in a “personal” relationship with Robert F Kennedy Jr.

A Pennsylvania man was charged with threatening to kill an employee of a state political party who had been recruiting people to monitor polls on 5 November, according to court documents made public on Monday.

Jill Biden acknowledged on Monday that her husband made “the right call” by stepping down from his run for re-election.

A Republican county supervisor in Arizona who refused to certify the 2022 midterm election has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour.