It’s Thursday. Happy Halloweeeeen! 🎃 TBH, this upcoming election is scary and spooky enough for me. Here's what’s happening today:
Trump is stoking misleading election fraud claims in Pennsylvania. Election officials say it's secure, though. Trump put on an orange vest and hopped into a MAGA-themed garbage truck on Wednesday, and no, it wasn’t a Halloween costume. Harris and Trump are both doing a West Coast battleground swing today. You know the video of a Yankees fan trying to steal Mookie Betts's glove? Well, Gronk knows him from college. Watch the clip below.
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. |
|
|
Somewhere, Mike Dukakis is grumbling and rolling his eyes: |
Former President Trump has once again tried to troll his Democratic rivals with a themed outfit and a corresponding backdrop.
First, it was the McDonald’s stunt. Who could forget the images of Trump working the fryer and drive-thru at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago? All to troll Vice President Harris’s past experience working at the fast-food chain.
And now, the former president climbed into a campaign-themed garbage truck in his motorcade on Wednesday to draw attention to President Biden appearing to call Trump supporters “garbage.” |
|
|
“How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden,” Trump said while seated in the truck wearing an orange safety vest.
💡 Why Trump is leaning into this: Trump has spent his week doing clean-up after a comedian speaking at his rally made racist comments about Puerto Rico. Then Biden's comment — which the White House has sought to clarify and Harris has tried to distance herself from — has given Trump the perfect opportunity to shift the narrative. His team has even tried to equate Biden’s garbage comment to Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” line in 2016.
Read Niall Stanage’s analysis: ‘Trump garbage-truck stunt seeks to press advantage from Biden’s “garbage” gaffe’ |
|
|
➤ WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY?: |
Harris and Trump are both on the West Coast to give some love to the battleground states outside the Eastern and Central time zones.
🔵 Harris is holding a rally in Phoenix today before heading to Nevada for stops in Reno and Las Vegas (expect singer Jennifer Lopez at the Vegas rally!)
🔴 Trump will first hold a rally in Albuquerque, N.M., followed by a stop in Las Vegas. He won’t have J. Lo., but he will have former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Scroll down to today’s agenda for times and livestream links. |
|
|
I already have a pit in my stomach: |
|
|
It’s five days until Election Day, and former President Trump is already making explosive, exaggerated and misleading claims of voter fraud in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. For example:
Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday: “Pennsylvania is cheating, and getting caught, at large scale levels rarely seen before. REPORT CHEATING TO AUTHORITIES. Law Enforcement must act, NOW!”
Plus: During a Pennsylvania rally this week, Trump talked about potentially fraudulent voter registration forms, though he misstated the nature of the issue.
What Trump was referring to: “Officials in Lancaster County announced last week they were reviewing roughly 2,500 voter registration forms due to potential fraud. But there were no fraudulent ballots involved and no indication that the registration forms are a sign of wider fraud, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.” (The Hill)
Keep in mind: Officials assure voters that the election is secure.
💡 Why this matters: Trump has sowed doubt and stoked fears in the results days before polls even close. In 2020, a winner wasn't declared in Pennsylvania and several other states until several days later. Then, Trump and his allies spent weeks falsely claiming the election was stolen, before a pro-Trump mob tried to block the certification of the results in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
|
|
|
- ‘Trump Accuses Democrats of Cheating Already Though Ballots Haven’t Been Counted’: The Wall Street Journal
-
‘Debunking voter fraud conspiracy theories.’: NPR
-
‘Trump, GOP allies escalate election fraud conspiracies in Pennsylvania’: CNBC
-
‘They tried to prove Trump’s fraud claims. They failed — and got in trouble.’: The Washington Post
-
‘Pennsylvania Has Already Become Ground Zero for Election-Fraud Claims’: The Wall Street Journal
|
|
|
➤ THIS WILL KEEP ME UP AT NIGHT: |
A co-chair of the Trump-Vance transition team told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who backs Trump, wants to force vaccines off the market.
But before you panic: Trump-Vance transition co-chair Howard Lutnick said Kennedy will not get the job of secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), pushing back on a claim that Trump had promised him the job.
In Lutnick’s words: “He wants the data, so he can say, ‘These things are unsafe.’ He says, ‘If you give me the data, all I want is the data, and I’ll take on the data and show that it’s not safe. And then if you pull the product liability, the companies will yank these vaccines right off, off of the market.’” (The Hill)
|
|
|
It’s not just Trump. Everyone is getting ahead of themselves!: |
“Vice President Harris could win the presidential election next week. But fingers in Democratic circles are already being pointed behind the scenes, in the event that she falls to former President Trump,” reports The Hill’s Amie Parnes. We still have five days left, people!
Why some Democrats are annoyed: Some Democrats have expressed frustration over the Harris campaign’s messaging, especially on the economy. And some are already blaming President Biden for waiting until the end of July to step aside. ^ I’m sure Biden’s “garbage” comment earlier this week won’t help. Well, hindsight will be 20/20: “The vice president’s decision to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) surely will be second-guessed if Trump wins the Keystone State.”
But keep in mind (!): Not all Democrats are pessimistic. Many are hopeful that she could win. Just some nervous Nellies, as they say.
Read more on Dems’ pre-election blame game: ‘Democrats start to point fingers even as they hope for Harris win’ |
|
|
➤ MORE READS FROM THE TRAIL:
|
- ‘Inflation Is Basically Back to Normal. Why Do Voters Still Feel Blah?’: The New York Times
-
‘Billionaires have business interests hinging on election outcome’: The Hill
-
‘Congress tried to fix presidential transitions. Trump is testing the changes.’: The Washington Post
-
‘America’s Class Politics Have Turned Upside Down’: The Atlantic
|
|
|
🍏 Celebrate: Today is National Caramel Apple Day!
⚾ Omg, Gronk knows the guy who tried stealing Mookie’s glove: I included a story yesterday about a Yankees fan trying to pry the glove off Mookie Betts during a World Series game. Well, former football tight end Rob Gronkowski said in an interview that he was college friends with the man! He also referred to that group of friends as “maniacs,” which, coming from Gronk, says something. 📹 Watch the clip
|
🐼 Jill Biden is such a teacher!: First lady Jill Biden dressed up as a panda for the Halloween celebration at the White House. It’s very funny to see the official military salute to a panda. 📹 Watch the Bidens’ grand entrance
👻 Spoooooky: Fox News’s Chad Pergram, one of the folks who knows Capitol Hill very well, tells some of the haunted stories of Congress. 📹 Watch the clip |
|
|
The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington, and Vice President Harris is doing a West Coast swing today. (all times Eastern) |
- 2 p.m.: Former President Trump campaigns in Albuquerque, N.M. 💻 Livestream
-
4:20 p.m.: Harris campaigns in Phoenix. 💻 Livestream
-
6:30 p.m.: Trump campaigns in Las Vegas. 💻 Livestream
-
8:25 p.m.: Harris campaigns in Reno, Nev. 💻 Livestream
-
10 p.m.: Trump campaigns in Phoenix with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. 💻 Livestream
-
12:10 a.m. Friday: Harris campaigns in Las Vegas with singer and actor Jennifer Lopez. 💻 Livestream
|
|
|
And to leave you with something spooky that is not in any way election-related, here’s a ghost! |
|
|
|
