July 31, 2024, presidential campaign news

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UAW President Shawn Fain speaks with CNN on July 31.

UAW President Shawn Fain slammed former President Donald Trump’s lack of support for union workers in the past, as well as his courting of big donors instead of blue-collar workers, just hours after the union formally endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. 

When asked why he endorsed Harris after endorsing Joe Biden in January, Fain said the union was excited for Harris, while praising Biden for doing the “honorable thing” by stepping aside. 

Fain also called Trump’s remarks at the National Association of Black Journalists convention “pathetic,” saying it was typical of the former president.

“All he knows how to do is name call and divide people. And I don’t even really, his comments today — I don’t even know how they dignify any type of response because, you know, the man is just, it’s just low,” Fain said.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas defended former President Donald Trump’s remarks falsely questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’ heritage Wednesday.

“The issue isn’t what race Kamala Harris identifies as, it’s the fact that she identifies as a San Francisco liberal,” Cotton continued.

Pressed on how Trump’s comments help the Republican Party win, Cotton claimed, “Donald Trump said that what matters is that she identifies as a dangerous San Francisco liberal, not what race she identifies as.”

Harris’ mother was Indian, and her father is Jamaican. She is the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.

Trump said earlier Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists convention that Harris “happened to turn Black” a few years ago, saying that “all of a sudden, she made a turn” in her identity.

Trump’s comments came after an interviewer asked him whether he agreed with Republicans on Capitol Hill who have characterized Harris as a “DEI hire.” 

Fred Trump III, former President Donald Trump’s nephew, told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday that he will not be voting for his uncle in November and that he endorses Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

When Donald Trump ran in 2016, Fred Trump recalled, some members of the family “just thought it truly was a branding exercise.”

“It was about getting his his brand, out there,” he said. “And he did win, and we didn’t think he could do much damage. This was new. I mean, he knows the wheels of politics, but certainly didn’t think things would turn out the way they did.”

Asked if he was surprised by his uncle’s comments earlier Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists convention on Harris’ racial identity, Fred Trump said that “it doesn’t surprise me.” He added, “It seems to be happening lately, he’s, in many instances, misreading the crowd now.”

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday brought on stage a woman who he said was controlling the screens at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and put up the chart that he said “saved my life” because he turned to look at it when a gunman opened fire.

Trump embraced the woman and gave her a brief kiss on the side of her head.

Hi,” the woman said when she came up on stage at the rally. 

“No, she’s a computer genius. She saved my life,” Trump said.  

JB Pritzker speaks during the 120th Annual Meeting of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, on June 4.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker slammed Donald Trump’s false claims Wednesday about Kamala Harris’ racial identify, saying they showed “the racism coming through him.”

Pritzker, who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Harris, told CNN on Wednesday that he has long believed the former president is a racist. He pointed to the Republican presidential nominee’s past promotion of false conspiracy theories, including the baseless claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the US and calling for the death penalty for the five Black and Latino teenagers, known as “the Central Park Five,” who were wrongfully accused of raping a woman

Pritzker said he thought Harris’ response to Trump’s comments struck the correct tone, suggesting that voters can form a clear judgement what the former president said without Harris meeting Trump at his level.

Pritzker suggested that Trump was struggling to find lines of attack against Harris since her elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid.

Asked about his schedule for next week amid reports that Harris and her running mate will appear together at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Pritzker declined to share details but said he plans to support Harris regardless of “whoever is on the ticket.”

Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a potential vice presidential contender for Kamala Harris, said former President Donald Trump’s earlier comments questioning the vice president’s heritage were “overtly racist.”

Trump had said at a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago that Harris “happened to turn Black” a few years ago and that “all of a sudden, she made a turn” in her identity.

“Donald Trump has shown the American people who he is. He’s been doing this now for a decade. If you were paying attention before that, he was doing it before he was on the national stage as well,” Kelly told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when asked if he expects Trump to continue similar attacks against his Democratic rival.

Trump’s attack, Kelly said, was “the reaction of a desperate and scared old man.”

“While she’s been across the country kicking his butt that he’s afraid. He’s probably afraid to debate her. He’s certainly afraid to lose an election to her in November. And he’s afraid about his own future,” the senator told Collins.

Kelly declined to comment on any conversations he’s had with the Harris campaign about the vice-presidential role. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at Bitcoin in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 26.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign announced on Wednesday it has collected enough signatures to qualify for ballots in eight additional states, pushing closer toward the campaign’s goal of achieving ballot access across the country.

In a call with reporters on Wednesday, Kennedy’s campaign said it had collected enough signatures to meet the signature thresholds in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont and Virginia.

Kennedy is currently on the ballot in 12 states and is eligible to receive 145 electoral college votes. Including the states announced today, Kennedy has either qualified for ballot access, submitted petitions or collected enough signatures to qualify in 43 states.

JD Vance gives remarks at a campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona, on July 31.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said Wednesday that his ticket mate Donald Trump “pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris” in his remarks at gathering of Black journalists in Chicago earlier in the day. 

“She is not who she pretends to be. She’s flip-flopped on every issue. She’s fake. She’s phony. And I think our whole campaign is going to have a very fun time pointing that out,” Vance said.

Earlier Wednesday,Trump falsely suggested that Harris “happened to turn Black” a few years ago, claiming that “all of a sudden, she made a turn” in her identity.

“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” the former president said during a combative Q&A at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago.

Harris’ mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. Harris was born in Oakland, California, and attended a historically Black university, Howard University, in Washington. She is the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.

Kamala Harris responded to Donald Trump’s comments Wednesday about her racial heritage, saying it was “the same old show” and that the “American people deserve better.”

She continued: “The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth. A leader who does not respond to hostility and anger with confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength.” 

Earlier Wednesday, Trump said at a panel discussion at the gathering of Black journalists in Chicago that Harris “happened to turn Black” a few years ago, claiming that “all of a sudden, she made a turn” in her identity.

Harris did not specifically respond to Trump’s false claims, which he made after an interviewer asked him whether he agreed with Republicans on Capitol Hill who have characterized Harris as a “DEI hire.”

“Ours is a fight for the future,” the vice president told the audience in Houston. “And it is a fight for freedom.”

Harris’ late mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. Harris was born in Oakland, California, and attended a historically Black university, Howard University, in Washington. She is the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.

Kamala Harris delivers remarks at a gathering of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority in Houston, Texas on July 31.

Vice President Kamala Harris made what she referred to as the “full-on attack” on fundamental freedom and rights a central part of her remarks Wednesday in Houston.

“Across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on attack on hard-fought, hard-won fundamental freedoms and rights,” Harris said at a gathering of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.

Harris took on a lead role in championing abortion rights for the Biden administration after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Earlier this year, she launched a “reproductive freedoms tour” to multiple states. The tour included a stop at an abortion clinic in Minnesota, marking the first time a sitting US president or vice president is believed to have visited an abortion provider.

Harris’ remarks in Houston followed her attendance at a fundraiser in the city that a campaign official said earlier had raised $2.5 million.

The Sigma Gamma Rho sorority is part of the Divine Nine, a group of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities. Harris herself is a member of a Divine Nine sorority – Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Vice President Kamala Harris said in a social media post that she is “honored” to receive the UAW International Executive Board’s endorsement.

“I am honored to receive the endorsement of the United Auto Workers. From walking picket lines to taking on big banks, I have spent my entire career fighting for unions and working families—and, as President, I will continue to deliver for organized labor,” Harris wrote. 

The endorsement comes as Harris has worked to rally the labor community around her candidacy since entering the race last week. While Harris has the backing of the board, she could still have work to do with rank-and-file members at a time when former President Donald Trump is seeking to make inroads with the group.

Kari Lake speaks during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16.

Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake defended JD Vance against what she called “false narratives” after he was criticized for past comments attacking Democrats as “childless cat ladies.”

Fresh off her primary night win Tuesday, Lake told the crowd at Vance’s rally in Glendale, Arizona, that the next few months are “going to be dicey.”

“It’s going to be dicey because the mainstream media is in a full-on panic. … The false narratives, the false narratives,” she said on Wednesday.

“We get a great guy like JD Vance, who served this country honorably. He built himself up from nothing. He came from very difficult circumstances, and immediately these guys back here on the riser try to tear him down,” she added.

Lake on Tuesday had dismissed a question about Vance’s “childless cat ladies” comments, pivoting instead to attacking the media and saying, “Go ask him.”

Abe Hamedeh speaks during a Republican election night gathering in Scottsdale, Arizona, on November 08, 2022.

Arizona Republican Abe Hamadeh, a former prosecutor in the Maricopa County attorney’s office who narrowly lost a race for state attorney general two years ago, will win the primary for a deep-red House seat, CNN projects, putting him on track to enter Congress next year.

The 8th Congressional District, which lies northwest of Phoenix with its population base in Maricopa County, is a Republican stronghold that is unlikely to be competitive in November’s general election.  

It is currently represented by Republican Debbie Lesko, who is leaving Congress to seek a seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Lesko declared victory in her primary Tuesday night.

In an unusual twist, two candidates in the 8th District primary race received endorsements from Donald Trump. 

The former president backed both Hamadeh, who lost the 2022 attorney general’s race by 280 votes after a recount, and Blake Masters, a Peter Thiel acolyte who was the losing GOP nominee for Senate in 2022 to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.

“They will both be spectacular, and I’m pleased to announce that both Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh have my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Congressman of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District,” Trump posted to his Truth Social platform on Saturday.

Trump had already announced his support for Hamadeh last year, but his endorsement of Masters came just a few days ahead of Tuesday primary after early voting had already begun. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, had previously endorsed Masters. 

Masters and Hamadeh unloaded a series of attacks on each other during the primary, with Masters referring to Hamadeh as “dishonest Abe” and Hamadeh calling Masters a “snake.” 

Kamala Harris told donors at a Houston fundraiser Wednesday that “we are the underdogs in this race,” reiterating that there are under 100 days until the November election, according to reporters traveling with the vice president.

CNN previously reported that Harris’ Houston fundraiser has raised $2.5 million, according to a campaign official. The event was organized in just four days and has exceeded an initial $1 million goal.

Harris used much of her remarks to contrast her record with that of former President Donald Trump and to repeat her intentions to “fight” during the election.

“We are not fighting against something. We are fighting for something,” Harris said. “We know how much is at stake.”

Harris also repeated some lines she has used in previous events, including “We are not going back,” according to reporters.

Following the fundraiser, the vice president headed to deliver remarks in Houston at a gathering of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, which is part of the Divine Nine, a group of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities.

Ruben Gallego testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 28, 2020.

Democratic Senate nominee Ruben Gallego said Wednesday that it was “sad” that his Republican opponent, Kari Lake, is framing their Senate race as a “battle between good and evil.”

Lake won the Republican primary for Senate on Tuesday in the race to succeed retiring independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Gallego, a Phoenix-area congressman, was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

During her primary night watch party Tuesday, Lake argued that the Arizona race was “not a battle between Democrats or Republicans; this is a battle between good and evil.”

Arizona is among several Senate seats that will be key to deciding control of the chamber next year. Democrats have won the last three Senate elections in Arizona in three consecutive election cycles – beginning with Sinema who won as a Democrat in 2018, followed by Mark Kelly winning a special election in 2020 and then a full six-year term in 2022.

Mark Kelly at the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, on July 31.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, seen as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris, slammed Donald Trump’s remarks earlier Wednesday about the vice president’s racial heritage, telling reporters they were “the comments of a desperate, scared old man who is, over the last week especially, is having his butt kicked by an experienced prosecutor.” 

Pressed on whether Trump’s comments were rooted in racism, Kelly replied, “It’s who he is. I mean – and yeah, sure – but it’s who the guy is, and he’s always been like this.”

He added: “I grew up in New Jersey originally. When I was in high school, he was a New Yorker business guy. You know, now he’s a New Yorker, old business guy. And he was like this when I used to see him on the news in the 1980s. He’s still the same today, and he’s not going to change.”

Trump falsely claimed Wednesday that Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, “happened to turn Black” a few years ago, claiming that “all of a sudden, she made a turn” in her identity.

Harris’ late mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. Harris was born in Oakland, California, and attended a historically Black university, Howard University, in Washington. She is the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff responded Wednesday to Donald Trump’s false claims earlier in the day about Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial heritage, saying that the former president was “a worse version of an already horrible person” with his remarks, The Washington Post reported. 

“The insults, the B.S. – it’s horrible, it’s terrible, it shows a lack of character – but it’s a distraction,” Emhoff said at a campaign fundraiser in Maine, according to the newspaper. “It’s about what’s at stake in this election.”

Trump falsely suggested at a conference of Black journalists in Chicago that Harris “happened to turn Black” a few years ago, claiming that “all of a sudden, she made a turn” in her identity.

Harris’ late mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. Harris was born in Oakland, California, and attended a historically Black university, Howard University, in Washington. She is the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.

People line up to show their respect for the late Sheila Jackson Lee at Houston City Hall on July 29.

Kamala Harris is expected to deliver the eulogy Thursday at a homegoing service for the late Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in Houston, according to the vice president’s office.

Jackson Lee, a longtime Democratic lawmaker who had represented Texas’ 18th Congressional District since 1995, died on July 19 at the age of 74. She had announced the previous month that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Harris’ eulogy is expected to begin at 2:20 p.m ET and she will travel back to Washington after the service, her office announced.

Harris is scheduled to speak tonight at a gathering of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, which is part of the Divine Nine, a group of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities. The high-profile event will follow a fundraiser in Houston that Harris is attending and that raised $2.5 million, a campaign official told CNN.

Steven Horsford is seen outside the US Capitol after the last votes before the August recess on July 25.

Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford, a Democrat and the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Donald Trump’s questioning of Kamala Harris’ identity as a Black woman was “racist,” “insulting” and “offensive.”

“The vice president is a lifetime member of the Congressional Black Caucus,” Horsford told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”

“She participated when she was in the United States Senate. She is a graduate of Howard University. She’s a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.,” he said.

Speaking at a conference of Black journalists in Chicago, the former president falsely claimed that his 2024 Democratic rival “happened to turn Black” a few years ago, saying that “all of a sudden, she made a turn” in her identity.

“Donald Trump has always had disregard for Black people,” Horsford said, referring to Trump’s history of falsely claiming former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. 

Harris’ mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. She is the first woman, the first Black person and the first South Asian person to be elected as vice president.