White House condemns foreign interference in the election after Trump campaign alleges hack
The White House on Monday condemned any foreign interference in US elections but declined to weigh in on the specifics regarding reports former President Donald Trump’s campaign was hacked by Iran’s government. It instead referred questions to the Justice Department.
Over the weekend, Trump posted to his social media platform that Microsoft informed his campaign it had been hacked.
“We were just informed by Microsoft Corporation that one of our many websites was hacked by the Iranian Government — Never a nice thing to do!” Trump posted Saturday. “They were only able to get publicly available information but, nevertheless, they shouldn’t be doing anything of this nature.”
Kirby said Monday that the US is taking any reports of hacking “very, very seriously,” but declined to confirm the veracity of the Trump campaign’s claims.
Kirby said he can’t “comment on the veracity of those claims that Iran was involved,” but pointed to a report released last month by US intelligence that found that Iran is working to influence the presidential election. “So, we are certainly mindful that they have this intent,” Kirby added.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Senate race looms with fierce ad wars already underway
Tuesday’s Senate primary in Wisconsin is set to formalize a matchup that has been in general election mode for months, as the parties contest one of the most competitive 2024 Senate races.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin is seeking her third term in the perennial battleground state, and she’s likely to face off against Eric Hovde, a Republican businessman with the backing of the national party, who has poured at least $13 million from his personal fortune into his bid, according to the latest FEC data available.
Already, the race has seen nearly $66 million in ad spending, with Democrats outspending Republicans by about $40 million to $26 million. Both sides have been active early, flooding the airwaves with ads promoting each candidate and attacking their rival.
One of the ads promotes Baldwin’s work on legislation to lower health care costs. Another launched last week highlights her work on legislation to provide health care to veterans suffering from exposure to toxic burn pits, an effort that has been highlighted by several vulnerable Democratic incumbents in their campaign ads.
Baldwin and her allies, meanwhile, have also been on offense, running waves of aggressive attack spots branding Hovde as a carpetbagger, criticizing his rhetoric, and slamming his policy positions.
On the other side, Hovde has put his millions to work, airing ads that seek to introduce him to Wisconsin voters, touting his connections to the state as he looks to blunt Democratic criticism while laying out a conservative vision with a focus on economic issues and immigration.
Trump posts video on X for first time in almost a year ahead of conversation with Elon Musk
Former President Donald Trump on Monday posted a video on X for the first time in nearly a year ahead of his conversation on the platform later in the day with X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The more than two-minute video includes news coverage of the federal search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and his indictments by the Justice Department. Trump regularly claims on the campaign trail he is a victim of what he calls “political persecution,” and the video seeks to amplify that claim.
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America. The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it. The more that a broken system tells you that you’re wrong, the more certain you should be that you must keep pushing ahead,” Trump is heard saying in the video.
The video includes lines that are staples of Trump’s campaign speeches, including: “They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you. They’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you, and I just happen to be standing in their way.”
Trump also posted another video in which he’s heard repeating another part of his campaign stump speech in which he promises to “demolish the deep state” and “expel the warmongers from our government.” In a third post, Trump asks, “Are you better off now than you were when I was president?”
Trump and Musk are expected to have a live conversation on the platform on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
The last time Trump posted on the platform was to post a photo of his mugshot from August 24, 2023, after he was processed at an Atlanta jail in the Georgia election subversion case.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Analysis: Harris vs. Trump debate looms as another potentially historic pivot point for the campaigns
President Joe Biden had banked on June’s presidential debate turning around a race that was slipping away from him.
Now, Donald Trump may be laying a similar bet after reversing himself by agreeing to debate on ABC next month as his new Democratic opponent enjoys surging momentum.
Trump clearly doesn’t believe he’ll suffer the kind of debacle that ended Biden’s campaign, but his decision — and call for another two debates on NBC and Fox, which Vice President Kamala Harris has not agreed to — tells an emerging truth about the election.
After a barnstorming week for Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Trump suddenly looks like old news — a crushing new experience for an ex-president who prides himself on driving the narrative.
A huge test for both candidates: The build-up to the debate on September 10, assuming it goes ahead, will be intense, and the truncated nature of the new campaign means it could create another historic pivot point on the dwindling road to the White House.
Already, Trump is playing his idiosyncratic expectations game of denigrating the skills of his opponent, who could be the first Black woman and South Asian president. At a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort Thursday, he compared Harris unfavorably with Biden, who he’d long argued lacked the mental acuity to serve. “She’s actually not as smart as he is. I don’t think he’s very smart either, by the way. I’m not a big fan of his brain,” Trump said.
The clash also looms as an extreme test for Harris. The vice president has a mixed record in debates — she performed strongly in such events early in her failed 2020 presidential campaign. But at others, she struggled. And her most unflattering moments in office have come when she’s been asked to explain her positions or answer tough questions in major interviews.
"Her moment": Time Magazine puts Kamala Harris on its cover
Time Magazine has puts Kamala Harris on its latest cover, with the cover headline, “Her moment.”
The feature story traces her rise to the top of the national Democratic ticket and the challenges that lie ahead for her candidacy.
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