Donald Trump back on campaign trail after ‘assassination attempt’
Donald Trump has put on a “brave” face at his first campaign event since a second alleged attempt on his life, amid claims Russian operatives planted vile anti-Kamala Harris videos.
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Donald Trump has returned to the campaign trail after the second alleged attempt on his life in two months, telling his supporters that “only consequential presidents get shot at”.
While he and his running mate JD Vance continued to blame their Democratic opponents for fuelling the violence against him, Vice President Kamala Harris refused to shy away from calling out their “hateful rhetoric” in the race to November’s election.
Their escalating war of words came as acting Secret Service director Ron Rowe reportedly told Mr Trump he was concerned the agency would not be able to keep him safe if he continued playing golf without significant enhancements to his security arrangements.
Ryan Routh, 58, allegedly lurked at the Republican’s Florida golf course for almost 12 hours on the weekend with a Russian-made rifle, only to flee when Secret Service agents spotted him within several hundred metres of Mr Trump and opened fire.
He was charged with firearms offences as federal Attorney General Merrick Garland suggested more serious charges could follow amid a sprawling federal investigation.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis opened a separate state probe, questioning whether the Department of Justice could be trusted to investigate given it was also prosecuting Mr Trump over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his mishandling of classified files.
At a campaign town hall in Michigan, the former president was speaking about his plan to increase tariffs when he said: “And then you wonder why I get shot at, right? Only consequential presidents get shot at.”
“But you have to do what you have to do, right? We have to be brave or otherwise we’re not going to have a country left,” Mr Trump said.
He said he received a “very nice call” from Ms Harris, his opponent in the election, prompting his supporters to boo.
“We have to take back our country,” Mr Trump responded.
“We have to win. We’re going to win, and we’re going to make America great again”
The Vice President again denounced political violence, after Mr Trump claimed Routh was acting on Democratic rhetoric and that his opponents were “the real threat”.
But she also hit out at his “hateful rhetoric”, especially his unfounded claims in last week’s debate about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
The small town has since been plunged into chaos, with bomb threats shutting down schools and government offices.
“It’s a crying shame … My heart breaks for this community,” Ms Harris said.
“We’ve got to say that you cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country, is designed to have people pointing fingers at each other.”
The Vice President said she felt safe during the fierce election race but added that “not everybody has Secret Service”.
“Members of the LGBTQ community don’t feel safe right now, immigrants or people with an immigrant background don’t feel safe right now. Women don’t feel safe right now,” she said.
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RUSSIAN SPIES INFILTRATE US ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Millions of people have viewed fake videos intended to harm the election hopes of US presidential candidate Kamala Harris which Microsoft say have been planted by Russian digital operatives.
The videos depict what Microsoft refers to as “outlandish conspiracy theories” such as supporters of Ms Harris physically attacking an attendee at a rally for her political rival Donald Trump.
Another of the videos falsely alleges Ms Harris left a little girl wheelchair bound after a 2011 hit and run.
Below is one of the discredited videos still available to view on X.
BREAKING 🚨 Kamala Harris Hit and Run 13-year-old girl with a car and left the crime scene.
— Joni Job (@jj_talking) September 3, 2024
June, 2011 - One of the victims, Alisha Brown, suffered injuries to her pelvis, ribs and spine - and today is confined to a wheelchair for life. 👩â€ðŸ¦½https://t.co/cJ8WFhnLkYpic.twitter.com/hjiJVElyFu
The videos were disseminated on social media channels through a fake news site which posed as a legitimate San Francisco media outlet.
A blog posted on Tuesday by Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Centre’s General Manager Clint Watts states we should expect an increase in the volume of fake news by the Russian operatives as the November election date gets closer.
“The shift to focusing on the Harris-Walz campaign reflects a strategic move by Russian actors aimed at exploiting any perceived vulnerabilities in the new candidates,” Mr Watts wrote.
“Initially, Russian influence operations struggled to evolve their efforts following President Biden’s departure from the 2024 US presidential race.
“However, in late August and September, we observed two Russian actors … using videos designed to discredit Harris and stoke controversy around her campaign.”
Russian operatives were also accused of trying to spread online misinformation to meddle in the US elections in 2016 and 2020.
On those occasions, the Russian actors were said to have targeted Trump’s opponents Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.
VICE PRESIDENT ‘HEARTBROKEN’ FOR OHIO SCHOOL CHILDREN
US presidential hopeful Kamala Harris sat for a rare solo interview as Donald Trump’s chances in the US election took a dramatic dive in a key forecasting model.
FiveThirtyEight, which is owned by Disney, gave Mr Trump a paltry 39 per cent chance of winning in a new low for the former president – the first time he dropped below 40 per cent.
It comes as ABC News, which is also owned by Disney, was forced to address allegations that the network gave the Harris campaign favourable terms, including advance knowledge or question topics and assurances Mr Trump would be fact-checked.
ABC News’ moderator David Muir, meanwhile, dismissed post-debate “noise” and defended how he and co-moderator conducted the event.
Ms Harris said she was devastated to learn of the repercussions of Trump’s unfounded claims Haitian migrants have been eating pets in Ohio have had on local schoolchildren.
A number of schools in the Springfield area have been evacuated due to threats which are believed to be connected to the rumours.
Local police said the people making the threats “used hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community.”
“I mean, my heart breaks for this community,” Ms Harris said to the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday.
“So there were children, elementary schoolchildren. It was school photo day. You remember what that’s like going to school on picture day? They dressed up in their best, got already, knew what they were going to wear the night before, and had to be evacuated, children, children, a whole community put in fear.”
HARRIS ‘CHECKED IN’ ON TRUMP AFTER SECOND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
The US vice president revealed the conversation she had with former president Donald Trump following the second attempt on his life.
Ms Harris said she phoned Trump to inquire about his welfare.
“I checked in to see if he was okay, and I told him what I have said publicly, there was no place for political violence in our country,” Ms Harris said.
“I am in this election, in this race for many reasons, including to fight for our democracy. And in a democracy, there is no place for political violence.
“We can and should have healthy debates and discussion and disagreements, but not resort to violence to resolve those issues.”
KAMALA HARRIS GIVES RARE SOLO INTERVIEW
Kamala Harris sat for her third major interview, and only second solo interview, of the 2024 US presidential election campaign.
The vice president sat down with the National Association of Black Journalists, where Donald Trump earlier in the campaign made his stunning allegation that she had “turned black”.
She acknowledged that she has to “earn” the vote of black Americans, as more – especially men – move towards Mr Trump and the Republican Party.
“I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket,” she said. “So I’m working to earn the vote, not assuming I’m going to have it because I am Black, but because the policies and the perspectives I have.”
ABC RESPONDS TO DEBATE ‘WHISTLEBLOWER’
ABC News released a statement in response to a so-called “whistleblower” affidavit claiming the network cheated to give Kamala Harris a debate win over Donald Trump.
“ABC News followed the debate rules that both campaigns agreed on … No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates,” the statement said.
While the statement did not address the content of the allegations, a previous comment given to The Daily Beast went further, saying: “Absolutely not. Harris was not given any questions before the debate.”
ABC MODERATOR DISMISSES DEBATE ‘NOISE’
ABC News’ David Muir dismissed post-debate “noise” and defended how he conducted the event with co-moderator Linsey Davis.
“All of the noise that you hear afterwards about you know, ‘Which candidate won the debate, did the moderators win or lose?’” Muir told the audience on ABC’s “Live With Kelly and Mark.”
“That’s just noise. You all know that. The most important thing to remember is you all have the power.”
Mr Muir and Ms Davis fact-checked Mr Trump five times, with several fact-checks being misleading. Ms Harris was not fact-checked once.
‘WHISTLEBLOWER’ CLAIMS ABC, HARRIS CHEATED DEBATE
ABC News and Mr Muir were forced to respond after unverified claims made on social media were purportedly attributed to an ABC News “whistleblower”.
First published by X account “Black Insurrectionist”, the document was said to be an excerpt of a sworn affidavit signed by a notary the day before the debate and delivered to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
It claimed the Network, among other things, gave the Harris campaign the debate questions or topic ahead of time, and prohibited questions about Joe Biden’s health.
Neither the document nor the claims contained in it have been independently corroborated.
TRUMP CHANCES SLIDE TO RECORD LOW
FiveThirtyEight.com gave Donald Trump his lowest-ever chance of winning the 2024 presidential election, with new modelling giving the former president a mere 39 per cent chance.
It was the first time Mr Trump had dropped below 40 per cent in the polling aggregator.
Ms Harris, meanwhile, has a 61 per cent chance of winning under the simulation, which uses a combination of polling and key factors like the economy.
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Originally published as Donald Trump back on campaign trail after ‘assassination attempt’
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