Closing summary
With Hurricane Milton presenting a mortal threat to Florida’s west coast, Kamala Harris warned businesses against defrauding or price gouging people fleeing the storm, while, at the White House, Joe Biden slammed the recent flood of hurricane-related disinformation as “off the wall”. The Trump campaign was busy assailing Harris and Biden over their response to Hurricane Helene, which devastated south-eastern states like North Carolina days ago. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, JD Vance accused the Biden administration of “incompetence” in responding to the storm, prompting a rebuke from homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Here’s what else happened today:
Harris and groups supporting her campaign have brought in $1bn since she declared her candidacy in July, a huge fundraising total.
Tim Walz, Harris’s running mate, decried the electoral college at a fundraiser yesterday, saying it would be better if the popular vote decided the presidency. The Harris campaign later said his remarks do not represent their position.
The vice-president was on the line when Biden spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu today, in the leaders’ first call since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon.
The economy remains the issue most important to voters, and Donald Trump has the edge, a Gallup survey found. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll found Harris remained the favorite nationally, although her lead has declined a bit.
Jim McCain, the son of late Republican senator and presidential candidate John McCain, endorsed Harris during a campaign alongside Walz in Arizona.
Updated
Speaking to supporters in Scranton, Donald Trump leveled baseless accusations of election fraud against Democrats, warning that they would “cheat like hell” next month.
Trump has, of course, continued to insist that the results of the 2020 presidential election were tainted by widespread fraud, even though he has failed to produce evidence substantiating those claims.
Complaining about a recent New York Times poll showing Kamala Harris pulling ahead in Pennsylvania, Trump attacked journalists as “the enemy of the people”.
