Alert – First poll since the Trump-Harris debate reveals how the 2024 race has shifted

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent in Tucson, Arizona

Donald Trump unveiled another plank to his populist economic program Thursday, promising to abolish tax on overtime pay.

It comes after his promises to end tax on tips and on Social Security benefits for seniors, ideas that are wildly popular but uncosted and likely to increase the national debt without tax increases elsewhere.

He made his pledge during a raucous rally in Tucson, Arizona, where he said it was time for working men and women to ‘catch a break’.

‘I’m also announcing that as part of our additional tax cuts, we will end all taxes on overtime,’ he said.

‘You know what that means? I think that gives people more of an incentive to work. It gives the companies a lot … it’s a lot easier to get the people.’

The crowds at Tim Walz’s campaign event in Grand Rapids, MI broke into chants of ‘we’re not eating cats’ as Kamala Harris running mate took aim at Donald Trump.

The chant refers to the line from Donald Trump during the debate where he brought up a false claim about immigrants when he said ‘they’re eating the cats.’

The chant started when Walz was talking about the debate Tuesday and said of Trump ‘he said a lot of weird stuff too, so I’m just going to say that.’

‘You tell me you had this on your bingo card? “And they’re eating cats,”‘ Walz added including the Trump quote.

The supporters started chanting back ‘we’re not eating cats’ in a similar way they chant ‘we’re not going back’ at numerous rallies.

‘Ah Michigan, we love you,’ Walz laughed.

The Minnesota governor also gave a shoutout to his ‘fellow cat owner’ megastar Taylor Swift while campaigning Thursday in Grand Rapids. The singer endorsed Harris after the debate Tuesday.

He said they couldn’t more excited to have her support.

‘It’s not as if I didn’t warn these people a few months ago,’ Walz joked. ‘You mess with cat people, and you will find out.’

‘Beautiful strategy there picking on the cat people,’ he added.

Swift signed her endorsement ‘Childless Cat Lady’ in a dig at Trump running mate J.D. Vance who once used the phrase to mock Democrats.

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent in Tucson, Arizona

If Donald Trump came across as angry in Tuesday night’s debate he was making no apologies for it two days later, saying he was furious about what Kamala Harris was doing to the country.

‘People said that I was angry at the debate, angry,’ he told a raucous crowd in Tucson, Arizona.

‘I was angry, and yes, I am angry because she allowed 21 million illegal aliens invading our communities. Many of them are criminals.’

The event was billed as a chance to address the spiralling cost of living crisis. And Trump unveiled a populist new policy, promising to end tax on overtime.

But much of his speech was taken up with Tuesday's debate. Trump railed against the moderators and said he had no need for another meeting with Harris after his ‘monumental victory.’

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Vice President Kamala Harris held her second rally of the day in North Carolina in Greensboro Thursday night after her first post-debate campaign rally in Charlotte.

The vice president is riding momentum off her debate performance. At her second rally, Harris reiterated that she wants a second debate with Donald Trump.

‘I believe we owe it to have another debate,’ she said, echoing her comments earlier in the day. ‘In this election, what’s at stake could not be more important.’

After slamming Trump earlier in the day for his response during the debate about only ‘concepts of a plan’ for health care, Harris Thursday night said that means he has ‘no actual plan.’

During her second rally, Harris also brought up the former president refusing to say durnig the debate whether he would or would not sign a national abortion ban if elected.

She vowed she would sign a bill to restore reproductive freedom.

‘We are not playing around,’ Harris passionately said.

Discussing abortion rights appeared to get some of the biggest cheers at both her North Carolina events.

Harris held her second rally at the Greensboro Coliseum which has a more than 20,000 person capacity. That’s more than double the capacity at the venue earlier in the day in Charlotte. Her evening rally venue appeared to be packed.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Joe Biden marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the landmark Violence Against Women Act, which he championed as a senator.

It was the first comprehensive federal law that focused on addressing violence against women and sought to provide support for survivors and justice. Biden announced new efforts to address online harassment and abuse, and to help ease housing issues that many survivors of domestic violence face when they are trying to escape abusers.

And the Justice Department is announcing more than $690 million in grant funding, including efforts to serve orders of protection electronically and strategies that seek to address online gender-based violence, a growing problem.

Biden used his event on the South Lawn to praise Kamala Harris and get in a knock at Donald Trump.

‘The best decision I made when I was a nominee in 2020 was selecting Kamala Harris as vice president,’ he said.

He noted her work as attorney general of California, ‘who prosecuted stood up to sexual violence offenders her entire career.’

‘Can’t say that about my predecessor,’ he added.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the internet conspiracy on pets being eaten, President Joe Biden wearing a MAGA hat and conspirator Laura Loomer in her briefing.

Jean-Pierre slammed Loomer for spreading ‘racist poison’ in her comments about Vice President Harris.

Loomer, a former congressional candidate and fervent Trump supporter, recently said on social media that if Harris wins the election, ‘the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.’

‘It is un-American to say these types of things exactly the kind of hateful and divisive rhetoric, rhetoric that we should denounce,’ Jean-Pierre said.

‘No leader should ever associate with someone who spreads this kind of ugliness, this kind of racist poison,’ she added.

She was also asked why Biden wore a Trump hat when he stopped at a firehouse in Pennsylvania on Wednesday when he was in the state to mark the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

Jean-Pierre said the president was participating in a moment of unity on a national day of mourning.

‘The President gave an impromptu remarks about bipartisan unity. That’s what he was talking about and he talked about it in the moment of September 11,’ she said. ‘And he offered a presidential hat to a man who was wearing a Trump hat. He was wearing a Trump hat, and he offered it to him as a gesture, and in return, the man said, that in the same spirit, the president should put on his Trump hat. And so the President did very briefly, and that’s what happened. It was, it was truly a back and forth about unity.’

She also addressed Trump’s comments at the presidential debate that migrants were eating people’s pets.

She slammed the comments as ‘hate speech.’

‘What is happening here is an attempt to tear apart communities and disrespect,’ she said. And it is spreading filth that makes the lives of the communities that are being smeared here. It puts their lives in danger and it is just hate speech. That’s what it is.’

She added: ‘Maybe we should not have leaders who fall for fake internet conspiracy theories. We should think about that.’

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Federal prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against those involved in Iran’s alleged hack against Donald Trump’s campaign, the Washington Post reports.

People familiar with the matter told the outlet that an alias named ‘Robert’ distributed Trump campaign documents to reporters under the false pretense that they were at one time an employee of the former president.

Now federal authorities have determined this individual was distributing the material on behalf of Iran.

The sources said charges could be expected to come out in just a matter of days.

Senior Trump adviser Susie Wiles, among others, had their data compromised, people familiar with the matter told The Post.

Vice President Kamala Harris could barely contain herself as she skewered former President Donald Trump for his response about health care at the presidential debate and called for another showdown with her GOP rival at her first campaign rally since their showdown.

Harris headed down to Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday as she looks to ride momentum off her face-off with Trump in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

The Democratic presidential nominee touted her debate performance even as Trump posted there will be no third debate and declared victory.

‘Two nights ago Donald Trump and I had our first debate,’ Harris said as the crowd cheered. ‘And I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate.’

‘On Tuesday night, I talked about issues that I know matter to families across America,’ the vice president said.

Kamala Harris is speaking in Charlotte, NC in her first post-debate rally.

‘Two nights ago Donald Trump and I had our first debate and I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate,’ she said to cheers.

Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donald Trump’s campaign called Attorney General Merrick Garland’s remarks on Thursday a ‘disgrace.’

The AG delivered a speech where he became visibly emotional and his voice shook as he assured his employees their jobs are safe and defended his Department against attacks from the former president.

Trump’s Communications Director Steven Cheung responded to the emotional display with:

Comrade Kamala Harris has weaponized the DOJ to target her political opponent, President Trump, in an unconstitutional and unprecedented Witch Hunt. The disgraceful conduct of Attorney General Merrick Garland has done tremendous damage to a once great institution.

Using phony charges to interfere with the presidential election on behalf of the Democrat Party has to be stopped and those driving these Hoaxes have to be held accountable.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Mobile billoards are following Kamala Harris on the campaign trail reminding her of Americans killed by illegal immigrants.

Conservative nonprofit Building America’s Future has the trucks park outside the 2024 presidential candidate’s event with Harris face and the grave stones of four murdered Americans.

It’s part of the #SayThierNames campaign that places the blame on Harris’ immigration policies for allowing criminals to slip through the cracks at the southern border.

Specifically the ad mentiones the deaths of Laken Riley, Joselyn Toaquiza, Rachel Morin and Jocelyn Nungaray at the hands of undocumented immigrants living illegally in the U.S.

The ads are outside Harris’ campaign events – and even appeared on the streets of Philadelphia during the first debate between Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Next stop: The truck billboards will park outside Harris’ rally in North Carolina on Thursday.

One mobile billboard was parked underneath a Harrs-Walz ad in Philadelphia

Linda Ronstadt is not happy that Donald Trump is speaking at an Arizona music hall that holds her namesake.

The singer and songwriter released a statement on Wednesday lashing out at the former president and calling him a ‘rapist.’

She said she needed to speak out after seeing ‘toxic’ Trump was slated to deliver remarks at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall. Ronstadt, unsurprisingly, said that she will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

Linda Ronstadt is not happy that Donald Trump is speaking at an Arizona music hall that holds her namesake.

The singer and songwriter released a statement on Wednesday lashing out at the former president and calling him a ‘rapist.’

She said she needed to speak out after seeing ‘toxic’ Trump was slated to deliver remarks at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall. Ronstadt, unsurprisingly, said that she will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Americans who tuned into the debate are coming to some of the same conclusions as TV pundits, saying that Kamala Harris won it.

Harris has seized a 47 to 42 percent lead over Trump in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed Thursday.

The two-day poll had a 53 percent majority saying Harris won the debate, with 24 percent saying Trump won.

Another majority – 52 percent – said Trump stumbled and didn’t appear sharp, while just 21 percent said that about Harris. That came after Trump gave some meandering answers and said illegal immigrants were taking and eating people’s pets.

Ninety-one percent said they had heard something about the debate, with 44 percent saying they heard a great deal, as clips and coverage continued to rocket around the Internet. Harris has challenged Trump to another debate in October, but Trump has compared her to a defeated MMA fighter demanding a rematch.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump wrote a flurry of posts on his Truth Social app Thursday afternoon with several being AI-generated images of cats holding signs in support of his campaign.

‘Don’t let them eat us, vote for Trump,’ one AI image showed with cats holding the red and blue sign.

Another showed a sad cat with a sign reading ‘Kamala hates me.’

During the Tuesday debate with Harris, Trump claimed migrants in Ohio are eating pet cats and dogs.

Those bizarre claims have yet to be verified.

Vladimir Putin has warned the U.S. and NATO would be ‘at war’ with Russia if West lets Ukraine use long-range weapons.

US and British foreign ministers met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday with the war at a pivotal point.

American officials have been discussing easing restrictions on the use of missiles that could strike deep inside Russia.

Putin said the move from the West would ‘change the very nature of the conflict’, and issued a severe threat against giving Zelensky more firepower.

‘It would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia,’ he told a state TV reporter.

‘If that’s the case, then taking into account the change of nature of the conflict, we will take the appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face.’

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Progressive ‘Squad’ leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed the Republican presidential ticket for claiming that migrants in Ohio are eating cats and dogs.

The bizarre saga all began earlier this week when a viral video showed a Springfield, Ohio, resident decrying how Haitian migrants are catching, beheading and later eating geese from a local park.

It soon caught the attention of MAGA world, including Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Ohio senator running mate J.D. Vance.

Trump soon brought up the claims in his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris and Vance mentioned online how the reports could be true, before saying they could be false.

Now, AOC is saying Trump and Vance are intentionally ‘on a path of inciting violence’ against these migrants by repeating the dubious reports.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Joe Biden will host a Quad leaders summit with leaders from , India and Japan on September 21.

But instead of holding the meeting at the White House, he’ll host it in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, the White House said on Thursday.

It marks the first time Biden will welcome foreign leaders to his home state.

He’ll welcome n Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. The four nations make up the Quad alliance, which has been a major focus for Biden in his efforts to combat China’s influence in the Pacific.

‘The Quad Leaders Summit will focus on bolstering the strategic convergence among our countries, advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and delivering concrete benefits for partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas,’ White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Last year’s Quad summit in was scrapped after Biden canceled his trip there so he could be in Washington for negotiations over the debt ceiling. The leaders instead met at the 2023 G7 summit.

The federal government will dramatically increase security around the Capitol on January 6th, 2025 when lawmakers certify this November’s election in an effort to prevent another January 6th.

The Department of Homeland Security has designated the next certification — scheduled for Jan. 6, 2025 — a National Special Security Event, which puts the Secret Service in charge of security instead of U.S. Capitol Police, the Washington Post reported.

That is the date Congress will certify the presidential victory of either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.

The additional protections will likely include unscalable fencing going around the Capitol, call-up of the D.C. National Guard and additional officers deputized to work in Washington D.C.

The goal is to prevent a repeat of what happened four years before, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to stop the official certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

Montana’s Senate race has been moved from ‘toss up’ to ‘Lean Republican’ by Cook Political Report as Democrats face an uphill battle to keep the Senate majority.

Democratic Senator Jon Tester is attempting to hold a seat in a state that Donald Trump won by 16 points in 2020.

The Real Clear Politics average of polls has his Republican opponent businessman Tim Sheehy up by five points.

Democrats currently hold a 51 seat majority in the Senate but the map is unfriendly. With Sen. Joe Manchin retiring, West Virginia is expected to go red. Then Republicans need only one more seat to take the majority.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

The largest largest Democratic opposition research and tracking group is launching a new ad campaign focused on abortion rights in key battleground states that make up the so-called ‘blue wall.’

American Bridge 21st Century is spending $15 million on TV, digital and radio ads focused on the issue in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The ads wil focus on the stories of real voters in those three states and how Trump’s stance on abortion could impact their communities.

It comes after the ex-president refused to say during the presidential debate on Tuesday whether he would sign a national abortion ban despite being pressed by moderators on the issue.

Abortion rights remains a top issue in 2024 after Roe v Wade was overturned, especially among women voters. It has been brought up numerous times by voters to DailyMail.com on the campaign trail including in the battleground suburbs where both Kamala Harris and Trump are vying for votes.

Rebecca Reid from Chester County, PA said she would be voting for Harris specifically because of the issue.

‘There’s no question that Kamala supports us for that. Trump said he took away abortion rights and he’s so iffy on the issue that he does not know what he’s talking about,’ she told DailyMail.com ‘I want someone that’s really going to stand up for women.’

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Charlotte, NC:

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is getting her very own ice cream flavor ‘Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee.’

Ben & Jerry’s is teaming up with the political organization MoveOn to give out free ice cream in swing states to help get out the vote in key swing states.

The ‘Scoop the Vote’ tour kicks off in Philadelphia on September 16 and will travel throughout the U.S with more than 20 battleground state stops. It includes Ben & Jerry’s as well as Jeni’s Ice Creasms and Malai Ice Cream.

As part of the effort, Ben & Jerry’s cofounders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield will be raffling off autographed pints of the ‘Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee.’

Charlie Spiering, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Vice President Kamala Harris surprised many viewers Tuesday by announcing during the debate that she was a gun owner, despite her long history of pushing for more gun control.

Harris first revealed her gun ownership on the campaign trail in Iowa, during her failed 2020 presidential campaign.

‘I am a gun owner, and I own a gun for probably the reason a lot of people do – for personal safety,’ Harris told voters in April 2019.

Campaign aides at the time confirmed that Harris owned a handgun and that she kept it locked up.

She has not revealed the make or model.

Harris spoke about shooting in a 2015 interview with journalist Mike Allen who asked her if she had ever shot a gun.

In response, Harris laughed and refused to say when was the last time she had used a gun.

‘I’m a good marksman,’ she added, laughing. ‘Yes, I have shot a gun many many times.’

She confirmed she had shot a ‘pistol’ but refused to share further details.

‘That’s it, I’m not going any further with this,’ she said protesting. ‘You have just broken news.’

Charlie Spiering, Senior Political Reporter

Vice President Kamala Harris and her team continue frustrating the press pool of journalists charged with following her around the country as she runs for president.

The White House News Photographers Association revealed that the Harris team has restricted the number of photographers who travel with her from a rotating pool of four to just one.

WHNPA president Jessica Koscielniak sent a letter to the Harris campaign protesting the decsiion.

‘The WHNPA strongly calls on the Harris campaign to reconsider the number of media seats allowed on Air Force 2,’ the letter read.

The Harris campaign has argued that Air Force 2, the plane that carries the vice president, is not big enough for more journalists, forcing them to make cuts.

But the reduced seating plus the lack of Harris’ availability to the press continues to be a source of frustration.

Melania Trump delivered her latest sales pitch for her memoir, this time focusing on her son Barron.

The former first lady posted a video extolling the virtues of motherhood.

‘The challenges and rewards of motherhood, from sleepless nights to joyful milestones bring immense fulfilment, which only a mother understands. The lessons I have learned from this experience are profound, and they have shaped me in ways I could never have imagined,’ she said.

Barron Trump is her only son. The 18-year-old is a student at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

It’s the third video Melania Trump has posted to her social media accounts ahead of her memoir’s launch on October 1. It’s been an unusual marketing strategy to get people to pre-order her book.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent and Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Kamala Harris is going to go aggressive against Donald Trump in a post-debate campaign swing through two critical battleground states that will help decide the election.

She’ll even do more media interviews – after facing repeated criticism she has not held a formal press conference since being the Democratic nominee – and will fan her surrogates out across the country in the coming days.

Her new ‘aggressive phase’ will include campaign stops in North Carolina on Thursday and in Pennsylvania on Friday. Her campaign will also release an array of new ads that feature key moments from the debate, where she repeatedly got under Trump’s skin.

Trump, meanwhile, is headed West. He’ll campaign in Arizona on Thursday. On Friday, he’ll hold a press conference in Los Angeles and then a rally that evening in Nevada.

Polls show a majority of viewers think Harris won Tuesday evening’s presidential debate. Now it’s a question if she can keep up that momentum.

Harris’s team is calling her push her New Way Forward Tour and it includes ‘launching a suite of new TV and digital ads featuring key moments from the debate, engaging more with media, and fanning surrogates and supporters out to battleground states to share Harris’ message from the debate,’ her campaign said.

Tim Walz, her running mate, will also be doing more media engagements as part of their strategy.

Harris, for her part, will do additional local battleground state media interviews in the coming days, and next week she is expected to participate in a discussion with journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Former Bush official Alberto Gonzales will vote for Kamala Harris in November.

The former Attorney General under President George W. Bush said ‘power is intoxicating’ and he is worried that former President Donald Trump would not ‘respect the power of the presidency’ if he got another term.

‘[R]ather, he would abuse it for personal and political gain, and not on behalf of the American people,’ he wrote an op/ed for Politico on Thursday revealing his backing for Harris over Trump.

He continued:

I can’t sit quietly as Donald Trump — perhaps the most serious threat to the rule of law in a generation — eyes a return to the White House. For that reason, though I’m a Republican, I’ve decided to support Kamala Harris for president.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Kamala Harris’ support among Jewish voters is the lowest for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1988.

Jewish voters in the U.S. are traditionally more liberal, but only 65 percent of the demographic back the vice president’s bid for the White House and 35 percent say they will vote for Donald Trump, according to a Pew Research Center poll.

The 36-year low for Democrats comes amid a raging war between Israel and Hamas terrorists operating out of Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Harris insists she will support the Jewish state, which is the U.S.’s only ally in the Middle East, but Americans are worried that more liberal policies will help embolden terrorists to go after Israel more.

The latest Pew poll has Republicans gaining support among black, Hispanic and Jewish voters.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Taylor Swift prompted 337,000 people to visit Vote.gov so far by using the voter registration link on her Tuesday evening Instagram post.

The pop star gave her coveted and long-anticipated endorsement of Kamala Harris’ presidential bid after the first debate between the vice president and former President Donald Trump.

She included in her post a link to Vote.gov that urged her 284 million followers to do their own research and register to vote in November’s election.

The image of Swift was from a photoshoot of her and Benjamin Button, one of the mega star’s three cats named after the fictional character. It has more than 10 million likes.