The Latest: Candidates will try to counter criticisms of them in dueling speeches

Sep 25, 2024 10:53 AM - 704 words

By The Associated Pressa.

Derided by Donald Trump as a “communist,” Vice President Kamala Harris is playing up her street cred as a capitalist. Attacked by Harris as a rich kid who got $400 million from his father on a “silver platter,” Trump is leaning into his raw populism.

The two presidential candidates are set to deliver dueling speeches Wednesday that reflect how they’re honing their economic messages for voters in battleground states. Both are trying to counter criticism of them while laying out their best case for a public that still worries about the economy’s health.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

Vance says he doesn't think he needs to prepare as much as Walz is for the debate

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance says he’s not planning to have a debate camp because “we have well developed views on public policy.”

Speaking to reporters on a call with union supporters Wednesday, the Ohio senator said he feels no pressure to do “anything similar” to the debate preparation being done by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

“I don’t think we have to prepare that much” because “we don’t have to hide our record from the American people,” Vance said.

Vance also said former President Donald Trump supports the rights of workers to unionize and collectively bargain, but he demurred from full-throated support by also saying states should choose their own labor laws that can support or reduce unionization efforts.

Trump's supporters gather at a manufacturing plant ahead of speech

Trump was set to address a relatively small crowd inside a massive Charlotte-area manufacturing plant.

The Republican former president’s supporters gathered among metal machines and and palettes of red, white and blue tubing. Trump’s podium was flanked by rows of work stations, metal beams and a large campaign sign that proclaimed, “JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!”

Harris will do a sit down interview with MSNBC

Vice President Kamala Harris will sit down with Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

The Democratic candidate is visiting the city to give a speech on the economy and manufacturing.

Harris has faced criticism for avoiding media interviews during her abbreviated campaign for the presidency. The conversation with Ruhle will be her first one-on-one interview with a national network since becoming her party’s nominee. Harris previously sat down with CNN’s Dana Bash alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate.

Top Muslim-voter organization endorses Harris as Middle East conflict escalates

Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the endorsement of one of the nation’s largest Muslim American voter mobilization groups, marking a significant boost to her campaign since many Muslim and Arab American organizations have opted to support third-party candidates or not endorse.

Emgage Action, the political arm of an 18-year-old Muslim American advocacy group, endorsed Harris’ presidential campaign Wednesday, saying in a statement provided first to The Associated Press that the group “recognizes the responsibility to defeat” former President Donald Trump in November.

The group, based in Washington D.C., operates in eight states, with a significant presence in the key battlegrounds of Michigan and Pennsylvania. The organization will now focus its ongoing voter-outreach efforts on supporting Harris, in addition to down-ballot candidates.

A tale of crushing security lapses and missed chances to stop the man who shot Trump

The acting director of the Secret Service was incensed at what had happened that July evening. “What I saw made me ashamed,” Ronald Rowe Jr. said. “I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.”

The unguarded roof, easily within shooting distance of the rally stage, is just one of the myriad questions behind the worst Secret Service security failure in decades. The more that investigators unpack from that day, the more missed opportunities that could have prevented the attack are revealed.

As the United States grapples with a second attempt on Donald Trump’s life, in Florida, there remains a reckoning to be done from the Pennsylvania shooting on July 13 that killed one man and wounded three — the ex-president among them.