The Trump campaign appears to be trying to manage expectations ahead of tonight’s vice presidential debate between Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, but Donald Trump doesn’t seem to be on message, calling Kamala Harris’s running mate “a moron”.
Earlier, during a campaign call with reporters, senior Trump adviser Jason Miller said: “Walz is very good in debates. I want to repeat that: Tim Walz is very good in debates. Really good. He’s been a politician for nearly 20 years. He’ll be very well-prepared for tomorrow night.”
Walz will square up to Vance on the debate stage on Tuesday evening in what promises to be a hugely consequential and fiery encounter in New York. Betting odds currently favor the Democrat.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to try to attack Harris and Joe Biden over the federal response to Hurricane Helene, which has wrought havoc in states including Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. State governors tell have said they have received the support they need.
Finally, Trump has been attacked by the daughter of his former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who says he “destroys everything he touches” in an article for Vanity Fair in which she implores voters to support Harris instead.
Jon Stewart busts myth around the ‘fictional’ Trump character MAGA supporters love
“The qualities and policies that people profess to be what they admire and love about former President Trump don’t seem to be an accurate reflection of said former president,” Stewart said.
James Liddell has the story.
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 16:00
Biden called upon to help end ports strike
Eric Hoplin, CEO of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), issued a statement this morning calling on President Joe Biden to take action to end the strike and reopen the ports:
“The East and Gulf Coast port strike is putting our economy and national security at risk. This strike isn’t just about disrupting a few shipments; it’s about stopping the supply chain and bringing the flow of critical goods to a standstill.
“The damage could reach $5 billion a day, with small and mid-sized businesses at risk due to missed deliveries and empty shelves. The Biden administration must use its authority now to stop the strike before the impact becomes irreversible. This is not just about pay or a shipping delays—it’s about our global competitiveness. The ILA’s demands to ban automation in ports will cripple our ability to compete internationally, while ports in Europe and Asia embrace automation and technology to stay ahead.
“The administration must act decisively—end this strike, reopen the ports, and ensure the US remains a leader in global trade.”
Here’s what you need to know about the strike:
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 15:51
Watch: Biden wishes Jimmy Carter happy 100th birthday
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 15:45
Trump campaign tries to temper expectations ahead of VP debate — former president has other ideas
The Trump campaign is trying to manage expectations ahead of tonight’s vice presidential debate between Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, but the former president doesn’t appear on message.
During a campaign call with reporters, senior Trump adviser Jason Miller said: “Walz is very good in debates. I want to repeat that: Tim Walz is very good in debates. Really good. He’s been a politician for nearly 20 years. He’ll be very well-prepared for tomorrow night.”
“He’s not going to be the wildly gesticulating, effeminate caricature we see at rallies, pointing to Kamala Harris and dancing about on the stage. Walz is going to be buttoned up. He’ll be ready to defend his own radical left record in Minnesota and in Washington.”
However, the former president struck a different tone, later telling Kellyanne Conway: “You’ll see it tomorrow with JD. It’ll be stacked. He’s going up against a moron. A total moron, how she picked him is unbelievable. And I think it’s a big factor. There’s something wrong with that guy. He’s sick.”
The Independent will be covering the debate live tonight at 9pm ET.
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 15:41
Iran preparing imminent ballistic missile attack on Israel, US official says
Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack on Israel, a US official says, warning of “severe consequences” for Iran.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel. We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” a White House official says.
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 15:35
Will ‘overly defensive’ and ‘manic’ Walz blow VP debate? Some Democrats are quietly worried
Democratic insiders are said to be privately voicing concerns that Tim Walz could blow crucial vice presidential debate against JD Vance because of his tendency to be overly abrupt and defensive about his record in office and his occasionally “manic” speaking style.
Walz is due to square up to the Ohio GOP senator on stage at the CBS News debate in New York City on Tuesday night and – with no further debates in the pipeline – the contest could mark the final face-off between the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns before November’s election.
But allies of the Democratic vice presidential candidate have warned Politico that there are fears that Walz’s abrupt manner of shutting down conversations and runaway manner of speaking – which one anonymous insider described as “a bit manic” – could ultimately count against him.
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 15:30
Walz heading to New York for tonight’s debate
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 15:28
Lincoln Project calls Vance ‘conniving liar’ who will ‘sane-wash … Trump’s crazy and dangerous positions’
Anti-Trump conservative group The Lincoln Project has hit out at Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, calling him “a conniving liar who will sane-wash and make palatable all of Trump’s crazy and dangerous positions”.
“Vance is a misogynist who has twisted, dark plans for America to turn women’s rights back 100 years,” said Lincoln Project Chief of Staff Ryan Wiggins. She continued, “Tonight he will lie about Trump’s past, lie about his own support for Project 2025, and deny that he ever believed Trump was ‘America’s Hitler’. The only thing Vance can be counted on is to defend Trump and wear terrible makeup.”
Watch the group’s latest ad here:
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 15:15
Walz and Vance go head-to-head in VP debate tonight, but who will win – and what buzzwords will we hear?
The bets are on ahead of tonight’s vice presidential debate, with bookies rounding up the odds on who will win the showdown: Democrat Tim Walz or Republican JD Vance?
Alicja Hagopian looks at the numbers.
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 15:00
Trump claims US election debates against Harris and Walz are ‘rigged’
Donald Trump claimed US election debates against Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are “rigged”. The Republican presidential candidate made his claim to his former 2016 campaign manager Kellyanne Conway in an interview on Fox Nation on Monday (30 September). Trump said: “I would love to have two or three more debates, I like it, I enjoyed it. “But they’re so rigged and so stacked. You’ll see it tomorrow with JD, it’ll be stacked.” Trump also launched into a personal attack on Walz ahead of Tuesday’s VP debate. “He’s going up against a moron, a total moron,” he said.
Oliver O’Connell1 October 2024 14:45