August 18, 2024, presidential campaign news | CNN Politics (2024)

Vice President Kamala Harris hit the campaign trail in the pivotal battleground of Pennsylvania on Sunday, the eve of the Democratic National Convention. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is making his own plans to share his vision for the country in key states while Harris accepts her nomination in Chicago.

Catch up on what the candidates were up to Sunday:

Harris and Walz on the trail: Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — along with second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz — embarked on a bus tour across western Pennsylvania. They visited a Sheetz, a football practice, a firehouse (where they met Hank, the firehouse dog), and a campaign field office, where Harris appeared to call Trump a “coward.”

Trump plans counterprogramming: While Harris is in Chicago this week, Trump campaign officials said the former president and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will hold daily events in battleground states, gaggle opportunities for reporters and news conferences with surrogates.

Star-studded DNC: Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn, Mindy Kaling and Ana Navarro will serve as hosts at the convention as celebrity enthusiasm in Democratic politics is at a high. Other stars, including John Legend and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, are also set to appear at events during the convention.

Protests expected in Chicago: Tens of thousands of protestersfrom across the country are expected to march onthe convention this week, activists said at a news conference Sunday. Illinois JB Pritzker confirmed that “about 250” members of the state’s National Guard will be on standby, but he told CNN earlier in the day that he expects “we’re going tohave peaceful protests.”

DNC schedule takes shape: The schedule for the convention has begun to take a clearer shape — sources say Michelle Obama, former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will join a growing “who’s who” of speakers throughout the week. Meanwhile, Biden is working on his keynote address set for Monday night (as is Harris for Thursday night), and Hillary Clinton plans to use her speech to discuss the proverbial glass ceiling that she herself failed to fully break in 2016.

Former Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia said Sunday that she would vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Asked what the difference between voting for Harris and endorsing her was, Comstock said, “I don’t know thatthere’s really a difference,” noting that she didn’t vote for Donald Trump in 2016 or 2020.

Comstock lost her reelection bid in 2018, with Trump saying at the time she did not win because she did not “embrace” his policies. She has since hit other Republicans for their continued support of the former president.

The former congresswoman also praised her contemporaries, including former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who has thrown his support behind Harris — and is even speaking at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.

She said the Illinois Republican is “a perfect person to make thecase that while he mightdisagree with the vicepresident on some of her policyissues, he agrees on democracy.”

Comstock added that since Harris “has had sort of a flawless rollout”after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for reelection, “Ithink you’ve had aconsolidation not only of theDemocratic Party, but of thatanti-Trump coalition missionthat has been out there, thathas been sort of reenergized.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff arrived in Chicago on Sunday night ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

She landed in the host city for the convention — where she is will accept her party’s nomination for president — after spending the day campaigning across western Pennsylvania with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Sen. JD Vance and former President Donald Trump attend a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

The Trump-Vance campaign is aiming to prevent the Harris-Walz camp from having “free shots on goal” throughout the week of the Democratic National Convention by holding daily events in battleground states, gaggle opportunities for reporters and news conferences with surrogates, according to a Sunday call with senior campaign officials.

Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, will hold events in battleground states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Arizona, the campaign said.

Trump will hold a crime and safety event in Detroit on Tuesday before joining Vance on Wednesday for a national security-focused event in Asheboro, North Carolina, according to senior campaign officials.

Trump’s campaign said in a news release Sunday night that he will visit the southern border in Cochise County, Arizona, on Thursday.

On Friday morning, Trump will hold an event in Las Vegas before heading to Glendale, Arizona, for an afternoon rally, the campaign said.

As Democrats convene in Chicago for their convention, the Trump campaign will also hold daily news conferences in the city at the Trump International Hotel & Tower, deploying surrogates, including Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds.

A campaign official said gaggle opportunities will be available for reporters to speak with Trump and Vance throughout the week. The campaign aims to draw a contrast with Vice President Kamala Harris, who it has frequently said is hiding from the media.

This post has been updated with additional information.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker confirmed Sunday that “about 250” members of the state’s National Guard will be on standby at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week.

“They are really on standby,” Pritzker said at a news conference. “They are at the perimeter.”

Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard members who will be present are trained as military police.

Tens of thousands of protesters from across the country are expected to march onthe convention this week, activists said at a news conference Sunday.

Pritzker told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday morningthat his state and the city of Chicago are prepared for theDNCand for any protests connectedtothe event.

“Honestly, I expect we’re going tohave peaceful protests,” the governor said when asked about the possibility of Israel-Hamaswar demonstrations.

KamalaHarris visit a restaurant in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.

Vice President Kamala Harris said the speech she’s preparing for the Democratic National Convention is “almost done” and previewed the broader messages she plans to focus on during her Thursday remarks.

Harris elaborated more on the economic policy she unveiled Friday, explaining her belief that both her proposed expansion of the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit will generate a “great return on investment.”

Harris also declined to answer directly when asked whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “ready” to agree to a ceasefire deal but reiterated her belief that “we got to get a ceasefire and we got to get those hostages out.”

Harris said that she “will not speak” for Netanyahu as the US continues to mediate a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas but that the Biden administration is “going to continue to work very hard this.”

Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn, Mindy Kaling and Ana Navarro will serve as hosts at the Democratic National Convention this week, convention officials told CNN.

According to organizers, reported first by CNN, each star will host one night of the four-day convention, in a role similar to an award show host, kicking off the broadcast with opening remarks and then reappearing onstage throughout the evening to help guide the audience through programming.

Goldwyn will host Monday night, Navarro on Tuesday, Kaling on Wednesday and Washington will host on Thursday, which is when Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept the Democratic nomination.

Washington, who is one of the most politically active celebrities in Hollywood,has her own political nonprofit, Influence Change, which recruits fellow artists to promote civic engagement. She served a similar role at the 2020 DNC, where she opened the third night. The actress and activist, who played a political fixer on Shonda Rhimes’ “Scandal,” also spoke at the 2012 DNC.

Washington’s “Scandal” co-star, Goldwyn, played the president on the ABC drama. In real life, Goldwyn is also an activist who has directed his spotlight to Democratic causes.

In 2019, Kaling and Harris participated in acooking videotogether in which they made masala dosa, a South Indian dish. In the video, “The Office” actress and then-Sen. Harris spoke about their Indian heritage.

Navarro, who says she is a Republican, has lent her support for Democratic candidates over the past decade, ever since Trump entered politics. The TV commentator and political strategist, who is a contributor with CNN and co-host of ABC’s “The View,” has said that she voted for a Democrat for the first time in her life in 2016.

Read more about the stars backing Harris at the convention here.

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff stop at a Sheetz gas station in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, visited a Sheetz convenience store, the latest stop on their Pennsylvania bus tour Sunday.

Harris and Walz, along with second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz, stopped by the convenience store in Coraopolis, where the vice president picked out a bag of nacho cheese-flavored Doritos.

“These are my go-to. The original, nacho cheese,” she told reporters at the convenience store.

When asked by reporters how her debate prep is going ahead of her September 10 matchup with Trump, Harris said she had not done debate prep during the Sunday bus tour.

“Haven’t had it today. One day at a time,” she said.

The stop is the campaign’s latest visit to a regional food establishment after Walz visited a Runza, a fast-food chain popular in Nebraska and surrounding states, after a campaign rally outside Omaha on Saturday.

PresidentJoeBidengestures as he disembarks Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Sunday.

President Joe Biden told reporters Sunday that he feels “good” about his Monday keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention.

“Good, real good,” he told reporters about his DNC speech after disembarking from Air Force One.

CNN previously reported that Bidenwas spending the weekend readying his speech for the opening night of theconvention, a moment markedly different from what he had prepared for just a few weeks agobeforehe dropped out of the race and the Democratic Partycoalesced around a new presidential nominee.

The president is expected to use his speech to lay out hisargumentfor Harris, describe the record they’ve achieved togetherand stress the need to defeatformer President Donald Trump, Biden aides said.

When former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president eight years ago in Philadelphia, she heralded a milestone — the first time in American history that a major political party was nominating a woman for president.

But a handful of months later, in a devastating night for Democrats across the country, Clinton would lose the election to Donald Trump. At what was supposed to be Clinton’s victory night party in New York City, green-tinted confetti meant to look like shattered glass were emptied out into boxes, unused.

This week, as her party once again prepares to formally nominate a woman for the presidency at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Clinton plans to discuss that proverbial glass ceiling that she herself failed to fully break when she takes the stage Monday.

Clinton and Harris have been in regular touch since President Joe Biden chose Harris as his running mate in the 2020 election, and the two women have spoken multiple times since Biden dropped out of the 2024 race last month, sources said. The former secretary of state was one of the first people Harris called the day Biden ended his campaign.

Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, immediately endorsed Harris after Biden left the race. Since then, the person familiar with Hillary Clinton’s thinking said, she has been “legitimately excited” about the enthusiasm that has surrounded Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic Party and has made clear to associates that “there’s something different about what’s happening now.”

Clinton will aim to use her speech to make “very clear that she believes this can be done … and we have to stand behind Harris,” they said. “Because we’ve seen this movie before.”

Tens of thousands of protesters from across the country are expected to march onthe Democratic National Convention in Chicagothis week, activists said at a news conference Sunday.

“This is a national mobilization,” said Hatem Abudayyeh,spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC.The coalition’s website says “the March on the DNC will be a march for Palestine” and the main demand will be ending US aid to Israel.

People are expected to arrive inChicago bycar, caravans, charter buses and trainsahead of Monday’s convention start,according to Abudayyeh.

Abudayyeh said the route for Monday’s march that the cityprefers protesters take“is 1.1 miles long. The route that we want is 2.4 miles long,” adding that the group will fight “to make sure that we get a longer route.”

He reiterated that if the city does not agreeto a longer route at the beginning of Monday’s march, “we will march the[longer]route.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told CNN’s Jake Tapper Sunday morningthat his state and the city of Chicago are prepared for theDNCand for any protests connectedtothe event.

“Honestly, I expect we’re going tohave peaceful protests,” the governor said when asked about the possibility of Israel-Hamaswar demonstrations.

Abudayyeh said at the news conference when discussing the war in Gaza, “Somebody has to stop this.”

“If Kamala Harris isn’t going to do it, and Joe Biden isn’t going to do it … then the people have to do it,” he continued.

While pro-Palestinian groups are preparing to march in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza, inside the DNC, expectations are murkier — as activists push the Democratic National Committee and Harris to take a harder line with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Read more here.

CNN’s Travis Nichols contributed to this post.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visited players and coaches of the Aliquippa High School football team as part of their Pennsylvania bus tour.

Harris and Walz, along with second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz, spoke to players of the defending Pennsylvania Class 4A champion football team and drew similarities between the football team and the presidential campaign.

Walz, a former Minnesota high school football coach, reflected on his state championship team. He also praised the players for their effort to improve as athletes and community leaders.

Harris also praised the young athletes for their work on the football field and their willingness to be role models for others.

“You all are the future of our country, and you all have known from the day you were born, were all born leaders. And it’s just a matter of when people decide to turn that on,” Harris said. “The fact that you’re on this field today tells me you decided to turn it on at an early stage of your life, to be a leader and to be a role model.”

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to accept her party’s nomination Thursday at the Democratic National Convention, but only after a “who’s who” list of speakers from of the Democratic Party and beyond.

From past presidents and presidential hopefuls to key Harris allies, here’s a look at some of the people who are set to deliver speeches in Chicago this week:

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries are also expected to speak at some point during the convention, according to DNC officials.

Vice President Kamala Harris pets a dog as she arrives at a fire station in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, on August 18.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made a brief visit Sunday to a Pennsylvania firehouse, where they met with local firefighters and the firehouse dog.

Harris and Walz, along with second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz, shook hands with members of the Aliquippa Fire Department as part of the campaign’s bus tour through Pennsylvania.

While visiting, Harris got the chance to meet the fire station’s dog, Hank. Harris pet the dog briefly before shaking hands with other firefighters. She also delivered baked goods to the fire station, according to reporters traveling with the vice president.

CNN's John King talks to Iowa voter Shanen Ebersole on her cattle ranch in Kellerton, Iowa.

Shanen Ebersole is voting for Donald Trump. With plenty of reservations, but zero hesitation.

“It’s definitely a vote for Trump,” Ebersole said. “I’m happy doing that with the choices that we have. I don’t think there is any way I could vote any other direction.”

Ebersole was a Nikki Haley supporter when we first met before the Iowa caucuses. Trump won 59%of the caucus vote in conservative Ringgold County; Ebersole was one of just 16 votes forthe former South Carolina governor.

Once Trump locked up the GOP nomination, Ebersole thought a bit about voting third party. But her maverick streak has limits. Her family and her farm come first, so she came home to Trump.

Ebersole is part of ourAll Over the Map project, an effort totrackthe 2024 campaign through the eyes and experiences of voters who live in key battlegrounds and are members of critical voting blocs or areas in thosestates.

Keep reading about the project here.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event in Rochester, Pennsylvania, on August 18.

Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to call former President Donald Trump a “coward” without mentioning him by name while contrasting her leadership style with his during a campaign stop in Rochester, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.

Harris told the crowd of volunteers and staff gathered outside the campaign’s field office in Beaver County that she believes a leader should project strength not “based on who you beat down,” in an apparent reference to her opponent.

“Anybody who’s about beating down other people is a coward,” she added.

Harris’ remarks came during a canvass launch event alongside her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and their spouses as part of the campaign’s bus tour through western Pennsylvania. Harris urged staff to continue working on behalf of her campaign and praised the volunteers for standing up for their shared values.

Not since the Obama years has celebrity enthusiasm in Democratic politics been so high, merging the world of pop culture and politics as the race tokicksinto high gear withthis week’sDemocratic conventionin Chicago.

John Legend – who performed at the2008 and 2020conventions– is set to headline a showTuesday for IllinoisGov.JB Pritzker.

On Wednesday afternoon, “Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfusishosting a panelwith the country’s eight female Democratic governors. And on Wednesday night, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will perform at a benefit concert thrown by the Creative Coalition, a Hollywood advocacy nonprofit.

Notable actors expected to attend include Tim Daly, Uzo Aduba, Anthony Anderson, Iain Armitage, Yvette Nicole Brown, David Cross, Jon Cryer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Danai Gurira, Richard Kind, Busy Philipps and Sheryl Lee Ralph.

High-profile speakers are still being finalized, multiple sourcestoldCNN, adding that a slew of actors will speak on the convention’s main stage. But speculation has run rampant on two stars in particular: Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

With no major performer announced, fans of both Beyoncé and Swift are hopeful the women – who bothendorsed the Biden-Harris ticketin 2020– will show up in Chicago.

Representatives for Swift and Beyoncé did not respond to CNN’s numerous requests for comment. Spokespeople for the DNC and the Harris campaign would not comment on the rumors surrounding the twomegastars.

Read more here.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to prospective voters on the phone in Rochester, Pennsylvania, on August 18.

Vice President Kamala Harris briefly participated in a phone banking event Sunday, rallying support from local Democrats and talking on the phone with one Erie, Pennsylvania, resident during a stop at the Harris campaign’s field office in Beaver County.

Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz stopped by the campaign’s field office in Rochester and each took turns working the phones to talk to supporters. The four were joined by Sen. Bob Casey, Rep. Chris Deluzio, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and Beaver Falls Mayor Kenya Johns.

Harris spoke to one supporter on the phone and promised to visit her the next time the campaign stops in Erie.

Supporters look on as Air Force Two with Vice President Kamala Harris on board arrives in Pittsburgh on August 18.

As a mix of invited guests and voters awaited the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’ bus tour at an airplane hangar in Pittsburgh, many said they like the pillars of her first big policy push on the economy.

Emily Best, 40, lives in Brussels but has always remained a Pennsylvania voter. She showed upSunday morningwith her Butler-based retired mom, 69-year-old Ellen Garbuni, with excitement about the prospect of voting for America’s first female president.

Best said Harris’ proposal to expand the child tax credit is a policy she can especially appreciate.

Michael Kinney,a software engineer, said Harris’ economic policies “make sense” to him, particularly as it relates to corporate landlords.

Donna Granvinetti, meanwhile, lives in the suburbs of Pittsburgh and canvassed Saturday with hopes of reaching independent and Republican voters.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold banners and Palestinian flags in Chicago on November 18.

Outside the heavily guarded perimeter of the Democratic convention this week, pro-Palestinian groups are preparing for tens of thousands to march in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza. On the inside, expectations are murkier – as activists push the Democratic National Committee and Vice President Kamala Harris to take a harder line with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

The Uncommitted National Movement, which emerged during the Democratic presidential primary to marshal protest votes against the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict, is demanding the party offer a primetime speaking slot to a pediatrician recently returned from Gaza, as well as a series of policy concessions headlined by an arms embargo against Israel.

The mixture of giddy enthusiasm for Harris’ new campaign, which has captivated suddenly optimistic Democrats, and anger among the party’s pro-Palestinian factions over President Joe Biden’s continued support for the Israeli bombardment of Gaza has created an odd, frenetic buzz around the quadrennial gathering.

Since Harris became the party’s standard-bearer, the mood has somewhat changed. Protesters have briefly disrupted a couple of her speeches, and campus demonstrations are poised to resume when students return to schools in the coming weeks, but the movement’s leaders have mostly shifted to quieter means of lobbying for changes in US policy.

As of Friday, there are not believed to be any Palestinian-American speakers on the schedule, and it remains unclear who will occupy some of the most sought-after speaking slots and what they’ll say – or not say – about the most divisive matter in Democratic politics.

The DNC did not respond to a request for comment, but a source involved in convention planning told CNN there has been some uncertainty on the DNC’s end over how to address asks they consider unworkable given the circ*mstances. Still, the source said, there is a sense of good-faith shared between the parties.

Whether that lasts is an open question.

Read more here.

Images of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are shown on a video wall inside the United Center in Chicago on August 17.

Multiple sources involved in the convention planning tell CNN that by the time President Joe Biden publicly announced on a July Sunday afternoon that he would be ending his campaign, much of the overarching infrastructure of the convention – including things like stage design – was already set.

But fortunately, those sources said, plenty of details that are typically left until the last few weeks leading up to the convention had not been executed yet. So even with a new presidential nominee, convention planners were able to march forward towards Chicago without too many serious disruptions or course corrections.

The most notable changes to this week’s convention have been in the programming and line-up of speakers. Biden, who would have been formally accepting his party’s nomination on the final night, is now speaking on the first night; Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s remarks on Tuesday night will now hold far greater prominence; and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has taken Harris’ Wednesday night prime time spot as the vice president’s new running mate.

The guests, entertainment, music and many other details will now reflect Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket.

Still, convention planners said there will be plenty of “odes” throughout the week to Biden. Quotes like “History is in your hands” – words the president said from the Oval Office announcing his decision to end his campaign – will be prominently featured inside the arena, for example.

“We felt it was important that people still be reminded that President Biden really set the foundation for this convention,” the organizer said.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with his wife Gwen Walz, greet supporters as they arrive in Pittsburgh on August 18.

Vice President Kamala Harris touched down in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Sunday afternoon to kick off the Harris-Walz bus tour through the western part of the key battleground state.

Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, greeted Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff at the airport hangar.

After posing for selfies, the four boarded the newly unveiled red, white and blue “Harris-Walz” tour bus, which features the slogan: “A New Pathway Forward.”

The bus will head to Rochester, Pennsylvania, for a campaign event where Harris and Walz are expected to deliver remarks.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of former president Donald Trump, said Sunday that Trump could lose the 2024 presidential election if he doesn’t focus his campaign on policies.

“I think in my view is that me and Nikki (Haley) need to go to Georgia. We’re giving advice on TV to President Trump. He’s got a lot of critics, he’s got a lot of advisors, but to Nikki Haley and (Florida Gov. Ron) DeSantis, and (Virginia Gov. Glenn) Youngkin and all these great people we have, let’s get together and actually campaign for the guy rather than just give advice,” he continued.

Delegates gathered inside Chicago’s United Center for the Democratic National Convention will participate in a ceremonial roll call Tuesday to celebrate Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, according to sources familiar with the planning.

The 57 delegations will deliver remarks and cast ceremonial votes.

Notably, the first roll call will begin with President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware and the last roll calls will come from California and Minnesota, the home states of Harris and Walz. These details are meant to drive home the passing of the torch occasion, organizers said.

Harris already became the party’s official nominee earlier this month after receiving a majority of votes via a virtual roll call, but Tuesday’s in-person votes will mark a heavily symbolic moment. Because the party went through such heavy turmoil over the past few months — culminating in Biden dropping out of the 2024 race in July and Harris quickly locking up the nomination days later — many Democrats are looking forward to this week as a cathartic celebration.

There was also no in-person roll call four years ago for then-presumptive nominee Biden because the Covid-19 pandemic forced that year’s convention to be largely virtual.

A general view of the interior of the United Center, the host venue of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, on August 18.

It’s already been a whirlwind election campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris — and it’s not slowing down any time soon, as the Democratic National Convention (DNC) kicks off this week.

Delegates from across the country will gather in Chicago for the first day of the DNC Monday, where Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, will outline their vision for the country and how they plan to defeat Donald Trump in November.

The theme for Monday is “For the People” and features a keynote speech from US President Joe Biden.

Here’s what to know going into the week ahead:

Republican Presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump waves to supporters after speaking during a campaign rally in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on August 17.

Former President Donald Trump will hold a series of what his campaign is internally calling “messaging events” in several battleground states this upcoming week, a source tells CNN, in counterprogramming to the Democratic National Convention.

These events will be at smaller venues and will focus on the economy, crime and immigration, three issues the former president’s campaign believe could help Trump win in November.

Trump’s event on Monday will be in Pennsylvania, the same day that the DNC kicks off in Chicago. His remarks will focus on the economy, according to a statement.

And on Tuesday, Trump will deliver remarks on crime and justice in Howell, Michigan, the campaign announced. His running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will also hold a rally focused on crime the same day in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The following day, Trump and Vance will deliver remarks on national security in Asheboro, North Carolina.

On Friday, Trump will host a rally in Glendale, Arizona. It will be co-hosted by Turning Point PAC and Turning Point Action, and will give“speakers their first opportunity to react to news from the convention,” a statement said.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday shared a fake image depicting someone who appears to be Vice President Kamala Harris speaking in front of a communist symbol at the Democratic National Convention.

In the post on X, the word “Chicago” is shown in the corner of the arena, where the Democratic convention is taking place this week. Thehammer and sickle, which is a communist symbol, is prominently placed in front of Harris.

When reached for comment about the altered image and why Trump shared it, Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller said, “Kamunism,” an attempt to tie the vice president’s first name to communism.

Miller also shared a cover of the New York Post that had the headline, “Kamunism.”

X has a policy against sharing “synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm” and says it may label such content as “misleading media,” but the policy does not appear to be consistently enforced. As of Sunday morning, Trump’s post did not have a label indicating that the image was fake. X has not responded to a request for comment by CNN.

CNN has also reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.

Trump regularly shares altered media on his Truth Social website. Trump has only recently started posting on X again after his account was dormant for nearly a year.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said Sunday that giving Vice President Kamala Harris control over inflation policy is like giving Jeffrey Epstein,the convicted pedophilewho died in jail before he could face trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, control over human trafficking policy.

Arguing Harris got “a bit of a sugar high” in the polls a couple weeks ago after launching her campaign, Vance said internal Trump data has shown she “has already leveled off.”

“If you talk to insiders in the Kamala Harris campaign, they’re very worried about where they are, because the American people just don’t buy the idea that Kamala Harris, who’s been vice president for three and a half years, is somehow going to tackle the inflation crisis in a way tomorrow that she hasn’t for the past 1,300 days,” Vance told Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday.

As CNN’s Jennifer Agiesta reported, the latest CNN Poll of Polls shows Harris at 50% support to former president Donald Trump’s 48%, incorporating two new polls from CBS News/YouGov and from ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos, both of which found Harris holding a narrow lead nationally.

Vance claimed “polls tend to radically overstate Democrats” and insisted the Trump campaign is in a “very, very good” place.

Chris Sununu speaks in April 2023 in New York.

Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has urged Donald Trump to “stick to the issues,” telling CNN’s Jake Tapper that “almost any other Republican candidate would be winning this race by ten points.”

Speaking on “State of the Union” Sunday, Sununu said Trump should focus on what his campaign hopes to achieve rather than leveling personal attacks against his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Sununu was asked about recent controversial comments from Trump, who this weeksaidthe Presidential Medal of Freedom, which honors civilians, “is actually much better” than the Medal of Honor, because service members who receive the nation’s highest military decoration are often wounded or awarded it posthumously.

“They were asinine comments, there’s no doubt about that,” Sununu told Tapper. “I don’t think they’re the first asinine comments former President Trump has ever made; I don’t think they will be a game changer in terms of the election.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer looks on, at a news conference on July 23, in Washington, DC.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will both speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this upcoming week.

Other speakers throughout the week include President Joe Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, will deliver the vice presidential acceptance speech on Wednesday and Harris will deliver her presidential acceptance speech Thursday.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally on August 6 in Philadelphia.

A second major national poll finds Vice President Kamala Harris with a narrow lead over former President Donald Trump, with likely voters nationwide breaking 51% for Harris to 48% for Trump ina new CBS News poll conducted by YouGov.

Here are some key things to know from the survey ahead of the Democratic National Convention:

What matters to voters?

The following number of respondents also felt the below issues were “key issues” in the upcoming election:

Here’s how voters fall on those issues:

The CBS/YouGov poll was conducted online August 14-16 among a random national sample of 3,258 registered voters nationwide. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

The latest CNN Poll of Polls, which takes the results from the four most recent national polls — including this CBS survey — finds Harris at 50% support to Trump’s 48%.

Sen. Chris Coons speaks during a hearing in Washington, DC, on June 4.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Harris-Walz campaign co-chair and close ally of President Joe Biden, defended Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic agenda on Sunday – elements of which have been met with criticism from economists in both parties.

Harris on Friday floated a plan to ban price gouging across the food industry that some economists have said would create more problems than it would solve.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger delivers remarks in Washington, DC in 2022.

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans who served on the select committee investigating theJanuary 6, 2021, insurrection, will speak at the Democratic National Convention this week, three sources familiar with the planning tell CNN.

Kinzinger is slated to speakon Thursday night, the sources said, the same evening Vice President Kamala Harris will address convention delegates.

Kinzinger, who is now a CNN political commentator, was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment for “incitement of an insurrection” in relation to Trump’s role during the attack on the US Capitol.

Kinzinger has endorsed Harris, whose campaign has launched a “Republicans for Harris” effort in an attempt to appeal to GOP voters who are turned off by Trump.

Other notable Republicans could also address convention delegates, but no plans have been finalized.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks during a news conference on June 14, in Washington, DC.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries indicated Sunday he is not confident a House Republican majority would certify the presidential election if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected, as attacks from former president Donald Trump raise fears he would question the election outcome if he loses.

“I’m confident that we’re going to do everything that we need to do over the next few months to make sure that House Democrats take back the majority so the American people do not have to encounter that question,” Jeffries told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

Vice President Kamala Harris attends a campaign event in Atlanta on July 30.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has shocked even the people close to her with how she’s been coming across in the four weeks since shebecame a presidential candidate.

Three weeks into her campaign, President Joe Biden’s pollsters helda deep-dive call with Harris’ inner circle todiscusswhat she’s been saying on the stump.

Some of their suggestions included a focus on the future, and to lay off the “weird” talk.

Harris’ advisers listened. They considered the arguments. They decided to stick with what the crowds were chanting in the arenas.

And whenadvisers who had been on the callbriefed the vice president on the suggestions, according to CNN’s conversations with close to a dozen people involved with internal campaign decisions, she told them she wasn’t going to listen to the pollsters herself and would instead trust the instincts she had buried under self-doubt for so long.

Many political obsessives who had largely written off the vice president can’t understand how a woman whose early struggles they still keenly remember is now projecting as succinct and punchy, comfortable onstage and in her own skin.

Read more about Harris’ plans for her fast-moving campaign here.

Michelle Obama speaks in New Orleans in December 2023.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama, whose past convention speeches have galvanized Democrats, will address this week’s gathering in Chicago, according to a person familiar with the plans.

She is expected to speak on Tuesday, the same evening as her husband, former President Barack Obama.

Michelle Obama endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris alongside her husband in a video last month.

Essence magazine first reported on Michelle Obama’s plans.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket has dramatically reshaped the 2024 electoral map since earlier this year, when the contest looked to be between an unpopular and elderly incumbent president and the former president (and now convicted felon) he defeated four years prior.

The moves we are making in this latest installment of our “Road to 270” electoral map are all in a positive direction for Harris and suggest she has more potential paths to 270 electoral votes than President Joe Biden had when he was the party’s standard-bearer.

This current outlook reverts the state of play to where it was in the closing days of the 2020 campaign, with seven battleground states (and one congressional district in Nebraska) as the central turf upon which the candidates and their campaigns will dedicate most of their time and money to win the White House.

In this new electoral outlook, we have moved four states from leaning Republican to toss-up battleground status.Michigan, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina have a combined total of 53 electoral votes that we have moved from leaning in Trump’s direction to toss-up.

Trump now has 24 states (and one congressional district in Maine) either solidly in his corner or leaning in his direction that total 219 electoral votes, 51 votes short of the 270 required to win.

For her part, Harris has 19 states plus the District of Columbia either solidly in her favor or leaning in her direction, which brings her total electoral vote count to 225, 45 votes short of the 270 required to win.

We currently rate seven states (and one Nebraska congressional district) totaling 94 electoral votes as true toss-ups as we head into the Democratic National Convention and the final weeks of summer.

Read more here.

President Joe Biden and Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrive to speak at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland on August 15.

The Democratic torch is set to be passed Monday night in Chicago, where Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to make her first appearance on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention after President Joe Biden delivers his marquee speech to the party faithful.

As Democrats put the finishing touches on a far different convention than imagined only a month ago, several people familiar with the planning tell CNN that Harris is poised to appear alongside Biden before the party begins to look forward toward the November election.

The whirlwind change to the Democratic ticket – with Harris replacing Biden as the party’s nominee – is giving way to something of a slow motion series of appreciations for Biden. Their joint appearance on Thursday in Maryland, where Biden arrived to a hero’s welcome, was seen as the prelude to the big finale on Monday.

The moment will amount to the end of a long political arc for Biden, who attended his first Democratic National Convention as a 29-year-old candidate for Senate in 1972. At the time, he was running to be the country’s youngest senator. He’ll walk onstage Monday as it’s oldest sitting president.

While there were early discussions around whether Biden would attend Harris’ acceptance speech on Thursday, they did not advance. He is not expected to remain in Chicago past Monday, as the convention turns toward officially elevating Harris as the Democratic standard bearer.

Biden has watched with genuine pride as the party coalesces around Harris, people familiar with his thinking say, and he has voiced relief that a prolonged battle for the nomination was avoided after he swiftly endorsed her following his decision to withdraw.

Harris, meanwhile, has taken pains to venerate Biden in public. “I could speak all afternoon about the person that I’m standing on this stage with: our extraordinary president, Joe Biden,” she said Thursday.

Before she arrives in Chicago, Harris is planning to roll through battleground Pennsylvania on a bus tour. She’ll also hold a rally in nearby Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Vice President Kamala Harris holds a narrow lead over former President Donald Trump in a new poll from theWashington Post, ABC News and Ipsos, the first major national poll in which Harris has held a lead outside the poll’s margin of error since she entered the race last month.

Among registered voters nationwide, the poll finds Harris with 49% support to Trump’s 45% in a two-way matchup. With independent and third-party candidates in the mix, Harris holds 47% support to Trump’s 44%, with Robert F. Kennedy at 5% and no other candidate above 1%.

The survey finds a steep improvement in Americans’ level of satisfaction with their choices for president since before Harris became the Democratic nominee, with 44% now saying they are satisfied with their options compared with 28% who felt that way in early July. That shift has been most dramatic among Democrats, who went from 20% saying they were satisfied in July when President Joe Biden led the ticket to 60% saying the same now.

Among independents, satisfaction with the choices for president has grown from 19% to 30%.

Economic issues remain a driving force in the election, with about half saying the economy (49%) or inflation (49%) are one of the single most important issues in their choice for president.

The Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted online August 9-13 among a random national sample of 2,236 adults, including 1,975 registered voters. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points, it is plus or minus 2.5 for results among registered voters.

The United Center in Chicago undergoes preparation ahead of the Democratic National Convention on August 17.

Democrats will gather in Chicago on Monday for the opening day of the Democratic National Convention as they look to give a hero’s send-off to President Joe Biden and rally around their new nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Our convention is an opportunity to bring the story of our party to the American people — not just the story of what we’ve achieved under the Biden-Harris administration, but how the Harris-Walz ticket is planning to build on that historic record for a new way forward into the future,”said Minyon Moore, the convention’s chair.

Here are the themes for each night of the convention:

Monday: “For the People,” featuring a keynote from Biden.

Tuesday: “A Bold Vision for America’s Future,” with an expected speech from former President Barack Obama.

Wednesday: “A Fight for Our Freedoms,” with an expected speech from vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.

Thursday: “For Our Future,” closing out with an acceptance speech from Harris.

Far from the boring rematch that had many Americans tuning out politics, the 2024 presidential election has had wild twists and scary turns.

Nobody expected President Joe Biden’scampaign to implode in less than a month, from the shock of his performance at CNN’s debate in late June to his decision to step aside in the race in late July. Democrats went from literally freaking out about his candidacy to a new excitement about Vice PresidentKamala Harrisas his replacement.

Nobody expected anassassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, an event that unified Republicans around him and has many in his party showing a sort of divine reverence for his near-death experience.

So we don’t knowspecificallywhat will happen in thesprint toElection Day on November 5, or what could come after, when the country’s unique Electoral College process gets going. But we do have some idea of the upcoming key dates:

Click here for more of what to expect in the months ahead.

President Joe Biden salutes as he boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on August 16.

PresidentJoe Bidenis spending the weekend readying his speech for the opening night of theDemocratic National Convention, a moment markedly different than what he had prepared for just a few weeks agobeforethe Democratic Partycoalesced around a new presidential nominee.

The president’s keynote speech Monday will provide Biden with one of the most high-profile moments he has left to address the American people as his more than five decades in politics begins to wind down.The remarks will come nearly one month after Bidenbowed out of the 2024 raceand threw his support behindVice President Kamala Harrisas his chosen successor.

Biden will make his case for why Harris should be elected president in front of thousands of Democratic delegates and party members at the United Center in Chicago just weeks after many in his own party publicly and privatelyclamored for him to end his presidential bid.

Biden’s aides believe he now enters the convention having earned the goodwill of the Democratic Party following a productive single term in the White House and his move to pass the torch to Harris.

The president is expected to use his speech to lay out hisargumentfor Harris, describe the record they’ve achieved togetherand stress the need to defeatformer President Donald Trump, who he believes poses a threat to democracy, Biden aides said.

Keep reading about Biden’s expected message at the DNC.