Donald Trump has announced he will visit the US southern border on Thursday as he tries to snatch back attention from rival Kamala Harris accepting her party’s presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.
Trump and JD Vance held a rally in Asheboro, North Carolina, on Wednesday on the theme of national security, although, true to form, the former president frequently wandered off-topic.
It was Trump’s first outside rally since the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 and he was surrounded by bulletproof glass on stage.
At one point, the Republican became aware of a supporter struggling with the heat and left the safety of his enclosure, surrounded by Secret Service agents, to give them a hug.
The former president used the occasion to respond to attacks on him by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama at the DNC, openly asking why he had been advised to stick to policy and shy away from personal insults if his opponents were doing the opposite.
He has since given another rambling and largely incoherent phone interview to Fox and Friends, attacking Democratic vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz and praising Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Trump names ‘nastiest speaker’ at Democratic National Convention
It’s probably not who you think it is… Gustaf Kilander reports.
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 18:15
Watch LIVE: JD Vance discusses immigration at Georgia campaign stop
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 18:00
SNL’s Kenan Thompson roasts Republicans over Project 2025
“Yeah, yeah – boo!” he laughed.
“You ever seen a document that could kill a small animal and democracy at the same time?” joked Thompson.
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 17:45
Trump to do ‘LIVE PLAY BY PLAY’ of Kamala Harris acceptance speech on Truth Social
Donald Trump wants his supporters to follow along on Truth Social tonight as he does a live play-by-play of the convention speech of “Comrade Kamala Harris” as she accepts the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency.
That should help boost ratings that are already well ahead of the Republican National Convention.
Here’s what the former president wrote on Truth Social this morning:
I will be doing a LIVE PLAY BY PLAY on TRUTH Social of Comrade Kamala Harris’ Speech tonight at the Democrat National Convention in Chicago. We will start at 10 P.M., Eastern, and be covering and commenting on some of the earlier Speeches made, prior to hers. She became the Nominee without receiving one Vote, stealing the Nomination from Crooked Joe Biden who earned it by getting 14 Million Votes. I am no fan of Biden, who was the Worst President in the History of the United States and, likewise, she is considered to be the Worst Vice President (and Border “Czar”) in the History of the United States, but Biden got “shafted.” We will expose all of her Radicalism, the horrible job she did at the Border, Crime, and Foreign Relations, and her Weaponization against her Political Opponent, using corrupt Prosecutors and Courts in New York, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. I hope everybody will be following along on TRUTH, tonight!
Alternatively, you can stay right here where The Independent’s team in Chicago and New York will be flagging the highlights of tonight’s big finale.
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 17:30
Project 2025: Everything we know about the ‘dystopian’ manifesto for Trump’s second term
Project 2025 — a blueprint for Trump’s presidency spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and more than a dozen former Trump administration officials — is essentially a wishlist for his administration with plans to expand his executive authority, replace civil servants with ideologically aligned appointees, crush abortion rights and impose an anti-immigrant agenda, among other policies.
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 17:15
Coming up: Trump to ‘inspect’ southern border
Donald Trump is visiting the southern border in Arizona today.
Here’s what he wrote on Truth Social as a preamble to his visit:
Today, I am going to INSPECT THE SOUTHERN BORDER and to meet with the Victims whose Loved Ones were attacked and murdered by Illegal Aliens set free into America by Comrade Kamala Harris, the Radical Left Democrat Presidential Candidate who didn’t receive one Vote and, in her earlier attempt to win against Crooked Joe Biden, was the first one out of 22 people to quit the Race, and never even made it to the first State, Iowa. The choice in November is simple: Comrade Kamala Harris will bring in hundreds of thousands more Illegal Alien Rapists, Drug Dealers, and Killers, but President Donald J. Trump will keep these same people out of our Country, and send them back to their Countries where they belong. “I WILL KEEP AMERICA SAFE! UNDER COMRADE KAMALA, AMERICA WILL BE THE MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. IT WILL REVERT TO THIRD WORLD STATUS VERY QUICKLY!”
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 17:05
White House slams antisemitic Trump attack on Shapiro
In a late-night antisemitic post on Truth Social, Donald Trump lashed out at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, one of the Democratic Party’s rising stars, saying he has “done nothing for Israel”.
The former president wrote:
The highly overrated Jewish Governor of the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, made a really bad and poorly delivered speech talking about freedom and fighting for Comrade Kamala Harris for President, yet she hates Israel and will do nothing but make its journey through the complexities of survival as difficult as possible, hoping in the end that it will fail. Judge only by her actions! Yet Shapiro, for strictly political reasons, refused to acknowledge that I am the best friend that Israel, and the Jewish people, ever had. I have done more for Israel than any President, and frankly, I have done more for Israel than any person, and it’s not even close. Shapiro has done nothing for Israel, and never will. Comrade Kamala Harris, the Radical Left Marxist who stole the nomination from Crooked Joe, will do even less. Israel is in BIG trouble!
The White House condemned the remarks.
Herbie Ziskend, White House principal deputy communications director, said: “It is Antisemitic, dangerous, and hurtful to attack a fellow American by calling out their Jewish faith in a derogatory way, or perpetuating the centuries-old smear of ‘dual loyalty’. President Biden and Vice President Harris believe we must come together as Americans to condemn and combat Antisemitism – and hate and bigotry of all kinds.”
Governor Shapiro was asked about Trump’s attack on him at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago:
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 17:00
FBI investigating individuals tied to Russia state media
The FBI has searched multiple individuals this month as part of the probe, including former UN weapons inspector and US foreign policy critic Scott Ritter, and foreign policy commentator Dimitri Simes, US officials briefed on the investigation told The New York Times.
Neither are charged with crimes and the FBI told The Independent it has no comment regarding the reported investigation.
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 16:45
Listen: Trump asked about RFK Jr possibly dropping out and endorsing him
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 16:30
Latest poll updates: Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump?
Here’s the latest from Alicja Hagopian:
Oliver O’Connell22 August 2024 16:15