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Ad wars heat up between Trump and Harris
Story by Fredreka Schouten, Priscilla Alvarez and Samantha Waldenberg, CNN
1h ago
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris each unleashed a new wave of television ads Tuesday as they race to secure an advantage in a presidential campaign dramatically altered in recent weeks.
In its first major ad blitz targeting Harris, the Trump campaign is zeroing in on her immigration record in ads running across several key battleground states. It’s a sign that the former president has settled on a longstanding GOP line of attack against the vice president, after grappling with the abrupt change atop the Democratic ticket.
Harris, meanwhile, unveiled a minute-long ad entitled “Fearless” that offers highlights of her career dating to her tenure as a prosecutor in the Bay Area of California – as she scrambles to introduce herself as the prospective nominee to voters following President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid. It’s part of what the Harris campaign said will be a $50 million blitz in the run-up to next month’s Democratic National Convention – fueled, in part, by the record-breaking fundraising the Harris campaign has seen since Biden’s departure from the race and endorsement of her candidacy a little more than a week ago.
Trump, in two new campaign ads, seeks to define Harris on his terms by relying on what has been a political liability for the Biden administration: the management of the US-Mexico border.
Republicans have jumped on an assignment given to Harris – the task of addressing the root causes of migration in Central America – to cast her falsely as the nation’s “border czar” and as solely responsible for the record number of migrant arrivals at the US southern border over the last three years.
Both Trump campaign ads pull from a 2021 NBC interview during which Harris was pressed about the fact that she hadn’t yet visited the US-Mexico border and she stumbled through a response by claiming she also hadn’t yet gone to Europe – an answer that perplexed administration officials at the time.
Another shows a video of Harris dancing at an event, stating: “This is America’s border czar – and she’s failed us.”
The ads conclude with a description of Harris as “failed. Weak. Dangerously liberal.”
In response, Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said Trump is “running on his trademark lies” and said the former president opposed a congressional border deal that would have helped with enforcement.
Harris’ root cause work dates to March 2021. During an influx of unaccompanied migrant children, Biden tasked the vice president with overseeing diplomatic efforts in Central America. While Harris focused on long-term fixes, the Department of Homeland Security remained responsible for overseeing border security.
As the vice president’s campaign takes shape and as immigration remains a top issue for voters, her team is forced to contend with an assignment that, sources say, has showed early success in Central America as a result of major private-sector investment but that’s been bundled with the administration’s larger migration issues.
The Trump campaign so far has reserved about $12.2 million in advertising across six battleground states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – through August 12, according to data from AdImpact, which tracks media buying.
Even as she seeks to introduce herself to voters, Harris’ new campaign ad also goes on the attack against Trump, using some of the vice president’s remarks at her first rally as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” Harris can be heard saying in the ad. “To give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations and end the Affordable Care Act. But we are not going back.”
In a statement, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon noted the former president’s May felony conviction for falsifying business records and said that Harris’ career – ranging from a courtroom prosecutor and California attorney general to her current role in the Biden administration – makes her “uniquely suited to take on Donald Trump.”
The new Harris ad, according to the campaign, will air during the Olympics along with other programs – such as “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,” “The Bachelorette” and “The Daily Show” – that target demographic groups the campaign is trying to reach.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ad-wars-heat-up-between-trump-and-harris/ar-BB1qUpct
DNC schedule: Less than three weeks out, here's the latest updates to know
Story by Victor Hagan, USA TODAY
43m ago
The Democratic National Convention is set to kick off in just under three weeks, less than a month after President Joe Biden's announced the bombshell decision to end his bid for reelection and endorse his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Here's what we know about the 2024 DNC and who is expected to become the party's nominee.
More: Harris' VP options: From Josh Shapiro to Mark Kelly, sizing up the slate's pros and cons
When and where is the 2024 DNC?
The DNC will be held in Chicago from Aug. 19 to 22. The Republican National Convention, held in Milwaukee in mid-July, officially selected Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
What happens at the DNC?
Democratic delegates will travel to the DNC to officially nominate the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the 2024 election. A candidate needs to secure 1,967 delegates for the Democratic party nomination.
Haris has also already secured more than half the support of Democratic delegates to be the nominee, meaning the 59-year-old vice president could become the official nominee when a virtual vote begins as soon as Thursday, according to prior reporting by USA TODAY.
Before Biden's announcement, the DNC had decided to confirm their nominee during a virtual roll call sometime before Aug. 7 to satisfy ballot deadlines in several states.
Which Democratic national leaders have endorsed Harris?
President Joe Biden
Former President Barack Obama
Former First Lady Michelle Obama
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies of New York
Who is the VP nominee?
Harris has yet to announce a vice presidential running mate, but she is expected to choose a lawmaker from a key swing state needed to win the election and is likely to decide soon.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
California Governor Gavin Newsom—not likely due to the Twelfth Amendment, which states that electors from that state cannot cast votes for both offices if the president and running mate are from the same state.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer—told CBS that she's not in the running on July 29.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/dnc-schedule-less-than-three-weeks-out-heres-the-latest-updates-to-know/ar-BB1qUlgs