Barack Obama to hit campaign trail for Kamala Harris to woo swing-state voters – US elections live

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In a final push to engage Muslim voters ahead of the election, Tim Walz joined Muslim advocacy group Emgage Action’s “Million Muslim Votes: A Way Forward” summit the day after the vice-presidential debate.

The Guardian’s Melissa Hellman reported from the event:

“As-salaam alaikum (peace be unto you) everyone and good evening,” the vice-presidential candidate greeted Muslim voters in Arabic during a virtual event Thursday evening.

“Here in Minnesota, I’ve got the privilege to represent an incredible and vibrant Muslim community,” Walz said as light streamed through a large window behind him. He shared that he and his wife, Gwen, held the first iftar, the fast-breaking evening meal during Ramadan, at the Minnesota governor’s residence in 2019. And last year, Walz also passed interest-free down payment assistance for first-generation homebuyers to increase home ownership among Muslim Americans.

During his speech, Walz also acknowledged a collective pain among Muslim and Arab American communities due to Israel’s war on Gaza, where more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October. “Our hearts are broken,” Walz said. “The scale of death and destruction in Gaza is staggering and devastating. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians killed, families fleeing for safety over and over again.”

“We all know on here, this war must end and it must end now. The vice-president’s working every day to ensure that, to make sure Israel is secure, the hostages are home, the suffering in Gaza ends now. And the Palestinian people realize the right to dignity, freedom, and self determination.”

The virtual event came shortly after Emgage Action endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as President and vice-president.

Bruce Springsteen has endorsed Kamala Harris for president, saying Donald Trump is “the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime”.

The US rock legend appealed to Americans to reject Trump’s chaos and vote for Harris, saying the country needs “women and men with the national good guiding their hearts”.

In a video message, Springsteen said “not since the Civil War has this country felt as emotionally and spiritually divided”, adding “it doesn’t have to be this way”.

He also excoriated Trump’s “disdain for the sanctity” of the US constitution, democracy, rule of law and peaceful handover of power that “should disqualify him”.

Springsteen said: “He doesn’t understand the meaning of this country, its history and what it means to be deeply American.”

On Thursday evening, Kamala Harris enlisted the help of Republican former senator Liz Cheney for a campaign event in Wisconsin. The pair focused their speeches on Trump’s 2020 election lie.

The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino reports this from the event:

Liz Cheney, one of Donald Trump’s most prominent conservative critics, appealed to the millions of undecided Americans who could decide the outcome of the 2024 election, asking them to “reject the depraved cruelty” of the former president.

The daughter of Dick Cheney, the Republican former vice-president, said she had never voted for a Democrat before, but would do so “proudly” to ensure Trump never holds a position of public trust again. Her father will join her in casting his ballot for Harris.

“I know that the most conservative of conservative values is fidelity to our constitution,” Cheney said, speaking from a podium adorned with the vice presidential seal. The crowd broke into a chant: “Thank you, Liz!” A large sign looming over them declared: “Country over party.”

Cheney and Harris agree on little politically – only that Trump should not be allowed to serve a second term. But their union is part of an effort by the Harris campaign to win over Republican voters who, like Cheney, believe in “limited government” and “low taxes” but are repelled by Trump and his Maga movement.

“No matter your political party, there is a place for you with us and in this campaign,” Harris said. “I take seriously my pledge to be a president for all Americans.”

Barack Obama to hit campaign trail for Kamala Harris in effort to woo swing-state voters

Good morning US politics readers.

Former US president Barack Obama will crisscross the battleground states for Kamala Harris, with a kickoff in all-important Pennsylvania next week.

According to a senior Harris campaign official, Obama will hold his first event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania next Thursday, the beginning of blitz across the handful of rust belt and Sun belt states that will likely decide the 2024 election.

Obama remains one of the Democrats’ most powerful surrogates, second perhaps only to his wife, Michelle Obama. His return to the campaign trail follows a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, where he cast Harris as a forward-looking figure and a natural heir to his diverse, youth-powered political coalition. Harris was one of Obama’s earliest supporters of what seemed like a long-shot presidential bid against Hillary Clinton. She knocked doors for him ahead of the Iowa caucuses in 2008. More than 15 years later, he will return the favor.

With just 32 days away to the election, here’s what else is happening today:

• Kamala Harris will hold a rally in Flint, Michigan, this evening – one of the swing states critical to her winning the presidency. Her event comes a day after Donald Trump promised to make Michigan the “car capital of the world again”.

• Trump and Georgia governor Brian Kemp will visit Evans, Georgia, to receive a briefing on the devastation of Hurricane Helene. They’ll give a press conference at 3.45pm ET.

• JD Vance is in Lindale, Georgia, and will deliver remarks at 1 pm.

• Trump hosts a town hall in Fayetteville, North Carolina, at 7 pm.