Harris heads to Philadelphia and Trump gears up for Madison Square Garden rally – live

In a second morning show appearance this morning, JD Vance refused to call Russia an “enemy” and again called John Kelly a “disgruntled ex-employee”. Speaking on Meet the Press, Vance said Russian president Vladimir Putin was “clearly an adversary” but “we have to be smart about diplomacy”, and criticized the former Trump administration officials who have called the ex-president a fascist.

Vance also said that a Trump-Vance administration would “stay in NATO” and explained that Donald Trump’s earlier comments on eliminating a federal income tax earlier this week were an “aspirational goal”.

In an appearance on Meet the Press this morning, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders says while he doesn’t like to use words like “fascist”, Trump has a “strong tendency toward authoritarianism.”

“This is a guy who provoked an insurrection in January, January 6, 2021, to prevent, for the first time in American history, a peaceful transfer of power,” he said.

Sanders also spoke about Elon Musk’s alleged contacts with Russian president Vladimir Putin (“What really interests me is if ... Trump were to win, whether it would be Elon Musk running the government and Trump working for him or the other way around.”) and the war in Gaza (“Trump is even worse on this issue. ... While I disagree with Biden and Harris — they are still better.”).

Campaigning in Philadelphia today, Kamala Harris has started her day by delivering remarks at the Church of Christian Compassion, a Black church in west Philadelphia.

Speaking about the Apostle Paul, Harris said, “Paul understood something profound. I believe, pastor, that God’s power doesn’t just work for us, it also works within us.”

“What feeds my spirit — I see faith in action all over. Everywhere I go,” she told attendees. “I see a nation determined to turn the page on hatred.”

After her remarks, the pastor told congregants that there would be a bus outside to take people to the polls, CNN reports. “There are 20 buses at places of faith all over the city of Philadelphia,” he added.

In an interview on CNN’s State of the Union this morning, JD Vance and host Jake Tapper had a heated exchange over statements former Trump administration officials have made calling the ex-president a fascist.

“So all those 10 people, including the former vice president Mike Pence, all of these people have this horribly damaged worldview, and they’re all just going after Donald Trump because they want to send people into war? That’s really your argument?” Tapper said.

“Absolutely,” Vance answered. “Absolutely that’s my argument.”

“These aren’t conservative Republicans who are concerned about Donald Trump? They’re not? That’s not right?” Tapper asked.

“All of these people, Jake, they came into office thinking that they could control Donald Trump. That when he said he wanted peace in the world--”

“Mike Pence thought he could control Donald Trump?”

“Yes, he did. And when he found out, when he found out that he couldn’t, they all turned on Donald Trump, and a lot of them got fired.”

Good morning, Cecilia Nowell here today bringing you the latest news of the 2024 election as it happens. As Kamala Harris and Donald Trump prepare to make their closing arguments, Harris is heading today to Philadelphia to campaign “neighborhood-to-neighborhood” while Trump gears up for a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Here are some of the other headlines we’re tracking:

• JD Vance and Liz Cheney spoke on CNN’s State of the Union this morning about recent comments from former Donald Trump staffers that the ex-president has authoritarian tendencies. Vance denounced the former Trump officials as bitter about being fired, while Cheney criticized Vance for his own past comments on Trump: “I think what we just watched is what it looks like when someone has got to go through just unbelievable contortions to try to find a way to defend the person that JD Vance himself called ‘America’s Hitler.’”

• In an interview that aired this morning on CBS, Kamala Harris described her choice to deliver her closing argument speech at The Ellipse, a park near the White House, on Tuesday – one week before the election. “I’m doing it there because I think it’s very important for the American people to see and think about who will be occupying that space on Jan. 20th,” she said.

• Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, is on ABC’s “The Week” this morning also discussing comments from past Trump administration officials calling the ex-president a fascist. “How about a little self-reflection about the job you did before you criticize others,” he said."

• Michelle Obama joined Kamala Harris for a rally yesterday focused on reproductive freedom in Kalamazoo, Michigan (or as Obama called it, “Kamala-zoo”). The former first lady and the vice-president emphasized the stakes for abortion and reproductive healthcare if Donald Trump is re-elected. Earlier in the day, Harris spoke with reproductive healthcare providers at a clinic in Portage, Michigan.

• On the first day of early voting in Michigan, Donald Trump also held a rally in Michigan. At an event in Novi, the ex-president was joined on stage by several imams and other leaders of the state’s large Muslim and Arab American community, who denounced Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza.

• Later in the evening, Trump spoke at a second event in State College, Pennsylvania, where he again promised to ban sanctuary cities and launch a massive deportation program all while unleashing more personal attacks against Harris.

• The Washington Post’s and Los Angeles Times’ decisions not to endorse a presidential candidate has sparked furor (and a slew of resignations) among the papers’ staff.