March 10 - 2024 campaign updates

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday invited any “disillusioned” Democrats to join his “Make America Great Again” movement as he continued to bash President Joe Biden and his State of the Union address. 

“If you're a disillusioned Democrat, of which there are many today, I extend an open hand, an open invitation, and I ask you to join us on the noble quest of saving our country,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia.

Trump's remarks came days after Biden repeatedly attacked the former president in his State of the Union address, drawing a sharp contrast between himself and Trump on key issues such as abortion, immigration and taxes. Biden did not mention Trump by name in his speech but repeatedly attacked his “predecessor” as a threat to democracy. 

Trump's stop in Georgia came the same day as Biden held a rally in Atlanta.

“He's at another part of your state, where he's really said some bad things today," Trump said.

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday continued to claim that E. Jean Carroll had made false accusations against him, a day after he posted a $91.63 million bond in his appeal of the judgment against him in the former magazine columnist’s defamation case.

Trump continued, “I could say things about what it would cost normally, 91 million, based on false accusations made about me by a woman that I knew nothing about, didn't know, never heard of.”

In January, a federal jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages as a result of Trump’s defamatory statements denying he raped her, saying she wasn’t his type, and accusing her of making up the allegation to boost sales of her book. The bond size is greater than the judgment because the district court generally requires a party to post 110% of the bond.

Former President Donald Trump slammed President Joe Biden for saying he shouldn't have used the term "illegal" to describe the alleged killer of Laken Riley, the slain 22-year-old whose family Trump met with before his rally in Rome, Georgia, on Saturday. 

"He was an illegal immigrant. He was an illegal alien. He was an illegal migrant, and he shouldn't have been in our country, and he never would have been under the Trump policy," Trump said, adding, "Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer."

Earlier Saturday, Biden said in an interview with MSNBC that he should have used the term “undocumented” to describe Riley's alleged killer after calling him an “illegal” during Thursday’s State of the Union. 

Trump also criticized Biden for misstating Riley's name as "Lincoln" in a tense exchange with GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene during the State of the Union.

He called Greene, who was present at the rally in her district in Georgia, "very brave" for pressing Biden to say Riley's name during his remarks on immigration.

President Joe Biden delivered fiery remarks from Atlanta on Saturday, continuing his post-State of the Union campaign swing while rallying supporters just 60 miles from his GOP rival, former President Donald Trump.

“All of you here today — you know, you’re the reason we’re going to win. ... Donald Trump has a different constituency — here’s a guy who’s kicking off his general election campaign up the road with Marjorie Taylor Greene," Biden said, referring to the Georgia Republican congresswoman. "It can tell you a lot about a person, who he keeps company with.” 

Biden also slammed Trump for hosting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at his Mar-A-Lago club Friday, saying the former president “has been sucking up to wannabe dictators and authoritarian thugs all over the world.” 

The president repeated his view of the 2024 general election, calling it “a contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of this nation.” 

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday criticized President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address as “partisan” and “angry.” 

“Two nights ago, we all heard crooked Joe's angry, dark, hate-filled rant of a State of the Union address," Trump said at a rally in Rome, Georgia.

Trump added: “Joe Biden should not be shouting angrily at America. America should be shouting angrily at Joe Biden.”

Three minutes into his remarks Saturday at a campaign stop in Atlanta, President Joe Biden was interrupted by a demonstrator calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

“Genocide Joe, how will history view you?” the protester could be heard yelling. 

The president paused his remarks as supporters chanted, “Four more years.”

“Look, I don’t resent his passion,” Biden said. “There’s a lot of Palestinians who are being unfairly victimized.” 

The man was quickly escorted out of the event site. As he was escorted out, he continued to shout, “Free Palestine.”

The parents of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who police say was killed by a man who illegally crossed the border, are attending Donald Trump’s rally Saturday in Georgia and met with the former president backstage, according to Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita. 

Trump has repeatedly invoked Riley’s death as he rails against illegal immigration and pushes his hardline immigration proposals, including a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. His campaign on Saturday passed out signs to supporters with Riley’s photo and “Say Her Name” written on them. LaCivita said the campaign spoke to Riley’s parents about using her image on the signs. 

LaCivita criticized President Joe Biden, who said earlier Saturday in an interview with MSNBC that he should have used the word “undocumented” instead of “illegal” when describing Riley’s suspected killer in his State of the Union address.  

“He's more interested in apologizing for using the correct term to define the killer as opposed to apologizing to the parents,” LaCivita told reporters.

An outside group backing independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s White House bid has gathered enough signatures to put Kennedy on the ballot in two more states, including Michigan, a crucial battleground ahead of November’s election.

A spokesperson for American Values 2024 said in a statement to CNN the group has gathered the necessary signatures needed to qualify Kennedy for the ballot in Michigan and South Carolina, notching two more states toward Kennedy’s goal of appearing on the ballot in all 50 states and Washington, DC, while further complicating the dynamics of a rematch between President Joe Biden and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. 

A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in October 2023 showed Kennedy earning 26% support among registered voters in a hypothetical three-way race with Biden, who received 31%, and Trump, who received 34%. 

Michigan is the latest battleground state where Kennedy’s allies have met the signature gathering threshold. The super PAC announced last month it collected enough signatures to gain ballot access in Georgia and Arizona. 

Kennedy’s campaign has gathered enough signatures to gain ballot access in Nevada, another pivotal swing state, as well as in New Hampshire and Hawaii. Kennedy is officially on the ballot in one state, Utah. 

The 2024 presidential general election is here, for all intents and purposes. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are set to face off in the first presidential rematch since 1956. It’s also the first rematch between a current and a former president since 1892.

But unlike in 2020, when Biden was favored over Trump for the entirety of the campaign, the president faces a rougher road this time around. Indeed, he has no better than a 50-50 shot for reelection, and fans of Biden should be aware that Trump has a real chance at retaking the White House.

Consider:

National polling: Surveys from The New York Times/Siena College, CBS News/YouGov, Fox News and The Wall Street Journal all gave Trump a higher percentage of the vote than Biden by margins ranging from 2 to 4 points. (KFF had Biden scoring 3 points higher than Trump.)

All those results were officially within the margin of error, but put together they paint a picture of a troubled incumbent.

Electoral College: Polls also show Trump ahead, however narrowly, in enough states to win the Electoral College and the presidency.

Biden is trailing by 5 points or more in the most recent polling from Arizona, Georgia and Nevada. He's also trailing in Michigan, where the average of polls over the past six months that meet CNN’s standards for publication has him down 4 points.

Top campaign issues: Americans say the top problems facing the country are either related to the economy or immigration. Trump is considerably more trusted than Biden on both issues.

Read more here.