August 28, 2024, presidential campaign news

Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, Wednesday, August 28.

Kamala Harris has rolled out a three-section plan aimed at addressing the nation’s housing shortage. Parts of it build on proposals that Joe Biden has already unveiled.

The vice president’s plan promises to provide up to $25,000 in down-payment support for first-time homebuyers. The down-payment support would apply to working families who have paid rent on time for two years, with more generous support for first-time homebuyers. The plan would also provide a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, something Biden proposed earlier this year.

The plan would allow for more than 1 million first-time buyers per year, including first-generation homebuyers, to access the funds, according to her campaign.

Harris is also calling for the building of 3 million new housing units. To spur construction, she would provide a first-ever tax incentive for builders who build starter homes sold to first-time buyers. She also would expand an existing tax incentive for building affordable rental housing.

The plan also highlights two main proposals that aim to lower rent costs in the US. The first would block landlords from using algorithm-driven price-setting tools to set rents. The second would discourage wealthy investors from buying up properties and marking up rents in bulk by removing tax benefits for investors who buy large numbers of single-family rental homes.

Read about the promises Harris has made so far in her campaign.

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West speaks with CNN on August 27.

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West acknowledged his affiliations with signature-collecting firms and ballot access operatives with ties to Republicans. But he denied he’s “being used” by Republicans to pull votes away from Vice President Kamala Harris in key battleground states.

In an interview with CNN’s Laura Coates on Tuesday, West responded to attacks from Democrats who point to his use of Republican-aligned ballot access firms in battleground states to circulate petitions to get him on the ballot by saying it’s “very important” to work with lawyers and other staff who are working to expand ballot access in states even if they have a “Republican association.”

West denied his campaign is being propped up by Republicans to give progressive Democrats an alternative in battleground states. West’s campaign has been linked with Republican-aligned ballot access firms in several battleground states, where his campaign has committed to focusing its ballot qualification efforts in recent weeks.

When asked if he would consider suspending his campaign and endorsing Harris, West indicated he plans to stay in the race through Election Day.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz arrived at their hotel this evening, walking off their tour bus at around 7:40 p.m. after making two stops in south Georgia.

They both gave a quick wave before entering their hotel with staff.

Donald Trump’s campaign is co-managed by the man who engineered the “swift boating” of John Kerry in 2004, so it should come as no surprise that 20 years later, military service and treatment of veterans are turning into uncomfortable political issues.

Trump pivoted from a visit to Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week to an attack on President Joe Biden’s Afghanistan policy – a turn that apparently followed a dustup with an official at the cemetery over the campaign’s attempt to use cameras in Section 60, an area where American troops who were killed in recent wars are buried.

The story was first reported by NPR, but both Trump’s campaign and the cemetery have since issued statements.

The cemetery’s statement, according to CNN’s report, noted that federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries. Trump’s campaign noted that he was invited into Section 60 by Gold Star families.

It’s notable that the summer is ending with controversy over Trump’s decision to visit Section 60 as a candidate, since the summer began with Biden’s look back at criticism of Trump’s decision as president not to visit a US military cemetery in France in 2018 and comments he reportedly made during a visit to Arlington National Cemetery’s Section 60 in 2017.

At the CNN presidential debate in June that was the beginning of the end of Biden’s presidential campaign, the president recalled a 2020 report in The Atlantic that Trump refused to visit a cemetery near Paris honoring Americans who died in World War I because they were “losers.”

Trump denied using that term, which came from a recounting of the incident by retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, his former White House chief of staff. Kelly later confirmed elements of the Atlantic story to CNN’s Jake Tapper and also discussed a Memorial Day ceremony in 2017 when the two were in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery. “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?” Trump said at the time, according to Kelly’s recollection, which Trump denies.

Read more.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visit Sandfly BBQ restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday, August 28.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visited Sandfly BBQ — a local business in Savannah, Georgia — on Wednesday as they continue their bus tour through the southern region of the Peach State.

The two greeted the restaurant’s owner, employees and several tables of diners as they walked around. They also posed for a few selfies. 

Before the pool was escorted out of the venue, Harris stopped at the front counter and spoke to two employees. 

“Congratulations on all of your success. I’ve been reading about all you’ve been doing,” Harris said.

Former President Donald Trump has shared a flurry of posts on his social media website since Tuesday that called for retribution against his perceived political enemies.

One post included an image that portrayed Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in orange prison jumpsuits.

Trump’s dizzying array of attacks are both familiar and an escalation of the missives he has directed at Harris, Biden and other political foes as the race for the White House has become increasingly competitive for the former president. They come as some Republicans, including close allies, have publicly urged Trump to wage a less personal campaign against Harris — a suggestion the former president has roundly dismissed.

In one post, Trump suggested that Harris is manufacturing her online support, an accusation that echoed a conspiracy he promoted last month that the vice president’s crowds were faked.

Another included an image of Trump and former President Barack Obama with the words “All roads lead to Obama … retruth if you want public military tribunals.”

Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Sunshine said in a statement that the posts were “highlighting the fact that Kamala Harris is a coward and a fraud – in addition to being weak, failed and dangerously liberal.” She added that coverage of Trump should focus on his policy speeches and not “a few social media posts.”

The Harris campaign said Trump was “out of his mind” in a statement.

“If a family member posted what Donald Trump is sharing today, Americans would rightly be concerned. But this is what Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda offer America: prosecuting political opponents, using dangerous conspiracy theories to justify harmful policies, and dividing Americans against each other,” campaign spokesperson James Singer said.

This post has been updated with a statement from the Harris campaign. CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg contributed reporting to this post.

Sen. JD Vance speaks at a campaign event in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, August 28.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance said he would be against putting American troops on the ground in Israel if they were to ask a potential Trump-Vance administration for that kind of support.

“I don’t want to put American troops on the ground for anybody’s wars but ourselves,” the Republican vice presidential nominee told reporters at an event in Pennsylvania. “That’s a very important principle.”

As CNN reported, Israel launched large-scale raids in multiple parts of the occupied West Bank, an offensive they say is their most expansive in years.

New polls in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina from Fox News show no clear leader in any of these critical swing states.

Among registered voters, the surveys find Vice President Kamala Harris at 50% to former President Donald Trump’s 49% in Arizona in a head-to-head matchup, Harris at 50% to Trump’s 48% in both Georgia and Nevada, and Trump at 50% to Harris’s 49% in North Carolina. Each state poll has an error margin of plus or minus three points, meaning the poll shows no clear leader in any of these races.

The picture is more mixed when voters are asked which candidate would do a better job at “fighting for people like you” or “bringing needed change.” Harris has the edge on fighting for people like you in Nevada (51% Harris to 46% Trump), Georgia (50% Harris to 46% Trump) and Arizona (51% Harris to 47% Trump), while the two are about even on that score in North Carolina (49% Harris to 48% Trump).

And the two are near even in each state on who would better bring needed change (Harris 50% to Trump 47% in both Georgia and Nevada, Harris 50% to Trump 48% in Arizona, and Trump 49% to Harris 48% in North Carolina). 

In both Arizona and Nevada, the polls find Democratic Senate candidates leading Republicans: Incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen tops Republican Sam Brown in Nevada 55% to 41%, and Democrat Ruben Gallego tops Republican Kari Lake in Arizona 56% to 41%. 

The surveys were conducted from August 23 through 26 by telephone and online among roughly 1,000 voters in each state.

Donald Trump’s campaign posted a video on TikTok of the former president’s Monday visit to Arlington National Cemetery.

The video shows images of Trump laying a wreath to honor the 13 US military service members who were killed at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate, along with images of him at Section 60, the area where American troops who were killed in recent wars are buried. 

Trump’s voice along with a guitar is heard over the clips, criticizing the Biden administration over the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

The campaign video follows a report from NPR about a “verbal and physical altercation” after a cemetery official attempted to prevent Trump’s team from photographing and filming in Section 60. 

In a statement addressing the controversy, Arlington National Cemetery said it “reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants” which includes “photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz stopped by a local high school in south Georgia during the first stop of their bus tour where they offered words of encouragement to students while emphasizing the role their generation plays in shaping the future of the country.

Harris told students — including the marching band and athletes at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Georgia — that she’s been “hearing about you incredible young leaders,” adding that the country is counting on them to propel the country forward.

Walz briefly spoke briefly before, introducing Harris as “head coach” and the next president of the United States. He discussed being a former public school teacher and coach, while underscoring that “education is the key to the middle class.”