NationalWatch

Vice President Harris continues to hold a slim lead over former President Trump, even as Trump extends his lead on the top issues for voters, according to a new poll.

A Tuesday poll from Reuters/Ipsos found Harris leading Trump in a 45%-42% match-up nationally, well within the margin of error. Meanwhile, Trump sits at 45% support on the economy, compared to Harris’ 40%. Reuters had previously polled just a 3-point lead for Trump on the issue in late November.

Harris, however, holds a commanding lead when it comes to healthcare, where she is 14 points ahead of Trump. She also holds a 43%-38% lead on handling political extremism and protecting democracy.

The Reuters poll surveyed 938 U.S. adults online, nationwide, including 807 registered voters. Among these, 769 were considered the most likely to turn out on Election Day. The poll closed on Sunday.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS IN THE 2024 ELECTION SHOW

Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are locked into a neck-and-neck race for president.

Voters on both sides of the aisle say they are deeply motivated to head to the polls, according to the survey. Roughly 86% of Democrats and 81% of Republicans said they are “completely certain” that they would cast a ballot in the presidential election.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION

Reuters noted that 74% of the wider electorate said they were certain to vote in the 2020 election, but 78% say the same for the 2024 election.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally at the Findlay Toyota Arena Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Prescott Valley, Ariz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The poll comes as the Harris campaign is sounding the alarm regarding a lack of support among Black male voters.

HARRIS UNVEILS NEW AGENDA AS SHE COURTS BLACK MALE VOTERS

Former President Obama, in comments that went viral, admonished Black male voters for a lack of enthusiasm for Harris this weekend. Obama’s comments came as polls indicate Trump is making gains with the demographic, who are traditionally some of the Democratic Party’s most reliable supporters.

Vice President Kamala Harris is reaching out to Black male voters ahead of Election Day. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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During a stop at a Black-owned coffee shop and record store in Erie, Pennsylvania, – located in another crucial battleground state – the vice president also showcased her agenda including providing 1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business, championing education, training and mentorship programs that help Black men get good-paying jobs in high-demand industries and lead their communities, including pathways to become teachers.

EXCLUSIVE: Former first lady Melania Trump is releasing a special collector’s edition of her new memoir containing exclusive images she photographed at the White House and around the world. 

The collector’s edition of the former first lady’s first-ever memoir, “Melania,” features 256 pages in full color, with each copy signed by Trump. 

MELANIA TRUMP’S MEMOIR SOARS TO TOP SPOT ON SEVERAL AMAZON ‘BEST SELLERS’ LISTS WEEKS BEFORE ITS RELEASE

The collector’s edition includes photos hand-selected by Trump, many she photographed herself surrounding her home and various trips she has taken around the world. 

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained several photos taken by the former first lady featured in the collector’s edition, including a photo of her and former President Donald Trump on their very first date. 

“Donald and I on our first date night,” she told Fox News Digital. “It was an enjoyable and memorable evening.” 

Former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump on their first date.

Another photo expected to be featured in the collector’s edition is one that Trump took herself, a photo of Marine One outside the first lady’s room in the White House. 

“The striking view from my room as my husband returns to the White House aboard Marine One,” Trump told Fox News Digital, as she described the photo she captured. “The helicopter’s iconic silhouette against the skyline symbolizes his commitment to service, while the surrounding landscape serves as a reminder of the responsibilities he carries.” 

A photo former first lady Melania Trump took from outside her window in the White House of Marine One.

Another image Trump photographed that will be featured in the collector’s edition is one inside the historic West Wing residence.  

“The West Wing hallway, in the residence, characterized by its iconic window, serves as a significant architectural feature that allows natural light to brighten up the space,” she told Fox News Digital. 

A photo from inside the West Wing residence, taken by former first lady Melania Trump.

Fox News Digital has learned the collector’s edition of the book is printed on “premium art paper with a special custom white binding and adorned with black foil, blocking, and a ribbon marker.” 

“Writing my memoir has been an amazing journey filled with emotional highs and lows,” the former first lady told Fox News Digital. “Each story shaped me into who I am today.” 

MELANIA TRUMP LAUNCHES JEWELRY LINE TO HONOR MOMS AHEAD OF MOTHER’S DAY, RAISE FUNDS FOR FOSTER KIDS

She told Fox News Digital that “although daunting at times, the process has been incredibly rewarding, reminding me of my strength, and the beauty of sharing my truth.” 

The memoir, according to the press release, is “a powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has carved her own path, overcome adversity and defined personal excellence.” 

The special “Collector’s Edition” of former first lady Melania Trump’s memoir, “Melania.”

“The former First Lady invites readers into her world, offering an intimate portrait of a woman who has lived an extraordinary life,” the press release says. “Melania includes personal stories and family photos she has never before shared with the public.” 

“Melania” is the former first lady’s first book. 

MELANIA TRUMP TO RELEASE FIRST MEMOIR, WILL REVEAL STORIES AND PHOTOS ‘NEVER BEFORE SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC’

During her time as first lady, Trump hosted virtual roundtables on foster care as part of her “Be Best” initiative and focused on strengthening the child welfare system. She worked with members of Congress on legislation that secured funding for grants awarded to youth and young adults currently or formerly in foster care to help pay for college, career school or training. The bill ultimately was signed by then-President Donald Trump in December 2020.

Former first lady Melania Trump.

Since leaving the White House, the former first lady has also created special edition Non-Fungible Tokens. A portion of those proceeds also went toward her initiative “Fostering the Future” to secure educational opportunities and scholarships for children in the foster care community.

“Fostering the Future” students are currently enrolled in multiple colleges and universities across the country, with areas of focus primarily on technology and computer sciences. 

Earlier this year, the former first lady also rolled out a jewelry line to honor “all mothers,” telling Fox News Digital that mothers are “the bedrock of the American family.”

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A portion of the proceeds from the jewelry line are going toward her “Fostering the Future” initiative.

The memoir is being published by Skyhorse Publishing. 

MILWAUKEE — In a battleground Wisconsin’s biggest blue enclave, people who spoke with Fox News Digital are divided on who they’re supporting in the November presidential election. 

Giovanni Riley is voting for the Democrat nominee, Vice President Harris, he told Fox News Digital. 

When asked what issues sold him on Harris, he said he’s “doing it for the culture.”

Riley said he chose to back Harris “to make sure our people, minorities, get the things and resources that they need and for everyone to be in a good space.”

‘I WAS MUCH BETTER OFF’: THESE VOTERS BACK TRUMP IN TOP BATTLEGROUND COUNTY

Voters in Milwaukee were divided on the 2024 presidential election. (Fox News Digital | istock)

According to him, the symbolism of Harris, a Black and Indian mixed-race woman, being president of the United States is important.

“I believe that having a Black president and then going to a female president is something different. That is something that we never had,” he said. “And it just brings hope to our minorities to believe that you can do anything that you put your heart to.”

“And I believe that she’s the one for it.”

‘THE LEFT HAS PERFECTED THIS’: CONSERVATIVES TAKE PAGE FROM OBAMA’S PLAYBOOK IN BATTLEGROUND WISCONSIN

Trump and Harris are fighting to win swing state Wisconsin, which has gone Democrat and Republican in the past two elections. (Reuters/IStock)

In fact, Riley said he only supported President Biden because of Harris being on his ticket. 

However, not everyone in Milwaukee County shares his view, despite its voting record. 

Steve Batsky told Fox News Digital that he was voting for the Republican nominee, former President Trump, as he did in the past two elections. He cited immigration and the economy as his reasons.

As compared to 2016 and 2020 in the blue area, he said, “I’m seeing more Republican overall support; a lot of Trump signs, a lot of Donovan signs,” presumably referencing Wisconsin state Rep. Bob Donovan.

‘DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS’: WISCONSINITES TALK HARRIS’ MIDWESTERN RUNNING MATE TIM WALZ

Vice President Harris (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Again, everything in Milwaukee County tends to be blue,” Batsky said for context. 

Brian Morawski said he sees a variety of Democrat signs in the area in and around Milwaukee and that “People are incorrect in their voting.”

“Actually, I counted signs” outside Milwaukee County, he said. “I was driving west through the state, and there were more corn stands than there were Harris signs.”

“Harris is actually going to lose to corn stands this year,” he laughed. “It turns out that part of Wisconsin is correct.” 

FOR WISCONSIN DEMS, A 2024 WIN IN THE BATTLEGROUND STATE IS YEARS IN THE MAKING

The Lawrence sisters were special guest speakers at a Trump press conference this month. (Reuters)

In early October, Milwaukee residents Michaella and Leah Lawrence joined Trump for a press conference on school choice in the city. Speaking with Fox News Digital after the event, Michaella said, “This would be my first year voting.”

Her younger sister will not be old enough to vote next month.

As for what she was hearing from people her age just starting college, Michaella said they are mostly concerned about the costs associated with being in the adult world.

She talked about hearing “people around my age saying it’s really hard. It’s a big struggle finding – like just to live – basic necessities to live.”

“Inflation is like crazy high.”

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Leah noted that she and her friends can’t vote but are paying attention.

“Whatever happens with this election, we will be directly affected by that because we will be paying taxes, we will be working, and we’ll just, you know, be out here in the economy,” she said, referring to the added responsibilities that come with turning 18.

“That’s the biggest worry for us,” she said.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Five states join the rest of the country on Wednesday as they start the early voting process for the 2024 election.

Iowa, Kansas, Nevada, Oregon and Rhode Island make a total of 49 states and Washington, D.C., that have begun early voting.

Here’s how to cast a ballot in each state.

WORKING CLASS WILL COME HOME TO HARRIS, RALLYGOERS IN POSTINDUSTRIAL PENNSYLVANIANS SAY

A volunteer sanitizes a voting booth at a polling location for the 2020 presidential election in Ankeny, Iowa.

Nevada is one of the most competitive states this cycle

Forever a battleground, reliably Democrat: That’s the story of Nevada’s presidential politics.

The state has voted for every Democrat who has run for president since 1992, except the two elections with President Bush on the ballot. But the average margin across those eight elections is just 4.1 points.

There are only six electoral votes at stake, but they could be crucial for either candidate. If Harris wins two of the battleground Rust Belt states but loses Pennsylvania, for example, then a combination of Nevada and North Carolina would make up for the deficit.

Nevada is home to the “Reid Machine,” a voter turnout operation named after late Senate leader Harry Reid, that activates voters favorable to Democrats, especially Hispanic and unionized hospitality workers in the Las Vegas area.

Those groups aren’t as overwhelmingly Democrat as they used to be. The party has shed 10 points worth of the Hispanic vote since 2020 and seven points of the non-college-educated vote.

Voters backed a Republican for governor in 2022; that election came two years after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the tourism industry. They held on to their Democrat senator.

Republicans do well in the vast rural areas led by Lincoln County, where Trump won by 71 points in 2020, and the state’s northeastern counties.

The battleground is Washoe County, home to Reno. Biden won there by 4.5 points in 2020, making it the state’s closest county.

Nevada is a Toss Up in the Fox News Power Rankings.

The Silver State also has a senate race on the ballot. Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen seeks a second term in office but faces Republican Army veteran Sam Brown. The Senate race is ranked Lean D.

Finally, Iowa voters start heading to the polls today. Once a hotly competitive state, it voted for Trump by eight points in 2020. Iowa is one of several states dominated by White working-class voters who flipped to Trump in his first run for office and have not gone back.

A recent Des Moines Register survey showing Harris four points behind Trump raised eyebrows, but it would take an extraordinary night for Harris to flip this one.

Key downballot races in today’s early voting states

Voting also begins today in four battleground House districts. For a full list of competitive races, see the latest Senate and House rankings.

• Iowa’s 1st District: Second-term GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won this seat by six votes in 2020, and while redistricting gave her a more comfortable win in the midterms, she remains vulnerable in the Davenport and Iowa City district. Former state Rep. Christina Bohannan is the Democrat candidate. It’s a Toss Up in the Power Rankings.
• Iowa’s 3rd District: The southern 3rd District is represented by Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, who flipped the seat during the midterms. It was another close race, with 2,145 votes separating him and his Democrat opponent. This year, he’s up against Democrat Lanon Baccam, who recently worked at the USDA. This is a Lean R race.
• Nevada’s 3rd District: This district almost touches Las Vegas, but it stretches a long way west of that out to Henderson, Boulder City and rural Clark County. Democrat Rep. Susie Lee has served in the district since 2019; this year, she faces Republican Drew Johnson. This race is ranked Lean D.
• Oregon’s 5th District: Finally, Oregon’s 5th District ranges from parts of Portland out to the Cascades. GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer flipped this race in the midterms after Democrats booted out their incumbent moderate Democrat in a primary, but it’s a razor-thin race in 2024. The Democrat challenger this time around is state Rep. Janelle Bynum. It’s another Power Rankings Toss Up.

How to vote in Iowa

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Iowa.

Voting by mail

Iowa began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 21, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

PA TOWN ROILED BY TALK OF MIGRANT HOUSING IN CIVIL-WAR-ERA ORPHANAGE BUILDING

Early in-person voting

Iowa offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 16 and running through Nov. 4.

Voter registration

Iowa residents can register to vote in person at any point during early voting or on Election Day. The deadline for online or mail registration is Oct. 21.

Dozens of states now offer early voting. (Fox News Digital)

How to vote in Kansas

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Kansas.

Voting by mail

Kansas began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 29, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

PENNSYLVANIA LEADERS IN BOTH PARTIES TALK GROUND GAME AS GOP SEEKS TO UNDO MASSIVE GAINS

Early in-person voting

Some Kansas counties offer early in-person voting beginning Oct. 16, but other counties start later. Check the state’s website for more information.

Voter registration

Kansas residents must have registered to vote by Oct. 15.

How to vote in Nevada

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Nevada.

Voting by mail

Nevada began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials began actively sending absentee ballots to eligible voters on Wednesday, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

Early in-person voting

Nevada will begin early in-person voting on Oct. 19, and it will continue through Nov. 1.

Voter registration

Nevada residents can register online through Election Day, and they can register in person from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1 or in person on Election Day.

Fifteen states are starting or expanding their early voting programs this week. (Fox News Digital)

How to vote in Oregon

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Oregon.

Voting by mail

Oregon began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials began actively sending absentee ballots to eligible voters on Wednesday, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

Early in-person voting

Oregon does not offer in-person early voting.

Voter registration

Oregon residents must have registered to vote by Oct. 15.

How to vote in Rhode Island

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Rhode Island.

Voting by mail

Rhode Island began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. Residents must request a ballot by Oct. 15, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Early in-person voting

Rhode Island begins early in-person voting on Wednesday, and it will continue through Nov. 4.

Voter registration

Rhode Island can register to vote in person on election day or during early voting. The deadline for online or by-mail registration was Oct. 6.

Facing off against former President Trump in a margin-of-error showdown with less than three weeks to go until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris is stepping up her conversations with the media during the final stretch on the campaign.

That effort ramps up a notch on Wednesday, as the vice president is scheduled to sit down in battleground Pennsylvania with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier for an interview that will run on “Special Report” at 6 p.m. ET.

Harris will speak with Fox News following an afternoon campaign event in Bucks County, a crucial swing county in Philadelphia’s northern suburbs.

Baier said the Democratic presidential nominee is expected to sit for approximately 25-30 minutes at around 5 p.m. ET, about an hour before “Special Report” airs live.

HARRIS RAMPS UP OUTREACH TO BLACK MEN AS TRUMP MAKES GAINS

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during a campaign rally at Erie Insurance Arena, in Erie, Pennyslvania, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“We are going to run it uninterrupted, unedited, all the way,” Baier said on the eve of the interview.

The vice president’s first formal interview on Fox News will give her a chance to speak directly to viewers across the ideological spectrum who normally don’t watch the rival cable news networks CNN and MSNBC.

“Special Report” is regularly among the most-watched programs on cable news, and the show’s Common Ground segment features political leaders from across the aisle discussing the issues of the day with the goal of finding compromise.

“We have a lot of eyeballs. We have Democrats, independents and Republicans,” Baier said. “We have the biggest cable news audience. And this is probably going to get a lot more eyeballs. I think tough but fair is what I pitched it as. And I think that’s what they’re going to see.”

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION

Harris largely avoided interviews after replacing President Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket in mid-July. Her first formal sitdown interview – with CNN – didn’t occur until late August. But she has ramped up her media appearances in recent weeks, including interviews with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” ABC’s “The View,” late night talk show host Stephen Colbert, radio personality Howard Stern, and numerous podcasts. Most of those encounters were perceived as friendly interviews.

But the interview with Baier on Fox News may feed the perception that the vice president in the closing stretch of the campaign is open to facing tough questions.

“She knows there are going to be hard questions. She can handle those,” seasoned Democratic strategist and communicator Chris Moyer told Fox News. “Going through that process and handling that, you’re kind of going behind enemy lines a little bit.”

Moyer, a veteran of multiple Democratic presidential campaigns, argued that “doing well in that is a good boost for the campaign, and voters like to know that they’re going to elect somebody who can handle not just the friendly interviews.”

Vice President Kamala Harris will be interviewed by Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier on Wednesday.

Harris becomes the first Democratic presidential nominee in eight years to sit for an interview on Fox News – 2016 standard-bearer Hillary Clinton spoke with Chris Wallace.

But leading Harris surrogates – including Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – have made high-profile appearances on Fox News this summer and autumn.

And Democratic vice presidential nominee, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, was interviewed on “Fox News Sunday” the past two weekends.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS IN THE 2024 ELECTION SHOW 

Aides to the Harris running mate reached out to Fox News to schedule his second appearance. 

“Folks deserve to hear where we stand on this. Vice President Harris and I have an agenda for, you know, a new way forward, a manufacturing agenda. I was just in Michigan this week. And I think folks are still undecided out there. And I appreciate you. You ask good, hard questions and your viewers get a chance to hear,” Walz told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream this past weekend.

Former President Trump holds a town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center on Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pennsylvania. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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The Harris sitdown with Baier comes the same day that Fox News will run a townhall with Trump, with the former president fielding questions on issues such as abortion and child care from an all-female audience.

The program, recorded on Tuesday in battleground Georgia, will air Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET on “The Faulkner Focus.”

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

As the negative media onslaught against Donald Trump grows louder, he is taking on the fact-checkers.

What’s fascinating in the coverage is that the journalists and organizations that do this are treated like prophets handing down the tablets from Mount Olympus. There is no hint, not a whiff, that they might sometimes be wrong or engaging in overkill.

AS A CAUTIOUS KAMALA LOSES MOMENTUM, DEMOCRATS ARE PANICKING OVER A TRUMP WIN

In a new Gallup poll, 36 percent said they had “no trust at all” in the media, while just 31 percent said they found the media to be fair and accurate a “great deal” or “fair amount.” The distrust was far higher among Republicans than Democrats.

Now skeptics will say that Trump tells a lot of falsehoods, some decisions are clear-cut, and it’s worth trying to hold him accountable. I know these folks work hard, having done a lot of it myself, but sometimes the fact checks are contentious in gray areas, or even over something Trump said jokingly at a rally.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

I don’t even have to make the argument that Kamala Harris draws overwhelmingly favorable coverage. Now that she’s come out of her cocoon in the light of slipping polls, sitting down today with Fox’s Bret Baier, she has a short period of time to break through after walling herself off. With Democrats in panic mode, she is also ramping up her rhetoric against the former president. And we’re seeing an explosion of columns and segments on what Harris needs to do to turn her campaign around – free advice from the media.

OBAMA ACCUSES BLACK MEN OF SEXISM AMID RELUCTANCE TO SUPPORT KAMALA HARRIS

As the Washington Post notes, Trump complained about fact-checking by ABC in his debate with Harris (when it did seem like 3 against 1). And in turning down “60 Minutes,” he cited the program’s tradition of fact checking. (He also drew flak from CNBC yesterday after backing out of an interview.)

Trump visits the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention on Wednesday, July 31, 2024 in Chicago, IL. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

If there’s one moment that crystallizes the media opposition to Trump, it’s his appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists. The opening question was a diatribe about how he was a horrible racist, building up to why any Black voters should support him. The Harris appearance, by contrast, was practically a lovefest.

Behind the scenes, there was a tense, hour-long impasse in which Trump was refusing to take the stage if there would be fact-checking. When he finally took the stage, the group lied and blamed the entire delay on audio problems.

TRUMP COUNTERS HARRIS MEDIA BLITZ BY RIPPING BOB WOODWARD, HOWARD STERN AND HER HURRICANE BRIEFING

How is it that Trump says things that trigger journalistic outrage, sometimes with incendiary language, but raise no doubts among many Republicans? The New York Times offers this explanation: 

“One of the more peculiar aspects of Donald J. Trump’s political appeal is this: A lot of people are happy to vote for him because they simply do not believe he will do many of the things he says he will…

Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on the campus of East Carolina University on October 13, 2024 in Greenville, North Carolina. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“It’s how they rationalize his rhetoric, by affording him a reverse benefit of the doubt.” 

A 40-year-old Detroit publisher was quoted as saying he didn’t believe Trump would purge the federal government and hire only election deniers: “It could just be for publicity, just riling up the news.”

Whether Trump wins or loses, he will have the support of roughly half the country. In 2020, that amounted to 73 million voters.

And yet most of the mainstream media, with some exceptions, have never really understood the unshakable bond between Trump and his supporters. Most tend to travel in circles where allowing him to be a “danger to democracy” is unthinkable. He has made inroads among Black voters, especially Black men, some of whom say the Democrats make promises at election time and then forget about their community.

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In fact, some pundits have unloaded on Trump supporters as being dummies or racist yahoos. That “basket of deplorables” approach means they are failing to grasp how much of the country feels and what their legitimate grievances might be.  That would seem to call for a sweeping reassessment of their views about America if Trump wins a second term, except the media aren’t big on self-reflection.

The presidential race is a toss-up as the last key state in Vice President Harris’ column drifts towards former President Trump.

But even as polls show a tight race, some voters are rethinking long-held beliefs. This week’s Power Rankings draws up the new Harris and Trump coalitions and shows how they could propel either candidate to victory.

Fox News Power Rankings presidential forecast.

Harris ties herself to an unpopular Joe Biden during media blitz

Harris will make headlines tomorrow when she sits down for her first ever formal interview on Fox News.

The sit-down will be the Vice President’s biggest and most closely-watched opportunity in an uneven media tour.

Her talk show appearances went smoothly, and an interview on Call Her Daddy, one of the country’s most popular podcasts, generated the same kind of excitement among young women that Trump has gained from male influencers.

But last Wednesday, asked if she would have done something differently than President Biden during his administration, Harris told ABC’s The View that “there is not a thing that comes to mind.”

VP KAMALA HARRIS TO SIT DOWN WITH CHIEF POLITICAL ANCHOR BRET BAIER FOR FIRST FORMAL FOX NEWS INTERVIEW

Harris on ABC’s The View.

The answer reminded voters that Harris is the second-in-command in a presidency they say has made their lives worse.

In NBC’s latest national poll, 45% of voters say Biden’s policies have hurt them and their families, while only a quarter say those policies have helped. That is a “net hurt” of 20 points.

Voters say Biden’s policies have hurt more than helped.

Voters view Trump’s policies much more positively, with 44% saying they helped and 31% saying they hurt. In other words, a “net help” of 13 points.

The same poll found Trump’s retrospective job approval is higher than in any of their surveys when he was president.

Harris’ campaign knows that tying the Vice President to Biden isn’t a winner. In her first interview as the Democratic nominee, Harris said it was time to “turn the page on the last decade;” her bus tells voters she offers “a new way forward.”

Trump allies have said they will use the clip in new ads, though it’s not yet clear whether that will happen.

Voters on candidate qualities.

Democrats counter that elections are as much about personal qualities as the issues. Harris leads on caring about people like you (+8), and being honest and trustworthy (+11) in a recent New York Times/Siena poll. At the same time, Trump is up three points on being a strong leader, while Harris leads by eight on being fun.

Either way, Harris’ answer was unhelpful to her campaign, which has weeks left to persuade voters that she would do things differently.

Trump stronger after the vice presidential debate

It has now been two weeks since the only debate between Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and two polls conducted after the showdown suggest that Vance won the night.

• Trump is up one point against Harris at 47%-46% among registered voters in NBC’s survey. Harris previously led by six points.
• Harris is two points ahead of Trump at 50%-48% among likely voters in ABC and Ipsos’ survey. She previously led by five points.

Those are meaningful shifts in Trump’s direction, and NBC’s poll also showed a modest improvement in Vance’s favorability.

In polls showing a tight race, a new electorate emerges

The polls above are two of many showing a race within the margin of error. 

But beneath the top lines, there are signs that the Democratic and Republican coalitions are changing. And while Trump’s gains with Black and Latino voters have been talked about the most, both coalitions are strong enough to win an election.

Trump is gaining with key voter groups.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: THE BIGGEST SURPRISES COME AFTER OCTOBER

Trump is gaining in four key voting groups. Compared to the 2020 electorate, he is up six points with male voters, while Democrats have shed 20 points worth of Black vote, 10 points of Hispanic vote, and 3 points with young voters, according to the Times/Siena poll.

The Black and Hispanic gains are the most important for the GOP. These voters can make all the difference in states like Pennsylvania and Arizona. 

The column on the left in the charts shows the percentage that each group made up of the 2020 electorate according to the Fox News Voter Analysis. The percentages apply within each voter category (race, age, etc).

Men, for example, made up 47% of the electorate, which means 53% of voters were women.

That is where the picture becomes more complicated for the Trump campaign. 

As men have shifted six points towards the former president, women have shifted three points towards Harris. Voters with a college degree have shifted 10 points towards the Vice President, giving her an overall 26-point advantage with the bloc. And Harris has flipped seniors.

Harris is gaining with key voter groups.

These are some of the most reliable and over-represented voting groups in the U.S. Only about a third of adults have a college degree, for example, but this group accounts for 40% of voters.

In other words, the gains that Trump has made with some key groups are counterbalanced by Harris’ gains with other voters.

Harris loses her lead in the forecast

Battleground polls also show a race on a knife’s edge. 

Surveys from the Wall Street Journal and Quinnipiac across the three key Rust Belt states have the candidates within a few points, matching more than a dozen other high-quality polls over the last month.

Battleground polls show races within the margin of error.

This forecast previously gave Harris an advantage in Michigan. The state has delivered for Democrats since 2016, and the GOP’s turnout operation appears to be particularly disorganized there. 

But that isn’t enough when the polls show a race this tight. Both campaigns are making regular visits, and Republicans have booked more spending here than any other battleground state (except Pennsylvania, where ad rates are higher).

Fox News Power Rankings presidential map.

Michigan moves from Lean D to Toss Up.

After that shift, the Power Rankings predict that Harris will win at least 226 electoral votes, with Trump winning at least 219. There are seven states worth 93 votes in the middle.

Fox News Power Rankings presidential forecast.

Harris has a six-vote edge that includes Nebraska’s second district. That is important for the Vice President, since a victory there, combined with the Rust Belt battlegrounds, would give her an outright win.

But with so many coin-flip states, this race looks like an electoral college dogfight. The presidential election moves from Harris Lead to Toss Up.

Democrats hold a ticket-splitting edge in battleground states, including Nevada

The Senate forecast still puts Republicans in control with 51 seats. An all-but-certain flip in West Virginia and an edge in Montana gets them over the line.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: SENATE REPUBLICANS TAKE CHARGE

Fox News Power Rankings Senate map.

Some polls still show GOP Senate candidates running behind Trump. In a recent Arizona survey, the chasm was 12 points wide, with Trump leading the presidential race by five and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego with a seven-point lead over Republican Kari Lake.

Some polls show higher levels of ticket-splitting.

History suggests that the gap will diminish by election night. The direction of these ticket-splitters is less clear. Either Trump voters will come home to downballot GOP candidates, or support for the former president is softer than polls suggest.

For now, with polls showing Nevada’s Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen well ahead of Republican challenger Sam Brown, their Senate race moves from Toss Up to Lean D.

Three weeks until election night

More than four million voters have now cast a ballot. Early voting is underway in all the battlegrounds except Nevada.

Tomorrow, Fox News will be the only place to see both presidential candidates. At 11AM eastern, watch Harris Faulkner’s town hall with Trump in front of an all-woman audience in Georgia. Hours later, Bret Baier will sit down with Harris in Pennsylvania. The interview airs at 6PM on Special Report.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Media has also proposed a second Harris-Trump debate to be moderated by Baier and Martha MacCallum.

FIRST ON FOX: A dramatic, months-long campaign season is drawing to a close as the clock ticks closer to Election Day, according to a new message from House Republicans to voters.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House GOP’s campaign arm, released a new digital ad on Tuesday marking 21 days until the election.

It comes as Republican Party operators at the state, federal and local level work overtime to convince supporters to vote early, particularly in pivotal swing states like Georgia and North Carolina that have been ravaged by Helene this storm season.

CLUB FOR GROWTH POURS $5M INTO TIGHT HOUSE RACES AS GOP BRACES FOR TOUGH ELECTION

Republicans are working overtime to turn voters out early in former President Trump’s race to beat Vice President Harris. (Getty Images)

The ad features audio clips from the entire House GOP leadership suite – Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson – as well as former President Trump.

Trump’s voice opens the video with, “Republicans must win, and we must use every appropriate tool available to beat the Democrats. They are destroying our country.”

“I don’t care when you vote, but you’ve got to vote,” Trump says in the video.

Meanwhile, clips of vulnerable Republicans, like Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Ken Calvert, R-Calif., flash across the screen interspersed with the word “vote.”

GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE

The ad features vulnerable Republicans like Rep. Jen Kiggans. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

It’s set against a portion of “Dream On” by Aerosmith, per an airing viewed by Fox News Digital.

“In 21 days, Americans will cast their ballots to end Democrats’ dangerous, far-left socialist agenda for our country. Every trip to the grocery store, fentanyl death or crime committed in a family’s neighborhood should give voters another reason to record their vote in this critical election,” NRCC rapid response director Macy Gardner told Fox News Digital.

Early in-person voting is kicking off in four states this week. Georgia can head to the polls before Election Day from Tuesday through Nov. 1, while North Carolina begins early voting on Thursday. Voters in Iowa and Kansas are also heading to the polls.

Republican Party officials have been working overtime to convince their base to vote early after Democrats walloped the GOP with non-Election Day voters in 2020.

SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN’S HELENE RESPONSE: ‘ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED’

President Biden’s 2020 victory was due in no small part to non-Election Day voters. (Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Those efforts will be particularly critical in North Carolina and Georgia, both states hit hard by Hurricane Helene and where the election is expected to be close.

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Getting likely voters to head to the polls early, Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon explained early this month, frees up resources closer to Election Day to convince “low propensity voters” to turn out as well.

“All of that requires resources. That requires money – put mail in the mailbox, ads on television, telephone calls to their home, knocking on their door. We’re trying to do all of those things,” McKoon told Fox News Digital.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are tied in battleground Michigan, according to a new public opinion poll.

Fox News’ Power Rankings have moved Michigan into the toss-up column, with both parties making a strong play for Rust Belt voters. The race has tightened significantly, with voters split along generational and gender lines, according to an AARP poll conducted Oct. 2-8.

With a full ballot including all third-party candidates, Harris and Trump are tied at 46% support each, the survey said. Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. still receives 3% support even though he endorsed Trump in August. All other third-party candidates polled at a combined 2%. 

In a head-to-head matchup, Trump leads Harris by just one point, 49%-48%.

VP KAMALA HARRIS TO SIT DOWN WITH CHIEF POLITICAL ANCHOR BRET BAIER FOR FIRST FORMAL FOX NEWS INTERVIEW

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump answers questions at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Detroit.  (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The survey is consistent with other AARP polls that have pointed to a generational divide. 

Harris leads by double digits among voters 18-34 and 65+, while Trump polls stronger among voters 35-49 and 50-64.

Voters are split by gender as well. “There is a very large gender gap of a net 40-points among voters overall and 29-points among voters 50+, with Harris strong with women voters and Trump with men,” the survey release states. 

The AARP poll also finds a competitive race for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. 

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: THE BIGGEST SURPRISES COME AFTER OCTOBER

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Mich., on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. 

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a three-term House lawmaker, holds a narrow 49%-46% lead over Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers. 

The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.9%. 

Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, are the three Rust Belt states that make up the Democrats’ so-called “Blue Wall.”

The party reliably won all three states for a quarter-century before Trump narrowly captured them in the 2016 election to win the White House.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: SENATE REPUBLICANS TAKE CHARGE

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, the Democratic candidate for the open Michigan U.S. Senate seat, left, and former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate vying for the seat, debated the issues on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, with moderators Alicia Smith, Chuck Stokes and Carolyn Clifford of WXYZ-TV in Southfield, Mich.  (Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP)

Four years later, in 2020, Biden carried all three states by razor-thin margins to put them back in the Democrats’ column and defeated Trump.

Harris will swing through Detroit for a campaign stop Tuesday afternoon. During her visit to Motor City, she will participate in a radio town hall with Charlamagne tha God. The vice president will return to Michigan on Friday for events in Grand Rapids, Lansing and suburban Detroit.

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Trump visited Michigan last Thursday and delivered a speech at the Detroit Economic Club, where he announced proposals to make interest on auto loans tax-deductible, slash corporate taxes for American manufacturers and threatened up to 1,000% tariffs on foreign-imported vehicles if he returns to the White House.

Fox Business’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this update.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for electric vehicles (EVs) could prove to be costly to her chances in the critical swing state of Michigan.

“With Republicans beginning to embrace unions and labor, we are seeing a dramatic shift in voting behavior in Rust Belt States,” Jimmy Keady, the founder and president of JLK Political Strategies, told Fox News Digital.

The comments come as the outlook for former President Donald Trump in Michigan has continued to improve in recent weeks, with Trump now holding a narrow lead of 0.9 points in the state, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.

That lead represents a roughly three-point swing in the race since the end of August, when Harris held a 2.2-point lead over the former president, according to the historic view of the polling average.

Michigan is rated a tossup state in the presidential race in the current Fox News Power Rankings.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: HARRIS LOSES HER LEAD AND A NEW ELECTORATE EMERGES

Vice President Kamala Harris (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Part of the reason for Trump’s recent surge in the state could be due to the support of working class and union voters, who worry that the push towards EVs could put many of them out of jobs in the not-so-distant future.

“I think it is hurting Harris because of the Biden-Harris agenda on policies that don’t work for the working class,” Michael Markey, a former Republican Michigan Congressional candidate and financial adviser, told Fox News Digital.

The Trump campaign has leaned into the narrative, releasing an ad earlier this month that warned Michigan voters about Democratic support for EVs.

“Attention autoworkers: Kamala Harris wants to end all gas powered cars,” the ad said. “Crazy, but true!”

Markey believes the message is hitting home for voters in Michigan, arguing the issue is one reason Trump and the GOP have gained ground in the state.

MICHIGAN DEM LAUNCHES ANTI-EV AD IN BID FOR SENATE RACE AFTER VOTING AGAINST A BIPARTISAN PUSHBACK ON MANDATES

“It’s a slap in the face to the union workers,” he said. “I think that’s why we’re seeing a lot of the polling trending in Republicans favor right now.”

For her part, Harris has attempted to push back against the narrative, arguing at a rally in Flint, Michigan, earlier this month that we would “never” mandate the “kind of car you have to drive.”

Former President Trump speaks during a rally on Sept. 18, 2024 in Uniondale, New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Nevertheless, Republicans have continued to hammer Harris both for her support of Biden administration regulations on tailpipe emissions, a push to phase-in EVs for newly built cars and heavy subsidies for EV production in the United States. They have also pointed to Harris’ plan during her 2020 run for president to transition all new vehicles built in the U.S. to zero emissions by 2030.

“They’re saying… ‘no one’s going to force you or tell you what kind of car you can drive,’ but they’re putting standards through the EPA that are basically mandating EV production,” Markey said.

Markey argued that Michigan workers have a long history of being at the cutting edge of the automotive industry and do not want to see jobs lost to a product that is neither profitable nor in demand by consumers.

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“The public is telling us what the next generation of cars is,” Markey said. “They still want internal combustion engines, they want hybrids, but EVs… that’s not where the public is.”

That could all add up to a problem in places like Michigan for Harris, Keady argued, noting the Democratic candidate’s struggles with traditional blue voting blocs such as unions.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the media before boarding Air Force Two after assessing the Hurricane Helene recovery response on Oct. 5, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“The Teamsters refusal to endorse is sign number one that Harris is in trouble with union workers,” Keady said. “It is not just the Biden-Harris administration’s manufacturing policies that are hurting Michigan workers; their embrace of electric vehicle mandates will add an undue burden on middle-class families.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Reached for comment, a Harris campaign spokesperson referred Fox News Digital to the vice president’s most recent comments on the issue at the Flint rally.

“And, Michigan let us be clear, contrary to what my opponent is suggesting I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive,” Harris said at the time. “But here’s what I will do: I will invest in communities like Flint, which helped build the auto industry and the UAW. We will retool existing factories, hire locally, and work with unions to create good paying jobs, including jobs that do not require a college degree”

With a margin of error race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump and three weeks to go until Election Day, the two residents of the White House are heading to the biggest of the battlegrounds to campaign on behalf of Harris and down-ballot Democrats.

President Biden travels to his native state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, as he serves as the main attraction at the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee’s autumn fundraising dinner.

And first lady Jill Biden will be in suburban Philadelphia – as she headlines an afternoon event in Chester County and then speaks in the evening in Montgomery County, where she grew up.

The first lady is campaigning on behalf of Harris in the seven key swing states whose razor-thin margins decided her husband’s 2020 victory over Trump and will likely determine if Harris or Trump succeed Biden in the White House.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION

First lady Jill Biden speaks during a campaign stop Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Biden’s latest campaign trail foray for fellow Democrats comes amid reports of a lack of coordination between political advisers to the president and the vice president.

TENSIONS ALLEGEDLY RISE BETWEEN BIDEN AND HARRIS AIDES

The appearances by both Bidens also come a day after the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees campaigned in Pennsylvania, with Harris holding two events in Erie, in the northwest corner of the state, and Trump in suburban Philadelphia, in the southeastern portion of the commonwealth.

Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden arrive at a campaign event at the IBEW Local Union #5 hall in Pittsburgh, on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

It was the vice president’s 10th visit to Pennsylvania since replacing Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket in mid-July. Trump’s also been a frequent visitor, with rallies in Scranton and Reading less than a week ago.

Pennsylvania, along with Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada, had razor-thin margins that decided Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump. And the seven states will likely determine whether Harris or Trump wins the 2024 presidential election.

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But with 19 electoral votes at stake, Pennsylvania’s the biggest of the key battlegrounds. And while the campaigns and their allied super PACs are pouring resources into all seven states, more money has been spent running spots in Pennsylvania than any of the other battlegrounds, according to figures from AdImpact, a top national ad tracking firm.

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during a campaign rally at Erie Insurance Arena, in Erie, Pennsylvania, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Pennsylvania, along with Michigan and Wisconsin, are the three Rust Belt states that make up the Democrats’ so-called “Blue Wall.”

The party reliably won all three states for a quarter-century before Trump narrowly captured them in the 2016 election to win the White House.

Four years later, in 2020, Biden carried all three states to put them back in the Democrats’ column and defeated Trump.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade left Capitol Hill on Tuesday after a marathon four-and-a-half hour grilling by House Judiciary Committee investigators.

Wade, whose legal team included former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, said little to reporters before, after and during his closed-door deposition. No lawmakers were seen entering or leaving the room.

“This is all I’m going to say – we gave our testimony, we cooperated and we are through,” Barnes told reporters after the session.

GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE

Former Fulton County prosecutor Nathan Wade spoke with House investigators who are looking into the Georgia case against Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

Barnes said “yes” when asked if it was an effective meeting and “no” when asked by Fox News Digital if he expected to follow up with the committee.

Earlier, he had testy words for a reporter who asked whether Wade would plead the Fifth Amendment, responding tersely, “What crime has been committed here?”

The House Judiciary Committee has been seeking information on Wade’s relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is investigating former President Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Trump and 18 allies were indicted by a grand jury in August 2023 on charges including racketeering and conspiracy.

Wade was brought into that investigation by Willis as a special prosecutor, but stepped away after it was revealed he and Willis began a romantic relationship, which has since ended.

TRUMP VS HARRIS ROUND 2? VOTERS IN KEY GA COUNTY REVEAL IF THEY WANT SECOND DEBATE

Wade had a romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

In a pair of letters published by the Republican majority on the committee on Monday night, Willis said Wade was instructed “not to answer any questions about his role in the election interference case or about any evidence in that case.”

“The disclosure of such evidence may also interfere with ongoing proceedings, this is considered legally privileged and not subject to disclosure,” Willis wrote.

The committee responded on X, saying, “What is she trying to hide?”

CLUB FOR GROWTH POURS $5M INTO TIGHT HOUSE RACES AS GOP BRACES FOR TOUGH ELECTION

It’s one of several probes by House Republicans into Trump’s legal battles since he left office.

Both Willis and Wade have maintained that their relationship had nothing to do with the case and have accused Republicans of trying to unjustly interfere in the Fulton County probe.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan’s staff spoke with Wade for four hours. (Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

Jordan, meanwhile, is probing whether U.S. tax dollars were used to help bankroll their relationship during the course of the Trump probe.

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One of Trump’s co-defendants had sued to have Willis and Wade disqualified from the case, arguing their relationship presented a conflict of interest and that they financially benefited from the probe – which they have denied.

A Fulton County judge ruled in March that Willis could stay on the case if Wade was removed.

Fox News Digital reached out to the House Judiciary Committee for comment on Wade’s deposition.

Former President Trump said the Republican Party is “the party of common sense” Tuesday during a contentious interview with Bloomberg News in Chicago. 

Trump sat for an interview with Bloomberg News’ editor-in-chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago. The two discussed Trump’s plans for the economy in a potential second term during a heated interview that lasted nearly an hour. 

Micklethwait spoke about the economy to start, but later got into the state of the presidential race, asking the former president which state he believed was most critical to deciding the election. 

Former President Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

TRUMP REVEALS WHICH ELECTION ISSUE IS A ‘BIGGER DEAL’ THAN INFLATION AND THE ECONOMY

“They say Pennsylvania. I think we’re doing very well there. I think you look at Michigan, too, and I’m doing very well,” Trump said. “We’re way up in Pennsylvania. We’re way up in Michigan. We’re doing very well in Arizona. In fact, somebody said they’re going to pull the plug in Arizona – they’re going to give it up because it looks like we’re quite a ways ahead.” 

A RealClearPolitics polling average as of Tuesday afternoon showed Trump slightly ahead in Pennsylvania, as well as in Arizona and Michigan. 

Trump went on to say that the Republican Party is “the party of common sense.” 

“Forget about conservative, liberal. We’re, let’s say, conservative, but we’re really a party of ‘We need borders. We need fair elections. We don’t want men playing in women’s sports. We don’t want transgender operations without parental consent,’” Trump explained. “It is 99.9% common sense. It really is common sense. I say we’re really a party of common sense, and we want to have great people in our country.” 

Trump added: “I have a good heart. I have a heart where I want people to be taken care of. But I don’t want to take in people where millions of people – 21 million people at least have come in the last three and a half years unvetted, unchecked. We don’t know anything about them.” 

Former President Trump answers questions at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Micklethwait began Tuesday’s interview by claiming Trump’s economic plan would drive up debt and inflation, with the former president claiming that he served in office without inflation. 

“Yeah, I had four years – no inflation,” Trump said. 

Micklethwait also hit Trump on his plan for tariffs on foreign goods, but Trump fired back, explaining that foreign countries will pay a “100% tariff on everything sold into the United States.”

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: HARRIS LOSES HER LEAD AND A NEW ELECTORATE EMERGES

Earlier this year, Trump rolled out a plan to eliminate China’s most favored nation trade status and impose universal baseline 10% tariffs on imports. In private, Trump has even floated tariffs as high as 60% on Chinese goods. Economists have warned that increasing tariffs would also cause an increase in prices for everyday goods due to American companies relying on cheap raw materials from China.

Micklethwait said Trump’s plans would “have a serious effect on the overall economy.” 

“It’s going to have a massive effect – positive effect. It’s going to be a positive effect,” Trump replied. “It must be hard for you to spend 25 years talking about tariffs as being negative and then have somebody explain to you that you’re totally wrong.”

Micklethwait fired back at Trump, saying he could be “plunging America into the biggest trade war.” 

“No, there are no tariffs – all you have to do is build your plant in the United States and you don’t have any tariffs,” Trump said. “That’s what I want.” 

The former president’s response was met with applause from the audience. 

“The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States and build a factory in the United States so it doesn’t have to pay the tariff,” Trump explained. 

As for national security and foreign policy, Trump touted his relationships with adversaries, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying the United States was respected under his administration. 

Trump was asked if he would send American troops to defend Taiwan if China invaded. The Chinese military are currently engaged in rehearsals for a naval blockade of the island nation. 

“The reason they’re doing it now is because they’re not going to do it afterward,” Trump said – a response met with applause from the audience. 

Trump was also asked if he has spoken to Putin since he left office, to which he replied: “I don’t comment on that.” 

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“But I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing,” Trump said. “If I’m friendly with people, if I can have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing, in terms of a country.” 

“President Trump was in his element as he spoke passionately about restoring economic growth, prosperity, and opportunity for all Americans,” his campaign wrote in an email to supporters following the interview, adding that he “put on a master class outlining his plan to return American citizens and businesses to the successes they enjoyed during his first term.” 

The campaign added: “Kamala could NEVER.” 

The Trump campaign touted the former president’s responses and policies, and added: “President Trump did it once with record success – and he’ll do it again.”

A hearing was held Tuesday in a key Georgia county’s lawsuit against the State Elections Board (SEB), roughly three weeks until voters head to the polls on Nov. 5.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney is overseeing the case filed by the Cobb County Board of Elections earlier this month. The bipartisan board is taking issue with a set of new rules imposed by the SEB, including a measure to require county election workers to hand count ballots after polls close to ensure accurate machine tabulation.

The rule has also sparked a lawsuit filed by Georgia Democratic officials, which is set for a hearing on Wednesday.

Cobb County is a majority suburban area anchored by the city of Marietta, a suburb of Atlanta.

GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are battling it out over Georgia while the major parties fight in the courts. (Fox News )

During the Tuesday hearing, attorneys for the SEB argued that there were no limitations on when election rules can be passed and pointed out that the specific hand-counting rule applies only to the ballots themselves, not tallying individual votes cast on the ballots.

“All we are doing is saying, you need to [have] receipts of votes cast, mirror the number that the machine says were cast,” the lawyer said.

But McBurney noted that it was “late in the game” for the SEB to change election rules but also conceded that, in a vacuum, wanting to ensure that the number of ballots cast matched the machine-count was a “laudable goal.”

GEORGIA DEMS CHAIR REVEALS MESSAGE TO UNDECIDED GOP VOTERS AS HARRIS WORKS TO BUILD BROAD BASE

“Why wouldn’t we just pause, especially on the hand-count rule, given what looks like a fairly robust record of chaos that it is sowing?” the judge asked the defendants’ lawyer.

“I’m asking you from a practical perspective, if the goal is orderly, reliable elections, why the prudent — in terms of reasonableness approach — wouldn’t be to say, ‘Let’s try this next election,’ when all those questions can be answered with no one having to sue?” 

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney is overseeing the case. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Republican Party officials have held the rule up as a critical guardrail to ensuring voters can be confident in their elections, but Democrats contend that its goal is to foment doubt in the process.

The Cobb County lawsuit argued the rules put elections boards across the state in “an untenable position.”

An attorney in support of the plaintiffs later pointed out the state officials who have come out in opposition to the rules changes, including Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

“All of them are concerned about the impact of this rule,” the lawyer said.

TRUMP VS HARRIS ROUND 2? VOTERS IN KEY GA COUNTY REVEAL IF THEY WANT SECOND DEBATE

“It would be one thing in an ideal sterile environment to have people who are fresh and energized sit down and count ballots… That’s not how this is going to play out. In reality, as our petitioner affidavits reference, poll workers get to their polls as early as 5 a.m., 5:30, 6 a.m. They stay as late as 8 p.m., 10 p.m. And so we’re talking about adding something on top of an already 14- to 16-hour day when people are exhausted.”

McBurney pointed out that it could then be done the next day, to which the attorney responded, “But then there are challenges that come with that as well, Your Honor.“

The judge said the hand-counting ballots rule “does not directly interfere with the certification work going on” but that it “will be a resource drain, no question.”

But the SEB attorney later criticized the plaintiffs’ arguments as conjecture.

“All that it says over and over again is, quote, ‘I am concerned about the rule’s last minute adoption….I am concerned that the Cobb County Elections Office lacks space. I am concerned that the hand-count rule may lead to delays,” he said. 

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“It is hypothetical on top of conjecture, on top of speculation. There is no imminent threat here. There is a threat of potential things that might happen if the worst-case scenario comes up, and that’s simply not sufficient for declaratory judgment.”

McBurney heard the case the same day as he issued a decision in a separate Georgia elections case, ruling that county elections supervisors are not allowed to delay certification of results on the grounds of their own suspicions of fraud or mistakes.

There are a flurry of lawsuits expected around the vote count and voter access this election, as there are virtually every presidential election cycle.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Welcome to the Fox News’ Politics newsletter, with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

Here’s what’s happening…

-Trump says ‘I don’t care when you vote’ in new House GOP ad urging voters to turn out early

-Top outside group backing Senate Republicans showcases fundraising haul

-Harris holds big advantage among early voters, Trump with Election Day voters: poll

GEORGIA IN THE HOT SEAT

Former Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade left Capitol Hill on Tuesday after a marathon four-and-a-half hour grilling by House Judiciary Committee investigators.

Wade, whose legal team included former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, said little to reporters before, after and during his closed-door deposition. No lawmakers were seen entering or leaving the room.

“This is all I’m going to say – we gave our testimony, we cooperated and we are through,” Barnes told reporters after the session…Read more

Nathan Wade and Donald Trump. (Left: (Photo by Brynn Anderson-Pool/Getty Images), Right: (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images))

White House

MICROMANAGER-IN-CHIEF?: Netanyahu states that his regime, not the US, will decide how to retaliate against Iran…Read more

CHECK THE TAPE: Speaker Johnson accuses CBS of ‘selectively editing’ interview on heels of VP Harris ’60 Minutes’ controversy…Read more

‘I’M PRAYERFUL’: Nancy Pelosi admits she still hasn’t spoken to President Biden after pressuring him to drop out of the race…Read more

Capitol Hill

‘BIGGEST CHALLENGE’: The biggest challenge right now is fuel’: Rep. Greg Steube of Florida talks hurricane aftermath…Read more

Tales from the Trail

WHO’S MORE ACCESSIBLE?: Trump-Vance ticket has done combined 78 interviews since August compared to 42 for Harris-Walz…Read more

BLUE ALERT: Popular PA Democratic mayor warns Trump is ‘out-messaging’ Harris: ‘I get more from Colbert’…Read more

‘PARTY OF COMMON SENSE’: Trump says GOP is ‘party of common sense’ during contentious Bloomberg interview…Read more

BIDENS ON THE TRAIL: President and first lady campaign in the biggest of the battlegrounds…Read more

EV TROUBLES: Harris support for EVs could tank campaign in critical swing state, expert says…Read more

‘AT LEAST AFFORD GROCERIES’: ‘I was much better off’: These voters back Trump in top battleground county…Read more

CHARGED UP: ‘Ruining our car industry’: Biden-Harris EV regs prove flashpoint in Michigan Senate debate…Read more

CUT SHORT: Trump cuts Pennsylvania town hall short over medical emergencies in crowd…Read more

SPARKS FLY: CNN anchor and Rep. Waltz clash over Harris ‘socialist’ label, networks likening Trump to Hitler…Read more

Across America

‘THIS IS THE PRICE OF LAWFARE’: Classified docs case dismissal means ‘greatest’ legal ‘threat’ to Trump is ‘gone’…Read more

MORE THAN A ‘HANDFUL?’: New report warns bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang’s footprint will remain in US ‘for decades’…Read more

JUDGE RULES: Georgia judge rules election officials must certify vote counts, even if they suspect fraud…Read more

‘COLLECTIVE FAILURE’: Outlet deletes review of Oct. 7 doc after backlash for complaining that film depicts Hamas too negatively…Read more

ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS: Hamilton College student admits to posting ‘antisemitic remarks’ on campus, New York State Police say…Read more

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israel demanding it improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or risk losing crucial security assistance. 

The letter was supposed to be a private, diplomatic communication and was not intended for the public, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said at a press conference Tuesday. 

“What we have seen over the past few months is that the level of humanitarian assistance has not been sustained,” adding, “Ultimately, we did not see our concerns sufficiently addressed, which is why the two secretaries sent the letter they did,” Miller warned.

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National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tried to assuage fears and told reporters that the letter was not meant as a threat. “The letter was simply meant to reiterate the sense of urgency we feel and the seriousness with which we feel about the need for an increase, dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance. And that’s what you can do with your friend. That’s what you can do with your ally. And it’s not the first time we’ve communicated that to Israel. But hopefully we won’t have to communicate it again.”

Some critics took issue with the letter not being a threat. 

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Aug. 19, 2024. (Office of the Prime Minister)

“I’m not sure which is worse to consider, that threatening an ally is a necessary pre-election political theater to pacify radical pro-Hamas leftists or that it’s actually U.S. policy to cut off arms to Israel if Israel doesn’t agree to feed, fuel and fund Hamas,” Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former NSC official in the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital.

“Because let’s be clear, that’s what this is really all about – whether Hamas survives by controlling humanitarian aid and its distribution,” Goldberg said.

The letter, which was first obtained by Axios, expressed its “deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza” and is particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government, including halting commercial imports and denying or impeding nearly 90% of humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza in September, are “contributing to an accelerated deterioration in the conditions in Gaza.”

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Since assurances made by Israel last spring, which the letter acknowledges produced important improvements in the humanitarian situation, the amount of aid delivered to Gaza has dropped by 50% in September, the lowest amount of aid delivered in any month since the war began.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Pentagon, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The letter says Israel has within 30 days to “reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory” and remain consistent with its obligations to the U.S. Failure to comply with these demands, the letter said, would violate existing U.S. law and have serious implications for U.S. national security policy.

Israel has defended its humanitarian response to the crisis in Gaza in a statement released on Monday by COGAT, the army division that deals with aid to Gaza, stating, “Since the start of the war, Israel has allowed the international community to bring 54,270 aid trucks into Gaza, carrying 1,064,820 tons of humanitarian aid through various crossings, including 38,746 trucks carrying approximately 824,078 tons of food.”

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Haifa, Israel, under missile fire from southern Lebanon on Sept. 30, 2024. (Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The U.S. must continually assess the delivery of humanitarian aid under the Foreign Assistance Act in order to provide foreign military financing assistance to Israel. President Biden issued a memorandum in February stating countries receiving U.S. weapons must adhere to international humanitarian law and provide written assurances of their compliance under the laws of war.  

The U.S. has surged billions of dollars in security aid to Israel since the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel is also the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid since its founding and has received around $310 billion in economic and military aid. On average, the U.S. provides Israel with over $3 billion in security assistance a year. 

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A major component of security aid includes $500 million a year for joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense programs, notably the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow II, which have been critical to thwarting rocket and missile attacks from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran since Oct. 7.

Some of the military aid to Israel since Oct. 7 includes 13,981 120mm M830A1 high-explosive anti-tank multi-purpose with tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges, 500 aircraft deliveries and 107 sea shipments to Israel of over 50,000 tons of munitions and weapons systems, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Shelter tents erected near collapsed buildings in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 1, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. also announced that it would be sending military personnel and initial components necessary to operate the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to Israel to bolster the country’s security.

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“The deployment of the THAAD battery to Israel underscores the United States’ commitment to the defense of Israel and to defend Americans in Israel from any ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, said in a statement.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, over 40,000 people have been killed since the start of hostilities following the terror group’s massacre of Israelis last October. Some 1,200 Israelis were massacred and 257 were kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. All of Gaza’s 2.1 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance and 1.9 million people are internally displaced, according to the International Rescue Committee.

FIRST ON FOX: A violent Venezuelan gang that has committed crimes in multiple states in the U.S. is expanding across the country “like a slow growing cancer” and will impact the Americans “for decades,” according to a new report by a conservative organization.

The Heritage Foundation is publishing an issue brief on Tren de Aragua, and how it has become the latest transnational criminal organization to establish itself in the U.S., a surge that coincided with the historic crisis at the southern border.

“During the past few years, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have been released or paroled into the United States, allowed to stay in Temporary Protected Status, or just slipped in without being encountered by authorities (the “gotaways”),” the brief by Simon Hankinson and Erin Schnierderjan, an early copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, says. “Blending among them are hundreds of members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), which, like all migrant gangs, begins by preying on its own countrymen.”

TRUMP ANNOUNCES ‘OPERATION AURORA’ TO TARGET ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GANG MEMBERS IN COLORADO

The suspected Tren de Aragua gang members engaged in illegal activity including illegal dumping and drug use, according to the El Paso County Attorneys Office. (KFOX14/El Paso County Attorneys Office)

The researchers say that Tren de Aragua began in the Tocoron prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and has since expanded into Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the U.S. They say the threat from TdA echoes the Salvadoran MS-13 gang, which arrived in the 1980s and is regularly linked to crimes throughout the country.

“TdA expanded its network by creating alliances with other gangs and moved into areas following the pattern of Venezuelan migration into the U.S.,” they say.

The report quotes former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) acting Commissioner Mark Morgan, who oversaw a gang task force in the early 2000s targeting MS-13. His warning is stark, as he blames the rise of TdA on the current administration.

“Although MS-13 remains at the top of the list of the 50-plus different gangs from across the globe attempting to illegally enter our borders, the Biden–Harris Administration has intentionally provided the pathway for what could become MS-13 2.0,” he says. 

“This is a gang whose propensity for violence and ruthlessness is well documented. TdA is expanding its criminal operations like a slow growing cancer across our nation and unleashing a preventable wave of crime that will be with us for decades,” he says.

The study also quotes Venezuela’s statistics showing that there has been a 25% drop in violent deaths between 2021 and 2022: “It is not implausible to postulate a link to Venezuela’s export of thousands of young criminals, many to the U.S.”

Meanwhile, there have been numerous crimes in the last year that have been linked to TdA, in states including Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Colorado and New York — where officials linked the gang to more than 62 robberies in New York City and suspected gang members were arrested for an assault on cops.

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bulletin in March alerted agents to tattoos and other identifiers of the gang. The brother of the suspect in the killing of Georgia student Laken Riley has ties to the gang.

The gang has established a significant presence in parts of Colorado, where they have reportedly taken over a number of apartment blocks. Fox News Digital reported in July that TdA members have been given a “green light” to fire on or attack law enforcement in Denver.

BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN STREET GANG SPARKS FEAR IN US AMID MIGRANT SURGE: WHAT TO KNOW

With that growing presence, former President Trump has promised to tackle the gang if elected next month. On Friday, he detailed “Operation Aurora” to remove TdA members.

The program would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle “every illegal migrant criminal network operating on American soil.” 

TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBER, ILLEGAL VENEZUELAN MIGRANT, ARRESTED IN HOUSTON

“I’m announcing today that upon taking office, we will have an operation Aurora at the federal level to expedite the removals of these savage gangs and I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Think of that 1798. This was put there 1790. Yeah, that’s a long time ago. Right?” Trump said Friday. “To target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil.” 

He added: “Who would have ever thought that a president or a future president would ever have to stand here and say such things?” 

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Meanwhile, the Heritage Foundation report notes that there could be other instances of crimes committed by gang members that have been unreported. Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, recently pushed back against claims in the media that the gang was limited to a “handful” of apartment blocks.

“It is plausible that they have connections to Tren de Aragua or other violent gangs that are not always evident to U.S. law enforcement even after arrest,” the report says, warning that the crimes reported could be the “tip of the iceberg.”

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

With three weeks until Election Day, and Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump locked in a margin-of-error battle for the White House, the vice president is making a full court press for Black men.

The moves come just days after former President Barack Obama, in comments that went viral, admonished Black male voters for a lack of enthusiasm in support of Harris. Obama’s comments came as polls indicate Trump is making gains with Black men, who are traditionally some of the Democratic Party’s most reliable supporters.

Harris, in battleground Michigan on Tuesday, will take part in a town hall discussion in Detroit with radio talk show host Charlamagne Tha God, whose “The Breakfast Club” program is popular with Black listeners. 

HARRIS UNVEILS NEW AGENDA AS SHE COURTS BLACK MALE VOTERS

The Breakfast Club radio show co-host Charlamagne Tha God argued that the “America first” message resonates with voters, particularly in the current moment as a nation. (Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM YouTube channel)

Before sitting down for the town hall conversation, which will be heard on radio stations and on-line nationwide, the vice president will stop at a local Black-owned business, where her campaign highlights that she will “have a conversation with Detroit area Black men about how her ‘Opportunity Agenda’ will help equip them with the tools to achieve financial freedom, lower costs to better provide for themselves and their families, and protect their rights.”

Harris on Monday rolled out the new agenda, which aims to boost financial and career prospects for Black men. She highlighted her proposals on “The Shade Room,” which offers trending news to the Black community, and with Black newscaster Roland Martin.

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During a stop at a Black-owned coffee shop and record store in Erie, Pennsylvania, which is another crucial battleground state, the vice president also showcased her agenda – which includes providing 1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business, championing education, training and mentorship programs that help Black men get good-paying jobs in high-demand industries and lead their communities, including pathways to become teachers.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at East Carolina University on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Greenville, North Carolina. (AP Photo/David Yeazell)

Monday’s stops followed a weekend when Harris met in swing state North Carolina with Black faith leaders in Raleigh on Saturday and attended church services in Greenville on Sunday, followed by a conversation with Black farmers.

The Harris campaign notes that the vice president “will continue engaging with Black voters.”

The campaign also spotlights that it is also enlisting the support of influential entrepreneurs for what it calls an “Economic Freedom Talk” series with Black business owners.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION

The new effort comes as Democrats are increasingly concerned about wavering support among Black men, and in particular younger Black men, for Harris, who would make history if she is elected as the nation’s first female president.

The Trump campaign argued on Monday that “Kamala Harris is in full-blown desperation mode as she spends the waning days of the campaign attempting to stop the bleeding among voting blocs most traditionally aligned with Democrats. Nowhere is that more evident than in her outreach to Black Americans — voters of whom Democrats have taken advantage for generations.”

Former President Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024 in Oaks, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Harris and Trump are locked in a neck and neck race in the seven key battleground states whose razor-thin margins decided President Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump and will likely determine the winner of the 2024 White House race. Any erosion of support among Black voters, and in particular Black males, could prove costly to the vice president.

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Obama, speaking Thursday at a Harris campaign office in Pittsburgh, recollected the surge in support among Black voters that boosted him toward history in 2008 to become the nation’s first Black president. He bluntly said he could not understand why Harris was not enjoying the same level of enthusiasm, noting that the hesitation was “more pronounced with the brothers.”

“You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses,” Obama said. “I’ve got a problem with that.”

Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign event in support of Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh on Oct. 10, 2024. (Reuters/Quinn Glabicki)

Speaking directly to Black males, the former president said that “part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”

As expected, Black supporters of Trump quickly rebuked the former president.

“President Obama’s recent call for Black men to support Kamala Harris based solely on her skin color, rather than her policies, is deeply insulting,” the Black Men for Trump advisory board argued this weekend.

However, some Democrats also called out the former president for his remarks, arguing that Obama unfairly admonished Black men without striking a similar chord with other demographic groups that have also expressed increased support for Trump.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The longtime Democratic mayor of a major city in one of Pennsylvania’s most swing counties said he believes the GOP and the Trump campaign are connecting better with voters in this close race than the vice president and her campaign are. 

“I think the Democrats are being out-messaged by the Republicans,” Easton Mayor Salvatore “Sal” Panto, Jr., said during a Monday interview with Fox News Digital.

“In the one commercial where Kamala Harris is saying, ‘Well, that’s Bidenomics,’ I think that is hurting this because I think the Trump campaign has done a much better job of saying ‘things are really bad.’”

Easton is the county seat of Northampton County, about 70 miles north of Philadelphia. It flipped from voting for former President Donald Trump in 2016 to President Biden in 2020.

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Easton Democratic Mayor Salvatore “Sal” Panto Jr. in his office. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News Digital)

Panto, a popular, moderate Democrat who has served six terms in office over two nonconsecutive periods since 1984, added that when his party identifies something Trump says that is untrue, they should drill down on it.

“I know in running my own campaigns it’s easier to embellish the negative rather than the positive. And that’s what I think [Trump] is doing very well. I mean, we know that he lies about things, and we prove that he lies, but then it drops. And I don’t think they should let it drop,” he said.

“I get more of that on the Steven Colbert show at night than I do from the Kamala Harris campaign. I think she should be pointing out that his 2025 plan is much different than her plan. And she’s not afraid to talk about her plan. He hasn’t said ‘boo’ about his.”

Easton is one of the three cities – along with Allentown and Bethlehem – that make up the diverse and electorally crucial Lehigh Valley of the Keystone State.

Allentown is the largest — and the third such in Pennsylvania — while bi-county Bethlehem was long known for its steel mills and otherwise as a leafy college town that embraces its “Christmas City” identity every winter.

Easton, facing Phillipsburg, New Jersey, across the Delaware River, is a multifaceted city home to Lafayette College, the Crayola company, several historic sites and a few famous people, including former boxer champion Larry Holmes.

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The Centre Square at 3rd and Northampton Streets in Easton, Pennsylvania. (Reuters)

Panto said College Hill, where Lafayette is located, was once a Republican stronghold – though not a right-wing one per se – during his earlier terms in office.

“Today, Democrats and Republicans are 50-50,” he said, as Democrats in town lean conservative, and Republicans lean moderate in the vein of the area’s former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa.

That voting bloc is crucial for both top-tier candidates this year, and both Harris and Trump have welcomed members of each other’s parties into their folds. 

Harris recently welcomed the endorsement of former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and while in office, Trump celebrated party-switches by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.

In that regard, Panto said political extremes hurt both parties, and that College Hill’s “liberal Republicans” and the city’s moderate Democrats tended to complement with each other in Easton’s case.

“I don’t believe in the fringes. I think the fringes are hurting both political parties … I believe the economy is going to be the biggest thing [this election],” he said. 

“Inflation is down, interest rates are down and investments are up. But that’s not the message. I think Democrats are very poor at messaging. I think Donald Trump is much better at messaging, and it’s always easier to be divisive and talk about the negative. People like to hear the negative. They don’t like to hear the positive.”

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Easton, Pennsylvania, is seen from above the former Lehigh Valley Railroad viaduct on the city’s South Side. (Reuters)

With its swing status, the Lehigh Valley has become festooned with billboards, particularly for Harris and many by third-party PACs or supporters, including along Interstate 78 and US-22, which see thousands of commuters and travelers per day.

“I never ran a national campaign, so I know you pick out your points, and you’ve got to just experiment. But I see the billboards in the Lehigh Valley, and they say Kamala Harris voted for [increasing the] minimum wage. Minimum wage doesn’t matter,” he said.

“Nobody’s paid minimum wage because you can’t get employees. The unemployment rate is down to 2.1%. I mean, [what] they need to talk about in the Valley is lowering the price of goods … not increasing the minimum wage.”

He noted that with the formerly-industrial Lehigh Valley’s rebirth as a commercial center for warehousing and the like, there are labor jobs paying more than $23 per hour regardless of federal minimums. 

The election will likely come down to GOTV or “get out the vote” efforts by the campaigns, Panto predicted.

He quipped that when he is up for re-election, his critics are often very energized to vote – and that that dynamic of voting “against” someone is not ideal in any respect.

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“That’s not a reason to vote. The reason to vote is a vote for the best person. And I think if you look at the experience and the vision, Kamala Harris should win,” he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.