Election 2024: Harris touts economic goals in first interview following nomination; Trump promises IVF coverage (2024)

Five takeaways from Harris’ first major interview as the Democratic nominee

In a new book of photographs, Trump describes his term in office and his post-presidency in his own words, captioning photos of key moments in his political career.

The Trump-authored book, titled “Save America,”includes his recollections of meetings with foreign leaders, photos of family milestones and appearances alongside celebrity golfer Jack Nicklaus and musician Kid Rock, according to excerpts obtained by NBC News.It is set to be released Tuesday.

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Harrishas been diligently preparing for the debate stage for months —first by gearing up to face the Republican vice presidential nominee and now, over the past several weeks, to debate Trump, according to four sources familiar with her preparations.

The prep sessions have been sandwiched between campaign stops, official duties as vice president and preparation for her first joint interview with Walz, which aired tonighton CNN, the sources said.

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Texans who may have been wrongly removed from the state’s voter registration list or whose voter registrations have been suspended have little time to reverse course, Democratic state lawmakers and civil rights advocates warned today, a few days after Republican leadership announced the purge ofmore than 1.1 million namesfrom their voter rolls.

States are required by law to regularly update their voter registration lists toremove people who have died or moved or who are found ineligible to vote for other reasons. But Republican Gov. Greg Abbott touted the routine maintenance of the voter rolls ina series of election integrity bills he signed into laws in 2021.

“Texas’ strong election laws removed over 1 MILLION ineligible voters from our voter rolls,” Abbottwrote Monday on X.

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Interest in this year's presidential election —and enthusiasm about voting in November — is at or near record highs, according to a new Gallup Poll.

The poll found that 79% of Americans said they have given “quite a lot” of thought to the election, surpassing the previous August high of 74% in 2008.

Democrats' level of enthusiasm about voting is just 1 percentage point shy of their high in 2008, when Barack Obama was first elected.

Harris did not take a question about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has been back in the headlines after a series of controversies related to Trump.

Republicans have sought to make the deaths of U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate in Kabul during the withdrawal from Afghanistan a political liability for Democrats, arguing that Biden's handling of the withdrawal, which Trump set in motion, makes them liable for the loss of life. Trump has sought to tie the attacks to Harris by arguing she is also liable because reporting said she was the last person in the room with Biden when he was deciding on the withdrawal.

Trump went to Arlington National Cemetary this week to mark the deaths, but his staff ended up in a confrontation with cemetery staff members over their video recording, which the staff members told them was prohibited.

Vance also drew criticism for saying Harris could "go to hell" for the execution of the withdrawal.

Walz largely dismissed critics who have contended he has, on various occasions, misrepresented his record or mischaracterized the fertility treatments he and his wife used, saying his 40-year record speaks for itself.

Walz was asked about contentions, fueled by Vance, that he misrepresented his military record.

Walz said that he was proud of his 24 years of service and that he would "never demean another member's service in any way."

"My record speaks for itself, but I think people are coming yet to know me. I speak like they do. I speak candidly. I wear my emotions on my sleeves, and I speak especially passionately about our children being shot in schools," he said.

Walz talked about the “visceral, emotional moment” caught on camera at the Democratic convention, when his son, Gus, stood up and said, “That’s my dad.”

“I’m grateful I got to experience it, and I’m so proud of him. I’m proud of him, I’m proud of Hope; I’m proud of Gwen,” he said.

Throughout the interview, Harris heaped praise on Biden, and it’s easy to see why. Biden put her in this position by making her his running mate in 2020 and endorsing her as his successor four years later.

Their legacies are now entwined. If Harris loses, Biden may face blame for not having stepped aside earlier and allowed Democrats to vie for the nomination in a competitive primary campaign. If she wins, their political partnership will be one that dealt perhaps a mortal blow to Trumpism.

By all accounts, Harris wasn’t among the Democratic leaders who’d been pushing for Biden to quit the race. She defended him after his poor debate performance in June and pressed Democratic donors to keep contributing to his campaign in the aftermath.

Harris’ doubling down on the ideathatshe’srunning to be a president for all while sayingshe’stouched by the photo of her grand-niece was notable. Harris continues to balance noting her history-making candidacy while continuing to lean into the idea thatshe’squalified for the job.

Harris was asked about a photo taken by a New York Times' photographer, that captures one of her grand nieces, Amara Ajagu, watching as Harris delivered her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last week.

Harris said she had seen the photo and that she was "deeply touched by it."

"I am running because I believe that I am the best person to do this job at this moment for all Americans, regardless of race and gender," Harris said. "But I did see that photograph, and I was deeply touched by it."

"It’s very humbling. It’s very humbling in many ways," she added.

Harris said she believes an era started about a decade ago in which some people believe the "measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down." She called that idea "warped."

She said that believes most Americans, instead, believe that "the true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up."

"That’s what’s at stake as much as any other detail that we could discuss in this election," she said.

The comments appeared to be a dig at Trump, who announced his first presidential bid in 2015.

Harris’ language about the U.S.’ relationship with Israel and the war in Gaza largely mirrored Biden’s — and once again signaled that she's not willing to offer the potential for a shift in policy.

Asked whether she would handle anything differently than Biden, she emphasized her “unwavering” support for Israel’s “ability to defend itself.”

She highlighted the Oct. 7 attack and said that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”

Harris was asked about Trump's questioning her racial identity at a convention for Black journalists in Chicago last month.

"Same old, tired playbook. Next question, please," Harris said.

Trump had suggested that Harris, who is biracial, had opted to "turn Black" in recent years after having identified with her Indian heritage for many years.

Harris told CNN that she said during a 2020 debate that she would not ban fracking as vice president. But during her October 2020 debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence, Harris referred to Biden’s position on the issue, not her own.

After Pence accused the Biden-Harris campaign of wanting to ban fracking and abolish fossil fuels, Harris responded: "Joe Biden will not end fracking. He has been very clear about that."

Harris repeated the pledge later in the debate, again referring to Biden.

"I will repeat, and the American people know, that Joe Biden will not ban fracking," she said. "That is a fact. That is a fact."

Harris keeps saying “my values haven’t changed” while not explaining why her positions have changed.

Harris is also preparing how to describe shifting views on policy and stances such as fracking. A source told NBC News a way Harris might message on that would be to explain that her views have evolved since she got access to the presidential daily briefing and after having traveled extensively talking with everyday Americans for three years as vice president.

When Harris said in the interview that she might nominate a Republican for her Cabinet, she wasn’t necessarily breaking new ground.

When he was still a candidate for re-election, Biden was also said to be inclined to add a Republican to his Cabinet. The nation remains bitterly divided, and, like her boss, Harris appears to be hoping a GOP Cabinet member might help defuse partisan tensions.

Harris backed away from her position during her presidential run in 2020, when she agreed with a statement that illegal border crossings should be decriminalized.

“I believe there should be consequence,” she said when she was asked whether she still held those views. “We have laws that have to be followed and enforced.”

She argued that she is the only candidate who has prosecuted transnational criminal organizations.

Harris is walking a tightrope as Biden’s vice president and as his successor as presidential nominee. She can’t repudiate Biden lest she seem disloyal, but she needs to show she grasps the uneasiness of Americans who are paying more for groceries and gasoline.

She seems to be trying to have it both ways. In this interview, Harris has embraced Biden's economic policies, like the $35 monthly cap on insulin, and said she's "proud" of the post-Covid turnaround, but she is also conceding that “there’s more to do.”

Harris was asked about her changing position on fracking, which she said she would favor banning during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.

Harris contended that her values have remained consistent.

“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” she said.

“I have always believed —and I have worked on it —that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time,” she said, highlighting the Biden administration’s success in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which included significantspending tocombatclimate change.

Asked why she had not already taken the steps she has laid out in her campaign pitches as her Day 1 priorities, Harris said that the U.S. economy has to recover from Covid first and that she would push them as president.

“We have done that, and I’m very proud of the work that we have done that has brought inflation down to less than 3%,” she said before pivoting to an attack on Trump.

Dana Bash introduced the controversial “Bidenomics" portmanteau, which has been under assault by Republicans. But Harris sidestepped using the word herself, instead highlighting individual accomplishments.“I’ll say that that’s good work. There’s more to do, but that’s good work,” she said.

Harris was asked what she would do on her first day in the Oval Office.

"First and foremost, one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class," Harris told CNN's Dana Bash.

Harris said she'll focus on implementing what she calls an "opportunity economy."

"I’ve already laid out a number of proposals in that regard, which include what we’re going to do to bring down the cost of everyday goods, what we’re going to do to invest in America’s small businesses, what we’re going to do to invest in families," she said.

She pointed to her proposal to extend the child tax credit to $6,000 for families for the first year of a child’s life to help them purchase key goods.

In her first answer in her CNN interview, Harris both laid out what she would do to help the middle class and create an “opportunity economy” and attacked Trump. She wasted no time doing both, which sources have told NBC News is also her objective for the coming debate: toexplain what she would do while attacking Trump.

Reporting from Savannah, Ga.

Harristoday worked to shore up Democratic support in Georgia by visiting a part ofthe battleground statepoliticians don’t frequent nearly as much as the more heavily populated Atlanta area.

“For the past two election cycles, voters in this very state, you who are here, have delivered,” Harris said. “You sent two extraordinary senators to Washington, D.C.”

She said that Georgians mobilized to put a Democrat in the Oval Office four years ago and that she’s hoping for a repeat.

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The head of EMILY’s List, a group dedicated to electing Democratic candidates who back abortion rights, mocked Trump for saying today that he wants to make the government or insurance companies pay for IVF treatments.

“Congratulations to Donald Trump for realizing that his position and his record on abortion are wildly unpopular, particularly with women who will decide this election," EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler said in a statement.

"But rather than give him credit for a disingenuous and unserious proposal that contradicts his own GOP platform, we’ll credit him for something he actually did: overturning Roe v. Wade, ending abortion access for millions of women across the country, and jeopardizing reproductive freedom for all of us," she added.

Trump said in an interview with NBC News today that if he is elected his administration would not only protect access to in vitro fertilization but would also have either the federal government or insurance companies cover the cost of the expensive service for women who need it.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he regrets not correcting a White House fellowship application in which he falsely claimed he had received a Bronze Star for his military service, calling the error an "honest mistake."

In his January 2006 application, first reported by The New York Times, Moore, a Democrat, said he was awarded a Bronze Star by the 82nd Airborne Division, despite not ever having received such a distinction.

In a statement, Moore said his deputy brigade commander — who recommended him for a Bronze Star — encouraged him to include the award on his application "after confirming with two other senior-level officers that they had also signed off on the commendation" and receiving confirmation that his senior leadership had signed and approved the Bronze Star.

Wrapping up his remarks in Michigan, Trump emphasized that his supporters can trust him, saying, "I have your back, I have your heart, and I have every other part of your body."

It was unclear what specifically Trump was referring to.

Earlier today, he told NBC News he would protect access to in vitro fertilization, a key issue for many voters heading into the election.

"We are paying for that treatment, orwe’re going for all Americans that get it, all Americans that need it. So we’ll be paying for that treatment, or we’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay," he told NBC News earlier.

While he was about to wrap his speech in Michigan, Trump mentioned the incident involving a campaign staffer during his visit to Arlington National Cemetery.

“I go there, they ask me to have a picture, and they say I was campaigning. The one thing I get is plenty of publicity. I don’t need that," he said.

He denied claims that he used the visit to campaign and instead criticized Biden for the deaths of 13 service members during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as his response in general.

“Not one general or incompetent bureaucrat was fired for the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country, and then they accused me of having a picture taken at the tombstone with the family because they love the president. They love me, and I love them," he said, referring to the Gold Star families of the victims of the Abbey Gate bombing, several of whom joined him at the cemetery.

At his event in Pottersville, Michigan, Trump criticized Biden for sleeping on the beach and not being at the White House. Biden is on vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

“Who wants to sleep in public? He’s sleeping. Do you think Kim Jong Un is sleeping from North Korea with his nuclear weapons all over the place? They don’t sleep so much. But we have a guy sleeping,” he asked.

He said he's going to start referring to him as "Sleepy Joe" again instead of "Crooked Joe Biden."

"We have nobody running our country. We have nobody at the Resolute Desk. There’s nobody. The two of them. She’s no good, and he’s sleeping," he said.

Reporting from Potterville, Michigan

Trump said in an interview with NBC News today that if he is elected, his administration would not only protect access to in vitro fertilization but would also have either the government or insurance companies cover the cost of the expensive service for American women who need it.

“We are going to be, under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment,” Trump said, adding, “We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay.”

Read the full story here.

Biden hasn’t held a formal campaign event since he ended his candidacy last month, but he will return to a familiar trio of battleground states next week in a preview of the role he expects to play in the campaign’s final 10 weeks.

A White House official said today that Biden will travel to Michigan on Sept. 6 for an economy-focused event, which will follow a previously announced trip next Thursday to Wisconsin focused on promoting his “Investing in America” agenda.

The solo stops will follow the first joint campaign appearance by Biden and Harris since she replaced him on the Democratic ticket, as the former running mates will attend a Labor Day event in Pittsburgh on Monday.

Harris’endorsem*nt of a Biden administration planthat includes a tax on stock holdings that have grown in value has emerged as a talking point among conservative pundits and Trump supporters who argue it amounts to socialism or even communism.

Under the current system, the federal government taxes only profits from stock investments — commonly known as capital gains — once a stock is sold. The plan backed by Harris would impose a levy on stock holdings as their value increases, whether they’re cashed in or not.

There is, however, a catch. The proposal would apply only to a narrow — and very wealthy —slice of the population: people whose net worth is at least $100 million. That’s about 10,660 people in the U.S.,according to one estimate.

Currently, no such tax exists — which advocates across the political spectrum, though mostly progressive-leaning ones, view as regressive. By most estimates, the top 1% has about 40% of its wealth tied up in unrealized capital gains.

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Harris said she plans to appoint a Republican to her Cabinet if she’s elected.

In a clip of aCNN interviewscheduled to air in full tonight, Harris said she was committed to welcoming diverse points of view.

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Harris said today in Savannah that she plans to announce a small-business tax credit proposal next week.

"I’m telling you, this is one of my singular priorities, is to invest and grow our small businesses," Harris said on a visit to the restaurant Dottie’s Market, where she announced the plans.

In an interview published today by The Financial Times, Vance said he's urging Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, his former boss, to help fund the Trump campaign.

Vance said he would "keep talking" to Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and Palantir Technologies, saying he "needs to get off the sidelines and support the ticket.”

Thiel endorsed Trump's 2016 presidential bid and donated $1.25 million at the time to his campaign and other pro-Trump Super PACs.

There's another swing state where Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the ballot this fall despite his attempts to drop out and endorse Trump: North Carolina.

When Kennedy dropped out last week, he said he'd work to remove his name from swing state ballots where he could be considered a "spoiler." But state laws have frustrated that attempt in Michigan and Wisconsin, and now North Carolina.

The State Board of Elections voted 3-2 along party lines against a resolution to remove Kennedy from the ballot in a virtual meeting today (Democrats voted to keep him on the ballot, and Republicans voted to remove him). His We the People Party asked the state to remove him yesterday, five days after he dropped his bid.

Harris spokesman Brian Fallon wrote in a post on X that the campaign has been asked to give in to Trump's team's wishes on the rules for the Sept. 10 debate on ABC News.

"Our latest understanding is that even though Trump said Monday he would be fine with an unmuted mic, his handlers don’t trust him to spar live with VP Harris and are asking ABC to ignore Trump’s comments and keep the mics muted or else they will back out of the debate for a third time," Fallon wrote.

He continued, "We have been asked to accede to Trump’s handlers’ wishes on this point for the sake of preserving the debate. We find the Trump’s team’s stance to be weak, and remain in discussions with ABC on the final rules."

NBC News has reached out to the Trump campaign and ABC News for comment.

Upon taking the stage at the International Association of Fire Fighters convention in Boston, Vance was met with a mix of mild cheers and boos, acknowledging there might be some “haters” in the crowd.

Trump’s running mate also drew a mix of audible boos and cheers after he claimed that he and the former president are “proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history.”

“And I want to talk about why we’re fighting for working people,” Vance said, prompting a mix of boos and cheers from the crowd. “Why we’re going to fight for unions and non union alike.”

Vance sought to draw a contrast between the Republican and Democratic conventions, saying that the Republican National Convention featured “everyday American workers” while the Democratic convention “was a parade of celebrities and billionaires.”

An aide to Donald Trump “abruptly pushed aside” an Arlington National Cemetery employee Monday when the former president attended a commemoration with family members of U.S. service members killed in the 2021 Kabul airport attack during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, an Army spokesperson said today.

The Trump aide pushed the cemetery employee out of the way in order to take photos and video at Section 60, where service members killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried, two Defense Department officials said.

Military police were called and wrote up an incident report, but they are not expected to pursue the matter further. Although they arrived at the scene while Trump’s motorcade was there, they didn’t obtain a formal statement from his team, officials said.

The Army spokesperson said the cemetery employee does not intend to press charges, and the Army considers the matter closed.

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MacKenzie Sigalos, CNBC and Christina Wilkie, CNBC

Republican presidential nomineeDonald Trumpis pumping the Trump Organization’snew crypto platform, which has just been rebranded from “The DeFiant Ones,” to “World Liberty Financial.”

In a post to his 90 million followers on X, the former president shared a video of himself with voiceover: “This afternoon, I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be thecrypto capitalof the planet. They want to choke you. They want to choke you out of business. We’re not going to let that happen.”

It was unclear who Trump meant by “they,” and a Trump campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about the announcement from CNBC.

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No stranger to the donor circuit, JD Vance is set to attend a campaign fundraiser in Pasco County, Florida, this evening, according to an invitation for the gathering obtained by NBC News.

Billed as a “roundtable discussion” hosted by Florida’s Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, a $50,000 donation to the campaign grants attendees access to the roundtable, as well as a photo with the vice presidential hopeful.

Before making his way down the East Coast, Vance is shipping up to Boston to address the International Association of Fire Fighters convention this afternoon.Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, addressed the assembly earlier this week. The union offered Biden an early endorsem*nt during his 2020 presidential bid but has yet to back either ticket in 2024.

Several residents of Savannah, Georgia, spoke to NBC News ahead of Harris’ rally there this evening. They expressed their enthusiasm for her campaign and what issues they think she should address in her speech at her rally tonight.

Lucy M., 61, said she thinks Harris is going to be a “great president,” citing the vice president’s education and background, and that will “help women’s rights and all the other issues that are now happening.”

She said Harris should speak about abortion rights in her speech tonight. “I think that’s one of the major issues right now, conflicting most of our country as girls not being able -- the younger generation doesn’t even have the rights when I was a teenager,” she said, adding that abortion rights have “gone backwards.”

Damone Truitt, 64, who is originally from Detroit, said Harris should keep “bodyguards around her,” citing Trump’s “history of negativity.”

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo are set to deliver remarks in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at 11:25 a.m. ET today. The two will be at Broad Leaf Brewery, where they will highlight Harris' economic agenda, including cutting taxes for the middle class and boosting home ownership.

Emhoff will also deliver remarks at a campaign event in Ketchum, Idaho, at 6:20 p.m. ET. OnFriday, the second gentleman will deliver remarks at a campaign reception in San Francisco and, later, at a campaign reception in Aspen, Colorado.

"The Vice President has made clear that building up the middle class will be a defining goal of her presidency," the campaign said in a release, adding Harris' goal is to lift up "all Americans so that they can not just get by, but get ahead."

Expect to see more of Tim Walz this fall — in orange. Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, will be donning a bright vest and carrying a rifle while pheasant hunting. That’s when he isn’t wearing tacky flannels, talking about cleaning his gutters or singing, “Save big money at Menards.”

The EveryDad image, rounded out by his nickname, “Coach Walz,” is an unmistakable signal aimed at reaching white working-class and rural voters, the kind of electorate the ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz is trying to attract in anticipation of fights to the finish in battleground states where narrowing loss margins in red counties could put them over the top.

Democrats say that for years, they all but ceded rural counties and even some exurbs to former President Donald Trump. Rural counties in states like Wisconsin and Nevada transformed into deep-red Trump territory and have been just about impenetrable to the left since 2016.

Harris campaign officials believe they have an opportunity with white moderate and blue-collar voters — among whom Harris may have softer appeal — by emphasizing Walz’s Midwest roots, military background, ties to labor, experience as a hunter and career as a football coach.

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Muslim Women for Harris-Walz issued a statement yesterday clarifying that it backs the campaign despite having rescinded its support last week after it said a request from uncommitted delegates to the Democratic National Convention for a Palestinian American to deliver remarks onstage was rejected.

The group said in its latest statement that it started with the aim of highlighting policy differences between Harris’ campaign, the Biden administration’s actions, what it called “the impending danger” of a potential second Trump administration, and its desire to “see a change in vision” on the war in Gaza.

The group said Harris’ appointment of Walz as a running mate was a “much-needed step in the right direction,” but added that “the promise of a big tent is an empty one without the inclusion of Palestinian Americans in 2024 and beyond.”

The group applauded the “Uncommitted Movement” of Democrats working to advocate for the people of Gaza before going on to argue that a second Trump presidency would pose a “clear danger” for Black and brown communities.

Esternita Watkins, 42, became an American citizen nearly two years ago, wearing a green dress and a big smile at her naturalization ceremony in Montgomery, Alabama.

She’d been living in the U.S. since 2015, when she arrived on a fiancée visa to marry Christopher Watkins, 54, now her husband, whom she’d met on Facebook. Soon after she earned citizenship, she registered to vote and was looking forward to casting her first ballot in this year’s presidential election. But she got a letter this month saying state Secretary of State Wes Allen had flagged her for having a noncitizen identification number and deactivated her voter registration.

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Harris will continue her bus tour in southeastern Georgia today, followed by a rally in Savannah in the evening. She will stop at local small businesses and thank volunteers in Chatham County (where Savannah is located), according to the campaign.

Harris and Walz will also tape a joint CNN interview in the afternoon before Walz departs for North Carolina campaign events.

Harris will zero in on Project 2025 during the rally and contrast Trump's agenda with her own, the campaign said.

Trump’s campaign is playing downreports of an altercationduring his visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, a move that signals its concern about potential political fallout from the incident.

“A nameless bureaucrat at Arlington whose job it is to preserve the dignity of the cemetery is doing the complete opposite in trying to make what was a very solemn and respectful event into something it was not,” said Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita, a retired Marine who was with Trump at the cemetery Monday.

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