Latest / Best of: Features / The Latest: Blanche says Trump isn’t trying to meddle with Alaska election by suing over Senate race

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The Latest: Blanche says Trump isn’t trying to meddle with Alaska election by suing over Senate race · Best of: Features

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The latest, Trump Rallies in Mississippi as GOP midterm challenges mount. This
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article is being read by an automated voice generated by Everlet. President
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Donald Trump was in Mississippi on Monday as he continued a closing
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midterm campaign blitz that highlights the challenges Republicans face ahead of an
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election that could drastically shift power across the country. Trump intensified his
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anti Muslim rhetoric against Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El Sayyed on Sunday,
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portraying him as a threat to national security and questioning his loyalty
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to the United States in remarks that drew a sharp rebuke from
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a former top Arab American ally, Bishara Baba, a founder of Arab
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Americans for Trump. Attorney General Todd Blanch on Sunday defended the Trump
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administration's lawsuit to block certification of Alaska's Senate results if Republican incumbent
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Dan Sullivan loses the race and argued that the legal challenge was
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a necessary step to avoid confusing voters in the closely watched midterm
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race. Here's the latest. Senator Ted Cruz rallies South Carolina Republicans ahead
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of midterms. Headlining a fundraiser hosted by U.S. Representative Russell Frye, the
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Texas Republican cracked jokes about Democratic candidates like James Tallerico and predicted
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a win for Republicans like Senator Darline Graham. Like Frye and other
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speakers, Cruz called for Republicans to unify around Graham, commending Frye, who
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lost the special GOP nomination to Graham, for standing up and fighting
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for his former opponent. Cruz is among the Republicans thought to be
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mulling a presidential bid in twenty twenty eight, so spending time in
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South Carolina, home to the GOP's first Southern presidential primary, serves dual
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purposes. He's been stumping with South Carolina gubernatorial nominee Alan Wilson, with
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whom he's friends, and did so earlier this year during the Republican
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primary for governor. Judge extends block on Trump's renovation of DC public
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golf course. A Federal judge has agreed to extend an order blocking
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the Trump Administration's renovation plans for a century old public golf course
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in the nation's capital. US District Judge Anna Reyes
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issued a preliminary injunction that halts tree cutting and other work at
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the East Potomac Golf Course. On october eighteenth, Trump announced plans on
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social media to close the golf course for fifteen months and redevelop
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it despite a court challenge. Rey has previously ordered the administration to
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suspend work on the project until at least october twenty sixth. Democratic
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candidate for House in Iowa tells supporters that Washington is broken. More
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than one hundred supporters in Des Moines, Iowa, chanted and cheered on
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Monday for Democratic House candidate Sarah Trone Garriott, Trone Garriott, who faces
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incumbent Republican Zack Nunn in his tough reelection bid, criticized Trump and
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Nunn for chaotic tariffs, closed health care clinics, and the war in
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Iran. I
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am. Going to stand up to the President and bring this war
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to an end, she said. Trone Garriott, a minister and state senator,
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also asked supporters to share their good word with neighbors to counteract
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Trump's negative messages against her, including from the Oval Office in a
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pro nun video. Tell The who I am, tell them how you
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know me, she said. Your word is more powerful than any attack
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ad could ever be. After speaking she played the violin in a
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trio that capped off the night with a couple of songs for
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the crowd. Trump raps by rushing through his typical speech ending. The
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President spoke for just shy of ninety minutes, but offered a different
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conclusion than usual. Let's make the next two years bigger, better, strong
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than ever before, Trump told the crowd. Because we will make America
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powerful again, wealthy again, healthy again, strong again, proud again, safe again,
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and most importantly, we will makes America great again. While hitting the
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same themes, than was a truncated version of Trump's usual ending. At
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nearly every rally he usually proclaims, We will make America strong again,
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we will make America proud again, and lists off each individual promise
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to improve different attributes of the country, before finishing with We will
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make America great again. Senator makes brief comments at Trump's rally, very
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brief. After more than an hour on stage, Trump invited the candidate
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he came to Mississippi to champion, Republican Senator Cindy Hyde Smith, to
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the stage. Is this not the best president in our lifetime? She
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asked, before leaving. Trump, who relishes giving along speeches, often invites candidates
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and others to the stage during his rallies. He is a fond
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of asking them to keep things brief, but was delighted with Hyde
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Smith's nine total words. That was a record, he said after she
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spoke. That was great. Trump pledges he won't mess with the mighty
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Mississippi River. Musing aloud about needing a river and an Ocean to
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go along with the Gulf and Lake he renamed, Trump said there
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is one river that's off limits. He said it had been suggested
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that he rename the Mississippi River, but he said he won't do
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it. I promise I will never change the name of the Mississippi,
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Trump said, while in the state. As for an ocean, Trump said
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he's thinking about calling the Atlantic Ocean the American Ocean and thinks
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Europe will be thrilled. Trump bristles at Obama's suggestion he's spending too
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much time on construction projects. Trump responded to former President Barack Obama
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mocking his focus on building a White House ballroom and other construction
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projects. We have to have a beautiful, beautiful, well kept White House
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he said, adding that it was the symbol of our country. The
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President insisted that in making White House improvements I didn't take any
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time. I literally do it when I walk home from the Oval,
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Trump said of the short trip from the Oval office to his
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living quarters. He said he'd look up and say, Boy, that wall
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is really bad. Let's go. Those comments followed Trump, telling reporters earlier
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Monday that Obama doesn't notice dirt and filth of the White House
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before he rehabilitated it. Trump said then that he was a very
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clean person. But you have to explain that to Obama because the
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former president doesn't understand and is not smart at all. More than
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thirty million early votes have been cast. More than thirty million people
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have cast an early vote in the midterm elections as of Monday,
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according to data collected by the Associated Press from election administrators across
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The country. Nearly four million additional early votes have been reported since
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Friday. Trump now says he never liked the short-lived ceasefire with Iran.
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The President told the rally crowd of the ongoing war in Iran.
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We did a little ceasefire, which I never liked very much. He
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added that he considered the deal sort of a waste of time,
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but you know you like to listen to professionals. Trump didn't elaborate,
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but that was a reference to the ceasefire he said his administration
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had reached with Iran in June. The deal quickly collapsed while failing
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to achieve any of its goals, including negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
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What He says now is in stark contrast to when he announced
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the deal, calling it a big day for world peace that could
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mark the start of a new golden age of
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the Middle East. Senator Tim Scott predicts Republicans will hold majority without
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much of a question. On the sidelines of U.S. Representative Russell Fry's
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third annual Freedom Fry event, Scott told the Associated Press that GOP
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candidates are closing very strongly in races across the country, including South
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Carolina. Scott, who serves as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee,
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called the Senate map very competitive for his party. He also said
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that Trump's second visit to South Carolina in as many weeks to
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stump for GOP Senator Darline Graham was evidence of the President's lots
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of energy, not cracks in Republicans hold on the seat. One of
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the reasons why we will be in the majority is because he
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has invested the time and the energy on the campaign trail, Scott
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said, noting he spoke with Trump on Sunday and has stumped with
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him in several states lately. El Sayyid and Bernie Sanders advocate for
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universal health care in Michigan Town Hall, Sanders said he sees enough
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public support for universal health care that progressives needed to make an
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offer that the Democratic leadership cannot refuse. There's no great secret there
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are Divichuns within the Democratic Party. Abdul and I are on one
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side, the more progressive side, but it is where I believe the
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American people are, Sanders said. What we need is for millions of
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people to stand up, demand Medicare for all. Sanders and Al Sayyid
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both said taxes on billionaires would fund the health plan. El Cizade
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referenced the national implications of his race against Republican Mike Rogers, which
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will help determine control of the Senate. If you don't want the
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Supreme Court to have five Trump nominees on it, if you want
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to make sure that your politicians work for you, this one is
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for all the marbles, El Sayyed said. Trump says he's rallying in
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deeply Republican Mississippi because I can't take a chance. I'm here because
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Cindy's doing great, the President said of Republican Senator Cindy Hyde Smith,
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who is running for re election against Democrat Scott Colomb. But I
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just got to make sure I can't take a chance. I can't
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take it, he added. Trump is in the midst of a whirlwind
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travel schedule taking him to thirty plus campaign stops ahead of Election
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Day, but he has largely stuck to reliably red states, or to
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conservative areas and swing states, which better ensures especially adoring rally crowds.
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Stumping in Kansas, Vance blames high gas prices on democratic policies. The
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Vice President sought to offset the political damage done by high fuel
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prices, which threatened to cost the GOP its congressional majorities. Vance spoke
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at a rally in Topeka to help rescue Kansas Republican Senator Roger
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Marshall, who is in a tough race with Democrat Adam Hamilton. Hamilton
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has made high fuel prices a key issue. Vance said Democrats weakness
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in foreign policy left the US at the mercy of tinpot dictators
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in the Middle East, before Trump began his second term. He also
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blamed Democratic green energy scam policies for the closing of refineries in
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California. It takes a certain amount of audacity to say they've done
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anything about gas prices, Vance said. Appeals court declines to rule on
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federal bid to set aside California ballots of alleged non citizens. The
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court declined to rule on whether California elections officials can count roughly
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twenty thousand ballots that the Justice Department alleges belongs to non citizens
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voters. The decision sets the Federal Government and State officials up for
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another legal showdown on the matter on Tuesday, in front of a
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federal district judge, giving the federal government a very short window to
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compel California to sequester votes before the november third elections. The Republican
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administration sued election officials in the heavily Democratic state in mid October,
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accusing them of failing to meet a forty eight hour deadline to
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review a list of twenty thousand people it alleged were likely non
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citizens on the stakes voter rolls. Trump takes the stage in Mississippi.
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The President has begun addressing his rally in Corinth, Mississippi. We've been
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doing the rounds. We've been doing the rounds, Trump said of his
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crisscrossing the country on behalf of Republicans. Trump acknowledged that the president's
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party often doesn't do well in midterm elections, but added, Nobody's ever
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campaigned like I have for midterms. He was championing Republican Senator Cindy
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Hyde Smith while her Democratic challenger, Scott Colomb was spotted at his
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rally site, too. Kamala Harris tells Wisconsin Democrats to turn anger into
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action. The former Vice President stopped at a Democratic Party office in
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Milwaukee and attended a rally at a downtown hotel with gubernatorial candidate
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David Crowley. He is locked in a tight race with Republican U.
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S. Representative Tom Tiffany, who is endorsed by Trump. This is a
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tight race because the stakes are so high, Harris said, at the
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event billed as a Women for Crowley rally. She praised Crowley, saying,
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Unlike others who are constantly looking in the mirror, David is looking
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at the people. Harris urged Crowley supporters to tap the anger, sadness,
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and depression they've been feeling into action to elect Crowley. Tiffany said
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in a statement that Harris was bringing her California playbook to Wisconsin.
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Wisconsin rejected Kamala Harris once, and now it's time to reject David
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Crowley, Tiffany said. Trump defeated Harris in Swing State, Wisconsin by less
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than a percentage point in twenty twenty for and House Democrats say
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they've recruited two hundred and seventy five congressional election observers. Democrats in
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the US House have recruited a record number of observers to fan
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out across the country and monitor the polls in November's midterms. New
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York Representative Joe Morell, ranking member of the Committee on House Administration,
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told reporters Monday. Morell said the two hundred and seventy five Congressional
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staffers will carry on a longtime tradition in the Chamber of Volunteers
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observing the election process to protect free and fair elections. Republicans also
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participate in the Congressional Observer Program. Spokespeople for Representative Brian Style,
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the Wisconsin Republican and Chair of the Committee, didn't immediately respond to
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an inquiry about how many volunteers they'd gathered. The news comes as
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Democrats, Republicans, Watchdog Groups, and the DOJ are also preparing to send
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thousands of monitors to the polls on Election Day. Bernie Sanders blasts
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racist Islamophobic ads targeting El Sayyid. Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont,
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said recent anti Muslim ads about The
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Democratic candidate for Senate in Michigan were the result of unbelievable and
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disgusting racism that we're seeing from Trump and the Republican Party. Billionaires
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are flooding the airwaves with racist Islamophobic ads because they have nothing
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to say about the important issues facing working people, Sanders said during
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a rally with El Sayyid in Ann Arbor, Michigan, build as a
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students versus billionaires town hall. El Sayyid's race against Republican Mike Rogers
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will help determine control of the Senate. Arab American groups have condemned
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anti-Muslim rhetoric during the campaign, including Trump's calling El Sayyid a jihadist.
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Elseia disavows ad critical of US support for Israel. The Michigan Senate
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candidate is distancing himself from an ad that blames high grocery prices
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on US support for Israel. This ad is not affiliated in any
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way with the Abdul for Senate campaign. Abdul is focused on pushing
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back against Trump's agenda that is raising prices for Michiganders. No one
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speaks for Abdul but himself and his campaign. A spokesperson for El
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Sayyid, Roxy Richner, says in a statement. The ad shows a couple
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discussing US support for Israel as they shop for groceries. Apparently it's
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costing us a lot of money to drop bombs on Gaza, the
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woman says. It was created by a political action committee called Rebellion
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PAC and shared on social media by Chenk Uger, host of the
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popular progressive show The
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Young Turks. It was condemned by Representative Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost
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to El Sayyid in the Democratic primary. This type of fearmongering about
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Israel is wrong, Stevens wrote on X. Late in his tight race,
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Kansas GOP Senator Roger Marshall is making radical Islam a key issue.
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Marshall called Radical Islam the biggest threat facing the US while speaking
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during a rally in Topeka that was headlined by Vice president’s J.
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D. Vance. At last one thousand people gathered for the rally, which
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is part of the GOP's efforts to rescue Marshall. The Senators race
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against Democrat Adam Hamilton is considered a toss up, even though Democrats
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haven't won a Senate seat in Kansas since nineteen thirty two. Marshall
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said unrest in France shows what happens under weak moderate leadership, and
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predicted that if Democrats control the Senate, they will let radical Muslims
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into the US. Radical Islam is trying to erase Western civilization from
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the history books, Marshall said. I refuse to let America burn because
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we refuse to face down radical Islam. Trump administration attempting to prosecute
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former FBI Director James Comey again. The Trump administration is attempting to
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prosecute Comey for what it calls disclosing classified information, employing the unusual
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maneuver of bypassing a grand jury, a move Comey's lawyers say makes
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the case legally invalid. The allegations from the Justice Department came in
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documents unsealed Monday in Federal Court in Washington. It would be the
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third criminal case that the Justice Department has brought against the longtime
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critic and foe of Trump since the Republican president's return to the
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White House last year. Alaska Senate candidates cites Brain Fogg in marking
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himself as an independent Dan J. Sullivan says he mistakenly marked himself
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as an independent when he voted in the August primary. The retired
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teacher earlier this year filed to run as a Republican against the
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GOP incumbent, also named Dan Sullivan. He cited brain fog from months
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of the campaign, enlisting himself as independent on his absentee ballot envelope.
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He said he's pretty sure he marked himself as a Republican when
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he voted early for next week's general election. The ballot lists him
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as Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr, with no party affiliation. The Senator is
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listed as Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and Incumbent. Last week, the US
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Department of Justice sued to block certification of the race if the
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incumbent loses, citing potential confusion with the other Sullivan. The race is
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headlined by the incumbent and Democrat Mary Paltola, a former U.S. Representative.
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Representative Russell Fry says South Carolina GOP unity getting better as election
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day approaches. He lost the Republican Special Senate primary to Darline Graham,
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but the US House member says it's time for his party to
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rally around her as their general election nominee. Fry told reporters ahead
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of his third annual Freedom Fry on Monday in Myrtle Beach that
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South Carolina has never had a more strange, radical leftist nominee for
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the Senate than Democrat Annie Andrews, expressing confidence that Graham would win
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despite the race appearing to tighten. Some Conservatives have criticized the selection
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of Graham as their nominee, mounting a write in campaign for Representative
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Ralph Norman, who lost the special Senate primary runoff. Trump urged Graham
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to run in the special GOP primary after the death of her
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brother Lindsey Graham earlier this year, and later this week will make
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his third trip to stump for her in the state since August.
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Vice President J. D. Vance is headlining a Kansas rally to help
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an incumbent GOP Senator Hundreds of people gathered for the rally inside
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the warehouse of a steel fabricating company in Topeka. It was the
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Vice President's second visit to Kansas to help boost GOP candidates, particularly
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U. S. Senator Roger Marshall, who's in a toss up race with
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Democrat Adam Hamilton. A small group of labor union members stood along
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a street leading toward the entrance of the steel fabricating plant holding
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signs that promoted Hamilton's support for unions. A few of the attendees
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had Stop Schumer signs, a reference to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer
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of New York, who stands to become majority leader if Democrats take
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control of the Chamber. The hotly contested race in Kansas, where where
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Democrats haven't won a Senate race since nineteen thirty two, has buoyed
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the party's hopes.