Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, spoke at campaign events in Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday.
Aug. 7 was the second day of a five-day battleground tour for Harris and Walz. The pair rallied together for the first time in the swing state of Philadelphia on Tuesday. They are scheduled to hit four more swing states on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
At this stage, it’s anybody’s race, with Trump and Harris polling within the margin of error of each other in each of these states, except for North Carolina, where data is still insufficient, according to polling averages maintained by FiveThirtyEight.
The states that Harris-Walz will tour this week, again except for North Carolina, were key to President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. Biden fended off legal challenges from Trump in each state before Congress certified the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021.
The whirlwind nature of the 2024 campaign trail was on symbolic display on Wednesday, when the jets carrying Harris and Vance landed on the same tarmac in Wisconsin. Vance surprised the press pool gathered for Harris by walking up to the scrum.
“I just wanted to check out my future plane,” Vance told the reporters. He rhetorically asked why Harris hasn’t devoted time to taking questions from the press.
At the Harris-Walz rally in Eau Claire, Walz leaned into his Midwestern roots, touting his upbringing in small-town Nebraska, his 24-year military service, and his experience as a high school teacher and coach.
“I have to say, this idea of caring for our neighbor, and kindness, and a hand up when somebody needs it, or just the sense ... that people go through things, and to be able to be there when they need it, that’s who we are,” Walz told the crowd.
Vance’s Shelby Township speech highlighted challenges from crime and illegal immigration, focusing on an alleged sexual assault committed by an illegal immigrant in that community. The suspect had previously been deported from the United States.
—Jacob Burg and Lawrence Wilson
Gorsuch Defends Trump Immunity Decision
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch earlier this week defended the high court’s decision that presidents have immunity for their official acts, in a case involving a challenge by former President Donald Trump.In early July, the Supreme Court issued a 6–3 decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, ruling that presidents cannot be prosecuted for official actions made within their constitutional powers during their time in office.
The court tossed a lower court’s ruling that rejected Trump’s claims of immunity from federal charges relating to his activity after the 2020 election.
During an interview with Fox News this week to promote his book, Gorsuch was asked about the decision. He said it was an extension of the Supreme Court precedent in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, which granted former President Richard Nixon immunity from civil lawsuits arising from his official actions.
Citing the court’s 1981 ruling, which found that presidents are “entitled to absolute immunity from damages liability predicated on his official acts,” Gorsuch said that the Supreme Court was concerned that civil lawsuits could prevent the executive branch from “exercising the powers” of their office.
“He’d be overwhelmed,” Gorsuch told Fox News, referring to potential greivance lawsuits against a president. “All the court did in this case was simply apply that same precedent and idea to the criminal context.”
In a separate interview with The Associated Press, the justice reiterated the view that the high court’s July ruling was necessary to prevent presidents from being hampered while in office by threats of prosecution once they leave.
—Jack Phillips
BOOKMARKS
The Biden administration is seeking to maintain its prohibition on new liquified natural gas (LNG) exports after a federal judge overturned those restrictions on June 1. The restrictions were put in place in the name of concerns based on predictions about climate change. But opponents say they put U.S. energy security at risk, and deprive the country of a lucrative export opportunity to support public services.
The number of marriages in China has fallen to the lowest level since 2013. Some analysts blame the increasingly poor economic situation, and fear the trend will lead to further population decline.
19-year-old pilot Ethan Guo is on a mission to become the youngest aviator to fly solo to all seven continents, while simultaneously raising money for cancer research. Mr. Guo is partnering with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and has raised $20,000 so far; the trip is expected to take around 100 days.
Video journalist Samuel Seligson is facing hate crime charges after he accompanied pro-Palestinian activists as they vandalized the homes of the Brooklyn Museum’s board members. The charges are being criticized as a violation of the journalist’s First Amendment rights.
University College London has been granted High Court permission to remove pro-Palestinian activists who have occupied its campus since May. In addition to disruptions to normal campus life, the university said it had spent over £200,000 on extra security to deal with the protest camps.
—Stacy Robinson