Summary
Joe Biden said the hostile attacks on Haitian immigrants in the US “[have] to stop” after Donald Trump repeated a false and derogatory claim about a Haitian community in Ohio.
Donald Trump repeated racist claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, on Friday, doubling down on anti-immigrant rhetoric as residents in the town have faced bomb threats and have detailed their fears amid harassment.
Some schools in Springfield were reportedly closed by administrators for a second day in a row as Trump and his allies spread unproven stories of pet-eating by Haitian migrants.
Haitians have reportedly been intimidated and had their cars vandalized in Springfield since the campaign against them began. People chanted “we’re not eating cats” at a rally held by Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, in Michigan yesterday.
Trump also defended his association with Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist whose penchant for public displays of racism has unnerved even some of his most extreme allies.
Kamala Harris is participating in a taped interview with a local station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to air later on Friday. Harris will also host a virtual livestream rally together with Oprah Winfrey next week.
Pope Francis criticized Donald Trump over his plan to deport millions of immigrants and Kamala Harris over her stance supporting abortion rights.
Kamala Harris’s campaign stepped up its mockery of “chicken” Donald Trump for ducking out of another presidential debate, with the Democratic nominee telling her Republican rival he owes it to voters to face her again.
Joe Biden and Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, are meeting at the White House where they are expected to discuss a loosening of restrictions on Ukraine to launch long-range strikes into Russia.
Joe Biden is planning a trip to Angola in the coming weeks. This would make Biden the first US head of state to visit sub-Saharan Africa since then president Barack Obama in 2015, according to Reuters.
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Joe Biden is meeting with the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, at the White House.
The pair are expected to discuss – though not necessarily announce – a loosening of restrictions on Ukraine to launch long-range strikes into Russia.
Biden and Starmer took photos inside the Oval Office before sitting down for talks in the Blue Room alongside UK and US officials, per pool report.
Before talks began, Biden said the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, will not prevail in the war with Ukraine. He said he and Starmer would talk about Ukraine, the Middle East and the need for a hostage and ceasefire deal, as well as the Indo-Pacific region.
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The White House’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said political leaders should not be “attacking vulnerable communities” as she criticized Donald Trump for spreading false and racist theories targeting Haitians in Springfield, Ohio.
The Washington Post reported Jean-Pierre, whose parents immigrated from Haiti to New York, telling reporters today:
Political leaders should not be attacking vulnerable communities. That’s not who we should be. And if they’re going to fall for conspiracy theories online, maybe they shouldn’t be our leaders.
Pope Francis has criticized both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump for their policies on abortion and immigration, claiming both candidates are “against life”.
The pope was speaking to journalists on Friday when he was asked about the US presidential election. He replied:
Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants, or be it the one who kills babies.
He went on to say that not welcoming migrants is a “grave” sin and compared undergoing an abortion to an assassination, Reuters reported.
Catholics would have to “choose the lesser evil” when they vote in November, he said, without elaborating.
Who is the lesser evil? That lady, or that gentleman? I don’t know. Everyone, in conscience, (has to) think and do this.
“Not voting is ugly,” he added. “It is not good. You must vote.”
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Kamala Harris is participating in a taped interview with Brian Taff for Action News 6 ABC, a local station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The interview will air on the station’s 6pm broadcast.
Oprah Winfrey and Kamala Harris will host a virtual livestream rally together next week.
The event, titled Unite for America, will take place on Thursday 19 September, at 8pm ET.
This comes as Winfrey, who said she was a registered independent, made a surprise appearance at the Democratic national convention last month and endorsed Harris for president.
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Biden to make first Africa visit in coming weeks - report
President Joe Biden is planning a trip to Angola in the coming weeks, Reuters is reporting, citing several sources familiar with the plans.
The trip, Reuters reports, is likely to occur after the UN general assembly meeting in September and before the presidential election in November, according to a source.
This would make Biden the first US head of state to visit sub-Saharan Africa since then president Barack Obama in 2015, according to Reuters.
Biden had previously said he would visit Africa during his presidency.
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MoveOn, a progressive public policy advocacy group, is partnering with ice-cream company Ben & Jerry’s to create a special limited edition Kamala Harris-inspired ice-cream flavor, titled Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee, as part of a get-out-the-vote initiative.
MoveOn announced on Friday that it will also be traveling to battleground states with an ice-cream truck, where it will hand out free ice-cream, and raffle off free, limited-edition, autographed pints of Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee – which is described as a coconut ice-cream with a caramel ripple and confetti stars.
To kick off our #ScoopTheVote campaign, we're raffling off free, limited-edition pints of Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee, a coconut ice cream with a caramel ripple and confetti stars, made by Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield!
— MoveOn (@MoveOn) September 12, 2024
Enter here for your chance to win: https://t.co/eKnQlI4Mvh https://t.co/tu29tb7DOO pic.twitter.com/BAjgZTtuOw
The Scoop the Vote tour begins on 16 September in Philadelphia with the founders of Ben & Jerry’s, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the organization said.
In addition to free ice-cream and other goodies, the tour will feature elected officials, activists and other special guests, MoveOn said.
And on top of the coconut ice-cream, MoveOn will also serve a variety of electorally themed ice-cream flavors, they said, that include: Unburdened by What Has Vanilla Bean, Inauguration Celebration Birthday Cake, Fight for Our Rights Sorbet and MoveOn Mobilizer Milk Chocolate.
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The day so far
Despite the efforts of local leaders, Donald Trump has continued to demonize the Haitian community of Springfield, Ohio, vowing at a press conference to carry out “large deportations” in the town if returned to the White House. He also defended his association with Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist whose penchant for public displays of racism has unnerved even some of his most extreme allies. At a White House event celebrating Black excellence, Joe Biden said the attacks on Haitians have “no place in America”, and Kamala Harris was on her way to Pennsylvania for more campaign events this evening.
Here’s what else has happened so far today:
Some schools in Springfield were reportedly closed by administrators for a second day in a row as Trump and his allies spread unproven stories of pet-eating by Haitian migrants.
People chanted “we’re not eating cats” at a rally held by Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, in Michigan yesterday.
Haitians have reportedly been intimidated and had their cars vandalized in Springfield since the campaign against them began.
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Donald Trump’s press conference has concluded, but before he wrapped up, the former president was prompted to talk about what he might do for California if he wins the election.
Trump turned it into a campaign pitch to Golden State voters, who haven’t backed a Republican presidential candidate since George HW Bush was on the ballot in 1988:
Vote for me, California. I’m going to give you safety. I’m going to give you a great border, and I’m going to give you more water than almost anybody has.
Notice the reference to water, an all-important issue in the western state, which is also the nation’s most populous:
Trump was asked again about his association with Laura Loomer, and what he thinks she brings to his campaign.
Loomer has pedaled conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks, and made racist posts on social media. Nonetheless, Trump said:
She brings a spirit to us that a lot of people have. We have very spirited people. And, in all fairness to her, she hates seeing what’s happened to the country.
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Trump vows 'large deportations' from Ohio town if elected
Donald Trump went on to threaten “large deportations” in Springfield, Ohio, which is home to a large Haitian community that he and his allies have vilified in recent days.
“I can say this: we will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio, large deportations. We’re going to get these people out,” Trump said.
Haitians are currently shielded from deportation under the homeland security department’s Temporary Protected Status through 3 February 2026, due to their home country’s troubles.
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Trump says he has no control over conspiracy theorist Loomer amid criticism of association
Donald Trump was asked about his association with Laura Loomer, the rightwing conspiracy theorist who has recently been spotted with him on the campaign trail, prompting complaints from some Republicans who see her as a bad influence.
“Laura’s been a supporter, just like a lot of people are supporters, and she’s been a supporter of mine. She speaks very positively of the campaign,” Trump said.
“I don’t control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants. She’s a she’s a free spirit.”
Here’s more on the outcry over Loomer’s involvement with the Trump campaign:
After talking for nearly an hour, Donald Trump has taken his first question.
It was hard to hear what was asked, but it seemed to be about criticism from Republicans of his debate performance.
Trump insisted that he had done fine: “Most of my Republican allies had said I was great in the debate.”
While he did not repeat his baseless claim of pet-eating, Donald Trump made a point of attacking the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio.
“Springfield, Ohio, 20,000 illegal Haitian migrants have descended upon a town of 58,000 people, destroying the way of life,” Trump said, neglecting to mention that Haitians are protected from deportation and allowed to apply for work permits under a government policy that applies to migrants from unstable countries.
“People don’t like to talk about it, because even the town doesn’t like to talk about it, it sounds so bad for the town. They live there. They’re proud. They love the town. For years, it was a great place, safe.”
Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, a Republican who backs Trump, has said the migrants have filled jobs that were looking for workers, and he’s heard positive things about them from employers.
This “press conference” has been going on for well over half an hour now, and Trump has yet to take a question.
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Donald Trump’s campaign billed this as a press conference, but he has yet to take a question from the reporters who are there.
For the past 15 minutes, he’s been attacking Kamala Harris, whom he dubbed “Comrade Kamala” for her record as San Francisco district attorney, a job she held from 2004 to 2011.
Trump, who is speaking slowly and clearly, but without as much enthusiasm as he has been known to bring, also unsurprisingly claimed victory in his Tuesday debate with the vice-president, and criticized the moderators from ABC News.
From 2019, here’s a look back at Harris’s stints as San Francisco’s top prosecutor and attorney general of California:
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After lengthy delay, Trump begins press conference
Following a delay of about 90 minutes, Donald Trump has started his press conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Before he started speaking, he yielded to Mayor John Cruikshank, who talked about the struggles of the community, where Trump has a golf course, including landslides.
Here’s more about that:
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Biden also used the term “Black jobs”, seemingly by accident, when addressing attendees at a White House event to celebrate achievements by African Americans.
Donald Trump first used the offensive term in his June debate against Biden, where the president performed so poorly he eventually ended his bid for a second term.
“In just three and a half years we’ve created just over 2m new Black jobs for Black Americans,” the president said, drawing halting laughter from the crowd.
“By the way,” Biden said, seeming to recover, “the next Black job to be filled is as president of the United States of America.” The crowd cheered heartily at that.
Biden has made similar verbal slips throughout his presidency:
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Biden says attacks on Haitian immigrants have 'no place in America'
Joe Biden hosted a celebration of Black excellence at this White House his afternoon, where he made a point to condemn attacks on Haitian immigrants in Ohio made by Donald Trump and his allies.
The president described Haitian Americans as a “community that’s under attack in our country right now” which he said was “simply wrong”.
“There’s no place in America. This has to stop, what he’s doing. It has to stop,” Biden said, without mentioning Trump’s name.
The former president and his running mate, Ohio senator JD Vance, have claimed that Haitians in the town of Springfield have been eating pets, which local officials say is not true.
Vance has also blamed the entire community for the death of a child killed in a car accident involving a Haitian driver, prompting the boy’s father to publicly ask that the tragedy not be used for “political gain”:
For the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, the unproven claims of pet-eating directed at them by Donald Trump and his allies have had serious consequences, the Haitian Times reports.
The New York-based publication, which focuses on covering the Caribbean nation and its diaspora in the United States, reported that Haitians in Springfield have had their cars vandalized and experienced intimidation since Trump and his running mate, Ohio senator JD Vance, accused them of eating pets, as part of their campaign to convince voters that immigrants are dangerous. Local officials in Springfield have said that the candidates’ claims are not true.
Here’s more, from the Haitian Times:
The morning after former President Donald Trump repeated racist claims about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, some Haitian families are keeping their children home from school for their safety, according to an area activist. Those who allowed their children did so, but with heavy hearts.
“She [my niece] was scared, but I told her to go, that God would protect,” said one Haitian resident, who asked that she not be identified publicly for fear of reprisal.
“We’re all victims this morning,” said the woman, who moved to Springfield six years ago. “They’re attacking us in every way.”
Aside from the anxiety caused by Tuesday night’s debate, the woman also said her cars have been vandalized twice in the middle of the night. She woke up one morning to broken windows and another to acid thrown on the vehicle. She has added cameras to her driveway and tried to report the incidents to the police to no avail.
“I’m going to have to move because this area is no longer good for me,” she said. “I can’t even leave my house to go to Walmart. I’m anxious and scared.”
The Haitian families’ accounts, shared with The Haitian Times under condition of confidentiality, are the latest tales of intimidation, bullying and assaults as anti-Haitian sentiment has gone viral.
Donald Trump’s press conference appears to have been delayed.
Broadcast networks now indicate he will speak at 12.45pm.
Trump to hold first press conference since debate with Harris
Donald Trump is set to give a press conference for the first time since his debate with Kamala Harris on Tuesday.
He’ll speak to reporters at his golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, a wealthy community near Los Angeles.
Expect him to declare that he won his first debate against the vice-president, and perhaps elaborate as to why he has declined her invitation for a second face-off. It’ll also be interesting to see if he mentions the unproven pet-eating allegations he has spread in recent days, or avoids the topic.
The apparently bogus story of pet-eating by migrants in Ohio seems to have caught on among Democrats as well, with chants of “we’re not eating cats” breaking out at vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz’s rally in Michigan yesterday.
As captured by the Washington Post:
More chants of “we’re not eating cats” at Walz’s Grand Rapids rally. pic.twitter.com/PmLrxDQx5X
— Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) September 12, 2024
The crowd is clearly making light of the latest attempt by Donald Trump and his allies to demonize immigrants. Yet though many political analysts see the embrace of the story as a political boondoggle that Trump should avoid, the former president’s allies continue to defend it.
Here’s conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who says the chants at Walz’s rally are proof that “we’ve broken them”:
Democrats are now chanting “We’re not eating cats!” at their rallies.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 13, 2024
I think we’ve broken them. pic.twitter.com/gVC2gZyGWe
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JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, claims he heard the stories of pet-eating migrants in Springfield, Ohio, from his constituents, even though local officials say they are not true. The Guardian’s Robert Tait reports that several Republicans believe the true source of the tale is Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist with a history of making racist statements:
Republicans are blaming the influence of Laura Loomer, a rightwing conspiracy theorist, for this week’s botched debate performance by Donald Trump, which included the former president repeating a bizarre and unfounded claim that pet cats and dogs were being eaten by Haitian immigrants.
Loomer flew with Trump on his private plane to Tuesday’s debate in Philadelphia and has been identified as a key promoter of the pets rumour, which has been dismissed as false by authorities in Springfield, Ohio, where the practice was alleged to have been taking place.
However, Trump amplified it in a moment that has become emblematic of his erratic showing in the debate with Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
“They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump claimed during a debate segment on immigration. “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
When the ABC debate moderator David Muir informed him that the story had been debunked, Trump stood by the claim, saying he had seen it “on television”.
The rumour had also been disseminated by JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, who in the aftermath of the debate justified doing so.
Nevertheless, following the event scrutiny has turned to the supposed role of Loomer. The Semafor website quoted an unnamed source close to Trump’s campaign as saying they were “100%” concerned about Loomer’s sway over the Republican nominee.
Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, told CBS News yesterday that he believes Springfield, Ohio’s mayor, who has said members of the Haitian immigrant community are not eating pets.
DeWine also praised the community’s work ethic. Here’s the moment:
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, says Springfield, Ohio officials "have no evidence" of Haitian migrants eating pets there, a claim amplified by former President Trump during Tuesday night's debate, saying, "I think we go with what the mayor says, he knows his city."
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 11, 2024
"The… pic.twitter.com/YWRQgSLhh1
The governor is nonetheless supporting Donald Trump and JD Vance, the Ohio senator who says he learned about the alleged pet-eating from his constituents.
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It’s the second time in as many days that schools in Springfield have been evacuated, as Donald Trump and his allies press on with their unfounded claims of pet-eating by migrants in the Ohio city.
The cause of the evacuations yesterday, which also included city hall, was a bomb threat that turned out to be unfounded, according to Columbus’s ABC 6.
The broadcaster also heard from the town’s Republican mayor, Rob Rue, who said no one’s pets were being eaten in Springfield, and criticized the politicians who spread the story, without naming Trump:
That’s just not happening in our community. Pets are safe in our community, and it’s unfortunate that there was a spotlight put on a story that was validated that was not true at all …
When a federal politician has the stage, and they don’t take the opportunity to build up the community instead of inadvertently not understand what their words are, what they’re going to do to the community, it can really hurt the community like it’s hurting ours. We’ve been punched in a way we should not have been punched.
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Schools evacuated in Ohio town targeted by Trump's baseless pet-eating claims - report
Two elementary schools and a middle school have been evacuated or are closed in Springfield, Ohio, the town that Donald Trump and his campaign have baselessly claimed is being menaced by immigrants who eat pets, a Spectrum News affiliate reports.
Spectrum reports that the school disruptions were caused by unspecified information received by the police department:
Continued threats in Springfield, Ohio.
— Taylor Popielarz (@TaylorPopielarz) September 13, 2024
Our @SpectrumNews1OH newsroom just received this statement from Springfield City School District saying several school buildings have been evacuated or are closed today "based on information received from the Springfield Police Division." pic.twitter.com/8uhGXWQmJk
Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, who represents Ohio in the Senate, have in recent days accused people from Springfield’s Haitian immigrant community of eating pets, despite denials from city officials.
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The Democratic National Committee this morning announced it had bought video billboards on the Las Vegas strip and New York’s Times Square to promote Kamala Harris’s campaign.
Only the former is located in a swing states, but DNC communications director Rosemary Boeglin says the idea is to build on momentum from the debate and turn out voters: “As we drive the contrast between Vice-President Harris’s New Way Forward and Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, which would rip away reproductive rights and rig the economy against working families, we’re reminding voters that it is critical to speak now to dump Trump and enter our Kamala era by visiting IWillVote.com and doing their research on how, where and when to vote in this election.”
Here’s what the Times Square billboard will show:
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To be clear: Kamala Harris continues to want a second debate with Donald Trump.
“The vice-president is clear she believes there should be another debate and we do not consider this to be the last word from him,” Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Harris, told Politico. “He is just working through his feelings after losing very badly Tuesday night.”
Trump said he would do no such thing in a Truth Social post yesterday that involved a lot of capital letters:
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Harris campaign slams Trump for dodging questions on abortion, Ukraine
In a memo released this morning, Harris campaign spokesman Ian Sams said Donald Trump should be held accountable for his refusal to answer questions dealing with some of the thorniest issues the president faces at Tuesday’s debate.
Sams cited direct questions to Trump from the moderators about whether he would veto a national abortion ban, or if he wanted Ukraine to win its war against Russia – both queries to which the former president did not directly respond. Trump also restated his debunked belief that he won the 2020 election, and said that he would seek to repeal the Affordable Care Act, despite only having “concepts” of a plan to replace it.
“The debate was a mess for Trump, yes. But these answers are simply toxic. In almost any other circumstance, any one of these answers might drive days of a media crisis for the candidate. Taken together, they are an unmitigated disaster,” Sams wrote, adding, “Trump should have to answer for these positions.”
Perhaps he will, at his press conference set to take place at 12pm.
Harris seeks to drive home debate advantage after Trump declines to face off again
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Donald Trump may have put the kibosh on another debate against Kamala Harris yesterday, but the vice-president isn’t letting the matter rest. Yesterday, Harris told a crowd in North Carolina that “I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate”, and this morning, her campaign released a memo blasting Trump for the “toxic positions” he took during their encounter, and saying he should respond to them – implicitly in the form of another debate against the vice-president. The Harris campaign has said it would be happy to participate in such an event next month, but that would require Trump to reverse his position. Expect the former president to elaborate on the subject around 12pm ET, when he holds a press conference in Los Angeles.
Here’s what else is going on today:
Harris campaigns at 6.35pm ET in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the swing state that some believe will be the most important in deciding the outcome of this election.
Tim Walz, Harris’s running mate, is campaigning in the two other Great Lake swing states, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Joe Biden welcomes the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, to the White House at 4.30pm, for his first visit since taking office in July.
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