Key events
Vice President Kamala Harris did not attend Al Smith's benefit dinner in New York in person, instead appearing via a pre-recorded video sketch. His jokes didn't seem to reach the audience.
The gala dinner raises millions of dollars for Catholic charities and has traditionally been attended by candidates from both parties.
Trump's jokes were crude but appeared to be well received by attendees.
Trump mocked transgender people, mocking vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
He also took aim at immigrants and New York, saying he had to conclude his speech so New York can “turn the room into a haven for illegal immigrants.”
Regarding Harris' absence, he published on his Reality Social network:
I just found out that Lyin' Kamala will be doing a video message tonight instead of being at Al Smith's dinner. You should not be allowed to make a video message.
Kamala should be there like almost every other presidential candidate in history, except Walter Mondale, who lost 49-1. They didn't give me the option to video message nor would I have done it. This is very disrespectful to everyone involved. “She should be here or lose the Catholic vote!”
Germany has awarded US President Joe Biden the highest class of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, its highest honor for his work to enhance German-American friendship and the transatlantic alliance.
The President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, presented him with the award.
Steinmeier said friendship with the United States is “and always will be existentially important” for Germany, but there have always been “times of proximity and greater distance.”
Even recently, just a handful of years ago, the distance had widened so much that we almost lost each other,” Steinmeier said, alluding to strained relations during Trump's previous presidency.
He said Biden “restored Europe's hope in the transatlantic alliance literally overnight.”
“In the coming months I hope Europeans remember: the United States is indispensable to us,” he added. “And I hope Americans remember: your allies are indispensable to you. “We are more than just ‘other countries’ in the world: we are partners, we are friends.”
Trump accuses Zelenskyy of helping start war in extraordinary attack
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the run-up to the US elections as donald trump has claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy He helped start his country's war with Russia.
The extraordinary criticism of the Republican presidential candidate (the war began when Russia invaded the sovereign territory of Ukraine) comes when joe biden arrives in Europe to hold closed-door talks with allies Ukraine high on the agenda.
As Reuters reports, Trump's comments indicate that he is likely to radically change US policy toward Russia if he wins the November 5 election.
The former Republican president has frequently criticized Zelenskyy during the election campaign, repeatedly calling him “the biggest salesman on Earth” for having requested and received billions of dollars in US military aid since the war broke out in 2022.
Trump also criticized the Ukrainian leader for not seeking peace with Moscow and suggested Ukraine might have to do so. give up part of their land to Russia to reach a peace agreement, a concession that Kyiv considers unacceptable.
Trump's comments on Thursday's PBD Podcast with Patrick Guess-David went a step further than his previous criticisms. He said Zelenskyy was guilty not only of failing to end the war, but of helping to start it. “That doesn't mean I don't want to help him because I feel really bad for those people. But I should never have let that war start. War is a loser,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Biden will seek to solidify cooperation with key European partners on issues ranging from the Ukraine war to the conflict in the Middle East during a quick trip to Berlin.
“We are in Berlin,” Biden wrote in a post on X overnight. “Ready to greet old friends and strengthen our close alliance as we unite for freedom and against tyranny around the world.”
We are in Berlin.
Ready to greet old friends and strengthen our close alliance as we unite for freedom and against tyranny around the world. pic.twitter.com/zaTFtTOFMT
– President Biden (@POTUS) October 18, 2024
More on this shortly. In other developments:
-
Donald Trump lashed out at Kamala Harris and other Democrats on Thursday in a scathing and sometimes bitter speech while headlining Al Smith's annual benefit dinner in New York. The Republican candidate repeatedly criticized her Democratic campaign rival for her decision to skip the event. She sent a video instead.
-
Billionaire Elon Musk launched five nights of campaign events in Pennsylvania last night in support of Trump's campaign. “I believe this election is going to decide the destiny of America and, along with the destiny of America, the destiny of Western civilization,” he said at a town hall event in Folsom, outside Philadelphia. He also reportedly pushed the debunked narrative that voting machines had been used in a plot to rig the 2020 election.
-
Harris and Trump will seek votes in Michigan on Friday as they try to build support in this key political battleground. Harris is scheduled to start his day in Grand Rapids before holding events in Lansing and Oakland County, which is northwest of Detroit. Trump has his own event in Oakland County in the afternoon before holding a rally in Detroit in the evening.