Harris Joined by Beyoncé; Trump With Rogan on Texas Trips
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are breaking off from the swing-state trail to campaign in an unlikely venue this close to Election Day — Texas, a state that is solidly in the Republican presidential column.
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The two have similar aims as they descend on the Lone Star State — looking to tap prominent entertainment figures to amplify their message and with plans to hammer their opponents over their biggest electoral liabilities with an eye to voters across the country.
Harris will hold a rally in Houston, the hometown of pop superstar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, focused on abortion rights – a bid to highlight an issue Democrats see as critical to pulling votes from independents and suburban women in states across the country.
Trump, meanwhile, is heading to the state capital of Austin, where he will record an episode of the hit podcast The Joe Rogan Experience with comedian and host Joe Rogan, in an effort to court young male voters – a key demographic for the show.
He’ll also use his visit to the border state to highlight the migrant surge, seeking to hit Harris over a top issue for voters — and one where they trust the former president. Trump then heads to battleground Michigan for a rally with early voting in the state set to expand.
Here’s the latest from the Friday campaign trail:
Dueling Podcasts
Trump will appear on Rogan’s hit show against the backdrop of both candidates’ bids to reach voters who may not be as attuned to political news and to sway late undecideds who offer to tip the balance in swing states where polling shows an incredibly tight race. While Trump will record with Rogan on Friday, it’s unclear when that episode will drop.
Rogan is widely considered the most popular podcaster in the world. His show maintains 17.5 million subscribers on YouTube and 15.7 million on Spotify.
Harris had been in talks with Rogan as well but her spokesman Ian Sams on MSNBC said they were unable to set up an appearance due to scheduling difficulties during this stretch of the campaign. He emphasized that Harris is open to sitting down with different formats to reach voters.
The vice president will instead sit on Friday with another popular podcaster, Brené Brown.
Beyoncé’s Star Power
Harris’ day will be capped by a rally in Houston, with an appearance by Beyoncé, which offers to provide a major boost to a campaign that must turn out large numbers of Black and young voters.
The multi-genre artist is just one of a long list of celebrities hitting the stump for Harris. A Thursday rally in Georgia saw rock icon Bruce Springsteen perform and filmmakers Spike Lee and Tyler Perry and actor Samuel L. Jackson also take the stage.
But the focus of the Houston event will be the state’s near-total abortion ban. The vice president has hammered Trump over his role in appointing three of the Supreme Court justices who helped strike down federal abortion protections. She’s labeling the wave of restrictions that followed across the country as “Trump abortion bans” and highlighting cases where women suffered serious health complications or died after being denied reproductive health care.
Harris will argue that “what happens in this election will determine the future of reproductive freedom for generations to come” and warn that a Trump presidency could presage a national abortion ban, according to excerpts of her remarks provided by her campaign. She’ll also hit efforts by the state of Texas to enforce their abortion law.
“The Attorney General of Texas is suing the United States Government so that Texas prosecutors can get their hands on the private medical records of women who leave the state to get care,” Harris plans to say. “So, see what is happening: Donald Trump won’t let anyone see his medical records. But these guys want to get their hands on yours?”
Trump has used the high court’s ruling to rally the evangelical voters but has also sought to neutralize the issue in the general election by claiming abortion rights are now up to the states. His inconsistent messaging has managed to rankle both religious voters and Democrats. Trump has said some state restrictions are “too tough” and predicted those measures would be rolled back.
Role for Dimon
Harris downplayed reports that JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon was interested in serving in her administration, telling reporters she hadn’t yet considered Cabinet picks.
“We have 11 days to go. We do not have a Cabinet yet,” Harris said in Houston when asked by a reporter if she had spoken to Dimon about a role.
Her comments follow a New York Times story that claimed Dimon has said in private that he backs Harris and would consider a role in her administration, citing people familiar with those discussions.
The vice president also dismissed criticism that her recent attacks questioning Trump’s fitness for office – and her plans to hold an event on the National Mall, where Trump held his rally on Jan. 6, 2021 – could distract from her campaign’s economic messaging that might resonate more with voters.
“One of the things I love about the American people is we can hold many thoughts at once,” Harris said. She added that while “one of the highest priorities for the American people right now is bringing down costs,” she also saw it as important to “speak out against threats to our democracy.”
Virginia Ruling
Trump on Friday denounced a ruling from a federal judge that Virginia had illegally purged voters from the state’s registration rolls, calling the decision “unconstitutional”
US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said the voter purge was happening too close to Election Day and ordered the state to restore voters, saying their removal violated the National Voter Registration Act which bans many states from removing registered voters in the three months before a federal election.
The provision is intended to allow voters wrongfully purged to correct their status before the election. A similar effort in Alabama was struck down just last week.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has vowed to appeal. Trump called Giles a “radical” and accused her of “allowing non-citizens to vote in our elections.”
DiCaprio Endorsement
Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio said Friday he was endorsing Harris’ campaign, citing the candidates’ positions on climate change.
“Donald Trump continues to deny the facts. He continues to deny the science,” DiCaprio said in a post to Instagram.
DiCaprio joins an extensive list of celebrities who have backed Harris’ campaign, including Taylor Swift and George Clooney. Trump has also featured prominent supporters — including billionaire Elon Musk — at his campaign events.
Abortion Super PAC
Wealthy donors are surging $20 million to help boost Trump’s appeal to women on abortion rights, according to new Federal Election Commission filings, an issue where polls show voters trust Harris far more than the former president.
Donors are giving to a newly formed super political action committee, the RBG PAC, referring to late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a staunch supporter of abortion rights. The PAC’s name is an attempt to tie Trump to reproductive rights and diffuse a major political liability for the former president, whose judicial nominees struck down abortion protections in 2022.
Trump and Ginsburg were not friendly when she was alive. Trump replaced the late justice, after she passed away in 2020, with conservative Amy Coney Barrett, one of three justices appointed by Trump who helped overturn federal abortion protections. Trump has sought to distance himself from talking about the issue saying it’s no longer a federal matter and it’s for the states to decide. Many of his religious supporters are pushing for more restrictions to abortion access.
One digital ad paid for by the super PAC features a woman who says she will vote for Trump because of the economy, and goes on to say that he opposes a national abortion ban.
Michigan Rally
Trump is heading to a rally Friday evening in Traverse City, Michigan, in a state where he has played up his populist economic agenda of tax cuts and tariffs aimed at bringing back domestic manufacturing.
The former president has targeted auto industry workers and business leaders in the state, offering tax breaks for purchasing cars made in the US and vowing to impose steep tariffs on products made outside the country. Trump has dismissed warnings from most economists that tariffs could cause prices for goods to spike and hamper economic growth.
The United Auto Workers endorsed Harris, but Trump has made inroads with rank-and-file members, a potentially decisive voting bloc in the state. Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, comprise the Democratic Blue Wall — a trio of states that offers Harris one of her best paths to victory.
Money Race
The latest Federal Election Commission disclosures show that Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, gave another $56 million to elect Trump and Republicans — bringing his total spent to elect allies to the White House and Congress to at least $132 million.
Musk’s super political action committee, America PAC, is working to boost voter turnout for Trump in swing states and Republicans in key congressional districts.
Trump and the Republican Party raised $111 million in the first half of October and have $216 million cash on hand for the final weeks of the campaign. Harris and Democrats raised $188 million in the first 16 days of the month and have $270 million cash on hand.
Black, Latino Outreach
Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will be campaigning on Friday in Pennsylvania, which boasts the most Electoral College votes of the swing states, giving it an outsized role in the election.
Walz will focus his efforts on bolstering Black and Latino outreach, two groups that are traditionally Democratic blocs but where Trump has made inroads thanks to economic concerns.
Walz will meet with community leaders in Philadelphia to tout Harris’ economic policies targeted to Black voters, according to the campaign. He will also visit Allentown, where he will be joined by Mayor Matt Tuerk, the city’s first Latino mayor.
The campaign has also enlisted former President Barack Obama to help shore up support from Black voters, in particular men. Obama on Sunday will join a virtual event with the Win With Black Men political action committee.
--With assistance from Bill Allison.
(Updates with Harris excerpts in Beyoncé’s Star Power section)
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