Trump’s Medal of Honor remarks slammed by Harris campaign: Live updates

Ian Sams, White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, is leaving the West Wing and heading to the Harris campaign in a top spokesperson role.

The Washington Post initially reported the news citing people familiar with the situation.

He was previously Kamala Harris’s 2020 national press secretary.

A new poll suggests that Kamala Harris has the only positive approval rating of any candidate, and leads in almost all battleground states.

So how will Harris actually fare against Donald Trump this November?

Alicja Hagopian looks at the data.

The Harris-Walz campaign released the following statement in regard to Donald Trump’s comments that “again dishonored our men and women in service who have sacrificed for our country”.

Spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said: “Donald Trump knows nothing about service to anyone or anything but himself. For him to insult Medal of Honor recipients, just as he has previously attacked Gold Star families, mocked prisoners of war, and referred to those who lost their lives in service to our country as ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’, should remind all Americans that we owe it to our service members, our country, and our future to make sure Donald Trump is never our nation’s commander in chief again.”

Chitika further notes that it is “quite the split screen” looking at the two campaigns:

Somehow this appalling comparison is both incredible and unsurprising.

Speaking at a campaign event intended to discuss antisemitism, Donald Trump lauded a wealthy donor to whom he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom as having received a “better” award compared to the Medal of Honor given to military personnel.

The former president said those recipients are often “either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead” but Miriam Adelson, the widow of Sheldon Adelson, is a “healthy, beautiful woman”.

Donald Trump summoned reporters to one of his properties for the second time in as many weeks to deliver a campaign message – but they would be hard-pressed to find something new or interesting to write about.

He spoke for roughly 40 minutes before taking questions at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort. His lengthy diatribe touched on Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, and a wide range of other issues — trucks, domestic energy policy, China and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine — all while flanked by two tables covered in groceries including Cheerios, a pack of quickly-warming raw bacon, and tins of coffee.

It was a spectacle that was clearly focused by his campaign to provide a platform for the GOP contender to attack Harris over economic issues, particularly inflation and the cost of consumer goods.

However, the lack of focus led to Thursday night’s event dragging on.

Trump’s running mate – who has been branded ‘weird’ by his rival Tim Walz, as you will no doubt recall – went on to describe his plans to “eat” the problem by deporting undocumented migrants “bite by bite”.

Donald Trump has announced the formation of Trump Vance 2025 Transition, Inc an organization tasked with readying his second administration should he win November’s election. Overseeing the group will be co-chairs Linda McMahon, ex-SBA administrator and WWE founder, and Howard Lutnick, boss of Cantor Fitzgerald.

Senator JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr, and Eric Trump have been named as honorary chairs. “The 2024 GOP Platform to Make America Great Again is a forward-looking agenda that will deliver safety, prosperity and freedom for the American people. My administration will deliver on these bold promises,” said Trump. “We will restore strength, competence and common sense to the Oval Office. I have absolute confidence the Trump-Vance Administration will be ready to govern effectively on Day One.”

Kamala Harris’s spokesman Michael Tyler said on Thursday that the Democrat would be willing to debate Trump twice and declared “the debate about debates is over”.

As it stands, Harris and Trump will go head to head on ABC News on September 10 and their running mates Tim Walz and JD Vance will square up at a CBS vice presidental debate on October 1.

The Republican has challenged Harris to two further encounters on Fox on September 4 and on NBC on September 25 but she has yet to agree to either.