Biden is heading to the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania on Monday, where he plans to speak with union workers.
Trump will hold a 1pm (17:00 GMT) news conference on economic recovery from the pandemic
Kamala Harris and Mike Pence are both visiting the key battleground state of Wisconsin, days after Trump and Biden visited the city of Kenosha, a hotspot in the country’s civil and racial unrest.
Biden remains ahead nearly seven points in national polling averages; some polls have suggested a tightening race in states considered key to winning the Electoral College.
Today is the Labor Day holiday, a date that historically signifies the beginning of the most aggressive stretch of campaigning. There are 56 days until the general election on November 3.
Here are the latest updates:
Monday, September 7:
17:45 GMT – Poll: More US voters think Trump will best Biden in debates
More US voters think Trump will win the upcoming presidential debates over Democrat Joe Biden, a new poll reveals.
Forty-seven percent of voters say Trump will perform better than Biden in their three debate meetings, the first of which is on September 29, compared to 41 percent who say Biden will win, according to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll.
Trump, who is lagging behind Biden in national and battleground state polls, is looking to the debates for a boost. With the candidates’ in-person campaign schedules drastically altered due to the coronavirus, the thinking is that voters will be looking at the debates even more closely to help them decide who to vote for.
In 2016, 84 million watched the first debate between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. The poll of 1,000 registered voters taken Aug. 28-31 by landline and cellphone has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points.
New poll finds more voters think Trump will best Biden in a debate [File: Mark Ralston/Reuters]
17:30 GMT – Singer Cardi B responds to Candace Owens criticism of Biden interview
Singer Cardi B has responded to conservative figure Candace Owens, who had called her an “illiterate rapper” and questioned whether she was fit to interview Biden.
“Why wouldn’t Joe Biden sit down with me? I have millions of followers and I pay millions in taxes,” she said. “I’m heard all around the word.”
In a video produced by Elle magazine in August, the singer interviewed Biden about police brutality and the coronavirus pandemic.
17:00 GMT – Trump launches battleground ad touting ‘Great American Comeback’
The Trump campaign will launch a new ad in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan this week, touting the country’s recovery from the coronavirus.
The campaign has repeatedly sought to portray Trump, who has been resistant to lockdowns across the country throughout the pandemic, as the candidate best suited to lead the US economy out of the crisis.
The ad seizes on comments made by Biden in August, in which he said he would lockdown the country again if the spread of the coronavirus warranted it.
Why is Trump worried about mail-voting? | Start Here
16:30 GMT – In op-ed, Warren says Biden ‘will stand up for working women’
Senator Elizabeth Warren, who ran against Biden in the Democratic primary, has written in an op-ed in the Cosmopolitan magazine that the candidate will “stand up for working women”.
“America’s women are getting us through this crisis,” she wrote. “They deserve a break, a chance to get ahead, and an economy that works for them. Donald Trump doesn’t get that, but Joe and Kamala do.”
Progressive primary candidates have largely embraced Biden, citing the urgency of defeating Trump.
For Labor Day, I wrote in @Cosmopolitan about how women are getting us through this crisis. They deserve a break, a chance to get ahead, and an economy that works for them. Donald Trump doesn’t get that, but @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris do. https://t.co/0Dk61QWTzR
16:00 GMT – Trump expected to address coronavirus recovery
President Donald Trump in recent weeks has sought to reframe the election away from his handling of the coronavirus, towards a “law and order” message.
However, on Monday, he appears set to address the economic comeback from the pandemic, tweeting “Jobs number, and the Economic comeback, are looking GREAT.”
Republicans have repeatedly focused on the country’s economic strength before the pandemic to portray Trump as the man to lead the recovery. Biden, meanwhile, has said Trump’s ineptitude in handling the crisis has made the situation worse.
15:30 GMT – Biden campaign capitalises on war dead comments
The Biden campaign has sought to capitalise on the uproar about Trump’s reported disparagement of fallen military members by relaunching an advertisement this week in battleground states with large numbers of military personnel that highlighted his own record of support for the armed forces.
The advertisement, titled “Protect Our Troops”, portrays Biden as being from a military family and understanding the sacrifices service members make, according to the campaign. Biden’s son Beau was deployed to Iraq in 2008 as part of the Delaware Army National Guard.
The Atlantic magazine, citing four unnamed people, reported last week that Trump had referred to Marines buried in an American cemetery near Paris as “losers” and declined to visit their graves during a 2018 trip to France. Trump vehemently denied the report. The Associated Press, the Washington Post and Fox News confirmed parts of the report also with unnamed sources.
The Biden campaign has relaunched its “Protect Our Troops” advertisement in battleground states [Screengrab/Joe Biden Campaign]
15:00 GMT – Biden to address labour unions
Biden will meet on Monday with the leader of the largest federation of US labour unions, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, at the group’s state headquarters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and take questions from union workers.
The Harrisburg event highlights the Biden campaign’s strategy for Pennsylvania, where early voting starts in mid-September.
The former vice president needs his party’s base, including African Americans in places like majority-Black Harrisburg, to vote. His campaign also wants to convince enough working-class white voters in the state, many of them unionised, that Biden is a better option than Trump.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
