2024 election updates: Trump to meet with Zelenskyy as Ukraine becomes campaign issue

With less than six weeks until Election Day, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are campaigning in battleground states this week and making their case for why they should lead the country.

Harris will be travel to Arizona on Friday for some campaign events and to visit the southern border, according to a source familiar with her plans. It will be her first visit to the border since 2021.

Trump will be in New York, where he plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower. Later Friday, he will campaign in Michigan.

Latest Developments

_{Sep 27, 8:51 AM}

Trump to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

After sources said Trump might not meet with the foreign leader while he is in the U.S., Trump told reporters on Thursday they will meet at 9:45 ET this morning at Trump Tower.

"It's a shame what's happening in Ukraine. So many deaths, so much destruction," Trump said. "It's a horrible thing. And one of the things that are very bothersome to me is the fact that Europe is paying only a small fraction of the money that the United States of America is paying, and we have an ocean between Russia and ourselves."

ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott asked Trump if he believed Ukraine should cede its own territory to Russia in order to end the war -- what Kamala Harris called "surrender."

"We'll see what happens," Trump said. "Let's get some peace. We need peace. We need to stop the death and destruction, don't you think? Wouldn't that be nice?"

_{Sep 26, 7:59 PM}

Secret Service turns down Trump's Saturday rally

The Secret Service informed Trump’s campaign it wouldn’t be able to accommodate his outdoor rally in Wisconsin on Saturday due to manpower issues, according to a source briefed on the situation.

The campaign wanted to have a rally at an airport hangar, but due to the Secret Service being stretched thin with the U.N. General Assembly in New York, it didn’t have the number of agents necessary to secure that site. A source said Secret Service personnel and equipment are being pushed to their limits to sustain the current operational tempo.

Trump’s detail is akin to those of President Joe Biden and Harris, with the exception of Defense Department assets on their details, and the agency wasn’t built to handle these increasing needs, according to a source familiar with the planning.

"Former President Donald Trump is receiving heightened levels of U.S. Secret Service protection and our top priority is mitigating risks to ensure his continued safety at all times,” Anthony Gugliemi, Secret Service chief of communications, said. “Out of concern for operational security, we cannot provide specific details about resources allocated for event security or communications between agency personnel and our protectees."

The Trump campaign hasn’t responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

ABC News' Luke Barr _{Sep 26, 5:29 PM}

Trump blasts Harris ahead of her border visit in lengthy remarks on immigration

Trump blasted Harris' record as he spoke about immigration at Trump Tower in New York, .

"Kamala Harris will be visiting the southern border that she has completely destroyed, from what I understand, tomorrow," Trump said. "Why would she go to the border now, playing right into the hand of her opponent? I mean, you take a look at this -- why would you do that? There can be no justification for what she’s done."

Trump is going through a lengthy list of his grievances with Harris and continued to demonize migrants.

_{Sep 26, 12:06 PM}

Trump to deliver remarks to reporters in New York

In a last-minute addition to his schedule, Trump's campaign announced that he will deliver remarks Thursday at Trump Tower at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The campaign didn't disclose the topic of his remarks, but they will happen on the same day that New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with five counts connected to improper campaign contributions, according to a sweeping indictment unsealed Thursday morning.

This weekend, Trump will campaign in Michigan and Wisconsin.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

_{Sep 26, 10:22 AM}

Melania Trump discusses Trump assassination attempts

Describing her decision not to take the stage at the Republican National Convention, Melania Trump pointed to the letter she penned following Trump's assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"It was my decision. I think was just the time. I think was the right time in, days before I wrote a beautiful letter to America, yes. And I think in one way, that letter was my speech," she said in an interview that aired on Fox & Friends on Thursday morning.

Like her husband , Melania Trump blamed rhetoric from Democrats and people in the media as reasonings for why she feels there has been targeted violence against the former president.

"This is not normal, and is it really shocking that all this outrageous violence goes against my husband? Especially that we hear the leaders from the opposition party and mainstream media branding him as threat to democracy, calling him vile names," she said. "They're only fueling a toxic atmosphere and giving power to all of these people that they want to do harm to him. This needs to stop. This needs to stop. The country needs to unite."

Recounting the moments she heard about Trump's first assassination attempt, Melania Trump said that she couldn't get ahold of Trump or the Secret Service initially.

"First, the Secret Service was not available too, because they were with him, right? And then after that, I got the Secret Service on the phone, and they said that he's OK. We are in on the way to the hospital," she said.

She also talked about having to tell their son, Barron, about the attack.

"He was outside playing sport, and he rushed in, and was very, very difficult," she said.

ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

_{Sep 26, 9:59 AM}

Melania Trump advocates for 2nd Trump term in 1st interview of 2024 cycle

Former first lady Melania Trump, sitting down for an interview with Fox & Friends, attempted to pitch her husband to voters.

"I think American people need to decide what they really want. Maybe some, you know, strong tweets, but everything else great for this country. So it's all in Americans people's hands on Nov. 5," she said, arguing her husband was a strong leader in terms of the economy and immigration.

Despite her lack of a role on the campaign, Melania Trump said that she supports her husband's third bid to the White House.

"I know how passionate he is to make America great again," she said.

Melania Trump was also asked some personal questions about her relationship with Trump.

"Did you fall in love then?" co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked after Melania Trump described meeting Donald Trump for the first time.

"It was a connection. It was a connection," Melania Trump responded.

"His being," she later said when asked what she loves most about Trump. "His humor, his personality, his kindness, he's, he's very special, his positivity, his energy. It's unbelievable. Yeah, so we have a beautiful relationship."

ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

_{Sep 25, 7:31 PM}

More details of Harris' planned visit to border revealed

An aide to Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign provided more details about the vice president's planned visit to the border in Arizona on Friday.

Harris will visit the border city of Douglas, and deliver remarks on border security, according to the aide. She will also talk about her intention to introduce a tough bipartisan border security plan and criticize former President Donald Trump for killing the one introduced over the summer.

-ABC News' Gabriella Abdul Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie

_{Sep 25, 6:17 PM}

Harris releases economic policy book

Vice President Kamala Harris released her roughly 80-page economic policy book on Wednesday and outlined it in a speech in Pittsburgh.

Harris spoke at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh and framed her proposals into three pillars: "lowering costs, investing in American innovation and leading the world in industries of tomorrow."

She also highlighted her plans for American manufacturing.

"The simple truth is, in America, it takes too long and it costs too much to build. Whether it's a new housing development, a new factory or a new bridge, projects take too long to go from concept to reality," Harris said. "It happens in blue states, it happens in red states, and it's a national problem. And I will tell you this, China is not moving slowly. They're not, and we can't afford to either. If we are to compete, we can't afford to either."

She attacked former President Donald Trump's record, calling him "one of the biggest losers ever on manufacturing."

"Just yesterday, he went out and promised to bring back manufacturing jobs. And if that sounds familiar, it should, in 2016 he went out and made that very same promise about the Carrier plant in Indianapolis," she said.

"You'll remember, Carrier then offshored hundreds of jobs to Mexico under his watch. And it wasn't just there. On Trump's watch, offshoring went up and manufacturing jobs went down across our country and across our economy."

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Will McDuffie and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim

_{Sep 25, 5:20 PM}

Harris outlines her 'pragmatic' economic vision

Harris drew contrasts between her economic agenda and that of her opponent, Trump, in a speech in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Harris told an audience at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh that her economic philosophy is "rooted in her middle-class upbringing" while Trump's comes from a "gilded path to wealth."

"For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers. Not those who build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floors," she said.

Harris has made the economy and the cost of living a focal point of her campaign in recent weeks.

To allow the middle class to be the "growth engine of our economy," Harris said she would cut taxes for middle class families and individuals, promising that more than 100 million Americans would get a middle-class tax break.

Read more here .

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, and Will McDuffie

_{Sep 25, 5:15 PM}

Trump takes aim at Iran after officials warn of foreign threats

Former President Donald Trump didn't mince words Wednesday at a rally in North Carolina following more reports from security officials that Iran has been plotting to assassinate him.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence met with Trump and his campaign Tuesday, according to a spokesman for DNI. While the agency declined to discuss specifics about the meeting, the former president's campaign said the meeting involved "real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States."

During his rally in Mint Hill, North Carolina, Trump echoed that statement and sent a stark warning to the country.

"If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case, Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens. We're going to blow it to smithereens," the former president said to cheers. "There would be no more threats."

Read more here .

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