The Latest: Harris and Trump attend 9/11 remembrance ceremonies as debate reaction rolls in

Kamala Harris pressed a forceful case against Donald Trump on Tuesday in their first and perhaps only debate before the presidential election, repeatedly goading him in an event that showcased their starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration and American democracy.

Less than two months from Election Day and hours before the first early ballots will begin to be mailed Wednesday in Alabama, the debate offered the clearest look yet at a presidential race that has been repeatedly upended.

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Here’s the latest:

Election officials ask for more funding, but say they’re confident in their preparations for November

Top U.S. election officials are asking the federal government for more funding to improve election security, replace aging machines, hire personnel and upgrade voter registration systems.

But they say even without consistent funding, they’re confident they’ve done everything they can to make this fall’s elections fair and secure in their states.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, both Democrats, made the appeals in a hearing of the House Administration Committee on Wednesday. Fontes called elections “critical infrastructure” and said they need funding to maintain, just like highways, dams and railroads.

“We implore you, please consider, if this is such a big deal and if it is so important that we continue to have free, fair and secure elections, fund them,” he said.

The Republican chair of the committee, Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, responded to the funding calls by promoting the SAVE Act, a proof-of-citizenship mandate for voters passed by the House and being debated in the Senate.

He told Benson the legislation would give election administrators free access to a federal database to help them check for noncitizen voters on the rolls — though she noted her state thoroughly verifies voter citizenship already.

In addition to testimony from Benson and Fontes, the hearing featured New Mexico’s Democratic secretary of state and the Republican secretaries of state from Florida, Ohio and West Virginia.

Does Trump want to debate Harris again?

On his social media site Wednesday, Trump seemed to brush aside the idea of a second debate and professed success, likening Harris to a fighter “who gets knocked out.”

“In the World of Boxing or UFC, when a Fighter gets beaten or knocked out, they get up and scream, ‘I DEMAND A REMATCH, I DEMAND A REMATCH!’ Well, it’s no different with a Debate,” he said.

Trump said Harris “was beaten badly last night” and asked “so why would I do a Rematch?”

Election officials warn that widespread problems with the US mail system could disrupt voting

State and local election officials from across the country on Wednesday warned that problems with the nation’s mail delivery system threaten to disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election, telling the head of the U.S. Postal Service that it hasn’t fixed persistent deficiencies.

In an alarming letter, the officials said that over the past year, including the just-concluded primary season, mailed ballots that were postmarked on time were received by local election offices days after the deadline to be counted. They also noted that properly addressed election mail was being returned to them as undeliverable, a problem that could automatically send voters to inactive status through no fault of their own, potentially creating chaos when those voters show up to cast a ballot.

The officials also said that repeated outreach to the Postal Service to resolve the issues had failed and the widespread nature of the problems made it clear these were “not one-off mistakes or a problem with specific facilities. Instead, it demonstrates a pervasive lack of understanding and enforcement of USPS policies among its employees.”

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▶ Read more about problems with the postal service

Sorority says Trump’s comment about Harris attending a ‘sorority party’ was disrespectful

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., a traditionally Black sorority, called Donald Trump’s comment that Vice President Kamala Harris attended a “sorority party” instead of attending a joint address to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “disheartening” and “disrespectful” to the organization.

Harris attended the group’s “Boulé,” or membership meeting, in July just days after being endorsed by President Joe Biden to lead the Democratic ticket. She met separately with Netanyahu.

The sorority also noted that it “has joined forces with all Divine Nine organizations on an unprecedented voter mobilization effort.”

Vance visits trading floor of company raises money in honor of 9/11 victims

Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance briefly visited the trading floor of a brokerage company affiliated with Cantor Fitzgerald that raises funds in a one-day event in honor of 9/11 victims. Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 employees in the World Trade Center attacks.

Vance jokingly said he watched the speech given by Jordan Belfort, who was played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” to prepare for this visit.

“I know what you all are doing,” he said. “And I know you’re working your asses off to make sure that you support the families of the people who died in these terrible attacks.”

More from Trump and Vance’s visit to a firehouse in lower Manhattan

The members of the firehouse bowed their heads to observe a moment of silence.

The former president posed for pictures with fire department staff in uniform standing before a sign a large Fire Department New York sign that said “Never Forget. Heroes.” He did his signature thumbs up and said “thank you.”

Among the people accompanying Trump in his visit were advisers Chris LaCivita, Susie Wiles, far-right activist Laura Loomer, who also traveled to Philadelphia with Trump for the debate and is known for promoting conspiracy theories. His sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. also joined the visit.

Mexican president ‘very pleased’ Harris and Trump treated country with respect during debate

In a morning news briefing Wednesday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador didn’t comment on a number of false claims made by Trump about migrants, or calls for greater border security by both presidential candidates.

Rather, the populist leader, a friend of Trump, applauded the candidates for respecting Mexico in their debate.

“I was very pleased that Mrs. Kamala and President Trump both treated Mexico with respect and we are moving forward, respecting other sister nations and that they respect us as an independent and sovereign country,” López Obrador said.

It comes after López Obrador said he was putting relations with the U.S. Embassy “on pause” after Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar expressed democratic concerns about a judicial overhaul the Mexican leader’s party has jammed through.

Whose motorcade is this?

With Biden, Trump, Harris and Vance all on hand for the New York Sept. 11 commemoration, aides had their work cut out to keep things running smoothly.

Biden’s team ran into one minor blip — keeping track of which motorcade belonged to which of the current, former and would-be presidents and vice presidents.

At one point, the small group of journalists traveling with Biden were led to Harris’ motorcade instead of the president’s. It took a few minutes, but White House aides were able to straighten things out and find their ride.

Germany’s foreign office responds to Trump debate claim about the nation’s power plants

The German Foreign Office fired back at Trump’s allegation during Tuesday’s debate that the European country is now building “normal power plants.” The former president contended that Germany’s planned exit from fossil fuels had failed.

“Like it or not: Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewables,” the foreign office wrote on social media platform X. “And we are shutting down – not building – coal & nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest. PS: We also don’t eat cats and dogs. #Debate2024”

Data released in March showed Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by one-tenth last year as the use of coal and gas diminished. Germany aims to cut its emissions to net zero by 2045 and is working to ramp up the use of solar and wind power and other renewable sources.

The tweet’s post-script referenced a debunked rumor that Trump and his allies have spread online in recent days, alleging Haitian immigrants in an Ohio town are hunting and eating pets. Officials in Springfield, Ohio, say they have no evidence of that happening.

Debate-watchers more likely to say Harris won, but perceptions of the candidates remain largely unchanged

About 6 in 10 debate-watchers said Harris outperformed Trump in Tuesday’s presidential debate, while about 4 in 10 said Trump did a better job, according to a flash poll conducted by CNN, with Harris exceeding debate-watchers’ expectations. Before the debate, the same voters were evenly split on whether Trump or Harris would win.

The vast majority of debate watchers — who, importantly, do not reflect the views of the full voting public — also said, though, that the debate wouldn’t affect their vote. And perceptions of the two candidates remain largely unchanged. Views of Trump — whether positive or negative — didn’t shift meaningfully before and after the debate, while Harris received a slight bump in the share of people who view her favorably after the debate.

Similar to pre-debate polling, the poll found that Harris left the debate with higher trust in her ability to handle abortion and protecting democracy, while Trump maintained an advantage on the economy and immigration.

The bell rang and a moment of silence began at the site of the 9/11 Museum and Memorial in Manhattan

Officials including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are gathered to mark the 23rd anniversary of the attacks in New York, Washington, and rural Pennsylvania.

Former NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared to facilitate a handshake between Harris and Trump

It happened while they were standing near President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance at the site of the 9/11 memorial where leaders are meeting to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of 9/11.

Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, walked across the stage to shake Trump’s hand before the presidential campaign debate began Tuesday evening in Philadelphia.

Kamala Harris gave abortion rights advocates the debate answer they’ve been longing for

When President Joe Biden gave bumbling remarks about abortion on the debate stage this summer, it was widely viewed as a missed opportunity — a failure, even — on a powerful and motivating issue for Democrats at the ballot box.

The difference was stark, then, on Tuesday night, when Vice President Kamala Harris gave a forceful defense of abortion rights during her presidential debate with Republican Donald Trump.

Harris conveyed the dire medical situations women have found themselves in since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the national right to abortion in 2022. Harris quickly placed blamed directly on Trump, who recalibrated the Supreme Court to the conservative majority that issued the landmark ruling during his term.

Women, Harris told the national audience, have been denied care as a result.

“You want to talk about this is what people wanted? Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because health care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot?” Harris said.

The moment was a reminder that Harris is uniquely positioned to talk about the hot-button, national topic in a way that Biden, an 81-year-old Catholic who had long opposed abortion, never felt comfortable doing.

▶ Read more about Harris’ debate comments on abortion rights

Trump falsely accused immigrants in Ohio of abducting and eating pets

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, repeating during a televised debate the type of inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric he has promoted throughout his campaigns.

There is no evidence that Haitian immigrants in an Ohio community are doing that, officials say. But during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump specifically mentioned Springfield, Ohio, the town at the center of the claims, saying that immigrants were taking over the city.

“They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said.

Harris called Trump “extreme” and laughed after his comment. Debate moderators pointed out that city officials have said the claims are not true.

Trump’s comments echoed claims made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and other Republicans. The claims attracted attention this week when Vance posted on social media that his office has “received many inquiries” about Haitian migrants abducting pets. Vance acknowledged Tuesday it was possible “all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”

Officials have said there have been no credible or detailed reports about the claims, even as Trump and his allies use them to amplify racist stereotypes about Black and brown immigrants.

▶ Read more about Trump’s comments on Ohio immigrants

Catch up: Taylor Swift endorsed Harris for president right after the debate wrapped

Taylor Swift, one of the music industry’s biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the debate ended on Tuesday night.

“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post, which included a link to a voter registration website.

Swift has a dedicated following among young women, a key demographic in the November election, and her latest tour has generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales. In a half hour, the post received more than 2.3 million likes.

She included a picture of herself holding her cat Benjamin Button, and she signed the message “Childless Cat Lady.” The remark is a reference to three-year-old comments made by JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, about women without children not having an equal stake in the country’s future.

▶ Read more about Swift’s endorsement