Harris says she would appoint a Republican to cabinet if elected; Trump defends Arlington cemetery visit – live

11.00pm BST

In an interview with NBC News , Donald Trump said that his administration would protect IVF access and require the government or insurance companies to the cover the cost of the treatment.

His remarks as Republicans face growing criticism for their position on the fertility treatment. In June, Republicans in the US Senate blocked a bill that would have established a right to IVF in the US.

10.43pm BST

Trump defends his appearance at Arlington

Donald Trump defended his visit to Arlington national cemetery this week and accused the media of creating a scandal over photos his campaign took of his appearance at the site.

US army officials confirmed Thursday that a worker at Arlington national cemetery was “abruptly pushed aside” during an altercation with members of the former president’s staff, and that Trump’s team was explicitly told in advance that it was against the law to take photographs and video footage at the cemetery.

During his speech in Michigan, Trump said that he was invited to Arlington by the family of some of the 13 US servicemen and women killed in a suicide bomb attack ahead of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“I spent a lot of time there. And while I was there, those families that asked me to be there … they said, could you take pictures over the grave of my son, my sister, my brother? Would you take pictures with us, sir?” Trump said. “I did. And then I said, farewell. I said, goodbye, and last night I read that I was using the site to politic, that I used it to politic. This all comes out of Washington.”

“They ask me to have a picture. And they say, I was campaigning. The one thing I get is plenty of publicity. I don’t need that. I don’t need the publicity.”

Updated at 10.45pm BST

10.28pm BST

During his speech in Michigan, Trump has aired his usual grievances, complaining about the media’s coverage of his speeches and polling.

He complained about Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, criticizing her 2020 presidential campaign, and criticized the media’s responses to the vice-president compared to the responses to his speeches, and accused polls of being rigged.

“They can make those polls sing. They can make them do whatever they want,” he said, without evidence.

He also targeted the United Auto Workers, which has endorsed Harris, and their president Shawn Fain, calling up Brian Pannebecker, the founder of Auto Workers for Trump, to briefly speak on stage during his speech. Trump praised Pannebecker’s arms before taking back the microphone.

Updated at 10.35pm BST

9.55pm BST

Donald Trump continued his attacks on Kamala Harris in blustering – and often demonstrably false – remarks at a Michigan steel plant on Thursday.

Trump gave the speech in front of an American flag between groups of supporters wearing hard hats and reflective work vests. He walked out to greet the crowd to God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood, a Trump supporter , as his campaign has received cease and desist letters from musicians for unauthorized use of their music in 2024 campaign videos and rallies including Abba, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, and the Foo Fighters.

“Your long economic nightmare will very soon be over,” Trump said. “When was the last time you heard about the American dream. They don’t talk about it. They copy everything else I do so I guess that’ll be that they’ll be copying that.”

Trump accused Kamala Harris of being a “Marxist” and a “fascist”, and he criticized the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

He jumped on the criticism the Harris campaign has received for the lack of interviews she has given to the press – Harris sat down with CNN this week in her first major interview. Trump also repeated falsehoods about US election integrity, polling and abortion laws.

The Republican presidential candidate has escalated his attacks on Harris in recent days.

9.27pm BST

Harris says she would appoint a Republican to cabinet if elected

Kamala Harris said that if elected she would appoint a Republican to serve in her cabinet.

In her first major interview since becoming the Democratic nominee, the vice-president told CNN journalist Dana Bash that she had spent her career “inviting diversity of opinion”.

“I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican,” Harris said.

Updated at 9.51pm BST

9.18pm BST

Kamala Harris says ‘values have not changed’ on climate and border security in first clip from CNN interview

In the first clip of the CNN interview with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the vice-president said that her values have not changed.

CNN journalist Dana Bash asked Harris what voters should make of the changes to some of her policy positions.

“Dana, I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” Harris said.

“You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time,” she said. “We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act.”

“My value around what we need to do to secure our border – that value has not changed. I spent two terms as the attorney general of California prosecuting transnational criminal organizations, violations of American laws regarding the illegal passage of guns, drugs and human beings across our border. My values have not changed.”

Updated at 9.21pm BST

8.50pm BST

CNN journalist Dana Bash shared a photo of her interview with Tim Walz and Kamala Harris, and said we’ll see the first excerpt from their talk in about 10 minutes:

8.40pm BST

Trump to deliver campaign speech at Michigan steel plan

Donald Trump is scheduled to speak this afternoon about the economy at a steel plant in Potterville, Michigan.

It’s the Republican candidate’s eighth visit to the state this year, and his speech will take place at Alro Steel’s facility in the town just west of the state capital, Lansing.

Updated at 9.20pm BST

8.25pm BST

The Secret Service will receive additional military support to protect presidential and vice-presidential candidates, Reuters reports.

Lloyd Austin , the defense secretary, approved a request for unspecified support to the agency, which will be provided by the military’s US Northern Command at different locations, a Pentagon spokesperson announced. She did not elaborate on what kind of support would be provided.

Updated at 8.33pm BST

8.07pm BST

CNN journalist Dana Bash conducted the interview with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz this afternoon.

It was Harris and Walz’s first joint interview since becoming the Democratic standard bearers, as well as Harris’s first sit-down interview since Joe Biden ended his bid for a second term.

Before the broadcast, the New York Times published a Q&A with CNN reporter Astead Herndon , who last year had a lengthy interview with Harris for a profile. He remembers his talk with the vice-president as “arduous”. Here’s more:

In a word or two, how would you describe that 2023 interview?

Arduous! When she sat down, I asked her if she liked her job, and she said she did – but that she didn’t like doing this. I was putting her in a position to self-reflect, and to articulate her own story of growth and change. I thought she would want to tell a story on that front, and was surprised that she did not.

During the interview, she showed a reluctance to label herself politically, like when you asked her how she saw herself in the world of California politics. How did that shape the interview and shape your understanding of her?

It showed how she does not view herself with those labels and feels confined by those boxes. I think she’s someone who doesn’t like feeling known, doesn’t like you assuming to have figured her out, and I think that’s true politically and personally.

I don’t think she loses any sleep over whether you think she’s a moderate or progressive. I think she thinks, ‘I’m a person who makes big and hard decisions, with all the evidence in front of me.’ That’s what’s mattered most as a prosecutor and attorney general, and I think that’s how she views political leadership.

Updated at 8.31pm BST

7.45pm BST

Donald Trump has not said much publicly about the campaign staffer who pushed aside an employee of Arlington national cemetery during his visit there earlier this week.

But JD Vance has responded by calling the episode “fake”, and downplaying the uproar it generated:

The Trump campaign earlier this week said it would release video proving that the incident did not happen the way it has been reported, but has not yet done so.

Updated at 8.29pm BST

7.26pm BST

The setting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s interview with CNN is Kim’s Cafe, a local Black-owned business in Savannah, Georgia.

Perhaps Harris or Walz will explain their choice of the venue in the interview, which airs at 9pm this evening. But it can be surmised that it’s part of their outreach to African American voters, a bloc that could decide the outcome in several swing states, including North Carolina, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Here’s more from the Guardian’s Melissa Hellman on what Black voters in Georgia are looking for from the Democratic ticket:

Related: Black voters in Georgia want affordable access to healthcare. Will Kamala Harris win them over?

7.06pm BST

JD Vance addressed his previous comments about former president Donald Trump during his speech to the firefighters’ union on Thursday, telling them that “once upon a time” he wasn’t a “Trump guy either”, adding that “the president never lets me forget it”.

Vance continued:

But the truth is, I didn’t fully believe in the promises Trump made, I didn’t believe in the promises that any politician made, and you shouldn’t either. But I didn’t change my mind because of Donald Trump’s promises, I changed my mind because he did a good job for the American people.

Updated at 7.11pm BST

6.58pm BST

During his speech to the International Association of Fire Fighters in Boston on Thursday, JD Vance was met with boos and heckles as he told the crowd that he and the former president Donald Trump “are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history”.

“I know this is a diverse union,” Vance said later in his speech. “Some of you love President Trump, and some of you clearly don’t, I’ve heard from both sides just giving this little speech.”

In 2019, the International Association of Fire Fighters union endorsed Joe Biden for president, and called him one of the “strongest and most influential voices for hard-working Americans”.

“After supporting Democrats so long in this union, what has it gotten you?” Vance asked the crowd on Thursday.

Updated at 7.00pm BST

6.38pm BST

JD Vance urges tech billionaire Peter Thiel to 'get off the sidelines' and fund campaign – report

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Vance made the plea in an interview with the outlet.

Vance reportedly told the Financial Times:

I’m going to keep on talking to Peter and persuading him that – you know, he’s obviously been exhausted by politics a little bit – but he’s going to be really exhausted by politics if we lose and if Kamala Harris is president.

He is fundamentally a conservative guy, and I think that he needs to get off the sidelines and support the ticket.

This comes as last year, Thiel said that he was not planning on funding any 2024 races after he backed Trump in 2016. But, he said at the time, “there’s always a chance I might change my mind”.

Updated at 8.29pm BST

6.25pm BST

JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential candidate and Ohio senator, spoke at the International Association of Fire Fighters convention in Boston earlier this afternoon.

Right as Vance was about to begin his speech, the vice-presidential hopeful was met with a mix of applause and boos from the crowd.

“Sounds like we’ve got some fans and some haters”, Vance said. “That’s OK. Let’s listen to what I have to say here and I’ll make my pitch.”

Tim Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate and Governor of Minnesota, spoke at the same convention on Wednesday.

Updated at 6.31pm BST

6.09pm BST

The day so far

The army has issued a rare statement rebuking Donald Trump ’s campaign for their conduct at Arlington national cemetery earlier this week. It acknowledged that one of their employees was “pushed aside” during his visit in what it described as an “unfortunate” incident. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are set for their first interview since ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket, which CNN will air at 9pm tonight (though we may see excerpts earlier in the day). The pair are currently in south Georgia, as part of their strategy to limit losses in rural areas of a swing state that could be vital to their path to the White House. Late yesterday, a poll showed Harris drawing near even with Trump in the four Sun Belt swing states, including Georgia, while polling released today showed a similar dynamic in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Here’s what else has happened today so far:

• Trump shared a TikTok video of his visit to Arlington national cemetery, which may have violated federal law, NPR reports .

• The big question of the 10 September presidential debate appears to have been answered: microphones will be off when the candidates aren’t speaking, as Trump preferred, according to a copy of the rules obtained by the Associated Press.

• Democratic Senate candidates are holding their own against the GOP in key races nationwide, Emerson College found , though it did not poll the re-election prospects of Democratic senators in the red states Montana and Ohio.

Updated at 6.11pm BST

5.51pm BST

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will meet for the first time when they debate on 10 September.

But the two sides have been at odds in recent days over whether or not the candidates’ microphones would be on or off when it isn’t their turn to speak. Harris’s campaign wants them activated, but Trump appears to prefer them to be off – as they were during his June debate against Joe Biden .

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the rules that debate host ABC News shared with the campaigns, which indicates that mics will be off, as Trump prefers. Here’s more:

Next month’s debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump won’t have an audience, live microphones when candidates aren’t speaking, or written notes, according to rules that ABC News, the host network, shared this week with both campaigns.

A copy of the rules was provided to the Associated Press on Thursday by a senior Trump campaign official on condition of anonymity ahead of the network’s announcement. The Harris campaign on Thursday insisted it was still discussing the muting of mics with ABC.

The parameters now in place for the Sept. 10 debate are essentially the same as they were for the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden , a disastrous performance for the incumbent Democrat that fueled his exit from the campaign. It is the only debate that’s been firmly scheduled and could be the only time voters see Harris and Trump go head to head before the November general election.

The back-and-forth over the debate rules reached a fever pitch this week, particularly on the issue of whether the microphones would be muted between turns speaking.

Harris’ campaign had advocated for live microphones for the whole debate, saying in a statement that the practice would “fully allow for substantive exchanges between the candidates.”

Biden’s campaign had made microphone muting condition of his decision to accept any debates this year, a decision some aides now regret, saying voters were shielded from hearing Trump’s outbursts during the debate.

“It’s interesting that Trump’s handlers keep insisting on muting him, despite the candidate himself saying the opposite,” Harris spokesman Ian Sams said. “Why won’t they just do what the candidate wants?”

Updated at 5.53pm BST

5.24pm BST

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will tape their interview with CNN in Savannah, Georgia, after spending yesterday on a bus tour of the swing state’s southern counties.

While most Democratic supporters these days are found in Georgia’s urban and suburban areas, Harris and Walz’s tour is part of a strategy to win at least some votes in GOP-leaning rural areas of the state.

Harris will cap off the swing with a solo rally in Savannah at 5.30pm today, though Walz won’t be in attendance. Their joint interview is scheduled to air on CNN at 9pm.

5.05pm BST

This evening, Kamala Harris will give her first sit-down interview since launching her presidential campaign, and will be joined by her running mate, Tim Walz. The Guardian’s Robert Tait takes a look at what we can expect from the hotly anticipated encounter:

Kamala Harris on Thursday will give her first major interview since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee in what is being seen as a key test of her credibility after a prolonged honeymoon that has seen her surge ahead of Donald Trump in opinion polls.

She and her running mate, Tim Walz , will face CNN’s Dana Bash in a pre-recorded event that was scheduled following some criticism of Harris’s reluctance to expose herself to media scrutiny following her ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket last month in place of Joe Biden , who withdrew from the race on 21 July.

The US vice-president, who has had a variable performance in past televised one-on-ones, had previously pledged to hold a major interview before the end of August.

The CNN date sees her make good on that pledge with two days to spare.

The terms of her engagement have drawn mockery from Republicans, who have accused Harris of being unwilling to risk a high-profile grilling without the protective presence of Walz, the Minnesota governor who has cultivated a plain-speaking, everyman image.

“Kamala needs to do a live, unedited, solo press conference,” Abigail Jackson, communications director for Josh Hawley, the rightwing Missouri senator, posted on X. “She wants to be commander-in-chief and she’s too scared to do an interview without Tim Walz by her side? Girl power, amirite.”

Related: Kamala Harris to give first big interview as nominee in key test of credibility

Updated at 5.07pm BST

4.45pm BST

NPR reports that the Donald Trump campaign has shared a TikTok video of his visit to Arlington national cemetery, which may have violated federal law, since he did not have permission to film there:

The 21-second video shows Trump laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and several snippets of Trump joining Gold Star family members at gravesites of their loved ones in a part of the cemetery known as Section 60.

‘We lost 13 great great people, what a horrible day it was,’ Trump says over somber music. ‘We didn’t lose one person in 18 months and then they took over the disaster, the leaving of Afghanistan.’

But the Trump campaign was not authorized to film or photograph in Section 60, federal law prohibits the use of military cemeteries for campaign events and two campaign staffers got in a physical and verbal altercation with the Arlington staffer that tried to prevent the filming.

In a statement after NPR’s original story, family members present Monday said they invited Trump and gave approval for his photographer and videographer to document an emotional moment of remembrance.

Some of those family members also spoke at the Republican National Convention, bashing Biden and vocally endorsing Trump.

…

Though the loved ones said they were OK with the cameras present, the families do not have the power to suspend the rules.

NPR has also learned the family of a Green Beret who died by suicide, whose headstone is visible in pictures and videos posted by the campaign, did not give permission to be included.

Updated at 4.47pm BST

4.25pm BST

Army confirms Arlington cemetery employee 'pushed aside' during Trump visit and calls incident 'unfortunate'

The US Army, which owns Arlington national cemetery, said that an employee was “abruptly pushed aside” when trying to ensure Donald Trump ’s entourage followed the rules during their visit on Monday, and called the incident “unfortunate”.

In a statement, an army spokesperson noted that the cemetery “routinely hosts public wreath laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for individuals and groups who submit requests in advance. ANC conducts nearly 3,000 such public ceremonies a year without incident.”

It then detailed what happened on Monday:

Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed.

This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.

Updated at 4.27pm BST

4.08pm BST

Speaking of polls, here’s another one from a GOP pollster and published by Semafor, of the three swing states in the Rust belt.

It shows Donald Trump with a slight edge over Kamala Harris in Michigan and Pennsylvania, but the vice-president leading in Wisconsin:

Updated at 4.10pm BST

3.49pm BST

With polls showing increasing support for Kamala Harris, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports that Donald Trump’s campaign is betting on a strong debate performance to give him an edge over the vice-president:

​Donald Trump ’s campaign insists that they’re pursuing multiple strategies against Kamala Harris , but the true picture that is emerging is that the Trump senior advisers’ grand plan, for now, is to pray that the former US president ​has a good night at the presidential debate next month.

​The game plan, in other words, has become one of hoping that Trump wins the debate so they can regain momentum – a stunning approach that shows the serious predicament for Trump and his campaign as he struggles to find ways to land effective attacks against the vice-president just months before the election.

What has happened internally in the Trump campaign in recent weeks is the realization that nothing they do in the period up to the debate is likely to cut through in a significant way that blunts Harris’s gains that have her level in key swing state polls , according to people close to the matter.

​And because they don’t think the messaging will cut through, senior advisers are left hoping that Trump can energize voters with his performance on stage, the people said.

Trump is certain to continue his day-to-day campaign work until the debate on 10 September: he has a busy travel schedule that will see him do a town hall event in Wisconsin and a rally in Pennsylvania this week, after his visit to the Arlington national cemetery became mired in controversy .

Related: Trump campaign strategy pivots to praying he wins September debate

3.26pm BST

Trump staffer 'pushed' Arlington cemetery official – report

MSNBC reports that a staffer from Donald Trump ’s campaign pushed an employee of Arlington national cemetery out of the way so that he could take pictures and video during the former president’s visit to the Virginia burial grounds on Monday:

Reports emerged earlier this week of an altercation during Trump’s visit to a section of the cemetery holding the bodies of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and where takings pictures is prohibited. The former president’s aides have said that they had permission to film and shoot photos there.

Here’s more on the brewing controversy:

Related: Trump staffers reported over altercation at Arlington cemetery during photo op

Updated at 3.33pm BST

3.06pm BST

Later today, Kamala Harris will do the first sit-down interview of her campaign with CNN, and be joined by her running mate, Tim Walz.

Donald Trump ’s allies in the GOP rarely pass up an opportunity to criticize Harris, and are trying to make a scandal out of the vice-president’s decision to take questions alongside Walz.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that the first and ONLY interview from Kamala Harris – the anointed Democrat nominee for President of the United States – is done jointly with Tim Walz. It is offensive to ALL women that Kamala has refused to sit for a solo interview when she is running to be Commander-in-chief,” the high-ranking House Republican Elise Stefanik said in a statement.

In response, Politico reports that Harris’s campaign has compiled a long list of joint interviews done by presidential contenders over the past 20 years, and adding that the vice-president plans to do solo interviews in the weeks to come.

Updated at 3.07pm BST

2.45pm BST

Another poll out today, this time from Emerson College, shows Democratic candidates leading in several swing state Senate races:

The party is facing a tough road to maintain their 51-seat majority in the chamber, which almost certainly hinges on Kamala Harris winning the White House, in addition to the re-election of senators from red states Ohio and Montana – races that Emerson did not poll.

2.29pm BST

Harris and Trump neck and neck in Sun belt swing states – poll

In more poll news, a Fox News survey released late yesterday has found Kamala Harris and Donald Trump practically tied for voter support in North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona, the four swing states located in the Sun belt.

The poll was conducted after the conclusion of the Democratic national convention last week, and after independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr ended his campaign and endorsed Trump. Here’s what it found:

The surveys, released Wednesday, find a close, two-way Harris-Trump race: Harris is up by 1 percentage point in Arizona and by 2 points in Georgia and Nevada, while Trump is ahead by 1 point in North Carolina. All are within the margin of sampling error.

In past Fox News surveys, Biden trailed Trump in each state: by 5 points in both Arizona and Nevada (June), by 6 in Georgia (April) and by 5 points in North Carolina (February).

The new surveys find Trump achieves his 2020 vote percentage in the head-to-head race in every state except Georgia, while Harris meets or exceeds Biden’s 2020 vote share across the states.

In 2020, Trump won North Carolina by just over 1 point, while Biden narrowly won the other three states (Arizona and Georgia by less than 1 point and Nevada by over 2 points).

Overall, in an average of the four states, Harris is ahead of Trump by a single point in the two-way match-up, 50% to 49%. That 1-point Harris edge also holds among the seven in 10 voters who say they are extremely motivated to cast a ballot this year.

Updated at 2.32pm BST

2.10pm BST

Voter enthusiasm surges as Democrats cheer Harris’s entry into race, poll finds, ahead of vice-president's first interview

Good morning, US politics blog readers. There’s no doubt that Kamala Harris ’s candidacy has transformed the presidential race, with poll after poll showing her drawing even or overtaking Donald Trump in the support of voters nationally, and in the swing states expected to decide the election. Gallup reported this morning that enthusiasm among all voters has jumped in recent weeks, after Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket and chose the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, as her running mate. Among her party’s voters, enthusiasm has jumped to 78% from 55% in March, Gallup finds. Among adults overall, it’s up to 69%, from 54% over the same period – which Gallup notes is the highest level it has measured during a presidential election campaign. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Harris is poised for victory, since Gallup says overall enthusiasm came close to that level in 2004, a year when Democrats failed to retake the White House.

Today is shaping up to be a big one for both Harris and Walz. They are sitting down with CNN in the afternoon for their first joint interview since launching their candidacy, and after weeks of mounting questions over why neither one has had an in-depth talk with reporters. Their conversation airs at 9pm ET, but we can expect to see excerpts released before then.

Here’s what else is happening today:

• Harris is continuing her bus tour of south Georgia, and will hold a rally in Savannah at 5.30pm.

• The controversy is building over reports of an altercation between Donald Trump ’s staffers and an official at Arlington national cemetery during his visit there this week. The former president’s campaign hasn’t helped matters by sharing video of their trip on TikTok.

• JD Vance , Trump’s running mate, will reportedly address a firefighters’s union convention today, after Walz spoke to them yesterday.

Updated at 2.17pm BST