US election 2024: Musk sued over giveaway, Trump backlash grows louder

Euronews Washington correspondent, Stefan Grobe, shares details on the latest polls and election vibes and explains how voting works.

US election 2024: Who will win? Latest polls, vibes, how voting works

Ahead of the US elections in a few days, Euronews politics editor Stefan Grobe guides you through the latest numbers and vibes in the United States. All……

Donald Trump called his rally at New York's Madison Square Garden, a “lovefest," despite it being marked by crude and racist insults by several speakers.

It's a term the former president also has used to reference the 6 January 2021 riot at the US Capitol.

Speaking to reporters and supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump claimed “there’s never been an event so beautiful” as his Sunday night rally in his hometown of New York City.

“The love in that room. It was breathtaking,” he said. "It was like a lovefest, an absolute lovefest. And it was my honour to be involved.”

That's despite criticism from Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign and many who watched — including Republicans — about racist comments made by speakers during the pre-show targeting Latinos, Black people, Jews and Palestinians, along with sexist insults directed at Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Steve Bannon returned to anti-Harris rhetoric and his podcast within hours of his release from prison.

"We have to crush them at the ballot box," Bannon said, accusing Democrats of trying to "tamp down the power of this show and to break."

"Not only didn't it break me, it empowered me," he said.

The Harris campaign has amended its permit application to accommodate over 40,000 people, up from 20,000, a National Park spokesman told NBC News.

Harris is hoping to make a splash with her speech tonight, and gain an edge in a contest that is incredibly close.

The Democrat will also sit for four interviews in battleground states to reach voters in Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

She will do a Spanish radio interview with Rumba in Pennsylvania to reach Latino voters, including Puerto Ricans.

Influential right-wing voice Steve Bannon will waste no time in re-launching his political podcast "War Room" after he was released from prison.

In a post on X, Bannon announced that after four months as a "political prisoner" he would be re-launching his podcast, which supports Trump and his policies.

Bannon was found guilty for refusing to sit for a deposition and for refusing to provide documents showing his involvement in Trump's efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential race.

His four-month sentence has ended just in time for him to throw his support behind presidential candidate Donald Trump, for whom he is a long-term political ally and strategist.

Kamala Harris will lay out her vision for America's future at a speech tonight.

Her campaign chose the grassy Ellipse near the White House where, in 2021, Trump held a rally before his supporters stormed the Capitol.

The speech, and its symbolic location, will aim to give US voters contrasting visions of their future under her or her rival, Donald Trump.

She is expected to tell voters to "turn the page" on Trump and outline her own policies, focusing on the economy, abortion rights and healthcare access.

Robert F. Kennedy Junior, who endorsed Trump after dropping out of his own presidential race, said that comparisons of Trump to Adolf Hitler were making him vulnerable to assassination attempts.

He called the reference ""evocative and explosive and incendiary and poisonous" and said "it's really bad for our country."

Kennedy was referring to comments made by vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz and Hillary Clinton, who compared Trump's rally in Madison Square Garden to one held by Nazis in the same location in 1939.

"You are racist, you are a liar," says the voiceover to a new video posted by The Lincoln Project on X, an American political action committee of conservatives and former Republicans who oppose Trump.

"You are the one who is garbage," says the video, which criticises Trump's visit to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017. Trump tossed paper towels into the crowd and denied the storm's official death toll of 3,000 people.

"We know where real garbage belongs... in the trash," the video concluded.

Puerto Ricans who live on the island cannot vote. There are, however, around 5.8 million people of Puerto Rican origin living in the US who would be eligible to vote, according to census data from 2021.

Various members of the community have spoken out against racist comments made by a comedian at a rally on Sunday, with the Puerto Rico archbishop demanding Trump personally apologise.

"We are on track to win this very close race," Harris campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said about the race to the White House as the campaign enters its final week.

"We feel good about where we are," said the chair when asked if Democrats should feel nervous about the state of the race.

She acknowledged that the polls are practically too close to call, with both Harris and Trump having just two percentage points dividing them among all registered voters.

Harris has maintained a slight lead of four points, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll. The poll, however, has a 2.5% margin of error making the race unpredictable.

"Every one of our seven battleground states are that close. They are all in play," O'Malley Dillon said referring to the several states experts say could tip the race: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Both Harris and Trump have stepped up campaigning in these key states.

Long-time Trump adviser and influential right-wing voice Steve Bannon has been released early from prison, just in time to join campaigning as the election enters its final week.

Bannon served a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena in a congressional investigation into the US Capitol attack in 2021.

He was found guilty for refusing to sit for a deposition and for refusing to provide documents showing his involvement in Trump's efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential race.

Bannon is an influential Republican political strategist and host of the podcast, the "War Room."

Even in prison, Bannon said he would influence the presidential race and that his podcast had the potential to energise Republican voters, even though its viewing figures have slumped in his absence.

Bannon was a key figure behind the scenes of Trump's first tenure as president, and often blamed by Democrats for some of Trump's most divisive policies.

He was the chief executive of Trump's first successful 2016 campaign, however was fired seven months into Trump's term from his role as White House chief strategist.

Since then, he has remained loyal to Trump and his movement on his podcast where he promotes Trump's ideas such as tight controls on immigration and ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, without explaining how.

America's number one podcaster Joe Rogan said the Harris campaign offered him a date for a podcast, which he turned down.

"They offered a date for Tuesday, but I would have had to travel to her and they only wanted to do an hour. I strongly feel the best way to do it is in the studio in Austin," Rogan said in a post on X.

Rogan hosted Donald Trump for a three-hour podcast in which they discussed what he told North Korea's leader, whether extra-terrestrial life exists and the biggest mistakes of his pervious tenure as president.

Harris already went on the viral "Call Her Daddy" podcast, which is the second-most-listened-to podcast in the world with an audience comprised of mostly women.

Rogan added he was happy to have Harris on his podcast, which is saying "My sincere wish is to just have a nice conversation and get to know her as a human being. I really hope we can make it happen."

Harris and Trump have both dedicated their last key media appearances to podcasts instead of traditional media outlets. Read more below on how podcasts have impacted the presidential race.

US election: How much are podcasts affecting the Harris-Trump race?

While polls show that presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris remain tied in crucial swing states, they are dedicating some of their key……

On Monday a ballot box used for early voting was set ablaze in Vancouver, a city in Washington state.

Ballots in another box were damaged in nearby Portland after a device was placed inside it, according to local media.

Officials said that those who had used the ballot boxes should contact the local elections office, presumably to recast their vote.

Police said the two incidents were connected. In September, the US Department of Homeland Security said some social media users were promoting the destruction of boxes in the run-up to the election.

Democrat nominee Kamala Harris made three stops in a frenzied campaign across Michigan yesterday, targeting voters in the key swing state experts say is crucial to winning the race.

During a speech in Ann Arbor she focused on the city's huge student population. “I want to speak specifically to all the young leaders, all the students who are here today,” Harris said. “So, I love your generation. I really do, and one of the things about it is you are rightly impatient for change.”

After being interrupted by protesters shouting about America's approach toward Israel and Gaza she said, “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and to get the hostages out,” Ms. Harris said. “I will do everything in my power to make it so.”

She also took a swing at Donald Trump on the key issue of abortion, telling crowds the former president hadn't acknowledged the "pain and suffering" he caused by playing a role in overturning Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion in the US.

If Harris wins the race she would be the first female president to make it to the White House.

In TV and film, however, there have already been several memorable female presidents.

Have a read of our picks below:

Madam President: The best fictional female US Presidents in film & TV

With the clock ticking, time to take a look at how fiction has superseded reality with some of the most memorable female US Presidents in film and television.…

Florida Senator Marco Rubio has weighed in on the controversy over a racist joke a comedian made at a Trump rally, where he referred to Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."

Rubio said "I understand why some people were offended by a comedian's jokes last night. But those weren’t Trump’s words."

"That's what insult comedians do" Rubio, who is Latino, said.

The Harris campaign has leaned into the controversy sparked by an insulting joke about Puerto Rico made by a comedian at a Trump rally on Sunday.

"I will never forget what Donald Trump did. He abandoned the island" starts the voiceover in the advertisement in which Harris declares she will "always fight for you and your families."

The ad features comedian Tony Hinchcliffe making the joke, where he referred to Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage" against black and white images of Puerto Rico.

Whilst Trump has risked offending the sizable Puerto Rican community in the US, several famous Puerto Rican stars have publicly endorsed Harris including Latin rapper Bad Bunny and actress Jennifer Lopez.

A joke made about Puerto Ricans has spun out of control for the Trump campaign, with the Puerto Rico archbishop asking for an apology and several Republicans denouncing it.

Trump's running mate, JD Vance, was not as concerned, telling people to "take a chill pill."

His call was ignored by the Puerto Rican community in Allentown, a city in the key state of Pennsylvania where some have threatened to protest Trump's planned appearance on Tuesday.

Vance was more worried about comments made about Trump by the Harris campaign, telling supporters that remarks about Trump being a threat to democracy were "endangering the life" of the former president.

Trump denied he was a Nazi at a rally in the other key state of Georgia in a quote-worthy line: "I'm the opposite of a Nazi."

Elsewhere in Georgia he attended a religious event with Christian pastors, promising to "protect the women of our country" during a speech in Atlanta.

Meanwhile Kamala Harris focused her efforts on the key swing state of Michigan. She addressed the issue of abortion, telling the crowd Trump had yet to "acknowledge the pain and suffering he has caused" by nominating the Supreme Court judges who overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing individual states to ban abortion.

On the other side of the Atlantic, a Trump presidency has the potential to upend many of the bloc's policies.

The biggest, however, would be its stance on Ukraine.

Read more in our article below:

The EU’s big fear: Donald Trump winning and cutting all aid to Ukraine

As the US presidential election nears closer, Brussels fears a Trump victory could leave Ukraine to fend for itself. #EuropeNews…

Donald Trump denied he was a Nazi at a campaign rally in Georgia on Monday night after Democrats compared his New York rally to a Nazi rally helf in 1939.

"I'm not a Nazi. I'm the opposite of a Nazi" Trump said.

His comments came after Democrat vice presidential candidate Tim Walz compared Trump's rally in New York's Madison Square garden to a Nazi rally held in the same location in 1939.

Former Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton doubled down on the comparison, saying Trump was, "actually re-enacting the Madison Square Garden rally in 1939."

“My father always used to tell me don’t use the word 'Nazi,' but the way people talk today it’s disgusting," Trump said.

References to the Nazi-era have sprung up several times during the campaign, with Trump's former chief-of-staff John Kelly giving an interview to the New York Times suggesting that Trump said Adolf Hitler had "done some good things." The Trump campaign denied the remarks.

Trump's running mate told supporters people should "take a chill pill" and "take a joke from time to time" over a comment made about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally that has caused backlash.

JD Vance said he hadn't heard the joke himself, but claimed people were too easily offended.

We're back on our live blog providing updates as the US election campaign enters its final and, according to Tim Walz, frenzied week.

Trump's headache over a joke made by a comedian at his rally on Sunday has only grown larger, with the Archbishop of Puerto Rico calling for him to apologise.

If Trump is regretting inviting comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who referred to Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage" on stage, he isn't letting it show.

Although his campaign have taken the rare step of distancing themselves from the comedian's joke, Trump himself has been silent.

The archbishop said that although he "enjoy(s) a good joke" the comment risked insulting the "sacredness of people."

"It is not sufficient for your campaign to apologise. It is important that you personally apologise" archbishop Roberto O. Gonzalez Nieves insisted.

Just over a week before polling day, the two candidates are crisscrossing the country in a last ditch attempt to win over the slither of undecided voters that remain.

However, 42 million US voters have already cast their ballot across the country in early votes, that is 27% of almost 20% of eligible voters.

Data collected so far indicates that many registered Republican voters have already voted, in contrast to the 2020 election when Donald Trump cast doubt on the reliability of early voting.

Democrats still lead overall in early voting with 40% of those who have cast their ballot registering with them, but the Republicans are close behind with 36%.

Republicans are, however, leading early voting in the key swing-states of Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina. Democrats still lead in Pennsylvania, a state the Harris campaign has targeted.

The tech billionaire has been slapped with a lawsuit from Philadelphia's District Attorney over his controversial offer of giving away $1 million (around €921,000) a day to voters who sign his political action committee’s petition. 

Musk was warned by the justice department that his handouts might violate federal election laws.

The lawsuit named both Musk and his political action committee America PAC as the defendants.

"This is not a comedian. This is the Trump campaign. They invited this rhetoric on their stage for a reason" said congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, referring to insulting comments made by a comedian at a Trump rally that have sparked strong backlash among a key voting demographic.

"Right now the Trump campaign is scrambling. They're trying to blame this rhetoric about Puerto Rico on a so-called comedian" Ocasio-Cortez, who is herself Puerto Rican, said on MSNBC.

"It was vetted. They knew exactly who was going to say what before they went on," the congresswoman said.

Elsewhere, she called the rally organised by Trump a "hate rally."

The national press secretary for Trump's campaign, Karoline Leavitt, issued a demand for an apology for what she called "disgraceful comments."

Her demand wasn't, however, directed toward a comedian who made racist comments at a Trump rally on Sunday, but instead towards vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz.

Walz made comments that Trump had "descended into madness" the past few weeks and compared his rally to a Nazi rally in 1939.

“This kind of rhetoric has already inspired assassination attempts”  Leavitt said in a statement.

Polling data shows Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in a tight race in four key states - Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania - where LGBTQ+ voters could play a significant role. 

LGBTQ+ voter turnout is historically high, with strong Democratic leanings, suggesting they could swing these “tipping-point” states. 

In 2020, LGBTQ+ support was essential to Joe Biden’s victory, and given the narrow polling margins in these states, increased LGBTQ+ turnout could benefit Harris. 

Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania all have populations of LGBTQ+ adults that are significantly larger than the margin of victory by which the winning candidate took the state in 2020.

Increased Republican rhetoric against LGBTQ+ rights may mobilise this voter group, yet recent surveys show that around 20% of LGBTQ+ voters are undecided and less than 8% indicated support for Trump. 

With slim margins in these states, LGBTQ+ voter behaviour may be a crucial factor on election night.

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe has justified his joke made at a Trump rally on Sunday, in which he called Peurto Rico, "a floating island of garbage."

"These people have no sense of humour," said Hinchcliffe of a Twitch stream that showed congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz reacting to the comments at the rally.

Hinchcliffe said his joke was taken "out of context."

"love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone…watch the whole set. I’m a comedian Tim…might be time to change your tampon" Hinchcliffe said.

"Garbage is what came out of his mouth" is what Puerto Rican governor Pedro Pierluisi has said over comedian Tony Hinchliffe's remarks at a Trump rally on Sunday.

"These remarks highlight the prejudice and racism still alive in our Nation, and how important it is to elect leaders that reject and combat this bigotry," he added. "America is better than this and deserves better."

Pierluisi, who is a Democrat, has endorsed Kamala Harris.

Trump is facing increasingly louder backlash for a rally he held on Sunday in which a comedian he invited made racist jokes and comments.

Tony Hinchcliffe referred to the island of Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a well-known congresswomen who is Puerto Rican, said that Trump's rally was a "hate rally" on MSNBC this morning.

The Trump campaign has tried to distance themselves from his comments which several Republican politicians have criticised.

Ocasio-Cortez also said Trump would try and take the election by force if he didn't win.

"That's what they mean and that's what they're doing when they are inciting violence and hatred against Latinos, black Americans, against Americans who don't have children," she said.

US President Joe Biden has slammed into Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who has been increasingly establishing himself into the Republican campaign.

Biden said of the Tesla owner, "That wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here" referring to a report published that says Musk once worked illegally in the United States.

Musk has denied the allegations, which were first reported by the Washington Post and claim that Musk worked illegally in the US whilst he was on a student visa.

The newspaper cited company documents, former associates and court documents that showed Musk arrived in California for a masters programme at Stanford University, but never enrolled, instead working on his startup.

Musk has hit back, calling Biden a, "puppet."

“I was in fact allowed to work in the US," he added.

Musk, who is South African, has become increasingly involved in the presidential race having committed €64 million to help the Republican campaign. He has also been headlining events repeating Trump's rhetoric against immigration and using his platform on X, which he owns, to spread his political ideas often in support of the Republican party.

Trump has pledged he would give Musk a role in the administration if he wins next month.

A comedian at Trump's rally in New York's Madison Square Garden called Puerto Rico a, "floating island of garbage", drawing backlash from Republicans and Democrats alike.

Tony Hinchcliffe also made a series of jokes leaning on racist stereotypes.

An advisor for the Trump campaign made the rare move of distancing Trump from the joke, but not before it drew considerable backlash.

Right after the event, one of the world's most famous Latin celebrities, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, endorsed Kamala Harris for president in a move that seemed pointed toward the Trump campaign.

On X, several Republicans were quick to express disgust over the joke. US congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar posted on X that she was "disgusted" by the comment. US Senator Rick Scott said that the joke, "bombed for a reason. It's not funny and it's not true."

Other speakers night created controversy with their own remarks, with Trump's childhood friend, David Rem, calling Harris the "antichrist."

The Harris campaign said the language was "divisive and demeaning."

Both candidates have just eight days to convince voters they belong in the White House in what is expected to be a frenzied week of campaigning.

Today both Democrats and Republicans will focus their attention on seven swing states that experts say are key to their victory: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will hold a joint campaign in Ann Arbor, Michigan with musical guest Maggie Roberts.

Former President Barack Obama will support Harris in a separate rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with singer Bruce Springsteen.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump will hold his own rally in Georgia. His son, Donald Trump J, will be in Pennsylvania and his vice-presidential nominee JD Vance will head to Wisconsin.

Current President Joe Biden is also busy. Biden is expected to cast his vote in his home state of Delaware this morning before heading to the White House where he will take part in a Diwali celebration.

Meanwhile, check out reactions to what has been the story of the day so far: a Trump rally that has led to outrage from members of the Puerto Rican community.

As of Sunday, Kamala Harris has a slight lead in the polls according to a poll by ABC News/Ipsos.

The two candidates are practically neck and neck with just 2 percentage points dividing them among all registered voters. Our Euronews poll updated last week shows the candidates effectively tied.

Although Harris has maintained a slight lead throughout, Trump is leading in most of the key swing states.

All data is subject to a traditional 3% margin of error, making it very difficult to tell who will win the race to the White House.

Based on previous years, the Democrats held a 5-7% lead over Republicans in 2016, but eventually lost. In 2020, Biden held a 9-point lead over Trump at the same stage of the election.

“Outside of love and religion, it's the most beautiful word there is: tariff,” Trump told a North Carolina rally last week.

Trump has said he would slap a universal tariff of 20% on all foreign-imported goods if elected.

How would this impact trade between the US and Europe?

Read our article to find out more.

Would Donald Trump’s trade tariffs hurt Europe?

The EU is increasingly reliant on the US export market, making it vulnerable to the potential shocks of Trump’s trade policy. #EuroVerify…

Kamala Harris spent her Sunday in Pennsylvania, a key swing state she has visited multiple times in the run-up to the election.

Harris has spent much of her campaign trying to drum up support amongst Latino voters, a key demographic in which she is leading.

Latin superstar Bad Bunny threw his support behind her on Sunday, sharing a video of her on Instagram shortly after a comedian made crude jokes about Latinos and called Puerto Rico a, "floating island of garbage."

Bad Bunny shared a video of Harris saying “there’s so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters and for Puerto Rico” with his 45 million Instagram followers.

The Puerto Rican vote is sizable in Pennsylvania, which has become arguably the hardest fought of the seven key swing states in the election. It went Republican in 2016 but was overtaken by Democrats in 2020.

Former first lady Michelle Obama said she feared a Trump presidency at an appearance during a Kamala Harris campaign event in Michigan on Sunday.

"How can this race be close?" she asked, adding, "I'm angry that we don't care about his volatility, his obvious mental deterioration, his history as a convicted felon, as a rent shark, and as someone who has been proven guilty of sexual abuse."

Both Harris and Obama attacked Trump on abortion and women's rights, warning that a Trump presidency could mean a nation-wide ban on abortion.

Earlier this month, he said abortion laws were "too tough" and should be "redone" — without clarifying which laws and what he meant by "redone."

Trump has been inconsistent on his stance on abortion, shifting between vague and contradictory answers on a topic that analysts have highlighted is a vulnerability to the Republican campaign.

The former president nominated three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade, allowing individual states to ban abortions.

Around four in 10 American voters say they are  “extremely” or “very” concerned about violent attempts to overturn the results after the November election, according to a survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research.

About 1 in 3 voters say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about attempts by local or state election officials to stop the results from being finalised.

Candidate Trump has continued to insist that he lost re-election four years ago, blaming it on fraud.

In January 2021 he incited an armed mob of supporters to storm the US Capitol building. His supporters aimed to stop the then-election certification based on conspiracy theories of voter fraud.

The survey also showed that Democrats and independents are much more likely than Republican voters to place “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility on Trump for the riot.

Unlike Europe, the US currently lacks nation-wide Artificial Intelligence rules.

US President Joe Biden, however, signed an executive order in order to keep the commercial use of AI on a tighter leash. Donald Trump has promised he would repeal this if elected.

Read our article on how a Trump presidency could impact AI regulation in the US.

Would Trump victory keep US ahead of Europe on AI?

How a Trump or Harris win in the 5 November presidential election impact the US stance on AI development and regulation.…

Trump leaned into his critics at a rally at New York's Madison Square Garden on Sunday, where speakers used racist insults and crude jokes in what was supposed to be his closing speech.

With just over a week before Election Day, speakers at a rally hosted by Trump labelled Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” and said Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris had begun her career as a prostitute.

“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” said Tony Hinchcliffe, a stand-up comic whose set also included lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jews and Black people, all key constituencies in the election just nine days away.

Trump's campaign took the unusual step of distancing itself from the comedian, with senior campaign adviser Danielle Alvaraz saying the joke did not reflect the views of President Trump.

Trump took the stage over two hours late after being introduced by his wife, Melania Trump, in a rare public appearance.

The event was a surreal spectacle that included former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, TV psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, politicians including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Reps. Byron Donalds and Elise Stefanik, and an artist who painted a picture of Trump hugging the Empire State Building.