What's happening on the campaign trail today:
- The judge overseeing Donald Trump's New York criminal trial delayed the former president's sentencing from Sept. 18 until after the November election.
- Separately, Trump's lawyers also delivered arguments this morning appealing the first E. Jean Carroll verdict against him. The former president followed his court appearance in that case with lengthy remarks claiming Carroll fabricated her claim that he sexually assaulted her decades ago, despite his having been found liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer.
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a Republican, confirmed today that he's backing Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign after his daughter announced his choice for president earlier in the day. The Cheneys join a list of Republicans who say they have ideological differences with Harris but are more concerned about another Trump presidency.
- Harris is in Pittsburgh today as she continues to prepare for next week's debate. Both campaigns agreed to the terms of the debate Wednesday after protracted negotiations.
The ‘Adelson primary’ returns as Republicans gather in Las Vegas
Republican politicians filed in and out of Las Vegas this week to give public speeches at an annual event held by the influential Republican Jewish Coalition.
But behind the scenes, there was something else happening: the Adelson primary.
Vance declines to rule out the use of family separations if Trump is re-elected
Vance declined today to rule out the use of family separations — a policy from Trump’s first term in office — if he and the former president win back the White House, even as Homeland Security officials are currently working to reunify over 1,000 children with their families.
“When the media says family separation, look — every time that somebody’s arrested for a crime, that’s family separation,” Vance told NBC News speaking with reporters during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“If a guy commits gun violence and is taken to prison, that’s family separation, which, of course, is tragic for the children, but you’ve got to prosecute criminals, and you have to enforce the law,” he continued. “The real family separation policy is when you don’t enforce the border, like Kamala Harris has refused to do.”
Senate GOP campaign chair asks for more resources to win big battlegrounds
Montana Sen. Steve Daines came to Vegas with an ask: The chair of the Senate GOP campaign arm wants more money to turn the chamber red.
“We’ve got a great map, the best map in a decade,” Daines told a crowd of hundreds at the Republican Jewish Coalition Summit, an annual gathering of Jewish community leaders, donors, and GOP politicians.
“Kamala Harris can’t do much of anything well [but] they do know how to raise money,” said Daines. “We need your help to close the fundraising gap,” he added, asking for donations.
Iranian cyber operation targeting the Trump campaign is likely still underway, FBI official says
Iran’s cyber operation targeting the Trump campaign is likely still active, an FBI official said today, even after U.S. officials and tech firms exposed a successful Iranian hack.
Iran and other foreign adversaries are seeking to shape the outcome of the upcoming election and Tehran will probably continue the operation as part of its broader goals aimed at undermining America’s democratic process, said the FBI official, who spoke on condition of anonymity along with intelligence officials at a briefing for reporters.
“They will likely still have that kind of longer-term strategic interest in that type of activity,” the FBI official said, referring to the recent hack. “They may just have to reconstitute or pivot to different access points and kind of make tweaks to how they are conducting those operations.”
Georgia’s secretary of state is touring the state to check on voting equipment and assure voters that the November election will be fair and secure, despite new doubts being raised by Trump. NBC News’ Julia Ainsley reports.
Two major PACs launch Spanish-language ad for Harris
Two major super PACs launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign today as Harris appeals to Latinos — a key voting bloc in this election.
Somos PAC and Future Forward announced a $5.25 million ad campaign focusing on Latino voters in battleground states Nevada and Arizona.
The campaign kicked off this afternoon with a Spanish-language ad called "Nadie Le Regaló Nada," or "No One Gifted Her Anything," portraying Harris as a daughter of immigrants who had to fight to get ahead, while depicting Trump as a "privileged" person who had "everything fall into his lap" and bankrupted small businesses.
"Kamala Harris is someone like us," the Spanish-language ad concludes, furthering her appeal to Latinos.
Somos PAC and Future Forward said the ad would focus on the "economy, cost of living and other issues of top concern for Latino voters."
Trump accuser says his comments about her show he's 'unraveling'
A woman who testified in the E. Jean Carroll case that Trump had groped her on an airplane in 1979 said his comments about her at a press event today show he's "unraveling."
"I really think it’s obvious that Trump is getting to the point that there is so much against him that he is unraveling in front of us and it is terribly unfortunate,” Jessica Leeds said in a statement after a press event where he attacked her and other women who've accused him of sexual misconduct.
Leeds testified last year that Trump started kissing her and grabbing her breast after she was seated next to him on a flight and they started chatting. It was “like he had 40 zillion hands,” she testified. Trump's lawyers argued to appeals court today that Leeds' testimony in the Carroll case should not have been allowed.
Trump has denied her account, which he brought up unsolicited while addressing reporters at Trump Tower, suggesting he was already famous because of his book "The Art of the Deal," which came out in 1987.
"She made up the story," he said. "She said I was making out with her. And then, after 15 minutes, and then she changed her story a couple of times, maybe it was quicker. That I grabbed her at a certain part. And that was when she had enough. Now, so, think of how, the impracticality of this," he added. "What are the chances of that happening? What are the chances?"
"And, frankly, I know you’re going to say it’s a terrible thing to say, but, it couldn’t have happened. It didn’t happen. And, she would not have been the chosen one. She would not have been the chosen one," Trump said.
Gwen Walz criticizes Vance over Georgia shooting remark at Phoenix rally
Tim Walz's wife, Gwen Walz, criticized Vance over a remark he made at a rally in Phoenix yesterday, that he regretted that gun violence in schools was a "fact of life."
In a post on X this afternoon, Gwen Walz criticized Vance by name, suggesting that he and others were normalizing gun violence in schools.
"As a mom and educator, I refuse to let people like JD Vance normalize gun violence in our schools," she wrote. "Kamala Harris is right — it doesn’t have to be this way. For the safety of our kids, we must act to prevent gun violence."
Commenting on the shooting at a Georgia high school that left four people dead this week, Vance said yesterday, “No parent should have to deal with this. No child should have to deal with this," and argued that measures were needed to make gun violence in schools "less common," but said that strict gun laws were not the solution.
“I don’t like that this is a fact of life,” Vance said at the time.
Biden speaks with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after school shooting
Biden has spoken with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp about Wednesday's mass shooting at Apalachee High School, according to White House spokesperson Emilie Simons.
The president shared his condolences and said that "his prayers are with the devastated families that have lost loved ones, and offered additional assistance to help the community recover from this tragedy," Simons said.
Trump appears to refer to attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband
Trump appeared to refer today to the attack on Paul Pelosi, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband.
“Kamala Harris and the radical liberals force anarchy on the American people while they, they live in safety, in many cases, behind walls. You know that?" he began his remarks to law enforcement in North Carolina. "Nancy Pelosi has a big wall wrapped around her house. Of course, it didn’t help too much with the problem she had, did it?"
NBC News has reached out to the Trump campaign and Pelosi's office for comment.
In 2022, Pelosi's husband was attacked with a hammer at the couple's California home. Paul Pelosi suffered a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands, a Pelosi spokesperson said after the attack.