Oct. 26 election highlights: Harris rallies with Beyoncé in Houston

Trump criticized federal subsidies aiming to significantly boost U.S. semiconduction manufacturing, one of Biden’s signature achievements. Chipmakers have credited the legislation for enabling billions of dollars in new factories, including in battleground state Arizona.

Tariffs would be a better way to encourage domestic chip making, he said, drawing on a tax policy he has suggested to solve a variety of societal challenges.

“You know, Taiwan, they stole our chip business,” Trump told Rogan. “Okay. They want us to protect and they want protection. They don’t pay us money for the protection, you know? The mob makes you pay money, right?”

The former president started hours late, causing many rallygoers to leave before he took the stage. The temperature dropped at the outdoor venue as he spoke, causing even more people to walk out early.

Trump spent the rally repeatedly decrying Harris and the Democrats, but offered a message geared more toward unity as he was wrapping up. “We are one people, one family and one glorious nation under God,” Trump said.

In his podcast interview with Joe Rogan, Trump said he’s “never been a believer” in theories about extraterrestrial life visiting Earth.

He said he is asked constantly about what the U.S. government knows about “the people coming from space,” and that, as president, he was told “a lot.”

But he dodged Rogan’s entreaties to discuss alien life in detail.

“There’s no reason not to think that Mars and all these planets don’t have life,” Trump said. Rogan told him probes and rovers from Earth have shown there’s no life there.

“It’s not been a big thing for me,” Trump replied.

The former president was interrupted more than once by audience members needing medical attention. After an extended delay where he stopped speaking and urged emergency personnel, “Take your time,” Trump suggested that organizers play a song while the crowd waited.

He ordered up “Ave Maria,” which began blaring out of the venue’s speakers.

It was reminiscent of a recent Trump town hall in Pennsylvania when medical attention required in the audience caused Trump to stop talking. He then swayed to “Ave Maria” and other songs for nearly 40 minutes. This time, after “Ave Maria” played, Trump resumed his speech.

The former president mimicked advice he said he was getting: “‘Sir, Please don’t say you’re going to protect women.’” But, he said, he plans to keep saying it. “I mean, that’s our job.”

Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his first term that overturned the Roe v. Wade decision constitutionally guaranteeing a woman’s right to an abortion. He now says that, if he wins in November, women will feel protected and won’t have to think about abortion again.

Trump again seemed to entertain the idea of eliminating federal income taxes, telling Rogan “Yeah, sure. Why not?” when asked by the podcast host if he was serious about it.

The former president has been calling for the elimination of various taxes as he seeks the White House again, calling for the end of a tax on tips, social security and overtime pay. He’s also floated the idea of replacing some federal income taxes with tariffs, but he has not offered specifics.

The remarks came as he was poking fun at his opponent’s large rally in Houston with Beyoncè.

“Why the hell would she be celebrating when you’re down?” Trump asked of Harris.
He added: “Maybe she knows something we don’t. But were not going to let it happen. Can’t let it happen.”

Trump has suggested repeatedly that the election results may be fixed so that he can’t win. He’s suggested he’ll only accept the results if the election is “fair,” suggesting he may not accept them unless he wins.

“I guess in the 1930s or something, some guy who was inclined toward the Nazis said something, and she said, ‘It’s just like the 1930s,’” Trump said during his rally. “No, no it’s not. It’s called Make America Great Again, that’s all it’s called.”

Harris has wrapped her remarks in Houston after about 30 minutes.

“Do we trust women? Do we believe in reproductive freedom? Do we believe in the promise of America, and are we ready to fight for it? And when we fight, we win,” she said, before going to greet some in the crowd.

Yet again, the strains of Beyoncé’s “Freedom” could be heard in the arena.

The competition for young voters this cycle has been fierce, and Harris is addressing Gen Z directly.

“Where you at Gen Z? I’m counting on you, because the thing I love about you is, you are impatient for change. You know it ain’t right,” Harris said, to cheers from the crowd. “I see you, and I see your power.”

Among those who stuck around at Trump’s rally were John and Cheryl Sowash, who live in Traverse City, and arrived at the airport at 4 p.m.

“We’ve been waiting a LONG time!” said Cheryl, 65, a retired teacher, who was wearing pink gloves and jumping up and down, but said it wasn’t all that cold — while eating from a pint of coffee ice cream, the only food she said was available in the hanger.

The couple left at one point, boarding a bus to leave the venue after they heard he would be hours late, but chose to come back.

“We said, ‘Let’s go home.’ We got in the bus and then we looked at each other,” said Cheryl — and changed their mind.

“Maybe we’ll get a better seat,” said John, 69, who works in renewable energy.

But the two weren’t upset by the delay. They didn’t know why Trump had been held up (they thought it had been because of a plane crash) but said they weren’t angry.

“Things happen,” said John.

Indeed, Cheryl said she was worried about Trump — since she said the crowd was down to about half its original size.

“He’s gonna be disappointed,” she said.

Supporters are starting to leave the rally after seeing Harris and Beyoncé. Harris is still delivering her speech.

Harris listed off downstream effects she sees from various bans, such as “women having fewer options, fewer medical students choosing to specialize in women’s health.”

A video then played, starting with remarks from heralding his hand in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, then playing stories of women discussing their own obstacles to obtaining maternal health care.

Harris listed off downstream effects she sees from various bans, such as “women having fewer options, fewer medical students choosing to specialize in women’s health.”

A video then played, starting with remarks from heralding his hand in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, then playing stories of women discussing their own obstacles to obtaining maternal health care.

“We must speak her name,” Harris says, of Amber Nicole Thurman, a Georgia woman who waited more than 20 hours at the hospital for a routine medical procedure known as a D&C to clear out remaining tissue after taking abortion pills. She developed sepsis and died.

“To those women, I say, and I think I speak on behalf of all of us: we see you, and we are here with you,” she added, of “an untold number of women and the people who love them, who are silently suffering.”

“How dare he?” Harris asked of Trump’s expressions of pride in his work to undo Roe.

Harris also specifically included men in her argument for abortion protections.

“Men across America do not want to see their daughters and wives and sisters and mothers put at risk because their rights have been taken,” she said.

Trump is taking the stage at 10:30 p.m. — exactly three hours after he was supposed to begin his rally in Traverse City, Michigan.

He’s apologizing to the crowd for keeping them waiting while he taped a marathon interview with Joe Rogan.

Trump is apologizing for arriving hours late to his Michigan rally, telling the crowd “we got tied up” and adding “but we’re trying to win.”
He said he gave one of the longest interviews of his life with podcast host Joe Rogan.

Social media showed streams of people leaving before the rally because of the long delay. But the crowd was still large and raucous as Trump began speaking.

The nation’s most listened-to podcaster pressed the former president on whether he’s “completely committed” to bringing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., into his administration.

“Oh, I completely am,” Trump responded. “But the only thing I want to be a little careful about with him is the environmental. Because he doesn’t like oil, I love oil and gas.”

He said he’ll tell Kennedy to “focus on health, do whatever you want.” Trump said he’s faced pressure not to work with Kennedy, citing “big Pharma” as one example.

Kennedy has been instrumental in spreading skepticism about vaccines, rejecting the overwhelming consensus among scientists that the benefits of inoculations outweigh the rare risk of side effects.

He also claims pharmaceutical companies conspire to prevent health improvements because they make so much money selling drugs to people with chronic illnesses.

Rogan also is skeptical of vaccines. Trump noted that “they’ve come up with some amazing things” such as the polio vaccine.

About 10 minutes into her remarks, there have been at least four outbursts that have briefly stalled Harris’ speech.

“You know what, the beauty of our campaign is we’re fighting for democracy,” Harris said, following one of the protesters, who was shouted down by her crowd.

“Many of these bans are causing care to be denied until a woman is at death’s door,” Harris said, talking about various anti-abortion policies she said had been spear-headed by “extremist leaders.”

With the packed arena crowd remaining noisy as she speaks, more disturbances have broken out, leaving Harris trying to keep command of her event.

“I love that there is so much enthusiasm, but let’s talk about the work that we have to do, because we’ve got 11 days to see this through, and we will win,” she said.

A few moments later, a man was escorted out by security.

Moments after Harris took the stage at her rally, Trump finally took the stage in Traverse City, Michigan, wearing a Black and Gold “Make America Great Again” baseball cap. It was nearly three hours after he’d been scheduled to start.

Trump is entering the venue to a booming and dramatic score that includes the sound of a clock striking.

The crowd erupted into cheers as video screens showed Trump walking off his plane and down the steps.

People here have been waiting for hours for the former president to speak.

After embracing Beyoncé and Rowland, Harris took her spot at the mic, as the crowd cheered her name.

“It’s good to be back in Texas,” she said.

Harris started speaking at 10:20p ET, nearly an hour later than scheduled.

In her hometown of Houston, Beyoncé gave the city’s neighborhoods shoutouts, to raucous cheers from the crowd.

“We are all part of something much bigger,” she said. “We must vote, and we need you.”

“Our moment right now. it’s time for America to sing a new song. Our voices sing a chorus of unity,” she said, casting her remarks forward, and introducing Harris. “Are y’all ready to add your voice to the new American song? So let’s do this, ladies and gentlemen.”

“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said in her speech. “Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations.”

Harris’ presidential campaign has taken on Beyoncé’s 2016 track “Freedom,” a cut from her 2016 landmark album, “Lemonade,” as its anthem.

Harris first used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.

Beyoncé gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official confirmed to The Associated Press who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations.

The crowd at Trump’s Traverse City rally burst into cheers as the screens played footage of his private plane touching down.

They’ve been waiting here for hours in the cold after Trump was delayed.

Beyoncé has taken the stage in Houston, along with Kelly Rowland, her former bandmate in Destiny’s Child.

Rowland spoke first, telling attendees she was glad to be with them on “this remarkable, this joyous day.”

Saying she voted “two days ago,” Rowland said this election marked “a moment when we grab back the pen from those who are trying to write an American story of misogyny and racism.”

There was a hard stop to the music at Harris’ rally as a video featuring Ondrea Cummings, who was 16 pregnant weeks and also suffered sepsis, played on video screens.

Cummings took the stage, speaking through emotion and sharing the story of her pregnancy, which she learned was not viable. Citing Texas’ law, Cummings said she “was given no options, despite being at a high risk for infection.”

“My baby girl … was born 5 days after my water broke,” Cummings said. “She lived only for a few minutes, but I hold my baby close to my heart” as they sang her to sleep.

Saying this “is the first time I’m sharing my story,” Cummings recounted three months of around-the-clock care after she was discharged from the hospital following a six-hour emergency surgery and a collapsed lung.

“Texas’ abortion bans unleashed by Donald Trump almost cost me my life and have left me with physical and emotional scars,” she said. “I never thought I would have this type of personal experience. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”

There hasn’t been a Beyoncé sighting yet at Harris’ rally, but the crowd got a little flavor of her music in a snippet from a song by Destiny’s Child, her former girl group.

The DJ has kept the crowd on its feet, with a rollicking playlist with hits by others including Chaka Khan, Usher, GloRilla, Shaboozey, Mariah Carey and Miley Cyrus. Over the tracks, he’s been making shoutouts to supporting both Harris and “reproductive freedom,” the theme of the evening’s event.

Attendees who haven’t left Trump’s rally in Traverse City are bundling up, some covered by blankets, as they wait for him to land.

The crowd sounds tired and looks disengaged as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon kill time on stage.

Trump has been scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. but is running several hours late after spending three hours taping an episode with podcast host Joe Rogan.

Harris has been briefed on Israel’s ongoing strikes against Iran, according to a White House official as she waits to take the stage at a massive campaign rally in Houston. The official said Harris was closely monitoring the situation and would be updated.

Allred thanked Harris for “coming to Texas and shining a light on what’s happening to Texas families and Texas women.”

The crowd broke out in cheers of “beat Ted Cruz” after the Democratic congressman said that, “with y’all’s help and God’s grace, we’re gonna beat Ted Cruz.”

“Do you hear that, Ted?” Allred asked.

Allred likened both his opponent and Trump to being too “small” to be effective leaders.

“Everything is bigger in Texas, but Ted Cruz is too small for Texas,” Allred said, eliciting cheers and laughter from the crowd.

Allred also remembered being at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when he said he “was going to defend the House floor from that mob,” while “Ted Cruz was hiding in a supply closet.

“I went to public school in Texas,” the former football linebacker said. “I’m not just going to sit there.”

A Texas couple that has become a feature of Harris’ campaign argument against abortion restrictions is speaking at her rally.

Amanda and Josh Zurawski appeared on large screens in the arena as part of a Harris campaign ad telling their story, before taking the stage in person.

Amanda Zurawski was 18 weeks pregnant with a daughter they’d named Willow when she had pregnancy complications.

The Zurawskis’ mentions of Trump’s opposition to abortion, even in cases like Amanda’s, elicited boos from the crowd.

“I want to every last voter, including and and every man out there, that this is our fight, too,” Josh Zurawski said, calling on voters to support Harris, Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred and “Democrats up and down the ballot.”

The announcer at Harris’ rally is asking for any graduates of historically Black colleges and universities in the audience.

“If you were in the band at an HBCU, make some noise,” he shouted as marching band music played.

Harris graduated from Howard University, an HBCU. He also asked for members of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, to make noise.

Nelson, 91, launched into a performance of “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” one of his best-known covers with the late Waylon Jennings. Then he tackled “On the Road Again,” for a quick medley of two of his greatest hits.

Last month, Nelson and country star Margo Price encouraged their fans in Texas and Tennessee to register to vote for the Democratic nominees in the U.S. Senate race in each state, in a video posted to his social media accounts.

Ahead of Harris’ comments in Houston, a Texas OBGYN is talking about what he sees as the “devastating” ramifications of restrictive anti-abortion measures in his state and others, thanks to “Trump abortion bans.”

“As a physician, I cannot describe the anguish of not being able to help my patients and the fear of spending the rest of my life behind bars,” Dr. Todd Ivey said, to cheers from the crowd.

“There is no place for Donald Trump in my exam room,” he added, saying he was “proud” to support Harris.

Trump’s plane did not leave Austin, where he was taping a podcast interview, until not long before the rally was set to start.

It’s a chilly night, with temperatures in the low 50’s.

Some, however, are sticking around.

“Well, we rather they were on time,” said Medine Dahlquist from Bay City, Michigan. But, she said, it’s “worth the wait.”

Actress Jessica Alba kicked off Harris’ star-studded rally in Houston on Friday evening to praise the Democratic nominee as someone who “protects our freedoms and creates a brighter future, a more inclusive future for all.”

Harris is expected to focus her rally on abortion restrictions in the state and the consequences of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Alba said: “As a woman I know we need a leader like Kamala Harris who is dedicated to protecting reproductive freedom, ensuring that decisions about your body are made by you, never by the government, because Kamala Harris understands that protecting reproductive freedom isn’t about politics, it’s about our right to choose.”

Trump recorded a video from his plane alerting his supporters that he was running behind and urging them to stick around, promising, “We’re going to have a good time tonight.”

The video was played on screens at the venue in Traverse City, Michigan. Trump said he “had to spend some extra time with some people. Lots of people, actually.”

“We are going to do a special performance, and we’ll be there,” Trump said. “And I think you’ll see the plane land and the whole thing. We really appreciate it. Hope you can stay around.”

There doesn’t seem to be an empty seat at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, the site of Harris’ rally with Beyoncé.

The more than 20,000-seat stadium is awash in light: flashing red, white and blue lights held by supporters in the stands and strobe lights. Large screens are flashing messages that say “Reproductive Freedom,” “Vote, “Trust Women,” Freedom” and “Vote for Reproductive Freedom.”

Harris is scheduled to speak at 9:30 p.m. ET.

“I’m anxious but very excited,” Bridget Doonan, 42, said about the election.

The healthcare worker stood outside for three hours in the sticky evening heat to enter the stadium. “I think we can turn Texas blue. I’m happy to see all these people here, it makes me happy.”

Trump’s rally in Traverse City, Michigan was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. But the crowd gathered in a chilly airport hangar will have to wait.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung posted on X that Trump’s interview with podcast host Joe Rogan lasted a whopping three hours, delaying his departure from Austin and the rally’s start by several hours.

“We’re coming now, Michigan!” Cheung wrote, along with a photo of Trump and his staff boarding his private plane. He posted the message at 7:19 p.m. Eastern Time. The rally was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

Word does not appear to have reached those gathered at the venue in Michigan, where videos are entertaining the crowd and people continue arriving. However, small, steady streams of rallygoers were starting to leave, though no announcement had been made.

Thousands excitedly lined up in anticipation for the vice president at her one and only campaign stop in the nation’s fourth-largest city.

“Sometimes they forget about us because we’re a Republican state,” Rhonda Johnson, whose been living in Houston for 19 years, said. “But I’m glad she’s here.”

Reproductive rights, the economy and LGBTQ issues were key reasons for Yannick Djomatchoua in his decision to support Harris and wait in the hours-long line to see her. “It’s very personal,” he said, and that he knew friends who had to make difficult decisions due to the state’s abortion restrictions.

Abortion rights was a key issue for 27-year-old Rhyle Lobo, too, and believes that having Beyoncé, a Houston native, will pump up enthusiasm for the vice president.

Trump’s interview with Joe Rogan, who hosts the nation’s most popular podcast, lasted a whopping three hours.

That’s according to Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung, who wrote on X that Trump had just wrapped the taping after 7 p.m.

The show is expected to air as early as Saturday.

Twelve visits to Detroit, Michigan, and ten to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both the Democratic and Republican presidential tickets have crisscrossed the country since March 2024, spending much of their energies on critical battleground states.

▶ Take a look at where they’ve traveled using the AP’s campaign travel tracker

About 35 million people have voted early in the 2024 presidential election.

That’s roughly one-fifth the number of people who cast ballots in 2020. The robust total is due to Republicans voting ahead of time after largely refusing to do so the prior two elections because former President Donald Trump criticized the process.

Now, Trump wants his supporters to vote early.

Remember, early vote statistics don’t tell you who won, merely who showed up. We won’t see who they picked until votes are tallied after polls close on Nov. 5.

▶ Find out how many early votes have been cast in your state

A judge in South Carolina ruled Friday it is too late for the state to reopen voter registration for nearly 1,900 teens after the state Department of Motor Vehicles failed to notify election officials that they checked the box to register as they got their driver’s licenses.

The teens were 17 at the time they went to the DMV, but would be 18 by Election Day.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit to reopen registration Tuesday, a day after early voting started in South Carolina.

Lawyers for the DMV, election officials and lawmakers say they are sympathetic toward the teens, but it would be chaotic to reopen registration this close to Election Day.

Judge Daniel Coble’s decision came about six hours after he heard arguments in the case.

Early voting started on Monday in South Carolina and in the first four days, more than 500,000 votes have been cast.

“Our government failed these young voters, and now the same government is making excuses rather than making things right. When ‘It’s too hard to fix’ becomes an acceptable reason to disenfranchise voters, we know that there’s work to do,” ACLU of South Carolina Legal Director Allen Chaney said in a statement after the ruling.

After he spoke in Austin, Trump greeted executives from Blue Origin, the space exploration company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos.

Bezos is the founder of Amazon and the owner of The Washington Post, which reported Friday that its editorial board won’t endorse a candidate for president. The decision was framed as a return to earlier tradition, but it sparked speculation that Bezos wants to avoid antagonizing Trump, who has vowed retribution against his enemies and critics if he returns to the White House.

The Post editorial board endorsed Trump’s Democratic rivals in 2016 and 2020, and the former president has often railed against critical news coverage by the newspaper.

Trump spoke briefly with Blue Origin’s CEO, David Limp, and vice president of government relations, Megan Mitchell, as he left a hangar where he spoke to supporters and journalists at the Austin airport.

The conversation underscores the web of diverse and competing interests in the Bezos business empire. Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to questions about whether the conversation had been planned and whether they had attended the event.

Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013. He made the purchase as an individual and Amazon.com Inc. was not involved. Bezos stepped down as Amazon CEO in 2021 but remains the company’s executive chairman and largest shareholder.

Officials with Seattle-based Blue Origin did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press.

An appeals court in the battleground state of Georgia has declined Friday to expedite the review of an appeal of a judge’s order that county election officials must vote to certify results by the deadline set in law.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled this month that county election officials cannot refuse to certify election results. His ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Julie Adams a Republican member of the election board in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta and is a Democratic stronghold.

Adams appealed that order Wednesday and asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to hear it on an expedited basis.

But the appeals court’s decision means that McBurney’s order will almost certainly remain in effect through the deadline for county officials to certify results, which this year falls on Nov. 12.

Vice President Kamala Harris will be joined by several musicians, including Mumford & Sons, for a get-out-the-vote rally Wednesday on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, the campaign announced on Friday.

The rally will take place just before former President Donald Trump will be about two hours away for a rally in Green Bay.

Both campaigns are hitting the swing state hard in the final days of the race.

The Harris rally will include two members of the indie rock band The National, Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner, along with singer-songwriters Gracie Abrams and Remi Wolf. They are performing as part of the “When We Vote We Win” GOTV Concert and Rally Series, the campaign said.

Donald Trump has concluded his remarks in Austin, Texas.

He spoke for about 45 minutes, with a heavy emphasis on immigration.

Trump did not take questions from reporters while speaking, and he didn’t answer shouted questions afterward.

Both major presidential candidates are in Texas on Friday. Kamala Harris took questions from reporters ahead of her rally later this evening with Beyoncé in Houston.

Donald Trump is predicting he’ll break records for the number of people deported from the United States if he wins the election.

At an appearance in Texas, Trump praised President Dwight D. Eisenhower for overseeing mass deportations as part of a sweeping plan known by the racist title “Operation Wetback.” Trump has made mass deportation a centerpiece of his campaign for a second term in the White House.

“I think we’ll break that record,” Trump said of Eisenhower’s deportations. “Not that I want to break it, but I think we have no choice.”

He said his administration will put “these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them the hell out of the country.”