More stories

  • in

    Debate Puts Trump’s Affinity for Putin Back in the Spotlight

    The former president’s refusal to back Ukraine’s war effort showed the likely limits of U.S. support for Kyiv if he returns to the White House.Donald J. Trump’s refusal to say that he hopes Ukraine will win its war against Russia has cast a spotlight on what promises to be an abrupt U.S. policy shift toward the conflict — and Washington’s relations with Moscow — if Mr. Trump returns to the White House.Twice Mr. Trump was asked directly at the debate on Tuesday night whether he hoped for Ukraine’s victory, and both times he insisted that his main goal was for the war to end quickly. “I think it’s in the U.S.’s best interest to get this war finished and just get it done, negotiate a deal, because we have to stop all of these human lives from being destroyed,” he said.The former president went on to suggest that he would leverage his friendly relationship with the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, underscoring clear signs that he intends to reverse President Biden’s confrontational relationship with Russia.Mr. Trump’s answers “should tell people all they need to know — which is that if Trump gets elected and gets involved, Ukraine’s going to be the loser and Russia’s going to be the winner,” said John R. Bolton, who served as Mr. Trump’s national security adviser. Mr. Bolton has become a vocal critic of the former president, who fired him after repeated policy disagreements.Mr. Trump offered little detail on how he would negotiate a rapid end to the Ukraine war, saying only that he would speak to both Mr. Putin and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to strike a deal even before he was inaugurated in January.That is a seemingly impossible goal. Mr. Zelensky has ruled out any settlement with Russia that does not restore his country’s original borders, while Mr. Putin seems determined to conquer even more of Ukraine than the roughly one-fifth of its territory that his army now occupies.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • in

    After a Bruising Debate, Trump Is Warmly Embraced in Lower Manhattan

    This is a tale about two sides of the same street.A little after 10 a.m. on Sept. 11, way down on the tip of Lower Manhattan, a Chevrolet Suburban was pulling into the firehouse at 42 South St., which belongs to Engine Company 4, Ladder 15.The men of 4-15 look after Wall Street; the massive emblem hanging inside their firehouse depicts the statue of the Charging Bull, wreathed in flame. On this day, they wore their best class A suits, all crisp navy and patent leather, and crowded around the Chevy. A door opened and out stepped former President Donald J. Trump. The firefighters lined up to shake his hand, to give him a pat on the back.Mr. Trump made the rounds. “Hey, fellas, I didn’t see you over there,” he said, turning to shake the hand of one particularly awe-struck firefighter. “Mr. President,” said the firefighter, “great job last night.”Mr. Trump thanked him, paused and then added, “We had three-on-one.”He was talking about his televised debate, the night before, with Vice President Kamala Harris. To Mr. Trump, his opponents also seemed to include the two moderators from ABC News, who he said treated him unfairly.“There was three-on-one,” he repeated.What was that tone in his voice? Not quite ashamed, or embarrassed, exactly, or even sullen — but resigned, perhaps. Resigned to the fact that he had been bested by Ms. Harris. She had called him a “disgrace” to his face, several times, with more than 60 million people watching. She had hit him where it hurt, taunting him about the people who leave his rallies early. Perhaps what was most devastating was the fact that it all seemed to work — he had taken her bait, allowed himself to get knocked off course, and now even his friends on Fox News seemed to think he got played for a sucker.But inside the firehouse, he was still a champion.“They were going at you,” the firefighter chuckled. “You did a great job, though.” He stuck out his hand for another shake. Mr. Trump took it again, and thanked him again.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • in

    Al debatir con Trump, las expresiones de Harris fueron un arma

    Serena y sin perder la compostura, Kamala Harris usó sus palabras, y sobre todo su lenguaje corporal, para desestabilizar a Donald Trump, provocar su ira y luego simplemente dejar que se hiciera daño a sí mismo.[Estamos en WhatsApp. Empieza a seguirnos ahora]Ella lo miró con una ceja arqueada. Un suspiro calmado. Una mano en la barbilla. Una risa. Una mirada compasiva. Un movimiento de cabeza desdeñoso.Desde los primeros momentos del debate contra Donald Trump, Kamala Harris explotó hábilmente la mayor debilidad de su oponente.No se centró en su historial. Tampoco en sus políticas divisivas ni en sus múltiples declaraciones incendiarias.En vez de eso, se enfocó en una parte mucho más básica de él: su ego.En sus mítines, en sus serviles redes sociales y cuando está rodeado de aduladores en Mar-a-Lago, a Trump nadie lo cuestiona, nadie le discute, nadie se burla de él.Eso cambió durante 90 minutos el martes en Filadelfia, cuando la mujer que nunca antes se había reunido con él logró, poco a poco, penetrar su seguridad y provocar su enfado y su ira.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • in

    Certification of Election Will Get Extra Security to Try to Prevent Another Capitol Attack

    In an effort to prevent another attack on the Capitol, the Department of Homeland Security has declared Jan. 6, 2025, to be a special event that requires added security measures when Congress meets to certify the winner of the 2024 presidential election.The designation of a National Special Security Event, announced by Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the director of homeland security, on Wednesday means that significant federal, state and local resources will be directed toward the Capitol a few months from now to increase the security protections and a comprehensive security plan will be put in place.The Secret Service will oversee the security plan.“National Special Security Events are events of the highest national significance,” Eric Ranaghan, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Dignitary Protective Division, said in a statement, adding that Secret Service officials, in collaboration with federal, state and local partners, “are committed to developing and implementing a comprehensive and integrated security plan to ensure the safety and security of this event and its participants.”The Capitol was overrun on Jan. 6, 2021, by a pro-Trump mob that sought to halt the counting of the Electoral College votes from the 2020 election to disrupt the certification of President Biden’s victory. The Capitol Police force was caught unprepared for the mob violence, even though Mr. Trump had summoned the crowd to Washington days earlier and promised a “wild” rally.After the attack, during which more than 150 police officers were injured and several people died, the Government Accountability Office recommended consideration of the special security designation. More

  • in

    How Trump and Harris Talked About Climate Change During the Debate

    At the tail end of the hottest summer in recorded history, as wildfires tear through California and a hurricane heads toward Louisiana, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump failed to say how they would fight climate change during their debate Tuesday night.It was the final question posed during the 90 minute exchange, about an issue that moderator Linsey Davis of ABC News noted was “important for a number of Americans, in particular younger voters.”The outcome of this presidential election could be critical to determining whether the United States, the world’s biggest historic source of the greenhouse gasses that are dangerously warming the planet, cuts its pollution enough to keep global warming within relatively safe limits. Scientists say the window for action is rapidly closing.Ms. Harris acknowledged the problem, noting “the former president has said that climate change is a hoax and what we know is that it is very real.”“We know that we can actually deal with this issue,” she said, but did not offer any specifics about how she would. Instead, Ms. Harris made a largely economic argument, noting that federal subsidies for clean energy, which includes wind and solar power, have created new jobs and spurred manufacturing.And, in an unusual turn, Ms. Harris boasted that under the Biden administration, gas production has reached record highs. It’s a point that until very recently the administration had been reluctant to emphasize. The burning of fossil fuels is the main driver of climate change and at the United Nations climate talks last year, the United States joined nearly 200 other countries in a pledge to transition away from coal, oil and gas.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • in

    Trump Dismisses Taylor Swift’s Harris-Walz Endorsement

    Former President Donald J. Trump was not happy that Taylor Swift endorsed his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, though perhaps he was not surprised.“She seems to always endorse a Democrat. And she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday morning on Fox News. Ms. Swift, one of the most successful musical artists in the world, endorsed President Biden in 2020. Mr. Trump said in the interview that he preferred Brittany Mahomes, a fitness entrepreneur who is married to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and was reported to have liked a social media post supporting Mr. Trump. Ms. Swift and Ms. Mahomes are friends, as are Mr. Mahomes and his teammate, Travis Kelce, who is dating Ms. Swift.“I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better, if you want to know the truth,” Mr. Trump said. “She’s a big Trump fan. I was not a Taylor Swift fan.”“I think Brittany’s great,” he went on. “Brittany got a lot of news last week. She’s a big MAGA fan. That’s the one I like much better than Taylor Swift.”Ms. Mahomes has not endorsed Mr. Trump.Ms. Swift’s endorsement disgruntled a number of Trump supporters, including Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, who responded on X, the social media platform he owns.“Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life,” Mr. Musk wrote.Ms. Swift had signed her endorsement on Instagram with the words “childless cat lady,” a reference to past comments by Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Mr. Trump’s running mate. More

  • in

    After Debate, Trump and Harris Meet Again at Sept. 11 Memorial

    Setting aside the rancor of their debate, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump met again Wednesday morning at the hallowed ground of the World Trade Center site, shaking hands and standing nearly side by side to mark the 23rd anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.It was a striking tableau of political unity less than 12 hours after the end of their contentious and personal debate — potentially the only one between them before the November election. Ms. Harris stood with President Biden while Mr. Trump stood with his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, as the former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg served as a human buffer.Mr. Bloomberg appeared to facilitate the handshake. Ms. Harris could be seen saying “thank you” to Mr. Trump.The moment was a throwback to the sense of national unity that emerged in the months after hijackers staged the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history. It recalled 2008, when Barack Obama and John McCain, then rivals for the presidency, came together at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony in Lower Manhattan in the final weeks of their contest.Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance wore matching blue suits and red ties. Ms. Harris chatted amiably with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader.Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump were set to lay wreaths in Shanksville, Pa., where passengers aboard Flight 93 brought down their plane before it could reach its intended target, the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The president and vice president were also expected to participate in a similar event at the Pentagon, where hijackers crashed a fourth airliner in the 2001 attacks. More