2024 presidential election live: Ron DeSantis tears into Kamala Harris for trying to ‘politicize’ Hurricane Milton for her ‘campaign’

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

As Hurricane Milton barrels towards Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vice President Kamala Harris are blaming each other for playing ‘political games’ when it comes to storm response.

Reports emerged this week that DeSantis snubbed calls from Harris and President Joe Biden because he felt that they were reaching out for political gain in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s destruction and before the next storm hits landfall.

While the White House said it was on DeSantis to decide if he wanted to work with the administration, the Florida governor said that he wasn’t even aware that the President and VP reached out.

Harris told reporters on Monday that DeSantis is acting ‘irresponsible’ and ‘selfish’ and accused him of ‘playing political games.’

It is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is putting the people first.

DeSantis later that night told Fox News host Sean Hannity that the 2024 Democratic presidential hopeful was ‘delusional’ because he is ‘laser-focused on leveraging all resources available.’

The Republican governor continued:

She has no role in this. In fact, she’s been vice president for three and a half years. I’ve dealt with a number of storms under this administration. She has never contributed anything to any of these efforts.

I’ve had storms under both President Trump and President Biden, and I’ve worked well with both of them. She’s the first one who’s trying to politicize the storm, and she’s doing that just because of her campaign.

I don’t have time for political games.

As Florida, North Carolina and other areas of the East Coast recover from the death and devastation from Hurricane Helene, Florida is bracing to get hit by another storm on Wednesday.

Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t directly address whether she had reached out to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the past as he’s blasted her for calling him to gain political points now that she’s the Democratic nominee.

‘Well first of all, I have called and talked with – in the course of this crisis, this most recent crisis – Democrat and Republican governors. Called, taken the call, answered the call, had a conversation. So obviously this is not an issue about partisanship or politics for certain leaders, but maybe is for others,’ she said on The View Tuesday.

On Monday DeSantis told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Harris ‘has never contributed anything to any of these efforts.’

Harris suggested the intensity of the incoming Hurricane Milton was part of the reason for her outreach to DeSantis, a failed 2024 presidential candidate.

‘Floridians, tough folks, been through a lot,’ she said. ‘But this is going to be different than they’ve been before. And I know a lot of folks might think “I’ve been through this, I grew up here, I’ve seen it all,” this one is going to be different.’

‘And that’s why I called the governor about what Florida has received in terms of impact,’ she said. ‘And I think that’s a shame that hasn’t happened.’

Co-host Ana Navarro, an anti-Trump Republican, then commented: ‘He’ll take your call when you’re president.’

‘Here’s the thing you should know on that point,’ Harris inserted. ‘And when I’m president I will continue to call him to see what he needs for help.’

Joy Behar then commented that maybe DeSantis ‘maybe’ won’t be in office anymore once Harris becomes president.

The Florida Republican was overwhelmingly reelected in 2022, but is term-limited, so can only serve through January 2027.

The View host Sunny Hostin asked Kamala Harris:

Would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past 4 years?

The vice president responded:

There’s not a thing that comes to mind. I’ve been part of most of the decisions.

The Trump supporters immediately seized upon those comments, saying she admitted she’s responsible for all of Biden’s ‘failures.’

‘New Trump ad just dropped,’ wrote a user on X with a clip of the moment.

Another added ‘Oh boy. Say goodnight.’

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., spokesperson Nathan Brand added that Americans should ‘expect to see this clip a lot over the next month.’

Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X:

And just like that, Kamala’s entire bullshit campaign about being a “change agent” collapses. You can’t call yourself a change agent when you not only agree with every single disaster Joe Biden is responsible for, but you brag about being involved in all those decisions!

Former President Donald Trump has kept in regular touch with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office – holding more than a handful of phone calls with him, according to bombshell allegations in Bob Woodward’s new book.

Woodward describes the extent of the contacts and attributes them to a Trump aide in his new book War, CNN reported.

There were ‘maybe as many as seven’ after Trump left office in 2021, Woodward writes. And the timeline extends until after Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine.

The intervening period has featured brutal missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities and town, and a resulting flood of U.S. and allied sanctions against Russia as well as Putin and members of his circle.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

The Trump campaign turned in a stinging review of Bob Woodward’s new book, in the latest salvo in a complex relationship between the author and subject.

None of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,’ said Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung in a statement filled with personal invective.

He went on to rip the famed journalist, following Woodward’s reporting in his new book ‘War’ that Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin seven times since leaving office, among other revelations.

Woodward is an angry, little man and is clearly upset because President Trump is successfully suing him because of the unauthorized publishing of recordings he made previously. President Trump gave him absolutely no access for this trash book that either belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore or used as toilet tissue. Woodward is a total sleazebag who has lost it mentally, and he’s slow, lethargic, incompetent and overall a boring person with no personality.

Trump cooperated with Woodward’s last book, and the author released ‘The Trump Tapes’ with his on-record conversations.

Vice President Kamala Harris said on The View Tuesday that one of the first people she called after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race was her pastor.

‘I needed to talk to God – and to pray,’ Harris told the co-hosts.

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said on Fox News Tuesday he wants to bring FEMA Director Deanne Criswell before Congress to testify about her agency’s response to Hurricane Helene.

‘I certainly plan on bringing the FEMA director in in mid-November,’ Comer said.

Congress is out until after the election and is slated to return for two before Thanksgiving.

‘We don’t do anything to hinder the efforts that are ongoing now,’ he said. ‘But I think a lot of these questions hopefully will get answered in the middle of November.’

Republicans like Comer have criticized FEMA for its response to Hurricane Helene and for allocating money specifically to non-citizens while Americans are reeling from the historic storm that has killed over 220 people.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Joe Biden has postponed his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola due to Hurricane Milton.

‘Given the projected trajectory and strength of Hurricane Milton, President Biden is postponing his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola in order to oversee preparations for and the response,’ the White House said in a statement.

Biden was scheduled to leave Thursday for Berlin for a state visit there and a summit on Ukraine. His trip to Angola was to fulfil his promise to visit sub-Saharan Africa as president.

Today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether President Joe Biden’s strict regulations on ‘ghost guns’ can remain.

The administration’s rule cracks down on online gun kits, which can be assembled quickly without serial numbers – making them almost impossible to track.

The police seized over 20,000 ghost guns in 2021 compared to less than 4,000 in 2018.

Biden’s rule requires gun kit companies to add serial numbers and run background checks on individuals who are purchasing the equipment online.

Gun manufacturers say that it’s legal to sell gun parts online and that criminals mostly use ‘traditional guns.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

A main super PAC supporting Vice President Kamala Harris purchased a $50 million ad buy in the sprint to the 2024 election finish line.

Democrats aren’t sitting by and waiting for an October surprise.

Instead, in the first week of the month, the Party spent approximately $93 million on the presidential campaign compared to the $54 million spent by Republicans, according to AdImpact.

A new ad from Future Forward, the pro-Harris super PAC, seeks to appeal to voters the vice president has struggled to attract so far – working class men.

A welder with long facial hair wearing a literal blue-collared polo shirt says:

Trump is fighting for rich guys like himself.

An image of billionaire Elon Musk then flashes on screen before the goateed worker ads:

Kamala is fighting for us.

Political ads are flooding the airways of the seven states that will determine the outcome of the election with less than a month left until the big day.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Jill Biden will hit the campaign trail on Friday for the first time for Kamala Harris.

The first lady will be on a five-day swing where she’ll visit the battleground states of Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Jill Biden is a popular figure among Democrats and her office has downplayed any reports of tension between her and Harris. The first lady urged husband Joe Biden to stay in the presidential race before he stepped down as the nominee. She endorsed Harris after the president made his exit announcement.

Her trip will focus on getting out the vote, the Harris campaign said. Early voting starts in Arizona on Thursday and mail ballots are already going out in all five states.

Biden will be in Yuma, Ariz., on Friday; Phoenix on Saturday; northern Nevada on Sunday; Detroit, Mich., and Madison, Wis., on Monday; and Philadelphia on Tuesday.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

The survey finds that voters are now more likely to credit Harris with representing change and caring more about people like them when it comes to the 2024 election.

Of the 3,385 likely voters polled, 49 percent say they are voting for Harris in November compared to 46 percent who say they’ll cast their ballot for Trump. The 3 percent gap is within the poll’s margin of error.

It was conducted from September 29 through October 6.

The same polling from mid-September showed Trump and Harris tied at 47 percent just after their first, and maybe only presidential debate.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Joe Biden will visit two battleground states on Tuesday but not all Democrats will be there to welcome him on the ground.

He’ll stop in Wisconsin to tout his administration’s efforts to replace toxic lead pipes.

And then he’ll go to Pennsylvania to fundraise for Democratic Senator Bob Casey. Casey grew up on the same street as Biden in Scranton and the two families have had a long friendship.

However, not all Democrats are embracing the president when he’s in their home state. Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, who faces a tough challenge from Republican Eric Hovde, the CEO of a Wisconsin real estate development company, will not join Biden in Milwaukee.

Not only are Wisconsin and Pennsylvania must-wins for Kamala Harris to take the White House but Casey’s and Baldwin’s races are critical contests for Democrats to keep control of the Senate.

Before Biden heads out for the day he will be briefed at the White House about the latest from Hurricane Milton.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday tore into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for not taking her calls as another hurricane was barreling toward his state’s coastline.

Harris spoke to journalists at Joint Base Andrew as she departed for New York Monday ahead of a series of interviews in the Big Apple.

Earlier Monday reports came out that said DeSantis ignored a call from Harris specifically because he believed the move was politically motivated – as she’s the Democratic nominee for president.

‘You know, moments of crisis, if nothing else, should really be the moment that anyone who calls themselves a leader says they’re gonna put politics aside and put the people first,’ Harris said on the tarmac.

She pointed out that ‘people are in desperate need of support right now.’

‘And playing political games at this moment in these crisis situations, these are the height of the emergency situations, it’s just utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish, and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is to put the people first,’ Harris added.

Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to answer as she was grilled over whether she thought it was a ‘mistake’ to allow a ‘flood’ of illegal migrants into the U.S. during an evasive 60 Minutes interview.

The Democratic nominee was put in the hot seat when host Bill Whitaker asked her why it took three-and-a-half years for the Biden administration to bring in tougher restrictions to fix the immigration crisis.

Harris dodged the question as Whitaker kept pressing on whether she regretted letting border crossings ‘quadruple’ during her first three years in the White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris revealed she owns a Glock handgun and has fired it at shooting range as she doubled down on her claims she would shoot an intruder.

Harris divulged the information in an interview on CBS ’60 Minutes,’ when correspondent Bill Whitaker asked her about a matter she has addressed only in brief in other settings.

‘I have a Glock, and I’ve had it for quite some time. And – I mean, look, Bill, my background is in law enforcement, so there you go,’ she told him.