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Tag: Harris

  • California’s role in shaping the fate of the Democratic Party and combating Trump on full display

    California’s potential to lead a national Democratic comeback was on full display as party leaders from across the country recently gathered in downtown Los Angeles.

    But is the party ready to bet on the Golden State?

    Appearances at the Democratic National Committee meeting by the state’s most prominent Democrats, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom, crystallized the peril and promise of California’s appeal. Harris failed to beat a politically wounded Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race and Newsom, now among President Trump’s most celebrated critics, is considered a top Democratic contender to replace the Republican president in the White House in 2028.

    California policies on divisive issues such as providing expanded access to government-sponsored healthcare, aiding undocumented immigrants and supporting LGBTQ+ rights continually serve as a Rorschach test for the nation’s polarized electorate, providing comfort to progressives and ammunition for Republican attack ads.

    “California is like your cool cousin that comes for the holidays who is intriguing and glamorous, but who might not fit in with the family year-round,” said Elizabeth Ashford, a veteran Democratic strategist who worked for former Govs. Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harris when she was the state’s attorney general.

    Newsom, in particular, is quick to boast about California being home to the world’s fourth-largest economy, a billion-dollar agricultural industry and economic and cultural powerhouses in Hollywood and the Silicon Valley. Critics, Trump chief among them, paint the state as a dystopian hellhole — littered with homeless encampments and lawlessness, and plagued by high taxes and an even higher cost of living.

    Only two Californians have been elected president, Republicans Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. But that was generations ago, and Harris and Newsom are considering bids to end the decades-long drought in 2028. Both seized the moment by courting party leaders and activists during the three-day winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee that ended Saturday.

    Harris, speaking to committee members and guests Friday, said the party’s victories in state elections across the nation in November reflect voters’ agitation about the impacts of Trump’s policies, notably affordability and healthcare costs. But she argued that “both parties have failed to hold the public’s trust.”

    “So as we plan for what comes after this administration, we cannot afford to be nostalgic for what was, in fact, a flawed status quo, and a system that failed so many of you,” said Harris, who was criticized after her presidential campaign for not focusing enough on kitchen table issues, including the increasing financial strains faced by Americans.

    While Harris, who ruled out running for governor earlier this year, did not address whether she would make another bid for the White House in 2028, she argued that the party needed to be introspective about its future.

    “We need to answer the question, what comes next for our party and our democracy, and in so doing, we must be honest that for so many, the American dream has become more of a myth than a reality,” she said.

    Many of the party leaders who spoke at the gathering focused on California’s possible role in determining control of Congress after voters in November approved Proposition 50, a rare mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts in an effort to boost the number of Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation in the 2026 election.

    Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass rallied the crowd by reminding them that Democrats took back the U.S. House of Representatives during Trump’s first term and predicted the state would be critical in next year’s midterm elections.

    Mayor Karen Bass speaks at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.

    (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

    Newsom, who championed Proposition 50, basked in that victory when he strode through the hotel’s corridors at the DNC meeting the day before, stopping every few feet to talk to committee members, shake their hands and take selfies.

    “There’s just a sense of optimism here,” Newsom said.

    Democratic candidates in New Jersey and Virginia also won races by a significant margin last month which, party leaders say, were all telltale signs of growing voter dissatisfaction with Trump and Washington’s Republican leadership.

    “The party, more broadly, got their sea legs back, and they’re winning,” Newsom said. “And winning solves a lot of problems.”

    Louisiana committee member Katie Darling teared up as she watched fellow Democrats flock to Newsom.

    “He really is trying to bring people together during a very difficult time,” said Darling, who grew up in Sacramento in a Republican household. “He gets a lot of pushback for talking to and working with Republicans, but when he does that, I see him talking to my mom and dad who I love, who I vehemently disagree with politically. … I do think that we need to talk to each other to move the country forward.”

    Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks as his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom looks on

    Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks as his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom looks on during an election night gathering at the California Democratic Party headquarters on November 04, 2025 in Sacramento.

    (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

    Darling said she listens to Newsom’s podcast, where his choice of guests, including the late Charlie Kirk, and his comments on the show that transgender athletes taking part in women’s sports is “deeply unfair” have drawn outrage from some on the left.

    Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, another potential 2028 presidential candidate whose family has historically supported Newsom, was also reportedly on site Thursday, holding closed-door meetings. And former Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, also a possible White House contender, was in Los Angeles on Thursday, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show and holding meetings.

    Corrin Rankin, chair of the California Republican Party, cast the DNC meetings in L.A. as “anti-Trump sessions” and pointed to the homeless encampments on Skid Row, just blocks from where committee members gathered.

    “We need accountability and solutions that actually get people off the streets, make communities safer and life more affordable,” Rankin said.

    Elected officials from across the nation are drawn to California because of its wellspring of wealthy political donors. The state was the largest source of contributions to the campaign committees of Trump and Harris during the 2024 presidential contest, contributing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, according to the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization Open Secrets, which tracks electoral finances.

    While the DNC gathering focused mostly on mundane internal business, the gathering of party leaders attracted liberal groups seeking to raise money and draw attention to their causes.

    Actor Jane Fonda and comedian Nikki Glaser headlined an event aimed at increasing the minimum wage at the Three Clubs cocktail bar in Hollywood. California already has among the highest minimum wages in the nation; one of the organizers of the event is campaigning to increase the rate to $30 per hour in some California counties.

    “The affordability crisis is pushing millions of Americans to the edge, and no democracy can survive when people who work full time cannot afford basic necessities,” Fonda said prior to the event. “Raising wages is one of the most powerful ways to give families stability and hope.”

    But California’s liberal policies have been viewed as a liability for Democrats elsewhere, where issues such as transgender rights and providing healthcare for undocumented immigrants have not been warmly received by some blue-collar workers who once formed the party’s base.

    Trump capitalized on that disconnect in the closing months of the 2024 presidential contest, when his campaign aired ads that highlighted Harris’ support of transgender rights, including taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgery for inmates.

    “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you,” the commercial stated. The ad aired more than 30,000 times in swing states in the fall, notably during football games and NASCAR races.

    “Kamala had 99 problems. California wasn’t one of them,” said John Podesta, a veteran Democratic strategist who served a senior advisor to former President Biden, counselor to former President Obama and White House chief of staff for former President Clinton.

    He disputed the argument that California, whether through its policies or candidates, will impact Democrats’ chances, arguing there’s a broader disconnect between the party and its voters.

    “This sense that Democrats lost touch with the middle class and the poor in favor of the cultural elite is a real problem,” said Podesta. “My shorthand is, we used to be the party of the factory floor, and now we’re the party of the faculty lounge. That’s not a California problem. It’s an elitist problem.”

    While Podesta isn’t backing anyone yet in the 2028 presidential contest, he praised Newsom for his efforts to not only buck Trump but the “leftist extremists” in the Democratic party.

    The narrative of Californians being out of touch with many Americans has been exacerbated this year during the state’s battles with the Trump administration over immigration, climate change, water and artificial intelligence policy. But Newsom and committee members argued that the state has been at the vanguard of where the nation will eventually head.

    “I am very proud of California. It’s a state that’s not just about growth, it’s about inclusion,” the governor said, before ticking off a list of California initiatives, including low-priced insulin and higher minimum wages. “So much of the policy that’s coming out of the state of California promotes not just promise, but policy direction that I think is really important for the party.”

    Seema Mehta, Dakota Smith

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  • Kamala Harris hints at another presidential run: ‘I am not done’

    Kamala Harris hints at another presidential run: ‘I am not done’

    ‘If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here’

    Updated: 10:56 AM PDT Oct 25, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ


    By Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN

    Former Vice President Kamala Harris has hinted she could make another bid for the White House in an interview with the BBC, saying she would “possibly” be president one day and expressing confidence that America will see a woman in the Oval Office in the future.Related video above: Trump administration demolishes part of East Wing for ballroomHarris marked her clearest indication yet that she might launch another presidential campaign in 2028, following her 2024 defeat to now-President Donald Trump, during an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that will air Sunday.”I am not done,” the former vice president said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones,” she added.Reflecting on the possibility of running again, Harris told the BBC that her grandnieces would “in their lifetime, for sure” see a woman president.”Possibly,” Harris said when asked whether that woman could be her, confirming that she is still weighing her political future. Harris, however, emphasized that she has not made a final decision but continues to view herself as an active player in U.S. politics.Addressing polls that place her behind others for the Democratic ticket, Harris said she pays little attention to such numbers, saying, “If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”Harris further argued that her predictions about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have been proven right: “He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice — and he has done exactly that.”The former vice president went on to cite the short suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC after comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. The president celebrated the suspension at the time.”You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponized, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists. His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke and attempted to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”Harris also criticized American business leaders and institutions, whom she believes have been too quick to yield to Trump’s authority.”There are many that have capitulated since day one, who are bending the knee at the foot of a tyrant, I believe, for many reasons, including they want to be next to power, because they want to perhaps have a merger approved or avoid an investigation,” she told the BBC.

    Former Vice President Kamala Harris has hinted she could make another bid for the White House in an interview with the BBC, saying she would “possibly” be president one day and expressing confidence that America will see a woman in the Oval Office in the future.

    Related video above: Trump administration demolishes part of East Wing for ballroom

    Harris marked her clearest indication yet that she might launch another presidential campaign in 2028, following her 2024 defeat to now-President Donald Trump, during an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that will air Sunday.

    “I am not done,” the former vice president said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones,” she added.

    Reflecting on the possibility of running again, Harris told the BBC that her grandnieces would “in their lifetime, for sure” see a woman president.

    “Possibly,” Harris said when asked whether that woman could be her, confirming that she is still weighing her political future. Harris, however, emphasized that she has not made a final decision but continues to view herself as an active player in U.S. politics.

    Addressing polls that place her behind others for the Democratic ticket, Harris said she pays little attention to such numbers, saying, “If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”

    Harris further argued that her predictions about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have been proven right: “He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice — and he has done exactly that.”

    The former vice president went on to cite the short suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC after comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. The president celebrated the suspension at the time.

    “You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponized, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists. His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke and attempted to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”

    Harris also criticized American business leaders and institutions, whom she believes have been too quick to yield to Trump’s authority.

    “There are many that have capitulated since day one, who are bending the knee at the foot of a tyrant, I believe, for many reasons, including they want to be next to power, because they want to perhaps have a merger approved or avoid an investigation,” she told the BBC.

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  • Kamala Harris hints at another presidential run: ‘I am not done’

    Kamala Harris hints at another presidential run: ‘I am not done’

    ‘If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here’

    Updated: 1:56 PM EDT Oct 25, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ


    By Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN

    Former Vice President Kamala Harris has hinted she could make another bid for the White House in an interview with the BBC, saying she would “possibly” be president one day and expressing confidence that America will see a woman in the Oval Office in the future.Related video above: Trump administration demolishes part of East Wing for ballroomHarris marked her clearest indication yet that she might launch another presidential campaign in 2028, following her 2024 defeat to now-President Donald Trump, during an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that will air Sunday.”I am not done,” the former vice president said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones,” she added.Reflecting on the possibility of running again, Harris told the BBC that her grandnieces would “in their lifetime, for sure” see a woman president.”Possibly,” Harris said when asked whether that woman could be her, confirming that she is still weighing her political future. Harris, however, emphasized that she has not made a final decision but continues to view herself as an active player in U.S. politics.Addressing polls that place her behind others for the Democratic ticket, Harris said she pays little attention to such numbers, saying, “If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”Harris further argued that her predictions about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have been proven right: “He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice — and he has done exactly that.”The former vice president went on to cite the short suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC after comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. The president celebrated the suspension at the time.”You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponized, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists. His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke and attempted to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”Harris also criticized American business leaders and institutions, whom she believes have been too quick to yield to Trump’s authority.”There are many that have capitulated since day one, who are bending the knee at the foot of a tyrant, I believe, for many reasons, including they want to be next to power, because they want to perhaps have a merger approved or avoid an investigation,” she told the BBC.

    Former Vice President Kamala Harris has hinted she could make another bid for the White House in an interview with the BBC, saying she would “possibly” be president one day and expressing confidence that America will see a woman in the Oval Office in the future.

    Related video above: Trump administration demolishes part of East Wing for ballroom

    Harris marked her clearest indication yet that she might launch another presidential campaign in 2028, following her 2024 defeat to now-President Donald Trump, during an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that will air Sunday.

    “I am not done,” the former vice president said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones,” she added.

    Reflecting on the possibility of running again, Harris told the BBC that her grandnieces would “in their lifetime, for sure” see a woman president.

    “Possibly,” Harris said when asked whether that woman could be her, confirming that she is still weighing her political future. Harris, however, emphasized that she has not made a final decision but continues to view herself as an active player in U.S. politics.

    Addressing polls that place her behind others for the Democratic ticket, Harris said she pays little attention to such numbers, saying, “If I listened to polls, I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”

    Harris further argued that her predictions about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have been proven right: “He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice — and he has done exactly that.”

    The former vice president went on to cite the short suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC after comments about Charlie Kirk’s death. The president celebrated the suspension at the time.

    “You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponized, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists. His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke and attempted to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”

    Harris also criticized American business leaders and institutions, whom she believes have been too quick to yield to Trump’s authority.

    “There are many that have capitulated since day one, who are bending the knee at the foot of a tyrant, I believe, for many reasons, including they want to be next to power, because they want to perhaps have a merger approved or avoid an investigation,” she told the BBC.

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  • Former VP Kamala Harris offers few regrets about failed presidential campaign at first L.A. book event

    Former Vice President Kamala Harris offered a spirited defense of her short, unsuccessful 2024 presidential bid, lamented the loss of voters’ faith in institutions and urged Democrats to not become dispirited on Monday as she spoke at the first hometown celebration of her new book about her roller-coaster campaign.

    She appeared to take little responsibility for her loss to President Trump in 2024 while addressing a fawning crowd of 2,000 people at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.

    “I wrote the book for many reasons, but primarily to remind us how unprecedented that election was,” Harris said about “107 Days,” her political memoir that was released last week. “Think about it. A sitting president of the United States is running for reelection and three and a half months before the election decides not to run, and then a sitting vice president takes up the mantle to run against a former president of the United States who has been running for 10 years, with 107 days to go.”

    She dismissed Trump’s claims that his 2024 victory was so overwhelming that it was a clear mandate by the voters

    “And by the way, can history reflect on the fact that it was the closest presidential election?” Harris said, standing from her seat on the stage, as the audience cheered. “It is important for us to remember so that we that know where we’ve been to decide and chart where we are.”

    Trump beat Harris by more than 2.3 million votes — about 1.5% of the popular vote — but the Republican swept the electoral college vote, winning 312-226. Other presidential contests have been tighter, notably the 2000 contest between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore. Gore won the popular vote by nearly 544,000 votes but Bush won the electoral college vote 271-266 in a deeply contentious election that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

    Harris, faulted for failing to connect with voters about their economic pain in battleground states in the Midwest and Southwest, criticized former President Biden about his administration’s priorities. She said she would have addressed kitchen table issues before legislation about infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing.

    “I would have done the family piece first, which is affordable childcare, paid leave, extension of the child tax credit,” she said, basic issues facing Americans who “need to just get by today.”

    Harris spoke about her book in conversation with Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan, the hosts of the “I’ve Had It” podcast and former cast members of the Bravo series “Sweet Home Oklahoma.”

    Attendees paid up to hundreds or thousands of dollars on the resale market for tickets to attend the event, part of a multi-city book tour that began last week in New York City. The East Coast event was disrupted by protesters about Israeli actions in Gaza. Harris is traveling across the country and overseas promoting her book.

    The former vice president’s book tour is expect to be a big money maker.

    Harris’ publisher recently added another “107 Days” event at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on Oct. 28.

    The Bay Area native touched upon current news events during her appearance, which lasted shortly over an hour.

    About the impending federal government shutdown, Harris said Democrats must be clear that the fault lies squarely with Republicans because they control the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    “They are in power,” she said, arguing that her party must stand firm against efforts to cut access to healthcare, notably the Affordable Care Act.

    She also ripped into Trump for his social media post of a fake AI-generated video of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The video purports to show Schumer saying that Latino and Black voters hate Democrats, so the party must provide undocumented residents free healthcare so they support the party until they learn English and “realize they hate us too.” Jeffries appears to wear a sombrero as mariachi music plays in the background.

    “It’s juvenile,” Harris said. Trump is “just a man who is unbalanced, he is incompetent and he is unhinged.”

    Harris did not touch on the issues she wrote in her book that caused consternation among Democrats, such as not selecting former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to be her running mate because she did not believe Americans were ready to support a presidential ticket with a biracial woman and a gay man. She also did not mention her recounting of reaching out to Gov. Gavin Newsom after Biden decided not to seek reelection, and him not responding to her beyond saying he was out hikinG.

    Harris lamented civic and corporate leaders caving to demands from the Trump administration.

    Among those Trump targeted were law firms that did work for his perceived enemies.

    “I predicted almost everything,” she said. “What I did not predict was the capitulation of universities, law firms, media corporations be they television or newspapers. I did not predict that.”

    She said that while she worked in public service throughout her career, her interactions with leaders in the private sector led her to believe that they would be “among the guardians of our democracy.”

    “I have been disappointed, deeply deeply disappointed by people who are powerful who are bending the knee at the foot of this tyrant,” Harris said.

    Harris did not mention that her husband, Doug Emhoff, is a partner at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher that earlier this year that reached an agreement with the White House to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal work during the Republican’s time in the White House and beyond.

    In April, the firm reached an agreement with the Trump administration, with the president saying their services would be dedicated to helping veterans, Gold Star families, law enforcement members and first responders, and that the law firm agreed to combat antisemitism and not engage in “DEI” efforts.

    Emhoff, who joined the law firm in January and also is now on the has faculty at USC , has condemned his law firm’s agreement with the administration.

    Emhoff, who was in attendance at the event and posing for pictures with Harris supporters, declined comment about the event.

    “I’m just here to support my wife,” he said.

    Seema Mehta

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  • Commentary: Did Kamala Harris just destroy her 2028 chances? Is Gavin Newsom glad she did?

    Democrats, despite their hypersensitive, bleeding-heart reputation, can be harsh. Ruthless, even.

    When it comes to picking their presidential nominee, it’s often one and done. Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore and John Kerry were embraced and then, after leading their party to disappointing defeat, cast off like so many wads of wet tissue.

    Compare that with Republicans, who not only believe in second chances but, more often than not, seem to prefer their presidential candidates recycled. Over the last half century, all but a few of the GOP’s nominees have had at least one failed White House bid on their resume.

    The roster of retreads includes the current occupant of the Oval Office, who is only the second president in U.S. history to regain the perch after losing it four years prior.

    Why the difference? It would take a psychologist or geneticist to determine if there’s something in the minds or molecular makeup of party faithful, which could explain their varied treatment of those humbled and vanquished.

    Regardless, it suggests the blowback facing Kamala Harris and the campaign diary she published last week is happening right on cue.

    And it doesn’t portend well for another try at the White House in 2028, should the former vice president and U.S. senator from California pursue that path.

    The criticism has come in assorted flavors.

    Joe Biden loyalists — many of whom were never great fans of Harris — have bristled at her relatively mild criticisms of the obviously aged and physically declining president. (She leaves it to her husband, former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, to vent about the “impossible, s— jobs” Harris was given and, in spite of that, the failure of the president and first lady to defend Harris during her low points.)

    The notable lack of self-blame has rankled other Democrats. Aside from some couldas and shouldas, Harris largely ascribes her defeat to insufficient time to make her case to voters — just 107 days, the title of her book — which hardly sits well with those who feel Harris squandered the time she did have.

    More generally, some Democrats fault the former vice president for resurfacing, period, rather than slinking off and disappearing forever into some deep, dark hole. It’s a familiar gripe each time the party struggles to move past a presidential defeat; Hillary Clinton faced a similar backlash when she published her inside account after losing to Donald Trump in 2016.

    That critique assumes great masses of voters devour campaign memoirs with the same voracious appetite as those who surrender their Sundays to the Beltway chat shows, or mainline political news like a continuous IV drip.

    They do not.

    Let the record show Democrats won the White House in 2020 even though Clinton bobbed back up in 2017 and, for a short while, thwarted the party’s fervent desire to “turn the page.”

    But there are those avid consumers of campaigns and elections, and for the political fiends among us Harris offers plenty of fizz, much of it involving her party peers and prospective 2028 rivals.

    Pete Buttigieg, the meteoric star of the 2020 campaign, was her heartfelt choice for vice president, but Harris said she feared the combination of a Black woman and gay running mate would exceed the load-bearing capacity of the electorate. (News to me, Buttigieg said after Harris revealed her thinking, and an underestimation of the American people.)

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the runner-up to Harris’ ultimate vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, comes across as unseemly salivating and greedily lusting after the job. (He fired back by suggesting Harris has some splainin’ to do about what she knew of Biden’s infirmities and when she knew it.)

    Harris implies Govs. JB Pritzker and Gretchen Whitmer of Illinois and Michigan, respectively, were insufficiently gung-ho after Biden stepped aside and she became the Democratic nominee-in-waiting.

    But for California readers, the most toothsome morsel involves Harris’ longtime frenemy, Gov. Gavin Newsom.

    The two, who rose to political power in the early 2000s on parallel tracks in San Francisco, have long had a complicated relationship, mixing mutual aid with jealousy and jostling.

    In her book, Harris recounts the hours after Biden’s sudden withdrawal, when she began telephoning top Democrats around the country to lock in their support. In contrast to the enthusiasm many displayed, Newsom responded tersely with a text message: “Hiking. Will call back.”

    He never did, Harris noted, pointedly, though Newsom did issue a full-throated endorsement within hours, which the former vice president failed to mention.

    It’s small-bore stuff. But the fact Harris chose to include that anecdote speaks to the tetchiness underlying the warmth and fuzziness that California’s two most prominent Democrats put on public display.

    Will the two face off in 2028?

    Riding the promotional circuit, Harris has repeatedly sidestepped the inevitable questions about another presidential bid.

    “That’s not my focus right now,” she told Rachel Maddow, in a standard-issue non-denial denial. For his part, Newsom is obviously running, though he won’t say so.

    There would be something operatic, or at least soap-operatic, about the two longtime competitors openly vying for the country’s ultimate political prize — though it’s hard to see Democrats, with their persistent hunger for novelty, turning to Harris or her left-coast political doppelganger as their savior.

    Meantime, the two are back on parallel tracks, though seemingly headed in opposite directions.

    While Newsom is looking to build Democratic bridges, Harris is burning hers down.

    Mark Z. Barabak

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  • Harris seemed to touch a nerve with Newsom, but says he has ‘a great sense of humor’

    Kamala Harris picked her way through several sticky subjects in a Tuesday night TV interview, including her account of being ghosted by Gov. Gavin Newsom when she called for his support during her brief, unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign.

    On the eve of the public release of her book detailing that campaign, Harris spoke with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on her relationship with Newsom as well as the redistricting ballot measure Californians will vote on in November — and she also hailed “the power of the people” in getting Jimmy Kimmel back on ABC.

    Kimmel was indefinitely suspended last week by the Walt Disney Co. over remarks he made about the suspect in the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. After fierce protests, consumers announcing subscription cancellations, and hundreds of celebrities speaking out against government censorship, Disney announced Monday that Kimmel would return on ABC the following day.

    “Talk about the power being with the people and the people making that clear with their checkbooks,” Harris said of Kimmel’s return. “It spoke volumes, and it moved a decision in the right direction.”

    Harris was speaking with Maddow about her new book, “107 Days,” which details her short sprint of a presidential campaign in 2024 after then-President Biden decided not to seek reelection.

    The book discloses which Democrats immediately supported her to become the Democratic nominee, and which didn’t, notably Newsom. She wrote that, when she called, he texted her that he was hiking and would call her back but never did.

    After Maddow raised the anecdote in the opening of the show, Harris said she had known Newsom “forever.”

    “Gavin has a great sense of humor so, you know, he’s gonna be fine,” Harris said.

    Newsom was icier when asked by a reporter about the interaction — or lack thereof — on Friday.

    “You want to waste your time with this, we’ll do it,” Newsom said, adding that he was hiking when he received a call from an unknown number, even as he was trying to learn more about Biden’s decision not to run for reelection while also asking his team to craft a statement supporting Harris to be the Democratic nominee. “I assume that’s in the book as well — that, hours later, the endorsement came out.”

    Harris brought up Newsom when asked about Proposition 50, the redistricting ballot measure championed by the governor and other California Democrats that voters will decide in November. If approved, the state’s congressional districts will be redrawn in an effort to boost Democratic seats in the house to counter efforts by President Trump to increase the number of Republicans elected in GOP-led states.

    “Let me say about what [Newsom] is doing, redistricting, it is absolutely the right way to go. Part of what we’ve got to, I think, challenge ourselves to accept, is that we tend to play by the rules,” Harris said. “But I think this is a moment where you gotta fight fire with fire. And so what Gavin is doing, what the California Legislature is doing, what those who are supporting it are doing is to say, ‘You know what, you want to play, then let’s get in the field. Let’s get in the arena, and let’s do this.’ And I support that.”

    But Harris was more cautious when asked about other electoral contests, notably the New York City mayoral race. Zohran Mamdani is the Democratic nominee and has large leads in the polls over other candidates in the race, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.

    Asked whether she backed Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, Harris was measured.

    “Look, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the Democratic nominee, and he should be supported,” Harris said, prompting Maddow to ask whether she endorsed him.

    “I support the Democrat in the race, sure,” she replied. “But let me just say this, he’s not the only star. … I hope that we don’t so over-index on New York City that we lose sight of the stars throughout our country.”

    Harris, who announced this summer that she would not run for California governor next year, demurred when asked about whether she would run for president for a third time in 2028.

    “That’s not my focus right now,” she said.

    Seema Mehta

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  • Commentary: Should Kamala Harris be protected? At what cost?

    When Kamala Harris was contemplating a run for California governor, one of her supposed considerations was the security detail that attends the state’s chief executive.

    The services of a life-preserving, ego-boosting retinue of intimidating protectors — picture dark glasses, earpiece, stern visage — were cited by more than one Harris associate, past and present, as a factor in her deliberations. These were not Trumpers or Harris haters looking to impugn or embarrass the former vice president.

    According to one of those associates, Harris has been accompanied nonstop by an official driver and person with a gun since 2003, when she was elected San Francisco district attorney. One could easily grow accustomed to that level of comfort and status, not to mention the pleasure of never having to personally navigate the 101 or 405 freeways at rush hour.

    That is, of course, a perfectly terrible and selfish reason to run for governor, if ever it was a part of Harris’ thinking. To her credit, the reason she chose to not run was a very good one: Harris simply “didn’t feel called” to pursue the job, in the words of one political advisor.

    Now, however, the matter of Harris’ personal protection has become a topic of heated discussion and debate, which is hardly surprising in an age when everything has become politicized, including “and” and “the.”

    There is plenty of bad faith to go around.

    Last month, President Trump abruptly revoked Harris’ Secret Service protection. The security arrangement for vice presidents typically lasts for six months after they leave office, allowing them to quietly fade into ever greater obscurity. But before vacating the White House, President Biden signed an executive order extending protection for Harris for an additional year. (Former presidents are guarded by Secret Service details for life.)

    As the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president, Harris faced, as they say in the protective-service business, an elevated threat level while serving in the post. In the 230-odd days since Harris left office, there is no reason to believe racism and misogyny, not to mention wild-eyed partisan hatred, have suddenly abated in this great land of ours.

    And there remain no small number of people crazy enough to violently act on those impulses.

    The president could have been gracious and extended Harris’ protection. But expecting grace out of Trump is like counting on a starving Doberman to show restraint when presented a bloody T-bone steak.

    “This is another act of revenge following a long list of political retaliation in the form of firings, the revoking of security clearances and more,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass angrily declared.

    True.

    Though Bass omitted the bit about six months being standard operating procedure, which would have at least offered some context. It wasn’t as though Harris was being treated differently than past vice presidents.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly stepped into the breach, providing Harris protection by the California Highway Patrol. Soon after, The Times’ Richard Winton broke the news that Los Angeles Police Department officers meant to be fighting crime in hard-hit areas of the city were instead providing security for Harris as a supplement to the CHP.

    Not a great look. Or the best use of police resources.

    Thus followed news that officers had been pulled off Harris’ security detail after internal criticism; supposedly the LAPD’s involvement had always been intended as a stopgap measure.

    All well and good, until the conservative-leaning Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing rank-and-file officers, saw fit to issue a gratuitously snarky statement condemning the hasty arrangement. Its board of directors described Harris as “a failed presidential candidate who also happens to be a multi-millionaire, with multiple homes … who can easily afford to pay for her own security.”

    As if Harris’ 2024 defeat — she lost the popular vote to Trump by a scant 1.5%, it might be noted — was somehow relevant.

    To be certain, Harris and her husband, attorney Doug Emhoff, won’t miss any hot meals as they shelter in their 3,500-square-foot Brentwood home. (The one house they own.) But they’re not stupid-rich either.

    One person in the private-security business told Winton that a certain household name pays him $1,000 a day for a 12-hour shift. That can quickly add up and put a noticeable dent in your back account, assuming your name isn’t Elon or Taylor or Zuckerberg or Bezos.

    Setting aside partisanship — if that’s still possible — and speaking bluntly, there’s something to be said for ensuring Harris doesn’t die a violent death at the hands of some crazed assailant.

    The CHP’s Dignitary Protection Section is charged with protecting all eight of California’s constitutional officers — we’re talking folks such as the insurance commissioner and state controller — as well as the first lady and other elected officials, as warranted. The statutory authority also extends to former constitutional officers, which would include Harris, who served six years as state attorney general.

    Surely there’s room in California’s $321-billion budget to make sure nothing terrible happens to one of the state’s most prominent and credentialed citizens. It doesn’t have to be an open-ended, lifetime commitment to Harris’ protection, but an arrangement that could be periodically reviewed, as time passes and potential danger wanes.

    Serving in elected office can be rough, especially in these incendiary times. The price shouldn’t include having to spend the rest of your life looking nervously over your shoulder.

    Or draining your life savings, so you don’t have to.

    Mark Z. Barabak

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  • LAPD ends protection of former Vice President Kamala Harris amid criticism over diverting cops, sources say

    The Los Angeles Police Department on Saturday discontinued its protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris after heavy criticism within its own ranks that officers were being diverted from crime suppression, sources told The Times.

    LAPD Metropolitan Division officers had been assisting the California Highway Patrol in protecting Harris and were visible until Saturday morning outside her Brentwood home.

    Both California police agencies scrambled this week to protect Harris after President Trump, her rival in November’s election, revoked Harris’s Secret Service protection last week. Thursday. President Biden had extended that protection for Harris beyond the six months after leaving office that vice presidents traditionally get.

    Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had directed the LAPD to provide the security team to assist the CHP in the short term. According to sources, those Metro officers had to be drawn away from crime suppression work in the San Fernando Valley this week.

    The department is “assisting the California Highway Patrol in providing protective services for former Vice President Kamala Harris until an alternate plan is established,” said Jennifer Forkish, L.A. police communications director, on Thursday. “This temporary coordinated effort is in place to ensure that there is no lapse in security.”

    The CHP has not indicated how the LAPD’s move would alter its arrangement with the former vice president nor said how long it will continue.

    A dozen or more LAPD officers began working a detail to protect Harris after Trump revoked her Secret Service protection as of Monday. Sources not authorized to discuss the details of the plan said the city would fund the security but that the arrangement was expected to be brief, with Harris hiring her own security in the near future.

    A security detail was seen outside Harris’ Brentwood home by a Fox 11 helicopter as the station broke the story of the use of L.A. police earlier this week.

    The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, criticized the move.

    “Pulling police officers from protecting everyday Angelenos to protect a failed presidential candidate who also happens to be a multi-millionaire… and who can easily afford to pay for her own security, is nuts,” its board of directors said.

    The statement continued, “Mayor Karen Bass should tell Governor Newsom that if he wants to curry favor with Ms. Harris and her donor base, then he should open up his own wallet because LA taxpayers should not be footing the bill for this ridiculousness.”

    Newsom, who was required to sign off on CHP protection, has not confirmed the arrangement to The Times, but a spokesperson for Newsom added: “The safety of our public officials should never be subject to erratic, vindictive political impulse.”

    Bass, in a statement last week, commented on Trump scrapping the security detail for Harris, saying: “This is another act of revenge following a long list of political retaliation in the form of firings, the revoking of security clearances, and more. This puts the former Vice President in danger and I look forward to working with the governor to make sure Vice President Harris is safe in Los Angeles.”

    Deploying LAPD officers to protect Harris was a source of controversy within the department in years past.

    During L.A. Police Chief Charlie Beck’s tenure, when Harris was a U.S. senator, plainclothes officers served as security and traveled with her from January 2017 to July 2018. Beck said at the time through a spokesman that the protection was granted based on a threat assessment.

    Beck’s successor, Michel Moore, ended the protection in July 2018 after he said a new evaluation determined it was no longer needed. The decision came as The Times filed a lawsuit seeking records from then-Mayor Eric Garcetti detailing the costs of security related to his own extensive travel. Garcetti said he was unaware of the police protection until Moore ended it.

    Former vice presidents usually get Secret Service protection for six months after leaving office, while former presidents are given protection for life. But before his term ended, then-President Biden signed an order to extend Harris’ protection to July 2026. Aides to Harris had asked Biden for the extension. Without it, her security detail would have ended last month, according to sources.

    The curtailing of Secret Service protection comes as Harris is going to begin a book tour next month for her memoir, titled “107 Days.” The tour has 15 stops, which include visits to London and Toronto. The book title references the short length of her presidential campaign.

    Harris, the first Black woman to serve as vice president, was the subject of an elevated threat level — particularly when she became the Democratic presidential contender last year. The Associated Press reports, however, a recent threat intelligence assessment by the Secret Service conducted on those it protects, such as Harris, found no red flags or credible evidence of a threat to the former vice president.

    Richard Winton

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  • California voters undecided in 2026 governor’s race, but prefer Newsom over Harris for president in 2028

    Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to forgo a run for California governor has created a wide-open race in next year’s election to run the nation’s most populous state, according to a poll released Tuesday by UC Berkeley and the Los Angeles Times.

    Nearly 4 in 10 registered voters surveyed said they are uncertain about whom they will support in the 2026 contest to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.

    “It’s very unsettled. Most of the voters, the plurality in this poll, are undecided,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll, which was conducted by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times. “They don’t really know much about the candidates.”

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    Among those who had a preference, former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine had a small edge as the top choice, with the backing of 17%. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, was the only other candidate who received double-digit support, winning the backing of 10% of respondents.

    DiCamillo said Porter’s unsuccessful 2024 U.S. Senate campaign boosted her recognition among California voters, but cautioned that she had a small, early lead more than nine months before the June 2 primary. Bianco’s support was driven by voters focused on crime and public safety, taxes and the budget deficit, perennial concerns among GOP voters, according to the survey.

    Other top candidates for governor — former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state legislative leader Toni Atkins, current California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former state Controller Betty Yee, wealthy businessman Stephen Cloobeck and conservative commentator Steve Hilton — received single-digit support as voters’ first choice in the poll. A few potential candidates also had single-digit support, including billionaire Los Angeles businessman Rick Caruso, former Trump administration official Ric Grenell and former GOP state Sen. Brian Dahle.

    The survey is among the first independent public polls since Harris announced in late July that she would not run for governor in 2026, dramatically reshuffling the calculus in a crowded race that the former vice president was widely expected to dominate if she mounted a campaign. The poll also took place after Lt. Gov Eleni Kounalakis dropped out of the contest this month to run for state treasurer instead.

    “It’s pretty wide-open,” DiCamillo said. “And when you look at the second-choice preference, first and second together, it’s bunched together.”

    When voters were asked to rank their top two choices, Porter received 22% as the first or second choice, Becerra got 18%, Bianco notched 15% and Hilton won 12%, according to the poll.

    None of the politicians running are well known by Californians compared with the state’s last three governors: Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco and lieutenant governor, who during his two terms as governor has positioned himself as a foil to President Trump ; former two-term Gov. Jerry Brown, who along with his father left an indelible imprimatur on California’s history; and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a global celebrity who returned to the Hollywood limelight after he left office, along with launching efforts to fight climate change and support independent redistricting nationwide.

    A pressing question is whether anyone else enters the race, notably Caruso, who has the ability to self-fund a campaign. The deadline to file to run for the seat is March 6.

    Whoever is elected as California’s next governor will face the difficult task of contending with a hostile Trump administration and an electorate looking to the state’s next leader to address its most pressing concerns.

    Economic issues are top of mind among all registered voters, with 36% saying the cost of living is their greatest concern and 25% focusing on the affordability of housing, according to the poll. But there were sharp partisan disparities about other issues. Democrats were more concerned about the state of democracy, climate change and healthcare, while Republicans prioritized crime, taxes and immigration.

    Two of California’s most prominent Democrats, Newsom and Harris, are longtime friends grounded in their Bay Area roots and both viewed as potential 2028 presidential candidates.

    As a potential White House hopeful, Newsom has an edge over Harris among Californians overall as well as the state’s Democrats, according to the poll.

    Roughly 45% of the state’s registered voters said they were very or somewhat enthusiastic about Newsom running, compared with 36% who expressed a similar sentiment about Harris. Additionally, nearly two-thirds of registered voters and 51% of Democrats said Harris should not run for president again after two unsuccessful White House bids — in the primary in 2020 and in the general election in 2024.

    “She lost, which is always a negative when you’re trying to run again,” DiCamillo said. “It’s interesting that even after Harris bowed out of the governor’s race, most Californians don’t really think she should run for president.”

    While he described Newsom’s support as a “mixed bag” among the state’s registered voters, DiCamillo pointed to his strength among Democrats. Nearly 7 of 10 registered Democratic voters in the state said they are very or somewhat enthusiastic about Newsom running for president, compared with 54% who expressed similar feelings about Harris.

    The poll took place during a tumultuous period as Trump’s far-right policies begin to hit their stride.

    Drastic cuts to healthcare, nutrition, reproductive rights and other federal safety-net programs are expected to disproportionately affect Californians. The Trump administration‘s aggressive immigration raids in Los Angeles and across the state and country have caused the nation’s partisan divide to widen, driven by the president’s decision to deploy the military and target all undocumented immigrants, including law-abiding workers. Higher-education institutions across the nation have been targeted by the Trump administration, including UCLA, which is being threatened with a $1-billion fine.

    Californians were surveyed shortly before Democratic state lawmakers, trying to fight the Trump administration’s agenda, voted Thursday to call a special election in November to redraw the state’s congressional districts. The action was taken to counter gerrymandering efforts in Texas and other GOP-led states as both parties fight for control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections.

    The Berkeley IGS poll surveyed 4,950 California registered voters online in English and Spanish from Aug. 11 to 17. The results are estimated to have a margin of error of 2 percentage points in either direction in the overall sample, and larger numbers for subgroups.

    Seema Mehta

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  • Column: America’s last presidential bellwether ends its winning streak

    The bellwether rings true no more.

    For nearly a quarter-century, voters in Clallam County, Wash. — a lush green dot in the far corner of the country — have gone with the winner in 11 straight presidential elections. That’s an unmatched level of precision among more than 3,000 counties nationwide.

    But the streak, dating to 1980, ended on Tuesday as voters favored Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Trump, by a decisive 53% to 44% margin. While there are still votes to be counted, Harris’ lead appears certain to hold.

    That means there are no bellwether counties left in America; heading into the 2020 election there were nearly 20. After that, Clallam County — roughly balanced politically between its three small population centers and sparsely populated rural reaches — stood alone.

    (Yours truly visited the county and took the measure of voter sentiments in September, just after the Trump-Harris debate: At the time, neither candidate was running away with the contest and virtually everyone was firmly dug into their positions.)

    Marc Abshire, director of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce and a Harris supporter, said he was proud the county went for the Democratic ticket “but also disappointed we’re losing our bellwether status because of it.”

    “Out here, we just didn’t have the grievance vote that most of the rest of the country seemed to have,” Abshire said.

    Setting aside any bruised pride, he said there are plenty of reasons to visit the region, beyond its former political prescience.

    “We’re lucky to live in one of the most beautiful places in the nation, if not the world,” Abshire said. “We have the sea and mile-high mountains all in our front and backyards. Our weather is always temperate.”

    People will just have to start looking elsewhere for a political barometer.

    Mark Z. Barabak

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  • ‘Do not despair,’ Harris tells supporters as she concedes the election

    WASHINGTON —  Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday acknowledged her defeat to President-elect Donald Trump in a speech marked by emotion as well as a resolve to never give up the fight for a more just union.

    “My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve,” Harris told supporters at Howard University, her alma mater.

    Harris’ 12-minute speech, behind bulletproof glass in front of the brick, flag-lined Frederick Douglas Memorial Hall, took place less than 24 hours on the site where her supporters had gathered to celebrate what they had hoped would be the election of the first female president.

    On Tuesday night, revelers were dancing to 1990s hip-hop but grew somber as states began falling for Trump. On Wednesday, supporters and staffers embraced, wiped away tears and questioned whether this nation would ever elect a woman, notably a Black woman, president.

    “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” Harris told the crowd. “But … hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”

    Harris, typically stoic from her days as a prosecutor, displayed flashes of disappointment and sadness after telling the crowd that she was proud of the whirlwind campaign they ran over 107 days after President Biden announced he would not seek reelection.

    “Now, I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. I get it,” she said, with a wry chuckle. “But we must accept the results of this election.”

    The crowd booed when she said that she had spoken with Trump earlier in the day to congratulate him. But as she continued speaking, they soon returned to cheering as she described the peaceful transition of power, which she pledged to assist him with, as a bedrock of democracy.

    “A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” Harris said, her voice quivering. “That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it. At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States.”

    She did not mention that, before the election, Trump and other leading Republicans had hedged on whether they would accept the results, saying they would have to see if the balloting was conducted fairly and properly.

    However, these statements were clearly an allusion to the former president’s refusal to accept the 2020 election outcome and the ensuing insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress worked to certify the electoral college vote.

    Harris said that while she accepted the election results, she refused to concede the fight for freedom, opportunity and fairness that girded her campaign.

    “That is a fight I will never give up,” she said.

    She implored young people not to give up on fighting for their ideals because of her loss.

    “Do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands,” Harris said. “This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.”

    She concluded with one of her favorite adages — that the stars can only be seen when the night sky is dark. “I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time,” she said. “For the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America. If it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion … stars, the light, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service.”

    After Harris concluded speaking and walked back into Memorial Hall, the music stopped playing as crews began dismantling the stage.

    Several current members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the historically Black sorority Harris joined at Howard, gathered in a circle. The young women, wearing dresses in various shades of pink, one of the sorority’s colors, softly sang their national hymn.

    “Through the years as we struggle // With main and with might // To capture a vision fair // There is one thing that spurs us // To victory’s height // With a fellowship sincere and rare // O, Alpha Kappa Alpha // Dear Alpha Kappa Alpha”

    Seema Mehta

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  • The Best Cocktails To Forget Politics

    The Best Cocktails To Forget Politics

    It seems everywhere you turn it is all politics….you just need a break and these cocktails may help!

    The nation is in the final throes of the election and it has been brutal. You can’t turn around without donation requests, outrage or just news news news. According to a study, it is the most stressful election to date. It could be a good idea to tune out and breathe for a bit.  Here are the best cocktails to forget politics and have some fun.

    RELATED: Beer Sales Flatten Thanks To Marijuana

    Gin Ricky

    The Gin Rickey originated in Washington, D.C. in the 1880s. Bartender George A. Williamson created the drink at Shoomaker’s Bar after witnessing Democratic lobbyist Colonel Joseph Kyle Rickey add a lime to his bourbon highball. The drink was named after  the Colonel Rickey, who was known for drinking bourbon with soda and lime. The Gin Rickey became more popular than the original bourbon version, and was especially popular during Prohibition. 

    Ingredients

    • 2 ounces gin
    • 1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
    • Club soda, to top
    • Lime slice for garnish

    Create

    1. Fill a highball glass with ice and add the gin and lime juice
    2. Top with club soda
    3. Garnish with lime slice

    El Presidente

    This classic Cuban cocktail is likely named after President Mario García Menocal, who served from 1913 to 1921. The El Presidente became popular in Havana during the 1920s and 1930s, when many Americans visited Cuba to escape Prohibition. After Prohibition was lifted, Americans brought the cocktail back to the United States. It bring a little tropical sun and fun to any day or moment.

    • 1 1/2 ounces white rum
    • 3/4 ounce dry vermouth
    • 1/4 ounce orange curaçao
    • 2 dashes grenadine

    Create

    1. Add the white rum, dry vermouth, orange curaçao and grenadine to a mixing glass with ice
    2. tir until well-chilled
    3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

    Vesper

    This sexy drink has a story. Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, was inspired by his visits to Dukes Hotel in London, where he was served stiff drinks by head bartender Gilberto Preti.  He worked it into Casino Royale and named the concoction after Vesper Lynd, a double agent and love interest of Bond.

    • 1 cup ice
    • 3 fluid ounces gin
    • 1 fluid ounce vodka
    • ½ fluid ounce Lillet blanc
    • 1 orange twist

    Create

    1. Fill a cocktail mixing glass with ice
    2. Pour in gin, vodka, and Lillet, stir until chilled
    3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
    4. Garnish with an orange twist

    RELATED: Rainy Weather Cocktails

    A Shandy Maker

    The shandy originated in England in the 1850s as a mixture of beer and ginger ale or ginger beer, and was originally called a shandygaff (what a name!). By the late 19th century, the ginger ale was replaced by lemonade or lemon soda, and the “gaff” was dropped to shorten the word to “shandy”.  By adding a brown liquor, this ups the alcohol and richness of flavor.  Perfect to take you mind off politics.

    Ingredients

    • 2 to 4 leaves fresh marjoram
    • 1 3/4 ounces 100-proof bourbon
    • 3/4 ounce grapefruit juice
    • 1/4 ounce lemon juice
    • 1/4 ounce simple syrup
    • 3 ounces chilled IPA or another beer
    • Grapefruit twist for garnish

    Create

    1. In a mixing glass, dry-muddle the marjoram.
    2. Add the bourbon, grapefruit juice, lemon juice and simple syrup into the mixing glass. Fill with ice and shake until well-chilled.
    3. Strain into a pint glass over fresh ice.
    4. Top with the beer and stir briefly and gently to combine.
    5. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

    Anthony Washington

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  • L.A. Times, Washington Post see subscription cancellations over not endorsing in presidential race

    L.A. Times, Washington Post see subscription cancellations over not endorsing in presidential race

    The Los Angeles Times and Washington Post have seen significant subscription cancellations in the days since their billionaire owners decided not to endorse in the presidential race after the editorial boards at both newspapers proposed backing Vice President Kamala Harris.

    National Public Radio reported that the Post saw more than 200,000 cancellations. Sources said The Times, which has less than 400,000 subscribers, had more than 7,000 subscribers cancel for “editorial reasons.” Total cancellations over the last few days were higher, but internal data did not give reasons in those cases.

    Those losses amounted to about 8% of the roughly 2.5 million print and online readership of the Post and at least 1.8% of the audience for The Times. Any subscription drops are painful for financially shaky organizations whose futures rely heavily on building robust audiences online.

    The Post suffered its particularly large setback, insiders said, because it built much of its reputation on being an unflinching Trump critic, adopting the slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” Many readers said they subscribed because the paper that exposed the Watergate scandal 50 years ago also held Trump accountable for his lies, his inflammatory and sometimes racist rhetoric and his attacks on institutions.

    “This is a self-inflicted wound on the part of the Washington Post,” Martin Baron, former editor of the Post, said in an interview Monday. “Many of these readers signed up for the Post because they believed it would stand up to Donald Trump. And now they fear this is a sign of weakness … and an invitation to Trump to continue to bully the owner of the Washington Post.”

    The angry reaction prompted an extraordinary response from the newspaper’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

    The Post published a column by the billionaire, one of the world’s wealthiest men, in which he defended his decision not to endorse Harris, saying that the tradition of presidential endorsements had not helped the public but, instead, served to “create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence.”

    He depicted the decision not to endorse in the Harris-Trump race as an attempt to begin to restore trust.

    “I wish we had made the change earlier than we did, in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it,” Bezos wrote. “That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.”

    Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos wrote that the tradition of presidential endorsements had not helped the public but, instead, served to “create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence.”

    (Brent N. Clarke / Invision / Associated Press)

    Bezos rejected claims that he declined an endorsement to Harris in hopes of mollifying Trump, although he acknowledged that his web of business interests would always present appearances of potential conflicts of interest.

    The Times’ owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said last week that he had decided not to endorse in an effort to ease sharp divisions surrounding the election. He said he trusted readers to pick the best candidate.

    Readers accused the two venerable outlets of refusing to take a stand in the face of what they see as the dangers of another Donald Trump presidency.

    “Our democracy is very much under threat, and we should be bolstering our institutions as an act of defiance against the threat of authoritarianism,“ said Miguel Santana, CEO of the California Community Foundation and a prominent civic leader in Southern California. “Choosing to sit this one out is shortchanging our community at the time when we need the institution most.”

    David Warren, a long-time university administrator who is now retired, said The Times’ lack of endorsement made it appear Soon-Shiong had no respect for the years of critical reporting on Trump by his own newspaper.

    Warren rejected the suggestion — raised by Soon-Shiong— that The Times should have provided readers only with a side-by-side matrix on Harris and Trump, comparing their records and issue stands.

    “This excuse is like saying we should give the fantasy of creationism the same validity as the scientifically proven truth of evolution. We should not,” said Warren. “It’s so disingenuous and it seems cowardly. And I don’t think the paper should be cowardly.”

    Many long-time readers said they were dropping The Times reluctantly but felt they had no other choice.

    “I am absolutely heartbroken that I had to cancel because I truly appreciate all the brilliant hard work you all do everyday while the profession withers around you,” said Stephanie Stanley of Tarzana, who once worked as a journalist in New Orleans. “Unfortunately, I don’t see how else readers can express their shock and disgust.”

    Some journalists at The Times joined readers in renewing their warnings about a potential unintended consequence of a reader cancellations — undermining The Times’ ability to fund its journalism, at the very time when the public says it wants public figures held to account.

    Matt Hamilton, who won a Pulitzer Prize for covering scandals at USC — along with reporters Harriet Ryan and Paul Pringle — also pleaded for “heartbroken” readers to consider the impact of dropping The Times.

    “We have the largest newsroom west of the Mississippi,” said Hamilton. “These subscriptions underwrite our journalism, and they make it so that we can have more people covering City Hall, local courts, the school district, more people in Sacramento and D.C. Canceling your subscription just hurts the journalism effort.”

    The Times had received as many as 1,000 emails and letters protesting the non-endorsement by midday Monday. About 90% of them criticized the paper and its owner.

    At least some readers called not publishing the Harris endorsement the right move.

    Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong

    Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong said that he had decided not to endorse in an effort to ease sharp divisions surrounding the election.

    (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

    “A balanced approach is best,” wrote Keith Hagaman, a real estate investor who lives in Marina del Rey and Hawaii. “Kudos to Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, albeit it may be too late. If he had done this a few years ago, so many subscribers would not have left.”

    Lloyd del Llamas had years of experience with journalists as a city administrator in several California cities. He credited Soon-Shiong with spending millions to bolster The Times and agreed that even disappointed readers needed to stand fast or risk having to rely on the less probing coverage provided by thinly staffed suburban newspapers around Southern California.

    Terry Tang, the executive editor, directs the newsroom that produces The Times’ news pages. She also oversees the Opinion department, which includes the editorial board. The board, managed at the time by editorials editor Mariel Garza, tried to persuade Soon-Shiong to go ahead with an endorsement of Harris. A series detailing the dangers of a second Trump term had also been planned but not published.

    “We understand that many readers are disappointed and angry that The Times did not make a presidential endorsement,” Tang said in a statement Monday. “ We want our readers to know that we deeply value the trust that they place in us and work hard every day to earn that trust. But canceling subscriptions will hurt our ability to provide the robust journalism our communities rely on.”

    Garza resigned over the blocking of a pro-Harris editorial. She wrote in the Boston Globe on Monday that she suspects the owners of both papers did not want their business interests impacted by “a vengeful Trump administration.” Both have denied their businesses played a role in the decision.

    The Atlantic published a critique by Robert Greene, a Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion writer, who resigned along with Garza and opinion writer Karin Klein.

    “In this year’s race, a non-choice ignores Trump’s singular unfitness for office,” Greene wrote, “demonstrated time and again through his dishonesty, his false claims to have won the 2020 election, his criminal convictions, his impeachable offenses, his race-baiting, his threats of retaliation against his opponents, and many other features that make him a danger to the nation.”

    The leaders of the union representing Times journalists also issued a new statement, saying Soon-Shiong should go beyond his social media posts and previous remarks by “writing an explanation to readers and the staff further detailing how he came to this decision and what it might mean for future endorsements.”

    Soon-Shiong told The Times on Friday he had no regrets about the decision not to endorse. He did not respond to a request for further comment on Monday.

    Staffers at the Washington Post also pleaded with readers not to cancel.

    Post columnist Dana Milbank excoriated the owner for the decision, which he said “gave the appearance of cowering before a wannabe dictator to protect Bezos’s business interests.” But he joined colleagues in pleading with readers not to abandon the newspaper because of the owner’s action.

    “Boycotting The Post will hurt my colleagues and me,” he wrote. “We lost $77 million last year, which required a[nother] round of staff cuts through buyouts. The more cancellations there are, the more jobs will be lost, and the less good journalism there will be. … For all its flaws, The Post is still one of the strongest voices for preserving our democratic freedoms.”

    Jennifer Mercieca, a political historian and communications professor at Texas A&M and author of “Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump,” said every action in the final days before voting closes on Nov. 5 is provoking new levels of anxiety among an already tense electorate.

    And for those who fear Trump, any sign he may have sway over powerful institutions only redoubles concern, Mercieca said.

    “It wouldn’t have been a story had you all just endorsed,” she said. “Nobody would have been concerned. But the fact that you chose not to is telling — and people read into that with fear.”

    Times staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.

    James Rainey

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  • Does Marijuana Have Any Sway In The Election

    Does Marijuana Have Any Sway In The Election

    Since 2016 cannabis has began slowly legalizing across Canada and the US. Recent research says almost 90% believe it should be legalized.  Additionally, California Sober has become a thing, beer sales have flattened and even AARP has joined esteemed medical organizations saying cannabis should be recognized for the health benefits. States are reaping huge tax revenue, but the industry is still struggling without some type of federal recognization. But does marijuana have any sway in the election?

    RELATED: Red States Lean Green This Election

    Top concerns of voters include the economy, healthcare, the Supreme Court and abortion, with over 60% of voters considering them very important. And although cannabis consumers use is generally seen more of a democrat habit than republicans, a number of repubicans are fans. Some larger influencers in the industry have been staunch supporter of the GOP nominee.  A recent poll found 42% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independent favor legalizing marijuana for both recreational and medical compared with 72% of Democrats.  Florida governor Ron DeSantis is struggling to prevent an expanded cannabis ballot initiative passing in Florida.  But do voters really consider marijuana when choosing?

    Photo by Lingbeek/Getty Images

    While the industry is full of bros who believe they have influence over the election and congress, the numbers don’t add up. It isn’t a make or break issue for most voters. Biden delayed any action on marijuana, despite his promise in 2020, until the last part of this term.  Because of this, even if he manages to push things through with the Drug Enforcement Administration, it will be 2025 before any help comes. The GOP nominee’s has come out in support of the Florida initiative against his old foe DeSantis, but leaders in his party are against any legal form of marijuana. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has made it very clear cannabis is a no go.

    A recent YouGov poll revealed , voters trust the Democratic nominee to handle cannabis laws (27 percent), compared to the GOP candidate (20 percent). But more Trump supporters say marijuana issues are important them (17 percent) than Harris supporters (11 percent).  It could mean older conservative believe the GOP will reverse marijuana trends.

    RELATED: Musk Supports DeSantis Blocking Marijuana Legalization

    The good news is alcohol is a major partner of cannabis having invested over $13 billion in the industry, and they have a longer term relationship with Congress.  Constellation, one of the largest players of spirits, wine and beer, made $22 billion in revenue last year compared to the $33 billon the entire marijuana raked in.

    Does the industry have a say in the election, absolutely via support, donation and campaigns.  But on average, marijuana is not a major issue for most voters.

    Terry Hacienda

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  • Harris and Trump campaigns appeal to right-leaning, religious voters

    Harris and Trump campaigns appeal to right-leaning, religious voters

    Both the Harris and Trump campaigns are intensifying their efforts in battleground states with just two weeks left until Election Day.Former President Donald Trump will campaign for a second straight day in North Carolina after making his pitch to Christian voters a day prior. He postponed a speech at a gun rights conference in Georgia and scheduled a last-minute rally in the Tar Heel state Tuesday as some polling suggests Harris is gaining support there.In a rally before faith leaders in the battleground state, Trump touched on culture war issues, including transgender and parental rights.”Christians will not be safe with Kamala Harris as president,” Trump warned. “Your religious liberty will be gone. Your free speech will be gone, your Second Amendment will be gone, and parental rights will be gone forever.”Earlier, Trump surveyed storm damage and repeated false claims about FEMA misusing taxpayer money.”They spent a lot of money on having illegal people come into our country,” Trump said.Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris made her pitch to Trump-hesitant voters in three “Blue wall” states Monday.In separate events in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, she campaigned alongside a familiar but unlikely ally, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, (R) Wyoming. Both aimed their messages at Trump-wary voters in counties that could decide the election.”We might not agree on every issue but she is somebody you can trust,” Cheney said. “You can vote your conscience and never have to say a word to anybody. There will be millions of Republicans who do that on November 5th.”While Harris will not hold public events, she will sit for an interview that will air Tuesday night on NBC Nightly News.In her place, former President Barack Obama and running mate Tim Walz will host a rally in Wisconsin where in-person, early voting kicks off.Republicans are also holding events to encourage early voting in favor of Trump. His campaign is pushing for all forms of voting, including by mail and in-person, to maximize votes. Trump lost Wisconsin by just under 21,000 votes in the 2020 election.

    WASHINGTON —

    Both the Harris and Trump campaigns are intensifying their efforts in battleground states with just two weeks left until Election Day.

    Former President Donald Trump will campaign for a second straight day in North Carolina after making his pitch to Christian voters a day prior. He postponed a speech at a gun rights conference in Georgia and scheduled a last-minute rally in the Tar Heel state Tuesday as some polling suggests Harris is gaining support there.

    In a rally before faith leaders in the battleground state, Trump touched on culture war issues, including transgender and parental rights.

    “Christians will not be safe with Kamala Harris as president,” Trump warned. “Your religious liberty will be gone. Your free speech will be gone, your Second Amendment will be gone, and parental rights will be gone forever.”

    Earlier, Trump surveyed storm damage and repeated false claims about FEMA misusing taxpayer money.

    “They spent a lot of money on having illegal people come into our country,” Trump said.

    Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris made her pitch to Trump-hesitant voters in three “Blue wall” states Monday.

    In separate events in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, she campaigned alongside a familiar but unlikely ally, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, (R) Wyoming. Both aimed their messages at Trump-wary voters in counties that could decide the election.

    “We might not agree on every issue but she is somebody you can trust,” Cheney said. “You can vote your conscience and never have to say a word to anybody. There will be millions of Republicans who do that on November 5th.”

    While Harris will not hold public events, she will sit for an interview that will air Tuesday night on NBC Nightly News.

    In her place, former President Barack Obama and running mate Tim Walz will host a rally in Wisconsin where in-person, early voting kicks off.

    Republicans are also holding events to encourage early voting in favor of Trump. His campaign is pushing for all forms of voting, including by mail and in-person, to maximize votes. Trump lost Wisconsin by just under 21,000 votes in the 2020 election.

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  • Harris unveils new proposals targeting Black men ahead of 2024 election

    Harris unveils new proposals targeting Black men ahead of 2024 election

    Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday unveiled new proposals targeting Black men as she seeks to strengthen her coalition ahead of Election Day.Related video above: Get the Facts: Checking claims made about taxes by Kamala HarrisThe announcement comes as Harris lags behind President Joe Biden’s numbers with Black voters in 2020, especially men, though recent polling suggests she has room to grow. Last week, former President Barack Obama delivered a stark warning to Black men, saying it’s “not acceptable” to sit out this election and suggesting they might be reluctant to vote for Harris because she’s a woman.The proposal aims to provide Black men “with the tools to achieve financial freedom, lower costs to better provide for themselves and their families, and protect their rights,” according to a release by the campaign.Part of the proposal includes providing one million loans that are fully forgivable up to $20,000 to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business. According to the campaign, the loans would be provided through a new partnership between the Small Business Administration and some lenders and banks.Harris is also calling for creating and investing in programs that help expand pathways for job opportunities for Black men, including promoting apprenticeships, strengthening the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and investing in more Black male teachers. On the campaign trail, Harris has said she will cut college degree requirements for certain federal jobs if elected president.The plan will also support a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets and a National Health Equity Initiative that focuses on addressing health challenges that disproportionately impact Black men. Another component includes legalizing recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in the industry. The vice president has often reiterated that she believes marijuana should legalized in the U.S.The campaign will tout the agenda during several upcoming events, including “Black Men Huddle Up” events, an Economic Freedom Talk series and paid media outreach as they try to draw a contrast with former President Donald Trump.“Donald Trump’s outreach is gold sneakers, T shirts of mug shots and insults and putting other communities down. The Vice President is actually speaking to what Black men can achieve under her presidency. We think that’s a stark point of contrast, and one that is important to talk about,” Harris-Walz campaign communications Director Michael Tyler said in a statement.As CNN has reported, Harris had been focused on turning out Black men even before she took over as the Democratic nominee, trying to get the enthusiasm there for Biden when he was still running for reelection.“The concern is that the couch is going to win,” one person close to the Harris team previously told CNN. “We need to make sure that Black men, Hispanic men, don’t sit on the couch. Because if they don’t vote at all. That’s (a) vote for him.”Harris will travel to Detroit this week for a Tuesday radio town hall hosted by nationally syndicated radio co-host Charlamagne tha God, who has millions of followers across digital platforms, while “The Breakfast Club” enjoys a vast nationwide audience, much of it Black.

    WASHINGTON —

    Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday unveiled new proposals targeting Black men as she seeks to strengthen her coalition ahead of Election Day.

    Related video above: Get the Facts: Checking claims made about taxes by Kamala Harris

    The announcement comes as Harris lags behind President Joe Biden’s numbers with Black voters in 2020, especially men, though recent polling suggests she has room to grow. Last week, former President Barack Obama delivered a stark warning to Black men, saying it’s “not acceptable” to sit out this election and suggesting they might be reluctant to vote for Harris because she’s a woman.

    The proposal aims to provide Black men “with the tools to achieve financial freedom, lower costs to better provide for themselves and their families, and protect their rights,” according to a release by the campaign.

    Part of the proposal includes providing one million loans that are fully forgivable up to $20,000 to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business. According to the campaign, the loans would be provided through a new partnership between the Small Business Administration and some lenders and banks.

    Harris is also calling for creating and investing in programs that help expand pathways for job opportunities for Black men, including promoting apprenticeships, strengthening the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and investing in more Black male teachers. On the campaign trail, Harris has said she will cut college degree requirements for certain federal jobs if elected president.

    The plan will also support a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets and a National Health Equity Initiative that focuses on addressing health challenges that disproportionately impact Black men. Another component includes legalizing recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in the industry. The vice president has often reiterated that she believes marijuana should legalized in the U.S.

    The campaign will tout the agenda during several upcoming events, including “Black Men Huddle Up” events, an Economic Freedom Talk series and paid media outreach as they try to draw a contrast with former President Donald Trump.

    “Donald Trump’s outreach is gold sneakers, T shirts of mug shots and insults and putting other communities down. The Vice President is actually speaking to what Black men can achieve under her presidency. We think that’s a stark point of contrast, and one that is important to talk about,” Harris-Walz campaign communications Director Michael Tyler said in a statement.

    As CNN has reported, Harris had been focused on turning out Black men even before she took over as the Democratic nominee, trying to get the enthusiasm there for Biden when he was still running for reelection.

    “The concern is that the couch is going to win,” one person close to the Harris team previously told CNN. “We need to make sure that Black men, Hispanic men, don’t sit on the couch. Because if they don’t vote at all. That’s (a) vote for him.”

    Harris will travel to Detroit this week for a Tuesday radio town hall hosted by nationally syndicated radio co-host Charlamagne tha God, who has millions of followers across digital platforms, while “The Breakfast Club” enjoys a vast nationwide audience, much of it Black.

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  • In Coachella, Trump returns to a favorite theme: Bashing California

    In Coachella, Trump returns to a favorite theme: Bashing California

    With just 23 days left until election day and voters already casting ballots, former President Trump rallied supporters in the California desert while railing against the state’s Democratic leadership, notably his presidential rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

    Trump blasted California as having “the highest inflation, the highest taxes, the highest gas prices, the highest cost of living, the most regulations, the most expensive utilities, the most homelessness, the most crime, the most decay and the most illegal aliens.”

    “Other than that, you’re doing quite well, actually,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let Kamala Harris do to America what she did to California.”

    Trump painted California as a lawless, dystopian state, and at times correctly touched on the economic struggles faced by many residents. But his comments also were peppered with distortions and falsehoods, including his claim that California has brownouts and blackouts “every day,” presumably because of power shortages.

    The former president spoke shortly after 5 p.m. on a polo field at Calhoun Ranch, just outside the city of Coachella, but supporters lined up hours earlier in the scorching desert heat to attend.

    Trump stands before supporters at the rally at Calhoun Ranch.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    As they spent hours in temperatures that reached 100 degrees, they sought shade in the few spots they could, and large tanks of ice quickly emptied as attendees grabbed fistfuls of cubes to put under their hats or fill water bottles. Multiple medical emergencies occurred during the rally.

    “Welcome to Trumpchella!” said state GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson, one of the warm-up speakers for Trump.

    Trump’s visit to the home state of Harris offers him another chance to bash the liberal policies of the Bay Area native as well as California itself — one of his favorite refrains on the campaign trail. Harris served as San Francisco’s district attorney before she was elected as California’s attorney general and to the U.S. Senate.

    And the Coachella Valley, home to a thriving agricultural industry and a large population of Latino farmworkers, provides a backdrop for Trump to highlight the region’s water and agricultural needs, as well as immigration. Latinos constitute almost 98% of Coachella, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

    Deriding California as a “sanctuary state” for immigrants as he spoke to thousands of supporters, Trump said, “The people of California are not going to take it any longer.”

    He repeatedly tied immigrants — many of whom, he said, come from “dungeons of the Third World” — to criminal activity, though studies show that immigrants commit crimes at lower levels than U.S.-born residents. He blasted Harris, whom President Biden tasked with addressing the root causes of immigration from three nations in Central America, as a failed “border czar.”

    “Kamala Harris got you into this mess and only Trump will get you out of it,” he said.

    Trump criticized California as being horribly mismanaged, primarily blaming Harris and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, especially when it comes to crime, the high cost of living and water policy. The former president also threatened to cut off federal disaster aid for the state’s devastating wildfires if California’s leaders don’t make more water available to farmers and homeowners.

    “We’re going to take care of your water situation, force it down his throat, and we’ll say: Gavin, if you don’t do it, we’re not giving any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the fire, forest fires that you have,” Trump said.

    Donning his red “Make America Great Again” hat to guard against the beating desert sun, Trump encouraged the crowd to vote in large numbers, to make the election “too big to rig.” He has repeatedly denied losing the 2020 election. “They are good at one thing. Which one thing?” he asked the crowd. “Cheating!” the crowd roared back.

    Trump also turned his ire against Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), the front-runner in California’s U.S. Senate race who led a successful House impeachment of Trump, before the Senate acquitted him. Trump called him “one of the least attractive human beings” and insulted the size of Schiff’s neck and head.

    Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Indio) said that the “Coachella Valley is known for being a presidential playground,” noting that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaigned in the valley, former President Obama came to golf, and Presidents Ford and Eisenhower retired in the region. Still, he called Trump’s decision to visit Coachella — in one of the bluest states in the country — “baffling.”

    Donald Trump speaks at an outdoor venue

    Trump addresses the crowd Saturday.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    “We are familiar with having presidents come and leave a mark here, and we respect and love them. … But ex-President Trump is different,” Ruiz said on a call from Coachella Valley, where he was spending the day talking to reporters. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of respect for the demographics that live here — not just in his vile rhetoric but also in his policies.”

    The rally venue is just outside the 41st Congressional District, where Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, is challenging Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, who spoke at the rally. The race will be crucial in determining which party wins control of the House.

    Calvert, who was endorsed by Trump in the 2022 congressional election and on Saturday for his current campaign, voted against certifying the 2020 election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania though he acknowledged that Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency.

    “Welcome Trump,” Calvert told the rally crowd. “Show him some sanity still exists in California, and it’s right here in Riverside County.”

    Other speakers included Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, an ardent Trump ally, and Dennis Quaid, the actor who recently portrayed President Reagan in his namesake movie.

    Mary and Pete Venegas drove more than an hour from their Hemet home to see Trump, for whom they both plan to vote for the first time in November.

    Mary Venegas, a former Democrat who sat out the 2020 election because she was unenthusiastic about Biden, said Trump deserves “a second chance.” Wearing a red Trump T-shirt, she said she is now a registered Republican.

    “He made me do it,” she said, laughing, as she poked her husband, who runs a construction and landscaping business and said he supports Trump because of his business acumen.

    The visit marks Trump’s second trip to the Golden State in a month, after making a stop to talk to reporters at his Rancho Palos Verdes golf course in September sandwiched between two high-dollar fundraisers in Beverly Hills and the Bay Area.

    California GOP strategists granted anonymity to discuss the former president’s motivation said it included the notion that he wanted to increase his share of the popular vote — and despite California’s Democratic tilt, it is home to more than 5 million registered Republicans.

    Trump has announced that he will hold an Oct. 27 rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, another deeply Democratic state.

    At Saturday’s rally, mentions of Harris and Newsom from Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who was a delegate at the Republican National Committee, drew boos from the audience.

    “The downfall of public safety in California began over a decade ago with Gavin Newsom’s policies, and ideas under the watch of Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris,” Bianco said, mentioning Proposition 47, a state ballot initiative that reduced certain thefts and crimes to misdemeanors.

    Though Proposition 47 was put in place under Harris’ watch, she declined to wade into the political debate as attorney general. California voters will decide whether to roll back some of the 2014 measure when voting on Proposition 36 next month.

    Trump held a rally in Aurora, Colo., on Friday — a state he lost by more than 13 points in 2020. He has falsely claimed that Aurora had been taken over by Venezuelan gang members. He also paid a visit Friday night to Nevada.

    People cheer Donald Trump during an outdoor rally

    Trump acknowledges supporters’ cheers.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    During Saturday’s rally, Trump mentioned a new immigration policy, dubbed “Operation Aurora,” that he announced during Friday’s visit to expedite deportation of immigrant gang members. He also called for the death penalty for any immigrant who kills an American citizen or law enforcement officer, a proposal that drew chants of “USA!” from the audience.

    On Thursday, while speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, he insulted the city and warned that the situation in Detroit foreshadowed what would happen to the nation if Harris is elected president.

    “Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s elected president,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let her do that to this country. We’re not gonna let it happen.”

    Democrats in Michigan — one of the states likely to determine which party wins the White House — were apoplectic.

    “Detroit is the epitome of ‘grit,’ defined by winners willing to get their hands dirty to build up their city and create their communities — something Donald Trump could never understand,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. “So keep Detroit out of your mouth. And you better believe Detroiters won’t forget this in November.”

    Republicans from the state were stunned by Trump’s remarks as well.

    “Michiganders haven’t been this proud of the city of Detroit since Henry Ford put the world on wheels. The Lions and Tigers are flying high, the city has come back to life, and in comes Donald Trump to crap all over that progress,” said an exasperated GOP strategist who reached out to a Times reporter after hearing the remarks, and was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “I think he shouldn’t be surprised when they reward his comments by giving Kamala Harris their votes. And it won’t just be Detroit residents. It will be hundreds of thousands of voters who are deeply proud of their city.”

    Donald Trump walking off a stage at night.

    Trump exits the stage after the rally.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    Harris said Trump’s remarks about Detroit represent a trend.

    “My opponent, Donald Trump, yet again, has trashed another great American city when he was in Detroit, which is just a further piece of evidence on a very long list of why he is unfit to be president of the United States,” Harris told reporters Thursday in Las Vegas.

    Trump similarly criticized Milwaukee in a meeting with House Republicans shortly before the Republican National Convention was held there, in the battleground state of Wisconsin, earlier this year. He has also disparaged Philadelphia and Atlanta, both of which are in states that will determine which party wins the White House.

    Faith E. Pinho, Seema Mehta

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  • Harris’ doctor reports VP in ‘excellent health.’ Her campaign wants to draw contrast with Trump

    Harris’ doctor reports VP in ‘excellent health.’ Her campaign wants to draw contrast with Trump

    WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is in “excellent health” and “possesses the physical and mental resiliency” required to serve as president, her doctor said in a letter released Saturday that summarizes her medical history and status.

    Dr. Joshua Simmons, a U.S. Army colonel and physician to the vice president, wrote that Harris, 59, maintains a healthy, active lifestyle and that her most recent physical last April was “unremarkable.”

    She “possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief,” he wrote in a two-page letter.

    Harris’ campaign hopes to use the moment to draw a contrast with Republican Donald Trump, who has released only limited information about his health over the years, and raise questions about his fitness to serve, according to a campaign aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

    Trump has released very little health information, including after his ear was grazed by a bullet during an assassination attempt in July.

    Simmons, who said he has been Harris’ primary care physician for the past 3 1/2 years, said the vice president has a history of allergies and urticaria, also known as hives, for which she has been on allergen immunotherapy for the past three years.

    Simmons said Harris’ latest blood work and other test results were “unremarkable.”

    Also in the report: Harris wears contact lenses for mild nearsightedness; her family history includes maternal colon cancer; she is up to date on preventive care recommendations, including having a colonoscopy and annual mammograms.

    As Harris’ office released the medical report, her campaign highlighted recent media reports raising questions about Trump’s health and mental acuity and his failure to provide information about health status and medical history.

    Trump, 78, eagerly questioned President Joe Biden’s health when the 81-year-old president was seeking reelection. Since Biden was replaced on the ticket with Harris, Trump’s own health has drawn more attention.

    Last November, Trump marked Biden’s birthday by releasing a letter from his physician that reported the former president was in “excellent” physical and mental health.

    The letter posted on Trump’s social media platform contained no details to support its claims – measures like weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, or the results of any test.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

    AP

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  • Harris campaigns with Liz Cheney at the GOP’s birthplace while Trump rallies in Michigan

    Harris campaigns with Liz Cheney at the GOP’s birthplace while Trump rallies in Michigan

    Vice President Kamala Harris rallied with Republican Liz Cheney in the birthplace of the modern Republican Party on Thursday as the pair delivered a double-barreled denunciation of GOP nominee Donald Trump as a dire threat to democracy.With some people hoisting signs “Country over Party,” Harris told the crowd that “people of every party must stand together” to reject Trump, citing his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and his failure to quell the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.It was an improbable moment — a Democratic nominee giving a nod to a rival party member and to the origins of the opposing party in the closing weeks of a presidential campaign — and it demonstrated how much Harris is attempting to win over moderate and crossover Republican voters.Harris said of Trump, “He refused to accept the will of the people and to accept the results of an election that was free and fair.”“The president of the United States must not look at our country through the narrow lens of ideology or party partisanship or self-interest,” she added. “Our nation is not some spoil to be won. The United States of America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised.”Cheney is one of Trump’s most ardent antagonists. She is the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and was the top GOP lawmaker on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, earning Trump’s disdain and effectively exiling herself from her own party.“Violence does not and must never determine who rules us. Voters do,” Cheney told the crowd as she recounted Trump refusing to act as he watched the violent attack on television. Someone in the crowd yelled “coward!” Others booed.Adding to the surreal nature of the event, the crowd cheered references to Dick Cheney and to another Republican former vice president: Mike Pence, who refused to bow to pressure from Trump and attempt to stop the certification in Congress of Biden’s 2020 victory.“He praised the rioters. He did not condemn them. That’s who Donald Trump is,” Liz Cheney said, while urging the crowd to “meet this moment. I ask you to stand in truth. To reject the depraved cruelty of Donald Trump.”Cheney lost her Wyoming seat to a Trump-endorsed candidate two years ago and endorsed Harris, the Democratic nominee, last month. The two women appeared together in Ripon, home to a white schoolhouse where a series of meetings held in 1854 to oppose slavery’s expansion led to the start of the Republican Party.“I know that she loves our country, and I know she will be a president for all Americans,” Cheney said of Harris. Noting that she herself remains conservative, Cheney said she was “honored to join her in this urgent cause.”Harris is on a two-day Wisconsin and Michigan swing, while Trump was in Michigan on Thursday as both candidates grapple for wins in the “blue wall” battleground states, which also include Pennsylvania.While Cheney and Harris spoke, the former president took his social media site to say Democrats and prosecutors have lied about the “huge crowd of Patriots gathered in Washington, D.C. on January 6th.”That was a far cry from President Joe Biden’s reaction. Arriving back at the White House after touring damage from Hurricane Helene in Georgia and Florida, Biden said of Cheney: “She made one of the most consequential speeches I’ve ever heard. She has character.”“I know her dad,” Biden added. “We argue like hell, but I always admired his courage and honesty. What she did not took only political courage, but physical courage.”Harris’ visit to Wisconsin came a day after a federal judge unsealed a 165-page court filing outlining prosecutors’ case against Trump for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction.Trump didn’t mention the document filed by special counsel Jack Smith or Cheney’s appearance with Harris during an 82-minute speech at a rally in Saginaw County, Michigan. In 2020, Biden won the bellwether county by a slim 303 votes, contributing to his victory in the state.As Trump spoke, his campaign announced he’ll appear in Georgia on Friday with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. The two men have made peace after Trump in August unleashed a blistering attack on Kemp, whom he has faulted for not giving in to his efforts to overturn his loss in 2020.During the 2020 campaign, Cheney criticized Harris as “a radical liberal” who “wants to recreate America in the image of what’s happening on the streets of Portland & Seattle,” a reference to unrest that took place in those cities after the murder of George Floyd.But Jan. 6 was a turning point for Liz Cheney and her family. Both Cheneys are backing Harris, part of a cadre of current and former Republican officials who have broken with the vast majority of their party, which remains in Trump’s corner. Harris wants to portray her candidacy as a patriotic choice for independent and conservative voters who were disturbed by Trump’s unwillingness to cede power. Trump continues to deny his defeat with false claims of voter fraud.Harris on Thursday also was endorsed by Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a young White House aide during Trump’s presidency and described during a hearing of Cheney’s Jan. 6 congressional committee how she grew disgusted by Trump’s refusal to stop the rioters that day. Harris’ campaign also began airing ads targeting Republicans, independents and former Trump voters in battleground states.Cheney’s presence prompted some dissonance for Harris supporters in the Ripon audience, especially those whoremember her father’s role as a Republican headliner.Victor Romero, 46, said it was “a little weird” to be at an event with her.“I still don’t like Liz Cheney’s politics,” he said. “But I’m glad that she understands the Republican Party that currently exists is just for Trump.”Younger voters, though, reported knowing Cheney primarily for standing up to Trump.“She stuck to her morals,” said Kynaeda Gray, 22.___Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Saginaw, Michigan, Will Weissert in Washington and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.

    RIPON, Wis. —

    Vice President Kamala Harris rallied with Republican Liz Cheney in the birthplace of the modern Republican Party on Thursday as the pair delivered a double-barreled denunciation of GOP nominee Donald Trump as a dire threat to democracy.

    With some people hoisting signs “Country over Party,” Harris told the crowd that “people of every party must stand together” to reject Trump, citing his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and his failure to quell the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.

    It was an improbable moment — a Democratic nominee giving a nod to a rival party member and to the origins of the opposing party in the closing weeks of a presidential campaign — and it demonstrated how much Harris is attempting to win over moderate and crossover Republican voters.

    Harris said of Trump, “He refused to accept the will of the people and to accept the results of an election that was free and fair.”

    “The president of the United States must not look at our country through the narrow lens of ideology or party partisanship or self-interest,” she added. “Our nation is not some spoil to be won. The United States of America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised.”

    Cheney is one of Trump’s most ardent antagonists. She is the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and was the top GOP lawmaker on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, earning Trump’s disdain and effectively exiling herself from her own party.

    “Violence does not and must never determine who rules us. Voters do,” Cheney told the crowd as she recounted Trump refusing to act as he watched the violent attack on television. Someone in the crowd yelled “coward!” Others booed.

    Adding to the surreal nature of the event, the crowd cheered references to Dick Cheney and to another Republican former vice president: Mike Pence, who refused to bow to pressure from Trump and attempt to stop the certification in Congress of Biden’s 2020 victory.

    “He praised the rioters. He did not condemn them. That’s who Donald Trump is,” Liz Cheney said, while urging the crowd to “meet this moment. I ask you to stand in truth. To reject the depraved cruelty of Donald Trump.”

    Cheney lost her Wyoming seat to a Trump-endorsed candidate two years ago and endorsed Harris, the Democratic nominee, last month. The two women appeared together in Ripon, home to a white schoolhouse where a series of meetings held in 1854 to oppose slavery’s expansion led to the start of the Republican Party.

    “I know that she loves our country, and I know she will be a president for all Americans,” Cheney said of Harris. Noting that she herself remains conservative, Cheney said she was “honored to join her in this urgent cause.”

    Harris is on a two-day Wisconsin and Michigan swing, while Trump was in Michigan on Thursday as both candidates grapple for wins in the “blue wall” battleground states, which also include Pennsylvania.

    While Cheney and Harris spoke, the former president took his social media site to say Democrats and prosecutors have lied about the “huge crowd of Patriots gathered in Washington, D.C. on January 6th.”

    That was a far cry from President Joe Biden’s reaction. Arriving back at the White House after touring damage from Hurricane Helene in Georgia and Florida, Biden said of Cheney: “She made one of the most consequential speeches I’ve ever heard. She has character.”

    “I know her dad,” Biden added. “We argue like hell, but I always admired his courage and honesty. What she did not took only political courage, but physical courage.”

    Harris’ visit to Wisconsin came a day after a federal judge unsealed a 165-page court filing outlining prosecutors’ case against Trump for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction.

    Trump didn’t mention the document filed by special counsel Jack Smith or Cheney’s appearance with Harris during an 82-minute speech at a rally in Saginaw County, Michigan. In 2020, Biden won the bellwether county by a slim 303 votes, contributing to his victory in the state.

    As Trump spoke, his campaign announced he’ll appear in Georgia on Friday with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. The two men have made peace after Trump in August unleashed a blistering attack on Kemp, whom he has faulted for not giving in to his efforts to overturn his loss in 2020.

    During the 2020 campaign, Cheney criticized Harris as “a radical liberal” who “wants to recreate America in the image of what’s happening on the streets of Portland & Seattle,” a reference to unrest that took place in those cities after the murder of George Floyd.

    But Jan. 6 was a turning point for Liz Cheney and her family. Both Cheneys are backing Harris, part of a cadre of current and former Republican officials who have broken with the vast majority of their party, which remains in Trump’s corner. Harris wants to portray her candidacy as a patriotic choice for independent and conservative voters who were disturbed by Trump’s unwillingness to cede power. Trump continues to deny his defeat with false claims of voter fraud.

    Harris on Thursday also was endorsed by Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a young White House aide during Trump’s presidency and described during a hearing of Cheney’s Jan. 6 congressional committee how she grew disgusted by Trump’s refusal to stop the rioters that day. Harris’ campaign also began airing ads targeting Republicans, independents and former Trump voters in battleground states.

    Cheney’s presence prompted some dissonance for Harris supporters in the Ripon audience, especially those whoremember her father’s role as a Republican headliner.

    Victor Romero, 46, said it was “a little weird” to be at an event with her.

    “I still don’t like Liz Cheney’s politics,” he said. “But I’m glad that she understands the Republican Party that currently exists is just for Trump.”

    Younger voters, though, reported knowing Cheney primarily for standing up to Trump.

    “She stuck to her morals,” said Kynaeda Gray, 22.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Saginaw, Michigan, Will Weissert in Washington and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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  • Biden and Harris to travel, survey Hurricane Helene damage

    Biden and Harris to travel, survey Hurricane Helene damage

    President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit hurricane-ravaged areas in the Southeast Wednesday to assess the damage and coordinate relief efforts and funding.Biden will travel to North and South Carolina, while Harris will head to Georgia.On Tuesday, Biden directed “every available resource” to rescue and recovery efforts and has committed to helping devastated communities, saying he is prepared to ask Congress for more emergency relief funding.”We have to jump-start this recovery process. People are scared to death. People wonder whether they’re going to make it. We still haven’t heard from a whole lot of people,” Biden said. “This is urgent. People have to know how to get the information they need. So, we’ll be there until this work is done.”Biden says he has been in constant contact with state and local officials and is urging people to apply for federal assistance, including basics like food and water and for funds to help with repairing homes.More than 4,500 federal workers, including 1,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are deployed across the Southeast. Many are working to distribute millions of meals and water, thousands of tarps, and over a hundred generators, while rescue teams hope to help those who remain trapped.Biden and Harris emphasized the timing of their trips, saying they must ensure they do not detract from ongoing rescue and recovery.The White House suggested an earlier visit, like former President Donald Trump’s trip to Georgia on Monday, could take away from resources needed for hurricane victims.During that trip, Trump falsely accused Biden of “sleeping” at his beach house, ignoring the disaster and purposely neglecting Republican states and storm victims. He also falsely stated Biden did not respond to calls for help from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.Kemp and Biden had already spoken a day earlier. Kemp and other Republican leaders also said their states were getting everything they need.Wednesday’s trip to Georgia may also present a political opportunity for Harris — a chance to show empathy in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as she campaigns for president.Harris says she also plans to visit North Carolina in the coming days.

    President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit hurricane-ravaged areas in the Southeast Wednesday to assess the damage and coordinate relief efforts and funding.

    Biden will travel to North and South Carolina, while Harris will head to Georgia.

    On Tuesday, Biden directed “every available resource” to rescue and recovery efforts and has committed to helping devastated communities, saying he is prepared to ask Congress for more emergency relief funding.

    “We have to jump-start this recovery process. People are scared to death. People wonder whether they’re going to make it. We still haven’t heard from a whole lot of people,” Biden said. “This is urgent. People have to know how to get the information they need. So, we’ll be there until this work is done.”

    Biden says he has been in constant contact with state and local officials and is urging people to apply for federal assistance, including basics like food and water and for funds to help with repairing homes.

    More than 4,500 federal workers, including 1,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are deployed across the Southeast. Many are working to distribute millions of meals and water, thousands of tarps, and over a hundred generators, while rescue teams hope to help those who remain trapped.

    Biden and Harris emphasized the timing of their trips, saying they must ensure they do not detract from ongoing rescue and recovery.

    The White House suggested an earlier visit, like former President Donald Trump’s trip to Georgia on Monday, could take away from resources needed for hurricane victims.

    During that trip, Trump falsely accused Biden of “sleeping” at his beach house, ignoring the disaster and purposely neglecting Republican states and storm victims. He also falsely stated Biden did not respond to calls for help from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

    Kemp and Biden had already spoken a day earlier. Kemp and other Republican leaders also said their states were getting everything they need.

    Wednesday’s trip to Georgia may also present a political opportunity for Harris — a chance to show empathy in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as she campaigns for president.

    Harris says she also plans to visit North Carolina in the coming days.

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