US election live: ‘They don’t think like us’ – Walz attacks Trump and Vance in pitch for rural votes | Donald Trump

Two men who were shot during the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump this summer say the US Secret Service was “negligent” in protecting the former president and other bystanders at the campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

David Dutch, 57, an ex-Marine, and James Copenhaver, 74, a retired liquor store manager, told NBC News in an exclusive interview yesterday they were excited to be sitting in the bleachers behind the Republican nominee at the fairgrounds in Butler on 13 July when gunshots rang out and they were hit.

Another man, Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed in the shooting while shielding his family. Trump was wounded in the ear.

The interview was the two men’s first public statements since 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire in July from an unsecured rooftop nearby before he was fatally shot by sharpshooters.

“It was like getting hit with a sledgehammer right in the chest,” said Dutch. He said he could see chunks of the bleacher and metal “flying all around” until the shooting stopped.

He said he was still “angry that the whole situation even happened. It should have never happened.” NBC News reported the two men’s attorneys said they were looking into possible litigation over what they view as negligence by the Secret Service.

Tim Walz will unveil the Democrats’ plans to improve the lives of rural voters later today while he stars in a new radio ad attacking his Republican rivals.

Associated Press reports it will include a focus on improving rural healthcare with plans to recruit 10,000 new health care professionals in rural and tribal areas through scholarships, loan forgiveness and new grant programs, as well as economic and agricultural policy priorities.

It marks a concerted effort by the Democratic campaign to win over rural votes. Donald Trump carried rural voters by a nearly two-to-one margin in 2020, according to AP VoteCast.

The vice-presidential nominee is set to announce the plan during a stop in rural Lawrence County in western Pennsylvania, one of the marquee battlegrounds of the 2024 contest. Walz is also starring in a new radio ad for the campaign highlighting his roots in a small town of 400 people and his time coaching football, while attacking Trump and his running mate, JD Vance.

“In a small town, you don’t focus on the politics, you focus on taking care of your neighbors and minding your own damn business,” Walz says in the ad. “Now Donald Trump and JD Vance, they don’t think like us. They’re in it for themselves.”

The plan calls on Congress to permanently extend telemedicine coverage under Medicare, a pandemic-era benefit that helped millions access care that is set to expire at the end of 2024. They are also calling for grants to support volunteer EMS programs to halve the number of Americans living more than 25 minutes from an ambulance.

It also urges Congress to restore the Affordable Connectivity Program, a scheme launched by Joe Biden that expired in June that provided up to $30 off home internet bills, and for lawmakers to require equipment manufacturers to grant farmers the right to repair their products.

Donald Trump’s town hall in the Philadelphia suburbs turned into an impromptu concert last night after the former president was twice interrupted by medical emergencies in the room.

As Associated Press reports, the Republican presidential nominee paused during a question-and-answer session as a doctor attended to the first person to have a medical issue. After a second emergency halted the discussion moderated by South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, Trump stopped taking questions. He and Noem mentioned it was hot in the venue, and Trump asked about air conditioning.

“They probably can’t afford it, sir, in this economy,” Noem quipped.

Once Noem announced the second person was up and moving, Trump spoke for a few more minutes before suggesting the audience could enjoy some music rather than hearing him answer more questions.

He called for the Village People’s “YMCA” and it blasted through the loudspeakers, the usual signal that Trump is done speaking and is ready to leave. But he remained onstage. “Nobody’s leaving,” Trump said. “What’s going on?”

More music played — and for roughly 40 minutes, it didn’t stop.

Trump bopped and shimmied onstage to an eclectic playlist of songs that included Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Rufus Wainwright’s cover of “Hallelujah” and Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain.”

Finally, Trump left the stage as “Memory” from the musical “Cats” played.

Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary, published on the social media site X a photo of Trump from the side of the stage. “DJ TRUMP!” she wrote.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote on X that “something very special is happening in Pennsylvania” as the scene unfolded, adding Trump “is unlike any politician in history, and it’s great.”

Vice president Kamala Harris has hit out at Donald Trump ‘s comments suggesting the US military could be used to deal with “the enemy from within” as the two presidential nominees took the fight for battleground Pennsylvania to opposite ends of the state last night.

Harris, at her rally in northwestern Pennsylvania, called Trump a serious threat to American democracy who is “out for unchecked power”.

“He considers anyone who doesn’t support him or who will not bend to his will an enemy of our country,” Harris said after playing a clip of the comment on the jumbo screen at her rally at an Erie arena.

Harris argued that Trump’s comments in a Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures” interview are the latest example of threatening rhetoric from the former president that should concern Americans about what a potential second Trump term could look like.

Trump made the comment in response to a question about “outside agitators” potentially disrupting Election Day.

“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within,” Trump said. He added: “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big — and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”

Trump held his own town hall event last night in suburban Philadelphia.

Good morning and welcome to what is likely to be another turbulent day in the run-up to the US election amid anger over Donald Trump’s comments suggesting the military could be used to deal with “the enemy from within”.

Both candidates were in Pennsylvania last night and while the Democratic hopeful, Kamala Harris, used her event in Erie to call Trump a serious threat to American democracy who is “out for unchecked power”, her Republican rival treated the crowds in Oaks to an impromptu playlist as he bopped and shimmied onstage to an eclectic playlist of songs that included Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Rufus Wainwright’s cover of “Hallelujah” and Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain”.

More on last night’s events shortly. In other developments:

• Nancy Pelosi has admitted she still has not spoken to Joe Biden since her crucial intervention in July led to his decision to drop out of the presidential race. In a Guardian podcast with columnist Jonathan Freedland she also addressed how she feels about Donald Trump. “I hardly ever say his name,” she said of the former Republican president and the GOP’s current nominee, instead describing him as “what’s-his-name”. You can read our story here.

• Kamala Harris could sit down for an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan, whose audience leans heavily towards young men, as she works to shore up support with male voters, sources said on Monday. Reuters reports that Harris campaign officials met Rogan’s team this week but an appearance has not been confirmed yet, said two of the sources, who have knowledge of the matter.

• The White House said on Monday that the US has been closely tracking Iranian threats against Trump for years and it warned of “severe consequences” if Tehran was to attack any of its citizens. “We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats. Should Iran attack any of our citizens, including those who continue to serve the United States or those who formerly served, Iran will face severe consequences,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett.

• Trump will be interviewed by Bloomberg News and the Economic Club of Chicago at an event on today from 11am – 12pm CDT. Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait will interview Trump in downtown Chicago. It will be carried live on Bloomberg News platforms and the Economic Club of Chicago’s YouTube channel. This evening he will be speaking at an event in Atlanta.

• Meanwhile Harris will be in Detroit later for a live conversation with radio host and comedian Charlamagne tha God, which will air on iHeartRadio at 5pm EDT.