Live Updates: JD Vance Talks Migrant Crime in AZ as Tim Walz Stumps in PA

Trump on Terrorism

The former president claimed that there were no acts of “radical Islamic terror” during his four years in office, a claim that has previously been proven false.

Trump made the statement while criticizing the Biden administration’s policies toward America’s foreign adversaries, including Iran, which the U.S. has accused of financially supporting Islamic militant groups, including the Palestinian group Hamas.

The former president told Hannity that Hamas’ attacks against Israel on October 7 “would have never happened if I were president,” and claimed that Iran was “broke” under his administration.

Iran’s funding for groups like Hamas did decline during the second half of Trump’s presidency in part due to the sanctions his administration put on Iran that negatively impacted its economy, according to a previous fact-check by CNN.

READ MORE from Newsweek’s Aila Slisco AND Kaitlin Lewis

Candidates Have Busy Schedule Campaigning on Thursday

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are not set to talk Thursday, Sept. 5, but their running mates and allies are.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Harris’s husband, is set to deliver remarks in Los Angeles. Emhoff will speak at a campaign reception in the area, though details were not provided by the Harris campaign. He will travel to Chicago the following day.

Sen. JD Vance

Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, will deliver remarks in Phoenix, Arizona at 5 p.m. EST. The campaign’s press release indicated Vance will discuss “migrant crime and the flow of deadly drugs.”

Gov. Tim Walz

Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’s running mate, will speak an hour later, at 6 p.m. in Erie, Pennsylvania. This will be his second day in the battleground state with other political events in Lancaster and Pittsburgh. This marks the Governor’s first solo visit to Pennsylvania since joining the Democratic ticket.

Team Trump

Team Trump will hold an Agenda 47 Policy Tour in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, featuring Gov. Doug Burgum, Rep. Bryan Steil, former Gov. Tommy Thompson and former Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Monica Crowley. The town hall will be held at 8 p.m. EST.

Newsweek’s Monica Sager

Trump on Hannity

Additional unaired footage from the town hall, including questions from the pro-Trump audience, is expected to air on Fox News’ Hannity tonight.

Donald Trump’s Town Hall With Sean Hannity—Fact-Checked

Donald Trump was featured in a town hall event with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday, as the former president touted his 2024 campaign in front of a supportive crowd in Pennsylvania.

Trump, who is set to debate Vice President Kamala Harris next week, previously said that the Fox News event was scheduled as an early debate with his Democratic opponent, despite the vice president never having agreed to participate.

Newsweek fact-checked several of the claims made by Trump during Wednesday’s event, in detail.

READ MORE from Newsweek’s Aila Slisco AND Kaitlin Lewis

Top political commentator John King outlined how Kamala Harris could win the 2024 election without winning Pennsylvania, widely considered to be the most significant swing state.

It comes as a new poll shows Harris and Donald Trump neck and neck in several key swing states, including Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

Speaking on CNN, King said: “Harris is ahead in Wisconsin and in Michigan, just outside the margin of error, that gets her to 250. Donald Trump is ahead in Arizona, so let’s make that red. That would move him up to 246, so pretty close, right?

“Let’s just say Harris really is plus one in Georgia and plus one in Nevada. This is just one poll, this is a hypothetical, but that could get her to 272 and she could win the presidency without Pennsylvania.

“Again, she’s plus one in the polling, it’s just as plausible and we’ve seen other data that Donald Trump could win Georgia and Donald Trump could win, Nevada as well, that would get him to 268. So what happens then is you’re looking at Pennsylvania. Let’s assume Harris eaks it out at the tie right now. It’s a scenario that gets you to 269-268, and it all comes down to Nebraska’s, second congressional district.”

Newsweek’s Theo Burman

Georgia School Shooting Thrusts Gun Control Back into Election Spotlight

A student gun control campaigner in Georgia told Newsweek Wednesday that safety was on the ballot this November, after four were killed and nine injured at a high school in the state.

The shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder sparked the well-worn messages of “thoughts and prayers” from politicians — messages that gun safety advocates said are not enough.

Sophie Chang, a volunteer with Students Demand Action, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, said the shooting was “gut wrenching, heartbreaking, and enraging” for students across the United States.

READ MORE from Newsweek’s Dan Gooding

Harris Speaking in New Hampshire

Kamala Harris Goes ‘Off Script’ in Remarks About Georgia School Shooting

During her visit to New Hampshire on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris departed from her prepared remarks to address the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia.

Before delivering her planned speech at a rally in Portsmouth, where the Democratic presidential nominee intended to outline her small business proposals, Harris took a moment to reflect on the shooting that left four dead and nine injured.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed that one person is in custody after the mass shooting. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said during a press conference this afternoon the shooting was first reported at 9:30 a.m. The high school, in Barrow County, went on “hard lockdown” during the shooting. All other schools in the county were placed on lockdown as a “precautionary measure.”

READ MORE from Newsweek’s Jesus Mesa AND Monica Sager

Harris and Trump React to Georgia Shooting

Apalachee High School Shooting: Harris and Trump React as Four Killed

Presidential nominees Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have both provided statements about Wednesday’s shooting at a high school in Winder, Georgia, that left four dead and injured at least nine more.

During her visit to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Wednesday, Vice President Harris departed from her prepared remarks about her small business proposals to reflect on the Apalachee High School shooting.

“It is just outrageous that every day in the United States of America, parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive,” Harris said.

In a post on Truth Social, former President Trump wrote, “Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, GA. These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.”

READ MORE from Newsweek’s Gabe Whisnant