Controversial nationwide ballot exhibits a candidate seven factors forward

A controversial new poll has VP Kamala Harris with a substantial lead over Donald Trump.

According to a survey released by the Fairleigh Dickinson University, Harris is leading at 50 percent compared to Trump’s 43 percent.

With Independent voters, Harris has a slightly smaller lead of 38 percent to Trump’s 33 percent.

The poll was conducted before the Democratic National Convention wrapped up between August 17 and 20, and when RFK Jr. remained in the race.

But the poll appears to be an outlier as the Real Clear Politics average has her up over Trump just 1.5 points, well within the margin of error.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

White House spokesman John Kirby said President Joe Biden is ‘very much in command’ even as he enjoys a second week of vacation.

The president is at his beach home in Rehoboth, Delaware, after spending a week at a private 8,000 acre ranch in Santa Ynez, Califi. He is scheduled to return to the White House after Labor Day weekend.

‘The president is on vacation, but you can never unplug and from a job like that. Nor does he try to. He’s very much in command,’ Kirby said in a briefing with reporters.

He pointed out Biden spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and spoke with Ukrainian President Zelensky on Friday as proof the president is working.

Gabbard, a former Democrat and lawmaker from Hawaii, officially threw her support behind the former president on Monday.

At an event in Detroit for the National Guard Association, Trump announced that Gabbard would be joining his campaign.

She’s got great common sense, great spirit, and she loves our country.

Gabbard remarked:

I am committed to doing all I can to send President Trump back to the White House.

I know that President Trump understands the grave responsibility that a president bears for every single one of our lives, whether you’re a soldier, you’re an airman, a marine sailor or a Coastie, he keeps us in his heart, in the decisions that he makes.

We saw first term in the presidency when he not only didn’t start any new wars, he took action to deescalate and wars. He exercised the courage that we our Commander in Chief and exhaust all measures of the courage to meet with adversaries, dictators and partners alike, in the pursuit of peace, seeing war as a last resort.

It had been reported that Gabbard is also helping Trump prepare for his first presidential debate with Kamala Harris in two weeks.

She stood by the former president at an event honoring the 13 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan at Arlington National Cemetary earlier Monday.

The White House said negotiators in Cario had made ‘progress’ on ceasefire talks for the war in the Middle East but it’s unclear when a deal will be finalized.

‘We expect that these working group discussions will at least take place over the next few days, but whether it goes longer, or, you know, could end sooner, I think really is going to be up to those in the room and what they’re able to accomplish,’ National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Negotiators have worked for months to bridge demands by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza, to end the war there.

‘There continues to be progress and, our team on the ground, continues to describe the talks as constructive,’ Kirby said.

Charlie Spiering, Senior Political Reporter

Vice President Kamala Harris promised to sit down with a media outlet for an interview before the end of August, but with less than five days left in the month, it remains unclear whether she will keep her promise.

‘I’ve talked to my team, I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month,’ she told reporters on August 9.

President Donald Trump has scorned Harris for her refusal to host a press conference or schedule a public sit-down interview with the media since taking over the Democratic presidential nomination from Presdient Joe Biden.

‘She’s not doing any news conference. You know why she’s not doing it?’ Trump asked on August 8. ‘Because she can’t do a news conference. She doesn’t know how to do a news conference. She’s not smart enough to do a news conference.’

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Donald Trump said he would ‘probably’ rather have mics on for his scheduled debate against Kamala Harris, but he also said that is not what they agreed to.

Campaigning in Virginia on Monday, Trump was asked about keeping the mics on after the Harris campaign accused his team of wanting them off so he wouldn’t embarrass himself.

‘We agreed to the same rules. I don’t know. Doesn’t matter to me. I’d rather have it probably on, but the agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time,’ Trump said in response to a question.

He accused Harris of trying to get out of the debate and accused her of not being a ‘smart’ person.

Moments later, Trump said of the hot mic issue: ‘I didn’t like it the last time, but it worked out fine. Ask Biden how it worked out, it was fine. And I think it should be the same.’

Former President Donald Trump dropped a hint that he might skip the upcoming ABC News debate set for September 10, accusing the network of housing ‘Trump Haters’ even as he works to whittle Kamala Harris’s new polling lead.

Trump tore into the network after 10pm on Sunday night in a post on Truth Social, where he gave bad reviews to the network’s weekend programming before raising the threat.

‘I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl’s (K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?’ he wrote.

He was referencing the network’s Jonathan Karl, who questioned Trump at the White House during his presidency.

The Harris campaign claimed on Monday Donald Trump‘s team is pushing back on leaving the microphones on for the blockbuster debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in an effort to keep the Republican presidential nominee from embarrassing himself.

It comes as the ex-president is sowing doubt over whether he would show up at all for the showdown.

Harris and Trump are set to go head-to-head in their first debate in just over two weeks on September 10 on ABC News, but it appears the campaigns are at odds over the rules.

‘We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,’ said Brian Fallon in a statement.

‘Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own,’ Fallon continued.

The members of the bipartisan Trump assassination task force are heading to Butler, Pennsylvania, to demand answers after the Secret Service continues to ‘slow walk’ information.

Speaker Mike Johnson previewed the trip on Fox & Friends Monday morning, saying he is ‘confident’ in the task force’s leader Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who is ‘doing a great job.’

‘They’ve been digging in, getting the answers and requesting documents. They have been slow walked, so that’s the concern. So we’re pressing go to get the answers to the American people,’ said the speaker.

DailyMail.com has learned that Kelly and ranking member of the task force Jason Crow, D-Colo., are planning to meet with local law enforcement to gain ‘firsthand knowledge’ relevant to their expansive probe.

Their trip to Butler comes days after multiple Secret Service agents have been put on leave during the investigation into the Donald Trump assassination attempt.

The 13 U.S. troops killed during President Biden’s bloody Afghanistan withdrawal will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal next month on September 10.

Speaker Mike Johnson told DailyMail.com in a statement:

Three years ago, 13 brave American soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Abbey Gate explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan. America owes these heroes and their families an incalculable debt of gratitude, and we continue to mourn their losses and honor their memories.

Their stories of these 13 courageous souls are truly inspiring, as our nation lost brothers, sisters, husbands, and fathers, from every part of this country. And while their post ended that fateful day three years ago, their legacies live on through their families, friends and fellow soldiers.

Congress has a duty to ensure these sacrifices are never forgotten, and it is my distinct honor to announce that Congress will bestow the families of these 13 heroes with the Congressional Gold Medal – the highest award Congress can present to any individual or group.

Today marks three years since the ISIS-K bomber detonated an explosive killing the troops and injuring and taking the lives of hundreds of Afghan partners.

Former President Donald Trump is at Arlington National Cemetary laying wreaths on the service members’ graves.

The White House released separate statements Monday by Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden on the terrorist attack in Kabul amid the chaotic U.S. troop withdrawal.

‘Three years ago today, outside of Kabul Airport, an ISIS terrorist killed 13 American servicemembers and more than 100 innocent Afghans, and wounded many more. Thirteen American heroes were taken from us on that day,’ she said in a statement on what has been identified as a key policy failure that contributed to a sudden poll slide.

The statement listed the names of each of those Americans lost.

‘Today and everyday, I mourn and honor them. My prayers are with their families and loved ones. My heart breaks for their pain and their loss. These 13 devoted patriots represent the best of America, putting our beloved nation and their fellow Americans above themselves and deploying into danger to keep their fellow citizens safe,’ she said.

She also commented on the 2,461 killed and 20,744 wounded in the two-decade war. ‘As I have said, President Biden made the courageous and right decision to end America’s longest war,’ Harris said.

The White House released a separate statement by President Joe Biden. ‘Three years ago, an ISIS suicide bomber launched an attack of deliberate evil at Abbey Gate outside of Kabul Airport—killing 13 American service members and more than 100 innocent Afghans. Today, and every day, we honor our fallen,’ he said. ‘These 13 Americans—and the many more that were wounded—were patriots in the highest sense,’ Biden said in the statement.

Donald Trump took to Truth Social to lambaste President Joe Biden on the three-year anniversary of the deadly bombing in Kabul that killed 13 U.S. troops.

This is the third anniversary of the BOTCHED Afghanistan withdrawal, the most EMBARRASSING moment in the history of our Country. Gross Incompetence – 13 DEAD American soldiers, hundreds of people wounded and dead, AMERICANS and BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND.

You don’t take our soldiers out first, you take them out LAST, when all else is successfully done. Russia then invaded Ukraine, Israel was attacked, and the USA became, and is, a laughing stock all over the World. THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA REMAINS SILENT IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE WORST ADMINISTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY! MAGA2024

The parents of Trump shooter Thomas Crooks have hired a team of powerhouse attorneys as the FBI continues to investigate just how much they knew ahead of their son’s assassination attempt on the former president, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.

The development comes as one family member shared with DailyMail.com that the FBI, ‘still very much has questions’ regarding how much the killer’s parents knew – while revealing that his father Matthew Crooks, 53, is a gun enthusiast who has sold firearms to relatives in the past.

Speaking to DailyMail.com, the family member who asked not to be named said, ‘The FBI still very much has questions about how much they knew and how he [Thomas] slipped through the net.’

Former President Donald Trump made a visit to Arlington National Cemetery this morning to mark the third anniversary since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The ex-president lay a wreath to honor the 13 American soldiers killed during the withdrawal.

As Joe Biden disembarked Air Force One in the early hours of Tuesday morning in California last week, he was visibly shaking.

It was approaching 5.30am East Coast time and the president had been awake almost 24 hours.

Walking slowly down the plane’s stairs, he struggled to step up into the SUV waiting to take him to the 8,000-acre Santa Barbara ranch where he and his family have just enjoyed a week-long vacation. His Secret Service agents surrounded him, shielding him from the watching cameras, as one gave him a helpful boost into the car.

On the tarmac, First Lady Jill Biden watched, visibly concerned. For her husband — who dropped out of the election race almost a month ago to the date — had just ended his exhausting journey from Democratic nominee to lame-duck president.

Last Monday, Biden had flown in to Chicago to address the first night of the Democratic National Convention.

Scheduled to speak at around 10.30pm (ET), the evening was meant to be his swan song, a farewell to the party faithful and a passing of the torch to his Vice President and the new Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris.

The Trump campaign is set to go ‘on steroids’ for final 10 weeks of the election, CNN reported

An insider told CNN’s Paula Reed: ‘Think Trump on steroids. It’ll be all hands on deck.’

The aggressive plan could involve several events daily, and Trump visiting more than one state in a single day, CNN reported.

It comes as polls showed an incredibly tight race between Trump and Harris in battleground states.