Trump heads to key swing states as Harris makes star-studded final push

Election official wears bullet proof vest in fear of violence

Image source,Josh Zygielbaum

The BBC OS Team has been speaking with US election officials about the threats they faced in 2020, and how they are preparing for the upcoming election.

Josh Zygielbaum is a Democrat from Denver and the elected Adams County Clerk and Recorder.

He wears a bullet-proof vest to work every day after a man followed him home from work in 2020.

“Before I get out of the car I check my mirrors, I look around. When I leave my house I look around, it is constant concern,” Zygielbaum told BBC OS.

“The threat is very real to us and it is very scary. I spent almost six years in the Marines and oftentimes now I am back at that heightened level of concern and I carry a firearm with me.”

Asked why he continues his work despite the threats, he said: “I love what we do, I believe in democracy and this is the foundation piece of our country, without that we would not have the democracy we have. Without that you are either back to a monarchy or a dictatorship.

“It is very important to me to continue our way of life, especially for the future, for my kids and grandkids.”

Traditionally Democratic, US unions divided over presidential race.

Over the last four years, the US has seen a swell in unionisation, public support for unions and strike activity.

The latest example is Boeing, where factory workers on Wednesday rejected, for a second time, a pay offer from the company, further extending the strike.

In theory, the rise of labour power could be a good sign for Democrats, who have long counted unions as an important part of their base and been supportive of issues, like stronger worker protections, that have been key labour priorities.

But as Donald Trump has made appeals to union rank-and-file a key part of his campaign, that’s not how it has played out.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have won endorsements from key organisations such as the United Autoworkers, the AFL-CIO, and the Boeing machinists.

But other major unions, such as the Teamsters, have withheld endorsements at the national level, a sign of fierce internal divisions among its members about the candidates.

This divide is playing out especially visibly in swing states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania. For example, though the leadership of the US Steelworkers union backed Harris, Trump has held rallies in Pennsylvania spotlighting support he is receiving from local members of the union.

Earlier we brought you the news that 15 calls made to the emergency services after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump have been released.

The US Justice Department has given an update on cases against four men accused of threating election workers across state lines.

• A man from Alabama was sentenced to 30 months in prison for sending threatening messages to officials, saying they would be executed and sending a picture of Woody from Toy Story with a projectile in his back
• Two men, from Florida and Philadelphia, were charged for telling staff they would be raped and killed
• A man from Colorado pleaded guilty to threatening officials, including saying he could shoot a state judge. The man also admitted to illegally possessing multiple firearms and ammunition

The Justice Department set up its Election Threats Task Force in June 2021, six months after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol.

The BBC has been speaking to election worker on the front line of these conspiracy theories, braced for threats against them in the final weeks of the campaign.

Image source,Reuters

Donald Trump says he would fire Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Jack Smith, immediately if he were elected to a second term in the White House. Smith has brought two federal indictments against Trump.

“It’s so easy. I would fire him within two seconds. He’ll be one of the first things addressed,” he says as he addresses radio host Hugh Hewitt’s question on whether he would pardon himself.

Image source,Getty

Beyoncé will appear at Kamala Harris’ Houston rally on Friday evening.

A source familiar with the plans confirmed the star’s appearance in comments to BBC’s US partner CBS.

Previously, Beyoncé was expected to appear at the Democratic National Convention, but ultimately did not attend the event.

Image source,Reuters

The White House national security adviser says that US has “made progress” in identifying foreign interference in its elections, “but there’s a long way to go to get to where we need to be”.

Jake Sullivan says the US now has systems that “rapidly identify deep fakes and and call them out”, and that these systems had even spotted foreign interference “over the course of the last few days”.

“We are not where we need to be, I acknowledge that,” Sullivan adds as he calls out Russia and Iran for attempting to interfere in the November election.

Image source,Reuters

Donald Trump’s campaign have responded after Kamala Harris said she believes her opponent is a “fascist”, in a CNN town hall yesterday.

Trump’s campaign says Harris’ comments are evidence that the Democrats are “increasingly desperate”, adding the town hall was full of “lies, smears, and radical leftism cloaked in word salad”.

Speaking on the Hugh Hewitt Show, Trump adds that his opponents “are crude, rude and vicious”, and says that Harris “has got nothing, she’s got nothing, and you can’t have a leader like that”.

BBC