Former President Donald Trump on Friday promoted a baseless claim circulating on right-wing social media that Kamala Harris wore an earpiece at Tuesday’s ABC presidential debate and again baselessly suggested that the vice president received the debate questions in advance.
The conspiracy theory about the earpiece has been promoted by far-right agitator Laura Loomer, who has traveled with Trump in recent days.
“Interesting choice of earrings tonight, @KamalaHarris…” Loomer posted Wednesday on social media, including a screenshot of an article about “audio earrings.”
As CNN previously reported, several people close to Trump say Loomer has contributed to some of the unseemly conspiracy theories the former president has elevated since Harris replaced Biden on the ticket.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the ABC debate was “rigged,” and he has previously baselessly suggested that Harris was provided the questions in advance. The former president said this week that he won’t participate in another debate, while Harris has called for another face-off.
Gov. Chris Sununu says Trump should debate Harris again
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Friday that former President Donald Trump should debate Kamala Harris for a second time and consider changing his approach in order to reach swing voters.
“Look, anytime you can spend more time in front of the voters when you’re in a close race, it’s a positive,” the Republican governor told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source.”
Sununu, who has been critical of Trump in the past and is retiring at the end of his fourth two-year term next year, added that the former president “knows what he wants to say” but he should adapt his style to debating Harris.
“So there’s an opportunity there, but they have to use the opportunity the right way and really re-establish a connection with those voters that they had in 2016,” he said.
Where the candidates stand: Israel-Hamas war
Take a look at the positions of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the most fraught foreign policy issue facing the country that has spurred a multitude of protests around the US since it began last October.
Harris: After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late July, Harris gave a forceful and notable speech about the situation in Gaza. She echoed Joe Biden’s repeated comments about the “ironclad support” and “unwavering commitment” to Israel, as well as the need to get the Israeli hostages back from Hamas captivity. The country has a right to defend itself, she said, while noting, “how it does so, matters.”
However, the empathy she expressed regarding the Palestinian plight and suffering was far more forceful than what Biden has said on the matter in recent months. She went on to describe “the images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time,” and said, “I will not be silent.”
The vice president continued calling out the plight of the people in Gaza, as well as the need to free the Israeli hostages and secure a ceasefire deal, in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in August. Harris said that as president, she would maintain the US alliance with Israel and “ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.”
Trump: The former president also met with Netanyahu in July, the first such meeting between the two men since Trump left the White House more than three years ago. Trump, who often claims he was the most pro-Israel president in modern history, once touted his close, personal relationship with Netanyahu. However, their relationship has soured in recent years, and the former president has been reluctant to speak with him throughout the ongoing conflict.
In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel, Trump criticized Netanyahu for his handling of the war, claiming to Fox News at the time the prime minister and the country overall were “unprepared.”
Many Israelis presume that Trump would give Netanyahu a longer leash to use greater force in Gaza. Trump has said that Israel must “finish what they started,” “get it over with fast,” and that the US must “let Israel finish the job.”
Read more about the candidates and where they stand on key issues
Harris draws contrasts with Trump in Pennsylvania as she continues to seize on post-debate momentum
Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday continued to draw contrasts with former President Donald Trump as she seized on post-debate momentum in Pennsylvania.
Harris again slammed his debate performance, calling it a “tired playbook,” while claiming he failed to address the needs of Americans. “Well, folks, it’s time to turn the page. Let’s turn the page… And we are not going back, because America is ready for a new way forward,” she said.
The vice president stressed the importance of small businesses and she repeatedly hit her opponent on his economic agenda, including attacking Trump for suggesting he only has “concepts of a plan” to end the Affordable Care Act, but not laying out how he would replace it.
While touting her economic own plan, Harris also focused part of her message on job opportunities that don’t require 4-year degrees.
Harris’ visited Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre on Friday, both in counties that Trump won in 2016 and 2020.