Trump continues midterm campaign blitz in North Carolina<\/p>\n
Welcome to the US politics<\/a> live blog! I\u2019m Shrai Popat and I\u2019ll be bringing you the latest lines from Washington and beyond.<\/p>\n We start today with Donald Trump\u2019s upcoming to trip to Greenville, North Carolina \u2013 where he\u2019ll stump for Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee for US Senate, facing an uphill battle against Roy Cooper, the state\u2019s former Democratic governor who has consistently led Whatley in the polls for the open seat.<\/p>\n North Carolina is the president\u2019s second stop in a seven-day campaign blitz across a number of states that he won in 2024. It\u2019s all to drum up support for Republican candidates on the ballot ahead of the midterms \u2013 now just two weeks away.<\/p>\n However, earlier this month, the Senate\u2019s top GOP Super Pac announced it pulled a $71m ad spend in North Carolina, in order to funnel more money into the Kansas race \u2013 a sign that Republicans\u2019 hopes to hold on to the Tar Heel state might be dwindling.<\/p>\n On Monday, Trump rallied in Kansas \u2013 as the Senate competition there becomes increasingly tight.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.14 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n House armed services Democrat accuses Rubio and Trump of ‘lying’ about not restricting intelligence with Ukraine<\/p>\n Representative Eugene Vindman, the Democratic congressman from Virginia, has slammed Marco Rubio\u2019s recent comments that the US is not witholding intelligence from Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cHe [Rubio] is lying and so is the president when they say that they are not restricting intelligence in violation of the law,\u201d Vindman said in an interview with CNN. \u201cThere was a law that was passed in 2024 \u2013 the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) \u2013\u00a0that said that intelligence sharing must continue, or Congress needs to be notified. They\u2019re both lying. It\u2019s costing lives. This is gaslighting.\u201d<\/p>\n Vindman, a former US army officer whose brother \u2013\u00a0Alexander \u2013 provided key testimony that led to Donald Trump\u2019s first impeachment, added: \u201cIt\u2019s desperate attempt to change a narrative two weeks before an election because the president knows that it was his policies \u2013 these terrible tariffs and this war in the Middle East that have caused gas prices to spike\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Zelenskyy says he had ‘substantive’ and ‘constructive’ conversation with Marco Rubio, as feud with Trump continues over Russia sanctions<\/p>\n Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had a \u201csubstantive conversation\u201d with US secretary of state Marco Rubio.<\/p>\n \u201cI am grateful for his readiness to help and his clear position,\u201d the Ukrainian president said in a statement. \u201cFirst, ballistic missile interceptors, which are needed to protect lives. Second, early warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks, which is vital. Third, the situation with Starlink\/Starshield, which needs to be restored.\u201d<\/p>\n This comes as Zelenskyy\u2019s feud with Trump was reignited following the US president\u2019s decision to waive sweeping sanctions and tariffs on Russia for 60 days. Both Zelenksyy and several allies have criticized the move as a boon, ultimately, for Moscow. Trump has also chided Zelenskyy for the continued attacks on Russian refineries \u2013 calling it the primary cause of the global energy crisis that actually reached fever pitch after the Iran war started in February.<\/p>\n Recently, Kyiv has also said that US intelligence has been disrupted, which officials say has affected Ukraine\u2019s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks.<\/p>\n Rubio told reporters in India today that \u201cthere has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw somebody associated with the Ukrainian government say that people in Ukraine are dying because the U.S. is denying them information. That\u2019s scandalous. That\u2019s outrageous,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The secretary of state said there appeared to have been undetected airstrikes against Ukraine on 13 and 18 October. The US is reviewing those incidents, he said, but believes that, to the \u201cextent that happened\u201d, they were the result of a \u201ctechnical matter\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was not the result of any sort of U.S. directive not to provide advance warning of a strike, and we are providing the same warnings to them now that we always have,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Today, we\u2019ll also hear from the nominees in one of the midterm elections\u2019 nail-biters: the US Senate race in Michigan.<\/p>\n Here, Dr Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat, will face former Republican congressman Mike Rogers.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll debate at 12pm ET in Detroit, and we\u2019ll bring you the latest lines.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a contest punctuated by several racist comments hurled at El-Sayed, including from Rogers and Donald Trump<\/a>. Who have sought, baselessly, to tie the Democratic nominee\u2019s Muslim faith to extremist groups.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest news out of France, following riots that saw thousands arrested over the weekend, and curfews implemented.<\/p>\n Donald Trump has pushed baseless claims that the riots \u2013 which began as protests against the country\u2019s crumbling education system \u2013 are due to mass migration. <\/p>\n The president repeated the falsehoods, even though French authorities have given no indication that immigrants are responsible for the riots. It didn\u2019t stop Trump from kicking off his Kansas rally by playing a Fox News report ahead of his appearance on stage, which showed looting and destruction after chaos erupted in France.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Also today, Trump will begin his day in Washington.<\/p>\n He and vice-president JD Vance will make an announcement in the Oval Office at 1.30pm ET, before Trump gets back on the trail.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump announces relief for farmers impacted by soaring diesel prices, as Iran war continues and midterms loom<\/p>\n Donald Trump has announced $8bn worth of economic aid for farmers hit by soaring diesel prices, as polling shows Republicans on course for a midterms drubbing.<\/p>\n The president\u2019s announcement came 15 days before a midterm election dominated by anger over rising fuel costs caused by the US war on Iran.<\/p>\n Farmers in Kansas, a heavily agricultural state, have been hit hard by the consequences of the Iran war. A gallon of diesel costs nearly $6, nearly double from this time a year ago.<\/p>\n In August, the president upset cattle ranchers with a plan to reduce import tariffs to lower the price of beef and with aggressive immigration raids that prompted some agricultural workers to stay at home.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s announcement came during a rally in Kansas on Monday night as Republicans faced mounting anger over the cost of living and the ongoing war in Iran. As my colleague David Smith wrote last night: \u201cThe fact that Donald Trump<\/a> was here at all said more about a looming electoral disaster facing his Republican party next month than anything contained in his dark and discursive 98-minute stump speech.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump seemed to acknowledge there was a risk Democrats could win in the state, where no Democrat has won a US Senate seat since 1932. As he stumped for first-term senator Roger Marshall, the president told the crowd: \u201cYou\u2019re really sort of \u2013 I hate to say it \u2013 you\u2019re sort of tending toward the purple,\u201d the president told about 5,000 supporters in a multipurpose arena outside Wichita, acknowledging that Kansas<\/a> already has a Democratic governor in Laura Kelly. \u201cThat\u2019s why I have to be sure that we get this guy.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump continues midterm campaign blitz in North Carolina<\/p>\n