Trump talks border policy to defuse Puerto Rico uproar; Harris addresses thousands at Jan. 6 site in DC

Former President Donald Trump sought to both move past the controversy over racist remarks made at his Madison Square Garden rally and nullify a major address Vice President Kamala Harris delivered Tuesday evening on the National Mall by focusing attention on one of her biggest political vulnerabilities.

For her part, Harris sought to balance her closing argument between a dire admonition to rally against an opponent she’s labeled a fascist threat and an affirmative case for her own policy and economic agenda as she addressed voters one week before they will determine the outcome of the presidential race.

“This election is more than just a choice between two parties and two different candidates – it is a choice about whether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American or ruled by chaos and division,” Harris said.

Trump’s campaign has been dogged by criticism over the remarks from the Sunday rally in New York City – in particular a comedian labeling Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage” – threatening to undercut Trump’s campaign in the last full week before Election Day.

Harris has seized on the incident, hitting Trump again over the comments during an appearance on The Breakfast Club radio program Tuesday morning aimed at amplifying her outreach to both Black and Latino voters. Trump has sought to dodge the criticism saying no president has “done more for Puerto Rico” than he has.

Harris’ Tuesday evening remarks take outsized importance in a race that polls show balancing on a knife’s edge. She sought to shore up concern over inflation by pledging to prosecute price gougers – a proposal that, while earning her the nickname “Comrade Kamala” from Trump, has proved popular enough to narrow the traditional Republican advantage on economic issues with voters, according to polls.

The event’s location – the same spot where Republican nominee Trump rallied supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, and within eyeshot of the Oval Office – was intended both to evoke the mayhem of that day and the gravity of the election’s results, Harris aides have said.

Trump, at an event at his Mar-a-Lago home earlier Tuesday, unveiled a new campaign pledge, vowing to seize the assets of drug cartels and gangs to provide compensation to victims. The former president invited on stage a woman whose daughter was killed in a case where two migrants have been charged with the murder.

Here’s what else happened on the campaign trail Tuesday:

Trump vows to seize cartel assets

Trump sought to preempt Harris’ closing argument, casting the U.S. as a nation overrun by migrants and crime and with a failing economy, summing up the major themes of his stump speeches. At an event at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, the former president made an 11th-hour campaign promise to seize the assets of criminal gangs and drug cartels to create “a compensation fund to provide restitution for the victims of migrant crime.”

“Something has to be done, and we’re going to get it done,” he said as he highlighted migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and violent crimes where the suspects or those convicted are migrants.

Immigration is a major political liability for Harris, with polls showing voters rate it as one of the most important issues of the campaign.

Trump has sought to tie Harris to the administration’s struggles on the issue and he’s vowed to finish building the border wall if elected and to carry out mass deportations of illegal migrants.

His advisers have also nudged him to focus on the economy, the top issue for voters. The Republican nominee, often prone to hyperbole, said Harris “decimated the middle class.”

Trump’s Puerto Rico tensions

Trump also sought to demonstrate his support for Puerto Rico, after facing backlash for comments a comedian made at his rally on Sunday, calling the U.S. territory an “island of garbage.”

“No president’s done more for Puerto Rico than I have,” Trump told a Puerto Rican-born doctor who participated at a roundtable event in Pennsylvania, adding that he had helped the U.S. territory through some “bad storms.”

Trump’s attempts to smooth over tensions with Puerto Ricans – the second-largest Latino group in the U.S. – coincide with him also asking for their vote. Swing state Pennsylvania is home to more than 450,000 Puerto Ricans, according to census data. Trump is slated to attend an event later Tuesday in Allentown, home to a large Puerto Rican community.

Trump has a rocky history with Puerto Rico. After the island was hit with hurricanes in 2017, then-President Trump faced criticism for not doing enough to help with recovery efforts. He feuded with the territory’s local government accusing them of mishandling disaster funds and disputed reported death tolls.

Outreach to Black, Latino voters

Harris on The Breakfast Club show Tuesday revisited the denigrating remarks about Puerto Rico, saying she had met with leaders from the Puerto Rican community in swing-state Pennsylvania to assure them of her commitment to the island, and highlighting economic policies she is promoting aimed at bringing private-sector investment to the island.

The vice president is seeking to counter the inroads Trump has made among Black and Latino voters, in particular men, reeling from the harsh impacts of inflation and broader anxiety over economic mobility, And she’s enlisted former President Barack Obama to aid that effort.

“Black men are no different than any other voter. You have to earn their vote,” Harris said. She pushed back on the narrative that Black male voters feel that she is not speaking to their concerns.

“The brothers aren’t saying that,” she said, citing an event at a barber shop in Philadelphia where she met with “incredible and distinguished men who are leading in our community and small business and education.”

“Black men in particular who are at the rallies have recently been saying to me, ‘don’t you listen to that,’” she added.

Obama has faced criticism from some prominent Black Americans – including The Breakfast Club host Charlamagne Tha God – after suggesting that Black men were finding excuses to not vote for a woman candidate.

Bannon is back

Longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon was released from prison after serving a four-month sentence for his conviction for contempt of Congress after he refused to testify and hand over documents to a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Bannon said on his War Room podcast his time spent incarcerated “empowered” him, referring to himself as a “political prisoner.” He pledged to focus on get-out-the-vote efforts in the final week of the election.

“We have to be maniacally focused on making sure first that were not just cannibalizing the game day vote,” Bannon said, referring to data that shows strong early turnout among registered Republicans in some swing states. “The game day vote will be everything.”

The Republican operative’s comments underscore the uncertainty of making predictions based on early voting data, which just show a snapshot of the party identification of voters casting ballots before Election Day, but no information about which candidate is leading.

Biden in Baltimore

While President Joe Biden hasn’t spent much time on the trail during the closing days of the campaign, he traveled to Baltimore on Tuesday to tout $3 billion in Environmental Protection Agency grants to fund new and greener equipment at ports.

The awards – which include $147 million for Maryland – come after operations at Baltimore’s port were crippled for nearly three months following the collapse in March of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Biden hailed the efforts to clear the debris from the collapse and reopen the port – and he urged lawmakers to approve funding to build a new bridge.

“We won’t stop until a new bridge is finished completely,” Biden said, asking Congress to fully fund the project this year.

The president also used the port grants to jab at Trump, saying the funds from the Inflation Reduction Act would also cover Puerto Rico.

“I’d like to take that guy for a swim out there,” Biden added, but it was unclear if he was referring to Trump or the comedian at the Madison Square Garden rally who drew criticism for his remark about Puerto Rico.

Tuesday’s visit could also provide a boost for Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who is running against Republican former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan for the U.S. Senate.

Battleground interviews

Harris also stepped up her media blitz by doing several interviews ahead of her speech at the Ellipse, according to the campaign. They included a sit for a Spanish radio interview with Rumba in Pennsylvania to reach Latino voters, including Puerto Ricans.

Vance to sit with Rogan

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will sit for an interview with comedian Joe Rogan on his podcast Wednesday, according to CNN.

Rogan, the most popular podcaster in the world, snared Trump for a three-hour interview last Friday that saw the two discuss the Republican nominee’s agenda and delve into a wide-range of topics, including aliens and conspiracy theories.

Harris’ team has said scheduling difficulties have kept her from appearing on Rogan’s show.