Harris to campaign with Obama, Springsteen; Trump heads to the West

Half of the eight battleground states in this year’s U.S. presidential election use the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, a rate that hasn’t changed since 2009 despite a 47% surge in the cost of living since then. In essence, that means minimum-wage workers in those states have seen much of their purchasing power vaporized by inflation over the past 15 years. 

Donald Trump’s October 20 visit to a McDonald’s location in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, where the former president served food to pre-selected supporters, has renewed public attention on how much low-income workers earn. Asked by CBS News reporter Olivia Rinaldi if he thought the minimum wage should be raised after spending time behind the counter at the fast-food restaurant, Trump sidestepped the question. 

“Well, I think this. I think these people work hard. They’re great,” he said. “And I just saw something a process. It’s beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing to see. These are great franchises and produce a lot of jobs, and it’s good and great people working here too.”

Trump’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the former president’s views on the minimum wage. 

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Vice President Kamala Harris is set to hold a campaign event Thursday in Georgia, which former President Barack Obama and the singer Bruce Springsteen will also attend. 

Springsteen’s involvement marks the first of several concerts taking place along Harris’ campaign trail, which are part of a series her campaign has called “When We Vote We Win.” The series will touch all seven battleground states, starting in Atlanta and moving next to Philadelphia on Monday.  Obama and Springsteen are both set to appear at Monday’s event, too, a senior campaign official told CBS New Philadelphia.

Former Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump before retiring in 2022,  told The Detroit News on Thursday that he’s backing Harris in the 2024 presidential election. 

 Upton, who represented Michigan for more than three decades in the House and worked alongside Walz, said Trump is “totally unhinged.”

“We don’t need this chaos,” he told The Detroit News. “We need to move forward, and that’s why I’m where I am.”

Upton also told The New York Times that he cast his ballot for Harris, noting that it marked the first time he has supported a Democrat for president. 

Vice President Kamala Harris shared where she stands on key political issues at her CNN town hall on Wednesday night, with her positions on immigration and the United States’ approach to conflict in the Middle East being some of the event’s most notable takeaways. Harris also assured her administration would take a different approach to policies than the current one under President Biden, although she did not offer many specifics. 

Moderator Anderson Cooper pressed Harris on her views about immigration, an issue that has recurred in Republican attacks on her presidential campaign. Harris criticized the border wall proposed by former President Donald Trump during his time in office but did not respond directly when asked if she supports continuing that project now.

“I want to strengthen our border,” she said, pledging to push through a bipartisan bill focused on border security, which calls for $650 million initially earmarked under Trump.

Harris also commented on war in the Middle East, after an undecided voter asked how she plans to protect Palestinian civilians. The Democratic nominee called the death toll “unconscionable” and said she believes there is an opportunity to end Israel’s war with Hamas now that Yahya Sinwar has been killed.

As for how her policies would deviate from President Biden’s, Harris said she embodies “a new generation of leadership” in this country.

“My administration will not be a continuation of the Biden administration,” she said. “I will bring to this role my own ideas and my own experience.”