Obama calls Trump 'wannabe king' at Harris event

“That's not what you need in your life," he said.

Last Updated: October 27, 2024, 8:15 AM EDT

The race for the White House is heading into the final stretch with most polls showing Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump neck-and-neck in key states with less than two weeks to go.

Oct 27, 8:12 am

More than 40 million Americans have voted early

As of Saturday night, more than 40 million Americans cast an absentee ballot or voted early in person, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.

Roughly 19.3 million people voted early in person, the lab reported, and more than 20.9 million returned their ballot by mail.

A man votes on the second day of early voting in Wisconsin at the American Serb Hall Banquet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 23, 2024.
Vincent Alban/Reuters

Oct 22, 2024, 12:59 PM EDT

Trump takes questions from vocal supporters at Latino event, attacks Harris' intelligence

Trump took friendly questions from Latino supporters during a roundtable aimed at courting minority voters in Florida on Tuesday.

The questions came from many longtime supporters including Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue, pastor ​​Apostle Guillermo Maldonado and "Sound of Freedom" actor Eduardo Verastegui, who spent a lot of their time praising the former president.

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion with Latino community leaders at Trump National Doral Miami resort in Miami, on Oct. 22, 2024.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Trump talked about immigration for the first time about 30 minutes in, and used false claims about immigrants crossing into the country, calling them a "military supreme."

The crowd was relatively calm given the ballroom set-up; however, Trump did get applause when he brought up "men in women sports," where he doubled down on more transphobic rhetoric.

“So there's a sickness going on in our country. We have to end the sickness, and we have to start because she's a radical left," Trump said of Harris.

Trump also repeatedly made racial and ethnic jokes and attacks during the event.

The former president also went after Harris' intelligence, calling her "slow" and "stupid."

He also continued to make his baseless claim that there might not be another election if Harris wins.

>-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

Oct 22, 2024, 12:48 PM EDT

Trump hits Harris as 'lazy as hell' for not being on the trail

Trump returned to his Doral, Florida, golf club to host a roundtable with Latino community members Tuesday and used the opportunity to criticize Harris for not having any campaign events that day.

The roundtable was supposed to be focused on Trump's appeal to Latino Americans, but during his opening remarks, Trump gave a generic, rambling stump speech where he complained about his heavy campaign schedule compared to Harris'. The vice president is off the trail on Tuesday and taping interviews for NBC News and Telemundo.

"She's sleeping right now. She couldn't go on the trail. You know, you think when you have 14 days left, you wouldn't be sleeping. She's not doing anything today," Trump said, not mentioning her TV interviews scheduled for Tuesday.

Latino leaders pray with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump as he participates in a Latino leader roundtable, Oct. 22, 2024 in Doral, Fla.
Alex Brandon/AP

As the topic of exhaustion came up into the final stretch of the campaign, Trump kept going after Harris for taking days off as he talked about how much he was campaigning.

"Who the hell takes off? You have 14 days left, and she'll take a couple of more days off too. You know why she's lazy as hell, and she's got that reputation," he said.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

Oct 22, 2024, 12:18 PM EDT

DOJ launches voter assistance site for hurricane victims

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched a webpage on Tuesday that compiles information to help voters in states impacted by recent hurricanes Helene and Milton to have access to the ballot.

The resources are aimed to help voters in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia.

"The site identifies and provides links to various state changes made to accommodate voters who have been displaced, lost their identification documents, have had polling sites moved or who are unsure where or how they can vote. It also provides contact information so that voters can reach local voting officials who can provide the most specific and up-to-date guidance," the Justice Department said in a statement.

Oct 22, 2024, 12:11 PM EDT

Harris highlights key tie-breaking vote over prescription drugs

Vice President Kamala Harris, who cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, called Tuesday's Health and Human Services report on cost-savings for prescription drugs evidence of the administration's mission to deliver accessible health care to everyone.

The report showed 1.5 million Medicare enrollees saved almost $1 billion on prescription drugs in the first half of 2024 as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act.

"All Americans should be able to access the health care they need -- no matter their income," Harris said in a statement.

The Inflation Reduction Act for the first time put a cap on what Medicare enrollees spend on out-of-pocket costs for their medications and a lower cap that goes into effect next year ($2,000) and is estimated to impact 19 million people.

The administration estimated that this year's cap saved impacted Medicare enrollees an average of $1,802, and that when the cap lowers further, the savings will be higher.

Harris highlighted the combination of other efforts the administration is also making to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, like capping insulin at $35 and negotiating on contracts with pharma companies so the government pays less for drugs.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett