The Latest: Harris ad calls her 'fearless,' while Trump ad blasts her for border problems

Dueling ad campaigns by the presidential candidates portray Democrat Kamala Harris as “fearless,” while an ad from Republican opponent Donald Trump blasts the vice president for problems at the southern U.S. border.

Harris plans a show of political force with a rally in Atlanta on Tuesday night that will feature a performance by hip hop star Megan Thee Stallion.

Trump appears to be backing away from his earlier commitment to debate Harris, questioning the value of a meetup and saying that he “probably” will debate but that he “can also make a case for not doing it” — prompting her campaign to say he’s “scared.”

Meanwhile, Harris and her Democratic allies are emphasizing a new line of criticism against Republicans — branding Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “weird.”

Senate lawmakers also grilled the acting director of the Secret Service about law enforcement lapses in the hours before the attempted assassination of Trump.

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Here's the Latest:

The acting director of the Secret Service said Tuesday he “cannot defend” why the roof used by the gunman in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was not secured.

Ronald Rowe, testifying before two Senate committees, said that he recently traveled to the Pennsylvania shooting site where Trump had been holding a campaign rally, and that “what I saw made me ashamed.”

Rowe was joined at a joint hearing of the Senate committees on the Judiciary and Homeland Security by FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.

The FBI’s No. 2 official said a social media account believed to be associated with the gunman espoused political violence and included antisemitic and anti-immigrant sentiment. The posts were from when the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, would have been in high school.

Republican Donald Trump's campaign announced Tuesday, hours ahead of a rally planned by Vice President Kamala Harris at Georgia State University, that he will travel to Atlanta on Saturday for a rally in the same venue.

Democrats say they have new hope for winning Georgia in November after President Joe Biden bowed out of the race and endorsed Harris. They’re betting that a fresh burst of energy and a surge in fundraising has helped make Georgia — the state that delivered Biden his narrowest victory margin in 2020 — a toss-up again.

The Harris campaign and Georgia Democratic officials have 24 offices across the state, including two added last weekend in metro Atlanta. Trump and the Republican National Committee opened their first Georgia offices only recently.

Republican candidate Donald Trump’s campaign released a new advertisement Tuesday, blasting Vice President Kamala Harris for problems at the U.S. southern border.

The advertisement dubs Harris the “border czar,” a reference to her work on migration issues. It includes a parade of headlines about drugs and criminals entering the country, as well as a clip from a controversial interview that Harris did three years ago in which she brushed off a suggestion that she would visit the border.

“Failed. Weak. Dangerously liberal,” the advertisement brands Harris.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is kickstarting a $50 million advertising campaign with a new television spot calling the likely Democratic presidential nominee “fearless” throughout her career.

“Throughout her career as a courtroom prosecutor, attorney general, United States senator, and now as vice president, Kamala Harris has always stood up to bullies, criminals and special interests on behalf of the American people – and she’s beaten them,” said a statement from Jen O’Malley Dillon, the campaign chair.

“She’s uniquely suited to take on Donald Trump, a convicted felon who has spent his entire life ripping off working people, tearing away our rights, and fighting for himself.”

The advertisement is slated to run during the Olympics, “The Bachelorette,” “The Daily Show” and other popular programs. It’s an attempt to even the score with Republicans, who have been outspending Democrats on the airwaves during a chaotic summer when President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed Harris.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion will join Vice President Kamala Harris for a special performance during her campaign stop in Atlanta on Tuesday.

A Harris campaign spokesperson confirmed the hip-hop star’s performance alongside the vice president in a post on X on Monday night.

The Harris campaign is promising a large rally in Atlanta, on par with the large events that Republican former President Donald Trump has made his signature.

If Vice President Kamala Harris were to ascend to the presidency, she would become the first female president, but also one who is also multiracial.

The daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both of whom immigrated to the U.S. during the Civil Rights Movement, Harris’ historic presidential bid has again put a spotlight on American identity politics and the growing number of people who say they are multiracial.

Different countries divide people into categories depending on different national traditions. The U.S., with its slavery-molded history, divides people into Black or white, and nine million people identified as multiracial in 2010.

When Harris ran for vice president in 2020, 33.8 million people in the U.S. identified as being more than one race, according to the census.