An American serviceman is being held in Venezuela on suspicion of conspiracy to destabilize the government.
The State Department said it is aware of unconfirmed reports that two additional Americans were detained in Venezuela,
For my money, it's clear that Vice President Kamala Harris won the only debate likely to occur between herself and former President Trump last night. The vice president got some help, too ABC News moderators seemed to feel a need to fact-check just about everything Mr. Trump said.
The former president appeared clearly agitated and more strident and divisive as the nearly two-hour debate continued. The vice president seemed to gain renewed confidence as she saw Trump faltering under relentless questioning from herself and moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis.
While Harris clearly won the debate in my estimation, it isn't at all clear that this debate, just 56 days before the election, will fundamentally impact the outcome on Nov. 5.
I say that because Trump did talk directly to his base Tuesday night. And his supporters, like few others, knew how many degrees of bias ABC News injected into this process. Sure, Harris had far more convincing answers on abortion, health care, climate change, and where America is headed into the future. That much is obvious enough. But so too is it obvious that what Trump said in his closing statement remains true.
That's why, amongst voters, there is rightful anger about the direction that this country is headed, about the performance of both President Biden and Harris, as well as which candidate they can trust more on the top two or three issues facing the country: the economy, immigration, and law and order.
But elections rarely hinge on a dime as thoroughly as they did after the June 27 debate between Trump and Biden. While Trump undoubtedly was, on Tuesday night, a different man than he was in June, the points he made were the same. And many voters, indeed a majority of voters, agree with his core assessment of the current state of our nation.
I also think this is probably the final debate that either of these candidates is going to participate in. For Harris, it's an easy calculation: she'll declare victory, her supporters will become even more giddy, money will continue to flow into her coffers and there'll be absolutely no reason for her to reengage with him in any shape, matter, or form.
He also understands that in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential contests, the first one a winning effort and the second one a losing effort, he was successful in catching up with voters independent and autonomous of any direct confrontation with his opponent. He has, on the campaign trail, an unique appeal that is compelling. We have seen proof of that time and again. '
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He and his strategists are apt to come to one conclusion about it all: that they can better work with voters if they avoid head-on confrontations with Harris. They will do that by helping him hit the campaign trail for interviews and rallies. That will be a much more effective way than taking the chances of a night like Tuesday's.
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