US election ticker: Newspaper: Biden plans visit to Berlin in October

Newspaper: Biden plans visit to Berlin in October

18:57: According to a media report, US President Joe Biden is planning a visit to Germany before leaving office. The US newspaper “The Hill” reported, citing Biden’s entourage, that the Democrat wants to travel to Berlin in mid-October before flying on to Africa. A state visit to the German capital is expected. There was no official confirmation of this at the moment.

The White House did not comment on the report when asked. A spokesman for the German government also declined to comment when asked, as did the Office of the Federal President, which would be responsible for a state visit. The US Embassy in Berlin also remained tight-lipped and again referred questions to the White House.

It would be Biden’s first bilateral visit to the German capital as president. Although the Democrat attended the G7 summit in Elmau in 2022 and on another occasion made a refueling stop with his government plane at the military base in Ramstein, he has not yet paid a working or state visit to Germany during his presidency.

The 81-year-old will leave office in January. In July, under great pressure from his own party, he withdrew from the campaign for a second term and left the field to his deputy, Kamala Harris.

Biden’s visit to Africa is also not yet official. He had long promised a trip to the African continent, but kept postponing it. Most recently, however, Biden confirmed to reporters that he had visited Angola. He did not provide any details.

Billie Eilish supports Kamala Harris

9.23 am: One week after Taylor Swift, another megastar, US singer Billie Eilish (22, “Bad Guy”), has recommended the election of Kamala Harris as US President. “We are voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because they are fighting to protect abortion and contraceptives, for the environment and for democracy,” Eilish said in a clip recorded together with her brother Finneas on Instagram and X. “Vote if your life depends on it, because it does,” says the singer. Together, the two are followed by more than 130 million accounts on the platforms. Democrat Harris is running against Republican Donald Trump in the presidential election on November 5.

Eilish’s recommendation came on Tuesday, the so-called “Voter Registration Day,” exactly seven weeks before the election. This day is intended to remind Americans to check their voter registration or to register again. Since there is no registration requirement in the United States, citizens in many states have to register themselves on the electoral roll.

Microsoft: Russia steps up disinformation campaign against Harris

05.53 am: According to research by the software company Microsoft, Russian actors are stepping up their disinformation campaign against US presidential candidate Kamala Harris. A group linked to the Kremlin called Storm-1516 has produced two fake videos since the end of August to discredit the election campaign of Harris and her vice-candidate Tim Walz, the US company said on Tuesday.

One video shows a group of alleged Harris supporters attacking a supposed participant at a Trump rally. The other video shows an actor spreading the fabricated claim that Harris injured a girl in an accident in 2011, who has been paralyzed ever since, and then drove off the scene. Both videos received millions of views, according to Microsoft.

A second Russian group called Storm-1679 is now focusing on spreading videos designed to discredit Harris, following its fake news campaign related to the Paris Olympics, the Microsoft report added.

At the beginning of September, the USA accused Russia of large-scale attempts to manipulate the presidential election on November 5 and imposed sanctions on several officials of the Russian state broadcaster RT.

Trump: “Only important presidents are shot at”

05.24 am: Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump has made his first campaign appearance since the alleged assassination attempt on him. In a speech in the city of Flint in the state of Michigan on Tuesday, he made a connection between Sunday’s incident on his golf course in Florida and his demand for high tariffs on car imports from Mexico and China. “And then you wonder why I’m being shot at?” Trump said. “Only important presidents are shot at.”

Trump presented himself as a defender of the US auto industry. If he does not win the election on November 5, “there will be no more jobs in the auto industry,” said the 78-year-old. Flint was a central location for the industry before numerous factories had to be closed.

Harris accuses Republicans of lying about migrants in Ohio

Wednesday, September 18, 00:05: Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has sharply criticized the Republican opposition for their attacks on immigrants. Anyone who has a microphone in front of them should understand the meaning of their own words, Harris said at an event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Previously, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his vice president JD Vance had accused migrants living in the city of Springfield in the state of Ohio of eating the pets of local residents. The authorities there have been stressing for days that there is no evidence of such cases.

Springfield has around 58,000 residents, including many people from the Caribbean state of Haiti. The city is currently under a state of emergency. Since last week, dozens of bomb threats have been received at public buildings and schools, and the police have increased their presence. Several buildings, including elementary schools, had to be evacuated. According to CNN, the police were informed of the presence of the right-wing extremist “Proud Boys.”

“It’s disgraceful what’s happening to these families and children in this community,” Harris said of the situation. There are serious threats against people who lead “good, productive lives.” She accused Trump and Vance of spreading lies based on “age-old stereotypes.” “This is nothing new,” said the vice president, recalling, among other things, Trump’s conspiracy theory that Barack Obama, the first black US president, was not born in the United States. Obama is from the state of Hawaii.

“You cannot trust anyone to stand behind the seal of the President of the United States of America who engages in this hateful rhetoric that seeks to divide us as a country,” Harris said.