CNN Politics

First: Donald Trump heads to North Carolina today for a speech his advisors say focus on the economic failures of the Biden-Harris administration. Well, that's what his campaign hopes he'll focus on.  Plus: Why are African American men drifting away from the Democratic party? Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports on a growing gender divide and what he calls the elephant in the room: Black men who hesitate vo...

First: Donald Trump has a new friend who happens to be the world's richest person and owner of the world's most important bullhorn. Did their conversation on X help the former president halt Kamala Harris' momentum or reinforce her case against him?  Plus: New reporting on the apparent hack of the Trump campaign. We tell you who the FBI believes was responsible and the other accounts they may be t...

First: The Harris campaign seems to be rolling and Donald Trump is clearly taking notice, claiming the polls are wrong and her crowds are fake. He says he's the one with the wind at his back. We get the inside scoop from reporters following both campaigns.  Plus: Dana goes one-on-one with JD Vance, including questions about abortion attacks on Kamala Harris and his attempt to turn the tables on De...

Vice President Kamala Harris made headlines when she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate this week. CNN's Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins CNN Political Director David Chalian from the campaign trail to explain what went into the ‘vibes’-based decision, and the Midwestern Democrat’s ascent from history teacher to vice presidential hopeful.  Learn more about your...

First: Vice President Harris is spending the weekend out West with campaign rallies in Arizona and Nevada. What's her strategy for keeping those states in the democratic column? And can she get to 270 electoral votes without them?  Plus: Donald Trump tells a dramatic story about nearly dying in a helicopter crash with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. There's just one problem: Brown says it...

First: VP Kamala Harris heads to Arizona a day after holding rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan in front of two of the biggest crowds Democrats have seen in years. What about critical swing voters in these must-win states?  Plus: Republicans accuse Tim Walz of lying about his military service, but we will bring you the facts on that and look more broadly at how the Trump campaign is shifting its st...

Much has been said about perceived parallels between this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the 1968 convention, hallmarked by a violent response to anti-Vietnam War protestors and an incumbent who announced he would not seek reelection. Few are as qualified to speak on those comparison as Don Rose, a Chicago journalist, political strategist, and activist who was a leader in org...

CNN’s Elle Reeve did her best-known reporting during the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, when she followed neo-Nazis over a weekend of violent protests. Seven years later, her new book looks at how that movement — born in online communities of mostly white men — gave rise to extremist thinking that is now threaded through today’s political discourse.  Audie talks with Reev...

First: The new Democratic ticket is heading to a crucial swing state where Kamala Harris hopes Tim Walz will give her a blue collar boost.  Plus: Donald Trump now says he'll debate the Vice President in the "pretty near future." But can the campaigns actually agree on the details?  And: The "squad" is shrinking again as Cori Bush will be the second of its members to lose a primary this year.  Lear...

Kamala Harris chooses Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, capping off a whirlwind 16 days since Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. He's a 60-year-old veteran former teacher and football coach who spent 12 years in congress. CNN's Jeff Zeleny kicks off our coverage in Philadelphia, where Walz will be formally introduced this afternoon.    Learn more about your ad choices....

First: Stocks are plunging as investors worry the US could be heading toward a recession.  Plus: Israel is preparing for a retaliatory strike from Iran and/or Hezbollah that could come within hours.  And: Kamala Harris is expected to reveal her choice for the number two spot on her at any moment.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On CNN’s State of the Union, Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler, the only Black woman in the U.S. Senate, reacts to Trump’s attacks on Harris’ race and tells Dana Bash it's "the only card he's got to play." Next, Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin defends Trump’s attacks on Georgia’s GOP governor. Then, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer tells Dana that the U.S. is "preparing for every possibil...

First: The nightmare is finally over for three Americans now back on US soil after the biggest prisoner exchange since the Cold War. We have new details on the painstaking negotiations that led to this historic agreement.  Plus: Top vice presidential hopefuls are canceling their Saturday and Sunday plans. Why? Because Kamala Harris wants to meet with some one-on-one this weekend.  And: What a diff...

Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan are in US custody after a massive prisoner swap with Russia. It involves 26 people and seven countries. Nothing close to this has happened since the end of the Cold War. Our CNN correspondents are in place across the world working their sources and they're going to bring you all the latest details.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...

First: The Middle East is at another flashpoint as the world waits for Iran to retaliate against Israel, who it blames for killing a top Hamas leader on Iranian soil.   Plus: Rapper Megan Thee Stallion helps Kamala Harris rally a boisterous crowd of nearly 10,000 people in Atlanta, but will the energy translate to votes and put Georgia back in play for Democrats?  And: It's almost impossible to wi...

First: Vice President Kamala Harris and her allies are rolling out a new way to describe the Republican ticket: "just plain weird." Meanwhile, Donald Trump scrambles for new attack lines against his new opponent, who's surging in the polls and raising tons of cash.  Plus: Explaining that he's "got nothing against cats," Trump's VP pick JD Vance is attempting to tamp down the backlash over comments...

What a difference a week makes. Last Friday, Republicans leaving their convention saw a win in November as a forgone conclusion. But is this just Kamala Harris' honeymoon phase, or can the vice president build on that clear burst of momentum?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every presidential campaign eventually finds ways to take advantage of the cultural moment. Vice President Harris’s current moment in the viral sun happened as soon as she became the frontrunner of the Democratic ticket. How and why did it happen? Audie talks with two observers: researcher Nina Jankowicz, who studied online gendered abuse and disinformation against women in political life. And Dej...

First: Remember that flash of a moment when Donald Trump said he was going to be "nice?" He unsurprisingly and explicitly ditched that moments ago. But Kamala Harris made clear she's not pulling her own punches.  Plus: Joe Biden says ending the war in Gaza and the release of hostages will be a major focus of his final months in office. It begins today with a crucial face-to-face meeting with Benja...

First: We reveal results of a brand new CNN poll, the first since Joe Biden exited the presidential race. What do voters think about the new Harris-Trump matchup?  Plus: Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to Capitol Hill to address a divided Congress. Dozens of Democrats have vowed to boycott the speech.  And: Tonight Americans will hear something they haven't heard since 1968: a sitting president e...

President Joe Biden will deliver a primetime address to the nation tomorrow night. He's expected to provide more detail about his decision to withdraw from the 2024 campaign.  Also on today's show: Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigns after a barrage of criticism for security failures that led to Trump assassination attempt.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

After three weeks of battling an intense debate from within his own party, President Joe Biden made a surprise announcement on Sunday, ending his re-election campaign. Shortly after, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Audie talks with Phil Mattingly, CNN’s Chief Domestic Correspondent. He takes us inside Biden’s historic decision and tells us what to expect from he...

We hear from VP Kamala Harris for the first time since yesterday's political earthquake, and get a look at her brand-new campaign.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a disastrous debate performance prompted a flurry of calls from Democrats to step aside, President Joe Biden has announced his exit from the 2024 presidential race. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to run in his place. In this episode, we’ll hear how Biden came to this stunning decision, and what's next for the Democratic Party, with just a few weeks left to coalesce around a new nom...

A wild week at the RNC hit a crescendo last night as Donald Trump strode onto the convention stage to accept the GOP presidential nomination for the third straight time. The former president promised a different tone, bookending what was effectively a classic Trump rally speech, disjointed and divisive but with an appeal to unity.  Meanwhile, the big question for Democrats remains: What will Joe B...