2024 presidential election live: Biden makes surprise appearance in the White House briefing room

President Joe Biden surprised reporters by holding an unannounced briefing in the White House.

He spoke about new jobs numbers showing the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent and a pause in the dockworkers strike. He then faced questions Israel and his prior comments on strikes on Iran oil facilities.

It is the first time he is briefed reporters from the White House podium of his presidency.

From Rob Crilly, chief U.S. political correspondent in Saginaw, Michigan

With a month to go until the only poll that matters, former President Donald Trump has roared back into a substantial lead in our election model.

A slew of recent surveys has shown him with leads in key battleground states . And when the data are processed through our DailyMail.com/J.L. Partners model it shows the former president winning in 56.7 percent of the simulations.

As ever, the road to the White House appears to run through Pennsylvania , with its 19 electoral college votes.

For weeks it has been in 'tossup' territory. Now the model moves it to 'lean Trump' in what could be a decisive moment in the election race.

Lose that state, and Vice President Kamala Harris would struggle to triumph even if she wins Michigan , Nevada , and Wisconsin.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

President Biden hit reporters with an inside joke as he ventured into the White House briefing room to take their questions for the first time from the venue during his tenure.

‘Hey folks, my name’s Joe Biden,’ he said as he dove into his appearance. ‘Welcome to the swimming pool,’ he said, after a pair of reporters welcomed him. The line drew laughs from members of the press who were giddy to get the chance to ask a few questions.

It may have sounded like a senior moment to some viewers online, but the White House briefing room is actually situated in what was once the White House indoor swimming pool. It was constructed in the 1930s during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who suffered from the effects of polio and relied on therapy pools.

The press room was constructed over the pool during the Nixon administration, and some original tiles are still visible in storage areas out of sight.

Nevertheless, some online critics, including the RNC's research account, mocked the line. That prompted pushback from the White House staff, who work in the West Wing adjacent to the former pool.

Biden’s surprise appearance in the briefing had the effect of keeping 2024 nominee Kamala Harris off the cable TV.

CNN reported in its post-statement breakdown that it had been preparing to cut live to Harris’s event in Flint, Michigan, which overlapped with Biden.

After a delay from the scheduled 1:30pm start time, , Biden then showed up in the White House briefing room, prompting the network to carry his first remarks to the press in the more candid format.

That had the two top Democrats competing for air time. It isn’t for lack of familiarity between the Harris campaign and White House staff. Harris kept on many of Biden’s own campaign personnel, including former White House aides.

His stint at the podium comes hours after an Axios report by Mike Allen about the 'disappearing Bidens.' It noted a drop in public appearances and limited events that tend do fall inside banker's hours by the 81 year old lame duck president.

President Joe Biden was asked during his surprise White House press briefing room on Friday whether he thinks Benjamin Netanyahu is dragging his heels on a Gaza ceasefire deal to try and influence the U.S. election.

'No administration has helped Israel more than I have. ... And whether [Netanyahu is] trying to influence the election or not, I don't know, but I'm not counting on that.'

Vice President Kamala Harris offered praise for firefighters while speaking at a campaign stop in Redford Township, MI on Friday afternoon.

Her appearance standing next to a firetruck in the Redford Township Fire Department North Station and speaking to first responders and union members comes as the firefighters union declined to endorse Harris or Trump in the 2024 race.

The non-endorsement was seen as a blow to the vice president after the International Association of Fire Fighters, represents over 350,000, was the first union to endorse President Biden in 2020.

‘Yours is a profession that is more than a profession, it really is about a calling,’ Harris told the room to a warm welcome.

‘I know what you guys do, and I know your character,’ Harris said. ‘I know your families. I know what it means for the whole community for you all to take on the lives that you have decided to live, and I am so thankful to you.’

She praised them for working ‘long shifts with unpredictable hours’ under ‘some of the most dangerous conditions.’

Harris said she’s grateful for the union that supports them and their rights.

She was introduced by the president of the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union.

Later in her speech, Harris blasted Donald Trump as an ‘unserious – human,’ pausing before she said the word human as if she would like to have said something else as she went after him over health care and treatment of American workers.

There was commotion in the press room as reporters clamored to a get a question in to Biden at his first briefing at the White House podium of the James Brady room.

‘I said I’d take a couple questions,’ he said, smiling as the hands kept going up.

He tasked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre with telling him who to call on, a prerogative she also takes when cabinet secretaries sometimes appear.

‘I didn’t call on you sir,’ Jean-Pierre said when a reporter she didn’t call on tried to shout out a question.

The briefing happened on a slow news Friday after good economic news.

The U.S. bombed more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen in a series of airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Friday.

Military aircraft and warships struck the militant strongholds and their weapons systems in five locations days after American warships were attacked in the Red Sea.

The joint operation with the British military is a sign of serious escalation with the Middle East still waiting to see if Israel will retaliate against Iran for the rocket barrage earlier this week.

Operations had been limited to shipping channels and targeting military bases.

Houthi media said seven strikes hit the airport in Hodeida, a major port city, and the Katheib area, which has a Houthi-controlled military base.

Kamala Harris has sparked fury after praising former vice president Dick Cheney while campaigning with his daughter in Wisconsin.

The longtime Republican congressman in Wyoming and conservative vice president to George W. Bush is often blamed for America's invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

'I also want to thank your father, vice president Dick Cheney, for his support, and what he has done to serve our country,' Harris said on Thursday while thanking his daughter, Liz, for supporting her.

While Harris' embrace of former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney may have been hard to swallow for some Democrats - it was the praise for her father that appeared to have been a step too far for many in politicians and commentators.

'Dick Cheney not only committed war crimes and helped kill hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, but he also caused the deaths of thousands of American soldiers,' wrote journalist Mehdi Hasan.

'They should send Liz Cheney to Michigan to campaign for Kamala in Dearborn and Detroit. She can explain why she and her dad still support Guantanamo, CIA black sites, torture, rendition, drones and the war in Iraq,' wrote journalist Glenn Greenwald.

Former President Donald Trump is facing a growing gap with women voters as the crucial voting bloc trusts Vice President Kamala Harris more when it comes to top issues including the economy.

The Democratic presidential nominee has a fifteen point lead over the ex-president among women, new polling from American University found. It has Harris at 54 percent among women nationally while Trump is at 39 percent.

Independent women voters are backing Harris by eighteen points with 50 percent to Trump's 32 percent.

The polling found Harris is gaining trust among women when it comes to the top issues over Trump including on inflation, the economy and abortion.

On inflation, Harris has a fourteen point lead over Trump with 51 percent trusting her to address it versus Trump's 37 percent. On handling the economy, 46 percent trust Harris while 38 percent trust Trump.

Kamala Harris' West Wing office is less than a mile from her father's Washington, D.C. home.

But they could not be further apart.

Despite the proximity between father and world-famous daughter, there is no record of Donald, 86, ever having visited her in the White House.

His name does not appear in any of the publicly available visitor logs from her three-and-a-half years in office. Nor are there any recent public photographs of the pair together.

It is possible that the VP has privately hosted her father in her government-provided home – at the United States Naval Observatory in DC – where visitor records are not public.

But it is perhaps more likely that Donald Harris has kept a deliberate distance, determined to stay away from what he has described as the 'political hullabaloo' surrounding his daughter, whose controversial comments he once criticized as 'a travesty'.

For her part, VP Harris has previously described their relationship as 'not close'.

So just who is Donald Harris?

With Election Day just over one month away, the deadline to sign up to cast a ballot in the November 5 election in more than a dozen states is quickly approaching.

Voters who want to participate in what could be one of the tightest and most consequential presidential elections in more than a generation might want to check their registration status or be sure to sign up in time.

While each state sets its own voter registration deadline, federal law dictates that states cannot set their voter registration deadline within thirty days of the election. But that window is quickly approaching.

According to NCSL, fifteen states have deadlines 28 to 30 days out from the election which means some of those deadlines come as soon as Sunday, October 6.

Here are the states with deadlines coming up:

By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

FEMA withheld pre-disaster money before Hurricane Helene and has been painfully slow in giving first responders deployment orders, multiple whistleblowers allege in a damning new letter.

The bombshell allegations of mismanagement at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) come just days after the agency took a beating for its boss Alejandro Mayorkas admitting it will not be able to foot the bill for this historic hurricane season.

Now whistleblowers from FEMA, including state and local level in emergency-management functions are telling Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., that the department has wasted and misappropriated funds in the wake of Helene, which is 'exacerbating the emergency.'

Further, 'hundreds if not thousands' of first responders and service members have been 'without deployment orders' with some waiting around in hotels while others 'have sat idle' as Americans throughout the southeast are in dire need, the whistleblowers allege.

Donald Trump will make his triumphant return to Butler, Pennsylvania, on Satruday just shy of two months after he was shot in the ear.

The former president is looking to finish the rally on July 13 cut short when a bullet from the rifle of Thomas Matthew Crooks ripped through his right ear.

To mark the occasion, security will be immensely tight.

He will also bring a list of VIP guests to stand beside him:

Helen Comperatore, Wife of Corey Comperatore

Allyson Comperatore, Daughter of Corey Comperatore

Kaylee Comperatore, Daughter of Corey Comperatore

Douglas Meeder, Husband of Kelly Meeder

Kelly Meeder, Sister of Corey Comperatore

Children of Kelly Meeder

Dawn Comperatore-Schaffer, Sister of Corey Comperatore

Dr. Jim Sweetland, 7/13 Butler Rally Attendee & Doctor who served as first responder on 7/13

David Dutch, 7/13 Butler Rally Attendee who was injured

Lou Shear, 7/13 Rally Volunteer & Wife of Ed Shear

Tom Natoli, 7/13 Rally Attendee

Rene White, 7/13 Butler Rally Attendee

Malphine Fogal, 7/13 Butler Rally Attendee & Mother of Russian Prisoner Marc Fogal

Ed Lenz, 7/13 Butler Rally Paramedic

Eric Trump, Son of President Donald J. Trump & Executive Vice President, Trump Organization

Lara Trump, Daughter-in-Law of President Donald J. Trump & Co-Chair, Republican National Committee

Elon Musk, Founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer of SpaceX

Sen. JD Vance, Vice Presidential Nominee & U.S. Senator (OH)

Sen. Eric Schmitt, U.S. Senator (MO)

Rep. Ronny Jackson, U.S. Congressman (TX-13)

Rep. Dan Meuser, U.S. Congressman (PA-09)

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, U.S. Congressman (PA-14)

Rep. Glenn Thompson, U.S. Congressman (PA-15)

Rep. Mike Kelly, U.S. Congressman (PA-16)

Rep. Mike Waltz, U.S. Congressman (FL-06)

Rep. Cory Mills, U.S. Congressman (FL-07)

Comm’r. Sid Miller, Agriculture Commissioner of Texas

Mayor JD Longo, Mayor of Slippery Rock, PA

Sheriff Mike Slupe, Sheriff of Butler County, PA

Sheriff William McKenna, Sheriff of Montour County, PA

Sheriff Scott Neiswonger, Sheriff of Warren County, PA

Sheriff Frank Levindoski, Sheriff of Tioga County, PA

Sheriff Robert Fyock, Sheriff of Indiana County, PA

Sheriff William Carbaugh Jr., Sheriff of Forest County, PA

Sheriff Tony Guy, Sheriff of Beaver County, PA

Sheriff James Ott, Sheriff of Blair County, PA

Sheriff Shawn Zerfoss, Sheriff of Clarion County, PA

Sheriff Todd Caltagarone, Sheriff of Elk County, PA

Sheriff James Custer, Sheriff of Fayette County, PA

Sheriff Dave Powers, Sheriff of Crawford County, PA

Comm’r. Leslie Osche, Chair & Commissioner, Butler County

Comm’r. Kimberly Geyer, Vice Chair & Commissioner, Butler County

Comm’r. Ed Natali, Commissioner, Butler Township

Comm’r. Sam Zurzolo, Commissioner, Butler Township

Chairman Michael Whatley, Chairman, Republican National Committee

Christine Toretti, RNC National Committeewoman (PA)

Chairman Lawrence Tabas, Chairman, PAGOP

Vonne Andring, Senior Advisor, PAGOP

Dave McCormick, Candidate for U.S. Senate (PA)

Steve Witkoff, Founder, Witkoff Group

Jim Worthington, Campaign Bundler & Chairman, Pennsylvania RNC Delegation

Matt Coday, President & Founder, Oil and Gas Workers Association

Ranger Sean Parnell, Ranger, U.S. Army (RET.) & Best-Selling Author

Frog-X Parachute Team, Special Forces Sky Divers (RET.)

Lee Greenwood, American Musician

Scott Lobaido, Artist

Dan Newlin, Attorney, Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys and Donor to July 13 Victims

Rico Elmore, Captain, Trump Force 47, and 7/13 Rally Attendee and First Responder

Dr. Jim Sweetland, 7/13 Rally Attendee and First Responder

Ed Shear, 7/13 Rally Attendee and First Responder

Jim Jones, 7/13 Crane Owner

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to North Carolina on Saturday to survey the damage from Hurricane Helene.

While there, she will receive an on-the-ground briefing about the ongoing recovery across the state.

This is her second visit to the southeast to deal with the devastating impact of the storm. On Wednesday, the vice president was on the ground in Augusta, Georgia where she met with families who lost everything and helped distribute meals to those impacted.

The Harris campaign is touting her endorsement by Arizona teamsters – after the firefighters union who backed Joe Biden in 2020 voted not to endorse anyone.

‘This November the stakes are high. We need strong leadership that will support Labor and ensure we keep our seat at the table,’ said Local 104 Secretary Treasurer Karla Schuman in a statement.

The endorsement came after the national Teamsters union voted not to endorse, leaving some locals in key battlegrounds to vote to back Harris.

Harris suffered a blow Thursday when the International Association of Fire Fighters union voted not to make an endorsement. It came after the 300,000 strong union voted ‘by a margin of 1.2%’ to stay out.

The result carried a sting, after it was the first union to endorse Biden in 2019. Biden regularly stated his regard for firefighters on the campaign trail, and spoke – sometimes with embellishments – about a 2004 kitchen fire in his Delaware home. He credited firefighters with saving his wife Jill’s life as well as his home.

President Joe Biden hailed the latest jobs data, which put unemployment at 4.1 percent, with Election Day a month away.

'With today’s report, we’ve created 16 million jobs, unemployment remains low, and wages are growing faster than prices. Under my Administration, unemployment has been the lowest in 50 years, a record 19 million new businesses have been created, and inflation and interest rates are falling,' Biden said in a statement. U.S. payrolls added 254,000 in September, according to new Labor Department data.

Biden also touted the suspension of a dockworkers' strike that threatened to goose inflation by stranding cargo ships outside of shuttered ports.

'And we’re seeing the power of collective bargaining to lift up workers’ wages—including the progress made by dockworkers on record wages with carriers, and port operators and the reopening of East Coast and Gulf ports,' Biden said.

U.S. payrolls surged by 254,000 in September, according to new Labor Department statistics.

The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent, with average hourly earnings rising 0.4 percent in September, up 4 percent from a year ago. The figures give Vice President Kamala Harris economic gains to point to – although she has struggled to balance taking credit for Biden administration achievementws while also promising change while seeking to succeed an unpopular president.

The data round out an economic picture that shows inflation cooling. Consumer sentiment hit a five month high in the latest University of Michigan survey released late last month. But other late-breaking events could pose a challenge for Harris: Israel’s continued strikes pummelling south Lebanon in its attack on Hezbollah, and recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene, which are drawing pointed criticism from Donald Trump. The resolution, at least temporarily, of a dockworkers strike, takes one more headache for Biden and Harris off the table, after threatening to undermine their efforts against on inflation.

Trump led Harris by 5 points in a poll querstion on who voters trust to 'deal with the U.S. economy,' according to a new Cook Political Report survey this week. But voters are now evenly split on who they trust to deal with inflation – an improvement for Harris from her six-point deficit in August.

The net Labor Department report on non-farm payroll gains comes November 1 – three days before Election Day.

Kamala Harris is getting some high wattage help from Barack Obama, the most popular leader in the Democratic Party.

He is set to get back on the campaign trail in Pittsburgh, in a state he carried two times, after polls show Harris not quite matching his support among younger and minority voters, even while besting President Biden. The push comes as early voting is already underway in many states, with a tossup race in Pennsylvania.

‘President Obama believes the stakes of this election could not be more consequential and that is why he is doing everything he can to help elect Vice President Harris, Governor Walz and Democrats across the country,’ said Obama senior advisor Eric Schultz. ‘His goals are to win the White House, keep the U.S. Senate, and take back the House of Representatives. Now that voting has begun, our focus is on persuading and mobilizing voters, especially in states with key races. Many of these races are likely to go down to the wire and nothing should be taken for granted.”

It comes after his events and online efforts have hauled in $76 million for the presidential campaign this cycle. But the biggest role to date has been the effort by many ex Obama staffers to nudge President Biden out of the race, clearing the way for Harris and giving Democrats a poll boost. Harris has also lined up some of the star power that propelled Obama's 2008 run, rolling out endorsements by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Springsteen.

Elon Musk revealed he will join Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when the former president returns to the scene of the terrifying attempt on his life.

The billionaire Space X founder, 53, said on X that he will 'be there to support' Trump on Saturday when he takes the same stage where he was shot in the ear on July 13.

Musk announced his upcoming appearance in response to a tweet sent by Trump, sharing the iconic image of him raising his fist with blood on his face after cheating death.

It would mark the first time Musk has joined Trump on stage at one of his rallies, although he has made no secret of his support for the former president since endorsing him earlier this year.

Republican candidate for vice president JD Vance reacted to his debate performance in an interview on Thursday, even though he admitted he was not exactly sure how it was going at the moment.

‘I’m nervous as hell, right? I get nervous at these things,’ Vance said, reacting to his debate performance during an interview with the Ruthless Podcast.

He revealed that he knew he had done really well after he looked at his wife Usha's face after it was all over.

’I looked at Usha’s face and I just knew, I was like, "Holy sh*t we must have done a very good job," because Usha doesn’t lie to me and her face especially doesn’t lie to me,' he said. 'And I knew that minute that meant we had a very good debate.’

Vance and his challenger Gov. Tim Walz participated in the first and only vice presidential debate on Tuesday evening on CBS.

Donald Trump told CEO and finance guru Dave Ramsey how he plans to fix the economy if elected during a wide-ranging interview.

Ramsey, a bestselling author, radio host and economic consultant whose net worth is believed to be between $150M-$200M, spoke to the former president and Republican nominee on The Dave Ramsey Show for a 25-minute chat.

He told Ramsay that inflation is 'more important than the economy' and he plans to have prices down by 50% in his first year in office and that when energy prices drop, interest rates and 'other things are going to follow.'

The former president's plans are largely dependent on unleashing oil and other forms of American energy to increase supply-and-demand.

'I'd like to use another line but there's no line that's better: We're going to drill, baby, drill,' because it 'takes that burden off the shoulders of the economy and off the shoulders of inflation itself,' Trump said

Donald Trump told Melania to 'write what you believe' when they spoke about her abortion comments in her new memoir.

Fox News asked the president on Thursday to respond to the former first lady revealing her pro-choice stance in a moment that could have impacted his presidential run.

But the Republican nominee said the couple discussed it, and he urged her to 'stick with your heart'.

'We spoke about it. And I said, you have to write what you believe. I’m not going to tell what you to do. You have to write what you believe.'

'She’s very beloved,' Trump added.

'But I said you have to stick with your heart. I’ve said that to everybody, you have to go with your heart,' he said.

Melania released a video on X on Thursday expressing her support for freedom for women, including abortion rights.

'Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard,' she said.

'Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to these essential rights that all women possess from birth. Individual freedom. What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?'

While it is not unheard of to be a Democrat in rural Pennsylvania, it is not the norm.

But as the campaign season heads into overdrive with 33 days to go before Election Day, Democrats in the deep red areas are growing more confident coming out of the woodwork and voicing their support.

It helps that Democrats running for office are making a play in every corner of the state.

The latest Emerson College poll shows Harris and Donald Trump tied 48 percent to 48 percent with voters in the state.

With Pennsylvania perhaps the most important battleground state in the presidential election and polls showing a razor-thin race, Kamala Harris’ campaign and party officials are not leaving anything to chance.

With their effort, supporters on the ground are growing increasingly hopeful the trend of rural areas in the crucial state growing increasingly red will reverse or at least slow.