Biden is keeping his schedule light tomorrow
U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 30, 2024.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
Biden’s only publicly scheduled event tomorrow is his daily closed-door briefing set for 2:45 p.m. E.T., according to the White House.
It’s a light schedule for the president the day after the election, punctuating a rocky election saga during which he dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris to replace him.
The White House also called an early “lid” today just after 4 p.m. E.T., meaning Biden does not have any other scheduled public events for the evening.
— Rebecca Picciotto
Trump Media posts surprise earnings report showing $19 million loss
In a surprise filing on Election Day, Trump’s social media company reported a third-quarter net loss of more than $19.2 million on revenue of just over $1 million.
Trump Media, which trades as DJT on the Nasdaq, also reported an operating loss of $23.7 million.
The company said in a press release that its revenues are mostly tied to “emerging advertising initiatives on the Truth Social platform and other advertising initiatives now being tested with various partners.”
Trump Media stock initially fell more than 7% in after-hours trading, but it quickly pared those losses.
For the first nine months of 2024, Trump Media has reported about $2.6 million in revenue and a net loss of $363 million, the regulatory filing shows.
The company, which started publicly trading in late March after merging with a blank-check firm, also boasted that it ended the latest fiscal quarter with no debt and $673 million in cash and investments.
Trump Media boasts a market capitalization of nearly $7 billion, and it continues to generate heavy trading activity — especially in the lead-up to the election.
Many analysts say that is largely because the company’s retail investors — of which there are roughly 650,000, according to Nunes — are Trump fans who are buying the stock as a way to support the Republican nominee.
“This has been an extraordinary quarter for the Company,” CEO Devin Nunes said Tuesday in a statement, adding that Trump Media is continuing to “explore additional possibilities for growth.”
— Kevin Breuninger
Trump campaign blocks journalists from election night watch party
A police vehicle at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 4, 2024.
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Trump campaign has blocked several reporters from its election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, reportedly in retaliation for their coverage of the campaign.
Media outlets that had journalists denied entry to the event included Politico, Axios, Puck and Voice of America, according to CNN.
“I know I told you that I would be covering the Trump election night party from Palm Beach but turns out I have pissed off Trump’s campaign manager with my reporting and they decided to deny my credentials,” Puck’s Tara Palmeri said on the podcast “Somebody’s Gotta Win.”
Palmeri was supposed to broadcast from the watch party for Amazon‘s election night special but now will do so from Los Angeles with Brian Williams.
— Dan Mangan
Cheaper health-care plans on Affordable Care Act marketplace at risk in election
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
The fate of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced subsidies likely depends on who wins the presidency, as well as which parties gain majorities in the House and Senate.
If Democrats manage to hold their narrow majority in the Senate, or flip the GOP-controlled House, they will likely make extending the ACA’s larger subsidies a top priority, said Cynthia Cox, vice president and director of the program on the ACA at KFF, a health policy research organization.
The government-backed aid, originally passed during the Covid-19 pandemic, is set to expire at the end of 2025.
For her part, Harris has made clear she wants to keep in place that boosted financial assistance, which has significantly lowered the costs of coverage for people buying plans on the ACA marketplace.
An individual earning $60,000 a year now has a monthly premium of $425, compared to $539 before the enhanced subsidies, according to a rough estimate provided by Cox. Meanwhile, a family of four making about $120,000 currently pays $850 a month instead of $1,649.
“Whoever wins the elections, it’s not clear whether these subsidies would be renewed or not,” Cox said, adding that if Republicans make big gains on Election Day, they would likely let the enhanced subsidies expire.
Permanently extending the subsidies could cost around $25 billion a year, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office.
“That’s the concern from Republicans about extending them,” Cox said.
Around 3.8 million people will lose their health insurance if the aid is dropped, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Those who maintain their coverage are likely to pay higher premiums.
— Annie Nova
Toy prices could jump more than 50% from Trump’s tariffs
Trump‘s universal tariff proposals could cause the largest price spike on toys, according to a new report from the National Retail Federation.
But furniture, household appliances and footwear would also become significantly more expensive under the former president’s hardline approach to trade, the NRF found.
— Annie Nova
White House calls early lid, suggesting Biden won’t hold Election Day events
President Joe Biden returns to the White House on Nov. 4, 2024.
Anna Rose Layden | Getty Images
The White House called an early travel and photo “lid,” meaning there will be no more public events held there for the rest of the day.
That indicates President Biden “does not intend to participate” in any Election Day events, according to a reporter at the White House who announced the lid just after 4 p.m. ET.
Biden, who dropped his reelection bid in July amid sinking approval ratings and low marks on the economy and immigration, has been noticeably absent from the campaign trail. Harris, the vice president, has put some distance between herself and her boss in recent remarks.
Earlier Tuesday, Biden shared a statement congratulating Boeing and the machinists’ union IAM for reaching a deal to end a lengthy strike.
— Kevin Breuninger
Elon Musk to join Trump at Mar-a-Lago for election night watch
Elon Musk embraces Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5, 2024.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images
Tech billionaire Musk will spend election night with Trump at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club to watch voting results.
Musk, the Tesla CEO who also owns the social media site X, frequently shares false claims suggesting noncitizens are systematically voting in U.S. elections.
The billionaire’s political action committee, America PAC, has backed Trump.
— Lora Kolodny
Biden congratulates Boeing and IAM for ending strike
IAM International President Brian Bryant speaks to workers outside the Boeing Portland Facility in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 19, 2024.
Jordan Gale | Afp | Getty Images
President Biden spoke today with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, as well as Brian Bryant, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and Jon Holden, president of IAM District 751.
Biden congratulated the IAM leaders and Boeing for reaching a contract that ended the Boeing machinists’ strike and which “reflects the hard work and sacrifices of 33,000 Machinist workers,” the White House said.
— Ece Yildirim
Election day anxiety? Therapists share tips on how to cope
A woman sits and stretches as she waits to vote as the Italian Heritage Center has had a line over an hour long since 7 a.m. in Maine’s 2nd congressional district during the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day in Portland, Maine, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Faith Ninivaggi | Reuters
Election Day can cause people’s stress levels to spiral out of control, therapists say.
“With the stakes of the election perceived to be so high on both sides, it’s inevitable that we’re all anxious wrecks,” Jason Wu, a psychologist in San Jose, California, told CNBC in an interview.
David Goldberg, a psychologist and psychoanalyst in Birmingham, Alabama, echoed the sentiment.
“The narrative by both sides is that the winner of this election determines whether this country thrives or is driven to destruction,” Goldberg said. “The hyperbole expressed in the sound bytes are both extreme and terrifying. As such, people are anxious as hell!”
But the therapists detailed steps people could take to feel better throughout the day — or days, since voting results could take a while.
How to cope with Election Day anxiety
“If you’re only a little stressed, maybe a more relaxing activity like making some tea will be all you need,” Wu said. “But if your levels of stress are high, then you need a higher intensity or distracting activity to match it. Listen to some loud music or go for a run.”
Goldberg agreed that distractions were crucial on a day like today.
“Maybe it’s time to make that new recipe with the kids, or how about breakfast for dinner?” Goldberg said. “Journaling and talking to friends and loved ones can also be helpful.”
Shannon Hanrahan, a psychologist in Los Angeles, recommended setting “designated times to check the news or social media” to avoid doom scrolling all day.
“Limiting exposure helps reduce anxiety and regain a sense of control over what you consume,” Hanrahan said.
People can also try to take meaningful action in a variety of ways, she said.
“Direct any feelings of powerlessness into constructive efforts, like volunteering, supporting community initiatives, or simply preparing a meal for a neighbor,” Hanrahan said. “Engaging in acts of kindness or support can create a renewed sense of agency and connection.”
Jacent Wamala, a marriage and family therapist in Las Vegas, recommends opting for healthy foods when anxious.
“You need energy physically and mentally to manage your mind and your mood,” Wamala said.
Stepping outside can also help calm you down, she said. “Take a walk, look at the sky,” Wamala said. “It’s scientifically proven to relieve stress. Even if it’s for a few minutes, make it a priority.”
— Annie Nova
Trump Media trading halted repeatedly after sudden pullback
Trump Media was repeatedly halted due to volatility in midday trading after the company majority owned by Donald Trump suddenly lost its double-digit gains.
DJT shares were trading above $40 after 1:30 p.m. ET, but suddenly fell to $35.51 when the first five-minute halt occurred at 2:48 p.m.
Less than two minutes after trading resumed, shares turned negative for the day and were halted again.
Shares were flat at $34.35 when trading was halted for a third time.
Many of Trump Media’s retail investors are fans of the Republican nominee who are buying the stock as a way to support him or bet on his chances of winning the election.
Trump Media (DJT) Stock Price
RFK Jr. could influence health policy if Trump wins. Here’s what’s at stake
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage at a Turning Point Action campaign rally at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia, on Oct. 23, 2024.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Trump has said he will give Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, a “big role” in health care if he wins the presidency.
That possibility is raising alarm bells among health experts, who say elevating Kennedy, even in an informal role, could lead to serious consequences for patients, drugmakers and public health in the U.S. overall.
Kennedy has suggested that some vaccines should be taken off the market, and experts said he could use his antivaccine rhetoric to deter more Americans from receiving Covid shots and other routine vaccinations. If vaccination rates fall, especially among children, vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio and measles could potentially make a comeback.
The former environmental lawyer likely will not be able to change the government’s complex drug approval process, health-care insiders noted, which is good news for patients and the pharmaceutical industry. But Trump could still give him a new platform to politicize certain treatments he opposes and tout others that are not proven to be safe and effective.
Read CNBC’s full report on what RFK Jr. could mean for health if Trump wins the White House.
— Annika Kim Constantino
Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake says she’ll accept election results
Arizona Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake speaks with the media outside the Mesa Convention Center polling place in Mesa, Arizona, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Christian Petersen | Getty Images
Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for a Senate seat from Arizona, told reporters, “I will accept the results of the election.”
Lake has supported false claims by Trump that he won the 2020 presidential election and has refused to concede that she lost her race for Arizona governor in 2022.
The former television news anchor is running against Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, in the election to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent.
— Dan Mangan
No major national-level disruptions to U.S. election infrastructure, CISA says
Licensing and Election Clerk Anna Stouffer-Hopkins tests voting tabulator machines at the Reo Elections Office on October 3, 2024 in Lansing, Michigan. Michigan is considered to be one of several key battleground states in the upcoming November Presidential election.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images
As of 1:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, federal cybersecurity officials have not identified any major national-level disruptions affecting the security of U.S. election infrastructure, Cait Conley, senior advisor to the director at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters in a briefing.
“As of now, as expected, we are seeing the routine types of Election Day disruptions and localized pockets across the country,” Conley said.
Conley encouraged Americans to seek out their state and local election officials for accurate updates about their individual communities.
— Ashley Capoot
The most expensive election cycle ever: Nearly $11 billion spent on political ads
The 2024 election cycle is officially the most expensive of all time, according to data firm AdImpact, which tracked nearly $10.9 billion in total political ad spending.
The cycle exceeds the previous benchmark set in 2020, when election ad spending totaled about $8.5 billion.
A massive chunk of this cycle’s spending — $2.2 billion — came in the last two weeks alone, AdImpact found. The top ad spender in that time was the Democratic-aligned Future Forward PAC, which burned through more than $170 million, and the top market was Philadelphia, where more than $106 million was spent.
As in 2020 and 2016, Democrats have outspent Republicans on the presidential election. But unlike those races, Florida was not the top ad spending recipient in the final 60 days of the 2024 cycle.
In fact, it dropped off a cliff: The Sunshine State saw less than $1 million in ad spending over the past two months. That is as strong an indicator as any of how competitive the parties see the state, which went to Trump in the past two cycles and has seen a recent surge in GOP voter registration.
Trump’s tariff plan could cost consumers $78 billion annually
Trump’s proposed 10% to 20% tariffs on all imports and 60% to 100% on imports from China would cost American consumers $78 billion in annual spending power, according to National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay, who appeared Tuesday on CNBC’s “Money Movers.”
“We know that foreign countries, our trading partners, would retaliate, and that would drive further negative impact on inflation,” Shay said, calling a potential second Trump administration “very challenging for the American economy.”
“Ultimately, tariffs are taxes on American consumers,” Shay said.
— Ece Yildirim
Oil market will likely face more volatility if Trump wins, Goldman says
A worker on an oil drill near New Town, North Dakota.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A second Trump administration is more likely to bring volatility to the oil market, according to Goldman Sachs.
Trump could tighten sanctions on Iran, reducing supply from the Islamic Republic and putting upward pressure on prices in the short term, the investment bank told clients in a Monday note.
Over the medium term, however, a second Trump administration could heighten trade tensions through tariffs, putting downward pressure on global oil demand and prices, according to Goldman.
“Conceptually, the impact of a potential second Trump term on oil prices is ambiguous,” Yulia Zhestkova Grigsby, vice president of commodity research at Goldman Sachs, told clients in a note Monday.
Vice President Harris is unlikely to ramp up sanctions against Iran if she wins the election, Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told clients in a note last Thursday.
Several of Trump’s senior advisors have shown strong support for Israel striking Iran’s nuclear and energy facilities, Croft said. Harris would likely focus on winding down the war in the Middle East, she said.
Oil prices are trading about 1% higher today as the U.S. votes.
— Spencer Kimball
Student loan forgiveness likely to dry up under Trump
Student debt relief activist rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 30, 2023.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images
President Joe Biden has tried again and again to find a way to deliver on his campaign promise to forgive the student debt of millions of Americans.
Biden’s first plan to do so was squelched by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2023, after the justices ruled that the president did not have the power to wipe away $400 billion in consumer debt without prior authorization from Congress.
Shortly after, the president directed the U.S. Department of Education to start working on a new debt cancellation program, which has become known as Plan B. That policy is already tied up in the courts after a barrage of Republican-led legal challenges similar to the ones waged against Biden’s previous effort.
The Biden administration has been fighting the GOP efforts, and if Vice President Harris wins the presidency, she is expected to continue doing so.
A Trump administration, on the other hand, would likely retract the Education Department’s projects to forgive student debt and no longer defend the lawsuits against it, according to author Mark Kantrowitz, who writes extensively about student financial aid policy.
“If Trump wins, he will abandon the defense of Plan B,” Kantrowitz told CNBC.
— Annie Nova
Trump on Florida’s abortion ban: ‘Stop talking about that’
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by former U.S. first lady Melania Trump, speaks to reporters as he votes at Mandel Recreation Center on Election Day in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
Trump refused to answer a question about a Florida ballot measure that would roll back the state’s six-week abortion ban.
“Just stop talking about that,” Trump told a reporter after casting his vote in Palm Beach.
Trump dismissed the question while standing next to former first lady Melania Trump, who expressed strong support for abortion rights in her recently released memoir.
Trump said in late August that he would vote against the ballot measure, shortly after signaling he might vote in favor of it.
— Kevin Breuninger
Musk’s X town hall does not appear to be happening
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who supports Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, gestures as he speaks about voting during an America PAC Town Hall in Folsom, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 17, 2024.
Rachel Wisniewski | Reuters
Elon Musk and his pro-Trump America PAC were supposed to host a virtual town hall at 12 p.m. ET, according to the group’s website, but neither Musk nor the organization have promoted it on Tuesday.
This comes after Musk’s town hall on Monday night faltered due to technical difficulties, first, with a livestream and then with a Spaces session that was initiated then canceled on his social media platform X.
“Instead of a town hall Q&A tonight, I recommend listening to this discussion about the election I had today with Joe Rogan,” Musk wrote in a post on X on Monday.
— Ashley Capoot and Lora Kolodny
Elon Musk: ‘Men are voting in record numbers’
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks during an America PAC town hall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 26, 2024.
Samuel Corum | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Musk, owner of social media platform X and Republican megadonor, posted Tuesday on the platform that “the cavalry has arrived,” in terms of men’s voter turnout.
“Men are voting in record numbers,” Musk wrote. “They now realize everything is at stake.”
In response to Musk’s post, Trump senior advisor Stephen Miller wrote, “Call every guy you know. Tell them to vote and save civilization itself.”
Early voting data and polling has shown a widening gender gap this election, with men leaning to Trump and women breaking for Harris.
— Hayden Field
Rudy Giuliani arrives at Trump polling station in Mercedes he’s been ordered to surrender
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media before former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to vote at a polling station at Mandel Recreation Centre in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images
Rudy Giuliani arrived at the Florida polling station where Trump was voting in a 1980 Mercedes-Benz that he previously was ordered to surrender to two Georgia voters for defaming them, the Financial Times reported.
The Mercedes, which was previously owned by actor Lauren Bacall, was ordered to be forfeit by Giuliani to satisfy a $146 million judgment, along with his Manhattan apartment, a collection of luxury watches and sports memorabilia signed by New York Yankees sluggers Joe DiMaggio and Reggie Jackson.
On Monday, a lawyer for the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea’ Moss, told Manhattan federal court Judge Lewis Liman that Giuliani had emptied the contents of his apartment without notifying the lawyer.
Former mayor of New York City and former Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani sits inside a car outside Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center, where Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump and former U.S. first lady Melania Trump are expected to vote, during the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day, in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Ricardo Arduengo | Reuters
Liman ordered Giuliani, who represented Trump during the 2020 campaign’s aftermath, to court to explain the missing property, which is subject to forfeiture.
Giuliani had falsely accused Freeman and Moss of ballot fraud at a vote-counting location in 2020, saying the mother and daughter passed each other USB flash drives like “vials of heroin or cocaine” as part of a scheme to defraud Trump of an election victory.
— Dan Mangan
The best Election Day stickers from around the country
An array of Election Day stickers from around the country: (Top row L-R): California, New Hampshire, Virginia; (Middle row L-R): Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Arizona; (Bottom row L-R): Georgia, Washington and Nevada.
Trump votes in Palm Beach: ‘I feel very confident’
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by former U.S. first lady Melania Trump, speaks to reporters as he votes at Mandel Recreation Center on Election Day in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
Trump is projecting confidence after casting his vote in Palm Beach, Florida.
In remarks to reporters, Trump said he has heard that he and other Republican candidates are “doing very well.”
“The conservative lines, the Republican lines, are pretty long,” said Trump, who was flanked by former first lady Melania Trump.
Wearing a blue suit without a tie and a red “Make America Great Again” hat, Trump added, “It just seems that the conservatives are voting very powerfully.”
“I feel very confident,” he said.
Asked if he has any regrets about the campaign he ran, Trump said, “I can’t think of any.”
— Kevin Breuninger
‘It’s just nuts’: Harvard economist slams Trump’s new Mexico tariff threat
Jason Furman.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Former Obama administration economist Jason Furman, now a Harvard Kennedy School professor, is confounded by Trump’s new threat to enact 25% tariffs on Mexico if the country does not impose harsher border restrictions.
“It’s just nuts,” Furman exclaimed on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” adding that the new tariff proposal “would hurt our businesses and our jobs.”
“I don’t get it. There’s no argument for this,” Furman said.
“This isn’t like a master negotiator using the tariff,” Furman said. “This is someone asking American people to pay over and over and over again.”
Furman endorsed Harris in a letter with hundreds of other economists in September.
— Rebecca Picciotto
Closely watched New York Times ‘needle’ might not move due to engineers’ strike
The New York Times 2020 Election Needles.
Source: New York Times
The New York Times “Needle,” which freaked out Hillary Clinton supporters in 2016, and dismayed Trump supporters in 2020, might not move much even as the votes roll in tonight.
The Needle, a speedometer-like graphic that represents the statistical likelihood of a presidential candidate winning, needs data from computer systems maintained by Times engineers — who are currently on strike.
The Times’ Election Analytics team said, “We will only publish a live version of the Needle if we are confident those systems are stable.”
“If we are not able to stream the Needle’s results live, our journalists plan to run its statistical model periodically, examine its output and publish updates in our live blog about what they see,” the team wrote.
— Dan Mangan
Rudy Giuliani ordered to court to explain missing property owed to election workers
Former mayor of New York City and former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani reacts at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum during a rally held by Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Uniondale, New York, on Sept. 18, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani was ordered to appear in federal court in New York City on Thursday to explain why personal property of his that two Georgia election workers have been authorized to sell off to satisfy a fraction of a $146 million defamation judgment against him is missing.
The order came on Monday, shortly after a lawyer for the workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea’ Moss, notified Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman in a jaw-dropping letter that Giuliani and his lawyer “have refused or been unable to answer basic questions about the location of most of the property.”
Giuliani “apparently emptied the contents of” his New York apartment a month ago, without telling the women’s lawyer.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., last year found the former New York mayor and top federal prosecutor liable for defaming the women by falsely accusing them of committing ballot fraud during the 2020 presidential election, when he was Trump’s top election lawyer. A jury later said he should pay them $146 million in damages.
— Dan Mangan
National Guard activated for election help across the country
Twenty states, including the District of Columbia, have put National Guard troops on state active-duty or prepare-to-activate orders to provide election support, NBC News reported.
The number, which is likely to grow, translates to about 350 troops across both categories.
The troops are mostly available to provide cyber, law enforcement or general support for the election.
— Kevin Breuninger; Courtney Kube, NBC News; and Mosheh Gains, NBC News
How social media platforms are combating disinformation today
Dilara Irem Sancar | Anadolu | Getty Images
Trump Media & Technology shares jump on Election Day
The Truth Social logo is seen in this photo in Warsaw, Poland, on Dec. 4, 2023.
Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Trump Media & Technology shares popped more than 12% as Americans headed to the polls Tuesday.
It is the latest swing for shares of the company, which operates Truth Social and is majority-owned by Republican nominee Trump. Some investors have seen the stock as a way to bet on the former president’s reelection odds.
Shares of the stock rallied more than 110% in October alone, marking its first positive month since March. The stock has gained another 10% since the start of November.
Trump Media & technology
Voting machines are malfunctioning in Pennsylvania’s Cambria County
A man votes in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day, at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 5, 2024.
Quinn Glabicki | Reuters
Vote-scanning machines are down in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, causing some complications for morning voters in a deep red county of the major swing state.
The Pennsylvania State Department said it is “in contact” with the county officials and is working to clear up the technical difficulties.
In the meantime, voters at the affected precincts are casting paper ballots, which are being stored in a secure location to be scanned once the machines are up and running.
In 2020, Trump won Cambria County by roughly 37 points against Joe Biden.
A couple of other instances of technical difficulties have been reported in other states, which have caused some voting delays, but the issues do not appear to be connected.
— Rebecca Picciotto
Trump can still vote in Florida despite his New York hush money conviction. Here’s why
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media after voting at a polling station setup in the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center on March 19, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Florida has led the country in disenfranchising citizens with felony records. But Donald Trump, the only former president ever to be found guilty of criminal charges, should have no trouble casting his ballot in the Sunshine State.
That’s because Trump was convicted in New York.
Under Florida law, an out-of-state felony conviction makes a person ineligible to vote only if they would also be ineligible in the state where they were found guilty.
Trump on May 30 was convicted by a New York jury of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money scheme to pay porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence ahead of the 2016 election.
A New York law passed in 2021 allows for convicted felons to register to vote if they are not incarcerated. It also restores the voting rights of convicted felons upon their release from incarceration.
On Sept. 6, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan ruled that Trump will not be sentenced in the hush money case until Nov. 26 — three weeks after Election Day.
Trump traveled back to Florida on Tuesday, and he is expected to cast his ballot near his Mar-a-Lago home in West Palm Beach.
— Kevin Breuninger
Former Obama campaign manager Messina: “This is the closest race I have seen since 2000”
Trump 2024 senior economic advisor Stephen Moore and Former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to share their expectations for the presidential race and discuss the candidates’ plans for the economy and businesses.
“This is the closest race I have seen since 2000, and I think anyone who tells you they know what’s going to happen tonight is drunk,” Messina said.
Moore said he is “not a big fan” of Trump’s highly contested universal tariffs plan and claimed that while he thinks he would implement “very stiff tariffs on China,” these proposals will be more akin to “negotiating tactics” with other countries.
— Ece Yildirim
No major incidents affecting U.S. election infrastructure so far, CISA says
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency logo.
Source: Wikipedia
As of 9:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, federal cybersecurity officials have not identified any significant national-level incidents affecting the security of U.S. election infrastructure, Cait Conley, senior advisor to the director at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters in a briefing.
“We are tracking instances of extreme weather and other temporary infrastructure disruptions in certain areas of the country, but these are largely expected, routine and planned-for events,” Conley said.
— Ashley Capoot
Financial advisors urge investors to take a long-term view
Voters line up outside of a polling station at Donegan Elementary School as the polls open on Election Day in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Samuel Corum | AFP | Getty Images
Many investors worry how the markets may react based on who is elected president on Election Day, but experts at top financial advisory firms tell clients not to make any sudden moves in reaction to uncertainty.
In the long term, markets generally tend to do well, no matter who occupies the Oval Office.
Investment research company Morningstar recently evaluated how the S&P 500 has performed starting Nov. 1 in the past 25 U.S. presidential elections. Forward one-year returns were positive for 10 of the 13 elections where Democrats won, and in nine of the 12 contests where Republicans won, the firm found.
Forward four-year returns were positive for Democrats in 11 out of 12 terms, compared to Republicans who had positive returns in nine out of 12.
“Presidential elections historically have not been nearly as important to markets as most people think,” said Mark Motley, portfolio manager at Foster & Motley in Cincinnati, which is No. 34 on the 2024 CNBC Financial Advisor 100 list.
— Lorie Konish
Vance votes at Ohio polling site
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance arrives to vote at the St. Anthony of Padua Maronite Catholic Church on Election Day in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Carolyn Kaster | AP
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, just voted at a polling site in Cincinnati.
Accompanied by his wife, Usha, and his children, Vance cast his ballot at St. Anthony of Padua Maronite Catholic Church.
“I of course voted for Donald Trump and myself. So did my wife,” Vance told reporters after voting.
“I feel good. You never know until you know, but I feel good about this race.”
— Kevin Breuninger
Scaramucci, Ramaswamy spar over Harris’ and Trump’s economic plans
“The stock market’s at an all-time high. We have great economic growth. The unemployment numbers are around 4%, and the economy’s doing quite well after Covid,” SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci said, making the case for Harris.
The former Trump White House official joined Strive Asset Management’s Vivek Ramaswamy on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to debate Harris’ and Trump’s economic records.
— Josephine Rozzelle
Biden declares victory in end of Boeing’s 53-day strike
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751, embrace at a union hall after learning that union members voted to approve a new contract proposal from Boeing in Seattle, Washington, U.S. November 4, 2024.
David Ryder | Reuters
President Joe Biden declared victory in Boeing machinists’ approval of a new labor deal, ending a 53-day strike that halted most aircraft production at a top U.S. exporter and military contractor and dented the last jobs report before Tuesday’s presidential election.
The deal “was achieved with the support of my economic team, including Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard,” Biden said in a statement.
“Over the last four years, we’ve shown collective bargaining works. Good contracts benefit workers, businesses, and consumers—and are key to growing the American economy from the middle out and the bottom up,” he said.
The new Boeing contract for its 33,000 unionized machinists, mostly on the U.S. West Coast, includes 38% raises over four years, a $12,000 signing bonus and a deal with the company that it builds its next aircraft in one of the unionized factories in the Seattle area. Workers go back on the job as early as Wednesday, though the company isn’t out of the woods with several delayed aircraft programs including the late-arriving Boeing 747s that will serve as the next Air Force One airplanes.
— Leslie Josephs
Trump will host an exclusive Mar-a-Lago dinner for top donors tonight
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida on Aug. 8, 2024.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Trump will host an exclusive election night dinner at Mar-a-Lago for club members and his top political donors, a source who received an invitation confirmed to NBC News.
The dinner is scheduled to take place after the Republican presidential nominee casts his vote in person. He then plans to call in to several tele-rallies, a person familiar with the planning told NBC News.
In the late afternoon, Trump will huddle with an inner circle of advisors, friends and donors, another source told NBC News.
When the race results start becoming more clear, the former president then plans to leave the resort and go to the Trump-Vance watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
— Rebecca Picciotto
Bernie Marcus, Home Depot co-founder and Trump megadonor, dies at 95
Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus appears on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” with anchor Neil Cavuto, on the Fox Business Network, in New York, Monday, June 24, 2019.
Richard Drew | AP
Bernie Marcus, the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot and a major supporter of Trump’s political career, has died at 95, the company confirmed.
Marcus led the Home Depot for more than two decades, both as its first CEO and as chairman of the board. His net worth at the end of his life topped $11 billion, according to Forbes. The company now boasts more than 2,300 locations and employs more than 500,000 people.
Marcus was an outspoken supporter of Trump and other Republicans. His philanthropic vehicle, the Marcus Foundation, donated $10 million to the pro-Trump Preserve America PAC in the 2020 election. His family foundation gave $7 million to a pair of pro-Trump super PACs in the 2016 election.
In the 2024 cycle, Marcus said he preferred Trump’s Republican primary rival, Nikki Haley.
— Kevin Breuninger
Pollster Frank Luntz: Nevada, Pennsylvania will still be too close to call tomorrow
Pollster and political strategist Frank Luntz on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning said he thinks that Pennsylvania and Nevada will be too close to call on Wednesday morning, and that the general public will not know the results of the presidential election until “either late Friday or early Saturday.”
“If Trump loses either [Georgia and North Carolina], it will be a Harris victory. If Trump wins either Pennsylvania or Michigan, it will be a Trump victory,” Luntz said.
Other metrics that Luntz is “watching keenly” are the Latino vote in Nevada and Arizona, whether conservative older women will vote slightly more for Harris than they normally do for a Democratic candidate, younger women who are “more pro-Harris than any Democratic group,” and whether or not today’s polls will see a record-setting turnout, which would be “good news for Trump.”
— Ece Yildirim
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy explains how Trump could win tonight
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning to talk about his expectations for tonight. McCarthy claimed polls are underestimating support for Trump in Wisconsin, and laid out how he thinks Harris is faring in Pennsylvania.
— Ece Yildirim
First results are in from a small New Hampshire town — it’s a Harris-Trump tie
A voter walks with his dog after casting his ballot in the First-in-the-Nation midnight vote for the New Hampshire primary elections in the Living Room of the Tillotson House at the Balsams Grand Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, on January 23, 2024.
Sebastien St-Jean | AFP | Getty Images
Harris and Trump tied the midnight race in Dixville Notch, an unincorporated community in a small New Hampshire township where there are six registered voters this year.
Three of those voters went for Harris while the other three went for Trump. The polls opened at midnight and closed at 12:07 a.m. ET.
Since 1960, Dixville Notch voters have followed the tradition of submitting their votes in person in a wooden box just after midnight, before the results are announced minutes later.
Though the Dixville Notch result is not a predictive measure, the tradition has kicked off Election Day events for decades of night owls.
This year, the Harris-Trump tie happens to mirror the dead-heat race that polls have been reporting over the past several months. In 2020, President Joe Biden received all five of the Dixville Notch votes cast before winning the overall race.
— Rebecca Picciotto
Trump Media shares are popping in premarket trading
Republican presidential nominee former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during an 11th Hour Faith Leaders Meeting in Concord, North Carolina, U.S., October 21, 2024.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group are trading higher this morning as investors make some of their final bets on the former president’s company in his final hours in the race against Harris.
The DJT stock was up roughly 9% at one point before the market opened.
The meme stock tends to fluctuate, but over the course of the election, it has often been viewed as a proxy gauge for Trump’s chances at a second presidential term.
Wall Street analysts listed it as a stock to watch going into Election Day.
— Fred Imbert and Rebecca Picciotto
What’s Trump doing on Election Day?
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump holds up a fist at a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on November 04, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Trump closed out his campaign on Monday with four rallies in three swing states: Two in Pennsylvania, plus one each in North Carolina and Michigan.
On Election Day, the only officially announced event is the Trump-Vance watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
— Kevin Breuninger
More than 77 million have cast early votes
Duke University students wait in line with residents of Durham County to cast their ballots at a polling site on campus during the penultimate day of early voting in the state, in Durham, North Carolina, U.S. November 1, 2024.
Jonathan Drake | Reuters
More than 77 million Americans have already cast their ballots by mail or in person, according to NBC News’ tally of the early vote.
That’s far less than in 2020, when more than 100 million Americans voted early. But those results came in the middle of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, when many Americans avoided public gatherings and states had greatly expanded absentee and early voting rules.
Trump criticized early voting in 2020 — a stance that may have helped President Joe Biden clinch several key swing states.
While Trump has at times waxed nostalgic about single-day voting in the 2024 cycle, both his campaign and Harris’ have mostly encouraged their supporters to vote as soon as they can.
NBC’s data, provided by TargetSmart, show Democrats slightly leading Republicans in the early vote tally, 41% to 39%.
Among the seven key battleground states, more registered Democrats appear to have voted early in three — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — while registered Republicans lead in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia.
Voters fill out their ballots for the presidential election during early voting ahead of the polls closing November 5 at the Detroit Elections Office in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. October 28, 2024.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
What it all means for the final result is far from clear.
While early vote figures are often viewed as a signal about certain voters’ enthusiasm or expected turnout, it’s hard to predict how many more voters will show up on Tuesday. It is also difficult to know ahead of time whether a party’s early vote share is “cannibalizing” its Election Day turnout.
An NBC analysis found that among early voters in 2024 who did not vote in 2020, Democrats outpace Republicans in Pennsylvania, and female Democrats are the biggest group of new voters in the state.
In Arizona, however, there were more Republican new voters than Democratic ones, and male Republicans led the way.
— Kevin Breuninger
What’s Kamala Harris doing on Election Day?
Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris smiles during her campaign rally, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 4, 2024.
Eloisa Lopez | Reuters
After storming Pennsylvania on Monday, Harris’ Election Day schedule is relatively sparse — at least for now.
The only item on her agenda is an election night watch party at Howard University, her alma mater in Washington, D.C.
The campaign will hold an event at “the Yard,” the main quadrangle on campus.
Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, are also set to participate in a political event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, NBC News reported.
— Kevin Breuninger