What to know today
- TRUMP TOUTS ECONOMY: President Donald Trump was in Pennsylvania tonight promoting his economic policies amid concerns about the high cost of living. Two-thirds of respondents in an NBC News poll released last month said the administration has fallen short of expectations in handling inflation and other affordability issues.
- MIAMI MAYORAL ELECTION: Voters backed former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins, a Democrat, over Trump-endorsed Republican Emilio González. With her projected victory, Democrats won an office they haven’t held since the 1990s.
- CAMPAIGN FINANCE CASE: Supreme Court justices this morning probed the legality of long-standing campaign finance restrictions challenged by Vice President JD Vance that limit how much national party committees can spend in coordination with individual candidates. It’s unclear how the court might rule.
Trump continues denigrating Somali immigrants and Rep. Ilhan Omar
Trump again targeted Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., mispronouncing her name, and continued a tirade against Somali immigrants.
Omar "does nothing but b----, she's always complaining," Trump said.
He continued, saying Somalia is "considered about the worst country in the world, right?" He added, "Throw her the hell out." Some in the crowd then started chanting "send her back" before Trump resumed speaking.
Omar responded on social media.
"Trump’s obsession with me is beyond weird. He needs serious help," she said on Bluesky. "Since he has no economic policies to tout, he’s resorting to regurgitating bigoted lies instead."
No. 2 official at Department of Homeland Security to be named U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, sources say
Trump is expected to name Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, according to two sources familiar with the plans.
The sources said Edgar was informed today that he would be removed from the No. 2 position at DHS and of plans to move him to be ambassador to El Salvador. The sources said the timing of his departure remains unclear.
The Senate confirmed Edgar to his current position in March, meaning he is eligible for the ambassadorship without further Senate approval.
The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CBS News first reported the news of Edgar’s removal from DHS.
Govs. Spencer Cox and Josh Shapiro warn of growing political violence
Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Spencer Cox of Utah decried the state of the political discourse in the country and talked of leaning on each other after high-profile cases of political violence in a wide-ranging interview with “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie this evening.
Both have been at the forefront of handling political crises in their states.
Cox, a Republican, was widely praised for his handling of the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk in Utah in September, an event that inflamed political divides. Shapiro, a Democrat, has dealt with political violence repeatedly in his state, including the attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Butler last year and the politically motivated firebombing of his own home this year.
“I just need to tell you when that very dark day happened in my state, the first call I got was from this guy, from Gov. Shapiro, and he gave me some advice that changed what I was going to say when I stepped in front of that camera for the first time,” Cox said, speaking alongside Shapiro at the National Cathedral in Washington.
Trump insists the economy is roaring in a campaign-style speech in Pennsylvania
Trump traveled to this hardscrabble and politically competitive part of the country tonight to tout his economic record — insisting that he’s already the architect of “lower prices” and “bigger paychecks,” as a massive sign behind him proclaimed — while voters here and across the country say their bank accounts are still squeezed.
“The only thing that is truly going up big, it’s called the stock market and your 401(k)s,” Trump told a crowd of more than 1,000 supporters packed into a cozy ballroom at the Mount Airy Casino Resort, nestled in the Pocono Mountains.
In hallmark fashion, he veered far off script and off the topic of affordability at times. He attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. — prompting a chant of “send her back” to Somalia — denigrated windmills, mocked transgender people and called his predecessor, Joe Biden, a “son of a b----.”
But even when he focused on the theme of his speech, Trump continued to publicly wrestle with the question of whether affordability is really an issue for Americans — and whether he has done enough already to right the economy. At one point he said “affordability” is a “new word” concocted by Democrats to criticize him. At another, he proclaimed, “I have no higher priority than making America affordable again.”
Democrat wins Miami mayor’s race for the first time in almost 30 years
Democrat Eileen Higgins has won the Miami mayor’s race, NBC News projects, giving the party control of the office for the first time in almost three decades in another victory for Democrats ahead of next year’s pivotal midterm elections.
Higgins, a former Miami-Dade County commissioner, won 59% of the vote to 41% for Republican Emilio González, a businessman and former city manager who was endorsed by Trump. González conceded this evening, his campaign confirmed.
“Tonight, the people of Miami made history. Together, we turned the page on years of chaos and corruption and opened the door to a new era for our city — one defined by ethical, accountable leadership that delivers real results for the people,” Higgins said in a statement tonight.
While the Miami mayor’s race is technically nonpartisan, the Republican-affiliated candidate has won every election since 2008, and an independent candidate won before then, locking Democrats out of the office since their last win in 1997. But while Miami-Dade has moved dramatically toward Republicans in the last few elections, Democratic former Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly carried the city itself last year.
Trump wraps remarks on economy that resembled a campaign stump speech
Trump wove in and out of economic issues, musing about the border and foreign wars he said he ended, and he threatened again to attack Venezuela by land in a campaign-style event that aides billed as a speech on the U.S. economy. He spoke for more than 90 minutes.
At one point, Trump said he agreed prices needed to come down, even as he criticized Democrats for talking about it.
“I can’t say 'affordability hoax,' because I agree the prices were too high, so I can’t go to hoax, because they’ll misconstrue that,” he said. “But they use the word 'affordability,' and that’s their only word.”
Still, he vowed to do more. “Ours are decreases,” he said. “And they’re moving down.”
Several times Trump spoke about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whom he called “central casting” and “very handsome” and praised as “our savior.”
“Under that beautiful exterior is a killer,” he added.
The comments come as Trump and Bessent, who attended the event, seek a new chair of the Federal Reserve and as Trump has said support for rapid interest rate cuts would be a required litmus test for the next head of the central bank.
Trump said wounded National Guard member Andrew Wolfe got up from bed today
Trump said Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who was shot last month in the attack on two National Guard troops from West Virginia, was able to get out of bed today. Wolfe remains hospitalized.
"Today I got a call that he got up from bed," Trump said. "Do you believe that? He got up."
The crowd in Pennsylvania cheered.
"He didn’t speak. He’s not ready for that yet," Trump added. "I mean, you got hit in the head, but he got up and, boy, they’re so happy. It’s amazing."
Trump says Democrats 'sent prices soaring' as he vows to focus on affordability
Ten months into his second term, Trump said his main focus is making America affordable again, saying he had “no higher priority” and vowing to bring down prices, including on gas, which he deemed a tax cut.
“It’s a simple message,” he psaid, even as he turned his attention to Democrats and Biden, whom he accused of sending prices “soaring.”
“That’s our message,” Trump added. “They gave you high prices. They gave you the highest inflation in history, and we’re giving you — we’re bringing those prices down rapidly, lower prices, bigger paychecks.”
Republicans are looking ahead to a challenging landscape in the midterms next year, with Trump saying he plans to campaign for the party.
Trump leans heavily into tariffs in his economy speech
Trump touted his tariff policies as a cornerstone of his economic agenda in tonight's speech.
He repeated that "tariff" is one of his favorite words and said his administration's recently announced $12 billion aid package for farmers was paid for with tariff revenue.
"You're going to see what happens over the next two years," Trump said. "It's like a miracle is taking place."
The Supreme Court has yet to rule on Trump's broad use of tariffs under a law reserved for use during times of emergency.
Trump falsely claims to have won Pennsylvania 'three times in a row'
Trump, who is hosting a campaign-style economic event at Mount Airy Casino Resort in northeastern Pennsylvania this evening, began his remarks with a quip about election fraud in 2020, falsely claiming to have won the state “three times in a row, as you know.”
Biden won Pennsylvania by a narrow margin in 2020; Trump won it four years earlier and then again in 2024.
Trump emphasized Pennsylvania’s importance to his victory last year, thanking voters in the state and calling his win “the most important election victory, possibly in the history of our country.”
He has returned to the stump amid concerns about the high cost of living.
