Trump news – live: GOP leaders ‘talked Trump out of announcing 2024 bid’ at Ohio rally

At his last rally before the midterm election on Monday night, Donald Trump promised he will make a “big announcement” on 15 November at his Mar-a-Lago residence, setting the stage for another presidential campaign.

But according to new reports, he was originally planning to make the announcement last night – and was only talked out of it by Republican leaders panicked that he could turn election day into a referendum on him.

Mr Trump’s pre-announcement came at a rally to bolster Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance as Republican and Democratic candidates made their final pitches to voters on Monday.

Speaking at the rally, Mr Trump described Joe Biden as cognitively impaired and called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an “animal” for impeaching him twice “for nothing”.

Mr Trump’s Ohio trip came after a particularly raucous rally in Florida on Sunday evening, where he delivered an incoherent speech in which he again mocked Pelosi – leading the crowd to burst into a chant of “lock her up!”.

Key points

• Trump delays 2024 announcement until after midterms despite election eve tease

• Crowd cheers as Trump attacks Nancy Pelosi after assault on House speaker’s husband

• Will Trump’s scandal-plagued Senate endorsements come back to bite the GOP?

• Trump’s rumoured announcement gets people talking...

17:00 , Andrew Naughtie

The Washington Post reports that Donald Trump came very close to announcing he will run for president again last night, and had to be talked out of it at the last minute by Republican leaders – even as some of his close aides encouraged him.

According to the paper’s report, the former president is keen to take as much credit as possible for a strong Republican showing tonight, and continues to be frustrated by the attention Ron DeSantis is getting as speculation he might run himself continues.

Melania Trump’s reaction to the “pee tape” rumour

16:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump told a midterms rally crowd that former First Lady Melania Trump didn’t believe the salacious allegations in the Steele dossier, the infamous and now mostly-debunked research file from former British spy Christopher Steele about the Trump campaign’s alleged contacts with Russia.

The research, funded by the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee, claimed among other things that Mr Trump paid prostitutes in Moscow to urinate on a hotel bed Barack and Michelle Obama had once used.

Mr Trump, famously germaphobic, said his wife didn’t believe the allegations.

“She said to me, ‘I know that’s not your thing,’” Mr Trump said. “You know why? Because I’m a germ freak.”

Josh Marcus reports.

Trump reveals Melania’s candid reaction to ‘golden shower’ claim in Steele dossier

Analysis: What Trump meant by “Ron DeSanctimonious"

16:12 , Andrew Naughtie

Writing for The Independent, Noah Berlatsky takes a look at Donald Trump’s recent road-testing of “Ron DeSanctimonious” as a go-to nickname for the second-most-popular elected official among Republican voters:

Read the full column below.

What Trump’s attack on Ron ‘DeSanctimonious’ actually means

Trump ‘almost bailed on Truth Social’ – report

15:35 , Andrew Naughtie

Former president Donald Trump almost defected from Truth Social to join a rival platform called Gettr launched by former aide Jason Miller, a Washington Post report has revealed.

The report detailed the meeting Mr Trump had with the co-founders of his post-presidential startup Trump Media & Technology Group — Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss — while also pondering a competing offer from Mr Miller who met the former president on 11 June last year, a day that came to be called the “meltdown” day by the founders of Truth Social.

Mr Miller’s final offer to Mr Trump for joining the conservative app included $100m — and potentially more — over five years to post on Gettr, the people familiar with the episode told the Washington Post.

But finally, the former president stayed with Truth Social, a decision that he has indicated to allies he is stuck with now, according to the report.

Maroosha Muzaffar reports:

Trump almost bailed on Truth Social after ‘meltdown’ – report

Former WH chief of staff says Trump is the only Republican who can lose in 2024

15:05 , Andrew Naughtie

Mick Mulvaney, who served as acting chief of staff for a spell in the Trump White House and has since embraced life as a TV pundit, had a pessimistic take on Donald Trump’s soon-to-be-announced presidential campaign, telling CNBC news that his former boss shouldn’t run because “he is the only Republican who could lose”.

“One of the few people to beat Donald Trump is Donald Trump,” he told Squawk Box. “That’s what happened in 2020. Everybody voted for or against Trump. If Trump is on the ticket, it is about him.”

Mr Mulvaney’s words have not gone down well with Mr Trump’s critics.

Kinzinger calls out Republicans who thought Trump was done

14:35 , Andrew Naughtie

With Donald Trump offering 15 November as the date for what is expected to be a 2024 campaign announcement, Adam Kinzinger, the retiring GOP Congressman who sits on the January 6 committee, is calling out his compatriots who expected Mr Trump to recede from political life after losing the presidency and inciting a deadly riot at the US Capitol:

Trump reels off list of candidates

14:05 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump was in energetic form at his Ohio rally yesterday, reeling off a list of candidates he’s endorsed whom he has high hopes for in today’s elections.

This he did despite widespread Republican concern that many of his chosen candidates may be too extreme or inept to convince the electorate they are fit for public office. John Bowden takes a look at the problem.

Will Trump’s scandal-plagued endorsements come back to bite the GOP?

Trump settles tomato lawsuit

13:35 , Andrew Naughtie

Former president Donald Trump has quietly settled a lawsuit against him by protesters who were allegedly beaten by his private security staff in the days after he announced his first presidential campaign in 2016.

Attorneys for both Mr Trump and the protesters told NBC News that the case had been settled just as a jury was being selected for trial in a Brooklyn courtroom.

The lawyer who represented the protesters, Benjamin Dictor, said the settlement represented “an incredible day” for his clients, who he described as “lifelong activists in the community … who stood up to defend the right to speech on the public sidewalk and have litigated for seven years”.

“Today, the matter was resolved on terms that they are very, very happy with,” he added.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Trump settles case that revealed his fear of killer tomatoes

Opinion: Trump rounds off the midterms with lies and self-obsession

13:05 , Andrew Naughtie

Writing for The Independent’s Voices section, Andrew Buncombe takes a look at the characteristically lurid way Donald Trump has closed out the midterms campaign:

Read the full piece below.

Trump finishes as he began - with lies, insults and an obsession with himself

Trump lawyer tees up dispute over midterm results

12:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Christina Bobb, a former OAN host who serves as one of Donald Trump’s attorneys in the Mar-a-Lago affair, appeared on the Trump-backing Right Side Broadcasting Network last night as her boss prepared for his Ohio rally – and added to the chorus of right-wing voices already spinning a narrative of Democratic electoral malfeasance if the results of the midterms do not fall in Republicans’ favour by the early hours of Wednesday.

This projection for an acceptable rate of vote-counting is entirely arbitrary, and rests on a template conspiracy theory that Democrats will somehow tamper with the vote tallies after all voting is completed – in turn providing a premise to question the validity of all mail-in ballots, which tend to be added to tallies later in the counting process, tend to favour Democrats, and in some states can be added to the total count well after in-person voting closes.

Oath Keepers jury shown video of Rhodes discussing Insurrection Act

12:01 , Andrew Naughtie

The ongoing trial of the leaders of the Oath Keepers has seen leader Stewart Rhodes testifying in depth about the self-styled militia’s activities before and during the January 6 riot – as well as video of him explaining to the FBI that contrary to his expectations, Donald Trump did not “call them up” to overthrow the government.

Mr Rhodes has blamed other members of his group for breaking into the Capitol, which he yesterday described as a “stupid” move. Alex Woodward reports.

Stewart Rhodes makes unprompted joke about sex with lawyer during Oath Keepers trial

Trump continues White House dance on Truth Social

11:19 , Andrew Naughtie

Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to share his own remarks on the possibilty of a presidential run – again stopping just short of declaring himself as a candidate, leaving his message more teasing than ever:

GOP leaders convinced Trump to delay 2024 announcement ‘by appealing to his ego'

10:14 , Adam Withnall

The eyes of the world were on Ohio last night after the Trump camp began briefing the media that he might be about to formally announce his candidacy for the 2024 election, and members of his family travelled to be by his side for the final pre-election rally of the midterms season.

In the event, however, Trump spoke for more than 90 minutes without confirming his third tilt at the presidency, stating only that a further “big announcement” on the matter would be made from Mar-a-Lago on 15 November.

So what happened? Well, according to several reports including from the Washington Post, the rumours that Trump was about to announce sparked a frenzy of calls from senior Republican party figures, all urging the former president to wait until after today’s election.

Party leaders feared an announcement would serve only to boost Democrat turnout, jeopardising GOP chances in several knife-edge midterm races.

This is not the line they reportedly used to convince Trump to hold off, however. Instead they appealed to his ego, suggesting that if he declared his candidacy on Monday night it would get buried in the election news cycle, and that waiting another week would get him the attention he craves.

Trump almost bailed on Truth Social after ‘meltdown’ – report

09:31 , Adam Withnall

Donald Trump may be the most prominent user on Truth Social, a Twitter-like platform created in his image – but the former president was at one stage seriously considering abandoning the project altogether, according to a new report.

Sources familiar with the episode have told the Washington Post that Trump received a rival offer to face up a different platform launched by a former staffer, and that he now regrets not saying yes.

More details on this development here:

Trump almost bailed on Truth Social after ‘meltdown’ – report

Half of Trump’s Pennsylvania rally crowd empties out before he’s done speaking

09:00 , Shweta Sharma

Former president Donald Trump was in Latrobe, Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh on Saturday night in an attempt to fire up Republican voters and boost candidates Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano ahead of Tuesday’s pivotal midterm elections.

For a share of the crowd, however, it seems that Mr Trump’s pitch may have fallen flat.

“Trump complained that ‘the media never turn the cameras around’ so I did and saw half the crowd at this PA rally had left thirty minutes before it ended,” Univision reporter Fabiola Galindo Sawao tweeted while covering the event.

Read Abe Asher’s report.

Half of Trump’s Pennsylvania rally crowd empties out before he’s done speaking

Arizona county's plan to hand-count ballots blocked by judge

08:30 , Shweta Sharma

A judge on Monday blocked a rural Arizona county’s plan to conduct a full hand-count of ballots from the current election — a measure requested by Republican officials who expressed unfounded concerns that vote-counting machines are untrustworthy.

The ruling from Pima County Superior Court Judge Casey F McGinley came after a full-day hearing on Friday during which opponents presented their case and called witnesses. An appeal of the judge’s decision is likely. Election Day is on Tuesday.

Read the full report here:

Arizona county's plan to hand-count ballots blocked by judge

Trump defends attacks on ‘animal’ Nancy Pelosi because ‘she impeached me twice’

08:00 , Shweta Sharma

Former President Donald Trump called Speaker Nancy Pelosi an “animal” at a rally near Dayton, Ohio on the eve of the midterm elections.

Mr Trump, appearing at the event to boost Republican Senate candidate JD Vance, lashed out at Ms Pelosi less than two weeks after the Speaker’s husband Paul Pelosi was brutally assaulted in a politically-motivated attack in the couple’s San Francisco home.

Read Abe Asher’s report.

Trump defends attacks on ‘animal’ Nancy Pelosi because ‘she impeached me twice’

Biden hits back at heckler at rally: ‘Don’t jump — you look crazy enough to jump’

07:30 , Shweta Sharma

President Joe Biden’s midterm election eve rally in Maryland turned combative when the president hit back at a heckler who was aiming to interrupt the event.

Noticing a man in an Uncle Sam hat heckling him from the upper reaches of the venue at Bowie State University, Mr Biden paused his address, looked up towards the heckler, and said, “Hey! Hey man! Don’t jump! You look crazy enough to jump — don’t jump!”

Watch video of the moment below, and read more about Joe Biden’s history with hecklers in The Independent:

Nancy Pelosi says it’s ‘traumatising’ to see conservatives spread conspiracies about attack on her husband

07:00 , Shweta Sharma

House speaker Nancy Pelosi has criticised Republicans for ridiculing the attack on her husband last month, calling it “traumatising” and urging them to stop “mocking political violence”.

In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on the eve of the midterm elections, Ms Pelosi said: “You see what the reaction is on the other side to this, to make a joke of it, and really that is traumatising too.”

On 28 October, Ms Pelosi’s husband Paul was attacked in their San Francisco home with a hammer by an intruder who broke in and was looking for the speaker.

Read The Independent’s full report.

Nancy Pelosi says it’s ‘traumatising’ to see conspiracies about attack on her husband

Marjorie Taylor Greene predicts she’ll be back on committees to hold ‘traitors and criminals’ to account

06:30 , Shweta Sharma

Marjorie Taylor Greene indicated on Monday that she expects to be back serving on congressional committees after the midterms and that “there’s a lot of traitors and criminals that need to be held accountable”.

The Georgia Republican was removed from her committee assignments last year because of her incendiary comments in the past and apparent support of violence against Democrats. She was also accused of propagating baseless conspiracy theories.

Ms Greene, just a few months ago, was forced to admit to labelling Nancy Pelosi “a traitor” and calling for her execution.

Read Maroosha Muzaffar’s report.

Marjorie Taylor Greene predicts she’ll be allowed back on committees

How long will it take to know who won in US midterm elections?

06:13 , Shweta Sharma

The first wave of vote tallies is expected on the East Coast between 7pm and 8pm ET on Wednesday.

An early indication of Republican success could come if the races expected to be close - like Virginia’s 7th congressional district or a US Senate seat in North Carolina - turn out to be Democratic routs.

All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives are up for grabs, as are 35 US Senate seats and 36 governorships.

By around 10pm or 11pm ET, when polls in the Midwest will be closed for an hour or more, it’s possible Republicans will have enough momentum for experts at US media organisations to project control of the House, said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

If the fight for the House still looks close as vote tallies start coming in from the West Coast - where there could be more than a dozen tight House races - it could be days before control of the chamber is known, experts said.

California typically takes weeks to count all its ballots, in part because it counts ballots postmarked by Election Day even if they arrive days afterwards.

It may take longer, perhaps weeks longer, to know which party will control the Senate, with close contests in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia likely to determine final control.

The new Congress is set to be inaugurated on 3 Jan 2023.

Watch Trump’s final Ohio rally in pictures

06:00 , Shweta Sharma

Donald Trump continued to tease his third presidential run at an Ohio rally last night, where speculation of a 2024 announcement was bolstered by the presence of many of his family members.

Further delaying the announcement, Mr Trump nonetheless spoke for almost two hours to a crowd of over 2,000 supporters at Dayton International Airport in Vandalia.

Opinion: Trump finishes as he began - with lies, insults and an utter obsession with himself

05:26 , Shweta Sharma

Sometimes it is hard to remember. But when Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, he hid himself away.

It was not until June 2021 in Wellington, Ohio, that Trump found the confidence to return to the fray in public, holding a rally to attack Anthony Gonzalez, one of 10 GOP members of Congress who had voted to impeach him.

But since getting back on the election trail, and appearing endlessly over the past 18 months, we have seen the same Donald Trump as the one who slid down the escalator at Trump Tower in 2015 and launched an operation of slights, insults and racist innuendo.

Analysis here by Andrew Buncombe:

Trump finishes as he began - with lies, insults and an obsession with himself

Trump delays 2024 announcement until after midterms despite election eve tease

04:51 , Shweta Sharma

Former president Donald Trump on Monday ended an hours-long rehashing of old grievances at a rally for Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance without announcing his intention to run for president in 2024.

The twice-impeached ex-president failed to declare his candidacy for a presidential election that won’t happen for another two years despite allies and confidantes spending most of the day before the 2022 midterm elections stoking rumours and hyping a possible 2024 announcement from Mr Trump.

One staunch ally of the ex-president, Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, even took to Twitter to encourage Mr Trump to pull the trigger on a third presidential run, writing: “Trump should announce tonight.”

Read Andrew Feinberg‘s full report.

Trump delays 2024 announcement until after midterms despite election eve tease

Arizona county’s plan to hand-count ballots blocked by judge

04:50 , Shweta Sharma

A southeastern Arizona county’s plan to conduct a full hand-count of all ballots was blocked by a judge on Monday, on the eve of Election Day.

It was requested by Republican officials who expressed unfounded concerns that vote-counting machines are untrustworthy.

The ruling from Pima County Superior Court Judge Casey F McGinley came after a full-day hearing on Friday during which opponents presented their case and called witnesses. An appeal of the judge’s decision is likely.

Mr McGinley said the county board of supervisors overstepped its legal authority by ordering the county recorder to count all the ballots cast in the election that concludes on Tuesday rather than the small sample required by state law.

“This entire process would be rendered superfluous if the court were to construe (that section) to initially select 100 per cent of the precinct ballots as its starting point,” the judge wrote.

Biden urges voters to ‘protect democracy’ in final pitch

04:26 , Shweta Sharma

Joe Biden has made his final appeal to voters on the eve of Tuesday’s midterms, calling for Democrats to protect democracy by defeating Donald Trump’s Republicans as polls showed the election could upend the balance of power in Washington.

“Today we face an inflection point. We know in our bones that our democracy’s at risk and we know that this is your moment to defend it,” Mr Biden told a cheering crowd at Bowie State University, a historically Black college outside Washington.

“The power’s in your hands,” he told Democrats. “So vote, get out the vote.”

Non-partisan election forecasters predict that Republicans are likely to pick up roughly 25 seats in the 435-seat House of Representatives, more than enough to win a majority. Analysts said Republicans also could pick up the one seat they need to win control of the Senate.

It comes as Joe Biden’s unpopularity has made him an unwelcome guest in the most competitive races as many Americans have soured on his leadership.

Only 39 per cent approve of his job performance, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Monday.

Democrats and Republicans make urgent final pitches as election season wraps

04:00 , Shweta Sharma

In the last hours of a fraught midterm election season, candidates and big-name backers, including Donald Trump and Joe Biden, made final appeals to voters Monday.

The race is heating up as Republicans remain excited about the prospect of winning back Congress and Mr Biden insists his party would “surprise the living devil out of a lot of people.”

“We know in our bones that our democracy is at risk,” Mr Biden said during an evening rally in Maryland, where Democrats have one of their best opportunities to reclaim a Republican-held governor’s seat.

“I want you know, we’ll meet this moment.”

Arriving back at the White House a short time later, Mr Biden was franker, saying: “I think we’ll win the Senate. I think the House is tougher.” Asked what the reality of governing will be like, he responded, “More difficult.”

Democrats contend Republican victories could profoundly and adversely reshape the country, eliminating abortion rights nationwide and unleashing broad threats to the very future of American democracy. Republicans say the public is tired of Biden policies amid high inflation and concerns about crime.

Trump ends his rally

03:22 , Io Dodds

As the music rose to a climax, Mr Trump ended his rally with a rhythmic chant:

”We will make America powerful again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again.

“Thank you Ohio, thank you. God bless you. JD, go get 'em.”

No Trump 2024 announcement today

03:15 , Io Dodds

There it is. Donald Trump has declined to say whether he will run for president in 2024, only promising a “very big announcement” next Tuesday.

”Not to detract from tomorrow’s very important, even critical, election... I'm going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, November 15, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida,” he told the crowd, prompting massive cheers.

“We want nothing to detract from the importance of tomorrow, you understand that JD?” he followed up.

Trump calls Biden ‘cognitively impaired'

03:13 , Io Dodds

Mr Trump described Joe Biden as cognitively impaired and in no condition to lead, and casually talking about nuclear war with Russia".

He said: ”We are a nation where free speech is no longer allowed, where crime is out of control like it has never been before... we are a nation that has become a joke.

“We are a nation that is hostile to liberty, freedom and faith. We are a nation whose economy is collapsing into a cesspool... whose supply chain is broken, whose stores are not stocked, whose deliveries are not coming.”

“We are a nation where large packs of sadistic criminals and thieves are allwoed to go into stores and openly rob them, beat up the workers nad kill the customers, and leave with armloads of goods and no retribution...”

“But,” he concluded, “We are a nation that is not going to allow this horror to continue. Two years ago we were a great nation, and we will be a great nation again.”

‘Ukraine would never have happened with me’

03:10 , Io Dodds

Mr Trump’s peroration continues: "We are a nation that is consumed by the radical left’s green new deal, yet everyone knows that the green new deal will lead to our total destruction..."

He attacked electric cars, Chinese minerals, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, claiming: "It could never have happened with me as your commander in chief, and for four straight years it didn’t happen. And China with Taiwan is next."

‘We are a failing nation'

03:08 , Io Dodds

Mr Trump appears to be wrapping up his speech, judging by the stirring Hollywood-style music in the background.

"Now we are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation. We are a nation that has the highest inflation in fifty years," he said, railing against the stock market decline and America’s lack of energy independence.

"We are a nation that is begging Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and many others for oil. ‘Please, please, please help us’, Joe Biden says, when we have more liquid gold right under our feet than any other country anywhere in the world..."

Mike Lindell and Marjorie Taylor Greene in attendance

03:00 , Io Dodds

Far right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green and election-denying businessman Mike Lindell appear to be in the crowd at the rally.

Mr Trump thanked both figures personally for attending, saying: "Another warrior, a person who's very shy, very timid. We're trying to get her to get a little tougher – Marjorie Taylor Greene."

Of Mr Lindell, who runs the bedding vendor My Pillow, Mr Trump said: "He's the greatest in history at buying commercials, and he's a patriot too. You know, the FBI raided him. They took his phone. I don't know what the hell they wanna learn about pillows."

Trump plugs Truth Social

02:54 , Io Dodds

Mr Trump also took the opportunity to plug his social network, Truth Social.

”Go out and sign up for Truth Social,” he told the crowd in Ohio. “It's great, it's doing fantastically. It's better htan twitter, it's better than all of them... it's hot as a pistol.”

Crowd boos mention of Mike DeWine

02:53 , Io Dodds

Mr Trump's endorsement for Mike DeWine comes after some discord between the two men.

"You also need to get out and vote to re-elect Governor Mike DeWine," he told the Ohio crowd – prompting mixed cheers and boos – "and your lieutenant governor, Jon Husted."

He added: "Mike and John have been an outstanding team who fought tirelessly to bring jobs and factories back to Ohio. I worked with him on doing that.... Mike and John are running against a radical left lunatic, who was a disaster as the mayor of Dayton."

Mr Trump had previously hinted that he was not fond of Mr DeWine, and boosted on of his primary challenge

Trump wishes he could 'own' JD Vance

02:40 , Io Dodds

Donald Trump has lauded Senate candidate JD Vance as "a MAGA all-star", saying he wishes he could "own the guy".

"JD will never be owned by the establishment,” he said. “He won’t be owned by me either. I’d love to own the guy, but I don’t think he’ll be there for me. But that’s okay. You know what? I’m doing the right thing for the country. He’s a very independent guy.

“When JD wins tomorrow night, you are going to hear the wailing and shrieking of the fake news all the way from New York to Washington, because the media will know that Ohio just elected a truly MAGA all-star."

‘Maybe it would be better if I had taken the nuclear codes'

02:31 , Io Dodds

In between denying claims that he had taken classified documents from the White House, Mr Trump joked: “Maybe our country would be better off if I actually had the nuclear codes, because our enemies would be afraid. Not like the way they are now...”

He also inveighed against Bill Clinton for allegedly misplacing nuclear codes during his presidency. My colleague Andrew Naughtie explores that claim here.

‘Every Democratic city is a disaster'

02:28 , Io Dodds

Trump is going hard on crime in Democratic cities, reeling off a list of cases and officials that have raised his ire.

“Every Democratic city is a disaster without exception, and the Republican cities all run very well,” he said.

At another point, he slammed Georgia’s investigation into his own attempt to interfer with the 2020 election, claiming that it was being “directed from Washington” as part of a “witch hunt”.

“We have a weaponised Department of Justice, and a weaponised FBI, including of course” – he paused to adjust his voice to a higher, almost sing-song pitch – “the raid at Mar-a-Lago... totally violating my fourth amednment rights, and no president has ever been treated this way....”

US risking ‘nuclear war’ in Ukraine

02:20 , Io Dodds

Donald Trump says the US is risking “nuclear war” with its policy in Ukraine, my colleague John Bowden reports.

The former president complained at his rally on Monday evening that the US policy of support for Ukraine risked drawing the US into nuclear war with Russia.

Mr Trump told his fans in Ohio that the Biden White House doesn’t “know what the hell they’re doing”.

"You would have ended up in a nuclear war at that time, believe me...and also Russia... because our people don't know what the hell they're doing," he argued.

More on Trump’s ‘animal’ Pelosi comment

02:12 , Io Dodds

Here’s our full story on Mr Trump calling Nancy Pelosi an “animal”, courtesy of my colleague Abe Asher.

Trump calls Nancy Pelosi ‘an animal’ at Ohio rally

Trump falsely claims he gave speech in a tropical storm

02:11 , Io Dodds

As usual, Trump is making false claims at a rate that exceeds one reporter’s ability to fact check them. But this one is particularly odd:

For several minutes Mr Trump told the crowd that during his rally yesterday in Florida he had withstood a “tropical storm” to give his speech.

This is not true: Tropical Storm Nicole is not on track to make landfall until later this week, and the conditions during Mr Trump’s speech are commonly known as rain.

“It was like someone took a large pail of water and dropped it on my head,” he said.

Trump calls Nancy Pelosi ‘an animal’

02:05 , Io Dodds

Donald Trump has called Nancy Pelosi “an animal” just weeks after her husband was attacked in their family home in San Francisco.

Talking about a previous criminal defendant, he said: “This was an animal. Nancy Pelosi said, ‘please don’t call them animals, they’re human beings’. I said no, they’re animals. Of course I think she’s an animal too, you want to know the truth.”

The crowd cheered.

Trump’s speech has begun

01:57 , Io Dodds

Donald Trump is now speaking in Ohio, and our reporter Eric Garcia is watching.

So far Mr Trump has called on the state to re-elect Republican governor Mike DeWine, prompting boos from the crowd.

Trump calls Pelosi an animal after the assault on her husband

01:56 , Eric Garcia

Former president Donald Trump called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an animal as she spoke out about her husband’s brutal assault at their home in San Francisco.

Mr Trump made the remarks in Vandalia, Ohio during a rally when talking about immigrants who are in the United States illegally. He criticised Ms Pelosi when she said not to call immigrants animals.

“I think she's an animal, too,” he said. “She impeached me twice!”

Half of Trump’s Pennsylvania rally crowd empties out before he’s done speaking

00:45 , John Bowden

Donald Trump is due up in minutes in Ohio, but his crowd a few nights ago was less than interested in the diatribe that he delivered that night.

That’s according to a Univision reporter, who was on scene for the rally in Latrobe on Saturday evening.

“Trump complained that ‘the media never turn the cameras around’ so I did and saw half the crowd at this PA rally had left thirty minutes before it ended,” Univision reporter Fabiola Galindo Sawao tweeted.

Read more in The Independent:

Half of Trump’s Pennsylvania rally crowd empties out before he’s done speaking

How and when to watch Donald Trump’s speech in Ohio

00:06 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s rally is underway in Ohio, with the president set to address his fans at 8 pm eastern.

The rally is being held in Dayton, and is expected to be attended by his chosen US Senate candidate, JD Vance, as well as the state’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine.

The Independent will carry Donald Trump’s remarks live on our Twitter and Facebook. Stay tuned.

Trump may announce 2024 run at Ohio rally tonight, upending midterm elections

Monday 7 November 2022 23:00 , John Bowden

Donald Trump is set to take the stage in a few hours for one last pre-midterms rally in Ohio, ostensibly in support of Senate candidate JD Vance.

But the ex-president is rumoured to be considering making a campaign announcement of his own tonight — his long-expected 2024 bid for the presidency.

“Stay tuned tomorrow night in the great state of Ohio,” he told fans on Sunday, speaking at a similar rally in Miami. “Stay tuned.”

According to The Hill’s Brett Samuels: “Confirming that Trump has talked with some aides about announcing a 2024 presidential bid as early as Monday night in Ohio, though nothing is set in stone. Some aides urging an early announcement, others saying wait til (at least) next week.”

Will Trump’s scandal-plagued Senate endorsements come back to bite the GOP?

Monday 7 November 2022 22:34 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the Senate GOP caucus could end up being the reason that the Republican Party fails to take the upper chamber tomorrow.

Unfaltering loyalty to Mr Trump seems to have prevailed over traditional vetting procedures this time around, and as a result the GOP’s chances of breaking the Democratic Party’s Senate majority have wavered significantly while their opponents hungrily eye potential pickups in Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Read more in The Independent:

Will Trump’s scandal-plagued endorsements come back to bite the GOP?

‘Nonsense’: Elon Musk slammed after telling voters to back GOP hours before Election Day

Monday 7 November 2022 21:29 , John Bowden

Elon Musk has been slammed for telling “independent-minded voters” to turn out for Republican in the midterms.

On Monday morning, a day before the midterm elections on Tuesday, the Twitter owner tweeted that “shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic”. But Twitter commenters were quick to pile on the site’s new CEO, who currently faces an exodus of advertisers and a legion of trolls mocking his every move.

Read more in The Independent:

‘Nonsense’: Musk slammed after telling voters to back GOP hours before Election Day

Steele shames DeSantis over “blasphemous” ad

Monday 7 November 2022 19:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Ron DeSantis has been slammed by a former chair of the Republican Party for the “blasphemy” in one of his campaign ads, which claims the Florida governor is a “fighter” created by God “on the eighth day”.

Former RNC chair Michael Steele appeared on The Sunday Show on MSNBC, saying that the advert was “some of the most a**-backwards blasphemy I’ve ever heard in my life”.

“It tells you what this white Christian nationalism is all about, that’s who it appeals to,” Mr Steele added on Sunday. “It doesn’t appeal to churchgoing folks on Sunday, people who actually read the Bible. On the eighth-day, really? Church much? Seriously, on the eighth day?”

Read more from Bevan Hurley and Gustaf Kilander:

Ron DeSantis blasted by ex-Republican party chair for ‘blasphemy’ over ad

Why is Matt Gaetz calling Trump “daddy”?

Monday 7 November 2022 19:00 , Andrew Naughtie

A moment of perhaps unintended levity was sprinkled into a speech delivered by Rep Matt Gaetz while he was stumping at Donald Trump’s rally in Florida ahead of this week’s midterms.

“It is closing time in these midterm elections. The fight is on, and there is no closer in American politics like Big Daddy Don,” said GOP congressman Matt Gaetz, a conclusion that earned him a rousing round of cheers and applause from the crowd gathered at the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition on Sunday.

The pet name for the 45th president seemed to gain the approval of the heavily MAGA crowd gathered in Miami over the weekend, but the same could not be said for the reception the nickname received online.

Johanna Chisholm reports:

‘How is this real life?’: Critics react to Matt Gaetz nicknaming Trump ‘Big Daddy’

ICYMI: King Charles was ‘furious’ at Trump’s Kate Middleton comments

Monday 7 November 2022 18:30 , Andrew Naughtie

A new book claims that King Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry were reportedly so unhappy with former president Donald Trump’s 2012 remarks about Kate Middleton, they unleashed “torrents of profanity.”

Earlier this week, Newsweek reported on excerpts obtained from Christopher Andersen’s upcoming royal biography, The King: The Life of Charles III. The book, which is slated for release in the US next week and in the UK on December 8, explains what took place within the royal family after Mr Trump tweeted disparagingly about Kate Middleton.

Jenna Amatulli reports.

King Charles reacted with ‘profanity’ to Trump’s Kate Middleton comments, book claims

Donald Trump Jr continues Fetterman attacks

Monday 7 November 2022 18:00 , Andrew Naughtie

The eldest son of former president Donald Trump on Sunday accused the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor who is currently running for Senate as a Democrat of having no detectable brain activity during warm-up remarks at one of his father’s signature political rallies.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters at a Miami, Florida, rally in support of Senator Marco Rubio, Donald Trump Jr suggested Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman is not up to the job on account of a stroke he suffered in May.

He accused Democrats of wanting to “release violent offenders” from prisons, and cited the example of Mr Fetterman, who the younger Mr Trump called “the brain dead potential senator from Pennsylvania”. He added that Mr Fetterman has “mush for brains” as well.

Andrew Feinberg reports:

Donald Trump Jr continues vile attack on John Fetterman over stroke

DeSantis’s former students speak out

Monday 7 November 2022 17:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was reportedly “passively” mean to a student because she was Black and taught inaccurate information regarding the US Civil War when he taught high school early in his adulthood.

The New York Times reported this week that Mr DeSantis spent his first year after graduating from Yale University teaching at Darlington School, one of the Georgia’s oldest and largest boarding schools.

At least one student from his days teaching there, Danielle Pompey, claimed he treated her poorly, and she believes it was because of the colour of her skin.

Graig Graziosi writes:

DeSantis’ students speak out about ‘hostile’ behaviour towards Black people and more

Clyburn compares Trump movement to Nazi Germany

Monday 7 November 2022 17:00 , Andrew Naughtie

Veteran Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn made waves recently when comparing aspects of the Trumpist tendency in US politics to the rise of the Third Reich. Yesterday, he appeared on Fox News Sunday to discuss his remarks, and declined to back down:

Analysis: The Trump-backed Republican who could end up running New York

Monday 7 November 2022 16:30 , Andrew Naughtie

Republican Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin, who’s now running to unseat Democratic New York governor Kathy Hochul, was among the first elected GOP officials supporting Mr Trump’s presidential bid, more than a year before he won the 2016 election. He voted against both of Mr Trump’s impeachments and tried to block the creation of a congressional committee to investigate the Capitol attack.

Hours after the mob breached the halls of Congress on 6 January 2021, Mr Zeldin joined 146 other House Republicans to challenge the outcome. He posted a clip of his speech on the House floor on 6 January with the title “in defense of the Republic.” That night, he streamed himself from inside the Capitol to appear on The Ingraham Angle on Fox News, telling host Laura Ingraham that the violent riots are “bigger than the president” and “bigger than 2020”.

And now, with his race looking far more competitive than expected, he could be on the brink of running one of the US’s largest states.

Alex Woodward looks at the state of play.

A Trump-endorsed Republican could end up running New York: The rise of Lee Zeldin