“This is the only time in modern history that I've ever seen a presidential candidate run away from his own platform,” Buttigieg said on “The View.”

Facing backlash, Fmr. President Donald Trump doubled down on comments falsely questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity.

STORY: North Korea is keen to restart nuclear talks with the United States if Donald Trump is re-elected as president. That's according to a high-profile North Korean defector - senior diplomat Ri Il Gyu, who escaped from Cuba last month. In an exclusive interview with Reuters in Seoul - his first sit-down talk with international media - Ri said Pyongyang's working on a new negotiating strategy, with the aim of lifting sanctions on its weapons programs, removing its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and eliciting economic aid. "This time, the foreign ministry would definitely gain power and take charge, and it won't be so easy for Trump to tie North Korea's hands and feet again for four years without giving anything." Ri's comments signal a potential 180-turn from Pyongyang. In recent statements, the North has said it could ditch the possibility of dialogue with the U.S. and warned of armed confrontation. A 2019 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-president Trump in Vietnam collapsed over sanctions for which Ri partly blamed Kim's decision to entrust what he called "inexperienced" and "clueless" military commanders with nuclear diplomacy. "Kim Jong Un doesn't know much about international relations and diplomacy, which means he is not good at making strategic judgments." Meanwhile, Ri said North Korea received help with its missile technology and economy by forging closer ties with Russia. But he says the bigger gain could be to block additional sanctions and undercut existing ones, raising Pyongyang's bargaining power against Washington. According to Ri, the COVID-19 lockdown deepened hardships at home and for those stationed overseas. Financial troubles also forced North Korea to shut down a dozen of its 54 diplomatic missions. "As I recall, there were talks about reopening around April or May 2023. From that time, these kinds of messages started to leak out. Those who were summoned were told to bring everything, even used spoons and toothbrushes, back home.” Ri said Kim is also looking to hold a summit with Japan for economic support - in return it'll offer concessions on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s. Tokyo believes North Korea abducted 17 of its citizens, five of whom returned to Japan in 2002, but Tokyo suspects hundreds more may have been taken. Ri is the most senior diplomat to defect to the South since 2016. He says his job at the embassy in Cuba was to impede the launch of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba, a Cold War-era ally of North Korea. He now says the South's diplomatic success with Cuba is "the best thing South Korea had done since last year" and "a model example of how the tides of history have turned." Ri said he had imagined a life in South Korea since his childhood. But he cemented his decision to leave the reclusive North after Pyongyang refused his request to get medical treatment in Mexico at his own expense for a ruptured disc in his neck. "That blew up all the resentment I had been harboring towards the North Korean regime."

Speaking to the National Association of Black Journalists, the former president questioned the race of Vice President Kamala Harris. ABC News’ Andrew Dymburt reports.

STORY: :: July 31, 2024 :: Houston Texas :: Harris says Trump attacking her racial identity is the 'same old show' :: Kamala Harris, U.S. Vice President :: "And we are not going back. We are not going back. We all here remember what those four years were like. And today we were given yet another reminder. This afternoon, Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists. And it was the same old show. The divisiveness and the disrespect and let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth. A leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength." The Vice President emphasized that the United States deserves a president who does not "respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts" and one "who understands that our differences do not divide us." During the Houston event, Harris also vowed to reinstate reproductive freedoms. "And I promise you, when I am president of the United States, and when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, I will sign it into law," she said. Since launching her White House campaign earlier this month, Harris has faced a barrage of sexist and racist attacks online, with some far-right accounts questioning her racial identity. Republican Party leaders have urged lawmakers to refrain from personal attacks and focus on her policy positions. Trump has used personal insults against Harris and stated he would ignore advice to tone down his rhetoric. "I'm not gonna be nice!" he told supporters at one campaign rally.

Former president Donald Trump returned to Pennsylvania on Wednesday for the first time since his assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Matt Brown of The Associated Press describes what he saw as former President Donald Trump appeared before a conference of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her Democratic allies are emphasizing a new line of criticism against Republicans — branding Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “weird."

ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos speaks with co-founder of BARO Strategies Julie Roginsky about former President Trump’s remarks to black journalists and Vice President Harris’s campaign goals.

Donald Trump falsely questioned Kamala Harris’ race during an appearance with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago that quickly turned hostile.

The former president was in conversation with ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner and Semafor political reporter Kadia Goba.

His appearance has sparked criticism from some NABJ members.

Senators pressed the Secrets Service’s acting director on the errors that led up to the assassination attempt on the former president, and why no one at the agency has been fired.

Vice President Kamala Harris challenged former President Donald Trump to make good on his promise to debate while at a campaign event in the battleground state of Georgia.