Trump's reckless response to Pence's threat on Jan. 6 is revealed in the files; Harris visits the birthplace of GOP: Live

A Donald Trump-backed Senate candidate shocked debate moderators on Wednesday when he declared that the U.S. military needs to recruit “alpha” men and women into its ranks who are willing to rip out their own guts and die devour – and no drag queens.

Hung Cao, a retired U.S. Navy captain, faced off against veteran Democrat Tim Kaine in a debate Wednesday for Virginia's U.S. Senate seat.

Joe Sommerlad has the story.

Liz Cheney, one of Donald Trump's fiercest Republican opponents, will join Democrat Kamala Harris on Thursday at a campaign rally in Wisconsin aimed at reaching moderate voters and unsettling the former president.

Cheney was the top Republican on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection, which earned Trump scorn and effectively exiled her from her own party.

Cheney lost her seat in Wyoming to a Trump-backed candidate two years ago and endorsed Harris, the Democratic nominee, last month. The two women will appear together at a historic white schoolhouse in Ripon, where a series of meetings against the expansion of slavery in 1854 led to the birth of the Republican Party.

Harris opens a two-day stop in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Trump will be in Michigan on Thursday as the two candidates vie for victories in battleground blue wall states that include Pennsylvania.

Kamala Harris' presidential campaign has announced the launch of the Wisconsin Republicans for Harris ahead of her visit to the state with former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney.

More than 20 Republicans from across the state lead the group and wrote in an open letter: “Donald Trump does not align with Wisconsin values. To ensure our democracy and our economy remain strong for another four years, we must elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House.”

Rhian Lubin has the story.

Democrats and supporters of Kamala Harris, many of them military veterans, had descended on Micaela Pond's home in Arlington, Virginia, to watch what is likely to be the last face-to-face between the two presidential campaigns before voters head to the polls.

National Correspondent for NewsNation's CuomoAli Bradley, secured the first interview with Donald Trump following the unsealing of Jack Smith's latest election interference case file.

The former president said of the special counsel: “He is a mentally disturbed person. I call him crazy Jack Smith. He just lost the big documents case. That was the greatest of all. They said the documents case was the most difficult of all. Let me tell you, we just won it. And it was won strong and completely. And it was a total victory in Florida. And he's a person who tries and he works for Kamala and he works for Joe. This was a weapon of the government and was therefore published 30 days before the election. And there is nothing new in it, by the way. Nothing new.”

Here is Alex WoodwardReport what we learned from Smith's new file.

On his speaking Risky business Podcast, Nate Silver – Founder and former editor-in-chief of the data-driven news portal FiveThirtyEight – described RFK Jr's endorsement as the “most important” of the race so far.

In his latest post on Truth Social, Donald Trump continues to maintain his innocence in response to Jack Smith's new filings in the former president's 2020 election subversion trial.

He also accuses the Justice Department of election interference.

Here's what Trump posted:

60 DAYS PRIOR TO AN ELECTION, THE INJUSTICE DEPARTMENT MAY NOT DO ANYTHING THAT WOULD DAMAGE OR IMPACT THE ELECTION. They disregarded their own rule in favor of complete and utter election interference. I didn't do anything wrong, they did! THE CASE IS A FRAUD LIKE ALL OTHERS, INCLUDING THE DOCUMENT CASE WHICH WAS DISMISSED!