THROWBACK: Putin ‘endorses’ Harris saying she has an infectious laugh
 

"We had a favorite, the incumbent, Mr. Biden, but he was yanked from the race. Nevertheless, he recommended to all of his supporters to back Ms. Harris. Well, that's what we're going to do; we're going to support her," Vladimir Putin said with a grin during the Eastern Economic Forum discussion in September 2024. 

 
He added that Harris has an “infectious laugh", which shows that “she is doing well.”

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⚡️First polling stations close in 2024 US election

The first polling stations start closing in the United States at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time (23:00 GMT) as the country is electing its next president.

The first state polls to close are located in the eastern counties of Indiana and Kentucky, while the final state polls are set to close in Hawaii (midnight) and Alaska (midnight-01:00 a.m. ET).

The incumbent vice president, Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and former President Donald Trump, a Republican, are vying for the country's top job. The close race is expected to come down to a handful of battleground states - Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 seats in the Senate are also up for election on November 5.

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Miles apart, worlds away: Biden passes on Harris’s election night gathering

President Joe Biden will not attend Vice President Kamala Harris's election night watch party, the Washington Examiner reports, which, probably, speaks volumes.

While Biden and the first lady will stay at the White House for election updates, Harris is hosting her event at Howard University, just two miles away.

The Biden-Harris relationship has been strained, with Harris positioning herself as a fresh start, promising a “new way forward” and saying “We are not going back.” Yet, her career owes much to Biden, who chose her as his running mate in 2020 and endorsed her after withdrawing from the race.

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'It took several days to count every ballot in 2020' - Obama

Former US President Barack Obama has warned that the results of the US presidential election are unlikely to be known today.

🤔Why does it take several days to count the votes???

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Detailed breakdown: What are the exit polls saying as 2024 results begin rolling in?

US pollsters are having their biggest night of the year, with exit polling asking Americans not who they voted for, but the issues bringing them to polling places. Here’s what major polls are saying:

🔸Edison Research, conducting exit polling for ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC, found 43% of respondents ‘dissatisfied’ about how things are going in the country, with 29% downright ‘angry’, 19% ‘satisfied’ and just 7% ‘enthusiastic’.

🔸58% disapprove of Joe Biden, compared to 41% who approve (that’s compared to Trump’s 50% approval in exit polling from 2020). 45% said they’re worse off financially now than four years ago, compared to 25% who say they’re better off.

🔸The economy and the state of democracy are top concerns in 2024, according to Edison’s polling, with 35% citing the latter, and 31% the former, as the issues that matter most. 14% listed abortion, while 11% listed immigration. Only 4% listed foreign policy.

🔸Broken down by candidate, 58% of Harris voters listed the state of democracy as their top issue, compared to 13% of Trump voters. 49% of Trump voters listed the economy as their top issue, compared to 12% of Harris voters.

🔸7 in 10 voters admitted to fears of election-related ‘violence’, with 94% of voters for both candidates saying they’d feel ‘scared’ or ‘concerned’ if the other candidate won. Two thirds feel democracy is under threat.

🔸88% of Harris voters expressed confidence in the fairness of results, compared to just 47% of Trump voters.

🔸Broken down by race, 49% of white voters, 42% of Latinos and 14% of blacks showed a ‘favorable’ opinion of Trump in 2024, with his performance slipping among whites (from 57% in 2020), but rising with Latinos and blacks (38% and 10% compared to four years ago, respectively).

🔸Fox News does its own exit polling. It shows that 70% of respondents think the country is on the wrong track, with 63% ranking economic conditions “not so good” or “poor.” 39% ranked the economy and jobs their number one issues, compared to 20% who listed immigration and 11% abortion.

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Trump win may ease global tensions, Harris victory could escalate conflicts, Mexican analyst warns

The outcome of the US presidential election will be a decisive factor among others influencing the country's actions regarding various geopolitical issues, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mexican international relations expert Rubén Ramos Muñoz tells Sputnik.

“The [candidates’] positions are very different. Speaking of the Republican candidate, I believe that his foreign policy would be less aggressive, and he would aim for conflicts, both in Ukraine and the Middle East, to end as soon as possible,” he states. However, in the case of current Vice President Kamala Harris, representing the Democratic Party, the situation would be different, in his view.

“This should concern the international community because if she becomes president, tensions might increase rather than decrease in both the Middle East and Ukraine. Clearly, this would not be a positive signal for people, as the scale of conflicts could grow, putting not only the population of those regions at risk but the entire world,” the expert emphasizes.

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📊 Edison Research has released exit poll data for key battleground states:

▪️ In Pennsylvania, 47% of voters support Trump, the same as in 2020, while 46% back Harris, which is lower than Biden’s support in 2020.

▪️ In North Carolina, 48% of voters favor Harris, compared to Biden's 50% in 2020. Trump has 43% support, 4 percentage points less than in 2020.

▪️ In Arizona, voter support is evenly split, with 46% backing both Harris and Trump.

▪️ In Michigan, 45% of voters support Trump, while 48% favor Harris.

▪️ In Georgia, 49% support Harris, 1 percentage point less than Biden’s figure in 2020, while 46% back Trump, the same as in 2020.

▪️ In Nevada, 44% of voters favor Harris, 8 percentage points less than Biden in 2020. Trump has 47% support, which is 1 percentage point lower than in the last election.

▪️ In Wisconsin, 44% back Trump, 1 percentage point higher than in 2020, while 47% support Harris, 3 percentage points lower than Biden's 2020 figure.

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