Donald Trump has joked about being shot during a meeting with a couple whose serviceman son died in Afghanistan.
With just three weeks to go until the US election, the Republican presidential nominee continued on the campaign trail at a “town hall” event in Oaks, Pennsylvania.
On stage with South Dakota Republican governor Kristi Noem, he attempted to woo voters in the crucial swing state – which went Democrat in 2020.
Image: Donald Trump and South Dakota governor Kristi Noem dance during a town hall campaign event in Oaks, Pennsylvania.
Pic: Reuters
Image: Trump meeting Mary and Charles Strange.
Pic: AP
At one point, Ms Noem introduced Mary and Charles Strange, whose son Michael was killed on 6 August 2011 when a Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan, killing 30 US soldiers and a service dog.
It became known as Extortion 17 and according to the Navy Seals Museum was “the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare [Command] since the Afghan War started in 2001”.
While the couple were being introduced and welcomed on stage, Mr Trump, having got off his seat, said: “It’s a little harder to get up since I got shot.
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“It made it more difficult.
“Perhaps that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
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To which Ms Noem, the event’s moderator, said: “Sir, they lost their son Michael.”
Also during the town hall event, two people fainted, prompting Mr Trump to ask: “Would anyone else like to faint? Please raise your hand.”
Ms Noem said it happened because of how hot the room was, to which Mr Trump replied: “Personally I enjoy this… you lose weight.”
After reassuring the crowd that the two people who had fainted were fine, he then went on to ask if Ave Maria, sung by Luciano Pavarotti, could be played.
Mr Trump had asked for it to be played as the first person was attended to, roughly half an hour into the event, and it was then played again after the second incident as he stood on stage with Ms Noem waiting silently alongside him.
The former president cut short the question and answer session of the town hall, which was from preselected attendees, and proceeded to play music for 39 minutes.
During this time, he swayed and danced to the music, including the popular track Y.M.C.A, occasionally stopping to talk to members of the crowd.
AP reported that Mr Trump’s playlist of songs included Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U, Rufus Wainwright’s cover of Hallelujah, Guns N’ Roses’ November Rain and Memory from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats.
His campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote on social media: “Nobody wanted to leave and wanted to hear more songs from the famous DJT Spotify playlist!”
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It comes as Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris continues to lead Mr Trump in nationwide polls, but questions remain over whether this will transfer into an election win.
Due to the nature of the US election, much of it relies on a few million voters in several key swing states, including Pennsylvania.
Image: Democratic presidential nominee vice president Kamala Harris on stage during a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Pic: AP
The outcome remains a virtual coin toss as both candidates are hoping to draw out a definitive lead in the final weeks.
The Real Clear Politics website puts Mr Trump an average of 0.3 points ahead of Ms Harris in Pennsylvania and in the top battleground states – which will decide the election – Mr Trump is fractionally ahead in most.
Ms Harris recently rolled out former president Barack Obama, still one of the Democrats’ most effective political communicators, to attack her rival, as another former president, Bill Clinton, also hit the campaign trail in Georgia.
A woman in the US who has been missing since 1962 has been found “alive and well”, authorities have said.
Audrey Backeberg left her home in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in July that year when she was 20 years old, Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators pursued numerous leads over the years but the case eventually went cold.
However, during a review of cold cases earlier this year, a detective reassessed all the case files and evidence, and re-interviewed several witnesses – and found Ms Backeberg.
The 82-year-old was “alive and well” – living outside of the state of Wisconsin, the sheriff’s office said.
Ms Backeberg was married and had two children when she disappeared on 7 July 1962, according to the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation.
She left her home to pick up her salary but never returned, causing her husband to ask family members where she was.
Shortly afterwards their 14-year-old babysitter claimed she and Ms Backeberg had hitchhiked to Wisconsin’s capital city Madison and then caught a bus to Indianapolis, Indiana.
The teenager said when she arrived she became nervous and wanted to go home, while Ms Backeberg refused to return and was last seen walking near a bus stop.
Ms Backeberg’s marriage was troubled and there were allegations of abuse, the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation said, with a criminal complaint having been filed days before she went missing.
Her relatives insisted she would never abandon her children, the organisation added, and her husband passed a polygraph test and maintained his innocence.
Mr Hanson said Ms Backeberg may have left home due to marital issues, but it was unclear why she had stayed away for so long.
He said he had promised to keep their conversation private.
“I think she just was removed and, you know, moved on from things and kind of did her own thing and led her life,” he said.
“She sounded happy. Confident in her decision. No regrets.”
Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said Ms Backeberg made the choice to leave and her disappearance “was not the result of any criminal activity or foul play”.
Donald Trump has posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed in papal regalia on his Truth Social platform – just 11 days after the death of Pope Francis.
Uploaded onto his account early on Saturday morning, it shows the US president with a large gold cross on a chain around his neck.
From there, it was published, without comment or explanation, on the White House X and Instagram accounts and, though it drew fierce criticism, it was liked more than 100,000 times.
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It comes just a few days after the world leader joked that he’d like to be the pontiff.
Last week, he was asked by reporters on the White House lawn who he would like to succeed Francis and he replied: “I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice.”
He went on to say that he did not have a preference, but there was a cardinal in New York who was “very good”.
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‘I’d like to be pope’
Mr Trump was quickly accused of mocking Pope Francis’sdeath, but, by noon, UK time, the post had been liked more than 58,000 times on Instagram.
User comments, however, were mostly negative, with one saying that the image “isn’t funny. It’s not satire. And it’s not harmless”.
Another simply called it “disgusting”, while other reactions included “disturbing”, “disrespectful” and “offensive”.
On X, where the picture was liked more than 78,000 times, a user commented that Mr Trump was “making a mockery of the pious”, while another judged it “not a wise decision”.
The Argentinian, who became pope in 2013, died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 due to a stroke and heart failure.
Last weekend, the president was criticised for wearing a non-traditional blue suit for Francis’s Vatican funeral and chewing gum during the ceremony.
However, his meeting in St Peter’s Basilica with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the outdoor mass got under way was dubbed “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy.
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in St Peter’s Basilica. Pic: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office
Mr Trump’s own religious views have long been a matter of speculation.
He was raised as a Presbyterian and publicly identified with it for most of his adult life, before, in October 2020, he renounced it and said he now considered himself a non-denominational Christian.
Many have questioned the depth of his faith, but that hasn’t stopped him appealing to conservative Christians and the Christian right, particularly evangelicals, some of whom have helped him get elected twice.
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Earlier this year, Mr Trump shared a bizarre AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform showcasing what appeared to be a vision of Gaza under his proposed plan.
The footage showed the area transformed into a Middle Eastern paradise with exotic beaches, Dubai-style skyscrapers, luxury yachts and people partying – and featured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk.
She was working as a production assistant at the time.
Weinstein has strenuously denied all allegations, and Ms Haley also testified at Weinstein’s initial trial.
Image: Miriam Haley. AP file pic
Image: Harvey Weinstein on Wednesday as he appeared for his retrial. Pic: AP
The 48-year-old was testifying in a Manhattan court when Weinstein’s defence lawyer Jennifer Bonjean questioned her account of the incident.
In court, Ms Bonjean asked why Ms Haley would agree to Weinstein’s invitation to his apartment after testifying about his previous behaviour, including her alleging that he barged into her home.
Ms Haley then became emotional after being asked how her clothes came off before Weinstein allegedly pulled out a tampon and performed oral sex on her.
She said Weinstein took off her clothing, but she didn’t recall the details, before Ms Bonjean asked: “You removed your clothes, right?”
Ms Haley then told jurors that Weinstein “was the one who raped me, not the other way around” – to which his lawyer said: “That is for the jury to decide.”
She then started crying and said: “No, it’s not for the jury to decide. It’s my experience. And he did that to me.”
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reported that Ms Haley said during the exchange: “Don’t tell me I wasn’t raped by that f*****g asshole.”
Judge Curtis Farber then halted questioning and sent jurors on a break. Ms Haley’s eyes were red and her face was glistening as she left the witness stand.
In February 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of sexually assaulting Ms Haley – along with raping former actor Jessica Mann in a New York hotel in 2013 – and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
His conviction for the two crimes was overturned in April after an appeals court ruled the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren’t part of the case.
After the appeal ruling, Weinstein was charged with raping one woman and forcing oral sex on two others.
Two of the charges are those he faced during the original trial, while the third – one of the charges of forcing oral sex on Kaja Sokola – was added last year.
Weinstein denies all allegations, and his lawyers argue his accusers had consensual sexual encounters.
Regardless of the outcome of the retrial, he will remain in prison over a 2022 conviction in Los Angeles for a separate count of rape. His lawyers are also appealing this sentence.