In the closing days of former president Donald Trump ‘s 2024 presidential campaign, journalist and Newsmax presenter Mark Halperin said that a “certain story” had been submitted to major news sites that, if accurate, could ruin the Republican leader’s chances of winning the election . “I know of one story… I don’t believe it is true. But if it’s true, it would end Donald Trump’s campaign,” Halperin said while appearing on his Morning Meeting show on YouTube. The veteran journalist also stated that in his opinion, the news is not true; if it were, it would be the ‘October Surprise’ that the political press has been anticipating.
Journalist Mark Halperin: “I’ve been pitched a story about Donald Trump now for about a week, that if True, would end his campaign.” pic.twitter.com/eVSUFgjH0A
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 23, 2024
According to Newsweek , Halperin later explained that this could be a ‘last minute’ tactic to derail Trump from the election. He referred to the acts of former FBI Director James Comey during the 2016 election, when he wrote to Congress just 11 days before Election Day to announce that the agency had reopened its investigation into Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton . Halperin further stated that Clinton and many Democrats still think that she lost that election because of the so-called “Comey letter.” “What we’re seeing in the final days are actors who want a certain outcome,” he said, implying that the purpose of controversial leads like the one being offered is to influence public opinion in the last few days.
NEW: Mark Halperin clarifies himself after he went viral for stating he had been pitched a story that would “end Trump’s campaign.” Halperin says the comment was made to warn people of “actors” who are trying to influence the election. Halperin added that he isn’t pursuing the… pic.twitter.com/9QZ7T7w20C
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 23, 2024
Although the journalist did not elaborate on the details of the purported narrative, he emphasized that the fact that it was circulated at all illustrates the tense environment surrounding the election. He also cited the recently released shocking article in The Atlantic in which Trump is charged with endorsing Adolf Hitler by his former chief of staff, John Kelly. “In the case of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg himself is trying to impact the race’s final stretch,” Halperin remarked. “Not sure if he can, but if a major network like CBS picks it up, it’s something,” he added.
“The bar for October surprises is very high now, given the nature of this campaign,” Halperin concluded during the segment. “Everybody’s on guard.” Meanwhile, the journalist has also claimed that Trump is poised to win the 2024 election based on numbers coming in from early voting. According to the New York Post , “If the early vote numbers stay the way they are, and that’s a big if, we’ll almost certainly know before Election Day who’s going to win,” Halperin said.
BREAKING: Donald Trump is set to become the next president of the United States, early voting data reveals. This stunning revelation comes from veteran political journalist Mark Halperin. “Make no mistake,” Halperin says, “if these numbers hold up in the states where we can… pic.twitter.com/eVGpxJYT5t
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) October 23, 2024
Trump is currently performing well enough to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris when voters turn out on November 5th, according to early voting data in at least some of the cycle’s major swing states . “Make no mistake, if these numbers hold up in the states where we can understand even partially what the data is like, we’ll know that Donald Trump’s going to be president on Election Day,” he said. The former NBC News correspondent emphasized that early voting data are “more important than the polls right now” and that they must be monitored “day to day.”