Trump juggles courtroom drama, campaign
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Former President Trump is juggling new legal threats and a high-stakes campaign with two months to go in the razor-tight race for the White House.
Trump on Thursday outlined his second-term agenda to the Economic Club of New York, while his lawyers battled special counsel Jack Smith at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in a testy hearing overseen by Judge Tanya Chutkan. The split-screen underscored the historic nature of a campaign season in which Trump’s been convicted on felony charges and faces several other prosecutions.
After it was all said and done, the Vice President Harris's campaign announced it raised a stunning $300 million in August — more than twice Trump’s $130 million haul, setting her up to flood the airwaves in the 61 days leading up to the presidential election.
Takeaways from Trump’s wild day...
🏛️ IN COURT: -
Trump’s defense attorneys and federal prosecutors were in Chutkan’s courtroom for the first time in nearly a year, as the election subversion case had been on hold while the parties waited on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. The special counsel brought a new superseding indictment that addresses the Supreme Court ruling, recasting Trump’s actions as taking place outside of his official capacity as president. Trump’s attorneys entered a not guilty plea.
- Chutkan must determine whether the superseding indictment adheres to the Supreme Court’s ruling. She said she’d file an order soon on how to proceed, but acknowledged it would be an “exercise in futility” to set a trial date at this point. The trial will almost certainly take place after the election, and possibly not at all if Trump wins.
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Chutkan and Trump’s attorneys had several bitter exchanges. The judge accused Trump’s lawyers of seeking delays to avoid embarrassing material being released before the election. “This court is not concerned with the electoral schedule...That’s nothing I’m going to consider,” she said.
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Trump’s attorneys argued that his conversations with former Vice President Pence pressuring him not to certify the election results fell under the Supreme Court’s immunity decision. “I’m an originalist,” Trump attorney John Lauro said. “You may be an originalist, but I’m a trial judge,” Chutkan replied.
The Hill’s legal team has the full takeaways here.
🗳️ ON THE TRAIL: -
Trump said he’d create a government efficiency commission, which was first suggested by billionaire businessman Elon Musk. Trump said Musk has agreed to run the agency.
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Trump said he’d “rescind all unspent funds” under the Inflation Reduction Act, putting Biden’s $740 billion legislative achievement in jeopardy.
- Trump is proposing more tariffs and tax cuts. Trump said he’d push to extend the individual tax cuts enacted in 2017 that are set to expire in 2025, and he said he’d lower the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 15 percent.
The Hill’s Brett Samuels has the full takeaways on Trump’s proposals here.
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Gaza hangs over Harris's presidential bid
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The war in Gaza hangs heavily over Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign and could play a role in the key swing state of Michigan, which has a large Arab American population.
Pro-Palestinian liberals had hoped they’d have a stronger ally in Harris, but she’s signaled she’ll remain in lockstep with President Biden on key issues surrounding the conflict, such as supplying arms to Israel.
That could cause problems for Harris as campus protest season gets underway.
The Hill’s Alex Gangitano captures the dynamic here:
“Activists who initially expressed some optimism about Harris are ready to treat her candidacy the same as Biden’s — with protests at campaign stops and, for some, efforts to get progressives to vote against her in November.”
Election analyst Nate Silver, whose model currently gives former President Trump a 56 percent chance of winning the White House, said Harris trails in his model due to new polls that show a tightening race in Michigan.
Over the past week, the polls in Michigan have moved more than 1 point in Trump’s favor, according to Silver’s forecast. If Trump cracks through in one of the three “Blue Wall” states — Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — his odds of winning improve dramatically. “In addition to Pennsylvania, Michigan has become something of an issue for Harris. National polls and polls of other swing states mostly decent for Harris, but erosion in PA/MI hurts a lot in the model.” –Silver Trump has gone hard after the Biden-Harris administration following Hamas’s execution of six hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli American citizen. -
The Biden administration has been seeking a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas for months but has been unable to close the deal.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday that a deal is “not close.”
Just as worrying for Democrats: The Hill’s Amie Parnes reports that Harris is running behind in the polls compared to where President Biden and Hillary Clinton were positioned at this point in their races against Trump. The tight race underscores the importance of next week’s debate for both candidates.
ABC News released the rules of the debate, and the microphones will be shut off for the candidate who is not speaking. The Harris campaign had sought to change the rules to allow the candidates to interrupt one another. Of course, Trump is also unhappy with ABC News, saying in a town hall event with Sean Hannity on Wednesday night that he believes the network is biased against him. - Trump said second gentleman Douglas Emhoff is close friends with the husband of an executive at Disney, which owns ABC.
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Deadline confirmed the longstanding friendship between the families.
- However, ABC has said the news division will have full control over the content of the debate without executive interference.
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“All editorial decisions are in the hands of ABC News management and the seasoned journalists and producers of ABC, who hold themselves to the highest journalistic standards,” the network said in a statement to The New York Times last month.
Perspectives: -
Brookings: Is Harris really leading Trump in the polls?
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The Hill: 4 possible outcomes of the Trump vs. Harris debate.
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City Journal: Kennedy dropping out helps Trump.
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CNN: Harris separating herself from Biden on the economy frustrates Trump.
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The Hill: Coattails can also have a negative effect.
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© Morry Gash, Associated Press |
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New Biden administration initiatives focus on Rust Belt |
Welcome to the Rust Belt election. President Biden’s administration has turned its focus to the Rust Belt states that could be decisive in determining the next president, potentially giving a boost to Vice President Harris in the race for the White House. - Biden visited Westby, Wis., on Thursday, where he announced billions of dollars in federal investments for climate-friendly energy options in rural America.
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Biden laid out details of the $7.3 billion in federal funding available for rural electric cooperatives around the nation to build or purchase climate-friendly power, The Hill’s Rachel Frazin reports.
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Wisconsin is a hotly contested presidential battleground that went narrowly for former President Trump in 2016, before Biden won it back in 2020. Harris leads there by 3.4 points, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ polling average.
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Trump will hold a rally in Mosinee, Wis., on Saturday.
In Pennsylvania, Biden is expected to announce soon that his administration will block Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel over national security concerns. Nippon is Japan’s largest steelmaker, while U.S. Steel is based in Pittsburgh.
- Harris and Trump agree the deal should be blocked to keep the company in U.S. hands. The United Steelworkers union also opposes the deal.
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Nippon Steel has said American citizens would comprise a majority of the board of directors if a deal goes through. U.S. Steel management has warned that if the deal is blocked, the company would “close steel mills and likely move its headquarters out of Pittsburgh.”
- Trump and Harris are effectively tied in Pennsylvania. Whoever wins the state is likely to win the White House.
- Harris travels to Pittsburgh on Thursday and will spend five days there in the run-up to Tuesday's debate in Philadelphia.
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"Welcome to the influencer era of politics," by Adam Branton for RealClearPolitics. "How to keep the peace in Gaza," by Jonathan Lincoln for Foreign Affairs.
"Pseudo-scholars and the rise of the barbarian right," by Sohrab Ahmari for The Free Press. "Adult responsibilities are making kids too old, too fast," by Richard Tucker for The Hill. |
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5 days until the first presidential debate. 15 days until early in-person voting begins in Minnesota and South Dakota. 26 days until the vice presidential debate between Vance and Walz. 61 days until the 2024 general election. 137 days until Inauguration Day 2025.
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Friday - Harris is in Pittsburgh for debate prep.
- Biden delivers remarks on "Investing in America" in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: jeasley@thehill.com | |
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