Members phkrause Posted September 3 Author Members Share Posted September 3 Presidential race Democrats had a busy campaign schedule on Labor Day, with Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appealing to union workers in major swing states. Harris praised the labor movement in a Detroit speech and vowed to ensure workers' rights to unionize. She was later joined by President Biden for an event in Pittsburgh, where they outlined plans to maintain strong American steel companies. Meanwhile, Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, spoke to supporters in Milwaukee. While en route to the event, several vehicles in Walz's motorcade were involved in a crash, and some passengers received non-life-threatening injuries. Former President Donald Trump, on the other hand, mostly stayed out of the spotlight as the two candidates gear up for next week's debate. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 4 Author Members Share Posted September 4 📺 🎧 Vance's "anytime, anywhere" strategy Sen. JD Vance talks to reporters beside his campaign plane in Eau Claire, Wis., last month. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP Campaign sources tell me that despite having to defend past comments that made him the butt of jokes, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) has signed up for tough interviews in coming days by NPR and the N.Y. Times' "The Interview" podcast. Why it matters: It's part of a "come-at-me" media strategy by Vance, who has faced constant questions about "childless cat ladies" and other previous statements about women and parents. 🎤 The big picture: Vance, a Yale Law grad who always loved debate, invites questions from reporters on the trail — and plunges into hostile interviews — more often than any of the other three national candidates. Vance recently told his team he wants as many events as possible to include a press conference or press Q&A segment, a top adviser told me. Inside the strategy: Vance's team says he's aiming to speak to the middle by engaging with outlets that reach beyond the MAGA base. "He can often be combative, but he's not trying to own the libs when he engages with the MSM — he's trying to persuade the middle," the adviser said. In addition to exposure in legacy media, the MAGA base regularly sees Vance's press interactions go viral on X. 🥊 Reality check: It's not clear it's working. Vance was underwater in favorability — 32%-44% — in an ABC News/Ipsos poll out over the weekend. By contrast, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is seen favorably by a double-digit margin, 42%-31%. 🧮 By the numbers: Since being picked by President Trump, Vance has done 94 interviews, press conferences and gaggles with the media — and has actively courted adversarial outlets that Republicans often avoid. Vance has given nearly as many interviews to traditional media outlets as he has conservative media, according to a campaign count. Vance did all five major Sunday shows in the past month, including three of them in one day. Behind the scenes: Trump has been impressed with Vance in unscripted scenarios and has called him a "great political talent," a top campaign source says. "Vance's Combativeness May Vex Some Voters, but Trump Likes It," said a story on the front page of yesterday's New York Times. 🔮 What's next: Vance is scheduled to join "The All In Podcast" — popular with the "tech bro" vote — and is in talks with other major podcasts. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 4 Author Members Share Posted September 4 Harris' campaign shares $24.5M with down-ballot Democratic races Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is channeling some of its fundraising success toward down-ballot races that will be essential for the party to enact its agenda if she wins the White House, multiple outlets reported Tuesday. https://www.axios.com/2024/09/03/harris-campaign-finance-democrat-races-state-congress? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 5 Author Members Share Posted September 5 Where Harris trails Biden Harris is underwater compared to Biden's polling from 2020, even as she's eclipsed his 2024 numbers, The Wall Street Journal reports. Under-30 voters: Harris trails 2020 Biden by 12 percentage points Black voters: Harris trails 2020 Biden by 10 Latino voters: Harris trails 2020 Biden by 6 Men: Harris trails 2020 Biden by 4 Women: Harris trails 2020 Biden by 2 Over-65 voters: Harris leads 2020 Biden by 1 🎯 Harris vs. Biden on small biz The Harris campaign wants to hit 25 million new small-business applications in a first term, beating President Biden's record of 19 million. Harris will announce tomorrow in New Hampshire a 10-fold expansion of the tax credit for starting a small business. New businesses will be allowed to wait to claim that deduction once they turn a profit. The bottom line: The Harris campaign did not provide a cost estimate for its proposal, which would need congressional approval. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 5 Author Members Share Posted September 5 Harris and Trump differ on how to boost the US economy The two presidential nominees are using the week before their debate to sharpen their economic messages about who could do more for the middle class. Read more. Why this matters: Donald Trump is betting that Americans crave trillions of dollars in tax cuts — and that growth will be so fantastic that it’s not worth worrying about budget deficits. He’s hoping that most economic analyses of his ideas are dead wrong. Vice President Kamala Harris believes that big corporations and the ultrawealthy should pay more in taxes — and wants to use those revenues to help spur the construction of homes and offer tax breaks for parents. She’s hoping to deliver on the types of policies that President Joe Biden has been unable to secure in a lasting way. Trump and Harris have different ways of trying to help the middle class. The former Republican president sees tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy as essential for promoting more investment. By contrast, Harris wants to upgrade the middle-class promise of home ownership and ease the high costs of parenthood. She also wants tax breaks for entrepreneurs. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump loses bid to move hush money case to federal court China-linked ‘Spamouflage’ network mimics Americans online to sway US political debate Trump campaign must stop using ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ after lawsuit from family of song’s co-writer Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 5 Author Members Share Posted September 5 America's most wanted Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios In private, top advisers to Vice President Harris and former President Trump agree on three things, Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei write in a "Behind the Curtain" column: Harris had a phenomenal month: record fundraising, little serious scrutiny, plus enthusiasm and party unity that few expected. Trump had a rough month: a lackluster, at best, vice presidential rollout, and no lasting change in tone after surviving an on-camera assassination attempt. Yet the race is within the polling margins of error in all seven swing states — Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. Why it matters: Each candidate will use the next 62 days to try to solidify and amplify several specific groups of voters. 🖼️ The big picture: Harris has made progress toward restoring President Biden's winning coalition from 2020, which was imperiled when he was still the Democratic candidate. But Wall Street Journal polling shows Harris hasn't erased gains Trump had made among Black, Latino and young voters. The voters to watch, based on our conversations with top advisers to both campaigns: Six groups Harris is targeting: Women of every stripe: This is where Harris hopes to run up the score. Since Biden bowed out, poll after poll has shown women voting increasingly Democratic. Reproductive rights soared past the economy as the top voting issue for women in swing states under age 45, New York Times/Siena College polling found. College-educated men: This group moved toward Democrats in '20 and '22, partly over concerns about democracy. We're told that Harris' pro-entrepreneur plan for small-business tax relief, to be announced today in New Hampshire, is aimed partly at college-educated voters across the board — and men are more of a question mark for Harris than women. The Harris campaign emphasizes to us that they're also aggressively targeting Black and Hispanic men, where Trump has made inroads that rightly scare Democrats. Young voters: This Democratic-leaning group eroded under Biden, but has been galvanized by Harris. Think of her targets as "non-bro youth." Half of registered voters under 30 say they'll vote for Harris compared to 34% for Trump, according to an NBC News poll out this morning. Independents: This group had been wavering when Biden was in the race, but has moved decisively toward Harris in recent polls. The share of so-called "double haters" has plummeted with the new matchup, down from historic highs this spring fueled by Trump vs. Biden dread. Middle-class Black voters: The population that W.E.B. Du Bois once dubbed "The Talented Tenth" is driving enthusiasm among Black voters on social media, Zoom calls, and with "Divine Nine" fraternity and sorority members. They're organizing fundraising efforts and crowd rallies in swing states. On social media, they push back against criticism that Harris' background as a prosecutor or record on crime could work against Black voters. Harris will likely gain 85% to 90% of the Black vote. Middle-class Black groups will be pushing turnout in crucial cities and suburbs of swing states. Tuned-out voters: When Harris said twice during her CNN interview that she wanted to "turn the page" on the Trump era, she was talking to these voters — low-propensity or low-information voters, as pollsters call 'em. These are Americans who've been exhausted by the country's increasingly poisonous politics since President Obama was re-elected. Column continues below. 💡 Part 2: Trump's targets Six groups Trump is targeting: The "bro vote": In one of the most gendered elections ever, Trump is breaking new ground with his outreach to non-traditional media tailored to Gen Z men. Trump has appeared on massive platforms with creators like the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Logan Paul and comedian Theo Von. The addition of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the MAGA roster could bolster Trump's appeal with very online, politically disaffected young men. Men who didn't go to college: This group ("non-college men" to pollsters) was a crucial part of Trump's victory in 2016. Trump's research showed he'd lost some of this group in 2020 when he was running against "Scranton Joe." Now, these voters are back to Trump. Harris hopes Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — "Coach," as her campaign plays up his football past — will help limit the damage. Black men: Harris has reclaimed some of the support Biden was bleeding from this core Democratic constituency, but Trump isn't giving up on courting Black men. The former president's gains since 2020 have been fueled by economic dissatisfaction. But his tactics have often leaned into racial stereotyping — insisting, for example, that his mug shot would make him more popular with Black voters. Hispanic men: Gaps in college education are driving a partisan split between Latino men and women. Trump was backed by 31% of Latino men in 2020, a jump of roughly 7 points from 2016. Hispanic ranchers in rural New Mexico and Latino grape pickers in Central California who feel ignored by Democrats are showing signs of shifting to the GOP. This voting bloc remains heavily Democratic. But Democrats' focus on issues like EVs, student loan forgiveness and the economy isn't resonating with some. Religious Latinos: In swing state Arizona, Hispanic Catholics (12%) today make up a bigger percentage than white evangelicals (10%). In Pennsylvania, Latino evangelicals make up a growing segment of voters in crucial bellwether counties. Both blocs could swing tight races, but currently, Latino evangelicals are split over Trump because of his rhetoric against immigrants, though some side with the GOP over LGBTQ+ rights. National security moms: GOP ads focused on crime, safety and the border are aimed at these women, who go beyond the conservative base. Many are suburbanites who otherwise might trend Harris. Wild card: Each side is scrambling to identify and court first-time voters. Harris' jump in support among young adults who weren't excited about voting for Biden could be a big factor. The bottom line: If you fit one of these descriptions and live in a swing state, congratulations! Prepare to be bombarded. 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Members phkrause Posted September 5 Author Members Share Posted September 5 Jimmy McCain, a son of the late Arizona senator, registers as a Democrat and backs Harris PHOENIX (AP) — Jimmy McCain, a son of former Arizona senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, said this week he has registered as a Democrat and will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, a valuable nod of support for the Democratic nominee in a battleground state. https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-mccain-endorse-kamala-harris-vance-31556735c27e032f19799af14ab0b9d2? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 5 Author Members Share Posted September 5 Harris breaks from Biden on tax Vice President Harris used a trip to the "Live Free or Die" state of New Hampshire to call for a top tax rate on capital gains that's nearly 10 points lower than President Biden's proposal. Biden has proposed taxing capital gains as regular income, taking the rate from 20% to 39.6% for Americans making more than $1 million a year. Congress would have to approve all changes to the tax code. Between the lines: Harris wants to rebut charges — and the "Comrade Kamala" name-calling — from the Trump campaign that she's not fully committed to American capitalism. Go deeper. 🔵 Why the "blue dots" matter Democrats are pumping huge sums of cash into Omaha in case they need Nebraska's 2nd congressional district to get Harris to 270 electoral votes. The Harris campaign and its outside allies have already spent more than $1 million in the Omaha media market with another $8 million in future bookings, CNN reports from AdImpact data. The House GOP-leadership linked Congressional Leadership Fund announced $1.5 million in Omaha spending today, taking them to $4.3 million for the cycle. Zoom in: If she wins Omaha's electoral vote (Nebraska and Maine allow vote-splitting), Harris can survive Trump sweeping the Sun Belt states of Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona. She'd still need to hold the "Blue Wall" of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The "blue dots," as seen above, represent Omaha's status as a winnable district for Democrats in a very red state. Barack Obama won NE-2 in 2008. Joe Biden won it in 2020. The bottom line: Omaha's Republican congressman Don Bacon warned Trump to focus on the issues. "When you talk about DEI, race, coming up with nicknames, that doesn't play well in this district," Bacon told CNN. "They want to talk about the issues. This is an issue district." Harris tamps down "lock him up!" Screenshot via Alex Gangitano on X Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 6 Author Members Share Posted September 6 🔎 Trump's shrinking path Former President Trump is scaling back his campaigning in three "reach" states he was targeting just six weeks ago — a sign of how Vice President Harris' rise has changed the race, Axios' Sophia Cai writes. Why it matters: Trump's campaign is placing less emphasis on New Hampshire, Minnesota and Virginia. Instead, it's pouring resources into the Blue Wall states — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — crucial to both sides' chances of victory. Trump is refocusing on North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada — states where he had significant polling leads before Harris made them competitive. 🗺️ State of play: In New Hampshire, Trump's campaign appears to be drawing down its operations. A top volunteer emailed fellow volunteers to say the campaign "has determined that New Hampshire is no longer a battleground state" and that staff should redirect efforts to Pennsylvania. In Minnesota, a state Trump mentioned in his Truth Social post announcing Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate, Democrats and Republicans acknowledge the tides have shifted. In Virginia, Trump's team appears to have stopped putting out memos that cite internal polls while claiming the state is flippable. He hasn't held a rally there in six weeks. Keep reading. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 6 Author Members Share Posted September 6 💸 Harris' biggest split with Biden Vice President Harris chose a rather obscure part of the federal tax code — the top rate for capital gains — to make her first big move toward the center of the 2024 political conversation, Axios' Hans Nichols writes. Why it matters: Harris' call for Americans making over $1 million to pay a 28% capital gains tax marked a symbolic departure from President Biden, who prefers a higher 39.6% rate. 🖼️ The big picture: She's spent the first six weeks of her presidential campaign embracing Biden's positions as her own on tax policy and some other areas. But she had a clear message for the business community yesterday: "Comrade Kamala" she isn't, even for Americans making more than $1 million a year — a group Biden once described as the top "three-tenths of 1% of all Americans." Harris unveiled her new tax policy at an event in the "Live Free or Die" state of New Hampshire, known for its aversion to taxes. Keep reading. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 6 Author Members Share Posted September 6 Wall Street wary of Trump trade wars A new Trump administration would likely reduce economic growth and raise prices, Axios Macro co-author Neil Irwin writes. A victory by Vice President Harris would bring more steady-as-she-goes economic policy. 💰The latest: Trump doubled down on familiar plans during an economics-focused speech today in New York, promising to impose new tariffs and cut corporate taxes. 🔮 What they're saying: The economy is shaped by countless forces beyond presidential policies, but two recent reports from Wall Street economists predict that trade wars under a Trump administration would slow down the U.S. economy. Goldman Sachs says a Trump victory — with divided government or Republican control of both houses of Congress — would result in a 0.5 percentage point drag on GDP in the second half of next year. Nomura economists estimate that Trump's planned tariffs would increase inflation by 0.75 percentage points in 2025. If Vice President Harris wins — and if the Democrats control the House and Senate — Goldman predicts a "very slight boost" to GDP on average between next year and 2026. Trump says Musk would head a government efficiency commission if he's re-elected Former President Trump said during an economic speech Thursday that if elected, his administration would create an Elon Musk-inspired government efficiency commission that would audit U.S. agencies. https://www.axios.com/2024/09/05/trump-economic-proposal-musk-efficiency-commission? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 6 Author Members Share Posted September 6 Goldman Sachs sees biggest boost to US economy from Harris win LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth would likely get the biggest boost in the coming two years from the Democrats, headed by Kamala Harris, winning the White House and Congress in this November's elections, according to Goldman Sachs. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/goldman-sachs-sees-biggest-boost-us-economy-harris-win-2024-09-04/ Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 6 Author Members Share Posted September 6 Former US Rep. Liz Cheney says she’s voting for Kamala Harris Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney used her trip to the battleground state of North Carolina to announce she is voting for Vice President Kamala Harris. https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/09/05/former-us-rep-liz-cheney-says-shes-voting-for-kamala-harris/? Dick Cheney is voting for Kamala Harris, Liz Cheney says Former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney will vote for Vice President Harris in the 2024 election, his daughter former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said Friday. https://www.axios.com/2024/09/06/dick-cheney-kamala-harris-liz-cheney? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 7 Author Members Share Posted September 7 Trump's unforced errors mount With less than two months until Election Day, some Republicans fear that former President Trump's public appearances are growing more erratic and less focused on a substantive argument against Vice President Harris, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. 🎤 The latest: Trump recounted, denied and mocked various sexual harassment allegations against him during a rambling news conference today. Speaking after a court hearing in the sexual abuse case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, Trump brought up separate allegations by a woman named Jessica Leeds, who has said Trump molested her on an airplane in the late 1970s. "Frankly — I know you're going to say it's a terrible thing to say — but it couldn't have happened, it didn't happen, and she would not have been the chosen one. She would not have been the chosen one," Trump said. 👶 Barely 24 hours earlier, Trump fumbled a question about how he would address the high costs of child care if reelected. "As much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it's, relatively speaking, not very expensive," compared to the dollar value of new tariffs on imports, Trump said. The Trump campaign has struggled consistently with family-related issues — from J.D. Vance's comments about "childless cat ladies" to Trump's murky positions on state abortion bans and surprise proposal to federally fund IVF treatments. And his critics pounced on yesterday's comments as well. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 8 Author Members Share Posted September 8 Take him seriously Via Truth Social President Trump is now proposing two of the largest-ever federal arrests of people living in America, including U.S. citizens, if he's re-elected: Trump, on his Truth Social platform last night, threatened to jail adversaries, including Democratic donors. "WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED" in elections of 2020 or 2024, he wrote, "will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences ... Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials." Trump, asked by TIME magazine in April about his plans for the largest deportation of undocumented immigrants in American history, said he has "no choice": "I don't believe this is sustainable for a country, what's happening to us, with probably 15 million and maybe as many as 20 million by the time Biden's out. Twenty million people, many of them from jails, many of them from prisons, many of them from mental institutions." Why it matters: Trump is saying, with specificity, how he would increase the use of federal power if he returns to the White House. No need to rely on what advisers and allies say — he says it himself. Context: Trump's public appearances have grown more erratic and incendiary, at a time when many top Republicans want him to focus more on substantive arguments against Harris. Trump's debate with Vice President Harris is coming up Tuesday night, and his new threat is a likely topic. Reality check: Trump's claims of widespread fraud in 2020 have been debunked. Trump acknowledged in a Lex Fridman podcast interview posted this past week that he "lost by a whisker." Trump's statements about the border have been found to be exaggerated or outdated. His statements don't account for Biden administration arrests and asylum restrictions. An April report by the Department of Homeland Security estimated that 11 million unauthorized immigrants were in the U.S. in 2022. The other side: Harris's campaign responded to the Truth Social post with a statement warning that if Trump won, he would "use his unchecked power to prosecute his enemies." Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 9 Author Members Share Posted September 9 Donald Trump ‘weaves’ himself into incoherence “You know, I do the weave. You know what the weave is? I’ll talk about like nine different things, and they all come back brilliantly together, and it’s like, friends of mine that are, like, English professors, they say, ‘It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.’” — Donald John Trump https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/09/09/donald-trump-weaves-himself-into-incoherence/? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 9 Author Members Share Posted September 9 JD Vance’s Catholicism helped shape his views. So did this little-known group of Catholic thinkers By his own account, Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s 2019 conversion to Catholicism provided a spiritual fulfillment he couldn’t find in his Yale education or career success. https://apnews.com/article/jd-vance-catholicism-postliberals-social-policy-7e37e43cb1976c516d642a95d495266a? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 10 Author Members Share Posted September 10 Harris and Trump offer worlds-apart contrasts on top issues This year’s presidential race is a genuine contest of ideas between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump — with clear differences on taxes, abortion, immigration, global alliances, climate change and democracy itself. Read more. Why this matters: Harris has pledged to chart a new way forward even as she has embraced many of his ideas. She wants middle class tax cuts, tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations, a restoration of abortion rights and a government that aggressively addresses climate change, among other stances. Trump wants to accomplish much of what he couldn’t do during a term that was sidetracked by the global pandemic. The Republican wants the extension and expansion of his 2017 tax cuts, a massive increase in tariffs, more support for fossil fuels and a greater concentration of government power in the White House. The two candidates have spelled out their ideas in speeches, advertisements and other venues. Many of their proposals lack specifics, making it difficult to judge exactly how they would translate their intentions into law or pay for them. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ FACT FOCUS: A look at false claims and misinformation by Trump and Harris before their first debate Trump’s rhetoric on elections turns ominous as voting nears in the presidential race AP-NORC/USAFacts poll: Republicans are more likely to trust Trump than official election results Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 11 Author Members Share Posted September 11 🎤 Taylor Swift endorses Harris Screenshot: CNN One of the biggest stories of the night was nowhere near the debate stage: Taylor Swift — calling herself a "childless cat lady" — endorsed Vice President Harris minutes after the debate. Why it matters: Swift's status as a global superstar (perhaps the world's biggest superstar) comes with an enormous base of support, particularly among younger voters. Her endorsement — posted on Instagram, where she has 283 million followers — gained 3.3 million likes in about an hour. The Harris campaign said it had no idea about the endorsement before it was posted. 🔭 Zoom out: Swift, 34, largely refrained from wading into politics during the beginning of her career. During the 2018 midterms, she endorsed two Democrats in her home state of Tennessee — marking her first entry into politics. The Biden campaign courted Swift when the president was still the Democratic presidential nominee. She endorsed him in 2020. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 12 Author Members Share Posted September 12 Harris’ suggestion that Poland could be next if Ukraine loses the war resonates with Poles WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Wanda Kwiatkowska eagerly read reports on Wednesday morning about the U.S. presidential debate — and they convinced her that a second Trump presidency would be a grave threat to her home of Poland and the larger region. https://apnews.com/article/poland-ukraine-war-us-election-trump-harris-eedfa6de06355a87ae4f04de40786899? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 14 Author Members Share Posted September 14 1 big thing: New youth sway Data: Cook Political Report. (1972–2020 margins from exit polls via NYT and CNN.) Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios America's fickle young voters represent one of the largest groups of undecideds and persuadables left in this presidential election, Axios' Noah Bressner writes. Why it matters: In this coin-toss race, any single motivated bloc could have the power to decide the outcome. 🔎 Zoom in: Former President Trump and Vice President Harris are waging a multifront war to attract swing voters ages 18-29 — the most racially diverse age group in the electorate. For Trump, that means gunning for the "bro" vote with testosterone-fueled appearances on podcasts and at UFC fights. Harris is betting young women — who appear to be moving left much faster than young men are moving right — turn out in record numbers. Also likely to help Harris: Taylor Swift's much-coveted endorsement and her massive social media presence — 284 million followers on Instagram alone. 🧮 By the numbers: Harris is polling much better among 18- to 29-year-olds than President Biden was two months ago. But her numbers are still far behind the big margins Democrats have had over Republicans over the past two decades (charted above). Dems need youth strength to offset the GOP's advantage among older voters. Harris' 15-point lead among young voters in pre-debate polling tracked by The Cook Political Report would be the worst showing by a Democrat since John Kerry lost in 2004. The intrigue: Nobody knows whether Swift's endorsement will sway enough Gen Z or millennials toward Harris to make a big difference. But there are signs that she's one of the few celebrities who could tilt the needle toward the Democrat. Swift directed more than 400,000 people to vote.gov from her Instagram account over 24 hours. Harris' campaign quickly started selling now-sold-out friendship bracelets popular among Swifties. 🥊 Reality check: Young Americans, particularly young men, vote at notoriously low rates. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 15 Author Members Share Posted September 15 Trump refuses to criticize Laura Loomer amid concerns from Republican allies about her influence RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (AP) — Donald Trump refused on Friday to condemn recent racist and conspiratorial comments from right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, who traveled with him earlier this week to Tuesday night’s presidential debate and several 9/11 memorial events. https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-western-campaign-2024-election-4d01558e10a3cbf9bd8b921971e03de2? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 15 Author Members Share Posted September 15 Trump's secret ground game Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios The Trump campaign, outmatched on the ground by Democrats, is targeting swing-state voters who are Trump-curious but often don't vote, Axios' Sophia Cai and Torey Van Oot report. Why it matters: Trump campaign training materials obtained by Axios reveal one dimension of his closing-days swing-state strategy. The Trump plan includes a reward structure for volunteers — like an airline-status program. The internal materials call the 2020 Trump campaign's outreach efforts "inefficient," and emphasize the need for more "quality" contacts this time. 🔭 The new training prioritizes "hard-to-reach, low-propensity voters" — those who've shown interest in Trump by attending a rally, for instance, but aren't necessarily likely to show up at the polls. Talking points provided to volunteers during training sessions urge them to contrast the candidates as "strength vs. weakness," "success vs. failure," and "straight talk vs. dishonesty." The big picture: Former President Trump's campaign says it has about 27,000 volunteers on the ground nationwide. Vice President Harris' campaign claims to have 60,000 in Pennsylvania alone. As Axios has reported, Trump's campaign has focused more on developing an "election integrity" team of 175,000 poll workers and poll watchers — a program rooted in the ex-president's false claims about the 2020 election. Both campaigns are supported by a constellation of outside groups that provide additional canvassing and registration. Trump's team includes volunteers outside the campaign who make calls, mail materials and engage voters on TikTok. Trump's campaign is working with conservative activist Scott Presler's Early Vote Action group, which focuses on registering voters at Trump rallies, farmers' markets, gun shows and gas stations. How it works: A Trump volunteer is given a list of 25 "unreachable" and "sometimes" voters, with a goal of visiting at least 10 in person. As volunteers contact and engage more unlikely voters, they earn rewards. Those include T-shirts, MAGA caps and "expedited" entry into Trump rallies. A top prize: an invitation to a party at Mar-a-Lago or Trump's inauguration, along with being dubbed a "Trump Force Precinct Captain." 🤫 Between the lines: The volunteers are told to encourage those they contact to vote before Election Day — either by signing them up to vote by mail, or securing their commitment to vote early in person. Trump's campaign is using this tactic — which is common among Democrats — even as Trump continues to rail against mail-in voting as "corrupt." Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 17 Author Members Share Posted September 17 💰 Trump's crypto company Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images The Trumps are putting their names behind a new crypto project, promoted last night in a meandering two-hour livestream on X that was remarkably light on detail, Axios Crypto author Brady Dale writes. Why it matters: Less than 50 days before the election, former President Trump is leveraging the attention to promote a new business venture. The project is reportedly being described as what's known as a decentralized finance (DeFi) money market, or a platform where people can borrow, lend and earn interest on crypto. Trump is billing the project as a chance to "Make Finance Great Again." According to Bloomberg, it's nothing more than an endorsement deal. 👓 Between the lines: DeFi, by its nature, is permissionless. Anyone can participate. And there are no identity checks at the doors for users. That also means there's nothing to prevent foreign governments from using it heavily in hopes of currying favor with a Trump administration. The intrigue: Trump's many fans in the blockchain industry would prefer he didn't join it — at least not now. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted September 17 Author Members Share Posted September 17 Trump blames Biden and Harris’ rhetoric toward him despite his own history of going after rivals Donald Trump claimed without evidence Monday that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ comments that he is a threat to democracy had inspired the latest apparent attempt on his life, despite his own long history of inflammatory campaign rhetoric. Read more. Key points: While authorities continue to investigate the motives of both the gunman in Pennsylvania and the person arrested Sunday in Florida, Trump has made clear that he sees attempts on his life as politically motivated and blames his rivals for them. Biden, by contrast, sought to steer clear of politics. He decried the apparent assassination attempt and said Monday that America must work to stop the scourge of political violence. Trump himself has drawn repeated criticism for his rhetoric. He has advocated for jailing or prosecuting his political enemies and alleged without evidence that Democrats have caused the felony cases against him for political reasons. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Man who appeared intent on killing Trump wrote a book urging Iran to assassinate the ex-president Elon Musk has often inflamed politically tense moments, raising worries for the US election Ohio state police to protect schools after furor over Haitian immigrants in Springfield Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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