Welcome to the online version of From the policy deskevening bulletin that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill from the NBC News Politics team.
In today’s edition, political reporter Allan Smith examines whether Donald Trump’s new abortion stance is taking a page from the GOP’s 2022 midterm playbook. Plus, senior political editor Mark Murray questions whether Monday’s Trump and Joe Biden policy announcements will be canceled by the total solar eclipse.
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Trump scraps GOP abortion handbook for 2022
By Allan Smith
Donald Trump has just been released stance on abortion rights Tested during the 2022 midterm exam – and the results for his party were mixed at best.
Trump, who has been pressed for months on whether he would support federal abortion restrictions as president, said Monday that the issue should be left up to the states.
“I think now that we have abortion that everyone wants from a legal standpoint, the states will either vote or legislate, or maybe both,” he said. “And whatever they decide should be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state. Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks, or some will be more conservative than others, and they will be.
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Many Republican candidates, the Supreme Court’s Roe v. After overturning Wade, they took the step in the midterms after trying to avoid taking a stand on federal legislation by saying the question was up to the states, even though the federal government could act on it.
For example, Republicans Mehmet Oz, Don Bolduc, and Adam Laxalt all took this approach and lost their 2022 Senate races in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Nevada. On the other hand, Republican Senator Ron Johnson took this approach and won re-election in Wisconsin, while Blake Masters supported federal action and lost a Senate race in Arizona.
In a 2022 debate against Democrat John Fetterman, Oz said, “The federal government should have no involvement in how states make abortion decisions,” and said he wanted to leave the decisions up to “women, doctors” and “local political leaders.”
That response was played up repeatedly in anti-Oz ads in the final weeks of the race, with Fetterman and his allies trying to lock Oz into tougher state-level restrictions proposed or called for by Republicans.
That’s where Republicans faced major problems at the time, as operatives and lawmakers acknowledged at the time. Just before that election, as Republican candidates addressed the issue, those lawmakers and strategists came together to push for a 15-week national ban, with exceptions introduced in Congress. It was a move widely viewed by Republicans offers a lifeline for candidates individuals closely associated with hard-line proposals at the state level, making it easier for their opponents to portray them as extremists.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RSC, introduced the 15-week legislation shortly before the midterm elections. he said “I respectfully disagree” with Trump’s newly announced position on Monday.
Trump blamed Republican shortcomings on the “abortion issue,” which he said at Truth Social last year was “poorly managed by many Republicans, especially those who strongly insist on exemptions for rape, incest, or life-threatening situations.” Ana’s loss of a large number of voters.
And in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press last yearhe criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing the six-week ban into law.
But if the issue is portrayed as too extreme on the issue, the 2022 campaign has shown that once the stage is ceded to the states, candidates open themselves up to closing in on all of the most extreme proposals.
That includes laws and proposals that Trump, who took credit for overturning Roe on Monday, doesn’t think is a very good idea.
Click here for a timeline of Trump’s changing abortion views →
What the eclipse casts on the 2024 campaign
By Mark Murray
It wasn’t just the sun caught Monday.
So did key policy proposals and statements from Presidents Joe Biden and Trump in the 2024 campaign — announced as if they knew the eclipse coverage would hide everything.
Let’s start with Trump, who given a long-awaited statement on its position on abortion. In the 4 ½-minute video, Trump said abortion restrictions should be left up to the states; that it supports exceptions in cases of rape, consanguinity and protecting the life of the mother; and “all lawyers” and “both parties” in Roe v. He wanted Wade to end (which is a lie).
There’s a good reason Trump chose Monday’s Eclipse to announce the news: The GOP’s efforts on abortion are unpopular.
Poll after poll shows about 60% of voters dislike Overturning the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade case, nearly 60% believer abortion should always or most of the time be legal and more than 6 in 10 prefers legislation providing nationwide access to abortion.
The Biden campaign splashed all of Trump’s video. “Donald Trump made it clear again today that he is more committed to Roe v. America than anyone else in America.” He is responsible for ending Wade,” the president said.
Trump’s abortion announcement also had many unanswered questions: Will he sign a federal abortion ban as president? Will he oppose states that do not provide exemptions? Will it protect residents who travel to other states to get abortions?
Trump almost wanted to check the box and do nothing else.
Then came Biden’s announcement of revised plans on Monday canceling more student debt.
While student loan forgiveness may not be as unpopular with American voters as abortion restrictions, it’s not a slam dunk for the public either.
Voting found Nearly half of Americans supported Biden’s plan to forgive the maximum $20,000 of federal student loan debt for those who receive Pell Grants, as well as $10,000 for those who do not.
But Biden’s student loan proposal is an effort to fulfill a campaign promise by including young voters after the Supreme Court struck down his original plan a year ago.
So Biden is trying to check a box, too — albeit on the same day that a solar eclipse blocked almost everything else.
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- 🗺️ Electoral College level course: Biden and Trump may be virtually tied in the national polls, but if the GOP has maintained its Electoral College lead, the president is further behind than he thought. More →
- 🛝 Out of breath: Speaker Mike Johnson faces the daunting task of managing a suspended military aid package for Ukraine and other allies, renewing a controversial surveillance program, reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration and funding the reconstruction of the Baltimore Bridge. fire him. More →
- 👉 Pressure points: Senate Democrats are eager to quickly reject articles of impeachment against House Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week, but Republicans want to make the process as politically painful as possible. More →
- 🪖 Sheehy or not? The Washington Post investigated Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy’s claim that he was shot while serving in Afghanistan during his campaign. After finding court documents claiming Sheehy accidentally shot himself in the arm in a national park, the Republican claims he lied to cover up a war wound he never told his superiors. More →
- 📺 Rating increase: Democrats used to chastise the media for giving Trump too much airtime, but now they’re pushing voters to watch his rallies to get an unvarnished look at the GOP presidential nominee. More →
- 🌒 Eclipses: Tens of millions of people were able to catch Monday’s total solar eclipse, gathering across North America to watch and celebrate. More →
For now, that’s it from The Politics Desk. If you have feedback – like it or not – send us an email politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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