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, national political reporter Ben Kamisar shares our recent focus groups with young voters in the battleground state of Wisconsin. Plus, senior national political correspondent Jonathan Allen notes how President Joe Biden has leaned toward a “law” and “order” message in response to campus protests.
Sign up here to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday.
These young voters are angry about Gaza, but they don’t see it affecting their votes
By Ben Kamisar
They are outraged by the situation in Gaza and will not accept it again. But they probably won’t vote for it.
This was the key takeaway from the latest NBC News Deciders focus groups – in collaboration Busy, Syracuse University and Sago – independent Wisconsin college students. Almost all of the 16 students we spoke with supported the wave of pro-Palestinian protests sweeping college campuses and had mixed feelings about President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, and some even participated. in protests themselves.
Do you have news? Let us know
When forced to weigh how the issue might affect their vote in the presidential election, few said they expected it to change who they were on, except for a few who asked if they were less likely to vote.
Why? Mainly because they don’t see Biden and former President Donald Trump as having different positions on Israel.
“I don’t think Biden did a great job; I don’t think Trump will do any better than that. … By the way, I can’t see it changing the way I vote.” – Cooper M., a 19-year-old University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire student currently supporting Biden
But while Biden’s handling of the war wasn’t the main driver of their vote, it’s clear that these students feel passionately about it and are almost unilaterally supporting these protests.
“It’s completely unfair that fee-paying students don’t have a say in where their money goes.” — Suchita H., a 19-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who supports Biden
“The protests are very empowering to see so many young people on these campuses standing up together in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine.” – Sophia K., an 18-year-old UW-Madison student who said she will vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
None of the students, even those who participated in the protests, had decided to join the camps. And most of them drew the line against protesters occupying buildings, as has happened on some campuses like Columbia University. Four students said they supported the tactic.
“I wouldn’t prefer it, but I think it’s pretty much the only way. “Most people who talk about peaceful protest don’t understand that the purpose of protest is to make radical change, and as long as it’s peaceful and doesn’t get in anyone’s way, no one cares.” – Suchita H.
“If we start destroying the resources that we have, it will lead to higher tuition fees. I just think it’s ineffective to destroy what we already have.” — Angelina J., a 19-year-old University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh student, said she would vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Biden’s ‘law and order’ message at campus protests
By Jonathan Allen
Biden emphasized two words Thursday when applying Nationwide campus protests over Gaza: ‘law’ and ‘rule’.
It should be noted that Biden avoided the endless echoes of Richard Nixon, which Donald Trump repeated during the 2020 protests after the killing of George Floyd, and did not use them in the same phrase.
Still, Biden’s message was clear: He doesn’t stand by protesters who break the law.
“Peaceful protest is the best tradition of how Americans respond to the challenges ahead,” Biden said. “But we are not a lawless country either. We are a civil society and order should prevail.”
Of course, every protest is different. The grievances of the Vietnamese generation are different from the grievances of people demonstrating against police brutality in 2020 and the current group that wants the US to stop funding Israel for its war in Gaza.
But Biden’s words point to the political risks of perceived chaos. He is trying to win over swing voters in swing states, and ongoing protests include rhetoric and behavior that is far outside the mainstream.
“Violence is against the law when it happens,” he said. “Destruction of property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law – vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, closing campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and vacations.”
And he added: “Opposition is essential to democracy, but dissent should never lead to disorder.”
Biden is clearly walking a tightrope in his party between those who agree with the sentiments of the pro-Palestinian protesters and those who are alienated by the demonstrators’ views or the way they are expressed.
But if he falls, he will make sure that it is on the side of “law” and “rule”. No doubt he remembers what Nixon and Trump said.
Read more about how Trump is trying to turn campus protests into a political liability for Biden →
Trump trial, Day 10: Former Stormy Daniels lawyer talks hush money deal made before 2016 election
By Adam Reiss, Jillian Frankel, Gary Grumbach and Dareh Gregorian
Trump’s hush money trial In a Manhattan courtroom Thursday, the elderly movie star continued to talk about Stormi Daniels’ former lawyer’s deal to settle allegations that she had sex with Trump days before the 2016 election and the role his proposed deal played in her case. campaign victory.
“What did we do?” attorney Keith Davidson said in a text on election night to the National Enquirer executive who helped broker the deal. “Oh my god,” replied executive Dylan Howard, then the Enquirer’s editor-in-chief. He described the text as “gallows humor” about the notion that “our actions could somehow help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.”
During cross-examination, Trump’s attorney, Emil Bove, tried to undermine Davidson’s credibility. funny tabloid stories he dealt with people who sold sex tapes featuring wrestler Hulk Hogan and influencer Tila Tequila, including a leaker about actress Lindsay Lohan’s stint in rehab.
Davidson evaded his answers, saying he did not remember the details of the specific circumstances. “I’ve had over 1,500 clients in my career,” he said.
He admitted that in 2012 he was investigated for bribery related to the Hogan tape. “It’s true,” he told Bove, denying any wrongdoing.
Read more from Trump’s trial →
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- 🚫 Doubt: In interviews with 50 Republican voters in more than a dozen states, a majority said they would not accept a Biden victory this fall as legitimate. Trump said again in an interview Milwaukee Journal Sentinel He may not accept the results of the 2024 presidential elections. More →
- 🗓️ Former Biden opponents speak out: The New York Times spoke to a handful of Republicans who have run against the president during his decades in the Senate, revealing tidbits of trivia such as how opponents ran just one negative ad against Biden from 1978 to 2008. More →
- 🇯🇵 Friends like this: Biden has called Japan “xenophobic” because he says their economy is “in trouble”, a US ally has yet to respond. More →
- 🌵 Bringing the abortion issue to the fore in Arizona: Democratic Gov. Kathy Hobbs signed the bill Arizona nearly repeals abortion ban. The issue also added another layer to a crowded and competitive GOP congressional primary that also includes the speaker of the state House of Representatives. More →
- 🏠 Generation Z at home? Joe Vogel, 27, Maryland’s youngest representative in history, is seeking to double Gen Z’s representation in the House as he runs for the state’s open 6th District. 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
If you are a fan, please share with anyone and everyone. They can register here.