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, senior political reporter Jonathan Allen comments on the freebies that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have offered as part of their campaign platforms. Plus, CNN’s bombshell story about Mark Robinson rocked the North Carolina gubernatorial race.
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Trump’s tax overhaul disrupts many of the freebies that defined the 2024 election
By Jonathan Allen
As president, Donald Trump slashed the lucrative tax break enjoyed by coastal donors and suburban state voters. Now he’s promising to give back the discount — if they put him back in the Oval Office.
Trump aides say he’s not bailing out or even capturing the $10,000 annual limit federal taxpayers can claim based on state and local taxes — the Washington-speak “SALT cap.” Instead, a campaign official said, Trump is responding to new economic realities as he seeks a “two-track” solution. The first is to promote pro-growth policies, and the second is to adopt tax positions that will allow people to keep more of their money.
Caroline Bruckner, managing director of American University’s Kogod Center for Tax Policy, said it was Trump’s needs that changed more than the economy.
“Replacing the cap on state and local taxes was an easy game to target revenue to blue states,” Bruckner said of the 2017 law, which used the SALT cap as a budget substitute to pay for other tax cuts. “It now appears that high-income taxpayers in swing states have successfully made their case to Trump.”
The rollback is one of the freebies Trump and his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, are offering voters ahead of Election Day. Together, they promise equal tax relief in every pot.
Both candidates have pledged to block tip taxes for service industry workers. Trump says he will exempt seniors from taxes on Social Security payments. Harris takes a shot at the Biden administration’s proposals to expand the child tax credit and provide subsidies to first-time homebuyers. It also offers up to $50,000 in the first year for small business startups.
There are big spending promises like Trump’s announcement. details are still to be revealed – said it would provide free in vitro fertilization treatment for people trying to conceive.
“Tis the silly season when everything is free,” said former Rep. Charlie Dent, a leader among GOP moderates in Congress.
Mark Robinson has vowed to stay in the NC governor’s race after reports he made inflammatory comments on a porn site
By Adam Edelman and Alexandra Marquez
Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina, vowed to stay in the race Thursday after it was revealed that he made dozens of lewd and inflammatory comments on a pornography website message board more than 10 years ago.
report, Published by CNN, In her posts on the pornographic website Nude Africa, Robinson said she called herself a “black Nazi,” supported the return of slavery, enjoyed viewing transgender pornography, and told stories of sexual nature, including a memory of “watching.” Before Robinson, who was elected lieutenant governor in 2020, entered politics, CNN reports that these posts were made under the username “minisoldr” in 2008-2012.
a video sent to X In publishing the story, Robinson denied the report, calling it “tabloid trash.”
“Let me assure you: what you will see in this story are not the words of Mark Robinson. You know my words, you know my character, and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before,” he said in the video.
“We’re in this race, we’re in it to win, and we know we’ll do it with your help,” he said.
The report is the latest blow to Republicans in a critical battleground state race where Robinson, who is backed by Donald Trump, is running against Democratic candidate Josh Stein. North Carolina has also gained importance in the presidential race after Kamala Harris rose to the top of the Democratic Party.
Black swing state voters overwhelmingly support Harris — with key differences in age and gender
By Stephanie Perry and Curtis Bunn
Black voters in battleground states overwhelmingly say they will vote for Kamala Harris in November — even though she needs to close a deal with some skeptical undecideds to reach Joe Biden’s margin among black voters in 2020.
Information, new Howard University Public Opinion Polling Initiative In Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, 82% of 963 black voters say they will vote for Harris, and 12% say they will. Donald Trump. Another 5% are undecided, and 1% plan to choose another candidate.
In 2020 exit polls in the same battleground states, 89% of black voters supported Biden, compared to 9% for Trump.
While Black swing state voters are largely aligned behind Harris, there are some important differences among subgroups of the Black vote.
89% of black voters over the age of 50 said they supported Harris, but that number dropped to 75% for those under 50.
Among black men under 50, Harris had a 50-point advantage, and among men 50 and older, he had a 78-point advantage. Among young women, Harris’s margin is 65 points, and among older women, 84 points.
Meanwhile, Black swing state voters with a college degree favor Harris by 73 points over Trump, and black voters without a college degree favor Harris by 68 points over Trump. The poll shows that younger and less educated voters are more likely to support Trump.
🗳️ GOTV: The NAACP told NBC News that it plans to spend $20 million this fall to mobilize black voters in 12 states. More →
📊 The survey says: Mark Murray makes sense of the many national and battleground state polls that have emerged over the past 24 hours. More →
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- 🤝 Friends: Henry J. Gomez and Allan Smith examine the “friend level” relationship between Trump and JD Vance. More →
- 🌽 Omaha! Sen. Lindsey Graham met with Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and about two dozen Republican lawmakers on behalf of the Trump campaign as part of efforts to change how Nebraska distributes its Electoral College votes. More →
- 🙅 Still not over: The pro-Palestinian Democratic Movement is not endorsing Harris, but has made clear its opposition to Trump and other third-party candidates. More →
- 💻 Hacking result: According to the FBI, Iranian hackers sent the material they stole from Trump’s campaign to people associated with Biden’s campaign. More →
- ✈️ Arrival in Springfield: Trump said Wednesday he plans to travel to Springfield, Ohio, “within the next two weeks.” More →
- 🗣️ Long history: Criticism of undocumented immigration has been a consistent feature of Trump’s presidential campaigns leading up to his 2016 nomination. More →
That’s all for the Policy Desk for now. If you have feedback – like it or not – send us an email politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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