Welcome to the online version of From the policy deskevening bulletin, bringing you the latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail from the NBC News Politics team.
In today’s edition, White House Correspondent Mike Memoli reports on President Joe Biden’s final international summit from Rio de Janeiro. Plus, national political reporter Steve Kornacki shares final election results from our seven key “Deciders” districts.
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Biden takes a back seat at recent international summits
By Mike Memoli
RIO DE JANEIRO — President Joe Biden’s recent international summits would have played out almost entirely differently had the election at home gone as he hoped. But President-elect Donald Trump cast a long shadow over the seemingly unassuming Biden as he bid farewell to colleagues here.
While administration officials regularly invoked Biden’s call to “go through the tape” in his final months in office, the president’s public appearances at both the G20 summit in Brazil and the APEC meeting in Peru were limited. He spoke briefly during the working sessions of each gathering and before face-to-face meetings with the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea and Peru.
If Biden wanted to use the visit to send any message to his predecessor about the importance of reaching out to allies or any effort to cement his legacy, it prompted Trump to not repeal the law. tried to accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources.
The only stop Biden made outside of the two major gatherings was what the White House billed as a history-making trip to the Amazon, where Biden took an aerial tour of the landscape and then gave a seven-minute statement to reporters. the importance of his climate agenda.
“Some may try to deny or delay the clean energy revolution underway in America, but no one — no one — can reverse it — no one,” he said.
In a statement to Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the final meeting, Biden also warned that “they cannot allow any of this competition to turn into conflict.”
White House officials insisted that it did not come up during Trump’s meetings with world leaders. In an indication of the fine line other leaders are walking during this transition, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau subtly dodged a question about his concerns about working with Trump again.
“Little secret – there is no American administration that is automatically easy for the Canadian government,” Trudeau said during a question-and-answer session in Lima.
Biden’s stance was different from how he presented himself at the G20 summit in Rome three years ago. Biden has boasted about how his colleagues are eager for his input on a number of issues and how his administration is dictating the agenda, including plans for a new global minimum tax.
“Everyone looked for me. They wanted to know our thoughts. And we helped guide what happened here,” Biden said at his final press conference in 2021.
On this trip, Biden dodged most of the questions posed to him by traveling reporters and did not hold a final press conference.
7 counties that tell the story of the 2024 elections
By Steve Kornacki
NBC News ahead of the 2024 election identified seven counties to help reveal some of the political trends that will define the presidential race.
With the election in the rearview mirror, we wanted to look at these seven “Decision Makers” countries and what insights can be gleaned from them. All seven swung toward Donald Trump to varying degrees, mirroring national trends, with three swinging from Democrats to Republicans.
Maricopa County, Arizona: More than two-thirds of Arizona’s voting population comes from Maricopa County, so it’s hard to win the state without winning here. Joe Biden became the first Democrat in 72 years to carry Maricopa in 2020. But Trump was able to make a decent comeback this year in Phoenix. The predominantly Latino neighborhood of Maryvale also swung in Trump’s favor.
Miami-Dade County, Florida: In 2016, Hillary Clinton won this Latino state with close to 70% by 30 points. In 2020, Biden beat him by just 7 points. And in 2024, Trump reversed it with a double-digit victory. Trump was able to make gains in all areas, from Hialeah, which has a Cuban majority, to Doral, Venezuela, to Aventura, which has one of the older communities. the densest Jewish population.
Gwinnett County, Georgia: The Atlanta suburbs have been trending Democratic lately. In 2016, Clinton won here by 6 points. Four years later, Biden tripled this margin to 18 points. It came down to a point this year. What stopped the bleeding for Trump? Support from Hispanic voters. Gwinnett has the largest Hispanic population of any metro Atlanta area. When you look at the heavily Hispanic precincts around Norcross, Trump has posted some real improvements.
Kent County, Michigan: In central West Michigan, it’s a traditionally Republican district where voters don’t take well to Trump as the party leader. One of the biggest questions coming into this election was whether Trump would continue to perform as poorly here as he did in recent elections. The answer was that it didn’t get much better for him here, but it didn’t get any worse. Trump scored better than he did in 2020 and ultimately carried the state.
Washoe County, Nevada: While making a fairly significant margin of victory over 2020, Trump lost Washoe County and Clark County, the state’s other large population center, on his way to carrying the state overall. Trump was able to keep his losses small enough in large states to pull ahead after his significant wins in more rural counties.
Erie County, Pennsylvania: It was the last call: Barack Obama carried this county in 2008 and 2012. Trump was able to win in 2016, but he could become Biden in 2020. In 2024, Erie is back in Trump’s column. NBC News’ Dasha Burns took the economic discontent that ultimately led to Trump’s victory in Erie. in March.
Dane County, Wisconsin: Dane is a densely populated and growing county where the majority of its adult population has a college degree. Democrats have consistently won more votes in presidential elections in recent years. Kamala Harris managed to squeeze out more than Denmark, winning 188,000, but it wasn’t enough to make up for losses elsewhere in the state.
ICYMI: Read more from Steve about the voter swings that led to Trump’s battleground state sweep →
➡️ Trump transition clock
- A handful of megadonors helped fuel Trump’s winning campaign earlier this month. Now there are some of them being considered for key positions as he shapes his next leadership.
- One of those donors, Howard LutnickThe billionaire financial services executive and key transition adviser is Trump’s choice to lead Department of Commerce.
- Trump said he will run for office Mehmet Ozformer Pennsylvania Senate candidate and television doc, to lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- Trump was also elected as a former member of parliament. Sean DuffyR-Wis., is now a Fox News anchor as his transport secretary.
- Trump ‘works hard on phones’ to boost He chose to lead the Ministry of Justiceformer Rep. Matt GaetzAlready facing skepticism from some Republican senators, R-Fla.
- Gaetz allegedly paid the woman for sex At a small, invitation-only party in Florida in 2017, the woman’s lawyer told NBC News. And the hacker got access to the file contains the depositions of two women Those involved in the Gaetz investigation.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Caroline Kennedy says Trump’s choice for secretary of health and human services is facing criticism from her own family. cousin’s views on vaccines are “dangerous”.
- Trump started receives intelligence briefings after abandoning them during his campaign.
- Vivek Ramaswamy does wants to force federal workers to return to the office full timeand he may have an unlikely ally in DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.
🗞️ Other top stories of the day
- ⚖️ Trump is on trial: New York prosecutors have told the judge presiding over Trump’s hush money trial that his sentencing should be delayed while the president-elect’s lawyers present additional legal arguments seeking to dismiss the case. More →
- 📃 Bathroom bill: Rep. Nancy Mace, RSC, said her resolution banning transgender women from using women’s bathrooms was “absolutely” aimed at Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., who would be the first openly transgender member of Congress. More →
- 🗳️ Lessons Learned: Even with Trump carrying their states, the four Senate Democratic candidates who won their primary say their parties can learn some lessons from their campaigns. More →
- 🥊 Democrats’ next fight: Minnesota Democratic Party Chairman Ken Martin is the second candidate to enter the race to lead the Democratic National Committee. More →
- 📉 2024 after death: A new analysis of precinct-level data by the NBC News Decision Desk shows how Trump’s wins in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and Harris’ losses were influenced by poor turnout in Democratic cities. More →
- ☑️ Not yet completed: Harris has one last chance to challenge Trump, as he can provide tie-breaking votes for judicial appointments before Biden leaves office. More →
- 🏃🏼 Next steps: Nebraska Independent Dan Osborne is back at work as a steamroller, but he’s also launching a new PAC and preparing for another run for Senate in 2026. More →
- 🚫 Abortion verdict: A Wyoming judge has ruled that the state’s two laws restricting and banning abortion are unconstitutional, making the procedure legal until the fetus is viable for now. More →
- 🪑 In the hot seat: The Federal Emergency Management Agency faced questions from House lawmakers about the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Deanne Criswell, Helene and Milton. 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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