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, we look at how Donald Trump is handling the political fallout from CNN’s bombshell report on North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson. Plus, “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker explains how the polls have changed over the past two months ahead of NBC News’ new poll this weekend.
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Trump has no plans to support Mark Robinson after the porn site scandal
By Matt Dixon, Katherine Doyle, Olympia Sonnier and Kristen Welker
Donald Trump is facing calls from allies and within his own campaign to support scandal-plagued North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, according to four people familiar with the discussions.
However, there are currently no plans for the former president to officially call it quits.
CNN informed On Thursday, before becoming lieutenant governor, Robinson posted a series of offensive comments on a pornography website between 2008 and 2012. In a statement, the Trump campaign did not directly address the major report on Robinson, which the former president endorsed in March and called.Martin Luther King on steroids.”
“President Trump’s campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving the country,” Trump campaign press secretary Caroline Leavitt said. “North Carolina is an important part of this plan. We are confident that as voters compare Trump’s record of a strong economy, low inflation, secure borders and safe streets to the failure of Biden-Harris, President Trump will once again win the Tarheel State.”
There are advisers within the Trump campaign who have been quietly urging him to withdraw his endorsement of Robinson, but according to one campaign official who, like others in this article, spoke on condition of anonymity, those pleas have so far gone on deaf ears. talk freely about the issue.
Additionally, Republican members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation, including Sens. Ted Budd and Tom Tillis, and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whately of North Carolina plan to personally urge Trump to endorse Robinson. with conversations.
The political fallout from Robinson’s past comments could be especially difficult for Trump, as North Carolina looms large as one of the seven key states on the presidential map. But Trump rarely backs down publicly from endorsements because he has long believed it makes him look weak.
Robinson has attended past Trump events in the state, but will not attend a Trump rally planned for Saturday in Wilmington, North Carolina, according to a person familiar with the planning of the event.
Here’s how Democrats handle it: Democrats were quick to capitalize on the scandal surrounding Robinson. The DNC has started digital ads and billboards and a new one featuring Trump praising Robinson Harris campaign ad Linking Trump to Robinson’s past anti-abortion comments. But as Ben Kamisar notesneither campaign mentioned the inflammatory comments contained in the CNN report.
What has changed in the last two months of the 2024 race
By Kristen Welker
Last time we ran a national NBC News poll He returned in July. This poll was in the field before President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race and the first assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
Consider everything that’s happened in the two months since then: two party conventions, two vice presidential picks, a second apparent assassination attempt on Trump, and the first (and possibly only) debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
And guess what: We’ve got a new NBC News poll on Sunday called “Meet the Press,” which we hope will capture everything that’s happened since July.
Now, I’m not going to tease any numbers from our survey – you’ll have to tune in on Sunday – but I do want to focus on what other surveys show after the last two months.
Recent polls on the presidential election have shown this three consecutive storylines.
1. Democrats are in a stronger electoral position today than they have been all year thanks to the party’s shift at the top of the ticket.
2. The battleground map looks more favorable for Democrats than ever before. This is especially true in the important Rust Belt states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
3. The presidential race remains close, with most of these national and state poll results within the margin of error.
Tune in on Sunday to see what our latest survey reveals.
Undecided voters who had made up their minds about Trump now supported Harris
Bridget Bowman, Emma Barnett, Alex Tabet and Katherine Koretsky
Speaking of us previous requestwe went back and contacted the 8% of respondents who were unsure how they would vote in a hypothetical matchup between Trump and Harris at the time.
Of the 21 voters we spoke with, the largest group included nine voters who said they were still undecided but worried about Trump and leaning toward Harris. Four more definitely support Harris, one supports Trump, and three lean toward him. Four do not plan to vote.
Voters from different nooks and crannies of the country are bound by skepticism towards politics and politicians. While some of them are still undecided about Harris, many are voicing their opinions on Trump in his third national campaign, with a few adamant that they will not vote for him no matter what.
“First of all, I need to do more research on him,” said Kenneth Hauck, 38, a software tester from San Diego, who noted that he recently watched a YouTube video about Harris and Trump’s policies and was excited about Harris’ housing plan. his interest. Hauck said Harris’ policies “look good.” But he added that “the devil is in the details.”
Norna, a 19-year-old fast-food worker in Florida who declined to give her last name, said she was particularly interested in Harris’ stance on “police brutality,” his support for the Palestinians and his economic policies.
“From what I’ve seen so far, I’m not voting for Trump,” he said.
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- 👀 Voice tracking: Trump allies on Georgia’s board of elections voted to require states to count ballots by hand in the November election, despite warnings from both parties that the move could cause delays and disruptions. More →
- 🗳️ Voting Battles: The Supreme Court has denied Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s latest bid to be placed on the ballot in Nevada. More →
- ☑️ Voters vote: Early in-person voting began today in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia. More →
- 🛡️ Security enhancement: The House passed a bill that would strengthen Secret Service protections for major presidential candidates and their running mates. More →
- 🏛️ Divided government: If Harris wins the presidency, he does not overlook the prospect of a Republican-controlled Senate, which could hinder his legislative agenda and nominees to fill his administration and courts. More →
- 🗺️ Mapping: While Republicans in Nebraska are considering changing state law to give Trump an extra Electoral College vote this fall, their Democratic counterparts in Maine are doing little to even the score. More →
- 🇺🇲 FLOTUS’ claim: In an interview with Peter Alexander, First Lady Jill Biden called on Americans to “come together” across deep political divides, stressing “the peaceful transfer of power.” More →
- 👉 Guilt game: In an event ostensibly aimed at combating anti-Semitism, Trump said that Jewish voters would bear “a lot of the blame” if he loses in November. More →
- ♻️ Apocalypse Delayed: Alex Seitz-Wald notes that Trump is recycling several dark predictions he made (but never came true) from the 2020 campaign against Biden in his 2024 race against Harris. More →
- Watch live from the campaign trail →
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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