Today’s notice: All the president’s tour dates. Scoop: State Dept. diplomats are being pushed out for having the wrong politics. First look at new Everytown-DGA spending. Exclusive look at House Democrats’ latest map expansion. A sobering poll about the state of our politics. About those planes Kristi Noem bought. And: Another STOCK Act violation.
THE LATEST
What is the president doing? Republicans have all but written off North Carolina this cycle, with the smartest people in various war rooms pulling out money and sending it to candidates in other states who could use the help. Donald Trump is going a different route — he stumped in the state last night, using some of his precious remaining campaign time in a place his party is no longer buying ads.
Trump played the optimistic cheerleader, saying that his rally-after-rally, state-by-state effort will show the doubters that Republicans can still win. “I’m working like a dog, and I love being with you,” he said.
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The Washington Sun’s Jasmine Wright was at the rally, which featured a giant, billowing American flag. Today she has a story with our Ben T.N. Mause about how Trump’s quixotic campaign choices are playing among the strategists in D.C. “He should stick to the White House; he should just stay there,” one Republican strategist said. “All he’s doing is hurting Republicans.”
Trump veterans see a plan to save the day in places where the GOP is floundering. “He identifies the way to do this is to get the base,” Steve Bannon told The Sun. “Not simply the vote, but to make the list for 10 people to get them out to start canvassing, calling the phone banks.”
While most Democrats give a big thumbs up to Trump’s travel schedule, loving every second that the unpopular president is in these states, there are some who see a method to this presidential GOTV push. With his approval rating in the 30s, there are truly challenging things for Trump, like wooing independents, and things that might be easier, like trying to wake up MAGA again. One Democratic operative said it was a smart strategy to focus on boosting turnout in Republican strongholds rather than risking alienating swing-state voters. It showed Trump is “reading the room,” they said.
How it sounded in Greenville: The president ran through his greatest hits — $5,000 checks! Immigrant crime! Sen. Jon Husted’s ass! — and some goodies for the North Carolina locals: Two new semiconductor plants, including a $1.5 billion investment from the “Department of War.”
The crowd, huddled on a chilly tarmac, seemed most enthusiastic about the ejection of a smattering of protestors, Jasmine reports, with some in MAGA hats saluting their exit with the double bird. NASCAR legend Richard Petty helped close out the rally, calling Trump the best driver the country has ever had and that it was time to help pick him the “best pit crew.”
More: Trump’s Super PACs Have Spent More Than $238M Since September • Justice Kagan Warns Supreme Court Rulings Are Fueling Polarization • Dick Durbin Wants to ‘Walk Out’ the Front Door After 44 Years in Congress • Social Security Fixes Millions of Records After Trump’s Fraud Claims Fade Away
FROM FOGGY BOTTOM
Scoop: Ideological replacements of career diplomats. The State Department is aggressively trying to push out its most senior foreign service officers while recruiting and promoting new staff viewed as more politically loyal, The Sun’s Eric Katz reports. The department is asking senior diplomats to retire, demoting them and shrinking opportunities for them.
Senior leaders have increasingly leaned on the Ben Franklin Fellowship — a two-year-old Trump-aligned group of current and former State officials — to identify individuals to hire and promote. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau is one of the Ben Franklin Fellows. Tommy Pigott, a department spokesperson, defended the moves: “Those bureaucrats who are complaining to the press prove the point that they shouldn’t have, and can’t be, trusted with sensitive information.”
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
First on The Sun: New gun-safety group spending. Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund and the Democratic Governors Association are dropping another $3 million into digital ads for state-level races in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Wisconsin as Democrats fight for governorships and trifecta control in these states, The Sun’s Elena Schneider tells us. The ad buys come on the heels of Michael Bloomberg’s announcement that he’d be pumping in $80 million into Democrats’ midterm efforts, including through the DGA and Everytown.
Exclusive: Democrats’ bullish predictions. The House Majority PAC told donors in a private memo shared with Elena that seats Trump won by up to 21 percentage points are now within margin-of-error range for a flip. More cash could help make those dreams come true, the memo outlines: “Our polling shows that Democrats can compete in these districts, but translating that potential into additional victories will require resources to reach voters and make the case against vulnerable Republicans in the final sprint to Election Day.”
Reminder: The stakes are very high this midterm. According to a new poll from Gallup out this morning, just 43% of adults say “the federal government is effective at making a positive impact on people’s lives.” That’s an 8 point drop from last year. The poll shows a 49-point gap between the share of Americans who believe the federal government has the power to make a difference and those who say it’s actually doing it. That ambivalence toward the idea that elected officials can actually do anything of note sets a high bar for whomever wins. Add restore faith in government ever accomplishing things to the long agenda for any incoming Congress.
More: Susan Collins’ New Strategy: Sounding a Lot Like Her Democratic Opponent • James Talarico Campaign to Super PACs: Highlight Anti-Paxton Republicans
FROM DHS
Scoop: Kristi Noem plane fleet update. The purchase of several aircraft by the Department of Homeland Security during the final days of the former secretary’s tenure is tied to an “ongoing criminal law enforcement investigation,” the department’s Privacy Office told The Sun’s Mark Alfred. The acknowledgement was made as part of the department’s denial of an Oct. 14 FOIA request, and post-publication of Mark’s story, DHS said the response was “sent in error.”
NEW ON THE WASHINGTON SUN
Stocking up on STOCK Act violations: Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Florida) has violated the STOCK Act’s disclosure deadline for the second time this year by failing to properly report her husband’s sale of up to $100,000 in Bank of America stock, The Sun’s Dave Levinthal tells us. During a congressional STOCK Act hearing last year, Lee said Congress should “seriously consider” an “outright prohibition” on stock trading by federal lawmakers and their immediate family. Lee’s office acknowledged a request for comment but didn’t otherwise respond.
More: Trump Administration Takes Another Swing at California’s Medicaid Program • Researchers Watched 3,500 Immigration Hearings. They Found a Dismantled System. • What Does it Mean for Data Centers to Pay a Fair Share?
NOT US
- Trump’s new Hill liaison has the ‘single best resume’ for divided government, by Mia McCarthy for Politico
- Trump Jr. Privately Breaks With His Dad, by Vivian Salama and Ashley Parker for The Atlantic
- Jasmine Crockett insists she’s helping James Talarico in the best way possible, by Jeremy Wallace for the Houston Chronicle
- A Billionaire Wanted a Trump Pardon. His Family Gave Alina Habba a $50 Million Deal. By Tyler Pager for The New York Times
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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Andrew Burton.
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