It’s Thursday. Have you seen this incredible photo of the Milky Way reflecting at Pensacola Beach, Fla.? HOW COOL IS THAT? Here’s what’s in today’s edition: Harris told CNN she believes Trump is a fascist. We’ll dive into the comments Trump allegedly made that sparked the attack. Trump called his former chief of staff John Kelly a “lowlife.”
McConnell reportedly said he thinks Trump has done damage to the GOP.
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
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Vice President Harris participated a debate-for-one Thursday night. She agreed to do the CNN appearance when the prospect of a second debate with former President Trump dwindled.
The big theme: Harris repeatedly referred to Trump as “unstable” and “unfit to serve,” and she largely leaned into her campaign stump speech.
Here are some of the top moments:
Harris says she thinks Trump is a fascist: CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Harris whether she believes Trump is a fascist. “Yes, I do. Yes, I do,” she replied. This was the big line of the night. 📹 Watch the clip
Does Harris support building a border wall?: Cooper noted that Harris supported a compromise immigration bill that includes $650 million to build a wall. “I’m not afraid of good ideas where they occur,” Harris said. After some back and forth, Cooper bluntly asked, “You do want to build some wall?” Harris replied, “I want to strengthen our border.” 📹 Watch the clip
Harris was asked about her weaknesses: “I may not be quick to have the answer as soon as you ask it about a specific policy issue sometimes because I’m going to want to research it. I’m going to want to study it,” she said. “I’m kind of a nerd sometimes, I confess. And some might call that a weakness, especially if you’re in an interview.” 📹 Watch the clip
My weakness is that I work too hard and care too much. 😉
Harris described the moment she found out President Biden stepped aside: She described calling her pastor and asking for advice. “I instinctively understood the gravity of the moment,” she said. 📹 Watch the clip Read more: ‘4 takeaways from Harris’s CNN town hall’
Meanwhile: Trump spent Wednesday evening in Georgia, holding a campaign rally in Duluth. Here are five takeaways from his rally |
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➤ A DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST THINKS IT WAS A ‘MIXED NIGHT’:
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Democratic strategist David Axelrod called Harris’s CNN town hall a “mixed night” for her.
What went wrong in Axelrod’s eyes: “The thing that would concern me is when she doesn’t want to answer a question, her habit is to kind of go to word salad city, and she did that on a couple of answers,” he said following the event.
Axelrod’s example: “One [example] was on Israel. Anderson asked a direct question, ‘would you be stronger on Israel than Trump?’ And there was a seven-minute answer, but none of it related to the question he was asking.” |
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➤ TRUMP SAID HE’D FIRE THE SPECIAL COUNSEL INVESTIGATING HIM:
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Former President Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he would fire special counsel Jack Smith within “two seconds” after taking office if he wins in November. Smith is handling the criminal cases against him. The quote from Trump: “Oh it’s so easy. It’s so easy. He’s a crooked person … It’s so easy. I would fire him within two seconds.”
Is Trump concerned he’d be impeached if he fires Smith?: He said “no.” (The Hill) |
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➤ HARRIS’S FLASHY FRIDAY:
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The Washington Post’s Tyler Pager and Michael Scherer report that music icons Beyoncé and Willie Nelson will appear at Harris’s Friday rally in Houston. It’s unclear if the singer will perform, The Hill’s Judy Kurtz reports. |
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Trump leads nationally, but tied in Sun Belt: |
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➤ MORE READS FROM THE TRAIL:
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- ‘“They’re Just Over It”: How Trump Has Converted Male Frustration Into a Movement’: Politico
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‘What a Donald Trump Win Would Mean for Abortion’: TIME
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‘Trump’s Depravity Will Not Cost Him This Election’: “Many Americans know exactly who Trump is, and they like it.” The Atlantic
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‘GOP candidates embrace Trump’s call to abolish Education Department’: The Washington Post
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It’s never a good day when multiple headlines involve Hitler: |
The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg published an interview with Trump’s longest-running former White House chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, who said the former president praised Adolf Hitler’s generals for their loyalty.
The quote getting attention: “‘I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,’ Trump said in a private conversation in the White House, according to two people who heard him say this. ‘People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.’”
Keep in mind: This isn’t the first we’re hearing of this reporting. Goldberg’s reporting affirms reporting from veteran journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser’s book. Read the piece in The Atlantic: “Trump: ‘I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had: The Republican nominee’s preoccupation with dictators, and his disdain for the American military, is deepening.” As you can imagine, this caused quite the stir.
The DNC turned the headline into a billboard: The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is deploying the mobile billboard ahead of Trump’s rally in Las Vegas today. 📹 Watch the clip made from the interview
The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser weighed in: “At least after the Access Hollywood tape in 2016, a few Republicans were chagrined enough to un-endorse Trump or refuse to appear with him,” she posted on social platform X. “Today, a Marine general says on record that Trump admired Hitler and… they’re all still backing him.” Keep in mind that Glasser co-wrote the book with similar reporting.
Trump called Kelly a ‘lowlife’: In a Truth Social post, Trump tried to paint Kelly as a “lowlife” and “a total degenerate” in response to the interview. 🔎 Read Trump’s full post |
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Republicans are making their Christmas wish lists: |
House and Senate Republican leaders have been mapping out their agenda for Trump’s first 100 days in office if he wins on Nov. 5. The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports on what that would entail:
The budget: Passing “a massive budget reconciliation package that would fulfill Trump’s promise of cutting taxes by trillions of dollars.”
The border: Republicans would try to pass a major border security package that would fund the border wall.
Taxes: Republicans will try to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act before it expires at the end of 2025. That was Trump’s signature legislative achievement.
Read more about the 2025 hypothetical: ‘GOP maps out agenda for Trump’s first 100 days’ Related: ‘Inside Trump World’s Prep for a Second Term,’ via The Wall Street Journal’s
Andrew Restuccia, Vivian Salama and Rebecca Ballhaus |
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➤ TIDBIT — MITCH MCCONNELL IS UNLOADING THESE DAYS:
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Outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) reportedly said he thinks Trump has hurt the Republican Party’s ability to compete and that the “MAGA movement is completely wrong.” From a new biography from AP’s Michael Tackett: “I think Trump was the biggest factor in changing the Republican Party from what Ronald Reagan viewed and he wouldn’t recognize today,” McConnell reportedly said. |
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➤ SPOTTED OUTSIDE THE CAPITOL …:
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An art installation “honoring” the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters. It includes a statue of poop. (h/t HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery) 📸 Photos |
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🥪 Celebrate: Today is National Bologna Day!
🎃 This is ominous: The Atlantic published a story with the headline, “No One Knows How Big Pumpkins Can Get.” The story talks about the world’s heaviest pumpkin, but this headline is worrying me.
🤖 Apple’s new iPhone has AI. What’s the review?: The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern writes that “Apple Intelligence Isn’t Very Smart Yet—and Apple’s OK With That.” |
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The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington and is headed to Arizona later today. Vice President Harris is in Pennsylvania and Georgia today. (all times Eastern) |
1:40 p.m.: Harris leaves Philadelphia and flies to Georgia. 3:30 p.m.: Biden leaves for Phoenix
5 p.m.: Former President Trump campaigns in Tempe, Ariz. 💻 Livestream
5 p.m.: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) campaigns in Wilmington, N.C. 💻 Livestream
5:30 p.m.: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) campaigns in Waterford, Mich. 💻 Livestream
7 p.m.: Harris campaigns with former President Obama in Atlanta. 💻 Livestream
8 p.m.: NewsNation will host a town hall with Vance in Michigan. 💻 How to watch 8:50 p.m.: Harris leaves for Houston
10 p.m.: Trump campaigns with former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) in Las Vegas. 💻 Livestream
Friday: Harris holds a campaign rally in Houston
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