Morning Report — After losing debate to Harris, Trump doesn’t want a rematch

by Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch - 09/13/24 6:37 AM ET

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No debate rematch, former President Trump announced Thursday in response to the urging of Vice President Harris, through her campaign, to stage another televised faceoff.

Trump, pressured by negative reactions from Republicans and the news media about his scattered presentation in Philadelphia Tuesday night, tried to turn the tables on Harris to appear to be the winner.

“When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH,’” he posted on Truth Social, asserting he bested Harris during their 105-minute clash, during which she knowingly lured her opponent into outbursts that took him off topic.

During an Arizona campaign rally Thursday, Trump turned his attention to the economy with a proposal to end taxes on overtime wages for individuals who work more than 40 hours a week.

“We will end all taxes on overtime. You know what that means? Think of that. That gives people more of an incentive to work, it gives the companies a lot, it’s a lot easier to get the people,” Trump said.

The former president, notorious for his reluctance to concede rejection (such as his 2020 election loss) or fess up to poor judgment (such as repeating an unsubstantiated Facebook myth to 67 million debate viewers that Haitian immigrants in Ohio eat pets), returned to the topic of immigration in Arizona.

He called Haiti a “totally failed country” and said migrants are straining the community of Springfield, Ohio.

“Twenty-thousand illegal Haitian immigrants have descended upon the town of 58,000 people, destroying their entire way of life. This was a beautiful community and now it’s horrible what’s happened,” he said.

Some Republican candidates have expressed discomfort and disapproval of Trump’s off-key storytelling this week.

The Hill: A bomb threat, which caused the evacuation of the Springfield, Ohio, City Hall Thursday, used “hateful” language toward migrants and Haitians.

Meanwhile, Harris reminded a boisterous Greensboro, N.C., audience Thursday that Trump during the debate said he has “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act, a phrase that has taken off as a meme. Her audience filled the Greensboro Coliseum following her packed Charlotte rally earlier in the day. Tar Heel State Gov. Roy Cooper (D) and the state’s attorney general, Democrat Josh Stein, were among VIPs offering support for the nominee in a swing state that could be vital to capturing the necessary 270 electoral votes in November.

North Carolina will send out mail-in ballots within weeks, following reprinting after removing the name of presidential dropout Robert F. Kennedy Jr. under court order.

The New York Times: In narrowly divided North Carolina, voters in light blue Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, are key for Harris.

For both nominees, there are seven key battleground states in which the contest is ultra-close, including North Carolina. Poll results in 2020 in that state, among other swing states, were more Democratic-leaning than the actual results of the contest, according to an analysis released Thursday by the University of Virginia Center for Politics’ Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Polling miscues during past elections, charted in the brief, give the analyst Kyle Kondik pause. He writes of being “suspicious of Harris’s better polling position in North Carolina than Georgia” in the assembled data comparisons, adding, “note that the polling was generally closer to the mark in the latter than the former in both 2016 and 2020.”

Democrats’ hopes have risen because of poll results (nonetheless within the margin of error with Trump), evident voter enthusiasm and plentiful campaign contributions. But in past cycles, surveys in key states have not accurately captured Trump’s support — and that could be true in 2024.

The Hill’s Niall Stanage tracks Trump’s history of outperforming his poll ratings.

“Our best guess is that because Trump’s polling position is better than 2016 and 2020, it’s likelier that he’s at least not being as underestimated as much as he was in previous elections, if he is being underestimated at all,” Kondik continued.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

▪ 🌎 A rumble echoed around the world for nine days. Here’s what caused it.

▪ 🦻 The Food and Drug Administration approved a piece of software that will transform the latest model of Apple’s AirPods Pro earbuds into over-the-counter hearing aids.

▪ ✈️ Boeing’s largest union went on strike shortly after midnight PT, halting production of the company’s best-selling jets and dealing the latest blow to the struggling aerospace giant.

LEADING THE DAY

© The Associated Press / Manuel Balce Ceneta | Rep. Debbie Dingell (D), who represents constituents in a Michigan district, wants Democrats to be realistic about the deadlocked presidential contest in her swing state.

POLITICS & CAMPAIGNS

BACK TO EARTH: Democrats are reminding themselves to come back down to Earth after the high from Harris’s sharp debate performance. Despite the great night she had, The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Alex Gangitano write many in her party are cautious to claim victory just yet. Democrats are wary about assuming the debate will move the needle and still expect a hard fought and tight race ahead, pointing to Trump’s loyal base and the close margins in key swing states.

“I don’t think this election’s over,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) the head of the House Democrats’ messaging arm. “I’m not Debbie Downer, I’m Debbie Determined. So I thought she did outstanding… she got under his skin. He was angry. People saw the real Donald Trump. We were reminded about who he was. I clearly was on a high, and… one of my county supervisors called me, and immediately brought me back down to earth about what’s ahead the next 58 days. And there are Trump supporters that are going to support him no matter what.”

Michigan, one of the critical swing states this November, shows Harris and Trump in a dead heat, according to polling averages from Decision Desk HQ and The Hill. As of this writing, Harris has a 0.8 percentage point lead based on 28 polls.

Democratic Michiganders are well aware of the stakes: In July, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) warned then-candidate Biden that her state was not winnable for Democrats. Dingell was among the congressional Democrats to call for Biden to step down after his dismal June debate performance.

CONSPIRACIST: Far-right activist Laura Loomer has been a visible presence alongside Trump in recent days, sparking questions about her influence and drawing criticism from some Republicans. Loomer is an outspoken Trump supporter who is best known for spreading conspiracy theories and using racist rhetoric. She flew on Trump’s plane to Tuesday’s debate in Philadelphia and was part of his entourage as he attended memorial events Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She does not have any official role with Trump’s campaign, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill’s Brett Samuels. But her closeness to the former president has drawn attention during a critical stretch of his White House bid.

▪ Politico: Loomer was rebuked by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on social media Wednesday evening after referencing racist and offensive cultural stereotypes about Harris.

▪ The Washington Post: How an anti-immigrant rumor about Haitian migrants in Ohio spread from a random Facebook post to leadership of the Republican Party and the biggest influencers on social media so quickly.

DEEPFAKES ABOUND this election season, raising concerns about misinformation and privacy. Artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes of megastar Taylor Swift endorsing Trump led the singer to correct the record Tuesday, when she formally endorsed Harris on her Instagram account. In her post, Swift cited concerns around the rapidly developing AI technology and “the dangers of spreading misinformation.” Experts told The Hill’s Miranda Nazzaro that the admission by one of the globe’s most known superstars underscores a wider concern voters and public figures are feeling when it comes to AI and its impact on the 2024 election.

2024 Roundup

▪ Trump schedule: Today, Trump will hold a media event at Trump National Golf Course in Los Angeles. He will hold a rally in Las Vegas.

▪ Harris schedule: The vice president will take her campaign to Johnstown, Pa., and Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Today, running mate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will headline events in Grand Rapids, Mich., Lansing, Mich., and Wausau, Wis. On Saturday, Walz will appear in Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis.

▪ Policy: Trump allies are working on plans to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by selling holdings of the mortgage giants to investors, including sovereign wealth funds. Trump’s campaign, asked for comment, says the candidate has never publicly endorsed the idea. (Note: Trump endorsed creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund during a recent speech to the Economic Club of New York.)

▪ Young women are trending more liberal now than a decade ago — specifically on issues of abortion, the environment, gun laws and race relations — according to a Gallup study released Thursday.

▪ A state district judge struck down North Dakota’s abortion ban Thursday, saying that the state constitution creates a “fundamental right” to access abortion before a fetus is viable.

▪ In competitive districts, Democratic congressional candidates have pivoted from portraying Republicans as dangerous and extreme to ridiculing them as too odd to support.

▪ What do teens think of Trump? The youngest voters were 9 when he rode down a golden escalator to launch his presidential bid in 2015, and they were 11 in 2017 during a demonstration in Charlottesville, Va., by white nationalist extremists that left one woman dead and 19 people injured. Trump condemned the violence but not the white nationalists and neo-Nazis. Here’s what first-time voters remember (or don’t) from the Trump presidency.

▪ ⚖️ In Georgia’s pending election interference racketeering case, a judge threw out two counts against Trump, noting in a Thursday filing that they can no longer stand in the state’s prosecution because they involve accusations of perjury or false statements under federal jurisdiction.

▪ ⚖️ Trump on Thursday lost his appeal to the New York Court of Appeals seeking relief from a gag order imposed during his May hush money trial. Trump, found guilty on 34 felony charges, is to be sentenced Nov. 26, after the election.

WHERE AND WHEN

🤞Friday the 13th: Have a lucky day!

The House meets at 4 p.m. on Monday.

The Senate will be in session Monday at 3 p.m.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m. Biden and Harris will deliver remarks at a White House brunch at noon in celebration of Black excellence. The president will meet in the Blue Room to discuss Ukraine missile use and other issues with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 4:30 p.m. Biden will depart at 6 p.m. for a weekend in Wilmington, Del.

First lady Jill Biden will visit Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., at 12:30 p.m. and speak about the administration’s “Joining Forces” program, which supports military families.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff this afternoon will address a campaign event in Oxford, Miss., followed by a second political event this evening at The Villages in Florida.

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 2:30 p.m.

ZOOM IN

CONGRESS

SHUTDOWN WATCH: Senate Republicans are letting the air out of House Republican efforts to pump up a partisan standoff over federal funding, which they fear could risk an embarrassing government shutdown a few weeks before Election Day. GOP senators are urging Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to drop the proposal to require proof of citizenship for voter registration from the stopgap funding bill that needs to pass by the end of the month, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports. The senators acknowledge it has no chance of becoming law and that Democrats are likely to win any standoff over government funding a few weeks before Election Day.

Senate Democrats plan to bring their own clean stopgap bill to the floor during the last week of September — giving Johnson a chance to move first and save some face by introducing his own temporary funding bill without the citizenship issue.

Complicating the situation for Johnson? Trump, who for months has been calling for the citizenship bill to be added to a funding package. Johnson has made it a point to maintain a good relationship with Trump, write The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell, and as he pushes for his funding gambit, he has expressed strong support for the voting legislation in question, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.

“Mike’s job is complicated, trying to appease the conference,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a senior appropriator. “When there’s additional input coming from outside of the conference of significant influence — I mean, the former president’s got significant influence — that makes his decision making just a little bit more of a challenge.”

IVF: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — eager to drive a wedge among Republicans on the issue of in vitro fertilization — plans to force another vote next week on a bill defeated in June. It would mandate access to in vitro fertilization, a reproductive treatment that has broad voter backing (The Hill). Note: Last year, about 4 in 10 adults (42 percent) said they used fertility treatments or personally knew someone who had, up from 33 percent in 2018, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

▪ CBS News: Lawmakers will vote to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in contempt of Congress next week after he declined to appear at a Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill. De la Torre, who is facing bankruptcy, and private equity investors extracted hundreds of millions of dollars from his hospitals while health care workers and patients struggled to get the lifesaving supplies they needed.

▪ Politico: It’s a battle of the Andys: In the search for the next leader of the House Freedom Caucus, the race has narrowed to Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Andy Harris (R-Md.).

ELSEWHERE

INTERNATIONAL

RUSSIA LAUNCHED a major counterattack in the Kursk border region, more than a month after a surprise invasion by Ukraine that turned the tables in the war. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the “Russians have started counteroffensive actions,” adding that “everything is going in accordance with our Ukrainian plan” (NBC News).

Help for Ukraine’s offensive could come soon, as Biden appears on the verge of clearing the way for Kyiv to launch long-range Western weapons deep inside Russia, as long as it doesn’t use arms provided by the U.S. In a final bid to scare off the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday evening he would regard the development as equal to NATO directly entering the war (The New York Times and Politico).

▪ CNN: Ukraine’s Kursk offensive was seen as a major success, but it came at a huge cost.

▪ ABC News: The World Health Organization issued a stark warning Thursday about a potential health crisis in Ukraine as the country faces its third winter of war.

▪ Reuters: Rich countries have several hundred million doses of vaccines that could help fight an mpox outbreak in Africa, where donated shots fall far short of what is needed.

AN ISRAELI MILITARY UNIT conducted a raid in Syria earlier this week and destroyed an underground precision missile factory that Israel and the U.S. claim was built by Iran, Axios reports. The factory’s destruction appears to hamper an effort by Iran and Hezbollah to produce precision medium-range missiles in Syria.

CBS News: Israel bombed a school housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, killing 18 people including two staffers with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

VENEZUELA’S OPPOSITION CANDIDATE Edmundo González met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday, four days after fleeing to the country in a negotiated deal with President Nicolás Maduro’s government. González’s exile dealt a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his opposition campaign. His supporters in Venezuela and beyond, along with the U.S. government, consider him the legitimate winner of the July 28 presidential election (Reuters).

The U.S. on Thursday sanctioned 16 allies of Venezuela’s president over accusations of obstructing the election and repressing rights (ABC News).

OPINION

■ A decisive but shallow debate win for Harris, by Peggy Noonan, columnist, The Wall Street Journal.

■ These people have seen Harris in the Situation Room. Here’s what they have to say, by David Ignatius, columnist, The Washington Post.

THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congrats to winners of this week’s Morning Report Quiz! We asked puzzlers for smart guesses about celebrity presidential endorsements.

Here’s who earned a perfect score: Stan Wasser, Lynn Gardner, Bill Moore, Rick Schmidtke, Phil Kirstein, Richard E. Baznik, Linda L. Field, Paul Quillen, Jaina Mehta Buck, Harry Strulovici, Carmine Petracca, Randall S. Patrick, Sharon Banitt, Austin Sanders, Chuck Schoenenberger, John Trombetti, Steve James and Savannah Petracca.

They knew that after Tuesday’s presidential debate, Harris received the endorsement of self-professed “childless cat lady” Taylor Swift.

Trump, now the recipient of celebrity endorsements, endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary.

Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement boosted former President Obama’s 2008 campaign.

Singer Frank Sinatra endorsed presidential candidates from both parties, including FDR, JFK and Ronald Reagan. Not among them: Gerald Ford.

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