Politics
Why new polling should be a wake-up call for the Democrats
This is an adapted excerpt from the Oct. 13 episode of “Ayman.”
With just a little more than three weeks to go until Election Day, the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is a dead heat. New NBC News polling released Sunday has the race tied, with Harris and Trump both at 48% nationally among registered voters. It’s a noticeable drop from last month’s NBC News poll that had Harris leading Trump by five points within the margin of error.
What if adhering to presidential norms is the thing hurting Harris’ campaign?
When Harris entered the race in July, she brought with her a wave of momentum and excitement. So, just a few short months later, many may be asking: How did we get here? How is the race still this close?
After all, Trump has been opting out of debates in favor of interviews with podcast bros, ranting nonsensically about circles, and even appearing at Coachella — of all places — in a last-minute Hail Mary attempt to win support in blue states.
Meanwhile, Harris has been acting like a presidential candidate. She’s been holding town halls with voters and spent all of last week going on a heavy-duty media blitz. But what if that’s the problem? What if adhering to presidential norms is the thing hurting Harris’ campaign?
After all, she’s positioned herself as a new candidate for the future. It was a message anxious Democrat voters needed to hear after President Joe Biden caved to pressure and dropped out of the race. But since then, she hasn’t distanced herself from Biden, instead, she’s held on tight to him and his policies.
In two different interviews in just the past few days, Harris was given the opportunity to explain how her presidency would be different from Biden’s. But the best the vice president seemed to come up with was telling Stephen Colbert, “I’m not Joe Biden but I’m not Donald Trump.”
The problem is, that distinction may not be enough for voters. The closer she’s kept herself to Biden’s unpopular policies, especially on Gaza, the more harmful it’s been for her campaign.
Instead of meeting with leaders of the Uncommitted Movement to ease their concerns about Israel’s assault on Gaza and create daylight between Biden’s stance on the war and hers, Harris is touting the support of Republicans like former Rep. Liz Cheney. She’s even promised to convene a bipartisan counsel of advisers, including Republicans, on policy should she win.
Compare the vice president’s polling position today to Trump’s in 2016. Eight years ago, he was a complete political novice. Voters had no idea how he would govern but they still voted him into office. Today, his supporters know exactly who he is and who he’ll be as president. So much so that, according to USA Today’s David Jackson, Trump is polling better today than he was in 2016 and 2020.
The closer she’s kept herself to Biden’s unpopular policies, especially on Gaza, the more harmful it’s been for her campaign.
This should serve as a wake-up call for the Harris campaign. With Trump, the American people know what they’re getting. He stands for fascismauthoritarianism and the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.
But the question for Democrats in this last stretch remains: What are you for? What is Harris for? And, in the end, will it be enough to stop Trump and his authoritarian vision for the country?
Ayman Mohyeldin is an BLN anchor who has long reported on the Middle East and the Arab world. He is the host of “Ayman” which airs Saturdays and Sundays at 7 p.m. EST.
Allison Detzel
contributed
.
Politics
Hageman launches bid for Wyoming Senate seat
Wyoming GOP Rep. Harriet Hageman on Tuesday announced her campaign for Senate, hoping to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis in next year’s election.
The Wyoming Republican is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, and with his backing she helped oust Republican then-Rep. Liz Cheney, a vocal critic of Trump’s, in the 2022 primary.
“This fight is about making sure the next century sees the advancements of the last, while protecting our culture and our way of life,” Hageman said in her launch video. “We must dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the next 100 years is the next great American century.”
Lummis announced she would not seek reelection last week, saying she felt like a “sprinter in a marathon” despite being a “devout legislator.” Hageman, who had been debating a gubernatorial bid, was expected to enter the Senate race.
Hageman touted her ties to the president in her announcement video, highlighting her record of support for Trump’s policies during her time in the House and vowing to keep Wyoming a “leader in energy and food production.”
“I worked with President Trump to pass 46 billion in additional funding for border security, while ensuring that Wyomingites do not pay the cost of new immigration. We work together to secure the border and fund efforts to remove and deport those in the country illegally,” she said.
Trump won the deep-red state by nearly 46 points in last year’s election, and Hageman herself was reelected by nearly 48 points, according to exit polling.
Still, Hageman bore the brunt of voters’ displeasure earlier this year during a town hall. As she spoke of the Department of Government Efficiency, federal cuts and Social Security, the crowd booed her.
Politics
Ben Sasse says he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer
Former Sen. Ben Sasse announced on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer.
The Nebraska Republican shared the news on X, writing in a lengthy social media post that he had received the diagnosis last week.
“Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence,” Sasse said. “But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.”
The two term senator retired in 2023 and then went on to serve as president of the University of Florida. He eventually left the school to spend more time with his wife, Melissa, after she was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Sasse continued to teach classes at University of Florida’s Hamilton Center after he stepped down as president. He previously served as a professor at the University of Texas, as an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and as president of Midland University.
Sasse on Tuesday shared that he and his wife have only grown closer since and opened up about his children’s recent successes and milestones.
“There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst,” Sasse said. “As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.”
Sasse said he’ll have more to share in the future, adding that he is “not going down without a fight” and will be undergoing treatment.
“Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape,” Sasse said.
Politics
Cannon keeps Jack Smith’s classified records report under wraps for now
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday lifted restrictions on the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s findings from his investigation into President Trump’s handling of classified records — but she gave the president a 60-day window to challenge her order. Cannon did not immediately lift her order barring the Justice Department from sharing…
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