Welcome to the online edition of From The Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that provides the latest reports and analysis from the NBC News Politics team’s White House, Capitol Hill and Campaign Trail.
Today’s edition examines how President Donald Trump’s economic approach places defensive Congress members as the stock market continues to struggle. Additionally, there are new excerpts from Jonathan Allen’s upcoming books on the 2024 campaign.
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– Adam Walner
breaking break news: Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has been tolerant, saying he will not block the Republican suspension funds bill, and has argued that the government shutdown will give Trump “more power.” Read more →
Trump’s economic issues have made Republicans defend
Jonathan Allen, Carol E. Lee, Sahil Kapoor
President Donald Trump’s full speed approach to making radical change forced his allies to fight from a defensive stance – explaining his plans after they were executed – in his Republican party, it all could end up in a wreck.
The concerns are particularly severe when it comes to the economy, with stock markets halting and many economists projecting slow growth or recession. These fears have not stopped Trump from continuing to impose tariffs on his enemies and friends. We believe this will raise prices for US consumers.
“I’m worried,” said someone involved in a discussion about the economy with White House officials. These impacts on the market and the economy are immediately felt, but policies aimed at promoting growth, including tax and regulations cuts, will take much longer to implement, the person said.
The dark economic clouds force Trump administration officials to explain on the first day why the president’s lofty promises on the campaign trail to “end inflation” and “make America affordable again” have not been realized.
“This has always been part of the plan,” Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins recently said of Fox News. “The president is very focused. It’s not a short term. …He really wants to fix America.”
What the Hill Republicans say: Minecround Senator, Rs.D. said Trump has the latitude to pursue a trade war, but he thinks it’s not a long-term expense.
“Look, this is not the way I do it,” Round said of the White House tack. “They want to try something different from their previous administrations, but they have to show success pretty quickly.”
Senator Rand Paul said Trump’s “dramatic tariffs” in Canada and Mexico could be “economically devastating,” including his hometown.
“There’s a story about cars that cost another $10,000. And of course we’re worried about bourbons. We want to sell bourbons. Canadians are trying to block our bourbons,” Paul said. “Now you added it the cost of wood and steel with duties, so no one in the house is coming to me and saying they will put duties on it.”
Read more →
The latest in the stock market: The S&P 500 fell 1.4% on Thursday, falling as February was over 10%. It completely erases all the benefits of elections since November and returns to the level we last saw in September.
Trade War Latest: Trump threatens to impose tariffs on 200% alcohol from the EU after the European Union places 50% tariffs on American whiskey
Other things you need to know from today’s President Trump
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to narrow down national injunctions that would hinder plans to end automatic birthright citizenship. Thousands of probation employees fired from federal agencies must recover, a federal judge ruled. The nomination of former R-FLA Rep. Dave Weldon led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just before this confirmation hearing this morning. He added that he may need to “make a call with Trump” to accept further terms before an agreement is reached.
“No sunlight, kids”: How Joe Biden handcuffed Kamala Harris
Jonathan Allen
The following will be published by William Moreau on April 1st from the upcoming book, Fight: Inside the Wildest the Wild Battle for the White House by Jonathan Allen and Amy Perns. Copyright©2025 by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes. Reprinted courtesy of Harpercollins publisher. You can pre-order here.
Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris understood the importance of being seen as bigger change agents.
For Trump, that meant continuing to promise an antidote for Joe Biden Harris year. For Harris, she has more flexibility in defining her brand change. She risked looking hypocritical by taking a clean break with Biden on the policies she supported as Vice President, and she made her own agenda by rejecting some of their records. She was able to identify new issues to avoid avoiding the pitfalls of turning away from her Biden era. Or, she could rely on voters to see her gender, genes, and her “living experiences,” a middle class development, school outside the Ivy League, and her career as a prosecutor, as symbols of change.
Biden and his loyalists removed their first choice from the table. He’ll publicly say that Harris should do what he has to do to win. But personally, including a conversation with her, he repeated the warning: make sure there is no sunlight between us. “No Daylight” was the phrase he used in 2008 as a vice presidential candidate to connect Republican candidate John McCain to unpopular President George W. Bush.
Almost everywhere she went, Harris walked between former Biden aides who tried to protect the presidency. Her campaign was run by the former White House vice chief of staff. She had just given the authority to support her best friend.
The day before Harris’ first interview with Tim Waltz, she jumped into repeated questions between herself and Biden about whether and when to shine the sunlight. Veteran democratic communication strategist Stephanie Cutter was launched in the proposed preamble. This is a list of all the items Harris was proud of working with Biden.
“Wait, wait, wait!” said Sean Klegg, a longtime Harris advisor who was considered suspicious by Biden Holdovers, who runs the campaign. “Don’t do this, don’t go down memory lane.” That was the last time he was invited to Media Prep. Cutter, another Harris’ confidant later joked, cutting him off.
Cutter didn’t have the authority to create lineup cards for media preparation sessions, two senior campaigners told NBC News on condition of anonymity.
The segment produced a bit of news when Harris sat down with Waltz and CNN’s Dana Bash in the final week of August. She also said she no longer supports a ban on fracking.
Her call to end her 2019 practice threatened to hurt her in Pennsylvania despite adopting Biden’s novan policy as Biden’s vice presidential candidate in 2020.
Sitting next to Waltz, she was under him, sitting in a chair that appeared to praise Biden’s record, Harris didn’t look like a candidate seeking the best office on the land. The entire scene reinforced criticism that the Vice President was unable or afraid of the tough questions himself.
For the rest of the campaign, her team requested that they provide chairs that meet certain specifications. “Legs are over 15 inches tall. Seats are over 18.9 inches tall from the floor. The arms of the chair may not be that high, and the arms must fall to natural height. The chairs must be sturdy.”
No matter how solid her chair is, the question Harris faces was whether she could build a sturdy platform.
Her rally and convention speeches did not answer the question of why she was running for president or how her vision for her country would reach voters other than in line. She had exhausted her big moments to explain her vision to a wide audience. Her September 10th discussion with Trump will provide a last chance – perhaps a last chance before voters vote early to establish a key part of her story.
But on the day of discussion, Biden called on Harris to give him an extraordinary kind of pep talk. He was no longer able to protect his records, so he hoped that Harris would protect his legacy. Whether she won or lost the election, he thought he would only hurt him by publicly distanced himself from him, especially in the debate that millions of Americans have seen. As long as she wanted to build her own path, Biden was not interested in giving him a room to do so. He only needed three words to tell him how important it was to him.
“There’s no sunlight, kids,” Biden said.
today’s other top stories
🏃Are you expecting a high-quality office? Former Transport Secretary Pete Battigigue said he will not run for the Senate or governor in Michigan next year, and could set up another presidential bid in 2028. Retreat tonight. Read more → 🏫School Outings: Washington, DC, parents protested a halted government funding bill passed by the House, including a $1 billion cut in the city’s budget. Read more → 💲Taxman: Trump’s chosen Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, could be low in Medicare and Social Security Tax, according to a new memo from Democrat staff on the Senate Committee who oversaw his appointment. Read more Read more → RIP: D-Ariz. Raúl Grijalva of the group died Thursday at the age of 77 after receiving treatment for cancer. Read more →
For now, it’s all from the political desk. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman.
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