Welcome to the online edition of From the Politics Desk. This evening newsletter brings you the latest reporting and analysis from campaigns, the White House and Capitol Hill from the NBC News politics team.
In today’s issue, senior national political correspondent Sahil Kapur breaks down how Kamala Harris is dealing with changes in border politics. Plus, “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker previews next week’s vice presidential debate.
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Harris seeks to neutralize immigrant vulnerability as politics moves to the right
Written by Sahil Kapur
Kamala Harris took a tough stance on immigration at the US-Mexico border in Arizona today, aiming to neutralize political vulnerability and counter the core message of Donald Trump’s campaign. There is.
Harris’ immediate goal is to show moderate voters that she will aggressively enforce laws and curb immigration. After struggling with this issue, Democrats finally found what they believe to be a winning message. It was a reminder to voters that President Trump pressured Republicans this spring to kill bipartisan legislation that would tighten border controls and make asylum difficult.
Trump has long held a clear lead among voters on immigration, but an NBC News poll shows that lead is narrowing. When asked in January which candidate is better on issues of border security and immigration control, voters favored Trump over Joe Biden by 35 points.
But this month’s poll showed Trump’s lead over Harris on that question narrowed to 21 points. The gender gap remains stark, with Trump leading Harris on the border issue by 41 points among men, 52 points among white men, and 13 points among nonwhite men.
In addressing the issue, Harris highlighted another aspect of her career: as California’s top law enforcement officer, she was a tough prosecutor who took on international gangs and organized crime. Her message reflects a broader orientation within the Democratic Party on immigration, with tighter border controls likely to be a focus in the coming years regardless of which party wins the election. It foretells that the policy landscape will change.
โThe priority is to keep the border under control. Right now, that number is very low, and there is no guarantee that it will remain that way. We can’t guarantee that it won’t be reversed,โ Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the party’s chief negotiator on large-scale border security measures, told NBC News. In an interview. โI think prioritizing border security will make it easier to pass other reforms into law.โ
Harris’ pitch comes after she took more left-leaning positions as a presidential candidate in 2019, including supporting a call to reduce illegal border crossings to a civil offense rather than a criminal offense and opposing Obama-era deportations. It completes a complete transformation. At the time, Democrats placed less emphasis on enforcement in their messaging and more on expanding opportunities for future immigration.
But while Harris wants to repeal the bipartisan border bill, the Republican’s chief negotiator said that’s easier said than done.
“There’s no bill that you can just take and move on to the next year, because that doesn’t work,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said in an interview. “I think she knows that. It’s a good topic, but mechanically it’s not really.”
Considering the size of future Vance and Waltz debates
Written by Kristen Welker
Vice presidential debates usually don’t matter until they’re actually debated.
Recall that Joe Biden performed well against Paul Ryan after Barack Obama struggled in the first debate in 2012. Or Lloyd Bentsen’s famous rendition of “You’re not Jack Kennedy” to Dan Quayle in 1988. Or James Stockdale’s famous/infamous “Why Am I Here?” line from 1992.
Perhaps this is the best way to think about Tuesday’s debate between Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Walz. It probably won’t affect the race, but it could help the Republican ticket after Donald Trump’s heated debate this month. If Walz performs well, it could give Harris’ campaign even more momentum and provide a memorable moment.
Let’s start with the overall stakes. The debate comes as Kamala Harris opens up a narrow lead (both nationally and in key battlegrounds), albeit within the margin of error. This also comes in the wake of a snap poll that led many observers to conclude that Harris defeated Trump in the first, and perhaps only, debate.
Therefore, this could be the last debate with members eligible to vote in 2024.
Second, there are various media strategies for this discussion. Vance has given interviews almost everywhere and with various news organizations, including “Meet the Press.” This compares to Walz’s past reluctance to engage with national news media. That relative silence could raise the stakes of his argument.
And there are votes for both men. NBC News’ latest national poll found that 40% of voters have a positive view of Walz, compared to 33% (+7) who have a negative view. Vance’s numbers, by contrast, were the worst for a vice presidential candidate our poll has ever measured, at 32% positive and 45% negative (-13).
Does the discussion change those views or only strengthen them? That’s just some of the things I’ll be looking at Tuesday night.
๐๏ธ Today’s Top News
๐ค The secret to the deal: During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, President Trump said he would work on a “win-win” deal to end the war with Russia. He also complained about the 2019 impeachment, which centered on a phone call with Zelensky. Continue reading โ ๐ป Hacking charges: Three Iranians were indicted on charges of hacking into the Trump campaign, stealing emails and documents, and sharing them with the press. Read more โ โ๏ธ Latest legal information: New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges. Continue reading โ ๐๏ธ No Cabinet reshuffle: Given the possibility that Harris’ team will be up against an uncooperative Republican Senate, Harris’ team will not reshuffle any of Biden’s appointees if she wins in November. The government is considering keeping members of the department within the cabinet. Continue reading โ ๐ฑ Direct criticism via direct message: The Washington Post reports that in a 2020 Twitter direct message, Vance predicted that Trump would lose the election and wrote that he had โfailed to deliver on economic populism.โ reported that he harshly criticized the president, who is currently running for office. โ Continue reading โ ๐ฃ๏ธ On the trail: Vance attends Saturday event with self-proclaimed prophet who accused Harris of using โwitchcraft.โ Continue reading โ โ ๏ธ Sound the alarm: Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner is calling on the Biden administration to help state and local officials fight disinformation ahead of the election. Continue reading โ ๐ฒ Tariff Talk: As Democrats attack President Trump’s tariff proposals, one of the party’s most vulnerable members of Congress has introduced a bill to codify the tariffs. Continue reading โ ๐ณ๏ธ Ballot battle: Supreme Court rejects Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attempt to appear on the New York general election ballot. Continue reading โ ๐ค Swift Reputation: The latest NBC News national poll tests voters’ views of Taylor Swift and finds she has bad blood with Republicans. Read more โ Follow live updates from the campaign trail โ
That’s all from the political desk. If you have any feedback, love it or hate it, email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com.
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