Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.
In today’s edition, chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander recaps President Joe Biden’s big foreign policy push before the first debate. Plus, politics managing editor Amanda Terkel dives into the often emotional fundraising appeals from Donald Trump’s campaign.
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Foreign policy dominates Biden’s agenda before the first debate
By Peter Alexander
We’re now two weeks away from the first general election presidential debate, and we’re also just days removed from the guilty verdicts against Donald Trump and Hunter Biden.
But if there’s been a set of issues that have dominated President Joe Biden’s time and schedule during this crucial stretch, it’s been foreign affairs and international relations.
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Last week, Biden traveled to France for a state visit and the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
And while part of that trip had a fixed eye on America’s domestic audience — especially Biden’s speech on democracy and freedom — so much else was focused on foreign affairs.
Covering that trip for NBC News, what struck me most — of course, after what may be the last formal gathering of D-Day veterans — were the public discussions about who will be guiding the U.S. less than a year from now. Even along the hallowed ground at Normandy American Cemetery, some of those in attendance for Biden’s speech — in which he denounced isolationism — were donning red MAGA hats.
Behind all the powerful imagery of that place and the stories of a unified Western alliance in World War II was the stark reality that Americans, 80 years later, are deeply divided.
Then this week — just days after his son’s conviction — Biden flew to Italy for the G7 meeting of leading Western nations and Japan.
At the top of Biden’s agenda there was a 10-year U.S. security agreement with Ukraine, as well as a $50 billion loan to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“Again and again and again, we’re going to stand with Ukraine,” Biden said Thursday in Italy.
Yet underscoring the policy stakes of the 2024 election, the future of that U.S.-Ukraine security agreement could depend on the winner in November, given Trump’s past rhetoric on Russia and Ukraine.
In election years, these international trips can bolster a commander-in-chief’s image back at home — and allow him to plant America’s flag abroad (as both Ronald Reagan and Biden did in D-Day speeches that were 40 years apart).
But with polls showing the economy, inflation, immigration and democracy ranking as American voters’ top concerns for the upcoming election, it’s quite likely that these were Biden’s final trips abroad before the election — especially as the 2024 campaign truly heats up with the first debate this month.
From hugs to guillotines, Trump’s fundraising emails are a roller coaster
By Amanda Terkel
“You’re on my mind.”
“Do you need a hug?”
“I love you.”
“They want to sentence me to death!”
No, these aren’t increasingly desperate attempts at romance (albeit with a terrifying swerve at the end) from someone you met on a dating app.
They are fundraising emails from Donald Trump.
“It’s like a reading multiple-personality battery test. I’m not sure exactly what they’re aiming for,” said Democratic strategist Tim Lim.
But for the Trump campaign, the answer is clear: “a personal feel.”
“The Trump campaign cares about supporters and every single American. President Trump’s supporters appreciate messages that have a personal feel, in addition to messages highlighting Crooked Joe Biden’s record of failure and weakness,” said Caroline Sunshine, the Trump campaign’s deputy communications director.
Politicians (and scammers) have long leaned on emotional appeals to get people to part with their money. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee became the scourge of donors’ inboxes with frequent, dire fundraising emails like, “URGENT” and “We’re on the verge of the Dem-pocalypse,” beseeching loyal Democrats to give money before it was too late.
Then-President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign helped bring the country to this point when it realized the effectiveness of casual subject lines that sounded like they were coming from a friend. Things like “Hey” and “I don’t usually email” raked in big bucks.
But if Obama was your laid-back pal up for grabbing a cup of coffee, Trump’s vibe veers from intimacy to fear and back again.
Read more on Trump’s fundraising pleas →
🗞️ Today’s top stories
- ⚖️ Decision day: Another day, another major Supreme Court decision: A 6-3 majority ruled that a Trump-era federal ban on bump stocks , gun accessories that allow semiautomatic rifles to fire more quickly, is unlawful. As NBC News’ Jonathan Allen writes, Trump and the gun lobby supported a regulation, rather than legislation, on the devices in the wake of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting to deal with the immediate political backlash, but with the understanding that the court would likely overturn it in the future. Read more →
- 💊 Abortion bill landscape: Here’s what access to mifepristone looks like around the country after the Supreme Court upheld access to the abortion pill. Read more →
- 📈 The art of the deal: Trump told a group of CEOs during a private meeting in Washington on Thursday that he would cut taxes and curtail business regulations if he wins the White House again. But multiple attendees told CNBC they were not impressed by the former president. Read more →
- 🧓 The golden years: On Trump’s 78th birthday, The Washington Post looks at how his age plays into his race against Biden, whose age (81) has commanded more of the spotlight so far. Read more →
- ❌ Not gonna happen: The Justice Department said it wouldn’t charge Attorney General Merrick Garland after House Republicans voted to hold him in contempt of Congress. Read more →
- 🪖 Going on offense with defense: The GOP-led House passed its military spending authorization bill largely along party lines, legislation that includes policies targeting abortion and DEI. Read more →
- ☑️ Fact check: Conservative media used a misleading camera angle of Biden to falsely claim that he was wandering aimlessly at the G7 summit. Read more →
That’s all from The Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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