GOP Influencers Largely Avoided Talking About Economy
New York Times: “More than 100 influencers were invited to the midterm convention by members of the Republican National Committee, a committee spokeswoman said. They were given some of the best seats in the arena and special ‘creator’ credentials that granted them access to a list of Republican Party leaders eager to sit for interviews.”
“They recorded content from special a platform directly across from the stage where the president spoke. They partied after hours at an event hosted by TikTok, where they snacked on miniature cheesecakes and an assortment of cake balls.”
“The difficult task facing these dozens of conservative influencers was figuring out how to boost the Republican Party, when the image of prosperity projected from the stage was different from the reality of surging costs.”
Republicans Embrace Cult Status
Rolling Stone: “It’s still Donald Trump’s party — and don’t you doubt it.”
“On the second night of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas — an event ostensibly meant to boost the GOP candidates on the ballot in November — the party fully embraced its status as a cult of devotion to a single man: the president.”
“In a video played on the screens throughout the American Airlines Center, a voice declared that ‘on June 14th, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker,’ so God gave us Trump.'”
“The video opened by zooming into planet Earth, landing on a childhood photo of the president.”
GOP Lawmaker Who Defied Trump Declared Winner
“Indiana’s Supreme Court on Thursday ruled after a months-long recount that a Republican incumbent state senator narrowly defeated his Trump-backed challenger in the GOP primary for the state Senate seat,” NBC News reports.
“The court declared state Sen. Spencer Deery the winner of the Senate District 23 Republican primary in May, certifying that he beat challenger Paula Copenhaver by three votes, and ordering that his name appear on the general election ballot in November.”
Surgeon General Pick Held Tobacco and Pharma Stocks
“President Donald Trump’s surgeon general nominee reported investments in the tobacco company Philip Morris International,” NewsNation reports.
“Nicole Saphier disclosed these investments in an ethics agreement, where she pledged to completely or partially divest from those companies, as well as shed stock holdings with a host of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry leaders — including Eli Lilly, Biogen, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Merck, AbbVie and more.”
Congress Wakes Up to the AI Doomsday Threat
“A groundswell of urgency over artificial intelligence is surging in Congress amid growing fears that the technology could destroy civilization,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“After years of limited actions, dozens of lawmakers are now touting new proposals to regulate artificial-intelligence models that have stepped up their capabilities.”
Axios: Congress gripped by AI panic after doomsday warnings.
Republicans Ask Voters to Be Patient On the Economy
“President Donald Trump and his Republican allies sought to tackle voters’ concerns about the economy and the rising cost of living at their two-day midterm convention, with affordability proving to be one of the biggest themes throughout,” NBC News reports.
“The message was clear: Help is on the way — but it’s going to come after the November elections.”
Iran Used American AI Model to Target U.S. Navy Warships
“Iran used American-developed artificial-intelligence models to try to target U.S. Navy ships in the Middle East, according to an Anthropic report warning of emerging national-security dangers,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“An Iranian-linked group compiled information from ship and aircraft transponders, military photographs and commercial satellite photos to track American warships and look for vulnerabilities in their ship-born communications.”
Flanagan Leads Tafoya in Minnesota Senate Race
A new Quantus Insights poll in Minnesota finds Peggy Flanagan (D) leading Michele Tafoya (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 44%.
Minnesota Senate Race
Peggy Flanagan (D) 48%
Michele Tafoya (R) 44%
Moody Leads Nixon in Florida Senate Race
A new Quantus Insights poll in Florida finds Ashley Moody (R) leading Angie Nixon (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 50% to 43%.
Florida Senate Race
Ashley Moody (R) 50%
Angie Nixon (D) 43%
Friedrich Merz Determined to Cling On in Germany
“Chancellor Friedrich Merz is determined to hold on to power in Germany in defiance of the growing numbers within his party seeking to push him out of office,” Bloomberg reports.
“The German leader is facing a wave of frustration over communication missteps and his failure to gain traction with the public as he struggles to revive economic growth. The far-right’s stunning victory in a state election on Sunday, putting the party within reach of leading a right-wing state government for the first time since World War II, has thrown Merz’s leadership into more disarray.”
Sand Holds Solid Lead in Iowa Governor’s Race
A new YouGov poll in Iowa finds Rob Sand (D) leading Zach Lahn (R) in the governor’s race, 50% to 39%.
Iowa Governor’s Race
Rob Sand (D) 50%
Zach Lahn (R) 39%
Turek Just Ahead in Iowa Senate Race
A new YouGov poll in Iowa finds Josh Turek (D) leading Ashley Hinson (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 44% to 43%.
Iowa Senate Race
Josh Turek (D) 44%
Ashley Hinson (R) 43%
How Republicans Are Framing the Midterms
“Republicans made their midterm convention all about red meat for their base. Their message on affordability, the issue voters are hungriest to hear about, was just a side dish,” Politico reports.
“On stage at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention, in private meetings just offsite in hotels around Dallas, and in TV ads airing in between live coverage of the unusual spectacle, the party’s main focus was painting Democrats as too extreme.”
“But poll after poll shows that the cost of living is voters’ top concern by a wide margin. And while Republican leaders touted the Trump administration’s tax cuts and other economic policies in their speeches, few spent much time making an affirmative case for alleviating those concerns.”
NPR: Empty seats, socialism and Trump dominate the Republican midterm convention.
Inflation Was 3.4% in August with Gas Prices Still Elevated
“The annual inflation rate remained elevated last month, with Americans still paying high prices for gasoline,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The inflation rate held steady at 3.4% in August, the Labor Department said Friday. That matched analyst expectations and was even with July’s 3.4%.”
“The August inflation reading has big implications for a Federal Reserve that has been sharply divided over whether it should raise rates at its policy-setting meeting next week. At the Fed’s last meeting, in July, three officials dissented in favor of raising rates, and others have since said they could join them if inflation doesn’t improve. Heading into Friday’s report, interest-rate futures implied there was a two in three chance the central bank would increase its target range on overnight rates by a quarter point.”
Al Franken Endorses Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan
“Former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and more than two dozen other Jewish Americans are endorsing Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan whose strong criticism of Israel has concerned some Jewish voters and leaders,” the Washington Post reports.
”Franken and the other signatories acknowledged that El-Sayed’s positions on Israel ‘have been a concern for many’ but argued that his views ‘are much less outside the mainstream’ than the discourse around his campaign might suggest.”
Rand Paul and Staff Flew Private Jet to Investigation
“Six staffers for one of Capitol Hill’s most outspoken deficit hawks traveled by private jet as part of a bipartisan congressional investigation into the attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump — costing taxpayers nearly $18,000,” Politico reports.
“The $17,827 flight, billed to New Flight Solutions Inc. constituted over 18% of the total amount the committee spent on travel and transportation between April 1 and Sept. 30, 2024. It came as other staffers on the committee secured travel accommodations for a fraction of that price — by driving or flying commercial — to investigate whether the Secret Service could have done more to protect Trump from a rogue gunman.”
Trump’s Iran War Enters Seventh Month
“The war with Iran is now more than a half-year old with no signs of ending, and there’s precious little talk lately from President Donald Trump and his administration that a negotiated conclusion is imminent,” Politico reports.
“What’s left is a price tag that keeps climbing and the promise that the war’s costs will drop precipitously once America wins a war it can’t seem to end.”
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