“Donald Trump said on social media during the debate that he would veto a national abortion ban, the first time he has clearly committed to a position that could appease some voters but is likely to anger his antiabortion allies,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump: “Everyone knows I would not support a federal abortion ban under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it, because it is up to the states to decide based on the will of their voters.”
ProPublica: “The conservative think tank has filed thousands of public-information requests, clogging the pipeline at federal agencies in an apparent attempt to find employees a potential Trump administration would want to purge.”
“The long-feared ‘wider war’ in the Middle East is here,” the New York Times reports.
“For the last 360 days, since the images of the slaughter of about 1,200 people in Israel last Oct. 7 flashed around the world, President Biden has warned at every turn against allowing a terrorist attack by Hamas to spread into a conflict with Iran’s other proxy, Hezbollah, and ultimately with Iran itself.”
“Now, after Israel assassinated the Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, and began a ground invasion of Lebanon, and after Iran retaliated on Tuesday by launching nearly 200 missiles at Israel, it has turned into one of the region’s most dangerous moments since the Arab-Israeli War of 1967.”
“The main questions now are how much the conflict might escalate and whether the United States will get more directly involved.”
“An unexploded U.S. bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries,” CBS News reports.
“The U.S. Supreme Court, faced with sagging public confidence and a deepening perception its decisions are politically-motivated, could soon play a critical role in how some 2024 presidential ballots are cast and counted and, potentially, how contested election results are certified,” ABC News reports.
“Hundreds of state and federal cases involving disputes over the legitimacy of state voter rolls, access to voting places, and procedures for counting ballots are currently pending. A majority of them were brought by Republicans.”
“President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill allowing criminal suspects to avoid prosecution by enlisting in Russia’s military,” Bloomberg reports.
Brian Stelter: “After the third and maybe final debate of this year’s election cycle, it can definitively be said: The Commission on Presidential Debates is a relic of the past.”
“The Democratic and Republican campaigns for president bypassed the commission this year, negotiated with individual TV networks, and – despite all the doubts and concerns – it worked. CNN, ABC and CBS produced their own debates and received kudos for doing so.”
“Networks vigorously competed to line up candidates; partisans bickered about the rules and formats; but the resulting debates were a public service. And in a rare and welcome show of solidarity, all the major networks televised their rivals’ events. Maybe it will work this way again in 2028?”
“As a deadly storm system approached the southeastern U.S. last week, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s office asked top state officials to support his call for emergency help,” WRAL reports.
“He needed approval from the other elected officials in North Carolina’s executive branch, a group of nine known as the Council of State, to exercise certain authorities under the N.C. Emergency Management Act. Their blessing would enable the Democratic governor to more easily mobilize rescue vehicles, order evacuations and begin other emergency actions by waiving some of the state’s transportation regulations for heavy vehicles.”
“Within an hour of making the request on Sept. 24 — before Helene ravaged the western part of the state — most of the council had responded with supporting votes. But come 9 a.m. the next morning, one member had yet to cast a vote: Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor.”
A new Gallup poll finds 58% of U.S. adults agree that a third major party is needed in the U.S. because the Republican and Democratic parties “do such a poor job” of representing the American people.
Will Saletan: “In Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, JD Vance and Tim Walz covered lots of issues: inflation, housing, guns, abortion, immigration, health care, and much more.”
“But there was only one question on which the vice presidency—the job for which these two men are competing—really matters. That question was whether they would certify the results of the next presidential election. And on that subject, Vance gave a non-answer that instantly disqualifies him: He refused to acknowledge that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.”
Playbook: “While millions of Americans watched last night’s debate, many millions more didn’t — and their impressions of the two would-be veeps are going to be shaped by short clips of the action that are going to be shared widely online and on TV coverage over the coming days.”
“It’s hard to see any one moment going more viral then when Walz pressed Vance on the 2020 election with a simple question: Who won? ‘Tim, I’m focused on the future,’ he said in reply — prompting Walz to call it a ‘damning nonanswer.'”
A new Navigator Research survey finds 50% of Americans now rate Project 2025 unfavorably and a majority oppose the plan.
Among Americans who have heard about Project 2025, they most associate the plan with abortion bans, immigration restrictions, and eliminating the Department of Education.
Key takeaway: “Pluralities continue to believe that Project 2025 accurately describes what Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress stand for.”
A new Cook Political Report Swing State Project Survey shows Kamala Harris leading or tied with Donald Trump in all but one of the seven battleground states. Overall, she holds a narrow lead of 49% to 48% in a two-way matchup.
Harris has a lead within the margin of error in Arizona (+2), Michigan (+3), Nevada (+1), Pennsylvania (+1), and Wisconsin (+2). Trump is ahead 49% to 47% in Georgia, and the two candidates are tied at 49% in North Carolina.
Key takeaway: “Underneath the topline numbers, though, there have been some significant shifts, most notably Trump’s slipping advantage on his two strongest issues — inflation and immigration.”
Playbook: “Not if you believe the polls. Beyond Poltico’s own survey, snap polls from CBS and CNN made similar findings: The debate just didn’t move the ball much.”
“Consider it this way: With the exception of Biden’s decision to hand the nomination over to Harris, this presidential race has been exceptionally resistant to big swings. If two conventions, two assassination attempts and a consensus presidential-debate rout aren’t going to impact the fundamentals of the race, don’t count on this to, either.”
Asked who won Tuesday’s debate, voters were split 50-50 over whether it was J.D. Vance or Tim Walz, according to a Politico/Focaldata snap poll of likely voters conducted just after the two faced off in a studio in New York City.
“Democrats overwhelmingly sided with Walz, while Republicans picked Vance as the winner. Walz had a commanding advantage with independents, 58 percent of whom sided with the Minnesota governor while 42 percent gave Vance the edge.”
“That is a damning non-answer.”
— Gov. Tim Walz (D), quoted by Axios, when Sen. J.D. Vance (R) refused to say whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
Axios: “Trump seemed intent on counter-programming his own running mate’s big night, reminding America who tops the ticket with live, all-caps screeds on Truth Social throughout the debate.”
New York Times: “Mr. Vance spent much of the night offering explanations for Mr. Trump’s policies that sounded accessible. But in one of the debate’s final exchanges, Mr. Vance found himself without an explanation for Mr. Trump’s behavior after the 2020 election. Mr. Vance tried, making the eyebrow-raising argument that Mr. Trump ‘peacefully gave over power on January the 20th.’”
“‘Did he lose the 2020 election?’ Mr. Walz questioned Mr. Vance.
“Mr. Vance dodged and pivoted. He argued that the Democrats were the real threat to democracy and claimed that Ms. Harris censored Americans, citing old Facebook policies. He had no answer to the question itself. The exchange showed both the limits and requirements of serving as Mr. Trump’s running mate. ‘That’s why Mike Pence isn’t on this stage,’ Mr. Walz said.”
“By the end of the evening, the Harris campaign said it was making an ad off the Jan. 6 moment.”
Washington Post: Vance refuses to say Trump lost in 2020, sparking debate’s biggest clash.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.