“President Trump boasted this weekend of his growing power in his second term – and all the things he’s doing now that he wouldn’t dare in his first term, such as changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” NPR reports.
Said Trump: “I don’t think I could have done this in my first term. This is a much more powerful term. I can do stuff that’s unbelievable.”
He also joked about how big companies wouldn’t take his call in the first term, but “now they kiss my ass.”
“This may prove to be the most memorable ad of the entire election cycle. It is devastating. But I would’ve held it until the final weekend of the campaign. With this much time before the election, I fully expect the Democrats to have an equally devastating response.”
— Republican pollster Frank Luntz, quoted by Politico, on the campaign ad run by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R) featuring his opponent’s mother.
“Praising President Vladimir Putin as a ‘humanitarian,’ the Trump administration envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday thanked the Russian leader in St. Petersburg for releasing an American man held for over four years on what the State Department called fabricated charges,” the New York Times reports.
The gusher of polling this time of year can be overwhelming — so don’t forget to check the Polling Dashboard for the latest in all the key races.
“One of the biggest political shifts in the last presidential election is now swinging back against Donald Trump and the GOP — and it could cost them in some of the country’s most critical races,” Bloomberg reports.
“Latino voters have recoiled against the president this year after giving him surprising levels of support two years ago, pollsters in both parties say. The backlash is a major reason a Texas Senate seat is now in play and could sway other close Senate races. It’s also threatening GOP-leaning House seats.”
Paul Krugman: “Rising prices are the obvious explanation for this stress. And while presidents usually have much less influence on the economy than is generally recognized, the current outbreak of high inflation is all on Donald Trump. He began this with two wars of choice: one, a trade war with his destructive tariffs, and then an unwinnable military war in the most important energy transit point in the world.”
“There is, however, a third factor behind Americans’ anger, and it isn’t getting nearly as much attention as it should. There has been a catastrophic decline in health insurance coverage combined with sharply rising premiums for many of those who have managed to hang on to their coverage. And this, too, is all on Trump.”
“President Trump called for companies that build large data centers in the U.S. to make their own electricity and suggested they pay communities a dividend when constructing new facilities to blunt local opposition,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump: “New and large, in some cases gigantic, data centers are mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid.”
“Ohio’s bitter governor’s race got even uglier Tuesday when an attack ad surfaced featuring Democratic nominee Amy Acton’s long-estranged mother calling her daughter ‘a liar,’ prompting Acton’s brother to accuse Acton’s Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, of turning childhood rape ‘into a political talking point,'” the Washington Post reports.
“The 60-second video by Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, initially circulated on social media Monday night. It included no disclosure of who produced or financed it, and the Ramaswamy campaign early Tuesday did not acknowledge responsibility.”
Dan Pfeiffer: “This ad is so obviously gross that I think it will hurt Ramaswamy more than it will help. The most likely scenario is that it blows up in his face.”
“Ramaswamy’s biggest vulnerability is that he comes off like an overly ambitious, sleazy asshole. The worst caricature of a used-car salesman. His personality is repellent. But you don’t have to take my word for it. He got kicked off the DOGE commission because he was so annoying that people preferred dealing with Elon Musk.”
“French President Emmanuel Macron said recent riots are being used abroad for political purposes, accusing foreign leaders of disliking France,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Macron: “There is no visible foreign interference in the events that took place, but there has been foreign manipulation of information in the aftermath.”
“Without naming them, Macron suggested that President Donald Trump, whose party is struggling ahead of mid-terms elections, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a general election in the coming days, are campaigning at France’s expense.”
A new Marist poll in Michigan finds Abdul El-Sayed (D) leading Mike Rogers (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 50% to 48%.
The same poll in Michigan finds Jocelyn Benson (D) leading John James (R) in the governor’s race, 51% to 45%.
“If we don’t win, there’s no money. If we do win, you’re getting it.”
— President Trump, quoted by the Raleigh News & Observer, making promises of cash payouts of supporters in North Carolina.
A new Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll finds Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, 54% to 42%.
Playbook: “Two weeks from Election Day, Republicans are looking — and sounding — increasingly desperate.”
“JD Vance is making jokes insinuating Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico is gay. President Donald Trump and Michigan Republican Mike Rogers are labeling Democrat Abdul El-Sayed as a ‘jihadist.’ And GOP groups are pouring millions into misleading ads accusing Sherrod Brown and others of supporting sex changes for minors.”
“The latest October surprise to land on X this week: A now $4 million ad from Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother denouncing her own daughter as a liar. MAGA influencers and allies of Ramaswamy, including Donald Trump Jr., quickly seized on the video as a potential political kill shot in the governor’s race.”
“That shot backfired spectacularly.”
A new University of North Florida poll in Florida finds Byron Donalds (R) leading David Jolly (D) in the governor’s race, 49% to 47%.
The same poll in Florida finds Ashley Moody (R) leading Angie Nixon (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 45%.
“A majority of Americans say artificial intelligence is a bad thing for society and about two-thirds oppose the construction of new data centers in the U.S., with opposition even higher to building data centers in people’s own communities,” according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.
“The poll finds that a 57% majority of Americans say AI is bad for society while 42% say it is good for society.”
A new The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/University of Georgia poll in Georgia finds Jon Ossoff (D) leading Mike Collins (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 40%.
A new CNN/SSRS poll finds Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, 49% to 39%.
“For the second time in two months, President Donald Trump is heading to South Carolina to try to save a Senate seat Republicans considered safe until recently,” MS NOW reports.
“The reliably red bastion hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1998. But Republican Sen. Darline Graham is locked in an unexpectedly close race with Democrat Annie Andrews, and the GOP is pouring money and manpower into South Carolina in the campaign’s final stretch.”
“They have their work cut out.”
The Bulwark: Darline Graham’s seat isn’t safe. These voters explain why.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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