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September 5th 2024

A sharp round-up of the most important political news

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The US in brief

A sharp round-up of the most important political news

A judge in Washington, DC, having considered the implications of the Supreme Court’s recent presidential-immunity ruling, will begin to set out on Thursday how Donald Trump’s federal-election-interference case should proceed. Tanya Chutkan must decide whether the broad immunity the decision granted for “official” acts applies to Mr Trump’s alleged conduct in this case. That will involve discussing with the prosecution and defence teams which allegations and what evidence the court can consider, which may take months.

Joe Biden is reportedly preparing to prevent Nippon Steel, a Japanese firm, from buying US Steel. Kamala Harris and Mr Trump both advocate blocking the $15bn acquisition and keeping the firm under American ownership. On Wednesday US Steel’s boss suggested that jobs might be lost and that the firm might leave Pittsburgh, a city in Pennsylvania, a swing state, if the deal falls through.

During a campaign stop in New Hampshire Kamala Harris proposed raising long-term capital-gains taxes for high earners from 20% to 28%. It is one of her first distinctive breaks from the policies of Mr Biden, who supported a higher rate of almost 40%. Ms Harris also unveiled policies aimed at winning over small-business owners, such as tax deductions.

The Biden administration accused Russia of operating disinformation campaigns targeting the upcoming presidential election. Two employees of RT, Russia’s state broadcaster, were indicted; the Treasury imposed sanctions on its editor-in-chief and nine other Russians. The Justice Department said it had found evidence of Russia using AI as well as “fabricated” social-media influencers to spread false narratives. It seized 32 domains apparently being used by Russia.

A 14-year-old student will be charged with murdering at least four people—two other students and two teachers—and injuring nine at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Mr Trump called the killer “a sick and deranged monster”. Ms Harris called the shooting a “senseless tragedy” and said that gun violence was one of “many issues that’s at stake in this election”.

Liz Cheney, a former chair of the Republican conference in the House of Representatives who lost her Wyoming seat in a primary because she opposed Mr Trump’s takeover of the party, has said that she will vote for Ms Harris. She joins a short list of Republican apostates, including Adam Kinzinger, a former congressman from Illinois, who have endorsed the Democratic candidate.

Over the rainbow

When Monroe Bullock bought the land to build Rainbow Courts in 1918, most roads were unpaved and cars were so new that many had no windscreens. Drivers arrived splattered with mud (and presumably with a few bugs caught in their teeth), so Bullock figured they’d like to pull up just outside their rooms. Read our story about what Texas’s oldest motel reveals about the rural South.

A view from elsewhere
“Kamala Harris decided to play safe on Gaza at the [Democratic] convention and sweep the issue under the rug,” wrote Nidhi Razdan in Gulf News, a newspaper from the United Arab Emirates. “No one expects a hard line on Israel in American politics,” she argued, but “real leadership calls for taking a bold moral stand.” Democrats must realise that they “cannot take the Muslim-American vote for granted”.

We want to hear from you
Readers are sending us lots of thoughtful emails so we’ve decided to publish some every Wednesday. If you have views on what is happening in America drop us a line at usib@economist.com. And, of course, we still welcome your feedback on this newsletter.

Editor’s picks

Our latest US coverage

180 degrees

The fate of America’s for-profit colleges hinges on the election

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump would claim to be fair—one by cracking down, the other by loosening the reins

Return to sender

Donald Trump’s dream of mass deportations is a fantasy

Legal, logistical and political hurdles abound. But even unsuccessful attempts could breed chaos

From the archive

Vladimir Putin hardly needs to interfere in American democracy

Domestic politicians are happy to spread dysfunction on their own

Today’s poll

Every week YouGov polls Americans on behalf of The Economist. This week we asked if they intend to tune in to the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on September 10th, just as we had before Mr Trump’s debate with Mr Biden in June. Some 10% more people plan to watch the Harris-Trump debate. The largest increase was among black respondents. Independents, whom both candidates hope to win over, are less interested than most voters.

Daily quiz

From Monday to Thursday we’ll quiz you on all things America. This week’s winner is Sonia Barrad in Long Beach, California. The answers were:

Monday: The official name of the “Sears Tower” is the Willis Tower.

Tuesday: Electricity had its American debut at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. So too did the incandescent lights and ferris wheel it powered.

Wednesday: In John Hughes’ “Ferris Bueller’s day off” the eponymous character pretends to be ill to go on a tour of Chicago with his mates.

Thursday: McDonald’s founded Hamburger University.

From Monday to Thursday we’ll quiz you on all things America. This week’s winner is Sonia Barrad in Long Beach, California. The answers were:

Monday: The official name of the “Sears Tower” is the Willis Tower.

Tuesday: Electricity had its American debut at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. So too did the incandescent lights and ferris wheel it powered.

Wednesday: In John Hughes’ “Ferris Bueller’s day off” the eponymous character pretends to be ill to go on a tour of Chicago with his mates.

Thursday: McDonald’s founded Hamburger University.

From Monday to Thursday we’ll quiz you on all things American.

Thursday: The United States and Canada celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of September. On what day do many other countries celebrate workers?

Wednesday: The Department of Labour was formed many years after the first Labour Day. After whom is its headquarters named?

See how to take part in the quiz at the bottom of this page.

If you enjoyed this week’s quiz, play Dateline, The Economist’s new history game.

Figure of the day

12 percentage points, how far support for Ms Harris among voters under 30 is below the level that Mr Biden reached in 2020. Read our story about Mr Trump’s attack advertisements, and whether they are working.

Heard on Jimmy Kimmel Live

I’m not courageous, though. I’m surrounded by cowards.

—Adam Kinzinger, a Republican former congressman from Illinois, diagnoses the malady in his own party.

Read all of our recent coverage of the 2024 election. Confused about a term? Check out our A-Z of American politics.

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