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September 16th 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

Donald Trump responded to a second attempt on his life with the same defiance that marked his reaction to the first, two months ago. The former president sent out a fundraising email declaring himself “SAFE AND WELL” and said that he would “NEVER SURRENDER”. Hours earlier, secret service agents had noticed a rifle barrel poking through the fence of a golf course where the former president was enjoying a round, and opened fire. After weeks in which the media spotlight has focused on Kamala Harris, Mr Trump will hope for a rallying effect among grateful supporters like the one that came after the first attempt to kill him, in July.

Mr Trump’s would-be assassin fled the scene, only to be arrested later. Media reports identified him as Ryan Wesley Routh. Police found an AK-47-style rifle with a sighting scope and a GoPro camera in the bushes where Mr Routh had set up, about 300-500 yards (275-460m) from the former president. His motives remain unclear.

Abortion will again be legal in Arizona after the repeal of a near-total ban from 1864 took effect. In April Arizona’s top court ruled that the 19th-century law, passed before the territory became a state, was valid and superseded the state’s ban on termination after 15 weeks, enacted in 2022. A repeal was signed in May, but did not kick in until 90 days after the state legislature’s session ended.

The top lawyer in New York City’s government resigned. Neither Lisa Zornberg nor city hall gave a reason for her departure. Ms Zornberg is the second city official to depart in a week. Edward Caban, the police commissioner, resigned on September 12th after FBI agents searched his home and those of three top aides to Eric Adams, the mayor.

Robert F. Kennedy junior’s first appearance at a Donald Trump rally on Saturday night turned surreal when he said that the National Fisheries Institute, a trade group, was investigating him for “collecting a whale specimen 20 years ago”. The incident—in which the former independent candidate for president found a whale carcass, removed its head with a chainsaw and then drove home with it attached to his car—resurfaced after Mr Kennedy admitted in August to dumping a dead bear in Central Park in 2014.

KAL flashback

Every Monday we will republish a cartoon by KAL from the archive. Having released a report on the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee has demanded that Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, appear before it on September 19th. At the time of the withdrawal, Lexington wrote that Joe Biden had bungled America’s exit, and shirked responsibility for that failure.

A view from elsewhere
“Not to blame the intended victim of the latest assassination attempt”, wrote the editorial board of the Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian newspaper, but Mr Trump’s “black hole ability to suck in all attention” has turned campaign season into a “tragicomedy”. Mr Trump “incites rather than condemns violence”, then he “stands back and lets chaos reign”. Since his shooting in July “the horror, madness and mayhem just clickbaits on”.

Figure of the day

16 percentage points, the margin by which Mr Trump won Montana in 2020. Read our story about the uphill battle facing Jon Tester, the state’s Democratic Senator, and why his party needs him to win re-election.

We want to hear from you
Readers are sending us lots of thoughtful emails so we’ve decided to publish some on Wednesdays. 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

Second time still lucky, thank God

Another attempt to kill Trump raises fears of political violence

Republicans and Democrats must again try to avoid politicising a failed assassination

Free exchange

An American sovereign-wealth fund is a risky idea

Donald Trump’s latest proposal has worryingly broad support

TikTok, tarot and Trump

Astrologers are predicting the result of America’s election

Spreading their forecasts through social media can be lucrative—and divisive

Today’s forecast

Our forecast reckons that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have nearly equal chances of winning the election in November.

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.

Monday: Which president ordered the establishment of the secret service?

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.

Heard on Fox News

I really wanted to finish the hole.

—Sean Hannity, a Fox News presenter, says that, after confirming that no one was hurt in the attempt on his life, Mr Trump was in the mood to crack jokes.

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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