The Economist

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September 17th 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 will travel to Michigan on Tuesday and New York on Wednesday, sticking to the campaign stops planned before a second apparent attempt on his life on Sunday. The Secret Service said that Ryan Routh, the alleged would-be assassin, “did not have line of sight” on the former president and never fired his weapon. On Monday the 58-year-old was charged with two federal gun crimes.

Republicans quickly moved to recrimination. Tommy Tuberville, a Senator from Alaska, criticised the Secret Service, which is already under scrutiny for its handling of Mr Trump’s shooting in July. Some blamed Democrats, arguing that their framing of Mr Trump as an existential threat to democracy led to the incidents. Mr Trump chimed in, saying that “Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying.”

TikTok’s lawyers told a panel of federal judges that a law forcing ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, to sell the social-media company or see it banned in America violated its first-amendment rights. They also argued that lawmakers, who worry about the national security implications of such a popular platform in Chinese hands, exceeded Congress’s authority when passing the law in April. The judges seemed sceptical.

Kamala Harris met Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to try to secure the union’s endorsement. Organised labour has generally lined up behind the Democratic ticket, but the lorry drivers’ union is a hold-out; Mr O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention. The Teamsters union could announce its endorsement, if it makes one, on Wednesday.

Two former New York fire-department chiefs were charged with bribery. The fire chiefs, who pleaded not guilty, are accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in exchange for fast-tracking safety inspections. Meanwhile two city officials have resigned in the past week. There are currently four federal probes into people close to Eric Adams, New York City’s mayor.

The man in the bushes

Ryan Routh was prepared for a stakeout. The lanky 58-year-old had packed a bag of food, a digital camera, a semi-automatic rifle and a scope. He waited outside Donald Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida for 12 hours, according to mobile-phone records. Yet his motive remains unclear. Read our story about what we know about Mr Routh, Mr Trump’s would-be assassin.

A view from elsewhere

“[Donald] Trump’s death at the hands of a lone would-be sniper” would have thrown American politics into “utter confusion”, wrote Simon Tisdall in the Guardian, a British newspaper. The former president would be “cast as a martyr” by the MAGA faithful, and “violent disorder” would probably follow, endangering democracy. Far better to “keep him alive and kicking—until he is politically put down.”

Figure of the day

70%, the share of Republican voters who believe that the election was stolen in 2020. Read our leader about the dangerous possibility of a new “stop the steal” movement.

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

The man behind the gun

Who is Ryan Routh, Donald Trump’s would-be assassin?

His 291-page screed on Ukraine’s “unwinnable war” offers some clues

The Economist reads

How Christianity shapes politics in America

Four books and a podcast explain a complicated relationship

From the archive

Calling Donald Trump a threat to the rule of law has backfired

It strengthened him politically and led to constitutional protections for presidents, not citizens

Today’s forecast

Our forecast reckons that Kamala Harris has a slight edge over Donald Trump. But there’s little in it.

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.

Tuesday: What was the original purpose of the Secret Service?

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 CNN

I’m not here to place blame.

—Mike DeWine, the Republican governor of Ohio, refuses to blame Messrs Trump and Vance for spreading false rumours that Haitians in his state are eating pets, even as he denies those rumours.

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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The world goes to the polls

By the end of the year more than 70 countries, representing half the world’s population, will have voted on their future. Join our editors as they analyse what’s at stake on Tuesday September 24th at 11:30pm BST / 6:30pm EDT / 3:30pm PDT.

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