The Economist

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September 18th 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

Senate Republicans blocked a bill creating a right to in vitro fertilisation treatment. A ruling by Alabama’s Supreme Court in February prompted some fertility clinics to pause treatments, bringing the issue to national attention. Donald Trump proposed in August that the government or health-insurance companies should pay for IVF, but did not call on his party to back the bill. Republicans, who had blocked a similar bill in June, called it a “show vote” intended to generate campaign fodder for Democrats.

Mr Trump praised the Secret Service at a campaign event in Flint, Michigan—his first since the attempt on his life on Sunday—and joked that “only consequential presidents get shot at”. He claimed that if elected he would save the American auto industry, while a victory for Kamala Harris would doom it, saying if “we don’t win, there will be zero car jobs, manufacturing jobs.”

Ms Harris told the National Association of Black Journalists that Mr Trump peddled in racist “tropes” long before his recent baseless claims that Haitian immigrants are eating pets. She drew particular attention to his assertion that Barack Obama, the first black president, was not born in America. When asked about Gaza and whether she would establish a commission to study reparations for slavery, her answers were vague.

Russian groups are pumping out “outlandish fake conspiracy theories” on social media about Ms Harris and Tim Walz, her running-mate, according to Microsoft. Some posts, including a video falsely claiming to show Ms Harris’s supporters attacking someone attending a Trump rally, received millions of views. The Biden administration recently imposed sanctions against several Russians for running disinformation campaigns about the election.

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, said that the state would investigate the apparent assassination attempt on Mr Trump, even though a federal probe is under way. Calling for “trust and transparency”, Mr DeSantis said the state could charge the suspect, Ryan Routh, with the “most serious straightforward offence, which is attempted murder”. The Justice Department has already charged him with two firearms violations. More could follow.

Correction: in yesterday’s edition we said Tommy Tuberville was a senator from Alaska. He represents Alabama. Sorry.

Gearing up the conspiracy machine

Even without Donald Trump on the ballot, American elections tend to create conflict. Because of their complexity, they demand patience and trust. Unfortunately America comes joint last among G7 countries on trust in the judiciary, and dead last on belief that its elections are honest. Read our leader on how messy the presidential race could get.

A view from elsewhere

Some Republicans are already saying that Mr Trump has “twice been saved by divine grace” and that he is “invincible”, wrote Francisco Belaunde Matossian for El Comercio, a Peruvian newspaper. They will certainly “try to exploit” the second attempt on his life, but it is unclear if they will convince “independent voters or the undecided”. Meanwhile the attempt offers Democrats a “good opportunity” to argue for gun control.

Figure of the day

$7bn, how much the federal government earned last year from oil drilling, roughly 0.1% of what it spent in the 2023 fiscal year. Though America lacks energy revenues like Norway’s, Mr Trump wants to set up a similar sovereign-wealth fund. Read our story to find out why the country doesn’t need it.

What our readers think

Readers had mixed feelings about how Ms Harris performed in the debate. Paul Vandoren, a former EU ambassador, thought she was “excellent” and had “proven to be trustworthy”. Barbara Breitbart thought she had “done her job” by “baiting Trump on all his various lies and insecurities”. But Christopher Bruce thought that Ms Harris “fell back on stock campaign slogans”, did not do enough to correct Mr Trump’s errors and “failed to clarify” her policy. Most readers, however, agreed with Ava Hillier that whether or not Ms Harris acquitted herself well, the debate “did reveal that Mr Trump is not” a great choice for the office. Jan Wiedemann summed it up well: “Trump was Trump.”

We want to hear from you
Several readers also wrote to us about the second attempt on Mr Trump’s life. We thought we would save those and publish them next week. Please send us your views on the foiled assassination and the effect it might have on the race to usib@economist.com. And, of course, we still welcome your feedback on this newsletter.

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Today’s forecast

Kamala Harris has pulled ahead in national polls. But because candidates must win the electoral college, not the popular vote, our forecast reckons that she and Donald Trump have nearly equal chances of winning the election.

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.

Wednesday: Whose assassination led to presidents receiving full-time protection from the Secret Service?

Tuesday: What was the original purpose 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 in Michigan

My kids keep me humble. Unfortunately Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.

—Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Republican governor of Arkansas, channels J.D. Vance’s “childless cat ladies” comment when introducing Donald Trump at a town-hall meeting.

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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