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October 7th 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

The Supreme Court returns from its summer holiday on Monday. A number of controversial issues are on the docket, including how to regulate “ghost guns”—untraceable weapons assembled from kits—and, remarkably, whether Oklahoma must execute Richard Glossip despite no longer wanting to after evidence of prosecutorial misconduct came to light. But its most important decision could come after the election. If the result is disputed, it could fall to the justices to decide—as it did in 2000 when the court ruled that George W. Bush had won Florida and therefore the election. In that situation, fierce controversy over judicial appointments would no doubt resurface.

With just a month to go until the election, both candidates are hitting the campaign trail. Kamala Harris, who has been criticised for avoiding media appearances, began a week-long tour of popular podcasts and radio shows with “Call Her Daddy”, a programme that is wildly popular among American women. Donald Trump, no stranger to podcasts himself, held rallies in Butler, Pennsylvania—the site of the first attempt to assassinate him—and in Wisconsin.

Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, refused to answer when asked whether he thought Joe Biden had won the election in 2020, calling the question a “gotcha game”. At the time Mr Johnson led efforts to prevent the election being certified. J.D. Vance, Mr Trump’s running-mate, avoided a similar question in last week’s vice-presidential debate.

Deanne Criswell, America’s top disaster-relief official, criticised Mr Trump for his “dangerous” and “frankly ridiculous” claims about the federal response to Hurricane Helene. The former president has, among other things, falsely stated that relief money has gone to illegal migrants. Meanwhile Hurricane Milton is expected to hit Florida midweek. The state, which is still cleaning up Helene debris, is preparing to evacuate more than 6m people.

In an clip released early from a CBS interview that will air on Monday night, Ms Harris was evasive when asked whether America had any “sway” over Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, given that he has escalated his country’s war efforts despite American pressure. Both presidential candidates will attend events commemorating the first anniversary of Hamas’s October 7th attack on Monday. Ms Harris will plant a pomegranate tree outside the vice-president’s residence in Washington; Mr Trump will speak at one of his golf courses in Florida.

KAL flashback

Every Monday we will republish a cartoon by KAL from the archive. The Supreme Court, which begins a new term today, is the neutral arbiter of American politics, holding the executive and legislative branches to account. Or at least so goes the theory. But, as Lexington wrote in 2013, the idea that judges are—as Chief Justice John Roberts once had it—just umpires calling balls and strikes is fiction.

A view from elsewhere

Those who argue that China would prefer Mr Trump to win have “sound enough” reasoning, wrote Richard McGregor in the Interpreter, a website run by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think-tank. Mr Trump represents “decline, dilapidation, and chaos in the world’s most powerful democracy”. But they ignore China’s fear of his “noisy unpredictability”, which is “anathema” to its “very deliberate salami-slicing strategy to gain ascendancy” in Asia.

Figure of the day

$600m, the amount spent on ballot initiatives by September 27th. Read our story about the referendums, and the profound effect they could have on state policy and society.

We want to hear from you
With Hurricane Helene, the dockworkers’ strike and Jack Smith’s dossier detailing his election-interference case against Mr Trump, this month has already thrown up some potential game-changers. Do you think October has more surprises in store, or is the course of the election now more or less fixed? Please send your views to usib@economist.com. And, of course, we welcome your feedback on this newsletter.

Editor’s picks

Our latest US coverage

Gavelling in

The Supreme Court begins another contentious term

Guns, vapes, online porn and health care for transgender youth dot the docket

Washed away

Hurricane Helene was America’s deadliest storm in nearly two decades

It wiped out North Carolina’s mountain towns

From the archive

“Sound of Freedom”: how to make a fortune with a mediocre movie

Turning the culture war into profit

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 becoming president.

Daily quiz

From Monday to Thursday we’ll quiz you on all things American. To mark the return of the Supreme Court, this week our questions are on decisions, scandals and trivia from last term.

Monday: In one of its most consequential decisions, the court overturned a precedent that established “Chevron deference”, which favoured federal agencies’ interpretations of laws. The case—Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo—concerned which profession?

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 history game.

Heard on “Call Her Daddy”

This is not the 1950s any more.

—Ms Harris responds to Republican insinuations that her lack of biological children means she has no stake in America’s future, and that her two adopted children do not really count.

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

Also from The Economist

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