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October 9th 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

Hurricane Milton, now a category-five storm, will make landfall on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday evening. Joe Biden postponed his upcoming visits to Germany and Angola to monitor its approach. The president warned that it “could be one of the worst storms in 100 years in Florida” and urged those in its path to “evacuate now”. Political recriminations hit before the storm. Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, said that Kamala Harris had “no role” to play in emergency efforts and that she was “trying to parachute in” to boost her campaign. She previously called him “selfish” for refusing to take her calls about Hurricane Helene, which struck the state on September 26th.

America’s federal budget deficit passed $1.8trn in the fiscal year ending on September 30th, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That is 4% lower than the CBO’s projection in June. The federal deficit has averaged 9% of GDP a year for the past five years. Mr Trump’s economic plans would add trillions of dollars in debt; Ms Harris’s would boost revenue, but weigh on growth.

Tim Walz told donors that the electoral college “needs to go”. Ms Harris’s running-mate said he would prefer to contest a national popular vote than be forced by America’s system of indirect elections to fight in a small number of battleground states. A spokesman made it clear that this was a personal position, rather than that of the ticket.

The Kremlin confirmed that Donald Trump sent Vladimir Putin covid-19 tests in 2020, before they were widely available. That was one of several eyebrow-raising details in “War”, a forthcoming book by Bob Woodward, a journalist. Mr Woodward also alleged that Mr Trump had spoken to the Russian president several times after leaving office. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign claimed that the book was all “made-up stories”.

Thirteen states sued TikTok for harming children’s mental health. They called on the video app to change its design, arguing it is intentionally addictive. TikTok described the lawsuits as “inaccurate and misleading”. The app, which is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech giant, is currently appealing a law that gives it until January to sell to a non-Chinese owner or shut down in America.

A former aide to Eric Adams, New York City’s mayor, was charged with witness tampering and destroying evidence. He had resigned the day before. The allegations stem from a corruption probe that also resulted in Mr Adams’ indictment in September, to which Mr Adams pleaded not guilty. A number of people in his administration have resigned or been sacked, but Mr Adams has insisted he will stay on.

Smart on crime?

Before entering national politics in 2016, Kamala Harris went from a prosecutor to San Francisco’s district-attorney to attorney-general of California. She has called herself both a “top cop” and a “progressive prosecutor”. In her presidential campaign she is playing up both parts of her CV. Read our explainer to find out which she was.

A view from elsewhere

Hurricane Helene was “a powerful reminder” that we “cannot afford to ignore climate change any longer”, wrote Ahmad Nazir in Gulf News, a newspaper from the United Arab Emirates. And “Hurricane Milton is now expected to bring life-threatening hazards”. Yet politicians like J.D. Vance “cling to outdated ideologies and refuse to accept responsibility”. The “cost of inaction is staggering”.

Figure of the day

$2trn, the amount that Ms Harris’s tax plan would generate in federal revenue over the next decade. But it would weigh on growth, reducing GDP by about 2% over the same period. Read our brief on the candidates’ tax policies.

What our readers think
Most of our readers reckon this election still has some surprises up its sleeves. One common theme was the Middle East. Dennis Darrah thought that Israel might strike Iran, causing petrol prices to surge and aiding Mr Trump. Mr Trump’s health was another. Stephen Miller thought that he looked “very tired” and that his “rambling” and “bizarre” speeches were a sign of “declining health”. Ruth Procopi thought it was strange that so little attention had been paid to Mr Trump’s “clear ageing” when so much had been paid to Mr Biden’s. But she also thought that there were unlikely to be further surprises —or at least she hoped there wouldn’t be.

We want to hear from you
Which House and Senate races are you watching closely, and what do they say about America’s politics? 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

Checks and Balance

Who’s winning in Pennsylvania?

This week on our weekly podcast on democracy in America the hosts travel to the state most likely to decide the election

The Economist explains

Is climate change making hurricanes worse?

They are becoming more damaging, but not more frequent

From the archive

America could face its most active hurricane season ever

Coastal states must brace themselves for extreme weather in an election year

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.

Wednesday: The justices unanimously struck down a district court judge’s effort to nullify the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, an abortion pill. What state was that judge from?

Tuesday: Critics called for Samuel Alito to recuse himself from January 6th-related cases after the New York Times published photos of an upside-down American flying at one of the Supreme Court justice’s homes in 2021. Why was this controversial?

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 the Howard Stern Show

Some would say you’re getting punked.

—Ms Harris suggests that Mr Trump’s relationship with Mr Putin has not been entirely reciprocal.

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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