The Economist

‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

October 11th 2024

A sharp round-up of the most important political news

SUBSCRIBER ONLY

The US in brief

A sharp round-up of the most important political news

Joe Biden called on Congress to convene to approve more aid in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. America’s emergency-management agency, FEMA, has already spent $9bn of its $20bn budget in the first eight days of the fiscal year (beginning October 1st). Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, rejected the president’s plea, which was echoed by Republicans and Democrats in affected states. In Florida, meanwhile, Ron DeSantis, the governor, said the state had avoided the “worst-case scenario”. The damage from Milton was still significant: after making landfall on Florida’s west coast late on Wednesday, it caused scores of tornadoes, left over 3m homes and businesses without power and killed at least 16 people.

Federal judges in Florida and Georgia (the latter a battleground state) declined to extend the states’ voter-registration deadlines, which expired on Monday. Civil-rights groups sued Georgia on Tuesday “to prevent the disenfranchisement” of residents affected by Hurricane Helene. In Florida, similarly, challengers argued that the deadline was “sandwiched between two life-threatening obstacles”. The judge in Georgia found that the challenge “lacked clarity and detail” explaining how people were harmed.

Barack Obama headlined a rally for Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, saying that Donald Trump wanted Americans divided and angry to boost his chances of winning. Earlier he made an unannounced stop at a local Harris campaign office, where he cajoled black men to be sure to vote for her, and suggested that some might be reluctant because she is a woman. The “women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time,” he said.

During an almost two-hour speech at the Detroit Economic Club, Donald Trump proposed making interest on car loans tax-deductible—and took the opportunity to insult the city, life in which he has previously compared to “living in hell”. Mr Trump warned his audience that the “whole country will end up being like Detroit” under a Harris presidency. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s Democratic governor, took to social media to tell him to keep the city “out of your mouth”.

Ethel Kennedy died aged 96. She was the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, who ran a blazing, tragic 82-day race for president in 1968, winning the California Democratic primary before being assassinated. She was also the mother of 11 children, including Robert F. Kennedy junior, who ran his own third-party campaign this year before dropping out and endorsing Donald Trump.

Shirley Chisholm was the first

A photograph of Shirley Chisholm on display in the Museum of the City of New York could elicit two reactions, observed Lexington this week. While looking at the first black woman to seek a major party’s nomination giving a speech, a cynic might think that nothing changes in American life. Yet an idealist might see what it takes to make change.

A view from elsewhere

A second Trump administration would lead to a “radicalised” isolationist foreign policy, wrote Claus Leggewie in Der Spiegel, a German magazine. “The ‘reasonable people’ who held Trump back in 2020 have been systematically replaced with loyalists.” And Mr Trump’s “guard dog” J.D. Vance, whom many “radical Trumpists” see leading the Republican party one day, “makes no secret of the fact that he doesn’t care about Ukraine”.

Figure of the day

$174bn, the value of aid provided to Ukraine by America. Ms Harris has mostly echoed Mr Biden on the war, saying she will stand with the country and seek continued military aid. Read our brief about the candidate’s positions on Ukraine.

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

An echo and a choice

The Trumpification of American policy

No matter who wins in November, Donald Trump has redefined both parties’ agendas

Shrinking coattails

Who will control the next Congress?

The new president is much less likely than usual to see allies take charge on Capitol Hill

The eye of the storm

Hurricane Milton inundates Florida

Three factors laid the ground for its destructiveness

Games

Pint-sized news quiz

Have you been following the headlines?

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. The winner of this week’s quiz, on the previous Supreme Court term, is Peter Noack in Lima, Peru. The answers were:

Monday: Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo, which established “Chevron deference”, concerned herring fishermen.

Tuesday: The US Code dictates that the flag should only be flown upside down as a “signal of dire distress”, but it has been adopted as a symbol by those who believe the election in 2020 was stolen.

Wednesday: The district-court judge who nullified the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, an abortion pill, only to have his ruling overturned by the Supreme Court was from Texas.

Thursday: Trump v United States was about whether presidents are entitled to immunity for official acts.

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

Constant attempts to sell you stuff—who does that? Selling you gold sneakers, and a hundred-thousand-dollar watch.

—Barack Obama on the various products Donald Trump has branded and touted during his presidential campaign.

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

For subscribers

Get all of The Economist’s opinions, alongside By Invitation guest essays and readers’ letters, delivered to your inbox on Sunday mornings.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

This email has been sent to: account@kait.dev. If you'd like to update your details please click here. Replies to this email will not reach us. If you don't want to receive these updates anymore, please unsubscribe here.

Join the conversation