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MORNING REPORT

August 9, 2024

by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch

Will Trump and Harris fill in the blanks on the economy?

If either Vice President Harris or former President Trump has a detailed economic plan to sell to voters, they appear to be waiting.

Trump, abandoning his earlier hesitancy, said Thursday during a free-form news conference that he has now committed to debate Harris three times in September, on three different networks. Harris said she previously agreed to face off against Trump on Sept. 10 on ABC News, adding Thursday, "I'm happy to have that conversation about an additional debate for after Sept. 10."

Americans have told pollsters all year that the economy and how it impacts their lives is the nation's most pressing issue. Before Harris succeeded President Biden as the Democrats' nominee, surveys showed Americans recalled being better off when Trump was president.

Biden and Harris are to appear together Thursday in Maryland to tout administration efforts to lower consumer costs.

Harris is being urged by Democrats to get ready for her campaign honeymoon to end with demands for her own policy specifics. "They need to be ready to have a solid economic argument at their fingertips," one Democratic donor told The Hill. "Biden struggled to articulate that message."

Debates have a way of forcing candidates to settle on policy pledges to accompany their political attacks.

The Hill: The neck-and-neck presidential contest is even closer. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted its ratings in swing states Georgia, Nevada and Arizona (where Harris will campaign tonight) to "toss up" from "lean Republican."

The Democratic nominee, nearly three weeks into her surprise presidential campaign, has been urged by Trump as well as Democrats not to duck press questions. They suggest she'll have to shift from teleprompter rally scripts and bromides and describe how her policies on the economy and international affairs compare with Biden's, differ from her 2019 campaign ideas (and why) and contrast with Trump's stated goals for 2025 and beyond.

Campaigning in Michigan among United Auto Workers supporters Thursday, Harris said, "We fight for a future where every senior can retire with dignity; a future where we build a broad-based economy and one where every American has the opportunity to own a home, to start a business, to build wealth."

Trump at the same time sidestepped advice from some on his campaign team and from some Republican colleagues that he focus on GOP economic solutions and muzzle his personal critiques of Harris. He jabbed at the Democratic nominee — whose ascension has knocked his pitch off its rhythm — called her "the first loser" during her presidential bid five years ago, said she's "barely competent," asserted that Biden and Hillary Clinton are smarter than Harris and said the crowd sizes at his rallies are larger than Harris's.

The closest Trump came to his own economic pledges Thursday were vows to end taxation on Social Security revenues, and to bar taxes on tips. He said presidents should have the power to sway the independent Federal Reserve on monetary decisions, pointing to his experience in business.

"We as a country have so many different ways we can make money, we're not going to hurt our seniors with Social Security and we're not going to charge them tax," he told reporters at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump painted a dire national picture at a time when Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) are promoting the "joy" of bridge-building politics, middle-class values and support for everyday families and their needs.

"We could literally be in the throes of a depression, not a recession, a depression," Trump warned. He envisioned "World War III" under Democrats, as well as forced public purchases of electric vehicles (EVs) and soaring gasoline prices if Harris is elected president.

Flashback: Trump predicted the stock market would crash if Biden triumphed in 2020. Biden won and the stock market hit a record high. 

- The Hill: Trump downplays abortion as a 2024 election issue.
- The Hill: Trump repeated that he'll be interviewed Monday by supporter Elon Musk, whom he says shows "courage." Here's why they teamed up ahead of the election.
- The Hill: Trump commended the FBI and said he spoke with agents because he was targeted during a July assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. … New video published Thursday showed local Pennsylvania police saying moments after the Trump rally shooting they had warned the Secret Service.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

Austrian authorities Thursday described a plot by teen ISIS adherents who wanted to attack Taylor Swift concert-goers in Vienna using explosives and other weapons this week before the plan was foiled. Swift canceled three planned concerts.
Whiplash: Days ago, financial markets swooned and portfolios took a beating. On Thursday, Wall Street rallied to its best day since 2022 based on encouraging employment data. The S&P 500 surged 2.3 percent. 
🐼 Panda diplomacy is back, and they're a hit. The San Diego Zoo is celebrating the first pandas from China in two decades: Yun Chuan, a 5-year-old male, and Xin Bao, a 4-year-old female.

Leading the Day

CAMPAIGN POLITICS

SLACKER? Trump has held five campaign rallies since the Republican National Convention concluded July 18. Harris will hold that many this week alone. The Hill's Brett Samuels reports Democrats and Harris campaign aides have reveled in the contrast in schedules, using it to stoke questions about Trump's stamina and taunt him with Harris's large, enthusiastic crowds. It's a drastic shift from when Biden was in the race and would travel to campaign roughly once a week in smaller venues, and it has led some Republicans to suggest Trump will need to ramp up his presence in battleground states to keep pace. 

"I think it's a legitimate question why Trump's not doing more events," said one Republican strategist who requested anonymity. "He's not a young man himself. He's going to need to step it up."

"I AM SPEAKING NOW," Harris told protesters at a Wednesday rally in Detroit. But as the disruption continued, her patience ran thin. "You know what?" she said. "If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking."

It was the latest reminder of how Harris has, with an almost theatrical flair, managed to turn efforts to undermine and rattle her into her own political weapons.

VEEP BATTLE: Republican VP candidate Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) told Semafor on Wednesday he's unafraid of being matched up against Walz. But he didn't dispute that some of Walz's signature policies — like providing free meals to students — might benefit families, even as he argued his "total worldview" hurt his state. 

"I don't buy the idea that he's pro family," Vance said. "I'm sure he's not wrong about everything." 

🎧 STAY TUNED: In today's edition of The Hill's Switch Up podcast, host Cheyanne M. Daniels and campaign reporter Caroline Vakil dive deep into the Harris-Walz ticket and the obstacles they face as November approaches. The episode drops at 12 p.m. EDT. To stay up to date on new episodes, follow the podcast on Spotify.

2024 ROUNDUP

The Trump campaign's attacks on Walz's military record are channeling the "swift boating" campaign 20 years ago against John Kerry. The common denominator in both efforts: Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita.
The dynamic has shifted with Harris atop the Democratic ticket. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — once elevated by Trump allies — is looking more like a significant liability for the GOP nominee.
A federal judge in Alabama is expected to rule shortly in a lawsuit challenging the state attorney general's threat to prosecute anyone who helps women seek out-of-state abortion care. The case has drawn national scrutiny from advocates who see it as an example of the extremism of GOP state officials trying to stop abortions.
Politico magazine spoke with Sam Hurd, one of Walz's former students. "Wearing a tie and sweating profusely and just working his ass off as a teacher," is how Hurd remembered him.
Special counsel Jack Smith asked for additional time to settle how to proceed with Trump's Jan. 6 prosecution, asking to bump back a swift set of deadlines ignited when the case returned to a lower court.
Department of Justice special counsel David Weiss accused Hunter Biden of working for a Romanian businessman in an arrangement designed to skirt U.S. laws on foreign lobbying and avoid any "political ramifications" for his father.

Where and When

The House and Senate are out until after Labor Day.

The president is in Rehoboth Beach, Del., where he will receive the President's Daily Brief at 10 a.m.

The vice president will campaign in Phoenix at 5 p.m AT and in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is in Paris through Monday and will attend the closing Olympics ceremony and other events. 

Zoom In

CONGRESS

A $12 BILLION SHORTFALL facing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) could further complicate an already heated partisan debate over how much to fund the government for much of 2025, writes The Hill's Aris Folley. There is already a significant gap between the levels at which House Republicans have crafted their full-year funding bills and where Democrats say the marks should be when factoring in a side deal struck last year between GOP leadership and the White House. And experts say this just adds to the pile. 

"How this all gets resolved is super complicated," said Zach Moller, a former Senate budget aide. "Does this $12 billion come from other things in VA? Do they have to rejigger the 302, B allocations so that VA just gets more and this cut, this comes from somewhere else?" 

The Hill: A trio of lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to bolster and finalize a federal rule utilizing the government's legal authority to seize taxpayer-funded patents in order to combat the high price of drugs.

Elsewhere

INTERNATIONAL

COUNTERATTACK: The U.S. has warned Iran that its newly elected government and economy could suffer a devastating blow if it were to mount a major attack against Israel, The Wall Street Journal reports. Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel for the killing of a Hamas commander in Tehran. Officials have suggested Iran may be rethinking the scale and format of its planned reprisal but is not likely to be deterred by the absence of explicit support from neighboring states for a military response.

Though the timing remains unclear, two Israeli officials and a senior Western intelligence official said that based on the latest information, Hezbollah, the armed group based in Lebanon, will likely strike first in a separate attack, The New York Times reports. Israeli officials say they are ready for any potential attack by Iran and its proxies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told soldiers on Wednesday that Israel was "prepared for defense, as well as offense."

Meanwhile, the leaders of the U.S., Qatar and Egypt issued a joint statement Thursday evening calling on Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table on Aug. 15 to finalize a cease-fire and hostage release agreement, saying "there is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay" (NBC News).

Axios: Iran-backed hackers targeted a high-ranking official at an unidentified U.S. presidential campaign in a June spear-phishing attack.
The Washington Post: Israel repelled Iran's first direct attack. Is it ready for the next one?
Financial Times: Israel's allies condemned far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's remarks after he said allowing 2 million civilians in Gaza to die of hunger would be "justified and moral."

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the southern Japanese island of Kyushu on Thursday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It has issued a tsunami alert as well as its first-ever warning for a "megaquake." Although the expected height of the tsunami is only 1 meter (approximately 3.3 feet), the waves can grow exponentially very quickly (USA Today).

Axios: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is doubling down on the detention of protesters and opposition campaign volunteers after declaring himself the winner of a contested election, raising alarm.
CNN: After Venezuela's contested presidential vote, experts say the government's reported results are a "statistical improbability."
The Washington Post: Battles persist in western Russia after a bold cross-border attack by Ukraine. A surprise incursion into the Kursk region appeared to use Western-donated fighting vehicles, and the U.S. offered no objections to the operation.

Opinion

Democrats should adopt a new agenda: Make America Minnesota Already, by Catherine Rampell, columnist, The Washington Post.
For Venezuela and Maduro, this time might really be different, by Martin Rodriguez Rodriguez, opinion contributor, The Hill.

The Closer

And finally … 👏👏👏 Bravo to this week's Morning Report Quiz winners! With slow-motion Tropical Storm Debby in mind, we looked for smart guesses about hurricanes and their names.

Here's who blew through the puzzle, going 4/4: Tom Chabot, Stan Wasser, Phil Kirstein, Harry Strulovici, Lynn Gardner, Pam Manges, Joe Atchue, Richard E. Baznik, Karl Landgraf, Bill Moore, Rick Schmidtke, Ray Tacquard, Bert Ramirez, Paul Quillen, Linda L. Field, Mark Roeddiger, Robert Bradley, Luther Berg, John Trombetti, Terry Pflaumer, Randall S. Patrick, Ray Tacquard, Wiley Pearson, Blair Narasco, Steve James, Bill Bachmann and Jose A. Ramos.

They knew hurricane names in the Atlantic are chosen from six rotating alphabetical lists maintained by the World Meteorological Organization.

A developing cyclone receives a name when it develops into a tropical storm.

Some hurricane names get retired after devastating storms, including Katrina, Floyd and Harvey. The answer we looked for was "all of the above."

The World Meteorological Association maintains a fallback if the year's alphabetical list of storm names is depleted. Such a backup was last needed in stormy 2020. 