Principals

1. Kamala’s big DC speech
2. Biden’s ‘garbage’ cleanup
3. Trump political director ‘optimistic’
4. Proxy Pipe Dream?
5. Economic reports
6. States weigh election changes
7. Reality check on immigration
8. Where’s Bezos

PDB: Harris preps Africa policy

Trump, Harris each visiting North Carolina, Wisconsin; Harris also drops in Pennsylvania … US presses Israel on deadly Gaza strike … WSJ: Florida’s accidental bank ban

Kamala Harris makes her closing argument

Kamala Harris summed up her campaign pitch with the largest rally of the cycle — at the White House Ellipse, where the office she wants to occupy glowed right behind her. In her remarks, she framed the race as a battle between a self-interested billionaire with an “enemies list” and a public servant who would “build consensus and reach compromise.” Without distancing herself from Biden’s record, she said her presidency “will be different” because they would face different circumstances: His mandate was to defeat COVID, her “biggest challenge is to lower costs” that she said were already a concern before the pandemic. She attacked Trump’s tax plans as tilted to the rich while promising “tax cuts to working people and the middle class.” As Semafor’s David Weigel noted, her economy-focused arguments have been central to her stump speeches and paid media in swing states, but are often less visible in the daily news cycle.

Biden cleans up his ‘garbage’ remarks

President Joe Biden handed Harris an unwelcome sideshow with a rambling comment condemning Tony Hinchcliffe’s Puerto Rico remarks at a Trump rally. On a Zoom call with Voto Latino, Biden said that the “only garbage” he saw in America was “his supporters — his, his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable.” At least, that was the White House’s interpretation, which included the apostrophe in “supporter’s” in a transcript and insisted that the president was referring to the roast comic. The Trump campaign said Biden was referring to all Trump “supporters” and accused the president of insulting half the country. Biden later insisted on social media he was referring to “hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage” and “that’s all I meant to say.”

Donald Trump’s political director breaks down the final sprint to election day

In an interview with Semafor, Donald Trump’s political director James Blair dove into how the campaign is viewing the state of the race. With less than a week left, Blair told Semafor the campaign is “cautiously optimistic,” arguing that Harris’ campaign is “not performing at a position where they would like to be” despite the opposition’s recent quiet confidence. The Trump campaign says it’s tracking what they see as the last “persuadable voters,” described as a group under 50 years old that skews male and includes a sizable amount of Hispanic and Black voters. Blair also responded to the recent news cycle surrounding the Puerto Rico joke a comedian made at Trump’s New York rally, the recent non-endorsements from major newspapers, and more.

— Shelby Talcott

House Democrats on their own when it comes to embracing proxy voting

The House GOP has no interest in the bipartisan proxy voting plan that Democrats are eyeing a return to if they take back the House on Tuesday. The fourth-ranking Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, firmly dismissed even the slimmed-down version Democrats are considering — as we first reported earlier this week — when Semafor asked on Tuesday if she’d support changing House rules to allow members to cast votes in their colleagues’ absence. Democrats are looking to make other sweeping changes to House rules if they get the majority back. But proxy voting, which they instituted during the peak of the Covid pandemic, is already getting particular resistance. The retiring Rules Committee chief Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, echoed Stefanik. “I don’t think it’s a very good idea,” he said.

— Kadia Goba

Economic reports collide with campaign

Economic news this week might scramble rhetoric on the campaign trail before Election Day. Today, the federal government will release its estimate for gross domestic product growth during the third quarter, which economists anticipate will show solid gains on par with the previous quarter. That might help bolster Kamala Harris’ case to voters, as she defends the Biden administration’s economic policies. The White House is already celebrating the new uptick in consumer confidence, representing the largest monthly increase since March 2021. Friday’s jobs report is expected to carry less good news, however, complicating Harris’ closing message. Analysts anticipate modest gains due to disruptions from hurricanes Helene and Milton and an ongoing Boeing strike. The US will also get more inflation numbers on Thursday.

Voters vote on voting

Here’s an under-the-radar trend that’s gotten lost amid the battle for the White House and Congress: A bunch of states are considering major changes to their voting systems, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Nowhere are things more tense than in Colorado, where voters will decide whether to go toward an open, top-four primary system and a ranked-choice general election. The issue is splitting the state’s political class in half, drawing opposition from political parties and support from the governor and big city mayors. “I’ve never had a single person, not one person, come up to me and say this is the way we should change our system,” said Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet. He’s clearly not talking to the same people as former GOP Rep. Ken Buck, who said: “I’ve never heard, in my lifetime, as much discontent from people about both sides.”

What happens on immigration next year

In the two weeks before the US election on Nov. 5, our Reality Check series explains the clear Washington policy implications — which are often a long way from campaign rhetoric.

Former President Donald Trump killed the Senate’s bipartisan immigration deal, but it might get revived if Democrats win big this fall. “It’s a good deal,” said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa, who predicted “you’re gonna see a lot of Republicans support it when they’re out from under” Trump’s pressure. That bill included more border patrol agents, stiffer asylum standards, and a southern border shutdown once illegal crossings hit certain thresholds. It’s debatable how conservative the bill is, but the substance leans further right than the 2013 immigration deal the GOP nearly okayed.

This time, Republicans aren’t interested in such talks. “I’m not going to negotiate any idea that anybody can come into this country and violate our laws and get rewarded,” said Bernie Moreno, a Republican Senate candidate in Ohio. If Trump wins, look for him to focus on executive action first before seeking legislation.

— Burgess Everett

Bezos was in Europe amid Post drama

Jeff Bezos was celebrating Katy Perry’s 40th birthday in Europe in recent days as the crisis at The Washington Post spurred by his decision to scrap presidential endorsements unfolded, Semafor’s Max Tani reports. Bezos was with his fiancée Lauren Sanchez last Friday as the Post announced it would no longer endorse in presidential contests, and scrapped a Kamala Harris endorsement that had been in the works. Meanwhile, the number of canceled digital subscriptions rose to 250,000, per NPR, as readers flee the newspaper in protest. Post editor Matt Murray apologized to the newsroom during a meeting while insisting the core mission of the publication “has not and will not change.” He also indicated he didn’t know the number of subscribers cancellations, and that he wouldn’t reveal them to staff even if he did.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: House Republicans may have trouble sticking to their plan to hold leadership elections beginning Nov. 13 if congressional elections take a long time to call.

Playbook: After President Biden’s “garbage” comment, Kamala Harris’ team is on edge ahead of his scheduled events later this week in Pennsylvania.

WaPo: Thirty percent of voters across seven battleground states who said abortion should be legal in all or most cases are also supporting Donald Trump for president.

Axios: Almost half of Gen Z voters and roughly a quarter of all US voters said they’ve lied to people close to them about their vote, according to a new survey.

White House

• President Biden will host the president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, for a bilateral meeting today. Biden and first lady Jill Biden will also welcome kids for trick-or-treating on the South Lawn.

Congress

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell set the leadership elections to choose his successor for Nov. 13, according to a message he sent to colleagues on Tuesday.
• Alison Esposito, a Republican congressional candidate in New York, didn’t disclose stock holdings as required by law. — Politico
• GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse’s reelection fight just got harder.

Economy

• The US and Taiwan are to start talks on a deal to address double taxation in the coming weeks, the Treasury Department said.
• Billionaire John Paulson, a possible treasury secretary if Donald Trump wins the election, said he would team with Elon Musk to make big cuts to federal spending. — WSJ

Courts

• The Supreme Court rejected Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid to get his name removed from ballots in Michigan and Wisconsin.
• The Justice Department has not settled any of the 12 investigations it has opened into allegations of police department civil rights abuses under the Biden administration. — Reuters

Polls

• Kamala Harris′ lead over Donald Trump slid to one percentage point, 44% to 43%, according to a poll by Reuters/Ipsos.

On the Trail

• Kamala Harris’ campaign will become the first to advertise on the Las Vegas Sphere. — 8 News Now
• Harris’ brother-in-law Tony West’s prominent role in her orbit — and his business ties — are alarming some insiders. — WaPo
• Ciara was among the celebrities that joined Michelle Obama for a rally in Atlanta on Harris’ behalf.

Foreign Policy

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken is delivering a speech this morning on the state of US diplomacy at the department’s Foreign Service Institute.
• Russia said that Germany’s military facilities in Ukraine are a legitimate military target for its army.
• Canada alleged India’s interior minister ordered the murder of a Canadian Sikh.

Technology

• Users on X who are interested in nonpolitical topics are being fed content related to Donald Trump and Kamala Harris anyway. — WSJ
• Elon Musk’s xAI is talking to investors about a new multibillion-dollar funding round. — WSJ

Media

• Andrea Mitchell is ending her show on MSNBC next year.
• JD Vance is interviewing with podcaster Joe Rogan today. Meanwhile, Rogan is still hoping for an interview with Kamala Harris after rejecting an offer from her that would have required him to travel for the spot.
• 50 Cent turned down an offer to perform at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally. — Variety

Big Read

• Kamala Harris’ campaign has assembled a team of 25 people to hammer out a comprehensive US-Africa policy if she wins the White House, Semafor’s Yinka Adegoke reports. Former US attorney general Eric Holder is overseeing the group, which also includes former assistant secretary of state for African affairs Witney Schneidman. Campaign insiders insisted US-Africa policy, often not a priority, “will get a lot more attention under Harris.”

Blindspot

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: A Pennsylvania man was arrested and charged with making threats against Donald Trump ahead of his recent rally in the state.

What the Right isn’t reading: More than one in three of the world’s tree species are close to extinction, according to a new analysis.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Elana Schor, Morgan Chalfant

Reporters: Burgess Everett, Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Jennifer McClellan is a Democratic congresswoman from Virginia.