Welcome to the online version of From the Political Bureauan evening newsletter with the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, White House Correspondent Mike Memoli reports from Rio de Janeiro on President Joe Biden’s latest international summit. Plus, National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki provides an overview of the final election results from our seven key “decision maker” counties.
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Biden fades into the background during his last international summits
By Mike Memoli
RIO DE JANEIRO — President Joe Biden’s latest international summits almost certainly would have gone differently if the election at home had gone as he hoped. But President-elect Donald Trump cast a long shadow over an apparently humbled Biden as he said goodbye to his colleagues here.
Although administration officials have frequently invoked Biden’s insistence on “going through the tape” during his final months in office, the president’s public engagements at both the G20 summit in Brazil and the APEC meeting in Peru were limited . He spoke briefly during the working sessions of each meeting and before personal meetings with leaders from China, Japan, South Korea and Peru.
If Biden wanted to use this trip to send messages to his predecessor and successor about the importance of working with allies, or to make any effort to cement his own legacy, it came as a challenge for Trump to pass the legislation that was the goal to accelerate the shift to renewable energy sources.
The only stop Biden made independent of the two major gatherings was what the White House touted as a historic visit to the Amazon, where Biden took part in an aerial tour of the landscape and then delivered a seven-minute statement to reporters about the importance of his climate agenda.
“Some may try to deny or delay the clean energy revolution that is happening in America, but no one – no one can reverse it – no one,” he said.
In remarks to Chinese President Xi Jinping before the latest meeting, Biden also warned that they “cannot allow this competition to turn into conflict.”
White House officials insisted that Trump had not come up during his meetings with fellow world leaders. In an indication of the fine line other leaders have walked during this transition period, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau subtly sidestepped a question about his concerns about working again with Trump.
“A little secret: there is no American government that is automatically easy on a Canadian government,” Trudeau said during a question-and-answer session in Lima.
Biden’s attitude contrasted with how he presented himself at the G20 summit three years ago in Rome. Biden boasted about how his colleagues were enthusiastic about his input on a range of issues and how his leadership dictated the agenda, including plans for a sweeping new global minimum tax.
“Everyone sought me out. They wanted to know what our positions were. And we helped lead what happened here,” Biden said at his closing 2021 press conference.
During this trip, Biden avoided most questions asked of him by traveling reporters and did not hold a final press conference.
7 provinces that told the story of the 2024 elections
By Steve Kornacki
Ahead of the 2024 election, NBC News has identified seven counties to uncover some of the political trends that would define the presidential contest.
With the elections in the rearview mirror, we wanted to look at those seven ‘decision maker’ provinces and what insights could be gained from them. All seven ultimately reflected national trends and swung toward Donald Trump to varying degrees, with three moving from the Democratic to the Republican column.
Maricopa County, Arizona: More than two-thirds of Arizona’s voting population comes from Maricopa County, so it’s hard to win the state overall without winning here. Joe Biden was the first Democrat in 72 years to carry Maricopa in 2020. But Trump was able to come roaring back this year and make gains in the city of Phoenix itself. The largely Latino neighborhood of Maryvale also turned in Trump’s favor.
Miami-Dade County, Florida: In 2016, Hillary Clinton won this nearly 70% Latino region by almost 30 points. In 2020, Biden trailed by just seven points. And in 2024, Trump turned it around with a double-digit victory. Trump was able to make gains across the board, from Cuban-majority Hialeah to Venezuela’s Doral to Aventura, an older community with one of the densest Jewish populations.
Gwinnett County, Georgia: Atlanta’s suburbs have been trending Democratic lately. In 2016, Clinton won here by 6 points. Four years later, Biden tripled that margin to 18 points. This year there was one point less. What stopped the bleeding for Trump? Support from Spanish voters. Gwinnett has the largest Hispanic population in the Atlanta metro area. If you look at the heavily Hispanic areas around Norcross, Trump has posted some real improvements.
Kent County, Michigan: In the heart of western Michigan, this is a traditionally Republican area where voters do not particularly like Trump as a party leader. One of the big questions in this election was whether Trump would continue to underperform here, as he did in the recent elections. The answer was that things didn’t get much better for him here, but they didn’t get much worse either. Trump performed one point better in the county than in 2020 and ultimately flipped the state.
Washoe County, Nevada: Although Trump posted a fairly significant improvement in the vote margin over 2020, Trump actually lost Washoe County and the state’s other major population center, Clark County, on his way to the overall statehood. Trump managed to keep his losses in the major counties just small enough to come out ahead after his significant wins in the more rural counties.
Erie County, Pennsylvania: It was the ultimate indicator: Barack Obama carried this country in 2008 and 2012. Trump won it in 2016, but in 2020 it passed to Biden. In 2024, Erie will be back in Trump’s column. NBC News’ Dasha Burns picked up on the economic discontent that ultimately led to Trump’s victory in Erie in March.
Dane County, WI: Dane is a densely populated and growing province where the majority of the adult population has a university degree. Democrats have steadily gained votes in presidential elections in recent years. Kamala Harris once again managed to squeeze more out of Dane, winning with 188,000, but it was not nearly enough to offset the losses she suffered elsewhere in the state.
ICYMI: Read more from Steve about the voter shifts that led to Trump’s state battle →
➡️ Trump transition watch
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A handful of megadonors helped Trump’s campaign to victory earlier this month. Some of them are now in line for key positions as he shapes his next government.
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One of those donors, Howard Lutnicka financial services billionaire and key transition adviser, is Trump’s pick to lead the Commerce Department.
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Trump said he will nominate Mehmed Oza former Pennsylvania Senate candidate and TV doctor, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
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Trump also selected former Rep. Sean DuffyR-Wis., now a Fox News host, to serve as his transportation secretary.
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Trump has been “working heavily on the phone” to solidify his pick to lead the Justice Department, former Rep. Matt GaetzR-Fla., who is already facing skepticism from some Republican senators.
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Gaetz allegedly paid a woman for sex at a small invitation-only party in Florida in 2017, the woman’s lawyer told NBC News. And a hacker gained access to a file containing statements from two women involved in an investigation into Gaetz.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Trump’s pick for secretary of Health and Human Services is facing criticism from his own family. Caroline Kennedy says her cousin’s views on vaccines are ‘dangerous’.
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Trump has started receiving intelligence briefings after rejecting them during his campaign.
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Vivek Ramaswamy wants to force federal workers to return to the office full-time, and he could have an unlikely ally in D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
🗞️Today’s other top stories
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⚖️ Trump is on trial: Prosecutors in New York told the judge presiding over Trump’s hush money trial that his sentencing should be postponed while the president-elect’s lawyers would file further legal arguments asking for the case to be dismissed. Read more →
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📃 Bathroom bill: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said her resolution banning transgender women from using female bathrooms “absolutely” targets newly elected Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., who will be the first openly transgender member of Congress. Read more →
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🗳️ Lessons Learned: The four Democratic Senate candidates who won their races even as Trump carried their states say their party can learn lessons from their campaigns. Read more →
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🥊 The Democrats’ Next Fight: Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic Party of Minnesota, became the second candidate to enter the race to lead the Democratic National Committee. Read more →
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📉 Postmortem 2024: A new analysis of precinct-level data by the NBC News Decision Desk shows the extent to which Trump’s wins in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — and Harris’ losses — were driven by weak turnout in heavily Democratic cities. Read more →
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☑️ Not done yet: Harris has one last chance to defy Trump as she could provide tie-breaking votes for Biden’s judicial nominations before leaving office. Read more →
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🏃🏼 Next moves: Independent Dan Osborn of Nebraska is returning to work as a steamfitter, but he’s also launching a new PAC and considering another run for the Senate in 2026. Read more →
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🚫 Abortion statement: A Wyoming judge ruled that two laws restricting and banning abortion in the state are unconstitutional, making the procedure legal for the time being until the viability of the fetus. Read more →
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🪑 On the hot seat: Federal Emergency Management Agency Deanne Criswell faced questions from lawmakers about the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Read more →
For now, that all comes from the Political Bureau. If you have any feedback – like it or not – please email us at politicsnieuwsbrief@nbcuni.com
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
