Welcome to the online version of From the Political Bureauan evening newsletter featuring the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.
In today’s edition, our White House team reports on how Joe Biden and his team are preparing for the upcoming verdict in Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Plus, “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker dives into what voters think about the state of American democracy.
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Biden campaign is preparing for a verdict in the trial against Trump
By Monica Alba, Natasha Korecki and Mike Memoli
President Joe Biden has largely avoided former President Donald Trump’s legal troubles. But with a ruling in the hush money trial set for next week, Biden’s campaign is exploring a shift to a new, more aggressive stance, according to two people familiar with the strategy.
Regardless of the outcome, top Biden campaign officials plan to emphasize to voters that Trump will be on the ballot in the fall and that no amount of potential legal action will change that.
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One person familiar with the discussions summed it up this way: “Donald Trump’s legal troubles won’t keep him out of the White House. Only one thing can ensure that: voting for Joe Biden in November.”
If Trump is found guilty at his trial in New York City, the Biden campaign will also have to consider whether to label him a “convicted felon,” this person added. “It’s an open question.”
The campaign sees the conclusion of the trial as one of the turning points of the 2024 election, when the minute-by-minute sideshow of courtroom drama will end and the time will come for voters to focus on what’s at stake in November state, one of the sources said. said.
The Biden team expects to send a message that if Trump is acquitted, or if there is a hung jury, voters should not wait for the outcome of his other legal issues to determine either.
For the most part, Biden has been cautious about commenting directly on the lawsuit, avoiding playing into Trump’s narrative that his legal troubles amount to election interference by the Biden administration.
But the president made waves last week when he agreed to debate Trump in a video on social media, musing: “I hear you’re free on Wednesday.” Biden referred to Trump’s court schedule, which allows a day off every Wednesday. The line was widely shared on social media platforms and the campaign began selling T-shirts with it.
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What voters say about the state of democracy
By Kristen Welker
There are so many issues at stake in November: the economy, abortion, immigration, foreign affairs and even the future of the Supreme Court.
But the state of American democracy also hangs over the 2024 election.
Just look at these data points:
Eighty-one percent of voters — including supermajorities of both Democrats and Republicans — believe democracy in America is under threat, according to a recent poll from the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service.
Nearly a third of voters feel so strongly about it that they say they would vote for or against a candidate on this issue alone, according to last month’s national NBC News poll.
A national CNN poll last month also found that a third of voters — including 68% of Republicans — said they did not believe President Joe Biden had won the 2020 election, confirming that election denial remains in the background of the election from 2024.
Another third of voters say they are not confident that votes will be accurately counted in the election, according to a recent national poll from Quinnipiac University.
According to the latest Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll, half of swing state voters are concerned about political violence resulting from the election and its aftermath.
And then there’s this: Nearly 40% of local election officials surveyed this year by the Brennan Center for Justice said they’ve experienced threats, intimidation or abuse.
This includes four secretaries of state – from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania – who will join me this Sunday to discuss the threats they and their families have faced in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
For more on these issues and much more, tune in to “Meet the Press” this Sunday for a bipartisan conversation about American democracy – and how to protect it.
That’s all from The Politics Desk for now. 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
