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, senior political editor Mark Murray explains why President Joe Biden’s campaign is in a combative mood ahead of the debate. Plus, we dive deep into a key Democratic House primary in New York that focused on the war between Israel and Hamas.
Sign up here to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday.
Biden’s biggest challenge – and opportunity – on debate night
By Mark Murray
President Joe BidenThe country’s campaign is in a combative mood ahead of Thursday’s presidential debate.
In ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday: Mitch Landrieuthe national co-chair of the Biden campaign, used the words “fight” or “fight” 11 times when discussing the president and the upcoming debate.
Do you have a news tip? Let us know
Vice President Kamala Harris also said these words repeatedly in her interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that aired Monday: “I think the debate will highlight the contrast between our president, the current president who is working on behalf of the American people, fight for the American people, and for the former president, who has been fighting for himself almost full-time.”
And this is the latest TV ad the Biden campaign has aired in battleground states: “This election is between a convicted criminal who is only out for himself, and a president who fights for your family.”
There’s a good reason why Team Biden is thinking about this term: Perceptions about the president’s strength and toughness may be his biggest risk heading into the November election.
Only 28% of voters nationally described Biden as “tough” in a recent CBS News/YouGov poll, compared to 66% who said the same about Donald Trump.
Additionally, 43% of voters said Biden could be better described as a “strong leader,” compared to 53% who said that about Trump, according to a national Fox News poll.
This is perhaps the best explanation for why voters – right now – see an age/fitness difference between 81-year-old Biden and 78-year-old Trump: one candidate is seen as strong and tough, while the other is isn’t. T.
And Thursday’s debate offers Biden an opportunity to counter this perception, which is why his allies are focused on “fighting.”
“So this is a very clear choice,” Landrieu said on “Meet the Press.” “You can have a great guy with great character, great judgment and great wisdom, fighting for the American people. Or you can have a man who thinks about himself and wants to hurt everyone who isn’t for him.”
But will the country see Biden’s fight at the debate? That could be the biggest question we have to answer after Thursday night’s showdown.
A ‘Squad’ member’s primary exposes deep democratic divisions
By Ali Vitali, Scott Wong and Nnamdi Egwuonwu
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. – Bernie Sanders is on one side of the race, Hillary Clinton on the other. A Democratic House primary in New York is in many ways a diminution of the 2016 presidential election — with much of the familiar vitriol.
Tuesday’s election between progressive Rep. Jamaal BowmanDN.Y., and centrist challenger George Latimer — which generated the most ad spending of any House primary in history — has once again exposed the fault lines of that bitterly fought race eight years ago and the yawning rift within the Democratic Party over the war between Israel and Hamas emphasizes.
Bowman, one of Israel’s fiercest critics in Congress, is fighting for his political life as he tries to fend off an onslaught of attack ads and win a third term. The United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the powerful pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has spent nearly $15 million on advertising alone to oust Bowman and elect Latimer, the director of Westchester County who has worked in local politics for more than three decades.
That spending comes in a diverse district north of Manhattan that mixes urban and suburban areas and is home to one of the most significant Jewish American populations in the country.
As they crisscrossed New York’s 16th District in the final stretch of the race, Bowman and Latimer acknowledged that the war between Israel and Hamas and record spending have made this a national race.
“Would you send back to Congress an educator who has spent his life serving children, families and babies in our community and uplifting the working class?” Bowman, a former high school principal in the Bronx, told NBC News. “Or do you want a career politician who is funded by right-wing Republican billionaires and who literally buys our democracy? The choice is crystal clear.”
Latimer has also tried to create a clear contrast, both in content and tone, describing himself as more “diplomatic” at one point during a campaign stop on Monday.
Latimer took issue with Bowman’s claim that his potential success Tuesday would be due to AIPAC’s involvement, telling reporters at an event with black faith leaders: “We had some internal polling data before a dime was spent on this race and the first positive-negative comparisons I had and the incumbent…had me ahead from the start. So if someone says, “Oh, you spent so much money, that’s why you won,” that wouldn’t be right. We were at the forefront from the start.”
“He said, ‘I want to give you a choice, I want to give you something different,’” Latimer told NBC News on Monday, referring to Bowman’s 2020 challenge to longtime Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel. “So I don’t understand why my step forward is different now.”
Read more ahead of Tuesday’s primaries →
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
And if you’re a fan, share it with everyone and anyone. They can register here.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
