Welcome to the online version of From the Political Bureauan evening newsletter featuring the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team on the campaign, the White House, and Capitol Hill.
In today’s edition, senior national politics reporters Matt Dixon and Jonathan Allen explore how Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for an apology if he loses the presidential election. Plus, political reporter Allan Smith dives deep into the contentious relationship between two prominent Pennsylvania Democrats.
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Trump steps up false attacks on election integrity as he plummets in the polls
By Matt Dixon and Jonathan Allen
As he faces a new political reality, with Vice President Kamala Harris having set back the Democrats in the race for the White House, former President Donald Trump is rolling out preemptive excuses for a potential second defeat. Most of them are demonstrably false.
Trump has said in recent days that President Joe Biden’s exit from the race, prompted by Democratic concerns that he would lose, is unconstitutional. It is not. The Constitution is silent on party nominations.
He and his allies have accused Harris of generating fake crowd photos through artificial intelligence as a means of boosting the perception of her electoral strength. Her crowds are real.
On Thursday, Trump alleged in a Truth Social post that Judge Juan Merchan is using a partial gag order to prevent him from speaking to reporters while campaigning. The limited order allows him to speak to the media as long as he does not attack the families of the court’s officers.
For example, Trump held a press conference today at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, after holding a press conference last week at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s renewed focus on building a false case that Democrats are trying to defraud him — nearly four years after his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results ended with his supporters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College votes — is a testament to his insecurities, according to people familiar with his behavior, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals from the most powerful figure in the Republican Party.
Those uncertainties aren’t about the integrity of the election, but about his chances of winning — and his frustration that he’s not always at the center of the national political conversation, the people said. Some Republicans worry that he’s been distracted from issues that matter to voters, including inflation and immigration, while pursuing grievances that don’t resonate with swing voters.
“He can never be a loser,” a former senior adviser to Trump said of the former president’s attempt to paint the election as unfair. “He’s just going to do whatever he knows will get him attention,” the former adviser said, explaining that Trump sees dominance of media attention as a sign of his political strength.
Read more from Matt and Jon →
Inside the divide that could define the future of Pennsylvania politics
By Allan Smith
John Fetterman was angry.
The Democratic senator from Pennsylvania prepared to speak at a news conference on disaster relief in Bucks County on July 16, 2023, just hours after flooding in Upper Makefield, Pennsylvania, ultimately left seven people dead. Local officials spoke for a few minutes to give an initial update to the assembled press. Then, Gov. Josh Shapiro provided details on what his administration was doing to respond to the emergency.
After a few minutes, Shapiro tossed the microphone back to the local first responders — not Fetterman. Moments later, the event ended without Fetterman ever speaking.
Fetterman had already been highly skeptical of Shapiro and vowed not to appear at events with the governor in the future, three sources familiar with the incident told NBC News.
The episode highlighted what has become an increasingly volatile relationship between Pennsylvania’s two most ambitious elected officials. It’s a Democratic Party rivalry suddenly in full view that has the potential to shape state politics — and perhaps even the national political scene — for years to come.
Earlier this month, as Harris was finalizing her search for a running mate and considering Shapiro as one of her final options, Politico reported that Fetterman’s aides had told Harris’ team that the senator had concerns about Shapiro.
Days later, Fetterman sat stone-faced and his arms folded as Shapiro delivered a stirring speech at the rally in Philadelphia, where Harris introduced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her No. 2. Seated among a delegation of Pennsylvania politicians directly in front of the press section, the 6-foot-3 Fetterman stood out as the lone member not joining in the clapping and cheering for Shapiro.
“For most politicians in PA, it’s pretty well known that the two clashed,” said a Pennsylvania Democrat. “It was clear that those two were always on a collision course and the only thing that kept them apart was that they were running for different types of offices.”
“It almost feels like our dirty laundry is being aired,” this person added.
Several say the feud appears to have more to do with Fetterman directing his anger at Shapiro than the other way around, largely because the senator has taken public steps to voice his displeasure while Shapiro has not.
Two independent Democrats from Pennsylvania separately compared the ordeal to a popular meme from the hit TV series “Mad Men,” in which a person in an elevator criticizes Don Draper, the show’s lead character, who responds, “I don’t think about you at all.”
Read more in Allan’s exclusive report →
🗞️ Today’s top stories
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🗓 Mark your calendar: JD Vance and Walz have officially agreed to meet for a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS on October 1. Read more →
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👪 Family matters: NBC News’ Henry J. Gomez spoke with Vance and his aunt about how the GOP VP candidate’s upbringing shaped his views and rhetoric about families, mothers and children. Read more →
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🛣️ On the path: When pressed by NBC News, Vance denied whether he stands behind his recently discovered 2021 comments suggesting that corporations criticize abortion bans because they seek “cheap labor” and “don’t want people to raise children.” Read more →
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🎸 Getting the band back together: Corey Lewandowski, who at one point led Trump’s 2016 bid, is among the new staffers joining the 2024 campaign. Read more →
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⚖️ Trump Legal Update: Trump’s lawyers sent a letter to Merchan asking him to delay the former president’s sentencing in the hush money case, currently scheduled for September 18, until after the November 5 election. Read more →
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🤝 To collaborate: Biden and Harris held their first event together since the president ended his campaign today in Maryland, where they unveiled a deal with pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug costs. Read more →
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📝 Policy plans: Harris plans to propose a federal ban on “expensive pricing in the food and grocery industry,” her campaign announced, as part of a broader economic platform she will unveil during a speech in North Carolina on Friday. She will also roll out some of her housing policy proposals. Read more →
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🪧 On the way to Chicago: Pro-Palestinian groups are mobilizing thousands to demonstrate outside the Democratic National Convention next week. Read more →
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💻 Foreign interference: Google said it discovered attempts by Iranian hackers to attack both the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns in May and June, part of a larger email phishing operation that is still ongoing. Read more →
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🏀 ‘Roundball Rock’ on hiatus: For the third straight season, the NBA scheduled no games on Election Day. Read more → Stay up to date with the latest 2024 election news with our live blog →
That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have any feedback — likes or dislikes — please email us at politicsnieuwsbrief@nbcuni.com
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
