Wednesday: Below the Fold
Kamala’s “man” problem, Vance to join Rogan, SCOTUS sides with Youngkin, and more.
Government & Politics
Kamala’s “man” problem: The media has fixated on Donald Trump’s “woman problem” but not so much on Kamala Harris’s “man problem.” A recent Quinnipiac poll, for example, showed that in North Carolina, Harris leads among women by 26 points but trails Trump among men by 24 points — that’s essentially a wash. In Wisconsin, Harris leads among women by 18, but Trump leads among men by 21. And in Georgia, Harris has a smallish five-point advantage among women, but Trump has a massive 20-point advantage among men. Nationally, a recent USA Today/Suffolk poll shows the two margins are practically mirror images of each other. So, to that seemingly staged event with Harris and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer sitting at a bar in the Wolverine State, drinking beer and discussing Harris’s trouble connecting with male voters. “Oh, we have microphones in here listening to everything we say,” Harris said with a fake laugh. Whatever, dude. The phony bar scene isn’t going to win over anyone but the White Dudes for Harris who are overwhelmingly sitzpinklers.
Unity, or else: Harris warns of “chaos and division” if she loses in final campaign address (Washington Free Beacon)
Vance to join Rogan, Harris still a no-go: Donald Trump’s appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast last week was a massive publicity success any politician would crave, garnering over 40 millions of views on YouTube alone so far. Rogan extended an invitation to Kamala Harris to appear on his podcast as well, saying, “My sincere wish is to just have a nice conversation and get to know her as a human being. I really hope we can make it happen.” However, Rogan said they haven’t reached an agreement because of the Harris campaign’s demands. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is taking advantage of the situation and going to the well a second time, announcing yesterday that Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, would be on Rogan’s podcast later this week. This should be another podcast worth hearing.
SCOTUS sides with VA’s Youngkin on removing ineligible voters In a bit of good news for proponents of election integrity (read: Republicans), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin had the better argument against a federal judge who had ruled over the weekend that Virginia must reinstate hundreds of ineligible voters to the state’s voter rolls. “We are pleased by the Supreme Court’s order today,” Youngkin said afterward, describing it as a “victory for commonsense and election fairness.” Not surprisingly, the justices split along ideological lines in their ruling. As Fox News adds, “Late Monday, attorneys general from all 26 Republican-led states joined Virginia in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, backing its assertion that the removal program was conducted on an ‘individualized’ basis, and further, that the Justice Department’s reading of the protections granted under NVRA are overly broad and do not apply to noncitizens.” That last word is essential. Youngkin is trying to remove noncitizens from his state’s voter rolls. What could be more commonsensical than that?
SCOTUS won’t remove RFK ballots: Despite the fact that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the presidential race back in August, his name is still on the ballot in several battleground states, including Wisconsin and Michigan. Kennedy has sought to remove his name from those ballots after he endorsed Donald Trump. However, with both Wisconsin and Michigan refusing his removal request, Kennedy charged that his First Amendment rights were being violated, asserting that the ballots were falsely implying that he wanted to be president. Kennedy appealed to the highest court in the land, and on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in by rejecting his appeal. The justices offered no explanation for their decision, but with the two states having already received over one and a half million early votes, the rationale might simply be that it’s too late in the game to make any changes to the ballots.
Federal judge in Pennsylvania rejects GOP challenge to overseas voter requirements (Just the News)
“Don’t cut government!” they shrieked: Two months ago, Donald Trump floated the idea of a Government Efficiency Commission, which would be charged with reducing fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. Talk about a target-rich environment. Trump also suggested that the brilliant Elon Musk might head such a commission. But if Washington is the home of Big Government, then The Washington Post is its foremost defender. “Elon Musk appeared to acknowledge” that “slash[ing] federal spending could unleash severe, short-term economic turmoil, underscoring the fiscal stakes as voters weigh whether to send the Republican back to the White House,” the Post reports. “Musk first outlined his highly aggressive target at a raucous campaign rally in New York last weekend, promising to identify ‘at least $2 trillion in cuts’ as part of a formal review of federal agencies that he would conduct if Trump wins next week’s election.” The Post warns that such cuts would call for “decimating an array of government services, including food, health care and housing aid,” and even threaten funding for the Third Rail of American Politics, Social Security. Look for the Post and The Party of Big Government to keep sounding this phony alarm going forward.
Security
Pennsylvania Democrat named Paul — who uses she/her pronouns — arrested for allegedly threatening Trump a day before his rally in state (NY Post)
Hezbollah cleric Naim Kassem picked to lead the Lebanese militant group (AP)
Economy
A hugely important jobs report looms: It’s the economy, stupid, and even though 50 million or so Americans have already voted, tens of millions haven’t. Thus, a sliver of undecideds might be influenced by the final monthly jobs report before the election. That report will be released Friday morning, and the Associated Press is already managing expectations on behalf of the Biden-Harris regime. “Voter perceptions of the economy have played a central role” in this election, the AP notes. “Yet Friday’s report will include some of the most distorted monthly employment figures in years, with job growth having been held down temporarily in October by hurricanes and worker strikes.” So, you see, if the report is favorable to Kamala Harris, it shows that the country is on the right track. But if it’s unfavorable, it simply means that the hurricanes messed things up. In a related bit of not-so-good news for Harris and her fellow Bidenomics fans, the U.S. economy grew at a 2.8% pace in the third quarter, which was less than the expected growth of 3.1%.
Ford CEO drives a ChiCom EV while company loses billions on EVs: Ford has learned the hard way that “if you build it, they will buy it” is not an axiom. The American automaker has lost $3.7 billion on its EVs so far this year, after losses of $2.2 billion in 2022 and $4.7 billion in 2023. According to energy watchdog Robert Bryce, Ford’s losses on its EVs over the past two years equal its gross profits from all its gas-powered vehicle sales. Consumers, not just in America but worldwide, are not jumping on board the EV bandwagon. There is one lone exception: China, where EV sales are going strong. China also leads the world in EV production, so no surprise there. What is surprising is that Ford CEO Jim Farley apparently is a bigger fan of Chinese EVs than those his own company makes, as he has been driving around in a Chinese Xiaomi EV. “We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I’ve been driving it for six months now, and I don’t want to give it up,” he explained. “It’s fantastic.” It sounds like he’s heading the wrong company.
Trump’s Truth Social is now worth more than X: The stock in the parent company of Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, has been rising as of late to the point where Trump Media & Technology Group is now valued at over $10 billion. Elon Musk’s X Holdings, the social media company formerly known as Twitter when Musk bought it, is currently valued at $9.4 billion. The stock value of TMTG has quadrupled since September, primarily thanks to the odds of Trump winning the election increasing. On Tuesday alone, TMTG shares jumped 12% in value, topping out at $53.30. While Trump owns a 57% stake in Truth Social, he does not run the company. Furthermore, TMTG has not been a money maker, losing over $16 million by the end of June while only generating $837,000 in revenue. This indicates that the market is high on a Trump election victory.
Misc.
Facebook execs suppressed Hunter Biden laptop scandal to curry favor with Biden-Harris admin (NY Post)
The NYT is working with left-wing Media Matters to try to demonetize conservatives ahead of Election Day (Not the Bee)
Poll: Majority supports Florida abortion amendment, but not enough to pass (The Hill)
Harris is pounding Trump on fascism. Some Dems think that’s a mistake. (Politico)
Humor: Can you spot all 10 signs of fascism in this photo of Trump’s rally? (Babylon Bee)
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