Welcome to the online version of From the Policy Deska nightly newsletter that brings you 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 political editor Mark Murray explains why President Joe Biden’s campaign is in a fighting mood ahead of the debate. Plus, we take a deep dive into the key Democratic House primaries in New York, where the war between Israel and Hamas has been the main focus.
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Biden’s biggest challenge – and opportunity – on debate night
By Mark Murray
President Joe BidenThe campaign is in a fighting mood ahead of Thursday’s presidential debate.
About “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Mitch Landrieunational co-chair of Biden’s campaign, used the words “fight” or “struggle” 11 times when discussing the president and the upcoming debate.
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Vice President Kamala Harris also said these words repeatedly in her interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that aired on Monday: “I think the debate will make clear the contrast between our president, the current president who works on behalf of the American people, fights for the American people, and the former president, who spent practically the entire time time fighting for yourself.
And this is the latest TV ad Biden’s campaign has been broadcast in swing states: “This election is between a convicted criminal who only defends himself and a president who fights for his family.”
There’s a good reason this term is on the Biden team’s mind: perceptions of the president’s strength and resilience are undoubtedly his biggest liability ahead of the November elections.
Just 28% of voters nationally described Biden as being “tough” in a recent CBS News/YouGov Pollcompared to 66% who said the same about donald trump.
What’s more, 43% of voters said Biden was best described as a “strong leader,” compared to 53% who said the same about Trump, according to one study. Fox News national poll.
This is perhaps the best explanation for why voters – right now – see an age/fitness difference between the 81-year-old Biden and the 78-year-old Trump: one candidate is seen as strong and tough, while the other is ‘t.
And Thursday’s debate presents Biden with an opportunity to counter this perception, which is why his allies are focused on the “fight”.
“So this is a really clear choice,” Landrieu said in “Meet the press.” “You can have an incredible guy, with great character, great judgment, great wisdom, who fights for the American people. Or you could have a guy who thinks only of himself and just wants to hurt everyone who isn’t meant for him.”
But will the country see Biden fighting in the debate? That might be the biggest question to be answered after Thursday night’s matchup.
‘Squad’ Member’s Primary Exposes Deep Democratic Divisions
By Ali Vitali, Scott Wong and Nnamdi Egwuonwu
MOUNT VERNON, NY – Bernie Sanders is on one side of the race, and Hillary Clinton is on the other. The House Democratic primary in New York is, in many ways, a rehash of the 2016 presidential primary — with much of the familiar vitriol.
Tuesday’s election between progressive Rep. Jamaal BowmanDN.Y. and centrist challenger George Latimer — which drew the largest advertising spend of any House primary in history — once again exposed the flaws of that hard-fought race eight years ago and highlighted the huge divide in the Democratic Party over the Israel-Hamas war.
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 linked to the powerful pro-Israel Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), alone invested nearly $15 million in ads to unseat Bowman and elect Latimer, the Westchester County executive who spent the most three decades in local politics.
This spending takes place in a diverse district north of Manhattan that mixes urban and suburban areas and is home to one of the most significant American Jewish populations in the country.
As they crossed New York’s 16th District on the final stretch of the race, Bowman and Latimer recognized that the Israel-Hamas war and record spending made this a national race.
“Do you want to send back to Congress an educator who spent his entire 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 funded by right-wing Republican billionaires literally buying our democracy? The choice is crystal clear.”
Latimer also sought to draw a clear contrast, both in substance and tone, at one point describing himself as more “diplomatic” at a campaign stop on Monday.
Contrary to Buckman’s claim that his potential success on Tuesday would be due to AIPAC’s involvement, Latimer told reporters at an event with black religious leaders: “We had some internal polling data before a dime was spent on this race and the initial positive-negative comparisons I had and the starter… put me ahead from the start. So if someone says, ‘Oh, you spent so much money, that’s why you won’, that wouldn’t be correct. We were ahead 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 see why my advancement would be any different now.”
Read more ahead of Tuesday’s primaries →
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