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, we report on Act I of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s revenge trip. Plus, Senior Political Editor Mark Murray analyzes the difference in polls between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in terms of compassion and toughness.
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Kevin McCarthy’s first target on his revenge tour: Nancy Mace
By Ali Vitali, Bridget Bowman and Kyle Stewart
DANIEL ISLAND, SC – Representative Nancy Mace is no stranger to an intraparty battle. Now her role in a major Republican fight last year — the removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House — is complicating her Tuesday primary.
Mace, who is a third-term candidate and campaign manager, has earned the ire of the highest levels of Republicans in the few years she has been in Washington. In 2022, it was former President Donald Trump – although they have since patched things up. Then, a year later, she voted in historic fashion to expel a House speaker from her own party.
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In fact, McCarthy is the first thing Mace points to when asked what’s at stake in her latest political fight against a primary opponent running with McCarthy’s support.
“It’s about revenge,” Mace told NBC News in an interview at his campaign headquarters. “It’s also about honesty and integrity. And my vote to remove Kevin McCarthy was a matter of trust.”
Mace says he has no regrets about the vote. McCarthy, in turn, he said his support for Republican Party candidates challenging several of the “crazy eight,” as he calls the Republicans who voted against him, has nothing to do with political revenge. Sources close to McCarthy point out that he is limited in what he can do directly beyond giving money and advice. His spokesman did not respond to an interview request.
But McCarthy-aligned operatives are funneling a lot of money into these races through outside groups. Tuesday’s challenge to Mace is the first test, followed by House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good’s Virginia primary next week. Two other anti-McCarthy voters — Reps. Eli Crane of Arizona and Matt Gaetz of Florida — will also face primary opponents this summer.
In South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, Catherine Templeton said Mace’s vote against McCarthy was “absolutely” what led her to run against Mace. Templeton is also a Trump supporter and served as labor secretary in then-South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s cabinet.
Before launching his candidacy, Templeton met with Brian O. Walsh, a Republican Party political strategist and McCarthy ally. But she told the Post and Courier Charleston newspaper that she did not talk to McCarthy “about killing Congresswoman Mace, but I asked him to help raise money.” McCarthy contributed to Templeton’s campaign through his leadership PAC.
However, Templeton also downplayed the former president’s role in the dispute.
“His antics have consequences,” Templeton said of Mace, defining the race as bigger than a stock, though clearly tied to that historic vote. “All due respect to Kevin McCarthy, who is, I’m sure, a wonderful man: No one is paying attention to Kevin McCarthy in the Low Country of South Carolina.”
Read more before tomorrow’s primaries →
An emerging dynamic in 2024: Trump’s toughness versus Biden’s compassion
By Mark Murray
The latest national CBS News/YouGov Poll has an illuminating set of numbers about the 2024 election that go beyond the horse race (it’s still very close) and attitudes about Trump’s recent felony conviction (most say it was fair, but also that it won’t be taken into account in your vote).
The survey’s surprising finding: 66% of registered voters said they consider Trump “tough,” while just 28% of voters said the same of President Joe Biden.
However, the majority of voters – 52% – described Biden as being “compassionate,” compared to just 37% who said the same about Trump.
Call it Trump’s toughness versus Biden’s compassion.
This picture is reflected in NBC News’ own national polls earlier this year. Trump had a 35-point lead over Biden on the question of which candidate better secures the border and controls immigration. However, Biden was ahead by 17 points on the question of which candidate better treats immigrants humanely and protects immigrants’ rights.
It’s also reflected in focus groups, like one NBC News observed recently about Latino voters in Arizona who had unfavorable views of both Biden and Trump. His descriptions of Biden: “very old,” “useless” and “incompetent.” As for Trump? “Rude”, “arrogant” and “ridiculous”.
And it’s a useful way to distill the key vulnerabilities perceived by both Biden and Trump. For Biden, these are questions about his age. In addition to the 28% of voters who said they saw the president as “tough,” only 26% considered him “energetic” in the CBS News/YouGov poll.
And for Trump, his weaknesses are his rhetoric and his legal challenges, which include his conviction in the New York hush money case as well as his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
What do undecided voters want more from their president – toughness or compassion? The answer to that question could very well decide who wins in November.
Today’s top news
- Closing time: After Hunter Biden’s defense team rested Monday without calling him to the witness stand, jury deliberations began in the federal gun case against the president’s son. Read more →
- Conversation about Trump: Trump was scheduled to sit down Monday for a virtual interview with a probation officer as part of New York’s hush-hush case over the money. Since his historic guilty verdict, Trump’s rhetoric has increasingly focused on revenge and retribution. Read more →
- Hostage Negotiations: White House officials have hinted at the possibility of negotiating a unilateral agreement with Hamas to release American hostages held in Gaza if ongoing ceasefire negotiations involving Israel are unsuccessful. Read more →
- Palmetto State Primary: While Mace’s primary has received a lot of attention, it’s also worth watching South Carolina’s 4th District, where Republican Rep. William Timmons is the latest lawmaker to be targeted by his hard-line House colleagues. Read more →
- Watch this space: The Federal Election Commission’s days of gridlock appear to be behind them, with a Democratic commissioner siding with Republicans on a range of issues that further deregulate money in politics, The New York Times reports. Read more →
- Veepstakes: Many of Trump’s potential running mates have harshly criticized the former president in the past, including calling him “crazy,” “reckless” and “reprehensible,” and saying they would not do business with him. Read more →
- Full Court Press: The Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on two major abortion cases, including one over access to a commonly used abortion pill and another over a near-total ban in Idaho. Read more →
- Costly Claims: Right-wing media outlets that spread Trump’s false claims surrounding the 2020 election have lost a number of recent legal challenges and continue to face new ones. Read more →
That’s all from The Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback – like or dislike – send us an email at newsletter@nbcuni.com
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This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
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