Morning Report — Trump, Puerto Rico and the October surprise?

In today’s issue:

• Trump struggles to contain Puerto Rico controversy
• Allred-Cruz race razor-close in Texas
• The future of American cities
• No cease-fire until after the election?

One week to go. 

Seven days before Election Day, Vice President Harris and former President Trump are making their closing arguments to voters, and their last-week appearances serve to highlight the stark differences between their campaigns.

Harris today will deliver a speech at the Ellipse — the very site where Trump spoke just before a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The speech, which some 20,000 people are expected to attend, will be a further plea to voters to turn the page on Trump and highlight his role in the events of that day, according to a campaign official. 

The vice president will focus on the two different visions of America that voters are given in this election, and after the speech, she will take that closing message on the road and visit every battleground state over the next week. The Hill’s Alex Gangitano breaks down five things to watch for as Harris addresses the crowd.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is struggling to contain a possible October surprise of its own making. A racist remark by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, one of many warm-up speakers for Trump at a Sunday rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden, is reverberating hard, writes The Hill’s Caroline Vakil. Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “a floating island of garbage,” prompting some members of the GOP, such as Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.), who is Puerto Rican, to come out against the remarks. 

Conservative firebrand Tucker Carlson, another guest speaker, mocked Harris’s racial identity at the event, while Trump ally Rudy Giuliani made racist remarks about Palestinians.

Other prominent Republicans, including Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), are trying to minimize the damage — either by distancing themselves from what Hinchcliffe said or by suggesting that a remark made in jest should not spark such outrage. Trump, for his part, on Monday boasted about the attendance at the Madison Square Garden rally.

Are the comments an October surprise? Trump has appeared a slight favorite in the race for the White House in recent weeks, and the effects of Sunday’s rally remain unclear. But the incident has raised the prospect of backlash that could well have an impact on Nov. 5. At a minimum, the controversy tees up Harris’s speech at the Ellipse — and the vice president addressed the comments Monday.

Harris cited Trump’s New York event as having “highlighted a point that I’ve been making throughout this campaign. … He is focused and actually fixated on his grievances, on himself and on dividing our country.”

In the Memo, The Hill’s Niall Stanage notes that Democrats see the Puerto Rico controversy as especially potent for several reasons: the swing states’ demographics, the capacity of other non-Puerto Rican Latinos to take offense at the remarks, and of course the proximity to Election Day.

Puerto Rican voters have now been thrust into center stage, marking a major shift for an electorate that’s been largely overlooked for decades, The Hill’s Rafael Bernal reports. In 2024, some 400,000 voters born in Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican heritage are at the center of the fight for Pennsylvania — the essential swing state — and Florida, a once-swing state with a potentially competitive Senate race. That’s a far cry from the group’s historical clout in safe blue strongholds like New York and Illinois, and from the electoral marginalization of Puerto Rico’s territorial status.

“I think there is a significant number of people who will not be turned off and will make excuses for Trump,” said Federico de Jesús, a Washington-based consultant and former deputy director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration who worked in the Obama administration. “But I think that this can and could make a big difference with Puerto Ricans who were already anti-Trump but were not sold yet or were soft on Kamala. They might be voting for her, but they weren’t enthusiastic. I think that this will create rage, anger and motivate people to go out and maybe volunteer. Maybe take their relatives to vote. Maybe take a second look at Kamala if they were undecided, and really shore that vote up.”

SMART TAKE FROM THE HILL’S BOB CUSACK:

Is Elon Musk the most valuable campaign surrogate of the 2024 cycle?

Earlier this year, there was a lot of speculation about Taylor Swift’s endorsement, and as expected, she endorsed Harris. Endorsements in politics are overrated, but the backing of Swift and Musk move the needle.

Musk, who said he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and President Biden four years ago, is going all out for Trump. He’s ever present on the campaign trail and has reportedly donated more than $118 million to a PAC that backs Trump.

He’s also started a daily million-dollar giveaway that the Department of Justice says could violate federal election law. Yet, DOJ is in an awkward position to actually do anything about it. For example, how would it look if DOJ went after Musk one week before the election?

Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, isn’t the most popular surrogate. But according to recent Harvard CAPS/Harris polling, he’s above water in approval rating — and that’s better than most public figures. If Trump wins, he will owe a lot to Musk.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY:

▪ Friendlier skies? The Transportation Department’s new refund rule for air travelers is now in effect and mandates that airlines issue automatic refunds for significantly delayed or canceled flights.

▪ College costs are declining, according to a new report. 

▪ People have opted out of organ donation registration programs after a report recently circulated that a Kentucky man (still alive) was mistakenly declared dead in 2021 and his organs nearly harvested. “Organ donation is based on public trust,” said the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations president.

LEADING THE DAY  

© The Associated Press | J. Scott Applewhite

Amid an expensive Texas Senate race now closer than many in both parties believed possible, Rep. Colin Allred (D) is homing in on suburban voters to help pull him over the finish line with a week to go. Polls suggest Allred has some momentum against incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Texans haven’t elected a Democrat to a statewide office in 30 years. But Allred, a third-term House member from Dallas, has lapped Cruz in fundraising and has captured the excitement of both Texas Democrats and outside groups at a clip unthinkable even six months ago, Time reports. The FiveThirtyEight polling average puts Cruz ahead by just 3 points, within the margin of error — but not a single projection from FiveThirtyEight has ever shown Allred leading.  

A senator’s shrugs: Vance on Monday reprised his instinct for downplaying what others find objectionable. Here’s a recap: 

🎙️His reaction to Trump’s Sunday rally warm-up comedian who assailed Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage”? “We’re not going to restore the greatness of American civilization if we get offended at every little thing. Let’s have a sense of humor and let’s have a little fun,” he said.

🎙️U.S. intelligence says Russia aims to bolster Trump’s presidential bid. So what was Vance’s take on Russia’s fake video, recently injected into the U.S. election to falsely suggest ballot destruction in swing state Pennsylvania? “They’re going to try to manipulate our elections. That’s what they do. I think the bigger question is, what is in our best interest vis-a-vis Russia, not what price Russia should pay for putting out social media videos,” he told CBS News.

🎙️The senator’s reaction to critiques of his repeated false tales about Haitians stealing and eating domestic pets in Springfield, Ohio, a myth Trump famously repeated, which sparked bomb threats and disrupted school safety? “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance told CNN last month.

🎙️His response to public objections about his “childless cat ladies” putdown, made in 2021? “Those sarcastic comments were made in the service of a real, substantive point. … I have a lot of regrets, but making a joke three years ago is not on the top 10 list,” he told NBC News.

The New Yorker: The improbable rise of JD Vance. 

2024 CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP:

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will bask under rainbows and pats on the back if Republicans retain or enlarge the House majority on Nov. 5. But if Democrats triumph, he will step down from leadership, predict four GOP allies interviewed by NBC News. 

Former first lady Michelle Obama today will campaign in Atlanta on behalf of voter turnout during a celebrity-stocked event sponsored by When We All Vote. 

About one in five younger Black men say they support Trump for president, a drop from August but a warning sign for Harris’s campaign, according to a poll of registered voters sponsored by the NAACP and released Monday. The latest survey found Black men under 50 have decreased their likelihood to vote for Trump to 21 percent, down from 27 percent in August — and increased their likelihood to vote for Harris to 59 percent, up from 51 percent in August.

Harris on Monday taped an interview to air this morning at 7 a.m. ET with Charlamagne tha God, DJ Envy and Loren LoRosa for an episode of the syndicated radio program “The Breakfast Club.” It also airs on BET.

Social media platform X, owned by Musk, set a goal of pulling in $100 million in political advertising in 2024, but has fallen short with $15 million to date, largely from an increasing reliance on Republicans and the Trump campaign, according to the Financial Times. Musk’s company is attempting to offset revenue losses caused by big brands pulling spending from the platform. 

WHERE AND WHEN

• The House will convene a pro forma session at 2 p.m. The Senate will hold a pro forma session at 9:30 a.m.
• The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m. Biden will head to Baltimore to speak in the afternoon about federal infrastructure assistance, jobs and climate change. The president will headline a campaign event in Potomac, Md. He’ll return to the White House and participate in a virtual campaign call this evening.
• Candidate schedules this week: Harris will address supporters at the Ellipse near the White House, site of Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, remarks to a mob that attacked the Capitol. On Wednesday, the vice president will be in Raleigh, N.C.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and Madison, Wis. On Thursday, Harris will hold an afternoon rally in Phoenix to include a concert with Los Tigres del Norte, plus events in Reno, Nev., and Las Vegas. Today, Trump will campaign in Allentown, Pa., and join a community roundtable in Delaware County outside of Philadelphia presented by Building America’s Future as part of its “America’s Future Tour.” On Wednesday, the former president will campaign in Rocky Mount, N.C., and Green Bay, Wis. On Thursday, Trump will campaign in Albuquerque, N.M., and Henderson, Nev., and join Tucker Carlson‘s live tour in Glendale, Ariz., for a ticketed interview. On Friday, Trump will hold an event in Milwaukee. On Saturday, the former president will campaign in Salem, Va. Today, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) will speak in Savannah, Ga., at a get-out-the-vote rally and campaign in Columbus, Ga., in the evening. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) today will headline rallies in Saginaw, Mich., and Holland, Mich. On Wednesday, the senator will campaign at an evening town hall in Bedford, Pa. 

ZOOM IN

© The Associated Press | Julia Nikhinson

🏙️ The Hill’s series on the future of American cities:

Do people even want to live in cities anymore? Despite worries from experts, the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t kill cities in the U.S. Urban spaces, for the most part, are rebounding and attracting newcomers. Still, some Americans have lost interest in city life, but sociologists say the reason many city populations haven’t fully rebounded isn’t due to a cultural shift rejecting city life. Instead, it’s the result of a practical response to an affordability crisis, writes The Hill’s Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech.

Generation-defining challenges including housing affordability, how to adapt to climate change and the bottoming out of commercial real estate in the wake of the pandemic paint an uncertain future for many American cities.

“American cities are facing significant challenges, including currently housing affordability, the post pandemic recovery, economic development, climate resilience and infrastructure decay,” said Gabriela Fernandez, adjunct faculty professor at San Diego State University and director of the Metabolism of Cities Living Lab. “Additionally, ensuring equitable resource distribution and inclusivity remains a critical issue.”

Local, state and federal leaders have been scrambling to find solutions and policies to make their cities a better and more affordable place to live. The Hill’s Taylor Giorno takes a look at some proposals, from low-income housing tax credit to property tax abatement.

▪ The Hill: Climate change reshapes cities, environmentally and financially.

▪ The Hill: These are cities in which Generation Z residents are thriving, according to a new report.

ELSEWHERE

© The Associated Press | Evan Vucci

ELECTION INCENTIVES: Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on Monday sued a super PAC controlled by Trump backer and billionaire Musk to halt a daily $1 million giveaway aimed at wooing registered voters to cast ballots in swing states. Krasner’s suit calls it an “illegal lottery,” and the Justice Department has warned Musk his contest may violate federal election law. 

JAN. 6: Actor Jay Johnston, who voiced the role of Jimmy Pesto in “Bob’s Burgers” and played Officer Taylor on “Arrested Development,” was on Monday sentenced in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Johnston pleaded guilty to a felony count of interfering with law enforcement during civil disorder in July. 

Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, called Johnston’s conduct on Jan. 6 “problematic — reprehensible, really” and described the actor’s statement as “less contrite than many” other rioters’ remarks before being sentenced.

INTERNATIONAL

ISRAEL CARRIED OUT STRIKES in Gaza and Lebanon on Monday, while the heads of the U.S. and Israeli spy agencies met in Qatar for preliminary talks aimed at reviving negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages held there.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he hopes to reach peace deals with more Arab countries once Israel’s wars against Hamas and Hezbollah are complete.

“The day after Hamas no longer controls Gaza and Hezbollah no longer sits on our northern border, we are working these days on plans to stabilize those two fronts,” Netanyahu said in a speech to parliament. “But the day after includes something else of utmost importance.”

▪ NPR: Israel is awaiting the results of the U.S. presidential election before moving forward on a new cease-fire proposal.

▪ The Hill: Trump and Harris agree on some basic goals of U.S. policy in the Middle East — defending Israel and isolating Iran — but often diverge on style and strategy. 

▪ The New York Times analysis: Israel is dictating events in the Middle East as the U.S. has been relegated to the role of wingman and its ally wages war on multiple fronts.

The U.S. and European countries have raised alarm over Georgia’s elections, where the Russian-friendly ruling party Georgian Dream claimed victory over opposition parties who have refused to recognize the results. Georgia’s supporters are warning that the country could be on a pathway toward Belarus or Venezuela, where the U.S. and allies have had little success in pushing back against authoritarian strongmen.

Reuters: Chinese President Xi Jinping asked Biden last year to change the language the U.S. uses when discussing its position on Taiwanese independence.

OPINION 

■ The hard truth: Americans don’t trust the news media, by Jeff Bezos, owner, The Washington Post. 

■ In praise of The Washington Post’s cowardice, by Andrew Koppelman, opinion contributor, The Hill.

THE CLOSER

© The Associated Press | Godofredo Vásquez

And finally … ⚾ The New York Yankees in the World Series are wearing “ghosts” of their 1990s past, hoping for luck. But the Los Angeles Dodgers won 4-2 Monday and pushed the team to the brink of elimination as the series heads to Game 4. 

Old-school turtlenecks, some three decades old, have been pulled out of cardboard cartons deep in a storage room at the Yankees ballpark with the aim of rekindling baseball magic. The navy pullovers with long sleeves and logos for MLB and the Yankees on the neck offer “a little bit of homage” to the franchise’s storied history (and welcome warmth for players during October’s nighttime chill).

“I saw [Derek] Jeter wearing it when I was younger,” said Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. “That’s why I wore it, too.”

Wearing the past, apparently, is not enough. The Yankees’ offense has gone missing, ESPN reports: “Three games in, the Dodgers have so thoroughly shut down Yankees hitters that crowning Los Angeles feels like an inevitability.”

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