The freebie section of the 2024 marketing campaign: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the web model of From the Politics Desk, a night publication that brings you the NBC Information Politics workforce’s newest reporting and evaluation from the marketing campaign path, the White Home and Capitol Hill.

In right now’s version, senior political reporter Jonathan Allen breaks down the freebies Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are pitching as a part of their marketing campaign platforms. Plus, a bombshell CNN report about Mark Robinson rocks the North Carolina governor’s race.

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Trump’s tax reversal punctuates a flurry of freebies defining the 2024 election

By Jonathan Allen

As president, Donald Trump slashed a profitable tax break loved by coastal donors and suburban swing-state voters. Now, he’s promising to present again the deduction — if solely they may put him again within the Oval Workplace.

Trump aides say he isn’t ransoming a hostage and even flip-flopping on the $10,000 annual restrict he positioned on the federal deduction taxpayers can declare based mostly on their state and native taxes — the “SALT cap,” in Washington discuss. As an alternative, a marketing campaign official mentioned, Trump is responding to new financial realities as he pursues a “two monitor” resolution. The primary is selling pro-growth insurance policies, and the second is adopting tax positions that will permit individuals to maintain extra of their cash.

What shifted greater than the economic system is Trump’s wants, mentioned Caroline Bruckner, managing director of American College’s Kogod Tax Coverage Middle.

“The change within the limitation on the deductibility of state and native taxes was a simple play to focus on income flowing to blue states,” Bruckner mentioned of the 2017 legislation, which used the SALT cap as a finances offset to pay for different tax cuts. “Now it seems that higher-income taxpayers in swing states have been in a position to efficiently plead their case to Trump.” 

The reversal is one among a flurry of freebies that Trump and his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, are providing voters within the stretch run earlier than Election Day. Collectively, they’re promising the equal of a tax break in each pot.

Each candidates vow to dam taxes on suggestions for service business staff. Trump says he would spare seniors from taxes on Social Safety payouts. Harris is pumping steroids into Biden administration proposals to broaden the kid tax credit score and subsidize first-time homebuyers. She’s additionally providing a deduction of as much as $50,000 within the first 12 months for small-business startups.

There are big-spending guarantees, too, like Trump’s announcement — the main points of which stay to be fleshed out — that he would supply free in vitro fertilization therapies for people who find themselves making an attempt to conceive.

“It’s the foolish season, when every thing is free,” mentioned former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., who was a frontrunner amongst GOP moderates in Congress.

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Mark Robinson vows to remain in N.C. governor race following report he made inflammatory feedback on a porn web site

By Adam Edelman and Alexandra Marquez

Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina, vowed Thursday to stay within the race following a report that he made dozens of lewd and inflammatory feedback greater than 10 years in the past on the message board of a pornography web site.

The report, printed by CNN, mentioned Robinson, in posts to a pornographic web site known as Nude Africa, known as himself a “black NAZI,” expressed help for bringing again slavery, mentioned he loved watching transgender pornography and recounted sexually graphic tales, together with one about his reminiscence of “peeping” on ladies in fitness center showers when he was 14. The posts have been made below the username “minisoldr” from 2008 to 2012, CNN reported, earlier than Robinson, who was elected lieutenant governor in 2020, entered politics.

In a video posted to X forward of the story’s publication, Robinson denied the report, calling it “tabloid trash.”

“Let me reassure you: The issues that you will note in that story, these should not the phrases of Mark Robinson. You realize my phrases, my character, and that I’ve been utterly clear on this race and earlier than,” he mentioned within the video.

“We’re staying on this race, we’re in it to win it, and we all know that, along with your assist, we are going to,” he added.

The report was the most recent blow to Republicans within the essential battleground state race, wherein Robinson, who’s backed by Donald Trump, has struggled in opposition to Democratic candidate Josh Stein. North Carolina has additionally taken on elevated significance within the presidential race following Kamala Harris’ ascension to the highest of the Democratic ticket. 

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Black swing-state voters overwhelmingly again Harris — with key divides on age and gender

By Stephanie Perry and Curtis Bunn

An awesome majority of Black probably voters in battleground states mentioned they’ll vote for Kamala Harris in November — although she wants to shut the cope with some skeptical undecideds to achieve Joe Biden’s 2020 margins amongst Black voters.

The info, from a brand new Howard College Initiative on Public Opinion ballot of 963 Black probably voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — the seven core battleground states within the election — present 82% say they’ll vote for Harris, whereas 12% say they’ll vote for Donald Trump. One other 5% are undecided, and 1% plan to choose one other candidate. 

In keeping with the 2020 exit ballot outcomes throughout the identical battleground states, 89% of Black voters supported Biden, in contrast with 9% for Trump. 

Whereas Black swing-state voters are largely lined up behind Harris, there are some essential variations amongst subsets of the Black vote.

Amongst Black voters over 50, 89% mentioned they again Harris, however for these below 50, that determine drops to 75%. 

Amongst Black males below 50, Harris had a 50-point benefit, in contrast together with her 78-point lead amongst males 50 and over. Amongst younger ladies, the margin for Harris is 65 factors, however amongst older ladies, it’s 84 factors.

In the meantime, Black swing-state voters with faculty levels help Harris over Trump by 73 factors, whereas Black voters who aren’t faculty graduates help Harris over Trump by 68 factors. The ballot finds that youthful and less-educated voters usually tend to help Trump.

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 🗳️ GOTV: The NAACP advised NBC Information it plans to spend $20 million mobilizing Black voters throughout 12 states this fall. Learn extra →

📊 Survey says: Mark Murray is sensible of the slew of nationwide and battleground state polls which have come out over the previous 24 hours. Learn extra →

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That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. You probably have suggestions — likes or dislikes — e-mail us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

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