memeorandum: After a tumultuous month of news, Biden maintains national lead over Trump (Mark Murray/NBC News)

11:35 AM ET, September 20, 2020

Top Items:

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

Why a Never Trumper Changed Her Mind — On Monday, Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, published an op-ed in the Washington Post titled “I never considered voting for Trump in 2016. I may be forced to vote for him this year.”

Discussion: Redfield & Wilton Strategies and Denver Post

Mike Allen / Axios:

Furious Democrats consider total war if McConnell jams through Supreme Court pick — Furious Democrats are considering total war — profound changes to two branches of government, and even adding stars to the flag — if Republicans jam through a Supreme Court nominee, then lose control of the Senate.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Redstate and The Gateway Pundit

Michael Kruse / Politico:

Trump Is Riding High. Can He Keep from Blowing It? — Late Friday night following his rally in Bemidji, Minnesota, Donald Trump paused before boarding Air Force One and did something surprising. He appeared to attempt to measure his words. He gathered himself, he exhaled slightly …

Discussion: Common Dreams, Duluth News Tribune, Washington Post, The Daily Caller and Raw Story

Blake Montgomery / The Daily Beast:

Trump to His Female Supporters: I Hope Your Husbands OKed You Attending My Rallies — THANK YOU, DEAR — Moments after vowing to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court at his campaign rally in North Carolina on Saturday night, President Trump asked some of his female supporters in the crowd …

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Jane Mayer / New Yorker:

For Mitch McConnell, Keeping His Senate Majority Matters More Than the Supreme Court — As the Democrats weigh their options about how to stop Mitch McConnell from filling Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat, one tactic that they should forget about immediately is arguing …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Japan Times, Raw Story, New Republic and New York Post

Politico:
‘Nothing is off the table’: Supreme Court fight could reshape the Senate

Discussion: NBC News, Bloomberg, TheBlaze, Power Line, New York Times, The Hill, Law & Crime and Boston Herald

New York Times:
Joe Biden's Court Vacancy Plan: More Talk of Health Care and the Pandemic

Discussion: Raw Story, Townhall, Newsbusters, Breitbart, NBC News, Bloomberg, Politico, Political Wire, Bangor Daily News, Vox, Mediaite and Axios

William Saletan / Slate:
McConnell Is Inventing Excuses to Grab Ginsburg's Seat

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, Washington Post, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Real Clear Politics, Senator Rob Portman, Florida Politics, Townhall, Bloomberg, TMZ.com and Louder With Crowder

Bill Hutchinson / ABC News:
Sen. Ted Cruz cites possible contested presidential election in rapid push to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat

Discussion: Axios, Politico, Washington Times and The Hill

Jack Arnholz / ABC News:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg represented what ‘is best about America’: Bill Clinton

Discussion: NBC News, Redstate and TheBlaze

Sen. Ted Cruz / Fox News:
After Ginsburg — 3 reasons why Senate must confirm her successor before Election Day

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Axios and Redstate

Adam J. White / The Bulwark:
Save the Vote, Save the Court

John Nolte / Breitbart:
Passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Permanently Resets 2020 Election

Discussion: Townhall, New York Post and National Review

David Harsanyi / National Review:
There Is No Reason Why Republicans Shouldn't Fill the SCOTUS Vacancy

Discussion: The Hill, MyNorthwest.com, Fox News, American Thinker, Inside Elections and Yahoo News

CNN:
GOP's Supreme Court hypocrisy in their own words

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Politico, Axios, Fox News and New York Times

Sean Collins / Vox:
Susan Collins: No Supreme Court vote before Election Day

Discussion: NBC News, Politico, Axios, NPR, The Week, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, New York Post, Breitbart, ABC News, Redstate, Mediaite, MSNBC and The 19th

Charles Franklin / Marquette University Law School:
Public views of Justice Ginsburg and appointments to the Supreme Court

Discussion: New York Post, Althouse, Redstate, Breitbart, The Hill, Vox, Washington Examiner and No More Mister Nice Blog

Stephen L. Miller / Spectator USA:
Fill the seat — When you have power in Washington DC, use it. That saying is true for both parties.

Discussion: Redstate, Twitchy and Breitbart

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:
Can Trump and McConnell Push Through a Successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

Discussion: The Guardian, Japan Times, KRON4, Reason and Raw Story

Marc Caputo / Politico:
Biden takes cautious approach to SCOTUS storm

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week, Townhall, The Guardian, NBC News, Raw Story, Washington Times and Breitbart

Michael Crowley / New York Times:
Live Updates: A Tip Sheet for the Senate Fight Over Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Seat

Discussion: Politico, Roll Call, Raw Story, NBC News, The Colorado Sun, Japan Times, Associated Press, San Bernardino Sun, Fox News, Breitbart, New York Post, Political Wire, Yahoo News, Vox and Wall Street Journal

NBC News:
A Mark Kelly win in Ariz. Senate race could spoil McConnell's plans to replace Ginsburg

Discussion: Axios, New York Times, Politico, Reuters, The Hill, Breitbart, Forbes, Vox, Washington Post and Townhall

Carrie Johnson / NPR:
Trump's Supreme Court Pick Shrouded In Secrecy

Discussion: NBC News, Axios and Politico

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The tortured logic from right-wing media about replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Discussion: Raw Story, Mother Jones, Common Dreams, Townhall and Talking Points Memo

Bill Allison / Bloomberg:
Democratic Donations After Ginsburg Death Near $100 Million

Discussion: Common Dreams, ABC News, New York Times, Daily Kos, Politico, Mother Jones and Iowa Starting Line

Associated Press:
Trump to Senate: Vote ‘without delay’ on his high court pick

Discussion: American Greatness, Politico, Fox News, Florida Politics and Common Dreams

Washington Post:
Graham — an institutionalist turned Trump loyalist — will play a central role in Supreme Court battle

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Daily Caller and New York Post

Errin Haines / The 19th: ‘An extraordinary force in the law:’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy on gender equity

Harry Enten / CNN:

Why it could be a Biden blowout in November — (CNN)Poll of the week: A new ABC News/Washington Post poll from Minnesota finds Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden with a 57% to 41% lead over President Donald Trump among likely voters. — Two other Minnesota polls released …

Discussion: Washington Times

CBS News:

Florida race tightens and Trump has edge over Biden in Texas — Battleground Tracker poll — Joe Biden still has a small edge in Florida, but the contest has tightened since our last poll in July, from six points down to two now, amid an ebbing — if still sizable — concern about coronavirus …

Discussion: Political Wire and Big League Politics

Mark Murray / NBC News:

After a tumultuous month of news, Biden maintains national lead over Trump — WASHINGTON — After a month of political conventions, fresh controversies, more protests and additional deaths from the coronavirus, the 2020 presidential race remains where's it's been for months …

Discussion: Forbes, The Hill and Political Wire

Alex Leary / Wall Street Journal:

Biden Leads Trump by 8 Points in New Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll — Respondents view president as better economic steward, Democrat as better on coronavirus — WASHINGTON—In a year dominated by a deadly virus, racial unrest and tumultuous news cycles, the presidential race remains remarkably stable …

Discussion: The National Interest and NPR

Detroit Free Press:
Endorsement: Joe Biden is the anti-toxin America needs

Discussion: Fox News

Des Moines Register:

Iowa Poll: Theresa Greenfield narrowly leads Joni Ernst in hyper-competitive Senate race — Democrat Theresa Greenfield leads Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst by 3 percentage points in a Senate race that appears to be among the most competitive in the country.

Discussion: Axios, Raw Story, The 19th and Politico

Mark Joyella / Forbes:

Trump Describes Journalist Hit By Rubber Bullet As ‘A Beautiful Sight’ — At a rally in Minnesota, President Trump described an MSNBC anchor hit by a rubber bullet while covering protests after the death of George Floyd in May as “a beautiful sight,” comments quickly condemned by journalists including CNN's Jake Tapper.

Discussion: Slate, CNN and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Our Poll* Shows Close Race for Senate in Montana — *The survey erred in listing the Green Party, but it's still clear that Daines and Bullock are in a tight contest. — A New York Times/Siena College poll of Montana shows a close race for Senate. But it has an important flaw …

Francis Wilkinson / Bloomberg:

Authoritarianism, Not Just Trump, Is Up for Re-Election — Fear of fascism is no longer alarmist. — Americans who think the coming election is their last chance to save the republic from authoritarianism — Americans, until recently, like me — are almost certainly wrong.

Adam Kelsey / ABC News:

Majority of Americans report no confidence in Trump to confirm vaccine safety, effectiveness: POLL — The numbers come via an ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday. — CDC director responds to Trump's COVID-19 vaccine timeline — President Donald Trump asserted that a vaccine could be weeks away …

Discussion: Raw Story and MyNorthwest.com

New York Times:

Trump Supporters Disrupt Early Voting in Virginia — A group waving Trump flags and chanting “four more years” created a commotion at a polling location in Fairfax, Va. A county official said some voters and staff members felt intimidated. — A group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted …

Discussion: Axios

CNBC:

Trump agrees to deal in which TikTok will partner with Oracle and Walmart — Trump said he has given his blessing to a deal in which Oracle and Walmart would partner with TikTok in the U.S. — Oracle will become TikTok's cloud provider and a minority investor with a 12.5% stake.