memeorandum: DeSantis ‘not aware’ of Harris calls after reports he dodged them (Tara Suter/The Hill)

8:45 PM ET, October 7, 2024

Top Items:

Matt Dixon / NBC News:

Ron DeSantis is refusing to take Harris' call on Hurricane Helene — An aide to the Florida governor said that Harris' call “seemed political” and that she “was trying to reach out, and we didn't answer.” — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not taking calls from Vice President Kamala Harris …

Tara Suter / The Hill:

DeSantis ‘not aware’ of Harris calls after reports he dodged them — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Monday he “was not aware” of post-Hurricane Helene calls from Vice President Harris after multiple reports emerged that he dodged them. — “I didn't know she called me. ...

ABC News:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis refused call from VP Kamala Harris about hurricane aid: Source

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, RedState, Washington Post, The Post Millennial, Raw Story, Tomorrow USA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, PoliticusUSA, Florida Politics and CNN

ITEP:

A Distributional Analysis of Donald Trump's Tax Plan — Impact Of Donald Trump's Tax Proposals by Income Group — Former President Donald Trump has proposed a wide variety of tax policy changes. Taken together, these proposals would, on average, lead to a tax cut for the richest 5 percent …

Discussion: The Hill

New York Times:
Trump's Plans Could Increase U.S. Debt While Raising Costs for Most Americans

Discussion: CBS News, Wall Street Journal and Fox News

HuffPost:
Donald Trump Tax Plans Would Increase Taxes On 95% Of Americans, Analysis Finds

Discussion: ITEP

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
The Fiscal Impact of the Harris and Trump Campaign Plans

Discussion: Semafor, Washington Examiner, New York Post, CBS News, Roll Call, The Daily Beast, The Bulwark, The Hill, Axios and NPR

Molly Jong-Fast / Vanity Fair:

Lying Is Loyalty in Trump's GOP — So how far will his allies go to keep their king happy? — Donald Trump, who proved to be deeply dishonest as a candidate in 2016, and as president for four years, is lying with reckless abandon as he tries to return to the White House.

Brian Beutler / Off Message:
MAGA's Hurricane Helene Lies Are A Trial Run For The Election

Discussion: New Jersey Online and Digby's Hullabaloo

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
October 6, 2024 — This morning began with a CNN headline story by fact checker Daniel Dale …

Discussion: Alternet.org

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
‘Increasingly deranged’ Trump is inciting ‘civil war’ as election loss looms: Morning Joe

Discussion: Newsbusters, The Post Millennial, The Hill, New Jersey Online, RedState, The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Twitchy and Mediaite

Helen Lewis / The Atlantic:

What Going on Call Her Daddy Did for Kamala Harris — Very few podcasters would apologize to their fans for clogging up their feed by interviewing a presidential candidate. But Alex Cooper—the host of a podcast variously described as “raunchy, “sex-positive,” “mega-popular,” and …

David Gardner / The Daily Beast:

‘Call Her Daddy’ Faces Backlash Over ‘Propaganda’ Harris Interview — HOODIE'S NICE THOUGH! — Some fans of the hugely popular podcast are angry that the vice president did not address the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. — Alex Cooper, host of the Call Her Daddy podcast …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Slate, Daily Mail, New York Post, Twitchy, USA Today, Page Six and Los Angeles Times, more at Mediagazer »

Luke Barr / ABC News:

Misinformation amid Helene recovery is ‘extremely damaging,’ FEMA official says — Some prominent voices have been pushing disinformation since Helene hit. — In an aerial view, flood damage wrought by Hurricane Helene is seen along the French Broad River on Oct. 3, 2024, in Marshall, North Carolina.

Discussion: The Guardian

Stephen Fowler / NPR:
Fact checking falsehoods about FEMA funding and Hurricane Helene

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Examiner, Politico, Media Matters for America, The Dispatch, American Military News, Poynter and Fox News

Ron Kampeas / The Forward:
Jewish officials handling hurricane communications face antisemitic harassment

Discussion: New Republic, Rolling Stone, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Jay Kuo / The Status Kuo:
A Disinformation Trial Run

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, NBC News, New York Times, CBS News, Associated Press, Wisconsin Examiner, Raw Story, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Poynter, Meidas+, CNBC, Business Insider and Townhall

Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:

Supreme Court lets stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate Texas ban — The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate the law in Texas, which has one of the country's strictest abortion bans. Without detailing their reasoning …

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Saying immigrants bring ‘bad genes’ echoes Trump's history — and the world's — With a mishmash of false claims about crime and ridiculous race science, Trump makes explicit the racism at the heart of his politics. — Former president Donald Trump has long espoused a worldview in which genes …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, The Atlantic, NBC News, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast and Daily Kos

Matt Shuham / HuffPost:
Trump: Immigrants Have Brought ‘Bad Genes’ Into The Country

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Fox News, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Metro.co.uk, Digby's Hullabaloo, USA Today, Raw Story, New Republic and Crooks and Liars

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:
Former President Trump On The Anniversary Of The 10/7 Massacre In Israel

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors, Jewish Insider, North Dakota Monitor, BizPac Review, New York Post and Mediaite

Associated Press:

Hurricane Milton is a Category 5. Florida orders evacuations and scrambles to clear Helene's debris — Florida's storm-battered Gulf Coast raced against a Category 5 hurricane Monday as workers sprinted to pick up heaps of appliances and other street debris left over from Helene two weeks ago …

Lily Mae Lazarus / The Daily Beast:

Porn Stars Aim to Turn Own Audience With Anti-Project 2025 Blitz — NAKED AGENDA — More than a dozen adult entertainment stars have established a campaign against right-wing efforts to ban pornography. — Journalist — Porn stars threw their hat in the political ring …

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Porn Industry Jumps Into the Presidential Campaign, Targeting Project 2025

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Digby's Hullabaloo, Business Insider, Mock Paper Scissors and Althouse

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Why asking about the 2020 election isn't a ‘gotcha’ question — The question is less about 2020 than about the willingness of Trump supporters to reject his efforts to subvert the 2024 results. — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is not interested in talking about the 2020 election.

Discussion: The Hill, New Republic, Mother Jones, HuffPost, New York Post, Washington Times, Reuters, ABC News and Washington Examiner

Maga Mama / The Daily Beast:

Melania Trump: Why I'm an Unapologetic Election Denier — Donald Trump's wife says she believes the 2020 contest “was not a normal election” and still “questions the results.” … Melania Trump is fully on board with her husband's 2020 election denial, her new memoir reveals.

Phil Williams / WTVF-TV:

‘We already have the receipts.’ Election denier says his group gained access to U.S. banking data — Arizona's Mark Finchem says Millersville, Tennessee's assistant police chief, Shawn Taylor, used Treasury Department's FinCen data in work for Finchem's Election Fairness Institute

Discussion: Arizona Mirror and Raw Story

Tinsae Aregay / Torque News:

GEICO is Terminating Insurance Coverage of Tesla Cybertrucks, Says “This Type of Vehicle Doesn't Meet Our Underwriting Guidelines” — GEICO, the second-largest vehicle insurance underwriter in the US, has decided it will no longer cover Tesla Cybertrucks. The company is terminating current …

Discussion: WFAA-TV, The Register, The Verge and The Daily Beast

Craig Mauger / The Detroit News:

Kamala Harris gains slight lead over Donald Trump in Michigan, poll shows — Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have gained momentum in a race for the White House that remains neck and neck in Michigan with a month until Election Day, according to a new poll from The Detroit News and WDIV-TV (Channel 4).

Discussion: HotAir and NPR

Andrew Romano / Yahoo News:
New Yahoo News/YouGov poll: Trump-Harris race tightens after Vance debate ‘win’

Discussion: freebeacon.com, RedState, New York Post, The Hill and New Jersey Online

Christopher Flavelle / New York Times:

As Major Hurricane Approaches Florida, FEMA Faces Severe Staffing Shortage — Fewer than 10 percent of the agency's disaster workers are available to respond to Hurricane Milton and other calamities. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency is running out of staff to deal …

Discussion: CBS News, IJR, American Greatness, Washington Times and Townhall

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

‘Easy money’: Trump backer Elon Musk claims PAC will pay $47 for swing state voter information … Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is backing Donald Trump in the presidential election, on Sunday touted a $47 referral bonus that the billionaire's political action committee is offering to people …

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, ZeroHedge News, Forbes, BizPac Review, The Post Millennial and Washington Examiner

Bloomberg:
Elon Musk Plans to Campaign for Trump in Battleground Pennsylvania

Discussion: The Hill

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:

Trump transition team co-chair warns prospective appointees must prove ‘loyalty’ — Howard Lutnick, former President Trump's transition team co-chair, said prospective appointees will only be tapped for future roles in a hypothetical Trump administration if they prove “loyalty” to the former president and his policies.

Discussion: Financial Times, New Republic and The Guardian

Clay Walker / The Daily Beast:

Sally Field Recalls ‘Traumatic’ Illegal Abortion in New Video — ‘PIT OF SHAME’ — Sally Field was 17 when she had the abortion and months away from her big break. — Sally Field is opening up about an illegal abortion she had when she was 17 years old.