Welcome to October Surprise, the Daily Beast’s daily countdown to the biggest election of our lifetime. It’s only 22 days until Election Day and here’s what’s happening in the race to the White House between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
THE DOWNLOAD
As Kamala Harris campaigns hard to make sure Black men vote for her, she’s bringing in a secret weapon: Bill Clinton.
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This week, the man who author Toni Morrison famously labeled America’s “first Black president” is barnstorming the southern swing states where Black voters could decide who wins the presidency. His arrival on the campaign trail follows actual first Black president Barack Obama’s campaign stop in Pittsburgh last week, when he accused Black men of making “excuses” to avoid voting for Harris.
Clinton did not explicitly mention race, but appeared to be appealing to the same demographic. “They tried to rig the rules so it hurt us, and there’ve been some new innovative efforts in that regard,” Clinton said at a rally in Columbus, Georgia, on Monday. “But you did well. We won in 2020.”
Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday bashed former President Donald Trump’s cognitive fitness and suggested his own staff may be keeping him away from the public because they’re concerned about his mental stability.
In an appearance Roland Martin Unfiltered, Harris pointed out that Trump has refused to release his medical records, backed out of 60 Minutes and declined to do another debate, unlike her.
“You have to ask, why is his staff doing that?” Harris said. “It may be because they think he is unfit and unstable.” To which Trump fired back on Truth Social, calling on Harris to “pass a test on Cognitive Stamina and Agility.”
POLLS OBSESSED
Harris’ lead is sliding, according to a new ABC/Ipsos poll. The Democratic presidential nominee is up 50 percent to Trump’s 48 percent among likely voters in the national survey. In the same poll last month, Harris had 5 points on Trump among likely voters and 4 points among registered voters. Two takeaways: Trump is gaining ground with male voters as Harris loses support from independents, who are more likely to be swing voters.
The latest NBC News poll, meanwhile, has Harris and Trump deadlocked.
ON THE MOVE
The candidates and their surrogates are crisscrossing the battleground states pitching themselves to voters and attacking one another as the clock ticks down to Election Day. Trump is rallying in Pennsylvania, with Harris right on his heels, speaking in Eerie at 6 p.m. ET. Bill Clinton stumped for Harris in Georgia, while Walz took the Democrats’ message to Wisconsin.
MONDAY MEMORIES
A whole new addition to the English language had been made in October of 2020: Hunter’s Laptop. Joe Biden’s son’s hard-drive had been leaked to the New York Post, giving rise to years of conspiracy theories and claims of censorship. And on Oct. 14, a new character was add to the cast surrounding it as computer repair shop owner John Paul Mac Isaac stepped forward, wearing a Tam O’Shanter, to say he was the source of the “laptop,” and offered conflicting accounts of what had happened–setting the stage for years more to come.
THROWBACK MONDAY
During his first presidential run, Donald Trump’s time as host of The Apprentice had been a central part of his appeal. But on Oct. 15., 2016, it was proving more awkward after claims he had used the racist term “Uncle Tom” about Lil Jon. In a surprise twist, it was Lil Jon himself who commented on a Daily Beast article to make clear that, yes, Trump had said this, adding: “I can’t say if he knew what he was actually saying or not, but he did stop using that term once we explained it’s [sic] offensiveness.”
BEAST OF THE DAY
Former President Donald Trump has called the newly released biopic focused on his early business career “a politically disgusting hatchet job” that he claimed is the work of “HUMAN SCUM.”
In a frothing post on his money-hemorrhaging Truth Social platform, Trump called The Apprentice a “pile of garbage” and its screenwriter, the journalist and author Gabriel Sherman, “a lowlife and talentless hack.”
The Apprentice, which Trump slammed as “FAKE and CLASSLESS” in spite it being well-received by critics, stars Sebastian Stan as Trump and Jeremy Strong as the Republican fixer and Trump mentor Roy Cohn. It has been the subject of controversy for depicting the former president sexually assaulting his first wife, Ivana.
SHAMELESS PLUG
The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy have got plenty of new material for their new edition which drops tomorrow—including Harris and Trump going head-to-head on mental fitness. Find out what they think by downloading on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.
