How the Harris campaign's 'new' factor cuts both ways: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, national political reporter Ben Kamisar breaks down our latest NBC News Deciders Focus Group with Latino voters in battleground states. Correspondent Dasha Burns has an exclusive interview with Donald Trump, who unveiled a new TVF proposal. And senior national political reporter Jonathan Allen has five key questions he wants to see Kamala Harris answer.

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Skeptical Latino voters wrestle with what they know about Harris versus what they’ve seen from Trump

By Ben Kamisar

Democrats are riding a wave of enthusiasm with Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket. But a new focus group reveals the potential limitations of how far that jolt of energy can take the party with the remaining sliver of persuadable voters.

The latest edition of the NBC News Deciders Focus Group, produced in collaboration with Engagious, Syracuse University and Sago, featured nine Hispanic voters who are primarily from battleground states and say they’re unsatisfied with both major-party candidates. Conversations with these voters found a near-unanimous lack of familiarity with Harris.

That’s bred skepticism about whether she means what she says on the campaign trail or whether the November election is a choice, as one voter put it, between the “devil we know” in former President Donald Trump and the “devil we don’t know” in Harris.  

Yet that dynamic also gives Harris a potential opening, some participants noted, as a new voice in a race that was shaping up for a year-plus as a rematch between two of the most recognizable politicians in recent American history. 

“It’s better a fool known than the fool unknown,” said Maddie C., a 52-year-old from Macon, Georgia, who backed Trump in 2020. “Sorry, I’ve already been through Trump. I think I can handle him another four years. He’s not going to kill the whole nation in four years, he doesn’t have that power, and I just don’t know Harris well enough.” 

But Andreas O., a 47-year-old from Durham, North Carolina, who backed President Joe Biden in 2020, said of Harris: “At least she’s competent. I don’t have any doubts about her ability to run a government.”  

The focus group made clear that Democrats’ decision to swap Biden with Harris has fundamentally changed the discussion about the party’s ticket. The near-universal discomfort with Biden’s age across every prior focus group of skeptical or undecided voters is gone. But it’s been replaced by voters in these sessions who used words like “ghost” and “hiding” and “unknown” to describe Harris.

Cecilia Q., a 53-year-old from Phoenix who voted for Biden in 2020, said that skepticism about Harris compared to her familiarity with Trump is weighing on her vote. If forced to choose between the two major-party candidates, she said she’d back Trump. But given more choices, she chose progressive activist Cornel West.

“I don’t know much about him, but I do know what it was like under Trump. So I thought: OK, well, I already dealt with one bad, how bad could a” liberal version of that be, Cecilia Q. said.

Read more from the latest NBC News Deciders Focus Group → 

Trump says he wants to make the government or insurance companies pay for IVF treatments

By Dasha Burns, Abigail Brooks and Alexandra Marquez

POTTERVILLE, Mich. — Former President Donald Trump said in an interview with NBC News Thursday that if elected, his administration would not only protect access to in vitro fertilization, but would have either the government or insurance companies cover the cost of the expensive service for American women who need it.

“We are going to be, under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment,” Trump said, before adding, “We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay.”

Asked to clarify whether the government would pay for IVF services or whether insurance companies would do so, Trump reiterated that one option would be to have insurance companies pay “under a mandate, yes.”

Reproductive rights have been a political liability for the GOP, as Democrats have warned that Republican-led restrictions on abortion could lead to limitations on IVF as well. In the interview, Trump said on abortion policy that “exceptions are very important for me,” later adding, “I believe in exceptions for life of the mother ... incest, rape.”

Trump’s IVF proposal could also put him at odds with anti-abortion advocates who oppose certain parts of the process that involve discarding unused embryos.

Read more from our interview with Trump →

5 key questions for Harris to answer 

By Jonathan Allen

Vice President Kamala Harris sat down today — alongside running mate Gov. Tim Walz — for her first extended interview since becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee, airing tonight on CNN. After months of tumult in the presidential race, there’s no end to the questions she could be asked. But here are five that could reveal how she plans to campaign and govern, and why the answers matter.

1. What would you have done differently than President Joe Biden had you been in his job over the last three-plus years? 

Harris has departed very little from Biden in terms of her platform and agenda so far, essentially super-charging some of his proposals and bringing her old positions from the 2020 election in line with his record. Voters should know when she recommended courses of action that were rejected or if she thinks, in retrospect, that they made mistakes. That would help the public understand how the vice presidency developed her worldview as she seeks a promotion. 

2. If you’re elected, what can you realistically do to restore abortion rights without a majority in the House and a supermajority in the Senate?

Democrats have been successful in turning the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and the implementation of state abortion restrictions, into electoral victories. But they haven’t articulated a systematic national plan to reverse the effects of the Dobbs ruling.

3. Is there a point at which supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia becomes too costly for America to continue? If so, what is your metric?

At a time when Harris says the cost of living is too high and has proposed expensive policies to alleviate that problem, many voters have become weary of spending on the war in Europe. So far, Congress has approved $175 billion related to supporting Ukraine. Harris, like Biden, has been staunchly supportive of that funding. It’s worth knowing if that’s an open-ended commitment.

4. Your administration’s spending contributed to inflation and officials insisted that it was “transitory.” Why should Americans trust now that you know how to lower prices for consumers? 

Regardless of whether they’re buying fast food or luxury cars, voters feel inflation. Along with the broader economy, it is likely to be the top substantive issue facing them when they cast ballots. Harris has proposed new spending to expand the child tax credit and help first-time homebuyers, which could alleviate some of the pain in the short term and create inflationary pressure in the long term. Harris should explain what changes will actually temper inflation.

5. Did you ever have any concern about Biden’s acuity — before, during or after his debate with former President Donald Trump?

Harris has talked frequently about the time she spent up close and personal with Biden as his vice president. Many Americans were shocked at his appearance and performance during a June debate that led to his decision to abandon his re-election bid. Did she see something and not say something?

Across the aisle: During a clip of her CNN interview that was released this afternoon, Harris said she would appoint a Republican to her cabinet if elected. Read more →

That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at [email protected]

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