Sunday Snapshot: Everyone thinks they're gonna win
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Former President Trump walks off stage after speaking during a campaign rally at Lancaster Airport on Nov. 3 in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
With two days until Election Day, the two sides' closing messages are dramatically different — but their surrogates are singing a similar refrain: They're confident and optimistic.
Yes, but in toss-up America, no one really knows. Final polls show a neck-and-neck race in key swing states, while one pollster created shockwaves with numbers that suggest seemingly solidly red Iowa could receive a blue makeover.
Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, November 3.
1. No losers here
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) predicted that Tuesday will be a "very good day" for Republicans and that "Donald Trump will be our next president."
- He has reason to be optimistic, he said on CNN's "State of the Union," pointing to battleground state polling where he said the GOP nominee is doing "very well."
The other side: But Sen. Catherine Cortez Mastro (D-Nev.) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) expressed confidence Sunday that Vice President Harris could come out on top in their respective swing states.
- "It is going to be close, but she's definitely put in the time here in Pennsylvania," Fetterman said on "State of the Union."
- Cortez Mastro said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that she's "optimistic" Harris will win the state.
Between the lines: Of course, a campaign surrogate who declares on national TV that their candidate will lose isn't a very good one.
- But the polls outlining the state of the race show a coin-toss reality, where sought-after voters in key swing states could make all the difference. The race could be decided on narrow margins. It could also be a landslide.
- Trump-world's hyper-confidence and their partisan media echo chambers — along with the former president's continued assertions of voter fraud — set the stage for post-election fighting, Axios' Zachary Basu reports.
What they're saying: Fetterman recognized there is "strong energy on both sides" but slammed former President Trump's unfounded claims of Pennsylvania voter fraud, saying "It's the same sh-t he played in '20, and that didn't go anywhere."
Also asked about Trump's false claims of cheating in Pennsylvania and concerns that the former president's assertions that the race will be a massive victory could undermine election results, Scott replied, "I would never tell any candidate on the ballot to talk about what happens if they lose."
- Later, he added, "I am of course going to say my candidate is going to win because the polls reinforce that fact."
But behind the scenes, Axios has reported, both sides are sweating in the final days of the race.
- Trump has leaned into attention-grabbing moments and cried election fraud.
- Harris' camp has echoed her closing message of unity while still going on offense to capitalize on Trump's recent controversies and gaffes.
The bottom line: All eyes are on the coin in the air. No one knows how it will fall.
2. Scott and Rubio attack the media
Rubio on Sunday lambasted what he described as a "concerted effort" among media outlets to "breathlessly distort and lie about what's being said" and to "manufacture" gotcha moments against Trump.
Driving the news: The Florida Republican, speaking on CBS News' "Face the Nation," condemned the "egregious" way media outlets covered Trump saying former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a vocal critic of the GOP nominee, should be put "with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her."
- The comments, made Thursday during a campaign event moderated by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, were meant to criticize "war hawks sitting in Washington" while U.S. troops are sent abroad, Trump said.
- Rubio argued reporters misconstrued Trump's comments, noting the GOP nominee said "he would give her a gun" and "you don't normally give a gun to someone that is going to be facing a firing squad, which is what much of the media made it sound like."
- Axios and other outlets reported on the context of Trump's comment.
- The Trump campaign similarly condemned backlash to the remarks, telling Axios it was due to "fake media outrage."
Zoom out: Scott also went toe-to-toe with CNN's Dana Bash over Trump's unfounded election fraud claims, after the South Carolina Republican said the "liberal media has done a better job of spreading misinformation than any candidate I've seen so far."
- He argued CNN was not showing "the coverage of two assassination attempts," to which Bash replied, "We did wall-to-wall coverage."
The big picture: The comments come as the former president has continued his years-long offensive against journalists and mainstream media outlets — including a recent $10 billion lawsuit against CBS News.
- Speaking at a rally Sunday, Trump suggested he wouldn't "mind that so much" if someone had to "shoot through the fake news" to get him.
- Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung defended the words, saying in a statement that Trump's words "about protective glass placement has nothing to do with the media being harmed, or anything else. It was about threats against him that were spurred on by dangerous rhetoric from Democrats."
3. Chuck Todd's greatest fear
With two days until the polls close, Chuck Todd, NBC News' Chief Political Analyst, shared his election concerns during a "Meet the Press" panel.
Driving the news: Analysts, pundits and politicians are scratching their heads about the eventual winner in the race, but Todd said Sunday that his "greatest fear" is what comes after.
What they're saying: "My greatest fear about this election is if Trump wins — I think it, for a generation, is what they believe. [That] this is how you conduct yourself in politics."
- Todd added that the "transactional nature" the former president engages in could turn the GOP into a kleptocracy — a government run by individuals looking for personal gain at the expense of the governed — "if we're not careful."
Zoom out: Jen Psaki, a former Biden administration press secretary and current MSNBC host, followed Todd and said that a loss for Democrats could make the party "less inclined" to take risks like putting a woman at the top of the presidential ticket.
The other side: Marc Short, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence, called for a reckoning for the GOP should they lose the White House.
- "The top two issues are border security and the economy. This should be a Republican landslide year," he said, adding that if Trump won it was because voters saw him as a fighter.
- If Trump loses the White House, the GOP should look inward at itself and what is a "serious indictment on our party" and the issues it has abandoned, he said.
More from Axios' Sunday coverage:
