Making an audacious pre-midterm promise, President Trump told reporters in Nevada on Saturday that he is working with Republican congressional leaders on "a very major tax cut for middle-income people," to be announced in early November or just before.
The big picture: Trump has been promising major tax cuts since his presidential campaign. Axios' Jonathan Swan explains that although Congress could technically pass a tax cut in the lame duck session, Trump's proposal has no chance of passing any time soon. He can only announce such a move ahead of the midterms as Congress will remain out of session until after the election, which is just 16 days away.
After speaking at a rally in Elko, Nevada, President Trump told reporters that he will pull the United States out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia that was created by the Reagan administration in 1986.
The details: "We're the ones that have stayed in the agreement, and we've honored the agreement, but Russia has not, unfortunately, honored the agreement, so we're going to terminate the agreement," he said. The Trump administration has been planning to pull out, citing Moscow has been violating it since 2014, per The New York Times. The decision to leave is reportedly motivated by the U.S.' ability to counter a Chinese arms buildup in the Pacific.
Washington Post CEO and Publisher Fred Ryan issued a statement Saturday calling on Congress and President Trump to demand "verifiable evidence" from Saudi officials that columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who worked for the publication, was killed in a fight following a discussion in the Saudi consulate.
"This is not an explanation; it is a coverup. President Trump, Congress and leaders of the civilized world should demand to see verifiable evidence. The Saudis cannot be allowed to fabricate a face-saving solution to an atrocity that appears to have been directed by the highest levels of their government."
The details: Police officers unleashed pepper spray and tear gas just after a group of about 50 migrants advanced into Mexico, causing the rest of the caravan to retreat, the AP reports.
With just 17 days left until the election, President Trump is going all in on immigration as a way to help Republicans keep the House. “Democrats want to throw your borders wide open to deadly drugs and endless gangs,” he said at an Arizona rally last night.
Why it matters: Republicans have a 16% chance of keeping the House, according to FiveThirtyEight. That certainly worries Trump — who's already said it won't be his fault if that happens — so he's making the 2018 midterms all about the base.
A well-wired Republican texts me the reason President Trump is buying the Saudis' story: "Constraining Iran is the priority and Saudi is a critical ally in that effort. That 'trumps' the horrible human rights violation."
Here's how the Saudis last night began trying to defuse the international crisis: "The Saudi government acknowledged early Saturday that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, saying he died during a fistfight," the WashPost reports from Riyadh.
The details: "It’s a big step. It’s a lot of people involved," he said. Trump also told reporters that Saudi Arabia has been a great ally, and the death of Khashoggi was a “horrible event” that has not gone “unnoticed.” He said he plans on talking to the Saudi officials and praised them for a speedy investigation.
The Houston Chronicle is endorsing Democratic Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate over incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz, the paper's editorial board announced Friday.
Why it matters: Newspaper endorsements aren't necessarily symbolic of what is to come on election day, but the Chronicle endorsing O'Rourke is a sharp turn away from the paper traditionally endorsing Republican candidates. It endorsed Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in 2012 and both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush during their presidential campaigns.
Honduran immigrants in the caravan of about 4,000 people heading toward the U.S. tore down a border gate between Guatemala and Mexico on Friday afternoon, the AP reports. A small group crossed into Mexico Thursday night.
The big picture: President Trump has threatened to cut off federal aid for countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, reevaluate his proposed trade deal with Mexico and even "close our southern border" in response to the caravan. Mexico has sent additional police to the border and requested that the UN set up a migrant processing center on the border, according to the Washington Post.
Before the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi there were already murmurs of displeasure in Congress towards Saudi Arabia, many of them based on the horrors inflicted on civilians in Yemen. Where there were sparks, Khashoggi's disappearance has lit a fire.
What they're saying: Sen. Chris Murphy told Axios last month that pulling support from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen "should be at the core of the Democratic foreign policy argument." Now, after Khashoggi's disappearance, he has called for a "fundamental review" of the entire U.S.-Saudi relationship. And he's not the only one.
A number of President Trump's hard-line Republican allies in the House, as well as conservative commentators, have been privately fueling suspicion of Jamal Khashoggi in order to "protect President Trump from criticism" of his handling of the situation, the Washington Post reports.
The details: They're sharing articles from right-wing outlets which focus on Khashoggi's past connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, and "raising conspiratorial questions" about his interactions with Osama bin Laden, whom he covered as a journalist. This comes at the times as Saudi government supporters have worked to tie Khashoggi to the Muslim Brotherhood on Twitter, the Post reports.
President Trump, spelling out his closing arguments for the 18 days of midterm campaigning ahead, told a rally in Montana last night: "This will be an election of Kavanaugh, the caravan, law and order, and common sense."
Be smart... Trump's new list is a variation on the unifying themes we identified earlier this fall in his tweets and rallies: migration, MS-13, media and Mueller.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi likes to say that “beauty is in the mix," arguing that diverse viewpoints lead to a better debate and stronger policy outcomes.
Why it matters: If Dems win back the House in November's midterms, as expected, Pelosi will usher in the most diverse leadership team (in either chamber) in the history of Congress.
Speaking at a Montana campaign rally for GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte Thursday evening, President Trump told the crowd: "Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type! ... I shouldn’t say that. You know, that’s nothing to be embarrassed about."
Flashback: Trump was referring to an incident last year in which Gianforte body slammed reporter Ben Jacobs and broke his glasses the night before Montana's election. Records later showed that Gianforte falsely told the police that Jacobs initiated physical contact with him.
