Current and former American intelligence officials are warning that Chinese spies are listening in on President Trump's iPhone calls to see how to gain insight on the president’s thought process and sway administration policy, The New York Times reports.
Why it matters: President Trump has two official iPhones that have limited abilities, and a third, regular iPhone. Officials are frustrated by the president's casual disregard toward electronic security as China is collecting valuable information on how the president thinks, and which arguments captivate him to keep a trade war with the United States from escalating further, per the NYT.
Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," is ramping up his midterm coverage ahead of the Nov. 6 elections with special live episodes that will be filmed in Florida next week. He told Axios Wednesday, "Republicans have a pretty easy job" in 2018 because they're "setting themselves up as the party of the white man."
Between the lines: President Trump's message, he said, is that "white men are struggling in 2018," whether it's with immigrants coming into the country or watching Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation. Because of that, Noah says ahead of the midterms, the GOP has "done a fantastic job of galvanizing their base, of playing the victim card. ... To have the House, Senate and presidency and still have your voters feel like they’re under siege is the most powerful thing they’ve managed to do."
In a visit to Moscow on Tuesday, national security adviser John Bolton delivered President Trump’s message that the U.S. will withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a Reagan-era nuclear deal that has been credited with helping end the Cold War. If the INF Treaty collapses, which seems likely, there will exist only one remaining treaty — the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) — regulating U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles.
Why it matters: In addition to the INF Treaty, the U.S. and its allies now risk losing another, more vital arms control agreement that provides predictability and transparency regarding Russia’s nuclear arsenal. If Trump and Putin fail to extend New START, an even more dangerous phase in U.S.-Russia relations will be on the horizon.
With more women running than ever, the 2018 midterms have the largest voting gender gap on record, with Democrats overwhelmingly winning women's support.
The big picture: There have been powerful moments and signs of progress for women this year, but wide gaps persist in pay, positions of power and politics. Men are notably less concerned about these issues than women, pointing to renewed gender wars in President Trump's 2020 re-election race.
New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin’s re-election campaign acknowledged that it mailed information to voters that included the wrong deadline to return absentee ballots, prompting his Democratic opponent to seek a federal probe, Newsday reports.
The details: The mailers inaccurately said voters should submit their ballots by November 6 (Election Day,) but the actual deadline is November 5. Under state law, ballots that missed the deadline are disqualified. Based on the complaints he received, Democratic candidate Perry Gershon alleged that college-age and minority voters were targeted. Zeldin’s campaign reportedly said it was an error caused by the printer. Newsday reports that the campaign had also listed the wrong date in 2016.
The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that people from Middle Eastern countries and elsewhere are "currently traveling through Mexico toward the U.S," and that "gang members" and people with "significant criminal histories" are in the caravan of Central Americans traveling through Mexico, according to a series of tweets from spokesperson Tyler Houlton Tuesday afternoon.
Why it matters: President Trump has claimed, without previously citing evidence, there are bad actors and people from the Middle East in the caravan. DHS has not yet responded to Axios' request to confirm that those people from other countries were traveling with the caravan. A department official said they could not release the data behind their confirmations as it "is law enforcement sensitive."
San Francisco is about to become the largest U.S. city to allow noncitizens, including undocumented immigrants, to vote in school board races, reports the AP.
The backstory: Voters approved a proposal in 2016 to allow noncitizens with children in the city's school district to vote in local school board elections. Supporters say it would give immigrant parents a voice in how the city's public schools are operated.
A Democratic hybrid PAC called Red to Blue California, which focuses on flipping House seats in California, is launching a six-figure ad campaign in 10 districts with the goal of reaching 1 million voters before Election Day.
Why it matters: Democrats' path to taking back the House will be a lot easier if they win California. All 10 of these targeted districts are either open seats or held by a Republican, and they only need 23 to win the House.
Despite raising $60 million, Beto O'Rourke — who's on our Axios 8 for 2018 list — still faces an uphill battle in turning Texas blue, per CNBC. For context, Sen. Ted Cruz has raised $35 million.
The big picture: "Despite his staggering cash haul and quick rise to national prominence, O'Rourke still appears to be an underdog. No recent independent poll has shown him closer than 5 percentage points behind Cruz," CNBC notes. Watch for early voting, which started this week in Texas, and whether Trump's visit to the state on Monday energizes Republican voters.
A new NBC/WSJ poll found 72% of Democratic voters have a high interest in voting in the midterms, compared to 68% of Republicans. In 2014, only 47% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans felt similarly.
The big picture: Interest in votinghas increased by double digits among Latinos, young voters, and women ahead of the election, compared to their average in previous NBC/WSJ polls throughout the year. Those are crucial voting blocs for Democrats and could decide the election if they actually show up on Nov. 6.
Republicans say some congressional races are moving back in their direction in the last few weeks, according to conversations with six GOP strategists, pollsters, and operatives.
A new report commissioned by advocacy groups finds that multiple tech companies, including Amazon and Palantir, are of special importance to immigration authorities "due to their involvement at multiple points in the profiling, tracking and apprehension of undocumented persons."
Why it matters: Contracts between major tech companies and immigration enforcers have drawn attention from the companies’ employees, some of whom object to playing a role in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Despite seeing some positive signs in polling and enthusiasm after Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation, Republicans' behavior in the last few weeks shows how nervous they are about keeping control of the House.
Between the lines: The lack of confidence is showing up in where GOP groups aren’t spending money and how the Republican blame game is unfolding between President Trump and GOP operatives — all in anticipation of possibly losing the House.
A "physical altercation" between White House chief of staff John Kelly and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski outside the Oval Office in February, during which Kelly grabbed Lewandowski by the collar and attempted to throw him out of the West Wing, got so heated that Secret Service had to get involved, the New York Times' Maggie Haberman and Katie Rogers report.
Why it matters: The incident, which reportedly occurred at the time when Kelly’s future at the White House was being questioned, is “the latest illustration of the often chaotic atmosphere” in the Trump White House, Haberman and Rogers write. They also describe it as a "reflection of the degree to which Mr. Kelly’s temper can be provoked."
The Supreme Court on Monday night blocked a federal court order demanding Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross face questioning in a lawsuit challenging his decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Why it matters: The decision is a major blow to the 18 states suing Ross, which argue that the additional question will discourage both legal and illegal immigrants from participating in the census. The census is used to determine electoral boundaries and the distribution of federal funds.
