President Trump said at a press conference on Friday that he "never got along with John McCain" and "disagreed" with the late senator on a number of policies, but still "respected him."
The state of play: Trump was asked if he regrets calling McCain — who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam — a "loser" in 2015. Trump did not respond as to whether he regrets the statement.
President Trump denied there is any proof that Russia poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a White House press conference on Friday, saying he would be "very angry if that is the case."
Why it matters: Trump, in his first public comments since Nalvany fell ill during a flight from Siberia to Moscow, said: "I don't know exactly what happened." The German government announced this week that the poisoning was conducted with Novichok, a chemical typically associated with Russian security services.
Joe Biden condemned the QAnon conspiracy theory as "dangerous" and "embarrassing" in a campaign event on Friday, recommending that people who support the sprawling network of falsehoods to seek mental health treatment.
Why it matters: It's the first time Biden has publicly addressed the once-fringe, far-right conspiracy theory, which has been flagged as a threat by the FBI and has slowly seeped into mainstream U.S. politics.
Democratic and Republican governors on Friday urged residents to adhere to basic coronavirus mitigation strategies, like washing hands and wearing a mask, during the Labor Day weekend.
Why it matters: 18 states saw rising coronavirus caseloads over the last week, including seven where daily infections were up by more than 50%, per a weekly Axios tracker.
President Trump announced Friday that the Defense Department "will NOT be cutting funding" to the military's historic independent newspaper, Stars and Stripes.
Driving the news: A Pentagon memo quoted in a USA Today opinion piece on Friday ordered the 159-year-old newspaper's publisher to produce a plan by Sept. 15 to "dissolve the Stars and Stripes."
The FEED Act was introduced in May and would help put restaurant kitchens to work feeding vulnerable Americans, including children who can’t return to school. It counts celebrity chef and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés among its champions — but it’s stalled along with the rest of a potential next stimulus package.
Axios Re:Cap discusses what needs to happen to address food insecurity when Congress is back in session with World Central Kitchen CEO Nate Mook.
During a speech on the latest jobs report, Joe Biden directly addressed President Trump for reportedly calling American war heroes "losers" and "suckers," slamming Trump with a personal anecdote about his late son, Beau.
What they're saying: "When my son volunteered to join the United States military, as the attorney general, and went to Iraq for the year — won the bronze star and other commendations — he wasn’t a sucker," Biden said.
President Trump announced Friday that the Defense Department "will NOT be cutting funding" to the military's historic independent newspaper, Stars and Stripes.
Driving the news: The Pentagon had ordered the shutdown of the military's independent newspaper, Stars and Stripes, despite objections by Congress, per the AP.
Driving the news: Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe informed congressional committee heads in late August that in-person briefings on election security issues would no longer take place and lawmakers would instead receive written "intelligence products."
Vice President Pence told CNBC on Friday that the Trump administration and Congress have reached a deal to avert a government shutdown without linking it to new coronavirus relief measures.
Why it matters: The federal government is headed towards a shutdown if Congress does not pass legislation, like a continuing resolution, before the end of the month.
The Fraternal Order of Police — the largest police union in the U.S. — on Friday endorsed President Trump for re-election.
Why it matters: Trump has made issues of "law and order" a central theme of his campaign amid the large anti-racism protests that have sprung up throughout the country. He's falsely accused rival Joe Biden of wanting to defund the police and recently issued a memo saying he'd cut federal funding for any "anarchist jurisdiction" that "disempowers or defunds police departments."
Over 190 law enforcement officials on Friday endorsed Joe Biden for president, per a campaign statement.
Why it matters: The endorsements rebut a theme of the Trump re-election campaign, which has falsely claimed that Biden wants to defund the police. Bothcandidates this week traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin to address the shooting of Jacob Blake. Biden called for officers involved to be charged while Trump cracked down on protests that had turned violent.
Screenshot from U.S. Chamber of Commerce's website.
As Congress begins to return from its fall recess calls to pass more fiscal stimulus are growing louder.
Driving the news: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released another call to action, this time from its president, Suzanne Clark, advocating for "more support" for "industries, businesses, and workers disparately harmed by the pandemic."
The U.S. trade balance fell to a deficit of $63.6 billion in July, $10 billion larger than the month before, and the biggest monthly deficit since July 2008.
Why it matters: The spike in the trade deficit comes despite President Trump's trade war with China and tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of imports from China, Europe and other countries, as well as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which went into effect this year.
President Trump, the White House and the Trump campaign all mobilized last night to push back on a damaging article from The Atlantic, by editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, reporting that the president "has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members."
What they're saying: When Trump landed at Andrews Air Force Base last night after a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump told reporters: "To think that I would make statements negative to our military and our fallen heroes, when nobody's done what I've done ... It is a disgraceful situation by a magazine that's a terrible magazine — I don't read it."
Mark Zuckerberg tells "Axios on HBO" that Facebook is imposing new election rules to deter use of the platform to spread of misinformation and even violence, and to help voters see the results as "legitimate and fair."
Driving the news: The new measures, announced Thursday, include throwing a flag on posts by candidates who claim premature victory, and forbidding new ads within a week of Election Day.
Michael Forest Reinoehl, the man wanted for killing a right-wing activist during a pro-Trump rally in Portland last weekend, was shot dead as federal law enforcement attempted to take him into custody overnight, The Oregonian reports.
The state of play: A U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson said that Reinoehl produced a gun during the encounter, leading federal agents to fire back. Reinoehl had described himself in a social media posts as "100% ANTIFA" and suggested the tactics of counter-protesters amounted to "warfare," per the AP.
Joe Biden spent a career cultivating the image of a deal-making centrist — and is making this a key selling point for swing voters in 2020. But the modern Biden has been pushed left by his party's insurgent progressives.
Why it matters: Biden has moved to the left to accommodate party activists on crime, climate, education, immigration and health care. His central challenge with many swing voters: Prove he didn't move too far, too fast.
Former President Jimmy Carter released a statement in support of absentee ballots on Thursday, saying that he has "been using them for more than five years."
Driving the news: Attorney General Bill Barr in a CNN interview on Wednesday referenced a 2005 report from the Federal Election Reform, co-chaired by Carter, that said absentee ballots "remain the largest source of potential voter fraud," to argue that concerns about mail-in voting predate President Trump's push against it.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday blocked the enforcement of the Trump administration's rules that prohibit taxpayer-funded family planning clinics under the Title X program in Maryland from providing or making abortion referrals.
Why it matters: Thursday's decision in the Virginia-based federal court is at odds with a ruling in the California-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the rules and allowed them to take effect. The division means the Supreme Court may be more likely to take up the issue.
