Axios

President Trump tweeted on Tuesday that he was considering posting his interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" prior to airtime in order to show "what a FAKE and BIASED interview" it was, following reports that he abruptly ended the interview after 45 minutes of taping.

Why it matters: Trump has escalated his war on the media in the final stretch of his re-election campaign, calling a Reuters reporter a "criminal" this week for not reporting on corruption allegations about Hunter Biden and disparaging CNN as "dumb b*stards" for the network's ongoing coronavirus coverage.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has urged White House negotiators not to cut a deal with Democrats on new coronavirus stimulus before the election.

Driving the news: McConnell informed Senate Republicans of the move at a closed-door lunch on Tuesday, two people familiar with his remarks tell Axios. McConnell's remarks were first reported by the Washington Post.

A Kentucky judge ordered the release of grand jury records from the Breonna Taylor investigation in order to show whether "publicly elected officials are being honest" about the secret deliberations.

Why it matters: The release of records — plus another court decision allowing grand jurors to speak publicly about proceedings — will shed light on the events leading to the indictment of former officer Brett Hankison, which sparked backlash after it was revealed he would not be charged on any counts directly related to Taylor's death.

Antifa may be a focus on the right, but it's hard to find in the court system.

Why it matters: Very few of the people charged in this summer's protests and riots appear to be affiliated with highly organized extremist groups, reports AP.

Hatice Cengiz and Democracy for the Arab World Now filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist and human rights activist Jamal Khashoggi.

Why it matters: Attorneys representing Cengiz and DAWN, a nonprofit, told reporters that the purpose of the lawsuit was to have a U.S. court hold MBS responsible for the killing and to obtain documents that would reveal the truth about Khashoggi's death. The lawsuit claims that Khashoggi was tortured, killed and dismembered “pursuant to a directive of Defendant Mohammed bin Salman.”

The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, raised more than twice as much this September as it did two years ago, according to an FEC filing that will go live Tuesday night.

By the numbers: The SLF raised $92 million in September, spent $105 million, and ended the month with $113 million cash on hand, as Republicans work to maintain their majority on Nov. 3.

Several Republican senators defended Anthony Fauci after a string of attacks in recent days from President Trump, who has called the government's top infectious-disease expert "a disaster" and claimed without evidence that he's a Democrat.

Why it matters: As polls indicate warning signs for both Trump and down-ballot Republicans, more GOP leaders are urging the president to stop downplaying the pandemic and listen to advice from public health experts. Fauci is one of the most trusted voices in the country on coronavirus issues.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro endorsed President Trump's re-election on Tuesday, saying, "God willing I will be able to attend" Trump’s second inauguration, according to Politico.

Why it matters: Bolsonaro joins other far-right heads of state in supporting a second term for Trump, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Senate will vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court next Monday, Oct. 26, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday.

The big picture: The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote this Thursday to advance Barrett's nomination to the full Senate floor. Democrats have acknowledged that there's nothing procedurally they can do to stop Barrett's confirmation, which will take place just one week out from Election Day.

Lydia Camarillo, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said at an Axios virtual event on Tuesday that 800,000 Latino citizens turn 18 every year, meaning that there could be more than 3 million new registered voters in four years — not including naturalized citizens.

The big picture: The 2020 election marks the first time in history that Latinos will be the largest minority ethnic or racial group in the electorate, with 32 million eligible voters.

As Election Day gets closer, Joe Biden leads President Trump by sizable margins on the major issues of the day, according to a national poll by The New York Times and Siena College.

Why it matters: With only two weeks to go before election day, there's little time for Trump make up the gap between he and Biden on the issues voters care deeply about. These include a new multi-trillion dollar stimulus program, mandatory mask-wearing, and a $2 trillion renewable energy package. Voters are also now evenly split on who will better manage the economy — a blow to Trump as he's led on the issue for much of the campaign.

Desmond Meade, executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said at an Axios virtual event on Tuesday that Florida's ballot initiative restoring voting rights to 1.4 million has inspired a movement across the country, even in Republican-led states like Iowa.

The big picture: Meade, a former felon who rebuilt his life and graduated from law school after a drug-related conviction, helped lead the fight to pass Amendment 4 in Florida in 2018 — the largest single expansion of voting rights in the U.S. in half a century.

Benjamin Hovland, chair of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission, said at an Axios virtual event on Tuesday that "helping to spread out voting over all of the options" — whether it's mail-in ballots, early voting or in-person Election Day voting — is crucial to limiting congestion and making it as safe as possible for voters and poll workers.

The big picture: Hovland said that in this unprecedented election year, which is likely to see a record number of mail-in ballots due to the pandemic, it is important that Americans pick the option that's best and safest for them.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows confirmed in court on Tuesday that President Trump's tweets authorizing the disclosure of documents related to the Russia investigation and Hillary Clinton's emails "were not self-executing declassification orders," after a federal judge demanded that Trump be asked about his intentions.

Why it matters: BuzzFeed News reporter Jason Leopold cited the tweets in an emergency motion seeking to gain access to special counsel Robert Mueller's unredacted report as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. This is the first time Trump himself has indicated, according to Meadows, that his tweets are not official directives.

Only 3% of Americans have no opinion on whether Judge Amy Coney Barrett should be confirmed to the Supreme Court, per a Gallup poll released Tuesday.

Why it matters: It's a historic low for those who have no opinion on a pick to the high court in Gallup's initial polling — previously, 19% had no opinion on Merrick Garland, Sonia Sotomayor and John Roberts — and it highlights the extremely polarized nature of today's politics.

More Floridians cast early ballots for the 2020 election on Monday than in the first day of in-person early voting in 2016, shattering the previous record by over 50,000 votes, Politico reports.

The big picture: Voters have already cast over 31 million ballots in early voting states as of Tuesday, per the U.S. Elections Project database by Michael McDonald, an elections expert at the University of Florida.

There are all kinds of ways that a potential Joe Biden presidency would differ from President Trump, and one of them is recycling, per a recent BloombergNEF analysis.

Driving the news: "The issue has received scant attention in the Biden-Trump face-off, but given their larger ambitions, it is possible to predict how the candidates would address it," BNEF said.

Well that, as Ron Burgundy would say, escalated quickly. China's foreign ministry is accusing the Trump administration of "major retrogression" on climate and being an environmental "troublemaker."

Why it matters: China's unusual statement Monday widens the rupture between the world's largest carbon emitters as global climate efforts are flagging and the pandemic's effect on emissions is too small to be consequential in the long term.

New data from media intelligence company Conviva finds that Joe Biden has begun to draw more engagement per post on Twitter than President Trump.

• There's been a steady increase by Biden in the monthly averages of engagements per post, average engagements per video, and follower adds since the beginning of the year.
• This past month, Biden passed Trump in all three metrics. (The Conviva data only includes retweets and likes, not quote tweets.)

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said last week that he cannot support President Trump's re-election.

Why it matters: Hogan, a moderate governor in a blue state, joins other prominent Republicans who have publicly said they will either not vote for Trump's re-election this November or will back Biden.

USA Today, one of the largest newspapers by circulation in America, gave Joe Biden its first-ever presidential endorsement on Tuesday.

The big picture: A slew of media companies are endorsing a candidate this year for the first time ever, citing the unprecedented nature of this election.

Worst-case scenarios for Election Day: Illegal militias show up fully armed at polling places. People are intimidated from voting. Extremist groups launch violent protests that last for days.

Why it matters: Mayors are playing down the threats — projecting a "we've got this" tone of reassurance — but some law enforcement officials and people who monitor extremists are telling them to be prepared for anything.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) raised over $43 million in September alone, breaking their previous monthly high of $27 million in August.

Why it matters: Democrats continue to bring in massive fundraising hauls, showing intense enthusiasm among their supporters not just at the presidential level, but in down-ballot contests, too.

Facebook and Twitter's frantic attempts to stop the spread of the New York Post's Hunter Biden story didn't prevent the article from becoming the top story about the election on those platforms last week, according to data from NewsWhip.

Why it matters: The data shows that even swift, aggressive content suppression may not be swift or aggressive enough to keep down a story with as much White House backing and partisan fuel as this one.

The Commission on Presidential Debates adopted new measures on Monday to mute the microphones of President Trump and Joe Biden to allow each candidate two minutes of uninterrupted time per segment during Thursday night's debate.

Why it matters: During September's chaotic debate, Trump interrupted Biden 71 times, while Biden interrupted Trump 22 times.

The Supreme Court on Monday denied a request from Pennsylvania's Republican Party to shorten the deadlines for mail-in ballots in the state. Thanks to the court's 4-4 deadlock, ballots can be counted for several days after Election Day.

Why it matters: It's a major win for Democrats that could decide the fate of thousands of ballots in a crucial swing state that President Trump won in 2016. The court's decision may signal how it would deal with similar election-related litigation in other states.

ExxonMobil issued a statement Monday denying anyone from the company had spoken with President Trump after he used the firm as an example of how he could use his position to out-raise his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

What they're saying: "We are aware of the President’s statement regarding a hypothetical call with our CEO… and just so we're all clear, it never happened," Exxon said.