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National

Campaigning for Joe Biden at a car rally in Miami on Saturday, Barack Obama railed against President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying "the rest of us have to live with the consequences of what he's done." 

Driving the news: With less than two weeks before the election, the Biden campaign is drawing on the former president's popularity with Democrats to drive turnout and motivate voters.

What he's saying: [D]uring the debate, Trump was asked, 'What is your plan for the new phase of COVID, ' which is a pretty good question considering that we just saw the highest number of cases spike up yesterday. So you think he'd be ready for a response," Obama said.

"Instead, he just said it wasn't his fault and he didn't have one. He said it's now gone in a bunch of states just as states are reaching new record highs nationwide," the former president told the crowd, who honked their car horns in support at the socially-distanced drive-in rally. 

Trump "doesn't have a plan. He doesn't even acknowledge the reality of what's taking place, all across the country,"  he added. 

"We literally left this White House a pandemic playbook that showed them how to respond before a virus reached our shores."

"I knew [Trump] would not embrace my vision. I knew he wasn't going to continue my policies. But I did hope that for the country's sake, he'd show at least a little bit of interest in taking the job seriously." 

"Donald Trump isn't going to suddenly protect all of us. He can't even take the basic steps to protect himself. " 

"[T]he rest of us have to live with the consequences of what he's done. At least, 220,000 Americans are dead. More than 100,000 small businesses have closed." 

The bottom line: "This election requires every single one of us. What we do in these next 10 days will matter for decades to come," Obama said.

Go deeper... Obama: Trump emboldens people to be "cruel and divisive and racist"

Obama: The rest of us have to live with the consequences of what Trump's done

"Trump isn't going to suddenly protect all of us. He can't even take the basic steps to protect himself."

Politics

Barack Obama

Donald Trump

2020 election

Joe Biden

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Saturday that she'll vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Monday, despite her opposition to the process that's recently transpired. 

The big picture: Murkowski's decision leaves Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) as the only Republican expected to vote against Barrett. 

What she's saying: Murkowski, who voted against moving forward with the nomination on Friday, said she will also vote against ending debate on Sunday. But despite her objections, the Alaska senator said she will vote in favor of confirming President Trump's nominee on Monday. 

"I do not believe that moving forward on a nominee just over a week removed from a pitched presidential election when partisan tensions are running about as high as they could, I do not think this will help our country become a better version of itself," she said from the Senate floor on Saturday. 

But Murkowski said she has "no doubt about [Barrett's] intellect. I have no doubt about Judge Barrett's judicial temperament. I have no doubt about her capability to do the job."

"I have concluded that she is the sort of person we want on the Supreme Court," she added.  

"While I oppose the process that led us to this point, I do not hold it against her."

Worth noting: The Supreme Court's 4-4 deadlock earlier this week on a request from Pennsylvania's Republican Party to shorten the deadlines for mail-in ballots underscores the importance for conservatives of confirming Barrett before the election.

Trump himself has said Barrett could be a deciding vote in an election-related dispute.

Murkowski says she'll vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court

Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Photo: Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

Lisa Murkowski

Axios AM

This is one of the bigger signs of trouble for President Trump that we've seen in a poll: Of the final debate's seven topics, Joe Biden won or tied on all seven when viewers in a massive Axios-SurveyMonkey sample were asked who they trusted more to handle the issue.

Why it matters: In a time of unprecedented colliding crises for the nation, the polling considered Biden to be vastly more competent.

In the SurveyMonkey poll for Axios that included 2,322 U.S. adults who watched the debate or followed coverage of it, viewers expressed a clear preference for Biden on the environment (by 19 points) ... issues of special concern to women (18 points) ... the coronavirus (12 points) ... ethics in government (11 points) ... issues of special concern to Black Americans (7 points).

Biden won by 1 point on foreign policy. Trump won by 2 points on crime and safety — statistical ties in the poll, which had a 3-point margin of error.

How Democratic debate viewers saw Biden's performance:

How Republican debate viewers saw Trump's performance:

How Republican debate viewers saw Trump's performance

Go deeper ... Axios-SurveyMonkey poll: Trump improves, but not enough

Post-debate poll finds Biden strong on every major issue

In a time of unprecedented colliding crises, the polling considered Biden to be vastly more competent.

Joe Biden speaks yesterday about "The Biden Plan to Beat COVID-19," at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Joe Biden speaks Friday about "The Biden Plan to Beat COVID-19," at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Presidential debates

Future

Axios Future

Entomologists in Washington state on Thursday discovered the first Asian giant hornet nest in the U.S.

Why it matters: You may know this insect species by its nom de guerre: "the murder hornet." While the threat they pose to humans has been overstated, the invading hornets could decimate local honeybee populations if they establish themselves.

How it works: The giant hornets, which are native to east Asia, grow as long as two inches and use spiked mandibles to decapitate honeybees.

They have also been known to attack animals and human beings using a stinger long enough to puncture a beekeeper's protective suit and venom that the New York Times described as "hot metal driving into their skin."

In Japan they're known to kill people occasionally, though in fairness to the murder hornets, the insects are also considered a tasty delicacy themselves in some parts of the country.

Background: Last year, beekeepers in Washington began reporting sightings of the hornet, prompting scientists to begin tracking the insects.

On Wednesday, entomologists at the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) captured two live giant hornets that had been caught in a trap. They attached radio trackers to the insects, one of which led them back to a nest in a tree in the town of Blaine the following day.

What's next: The WSDA had planned to eliminate the nest on Friday, but had to postpone the eradication until Saturday because of inclement weather.

Far be it from me to tell the WSDA how to do their jobs, but maybe it's worth braving a little rain to wipe out a nest of invasive murdering insects.

The bottom line: Somehow this didn't come up in Thursday's presidential debate, but I think we can all agree on a blanket ban for all invasive species with "murder" in their names.

The murder hornets are here

The invading hornets could decimate local honeybee populations if they establish themselves.

A braver man than me holds a speciment of the Asian giant hornet. Photo: Karen Ducey/Getty Images

Science

Insects

News and analysis of the scientific advances fueling AI and quantum computing, revolutionizing biology and medicine, and tackling climate change. Science is changing the world and colliding with the global politics that shape it.

Media Trends

Axios Media Trends

After spending an additional $45.2 million on political ads this week, former Vice President Joe Biden has become the highest-spending political candidate on TV ads ever, according to data from Advertising Analytics.

By the numbers: In total, the Biden campaign has spent $582.7 million on TV ads between 2019 and 2020, officially surpassing Michael Bloomberg's record spend of roughly $582 million. Biden's spend includes his primary and general election advertising. 

Donald Trump, whose campaign has struggled to raise money in recent weeks, has by comparison spent a total of $342 million in 2019-2020. 

The Trump campaign spent $15.3 million on TV advertising this week and $14 million on digital ads. 

The big picture: More money has been spent so far this cycle on election and policy ads than any other in American history, per Advertising Analytics.

Roughly $7.76 billion has been dropped on political advertising so far this cycle.

Overall, the election is on track to become the most expensive in history. 

Be smart: For the first time ever, spending on digital political advertising has slightly surpassed cable. Still, advertising spent on broadcast television — mostly at the local level — reigns supreme.

Data: Advertising Analytics; Note: Political includes all election, political and advocacy advertising; Chart: Axios Visuals

What's next: Between now and Election Day, Biden reserved another $57.5 million in TV advertising, while the Republican National Committee and Trump campaign have reserved $19.2 million. The Trump campaign itself has reserved $15 million. 

Future Forward PAC, which supports Democrats, has reserved $42.2 million while America First Action PAC, which backs Republicans, has reserved $20.4 million.

Biden is highest-spending political candidate on TV ads

The Biden campaign has spent $582.7 million on ads between 2019 and 2020.

Joe Biden. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

2020 elections

Media

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

President Trump's final debate performance exceeded Americans' expectations, but it wasn't enough to shift the dynamics that left him trailing Joe Biden across most measures, according to a new Axios-SurveyMonkey poll.

What they're saying: "Liar" was the word used most by debate watchers to describe Trump's performance, followed by "lies," "strong," "presidential" and "childish." "Presidential" was the word used most to describe Biden's performance, followed by "liar," "weak," "expected" and "honest."

"Informative" and "Trump" led the descriptions of the debate itself, followed by "Biden," "civil" and "boring."

The big picture: Biden's favorable-unfavorable rating among U.S. adults is at 46-45% after the debate, while President Trump's is 10 percentage points underwater, at 42%-52%, with a week and a half remaining in the race.

Among independents, Biden's favorable ratings have climbed into positive territory, jumping 18 percentage points to +4 since the first debate on Sept. 29. Trump climbed seven percentage points with independents, but that still leaves him at -27.

By the numbers: 44% of debate watchers — and 73% of Republicans — said Trump did better than they expected. Only 11% overall said he did worse than they expected.

But Biden was more trusted than Trump on five of seven issues covered in the debate: the coronavirus (48%-36%), the environment (50%-31%), issues of special concern to women (48%-30%), ethics in government (47%-36%) and issues of special concern to Black Americans (44%-37%).

Foreign policy (44%-43%) and crime/safety (41%-43%) were essentially a draw between Biden and Trump.

The intrigue: Is the mute button here to stay? 

64% of debate watchers, including a slim majority of Republicans, said allowing the muting of candidates' microphones made the debate better.   

Methodology: This SurveyMonkey online poll was conducted October 22-23, 2020 among a national sample of 2,742 U.S. adults, including 2,322 who watched the debate or followed coverage of it.

Respondents for this survey were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day.

The modeled error estimate for this survey is +/- 3.0 percentage points. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over. 

SurveyMonkey poll: Trump improves, but not enough

Trump's final debate performance exceeded expectations, but "liar" is how viewers most saw him.

President Trump and Joe Biden on a split screen on a mobile phone during the final debate

Trump and Biden during the final debate. Photo: Xinhua/Liu Jie via Getty Images

SurveyMonkey

The mainstream media turned away. But online, President Trump's charges about Hunter Biden were by far the dominant storyline about the final presidential debate, according to exclusive NewsWhip data provided to Axios. 

Coverage of business dealings by Joe Biden's son — and pre-debate allegations by one of his former business associates, Tony Bobulinski — garnered more than twice as much online activity (likes, comments, shares) as the runner-up.

The second-place topic — also pushed by Republicans — was the former vice president's comments on oil and fracking. 

Why it matters: The Hunter Biden story — one of Trump's final Hail Marys against Biden — is still blazing away in the conservative media ecosystem, even though it seems to have fizzled on a broader stage.

The backstory: Trump and his team had high hopes for an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, and Trump had mentioned publicly that it was coming. But when it posted just after the debate, the findings undercut the Republican case by saying available records showed no impropriety by Joe Biden. 

Hunter Biden saga dominates online debate

In the final debate, Trump failed to connect it to wrongdoing from his opponent.

Axios

Saturday's top stories