BY MATT BERG
& CROOKED MEDIA

WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 16, 2024

"When Ted Cruz says he's pro-life, he doesn't mean yours."

— Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), addressing Texas women during his debate with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)

THE STRUGGLE ISRAEL

Progressives have warned that the Biden administration’s policy toward Israel could hurt the Harris campaign. Now, some in her camp are holding out cautious hope that the White House’s recent decision to link U.S. assistance to Israel with humanitarian aid to Gaza could help rebuild some lost trust. Many, however, say it’s far too little, too late.

More than a year after Israel launched its devastating war in the Gaza Strip, the White House for the first time said it might limit arms sales to Israel. Israel must dramatically increase aid into Gaza (where U.N. aid agencies have accused the country of deliberately blocking food shipments) within 30 days to ensure that it continues to receive consistent support from the United States, according to a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to top Israeli officials over the weekend.

Plenty of peace activists see this move as too little and too late. In Michigan, a key swing-state where Harris is unpopular among many pro-Palestinian voters, more than 100,000 primary voters picked “ucommitted” instead of President Joe Biden in February — largely to send a message on Israel and Gaza. The campaign of former President Donald Trump is making a play for those voters.

The Arab Americans for Harris-Walz coalition, however, is knocking on thousands of doors in Michigan, hoping to change minds. The threat to withhold weapons funding hands local pro-Harris activists a new talking point on a tough issue, one member of the coalition, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, told What A Day. “This will help especially talking to Muslim and Arab communities because it shows a direct contrast from Trump who is insistent he will make Gaza into waterfront property,” the person said. “It also isn’t nearly enough, and we all know that, and there is work to do.”

The fact that the Biden administration is finally threatening to withhold funding — after an estimated 41,000 people in Gaza have been killed over the course of a year, according to local health authorities — also proves that protestors are having an impact, even if belatedly, the member said. “That is not possible to do under a Trump administration,” the person said.

Yet many voters have cemented their views — and others will need to see action, rather than words. Three former Biden administration officials told What A Day they doubt U.S. policy will really change.

“I will believe it when I see it,” Josh Paul, a former State Department official who worked on arms transfers to American allies and resigned last year in protest over Israel policy, told What A Day. Past warnings from the White House haven’t convinced Israel to change its war efforts, even after President Joe Biden warned about “red lines” that many experts believed Israel crossed.

“If Harris wants to win the election she has to break with Biden in a much stronger way before we see more videos of people burning alive,” said Lily Greenberg Call, a Jewish Biden administration appointee who resigned earlier this year in protest, referencing an Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza earlier this week that killed several people. Annelle Sheline, another Biden appointee who resigned in protest this year, called the U.S. letter “an empty threat intended to try to win over voters.”

Whether it’s a political play or not, the Biden administration is changing its tune. “If it’s politically motivated, but is forcing Netanyahu to abandon his siege plan, then honestly I’m glad that at least SOMETHING is forcing the U.S. to reconsider our unbridled support,” the member of Arab Americans for Harris-Walz texted me.

The bottom line: The Harris campaign still has a lot of work to win support from voters skeptical of her stance toward Israel.

WHAT A SPONSOR

Love to keep things simple?

Welcome to the club. We’ve put a lot of thought into our designs (and literally everything else), so you don’t have to.

GET $50 OFF AT ARTICLE

MEANWHILE ON
THE POD...

WHAT ELSE?

Donald Trump pledged to “end all sanctuary cities” with an executive order if he’s elected president, during a Fox News town hall today. It’s the latest example of his unhinged, hardline policy proposals targeting immigrants, coming a month after the former president called on Congress to ban sanctuary cities, or places that protect undocumented immigrants from deportation or prosecution. Trump already took executive action barring sanctuary cities from receiving federal funds during his first month as president in 2017, but it was held up in court challenges for years and eventually rescinded by President Biden.

Trump also called himself the “father of IVF” during that same town hall, while trying to claim credit for defending the procedure — ie, the one that was put under threat after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (for which Trump openly takes credit).

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team of prosecutors said that Trump bears responsibility for the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in a new filing today. Thank you, The System, for finally affirming what everyone with eyes saw on TV almost four years ago.

Local leaders across Pennsylvania are raising concerns over Kamala Harris’s campaign in the critical swing-state for allegedly not doing enough to engage voters of color and generally being “out of touch” with locals in the Keystone State. This week, Harris is ramping up her efforts in Pennsylvania, appearing with several Republicans to help sway undecided voters.

The guy advising VP nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) on financial policy posted for years on Reddit about his drug abuse, and advised users how to get drugs past airport security, Wired reports. He also called Vance “a Trump boot licker,” so in that way he’s a man after our own hearts.

MAGA billionaires Elon Musk, Miriam Adelson and Dick Uihlein poured a combined $220 million into Trump’s campaign throughout the summer, according to filings released Tuesday night. Classic “man of the people” stuff!!!

Speaking of Musk, his SpaceX company is suing California regulators for blocking the launch of 50 rockets per year from a base near Santa Barbara (a decision that landed with a reference to Musk’s favorite pastime: promoting misinformation). SpaceX alleges in a 284-page lawsuit that regulators violated the billionaire conspiracist’s free speech. Once again, I propose sending Musk into deep space.

Local elections are becoming increasingly important for the future of climate change, Semafor reports. State lawmakers have major influence over setting climate initiatives in their areas and requesting federal funding for them. Care about global warming? Make sure your state senators do too!

Liam Payne, a member of the iconic One Direction boy band, died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina. He was 31 years old.

LOOK NO FURTHER THAN CROOKED MEDIA

As we approach a pivotal election, the choice between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will affect more than just what happens in the US. It will reshape our approach to global politics. On Pod Save The World, co-host Ben Rhodes is breaking down the implications for global democracy and foreign policy in a new special election series airing each week from now through election day. In the latest episode, he dives into the ongoing war in Ukraine and how Trump - the guy who got caught sending covid tests to Putin & won't confirm how many times they've talked since leaving office - would handle the war. You can find this episode and the entire series every Saturday until November 5th in your Pod Save The World feed or on YouTube!

LIGHT AT THE END
OF THE EMAIL

If you missed the northern lights that lit up parts of the U.S. last week, you may be in luck. The auroras could become more frequent in the next few months. This is my new cure to election cycle despair.

Panda duo Bao Li and Qing Bao appear to be adjusting well to their new homes at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC, chomping on some bamboo and probably falling out of trees, or whatever pandas do. They’re here for 10 years (WOOHOO) so you have plenty of time to go say hi.