Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos…Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would convene a “special session” of Congress to repeal Obamacare. We’re not quite sure what he means by “special” but nowadays the idea of Congress doing something does seem incredibly remarkable.
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‘16 from 30,000
Entering the final week of the 2016 election -- and, oh, what a long and strange road it’s been -- there’s an unusual dynamic at play. Unlike most of the post-convention news cycles, Hillary Clinton has been the lead headline every day since Friday’s news of the FBI’s reexamination of the Clinton email investigation. Think about it: Most of the dominant August-September-October headlines centered on a Trump controversy: Trump’s “birther” walkback, his rough first debate performance, Alicia Machado, Trump’s taxes, the Access Hollywood tape, the allegations of sexual assault against Trump, and his refusal to say if he’ll accept the results of the election. With the exception of a few news pops related to the Wikileaks disclosures, the news spotlight hasn’t been this focused on Clinton since her bad week at the beginning of September (the “basket of deplorables” comment and her pneumonia collapse.) We’ve seen throughout this election that whichever candidate is in the front of voters’ minds tends to suffer, which explains why this week has been so bumpy for Clinton. And it’s a good reminder why Clinton is turning her closing argument from a positive message to a reprise of the greatest hits of her attacks against Trump.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- More than 26 million voters have already cast early ballots a week ahead of Election Day 2016, according to a new analysis by the NBC News Data Analytics Lab.
- Clinton's campaign is back on the air with TV advertising in Virginia and Colorado, and has begun running ads in New Mexico and Michigan -- all states that have seemed safely out of play for most of the election cycle, NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
- Clinton accused Donald Trump of “demeaning, degrading, insulting and assaulting women” for “30 years” here Tuesday, using former Miss Universe Alicia Machado’s story to illustrate her case, NBC’s Monica Alba writes.
- Trump and Pence pledged to repeal Obamacare during a joint appearance in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
- Democrats worry the latest Clinton email developments could hurt their chances of retaking the Senate.
- The FBI has been conducting a preliminary inquiry into Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort's foreign business connections, law enforcement and intelligence sources told NBC News Monday.
- And a programming note! WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Chuck Todd and Carrie Dann take to Virtual Reality to break down the top races you’ll want to watch on election night. RSVP HERE: http://nbcnews.to/2e6IFAw #MTPinVR
FOR THE RECORD…
"Can we just stop for a minute and reflect on the absurdity of Donald Trump finding fault with Miss Universe?”
-- Hillary Clinton during a rally with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado on Tuesday.
TOMORROW’S SKED
Hillary Clinton is in Las Vegas and Arizona.
Donald Trump holds three events in Florida.
Tim kaine hits Iowa.
Mike Pence is in Arizona and New Mexico.
