President Biden is headed to Philadelphia Thursday to tout his “Bidenomics” agenda, hoping once again to make early headway with voters over economic issues.
Inflation was a top issue for Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, but Democrats’ position on abortion following the fall of Roe v. Wade helped them overperform, ensuring the party held all but one governor’s mansion and expanded their Senate majority.
That’s not to say kitchen table issues aren’t pivotal. And for now, Biden has a chance to tout his economic agenda and successes while his potential Republican presidential challengers are bogged down, either in a battle for second place or by the potential of another looming indictment.
Biden can stand to significantly improve his standing with voters on the economy. In April’s NBC News poll, 41% of Americans approved of the job Biden is doing as president and just 38% of American adults approved of Biden’s handling of the economy. And more recently, Monmouth University found Americans divided on his handling of jobs and unemployment, but significantly underwater on his handling of inflation (34% approve and 62% disapprove).
In other campaign news …
Boxed in: NBC News’ Jonathan Allen and Allan Smith explore why Trump’s rivals are not inclined to criticize the former president ahead of another potential indictment.
Knowing Mike Pence: While Pence may be struggling in national GOP primary polls, he still has plenty of support in his hometown, NBC News’ Sarah Dean reports from Columbus, Ind.
Going Greene: President Joe Biden’s campaign has honed in on making Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as “an avatar” for the MAGA-wing of the Republican Party, highlighting her in a recent tweet and in some recent speeches, per NBC News’ Mike Memoli.
Trump trials: Trump had a pair of losses in two different trials on Wednesday. One federal judge denied his request to move his case regarding alleged hush-money payments from a New York State court to a federal court, and a different federal judge denied his request for a new trial in a civil sexual assault and defamation case involving writer E. Jean Carroll.
Burgum-mentum?: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s campaign announced Wednesday that he had received contributions from more than 40,000 individual donors, meeting one threshold to qualify for the first GOP presidential primary debate.
Ohio referendum: NBC News’ Adam Edelman reports that conservatives opposed to an Ohio ballot measure that would protect abortion rights are trying to turn the debate into one on transgender rights.
Sitting out: Trump has informed GOP Reps. Alex Mooney of West Virginia and Matt Rosendale of Montana that he is not likely to endorse their Senate bids (Rosendale has not yet jumped into the race), per CNN. That could be a blow to both Republicans as they take on (or consider running against) primary candidates who have support from GOP leaders.
Raking it in: Nevada Republican Sam Brown raised $400,000 in the first week of his Senate campaign, Politico reports.
