Biden campaign prepares for a Trump trial verdict: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version ofFrom the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, our White House team reports on how Joe Biden and his team are preparing for the upcoming verdict in Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Plus, “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker explores how voters are feeling about the state of American democracy.

Take a look at in to procure this publication to your inbox every weekday here.

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Biden campaign prepares for Trump trial verdict

By Monica Alba, Natasha Korecki and Mike Memoli

President Joe Biden has largely steered clear of former President Donald Trump’s legal woes. But with a verdict in the hush money trial expected as early as next week, Biden’s campaign is exploring a shift to a brand-new, more aggressive posture, according to two other Americans familiar with the approach.

Regardless of the outcome, top Biden campaign officials plan to emphasize to voters that Trump will be on the ballot in the fall and that no possible court proceeding will change that fact.

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Manufacture which that potentialities are you’ll well rep a records tip? Allow us to understand

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A person familiar with the discussions summed it up this way: “Donald Trump’s legal troubles are not going to keep him out of the White House. Only one thing will do that: voting this November for Joe Biden.”

If Trump is found guilty at his trial in New York City, the Biden campaign may even need to consider whether or not to label him as a “convicted felon,” this person added. “It’s an open question.”

The campaign views the conclusion of the trial as one of the 2024 election’s inflection points, when the minute-by-minute sideshow of courtroom drama will end and the time for voters to focus on what’s at stake in November will arrive, one of the sources said.

The Biden team expects to send a message that if Trump is acquitted, or if there’s a hung jury, voters shouldn’t wait for the outcome of his many legal matters to be determinative, either.

For the most part, Biden has been careful about immediately commenting on the trial, avoiding playing into Trump’s narrative that his legal troubles amount to election interference from the Biden administration.

But the president made a splash last week when, in a video posted to social media he agreed to debate Trump, musing, “I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.” Biden was referring to Trump’s courtroom schedule, which has allowed a break day every Wednesday. The line was widely shared across social media platforms, and the campaign began promoting T-shirts with it.

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What voters are saying about the state of democracy

By Kristen Welker

So many issues are at stake in November — the economy, abortion, immigration, foreign affairs, even the future of the Supreme Court.

But in addition hanging over the 2024 election is the state of The united states’s democracy.

Correct rob a inspect at these records facets:

Eighty-one p.c of voters — in conjunction with supermajorities of every Democrats and Republicans — imagine democracy in The united states is below risk, in step with a fresh Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service poll.

Virtually a third of voters feel so strongly about it that they inform they are going to vote for or in opposition to a candidate fully on that enviornment, final month’s national NBC Recordsdata poll confirmed.

A national CNN poll also found last month that a third of voters — including 68% of Republicans — said they did not believe that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, confirming that election denialism remains in the background of the 2024 contest.

Another third of voters say they are not confident that votes in the election will be counted accurately, according to a recent national Quinnipiac University poll.

Half of swing state voters worry about political violence because of the election and its aftermath, according to the most recent Bloomberg/Morning Consult polling.

And then there’s this: Nearly 40% of the local election officials surveyed this year by the Brennan Center for Justice said they have experienced threats, harassment or abuse.

That includes four secretaries of state — from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania — who will join me this Sunday to talk about the threats they and their families faced in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

For more on these topics and much more, tune into “Meet the Press” this Sunday for a bipartisan conversation about America’s democracy — and learn the best way to protect it.

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That’s all from The Politics Desk for now. When you have thoughts — likes or dislikes — email us at [email protected]

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