| | | | Donald Trump admits he has no idea who's in the caravan | | On Thursday, in a speech in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, focused on his desire to tighten asylum rules to discourage those trying to enter the country illegally, President Donald Trump admitted something important.
"We have no idea who they are," Trump said of the large group of migrants currently making their way across Mexico toward the US border. Which is an, um, interesting statement given what Trump has said previously about who is in the caravan.
Trump has suggested via Twitter that the caravan contains "criminals and unknown Middle Easterners." He has described the caravan as containing "very tough criminal elements" and suggesting to reporters that if they went into the middle of the caravan, "you're going to find MS-13, you're going to find Middle Eastern, you're going to find everything."
The Washington Post's Kevin Sieff, who has traveled with the caravan, reports a very different nature to the group than Trump describes. Wrote Sieff:
"Women push babies in strollers next to clusters of teenage boys. At night, small families sleep on the ground next to middle-aged men smoking cigarettes. One man walks with his 3-month-old puppy named Muñeca on a red leash. One teenager shows off his tattoo of a marijuana leaf."
The Point: The honest truth is that there COULD be a violent or bad person or two in the caravan. It's a group of more than 7,000 people. But the other honest truth is that Trump has NO idea whether there are "unknown Middle Easterners" or "very tough criminal elements" in the caravan. He's just saying it because he knows it will strike fear in the hearts of GOP base voters. And that's what he needs this close to the election.
-- Chris | | "I heard Oprah was in town today. And I heard Will Ferrell was going door-to-door the other day. Well, I'd like to remind Stacey (Abrams) and Oprah and Will Ferrell -- I'm kind of a big deal, too."
-- Vice President Mike Pence at a campaign event for gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp in Georgia, reminding voters he's a big-ticket name, too. | | | FLORIDA WOMEN BREAKING BLUE | | New polling out of Florida shows neck-and-neck contests for both the Senate and governor's races, but among women, there is a clearer break in support toward the Democratic candidates.
Senate:
Democrat Bill Nelson: 55% support from women
Republican Rick Scott: 41% support from women
Governor:
Democrat Andrew Gillum: 54% support from women
Republican Ron DeSantis: 41% support from women
Overall, polling shows the races very close:
Senate: Nelson 49%, Scott 47%
Governor: Gillum 49%, DeSantis 48%
Polling data from CNN and SPSS. | |  | What is birthright citizenship? | | | And can Donald Trump get rid of it? Chris investigates. | | | Beirut makes music that feels vintage and exotic. And beautiful. Listen to his new one. | | | Today's topic: 7 telling words from Trump about telling the truth. | | Some signs are pointing to a higher-than-average turnout among young voters in the midterms. The biggest motivator, according to CNN's Maeve Reston? President Donald Trump and the so-called missed opportunity of 2016.
"Because of the deep disdain for Trump among the younger generation, this midterm cycle appears supercharged by younger voters who were stung by the outcome in 2016, and cognizant that their generation could have made the difference for Hillary Clinton," Maeve writes.
That impact could be seen most in the House: "Strong turnout within that age group could tip some of the closer House races into the Democratic column." | | It appears President Trump has made up his mind on who will succeed Nikki Haley as the UN Ambassador: State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.
Trump told advisers Nauert is his leading pick, according to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Elise Labott and Kevin Liptak -- but those close to Trump caution his choice is not final until it's announced. | | WHERE'S TRUMP ON THE TRAIL? | | | 📍in Columbia, Missouri. The President is holding a midterm campaign rally in the Show Me State tonight.
And starting tomorrow, he'll be holding two-a-day rallies leading into the midterms on Tuesday. Read more from Chris on where Trump is going and why leading up to election day. | | | From Brenna: "Here's Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker giving a big thumbs up to not having to wear a suit. OK, that's not actually what he's responding to, but I'm sure he and Speaker Paul Ryan are super stoked for the reprieve. Politicians in street clothes slumming it with us normals is my favorite thing about campaigns. Share The Point with your fellow normals!" | | | | | | |
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