The Daily Signal

Scott Rasmussen shares his insights on the latest polling data and discusses the political landscape as the presidential race enters the critical month of September. With only small margins separating Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in swing states, the presidential race remains highly competitive with no clear leader emerging yet. Several of those swing states—Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia—are up for grabs, while the prize of Pennsylvania appears likely to determine the outcome of the election. Rasmussen also examines Harris' rise as the Democrat nominee after Joe Biden's withdrawal, analyzing her policy positions and the public's reaction to her candidacy. Harris’ policy proposals, such as unrealized capital gains tax and price controls, are generally unpopular. Rasmussen notes that voters still have strong opinions about Trump, and despite his policy advantages, some remain hesitant to vote for him. The conversation also touches on broader political themes, such as how voters perceive "progressive Democrats" vs. "MAGA Republicans." While neither term is particularly popular, progressive Democrats fare better unless specific issues like border security or parental involvement in education are emphasized.  Rasmussen emphasizes the importance of candidates focusing on issues rather than personalities, using Trump's 2016 campaign as an example where issue-based discourse proved effective.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: The Tennessee Star releases the Nashville shooter’s journal. Four people were killed and nine were taken to the hospital after a school shooting in Georgia this morning.  Brazil bans social media platform X in the South American country on Saturday.  Beer brand Molson Coors is rolling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.  Relevant Links Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House of Representatives returns next week to Washington, and a budget fight showdown is expected. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, and Congress is tasked with having the fiscal 2025 budget ready to go by then, but it’s all but guaranteed it won't be. “What usually happens at this time is, we'll get to the September 30th deadline, and we've seen this happen for years, regardless of who's running the show, but we'll kick the can down the road maybe a few weeks,” Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, explains. The “can,” in this case, is the fiscal 2025 budget blueprint, and the “kick” is a continuing resolution that funds the government, usually for several weeks or months at a time.  It has become the habit of Congress a day or two before Christmas to “have this massive Christmas tree of an omnibus bill that gets passed that few people have read [because it’s] thousands of pages long, [includes] gobs amount of money, and doesn't really do the American people the service that they deserve from their Congress,” Cloud says. The Texas congressman says he's doing everything he can to return the nation to fiscally responsible spending, noting that members of his own party are also partly responsible for the out-of-control spending in Washington. “With the Left in charge, they raced toward this fiscal cliff, and Republicans, when we've been in charge, we jog toward that same cliff and call that progress,” Cloud laments. “I'm not willing to settle for something that doesn't put us on the right path going forward.” Cloud joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss how Congress can take significant steps toward balancing the U.S. federal budget, and how the election could affect the financial fight in Congress this fall.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: A former aide to Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul is indicted for acting as an agent for the Chinese government  Republican nominee Donald Trump says reports about his staffers’ altercation at Arlington National Cemetery are a “made up story.”  Illegal immigrants make up around 75% of arrests in Midtown Manhattan, the New York Post reports. Former Democratic New York governor Andrew Cuomo will testify next week about his COVID-19 nursing home policies.  Relevant Links Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Demographer, historian, and author Neil Howe hasn't just coined the term “Millennial,” he's also predicted the future to an eerie degree—and he thinks America's in for very rough seas ahead. He says a civil war in the U.S. is far more plausible than most people think, and he dismisses the reasons Americans often discount that possibility.Howe sits down with The Daily Signal's managing editor, Tyler O'Neil, to talk about his generational theory, his books, and why he thinks a civil war in the U.S. is indeed possible, if not likely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris sat down for an interview with CNN and said her values have not changed.  Former President Donald Trump announces a major policy promise supporting IVF.  The Biden administration is unpausing an immigration program that was paused due to widespread fraud concerns.  Movie review of “Leo.”  Relevant Linkshttps://www.dailysignal.com/2024/08/30/cnns-softball-interview-of-kamala-harris/Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China's production of batteries for electric vehicles is “definitely not clean,” says energy expert Diana Furchtgott-Roth. Without its own vast natural energy resources, China is the world’s largest energy importer, but has seized on the economic opportunities of the “green energy” movement. Yet the production of products such as EVs is causing harm to the environment, says Furchtgott-Roth, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment. China produces about 80% of the world’s EV batteries and “mining for the critical minerals in the batteries … causes vast amounts of environmental damage,” she explains. Production of one EV battery involves moving “hundreds of thousands of pounds of earth to get the critical minerals for one battery,” Furchtgott-Roth notes, adding that “China is buying mines in Africa so that it can get the critical minerals, [as well as] mines in Latin America.” Furchtgott-Roth is the co-author of “How the Forced Energy Transition and Reliance on China Will Harm America,” a new Heritage Foundation report exposing the ways in which the “green energy” movement is harming America while benefiting China. She joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to explain it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Democratic nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris will sit down for an interview with CNN. Did Harris ever work at McDonalds?  But 150 students in Massachusetts have been told there is no space for them on the county’s buses as the illegal alien population increases.  Israel’s Military operation in the West Bank continues. Two Hong Kong journalists have been found guilty of sedition.  Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 2021 Biden administration executive order constitutes unlawful and potentially partisan interference in the election process, according to a new report from Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation. President Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order 14019 directs executive branch departments and federal employees to use federal resources to get out the vote, Von Spakovsky says. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Special Counsel Jack Smith Smith files a new indictment against former President Donald Trump. Israeli troops launch a large-scale military operation Wednesday in the West Bank. Hillary Clinton calls former President Donald Trump disrespectful after he went to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at soldiers’ graves.  Two congressmen are demanding answers about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the US Coast Guard. Tim Walz has connections to a nonprofit tied to the Chinese Communist Party.  Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices