Why Trump could be the X factor in New Jersey: From the Politics Desk

Plus, Democrats have run this playbook successfully in New Jersey before. Eight years ago, during Trump’s first term, Gov. Phil Murphy scored a 14-point win over Republican Kim Guadagno. Murphy sought to tie Guadagno to Trump, whose approval rating in New Jersey that fall stood at just 33%. (Murphy was also aided by the cratering popularity of outgoing Republican Gov. Chris Christie.)

Republicans are counting on the Trump factor playing differently this time around. And, at least for now, there are some key variables they can point to with optimism.

One is the result of last year’s presidential race, when Trump lost New Jersey by 6 points to Kamala Harris. That was a far cry from his 16-point loss in 2020 and his 14-point defeat in 2016. From the outset of the 2017 gubernatorial race, it was obvious that Trump would be a major electoral liability for the GOP. That’s not as clear this time around.

In fact, a PIX11/Emerson College poll conducted a few weeks ago showed Trump with a 47% job approval rating in New Jersey. That’s far higher than he fared during the 2017 campaign, or for that matter, at any point during his first term. It’s also higher than the 40% approval rating for Murphy, who is term-limited and provides Ciattarelli with his own opportunity to tie his opponent to an unpopular leader.

There’s also some history Republicans can point to. Democrats have controlled the New Jersey governorship for two consecutive terms now, with Sherrill seeking to make it three. This is the fifth time since 1981 that one of the two parties has tried for a third straight term. They all failed.

Read more from Steve →

Catch up on NBC News’ latest New Jersey election coverage:

• Bridget Bowman and Ben Kamisar have five key takeaways from Tuesday’s results.
• Adam Noboa breaks down how each of the candidates in the crowded Democratic field fared on their home turf.
• Julie Tsirkin, Olympia Sonnier and Bridget explore how Ciattarelli is now attempting to pivot to the general election.

Nationwide protests provide split-screen for Trump’s upcoming military parade

By Peter Nicholas

President Donald Trump is getting the parade he wanted showcasing America’s military power — but he’ll also be getting mass protests exposing the nation’s partisan divisions.

The tanks and artillery launchers rolling through Washington on Saturday will honor the Army’s 250th anniversary, which falls on the day Trump turns 79.

But in Washington and in all 50 states, organizers are scheduled to stage protests that could dwarf the parade in size. A coalition of pro-democracy, labor and liberal activists is arranging a full day of counterprogramming to make the case that Trump is hijacking the Army celebration to venerate himself.

The parade is happening at a fraught moment when Trump has drawn the military — among the nation’s most trusted institutions — into a tense standoff in Los Angeles over his aggressive efforts to deport people living in the United States illegally. The Trump administration this week activated about 700 Marines to help quell demonstrations over his immigration enforcement methods, despite warnings from California officials that he is inflaming the situation.

Read more from Peter →

Catch up on NBC News’ latest coverage of Trump’s deportation plans and the protests in response:

ICE is preparing to deploy its Special Response Teams to five cities run by Democratic leaders, according to two sources familiar with the planning of the future operations.

The Trump administration is telling immigration judges — who report to the executive branch and are not part of the independent judiciary — to dismiss pending cases as a tactic for speeding up arrests.

During an interview with NBC’s “Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas, White House border czar Tom Homan said that protests in Los Angeles are making immigration raids more “difficult” and more “dangerous.”

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott said he’ll deploy the National Guard across the state “to ensure peace and order” ahead of a planned protest in San Antonio.

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom warned that “democracy is under assault” in a speech blasting Trump’s immigration tactics.

A federal grand jury indicted Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., on charges stemming from a confrontation with law enforcement at an ICE detention center in Newark last month.

The way Trump has responded to protests in California is very different than how he treated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Follow live updates →

Trump’s new travel ban causes rift with Afghanistan war veterans

By Andrea Mitchell

Little noticed amid the uproar over the ICE raids in Los Angeles this week is the imposition of a travel ban 2.0 — a retooled version of President Donald Trump’s first-term policy, modified to avoid legal challenges.

“We want to keep bad people out of our country,” Trump said.

The last time around, the Trump White House had to rewrite the proposed ban three times before it passed Supreme Court muster. This time, the administration released fact sheets to show they were singling out countries whose citizens had high rates of overstaying their visas or don’t properly screen their citizens for terrorism, not because most of the 12 countries banned are in Africa or the Middle East — prompting accusations of racial motivation, which would be unconstitutional.

While not facing immediate legal challenges, the decision to bar travelers from Afghanistan in particular is outraging many U.S. veterans, including Trump supporters, who say they could not have survived the war without their Afghan translators. They say the U.S. is abandoning its Afghan allies and their families, who are being attacked, imprisoned and, in some cases, tortured by the Taliban for their past association with the U.S.

Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of U.S. veterans and advocacy groups, told me: “The Taliban has made it very clear through their actions, not their words, what’s going to happen to them. We get photos and videos every week of people being hunted down and killed.”

We met an Afghan man who worked as a translator with the U.S. military for seven years who we can’t identify without putting his family at risk. He got a special visa to come to the U.S, became a citizen and enlisted in the Marines to return to Afghanistan for another tour in Helmand Province. He spent years trying to bring his siblings and aging parents to the U.S. from Afghanistan to escape retaliation. They were approved last December and told to prepare to travel within days.

Now the travel ban has shut the door. He told me when Trump announced the ban, “For the first week, I couldn’t go to work. I laid in bed, I was shocked for a week.” He added, “I want to see my parents. They’re getting old and I feel so bad. I cannot forgive myself if they pass and I can’t see them.”

He blames himself. But critics of the travel ban say it’s the U.S. that went back on its word — something they warn future allies will remember when America wants their help.

That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Dylan Ebs.

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