Happening this Monday: President Biden travels to Pueblo, Colo., to discuss the economy and climate at 3:45 pm ET… Donald Trump holds two campaign events in Iowa… Tim Scott officially files to appear on South Carolina’s primary ballot… Ron DeSantis welcomes evacuees from Israel who arrived in Florida, per NBC’s Dasha Burns and Abigail Brooks… Republican Jeff Landry wins LA-GOV race outright, flipping the governor’s mansion from blue to red… And Biden and Trump lead the fundraising pack.
But FIRST… President Biden said he opposed Israel’s occupation of Gaza, called for Hamas’ elimination (but believes there should be a Palestinian state), and agreed that the GOP’s dysfunction in Washington makes the world more dangerous.
Those were some of the top takeaways from Biden’s interview Sunday on “60 Minutes.”
On if Israel occupied Gaza: “I think it’d be a big mistake. Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that...It would be a mistake to...for Israel to occupy...Gaza again.”
On whether Hamas needs to be eliminated: “Yes, I do. But there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. There needs to be-- a path to a Palestinian state.”
On if Iran was behind Hamas’ attack on Israel: “I don’t wanna get into classified information. But to be very blunt with you, there is no clear evidence of that.”
On whether the GOP’s dysfunction to elect a speaker increases danger in the world: “Yes. Look, this is not your father’s Republican Party. Thirty percent of it’s made up of these MAGA Republicans who are maybe-- democracy is something I don’t-- they don’t look at the same way you and I look at democracy.”
And on if he’s sure he wants to run for president again: “Look, when I ran, I said, ‘The world’s at an inflection point.’ The world’s changing, but we have an opportunity to make it-- so, imagine if we were able to succeed in getting the Middle East put in place where we have normalization of relations. I think we can do that. Imagine what happens if we, in fact, unite all of Europe and Putin is finally put down where he cannot cause the kind of trouble he’s been causing. We have enormous opportunities, enormous opportunities to make it a better world.”
Quote of the day
“Iran, if you escalate the war, we’re coming for you.”
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham’s warning to Iran during an appearance on “Meet the Press” Sunday.
The number of the day is … more than 51%
That’s the share of the vote Louisiana state Attorney General Jeff Landry won in the gubernatorial primary when the Associated Press declared him the winner of the state’s gubernatorial race on Saturday.
Landry’s ability to win a majority of the vote in the primary allowed him to win the race for governor outright under the state’s open primary system. Landry, a Republican, flipped the governor’s mansion, which is currently held by term-limited Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Landry, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, beat out a crowded field of Republicans for the top spot. Democrat Shawn Wilson, the state’s former Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson, finished in second and had won just 26% of the vote when the AP called the race.
Eyes on 2024: Trump tops rivals in fundraising
The latest fundraising reports filed Sunday show that Trump’s rivals are also struggling to catch up to the GOP frontrunner when it comes to cash.
Trump’s stockpile dwarfed his primary opponents, leaving him with much more money to spend. Here’s a how much each candidate raised during the third quarter, which spanned from July through September, and how much their campaigns had on hand as of Sept. 30:
Trump: $24.5 million raised, $37.5 million cash on hand
Ron DeSantis: $11.2 million raised, $12.3 million cash on hand
Nikki Haley: $8.24 million raised, $11.6 million cash on hand
Vivek Ramaswamy: $7.4 million raised, $4.25 million cash on hand
Tim Scott: $4.6 million raised, $13.3 million cash on hand
Chris Christie: $3.8 million raised, $3.9 million cash on hand
Doug Burgum: $3.4 million raised, $2.3 million cash on hand
Larry Elder: $970,000 raised, $245,000 cash on hand
Asa Hutchinson: $667,000 raised, $325,000 cash on hand
Trump’s campaign is poised to continue to dominate fundraising, thanks to his small-dollar operation that he can continue to tap throughout the campaign. Just 4% of Trump’s campaign haul came from donors who have given the maximum primary contribution of $3,300, per an NBC News analysis of his filing.
Meanwhile, more than 40% of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ total came from donors who maxed out, meaning he can’t go back to them for more money. Scott and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, each saw more than 30% of their hauls come from donors who have given the maximum contribution.
The fundraising reports also showed some campaigns in dire straits, including former Vice President Mike Pence’s campaign, which is racking up debt. Trump’s rivals are also encouraging donors to get off the sidelines before it is too late to stop Trump, per the New York Times.
On the Democratic side, Biden’s campaign continues to stockpile cash for the general election, raising $24.8 million in the third quarter and ending September with $32.1 million in his campaign account.
Read more about the fundraising reports, including what they reveal about staff and how they compare to past presidential campaigns, on NBCNews.com.
In other campaign news …
Israel politics on the right: Republican candidates and voters are split over the U.S. response to Israel, per NBC’s Jonathan Allen. Over the weekend, DeSantis said the U.S. should not accept refugees from Gaza, saying “they are all antisemitic.”
Israel politics on the left: NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald details how the war in Israel is causing a reckoning on the left over support for Israel, writing, “That long-stifled debate is now spilling into public view in heated and sometimes ugly ways, dividing Democrats and exposing what some say is antisemitism that has been allowed to fester on the left for years.”
Party time: The New York Times details how Trump’s campaign has worked behind the scenes with party officials, “seeking to twist the primary and delegate rules in their favor.” One of those states is Nevada, where the state party is holding a caucus in defiance of a law that calls for a primary. DeSantis plans to participate in the caucus, per the Times. But Pence is participating in the primary, per the Nevada Independent, meaning he won’t be able to win delegates.
Biden vs. Boebert: Biden’s trip to Colorado on Monday will take him to GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert’s district, where the controversial congresswoman narrowly won re-election last year.
On the airwaves: The liberal group Climate Power is planning to spend $80 million on ads to boost Biden, per the New York Times.
Manchin watch: In West Virginia, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin predicted the “downfall of our country,” due to the two-party system as he considers running for president as an independent, or with a third party, the AP reports.
Chaos among GOP fundraisers: The House speaker fight has led some GOP donors to reevaluate which House lawmakers will receive their donations, CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports.
Abortion politics: As Virginia Republicans coalesce around GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal for a 15-week abortion ban, on Democratic group alleges that some state legislative candidates have previously advocated for stricter bans, NBC’s Adam Edelman reports. The news comes as Democrats pour another $200,000 into the state’s legislative elections.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world
The White House could send Congress a supplemental funding request for aid to Israel and Ukraine as soon as this week, NBC’s Julie Tsirkin, Allie Raffa, Kate Santaliz and Summer Concepcion report.
The fight over the next House speaker continues to play out, and Democrats are not inclined to help Republicans find a solution, per NBC’s Sahil Kapur and Julia Jester. If the GOP nominee for speaker, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, falls short, Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson plans to jump in the race.
Hamas had detailed plans to target a youth center and elementary schools ahead of their invasion of Israel, documents obtained by NBC News show.