Bill talks with Karen Tumulty, Associate Editor and Opinion Columnist at The Washington Post about importance of the abortion issue in the 2024 presidential election, particularly in light of Donald Trump's comments on the topic. It highlights Trump's attempts to portray himself as a friend to women despite his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, and the backlash this has faced from the public. They also examine other Republican candidates' comments on abortion, such as Bernie Moreno and JD Vance, and the potential impact these could have on the party's standing with women voters. Additionally, they explore the role of Vice President Kamala Harris as a messenger on reproductive rights and the possibility that the Dobbs decision could propel her to the presidency. Overall, they suggest that the abortion issue could be a deciding factor in the 2024 election, with the potential to swing the outcome.

Today Bill highlights the work of three organizations working to help people in North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia whose lives have been upended by the monster storm Helene. Links for you to help: The North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund, The World Central Kitchen and the Salvation Army. 

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Trump on Abortion. Moreno on Abortion. Men Care About Abortion. Trump: Off-Message. Harris=Change? Trump: Robinson Who? NYC Mayor Indicted. VP Debate. Another Pres. Debate? Trump Watches! With Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Linda Feldmann, Washington Bureau Chief, White House/Politics Correspondent at The Christian Science Monitor and Kirk Bado, Editor of The National Journal Hotline.

Today’s Bill Press Pod is supported by The Ironworkers Union. More information at Ironworkers.org

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This is a special Bonus Episode: Chapter Two of Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close and Personal depicts the personal story of Eve, a nurse struggling with infertility, whose treatment is threatened by the new president's executive order banning certain fertility treatments. The episode explores how the president's policies would impact everyday Americans, particularly women and families, by interfering with reproductive freedom and the right to self-determination. The author of the serialized novel “2025,” upon which this podcast series is based, David Pepper, highlights how the fictional story is directly based on the policies outlined in the Trump’s Project 2025 and the president's own words, underscoring the very real and devastating consequences a second Trump term and the implementation of Project 2025 could have. You can read Chapter Two of David Pepper’s “2025: A Novel” at davidpepper.substack.com/p/2025-a-novel-chapter-2

Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close and Personal is available on all the podcast apps and at 2025 pod.com. We'd also like to thank all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode. J. Smith Cameron read the chapter and audio finishing by Marilys Ernst. This series is produced by David Pepper, Melissa, Jo Peltier and Jay Feldman. Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close and Personal is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and the Bill Press Pod.

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Today Bill talks with Jessica Taylor, the editor for Senate and Governor Races at the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. In the podcast she discussed the key Senate races for the 2024 election, including: Montana - Jessica rates this race as lean Republican, with incumbent John Tester (D) being the underdog against Republican challenger Tim Sheehy. Ohio - Jessica rates this race as a toss-up between incumbent Sherrod Brown (D) and Republican challenger Bernie Moreno. Nevada - Jessica rates the race between incumbent Jackie Rosen (D) and Republican challenger Sam Brown as lean Democratic. Arizona - Jessica rates the race between Ruben Gallego (D) and Kari Lake (R) as lean Democratic. Michigan - Jessica rates this open seat race as a toss-up between Democrat Elyssa Slotkin and Republican Mike Rogers. Wisconsin - Jessica rates the race between incumbent Tammy Baldwin (D) and Republican challenger Eric Hovde as lean Democratic. Pennsylvania - Jessica rates the race between incumbent Bob Casey (D) and Republican challenger David McCormick as lean Democratic. Maryland - Jessica rates the race between incumbent Ben Cardin's (D) successor, Angela Alsobrooks, and Republican challenger, former Governor Larry Hogan as likely Democratic. Overall, Jessica assesses that the Democrats currently have less than a 25% chance of holding onto their Senate majority, given the tough defensive map they face in 2024.

Today Bill strongly encourages listeners to go to ActBlue.com to financially support Democratic Senate candidates that he believes are important, including John Tester, Sherrod Brown, Angela Alsobrooks, Ruben Gallego, Alyssa Slotkin, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, and Colin Allred. He stresses the importance of Democrats holding the Senate in order to support a potential President Kamala Harris. That’s at ActBlue.com

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Mark Robinson: Black Nazi. GOP Still Lying About Haitians. Vance Makes It Up. JD Complains About Rhetoric: Trump’s the Offender. Confused Trump. Rate Cut/Economy. Shutdown Farce. With Sudeep Reddy, Senior Managing Editor at Politico, Arthur Delaney, Politics Reporter for HuffPost and John Bennett, White House Correspondent & Editor-at-Large at CQ Roll Call. 

Today’s Bill Press Pod is supported by The Laborers' International Union of North America. More information at LIUNA.org

Bill also talked about Washington Post Columnist Dana Milbank and his funny and sad new book, Fools on the Hill: The Hooligans, Saboteurs, Conspiracy Theorists, and Dunces Who Burned Down the House.

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Chapter One of Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close and Personal depicts how the lives of everyday Americans would be impacted by the policies outlined in Trumps’s Project 2025 and the return of Donald Trump to power. The fictional story follows Ammon Maher, a college student and immigrant, as he is detained and deported without due process due to his involvement in past campus protests. This narrative directly reflects Trump's campaign promises to crack down on student protesters and his administration's policies that target undocumented immigrants, including so-called "dreamers." The author of the serialized “2025: A Novel” upon which this podcast series is based, David Pepper, highlights how these policies, if implemented, would violate civil liberties and human rights in an alarming and unjust manner. The podcast series aims to raise awareness of the very real dangers posed by Trump's extremist agenda and the disturbing implications of "Project 2025" for the American people. You can read

Chapter One of David Pepper’s “2025: A Novel” at davidpepper.substack.com/p/2025-a-novel

Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close and Personal is available on all the podcast apps and at 2025 pod.com. We'd also like to thank all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode. Heather Thomas J. Smith Cameron Omid Abtahi, Kirk Acevedo and Bayo Akinfemi. Audio finishing by Marilys Ernst. This series is produced by David Pepper, Melissa, Jo Peltier and Jay Feldman. Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close and Personal is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and the Bill Press Pod. 

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Larry Sabato is the Founder and Director of the University of Virginia Institute of Politics. There is no better political analyst in the country. Here are the key points he made in today’s Bill Press Pod: The 2024 presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is seen as a very close race, with no clear frontrunner. Sabato believes Harris performed well in the first presidential debate, getting under Trump's skin effectively. However, the debate likely only moved the needle slightly in the polls. Sabato is skeptical of polls showing Harris with a comfortable lead, as he believes some Trump supporters are not being honest with pollsters. He points to significant polling misses in recent elections as evidence that the polls cannot be fully trusted. He expresses concern about the reliability of polls in key battleground states like Wisconsin, where polls have significantly underestimated Trump's performance in recent elections. He sees the vice presidential debate as a potential wild card, with Vance potentially struggling to match the performance of Harris's running mate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. Sabato is critical of Republican members of Congress who have not stood up to Trump, saying they are putting their party's interests ahead of the country.

Today urges our listeners to support endangered Senators Sherrod Brown and Jon Tester through ActBlue.com

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Debate: Strategy. Debate: No Strategy. Dogs, Cats, Geese. MAGA Rumor Mill. GOP Abortion Problem. Harris Powerful on Abortion, Trump Waffles on Abortion. Harris Credible as POTUS. Another Debate? Shutdown Re-run. With David Jackson, National Political Correspondent for USA TODAY, Jeff Dufour, Editor in chief at The National Journal and Evan McMorris-Santoro, Reporter at NOTUS.

Today’s Bill Press Pod is supported by The American Federation of Teachers. More information at AFT.org.

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Reporters’ Roundtable regular and Political Correspondent for19th news, Amanda Becker is back with a quick reaction to last night’s debate. Her book "You Must Stand Up: The Fight for Abortion Rights in Post Dobbs America" makes her one of the foremost experts on the battle for abortion rights ands its impact on politics. As expected, Abortion was a major topic. Amanda gives her informed reaction to both Harris and Trump.

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Our guest today is Reporters’ Roundtable regular and Political Correspondent for19th news, Amanda Becker. Her book "You Must Stand Up: The Fight for Abortion Rights in Post Dobbs America" provides valuable insights into the battle for abortion rights. It was published today. She and Bill discuss the book and the overturning of Roe V Wade and its impact on the 2024 election although the 2024 election is expected to be decided mostly on personalities rather than policy. However, one of the central issues that may come into play is reproductive rights. Kamala Harris is a longtime leader and supporter of abortion rights, while Donald Trump, a former abortion rights supporter, is now the country's anti-abortion leader. Each of the 50 states is trying to navigate the post-Dobbs reality, which has resulted in chaos. The issue of abortion rights is gaining importance among voters, particularly women under 45. The impact of abortion rights on voter turnout and candidate races remains to be seen. It is expected that Trump will try to avoid giving a clear answer on his stance on abortion, while Harris will likely keep the conversation focused on this issue. 

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