Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
It’s Day 2 of the government shutdown and there’s still no end in sight. In today’s edition, Sahil Kapur and Ben Kamisar sift through the initial polls to see how the standoff is landing with the American public.
Plus, Kristen Welker sits down with Andrew Cuomo for his first national interview since Eric Adams dropped out of the New York City mayoral race.
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— Adam Wollner
Early polls show Trump and GOP taking more blame than Democrats for shutdown
By Sahil Kapur and Ben Kamsiar
Americans are more inclined to blame President Donald Trump and Republicans for the government shutdown, according to four independent national polls conducted just before or during the funding lapse.
But there is fluidity in the political fight, as the surveys show a significant share of voters aren’t sure who to blame. The shutdown is only in its second day and, as Republicans and Democrats sharpen their messages, it’s not clear how long the impasse will last.
Here’s what the four polls say:
- A Washington Post poll conducted on Oct. 1, the first day of the shutdown, found that 47% of U.S. adults blame Trump and Republicans in Congress, while 30% blame Democrats and 23% say they’re not sure. The survey found that independents blame Trump and Republicans over Democrats by a wide margin of 50% to 22%. And one-third of Republicans were either unsure who to blame (25%) or blame their party (8%).
- A New York Times/Siena poll taken in late September found that blaming both sides equally for a shutdown was the most popular answer, chosen by 33% of registered voters. Another 26% would blame Trump and Republicans, while 19% would blame Democrats and 21% said they hadn’t heard enough to say.
- A poll by Marist, PBS News and NPR in late September found that 38% would blame Republicans, while 27% said they’d blame Democrats. Another 31% said they’d blame both parties equally and 5% said they’d blame neither or were unsure who was at fault.
- In a Morning Consult poll taken in late September, 45% of registered voters said they’d blame Republicans in Congress for a shutdown, while 32% said they’d blame Democrats. Another 16% had no opinion, while 7% chose “other.” Independents blamed Republicans over Democrats by a margin of 41% to 24%.
Read more from Sahil and Ben →
Catch up on our shutdown coverage:
Andrew Cuomo says he’d ‘welcome’ endorsement from Eric Adams, but not Trump, in NYC mayoral race
By Alexandra Marquez
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that he would “welcome” an endorsement of his mayoral campaign from incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the race earlier this week.
“I would welcome his support. You know, this is a general election, it’s Democrats, Republicans, independents,” Cuomo, who is running as a third-party candidate, said in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW.”
“I would welcome the mayor’s support. I’d welcome big-tent support,” Cuomo added.
But the former Democratic governor said that he would not accept an endorsement from President Donald Trump, who has been outspoken about his opposition to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani’s candidacy.
“The tent isn’t that big,” Cuomo told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker when asked about a potential endorsement from Trump.
“That’s the limitation,” Cuomo added. “I have not had a conversation, nor would I accept an endorsement from President Trump.”
Cuomo also said that Trump’s threats to withhold federal funding from New York City if Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, who leads in the polls, wins are looming over voters.
“He has said, basically, if Mamdani wins the election, that he would — President Trump would — basically have to take control of New York, because Mamdani is not qualified,” Cuomo said. “He calls him a communist and that he’s anti-police, etc. So he said he would take over New York. That kind of federal usurping of state local authority, I think, is an existential threat.”
Read more from the interview →
🗞️ Today’s other top stories
- 💊 Under the radar: The Food and Drug Administration quietly approved a generic form of mifepristone, one of the two medications used in most U.S. abortions. Read more →
- 🗣️ Making it official: Trump has declared the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels after recent strikes on boats in the Caribbean, the AP reports. Read more →
- 🏫 On campus: The White House has laid out a proposal to nine top U.S. colleges and universities, offering them preferential access to federal funds in exchange for agreeing to a set of demands. Read more →
- 👟 Dispatch from Des Moines: Hundreds of students walked out of middle and high schools across the city this week to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention of Ian Andre Roberts, the now-former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district. Read more →
- ➡️ Comey fallout: A top national security prosecutor in a key federal office was fired after a pro-Trump writer, without evidence, linked him to internal pushback over the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey last week. Read more →
- 📺 Kimmel fallout: Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who drew sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle over his threats related to Jimmy Kimmel’s show, will testify before the Senate Commerce Committee. Read more →
- 🤝 ‘NATO for nonprofits’: Nonprofit groups with disparate missions are banding together in an alliance aimed at protecting one another if they become targets of Trump’s ire. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.
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