Happy Monday, OnPolitics readers!
While the 2022 midterms are a ways away, democrats are watching a few key races to gauge voters’ sentiments ahead of next fall. In Virginia, voters will choose the commonwealth’s next governor on Nov. 2 of this year.
They’ll be choosing between a Donald Trump-aligned Republican, Glenn Youngkin, who has criticized President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, and Terry McAuliffe, a longtime moderate Democrat who supports a bigger safety net and higher pay for teachers.
But before that race begins, another contentious state election is already underway: the California recall election.
President Joe Biden today headed to the state that gave him the most votes last year, making a last-minute appeal to supporters to ensure California keeps its Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom. However, with polls already showing in the governor’s favor, the trip may end up benefitting Biden as much as Newsom.
It’s Amy with the top stories of the day.
Ex-White House press secretary’s book likens Melania Trump to Marie Antoinette
Stephanie Grisham, who served as the former first lady’s chief of staff near the end of her time in the White House, takes aim at Melania Trump in a new book.
Politico Playbook obtained excerpts of the book, “I’ll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw in The Trump White House,” which is due out in October.
“Dismissive. Defeated. Detached.” These are just a few of the words Grisham used to describe the former first lady in her book.
Grisham was the third press secretary in President Donald Trump’s White House. She succeeded Sarah Hucakbee Sanders after working in the East Wing as Melania Trump’s communications director and deputy chief of staff.
The Arizona native had a reputation as a Trump loyalist. She worked on the 2016 campaign, and worked as White House staff for most of Trump’s presidency. She started as an assistant to Trump’s first press secretary, Sean Spicer.
The office of Melania Trump dismissed Grisham and her book in its statement to Playbook, saying “through mistruth and betrayal, she seeks to gain relevance and money at the expense of Mrs. Trump.”
Real Quick: Stories you’ll want to read
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Capitol Police arrest man carrying weapons near DNC headquarters
U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man carrying a bayonet and machete in a truck bearing white supremacist symbols near the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington on Monday.
Donald Craighead, 44, of Oceanside, California, was arrested for possession of prohibited weapons. Both bayonets and machetes are illegal in Washington, according to police.
Local and federal law enforcement have been preparing for a Sept. 18 rally meant to falsely paint the arrests of members of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol as politically motivated. But police said it was unclear why Craighead was in the area, and his…
Read More: Former top aide compares Melania Trump to Marie Antoinette