Here are just a few facts and observations to keep in mind as we move toward Election Day.

• I have heard from numerous TPM readers in swing states, registered Democrats with long histories of voting for Democrats, who are being deluged by Trump flyers, sometimes as many as two or three new ones a day. I’ve heard from enough of them that I don’t think this is just a few people on the wrong list. I think it’s something more general. In the cases where I’ve been able to ask, it’s either mostly or all from Trump super PACs rather than the campaign itself. I don’t know yet whether this is evidence of very inefficient spending or whether the spending is so mammoth that this is in effect the splash created by unprecedented levels of spending.

From TPM Reader PJ …

I live in Western PA, and do my best to do some driving tours of the areas outside of the metropole I live in during campaign season, and what I see are a lot fewer signs out in those area for Trump. Also can back up this thing about mailers….our household, which should not in any sense be thought of as GOP-curious, is receiving a TON of these pro-Trump and anti-Harris fliers. One of the biggest talking points is that Harris is going to gut Medicare and Social Security (because inflation makes all spending go less far, I guess?) while Trump will defend Medicare and Social Security (these materials actually feature quotes from him telling the GOP to keep their hands off of our entitlements). 

I got put on to this by an email from TPM Reader MS.

It’s weird.

The background here is that back at the beginning of the Biden administration, Mike “MyPillowGuy” Lindell started something called FrankSpeech Inc., a would-be right wing news channel which mainly does streaming. A few days ago FrankSpeech announced what it called a “going public transaction.” Not being very well versed in the world of deeply sketch over-the-counter stock events, it took me a while to make sense of what this announcement was saying. But the gist is this: FrankSpeech Inc. (Lindell’s weirdo news network) is merging with a company called InCapta. The announcement doesn’t say what InCapta does other than that it is a “company renowned for over 46 years of excellence in business and development.”

I wanted to flag two articles to your attention, one from the Post and the other from CNN. They both cover similar ground but in different ways. The gist is that the Trump campaign has essentially given up on trying to improve voters’ impression of Donald Trump and decided the only path to victory is driving down Harris’ favorability numbers. When I first read the Post piece, it had the feel of what journalists call a “source greaser” — a favorable piece aimed at generating good will on the part of the subject and sources of the piece. The quote from GOP consultant Josh Holmes captures the tone of the piece: “I think it’s a serious paper tiger we’re dealing with here. I don’t think for 60 days they can keep the train on the tracks.”