THE UTAH WAY: Gov. Spencer Cox finds himself leading through a crisis that cuts to the heart of his political mantra — and his religious faith. I wrote earlier this week about Cox’s “Disagree Better” message — his insistence that America’s political divide can be healed by pragmatic cross-aisle partnerships and healthy dialogue. It’s a civic belief Cox has preached for years. It was the center of his tenure as National Governors Association chair, which he finished last year. Earlier this summer, amid the Los Angeles demonstrations, Cox said he wanted Utah to be "the best place in the United States to protest” and “the worst possible place to riot.” “He actually wants more healthy conflict,” said Jon Cox, a longtime friend and adviser (and distant relative). “Show me another governor that would say something like that.” The killing of Charlie Kirk, then, struck the core of Cox’s ethos. This week, in a series of somber press conferences, Cox became the public face of America's mourning. “Our nation is broken,” he said Wednesday night, pleading that “all of us will try to find a way to stop hating our fellow Americans.” He added Friday: “History will dictate if this is a turning point for our country,” but “every single one of us gets to choose right now if this is a turning point for us.” I’ve been watching Cox develop these ideas for years. I spent five years reporting at the Deseret News, the oldest paper in Utah. I, like Cox, am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We’re from neighboring towns in rural central Utah (and rival high schools). To understand where Cox is coming from, you have to understand the source of his persistence: his faith. Russell M. Nelson, the leader of Cox's church, emphasizes what he calls “peacemaking” as the central theme of his ministry. Cox has credited Nelson — who turned 101 last week, making him the oldest living leader of a global faith — for pushing him to “build bridges of understanding.” On Friday, Nelson and his two counselors released a statement calling “upon people everywhere to build communities of greater kindness and love.” The tenet has reached some outside the faith. “President Nelson's teaching about civic peacemaking ... is not just for the church,” Brookings Institute senior fellow Jonathan Rauch said at a Washington event last week. “This has to be a witness for the entire country.” The statement seemed prescient, even prophetic. Suddenly overnight, the biggest challenge to the peacemaking initiative was a crisis in Cox’s — and Nelson’s — backyard. By Friday,the suspected shooter was in custody, but the state’s political fabric was fraying. Utah Valley University won’t return to classes until next week, and students at other nearby universities were staying home. Utah Democrats were receiving threats and chose to cancel in-person events through the weekend. Utah Highway Patrol huddled with top state Senate Democrats Thursday, instructing them on how to maintain their personal safety. “[Kirk] had people that loved him. We have people that love us, too,” Utah House Democratic Leader Angela Romero told Playbook. “And this wicked cycle of violence has to stop.” On Friday, a group of civic leaders — mostly Latter-day Saints — tried their best to stem the tide. During a news conference at the Utah Capitol, the leaders announced a new partnership called “Utah Bridge Builders” for civic peacemaking. “They may not seem like big actions some people are calling for at a time like this, but there are many small things we can do to turn to each other more,”said Marianne Viray, executive director of Disagree Better,a nonprofit that grew from Cox’s NGA initiative. The Utah Young Republicans and Utah Young Democrats presidents — both in attendance — announced they’d planned a lunch date. To some, the gestures seem trite. That’s how many have viewed Cox’s “Disagree Better” initiative, as woefully insufficient at best or nauseatingly naïve at worst, incapable of tackling the money- and power-driven forces behind our politics. During Cox’s reelection campaign last year, his far-right challenger in the primary and his Democratic opponent in the general banded together to film their own joint “disagree better” ad — saying the one thing they agree upon is that Cox shouldn’t be governor. But even some of those critics are coming around. “Look, I ran against the governor last year,” said Brian King, the Utah Democratic Party chair. “But I think he’s right about this. Free speech doesn’t mean anything if people are afraid to speak.” Meanwhile, Phil Lyman, Cox’s other challenger, still feels differently. “He’s performing,” Lyman told Playbook. “He’s auditioning for something every time he stands up.” Those close to Cox suggest he has no ambitions for higher office. But Cox’s performance this week hasn’t stopped some from hypothesizing. Hawaii Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz quoted Cox’s Friday speech on X and heaped praise. “I know this guy is a Republican and all but I swear you could win all the electoral votes with this message in 28,” Schatz wrote. “He’s only 50 years old,” added Scott Keller, a Utah business executive and GOP megadonor who helped bankroll Mike Pence’s and Donald Trump’s 2024 campaigns. “He’s got a long runway. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did run for Senate, or even president.” MORE KIRK FALLOUT … — More details on the alleged shooter: Despite clamoring on both sides of the political spectrum for motives, “the image that has initially emerged of [Tyler] Robinson is not at all clear. Neither is his trajectory from a scholarship-winning high school student to an apprentice electrician to a suspect,” NYT’s Jack Healy and colleagues report. “Robinson is registered to vote in Utah, but he is not affiliated with a political party and had never voted in an election, according to the Washington County Clerk. His parents are registered Republicans, both with active hunting licenses in a part of the country known for its outdoor life.” — The manhunt: “How Law Enforcement Got the Man Suspected of Killing Charlie Kirk,” by NYT’s Glenn Thrush and colleagues: “While the federal government, led by the F.B.I., surged investigative manpower and technological firepower — high-tech drones, fingerprint experts, video analysts, evidence processing teams — the hunt for Mr. Kirk’s killer ended in the mundane way that many manhunts do. Someone called in a tip to local law enforcement and identified the suspect, Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah man.” — On trial: “The alleged shooter, whom authorities identified on Friday as Tyler Robinson, is facing state-level criminal charges. And in Utah — unlike in federal court — criminal trials are routinely televised,” POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report. — Security concerns grow: Lawmakers were already feeling angst over old-school congressional town halls following a summer of raucous constituent events. “But Kirk’s killing Wednesday on a Utah college campus compounded their sense that large-scale public appearances are paying diminishing political returns with a new sense of anxiety,” POLITICO’s Cassandra Dumay reports this morning. — Vance speaks: VP JD Vance “urged Republican donors on Friday night to win the 2026 midterms in honor of his close friend and right-wing activist Charlie Kirk,” NYT’s Teddy Schleifer reports. “Over the next couple of years, if we can honor Charlie, I’d ask this: Take that commitment to American greatness, take that commitment to our civic virtue, and take that recognition that a very good man gave his life for his country, and let’s go win, and win for the right damn reasons,” Vance said at the fall RNC retreat, according to audio obtained by the NYT. — Kirk’s legacy: Erika Kirk made her first public remarks since her husband’s death, vowing that Turning Point USA would carry on with its mission of promoting conservative politics, including its schedule of upcoming campus tours and podcast, POLITICO’s Sophia Cai reports. — The timeline: “Charlie Kirk’s Final Week,” by WSJ’s Elizabeth Findell and Jack Gillum: “In the week before he was killed, Charlie Kirk posted frequently on social media, hosted events across the globe and appeared on podcasts and television. It appeared to be a typical week for Kirk, who made a name for himself by offering a conservative, and often provocative, perspective over the airwaves, online and on college campuses.” — The rhetorical question: “Toxic rhetoric, including calls for 'civil war' and retribution from the right, proliferates after Charlie Kirk killing,” by NBC’s David Ingram: “The most concerning messages, experts told NBC News, are proclamations from far-right activists, Republican politicians and conservative influencers about a coming civil war and the need for retribution or payback against the left for Kirk’s killing. The phrase ‘civil war’ has spiked on social media and in Google searches.” — The ripple effect: “Workers are getting fired, placed on leave over Charlie Kirk posts,” by WaPo’s Taylor Telford: “Within 24 hours of Charlie Kirk’s killing, an assistant dean at a Tennessee college, a communications staffer for an NFL team, a Next Door employee in Milwaukee, and the co-owner of a Cincinnati barbecue restaurant were fired after posting about it.” — Worthwhile listen: Playbook’s Dasha Burns and POLITICO Global Editor-In-Chief John Harris sat down to talk about Kirk and the impact of his life and death on American politics in the latest episode of “The Conversation.” We’re at a point, Harris says, “where almost every news event very quickly does become politicized, and people view events as … weapons or shields in a nonstop political argument.” Watch the full episode … Subscribe here 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. AMERICA AND THE WORLD: Trump sent a letter to all NATO countries saying he would agree to “major sanctions” on Russia — if all NATO countries ended their Russian oil imports: “I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when?” He posted on Truth Social this morning that cutting off Russian oil exports, plus a 50 to 100 percent tariff on China through the war’s end, will “be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR.” More from our POLITICO colleagues in Europe One line sure to rankle European allies and pro-Ukraine lawmakers stateside: Trump calling it “Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s WAR.” It all comes days after Russian drones crossed into Poland’s airspace, and as the Kremlin has said that peace negotiations are effectively paused. War and peace: Trump had dinner with Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and envoy Steve Witkoff in New York yesterday, days after the Israeli strike against Hamas leaders in Doha drew global condemnation and Trump’s ire, Reuters’ Jarrett Renshaw reports. The dinner came after al-Thani met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and VP JD Vance earlier in the day, discussing Qatar’s future as the central mediator on ending the war in Gaza. Step back: The strike in Doha was a gamble for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that has largely failed, AP’s Melanie Lidman writes from Jerusalem. Hamas claims its leaders survived, and his reputation with several global leaders suffered another setback. But Israel’s military specifically strategized the secret strike to move as quickly as possible and minimize fallout from the U.S., using long range missiles to avoid Arab airspace and waiting to notify the Trump administration until it was too late to stop it, WSJ’s Shelby Holliday and colleagues scooped. The latest on Gaza: Airstrikes last night in Gaza City killed at least 32 people, as Israel’s ground offensive into central Gaza plunges forward and Palestinians have been pushed to evacuate, per AP. The U.N. General Assembly also voted overwhelmingly yesterday in support of a two state solution, AP’s Edith Lederer reports. 2. 2026 WATCH: “Trump Wants to Boot Out Massie. Could This Senate Candidate Be the Answer?” by POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin: “High-level Republican officials are discussing an effort to nudge former state attorney general Daniel Cameron to drop his Senate bid and switch to challenge [Rep. Thomas] Massie in what may be the highest-profile House primary in the country next year. Cameron already lives in the district, previously won Trump’s support in his unsuccessful bid for governor two years ago and would have access to a near-bottomless supply of campaign funds provided by Trump’s allies. … ‘I’m staying in the Senate race,’ Cameron told me. ‘I’m still leading in all the polling and will continue to do so.’” 3. TRUMP'S ECONOMY: “Trump is selling a strong economy. Voters aren’t buying it,” by POLITICO’s Megan Messerly: “Trump this week insisted Americans are experiencing the “best economy we’ve ever had.” Privately, White House officials acknowledge people just aren’t feeling it. … Trumpeting positive economic statistics in the face of sagging sentiment is a political trap that has ensnared many administrations … Republicans could face a similar problem as they head into what is expected to be a difficult fight for control of the House.” To wit: GOP claims that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, combined with his tariff and immigration policies, will “unleash economic growth” don’t hold up with the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s latest numbers, POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes writes. The CBO said the policies won’t supersize growth before 2028, and the level of real GDP will grow just .1 percent as his immigration and tariff moves cool the economy. Despite economic uncertainty on inflation and consumer sentiment, stocks have continued to climb and hit records as expectations grow for the Federal to cut interest rates, WaPo’s Aaron Gregg reports. 4. FED UP: “Fed Governor Cook declared her Atlanta property as ‘vacation home,’ documents show,” by Reuters’ Chris Prentice and Marisa Taylor: “A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a ‘vacation home’ … The document, dated May 28, 2021, was issued to Cook by her credit union in the weeks before she completed the purchase and shows that she had told the lender that the Atlanta property wouldn’t be her primary residence.” 5. THE CRIME CRACKDOWN: Trump’s next phase of his push into major cities now relies on Republican governors, and the move to launch National Guard troops into Memphis is one Tennessee Republicans say will help them message that Democrats are against fighting crime, POLITICO’s Liz Crampton and colleagues write. It’s also a new course for the White House, who opted for Memphis rather than going straight to Chicago as advisers warned Trump that not having the state’s approval could create legal headaches, CNN’s Alayna Treene and Hannah Rabinowitz report. But Memphis is just the start, as the Trump administration has drafted plans to bring 1,000 troops to Louisiana focused on its “urban centers,” according to a Pentagon memo scooped by WaPo’s Alex Horton and Tara Copp. “The Pentagon’s plan, which has not been previously reported, calls for the Louisiana mobilization to last until Sept. 30, 2026 — far longer than the president’s timeline, if an announcement is imminent. The materials reviewed by The Washington Post do not identify a start date.” Related read: “CEO whose comments sparked Trump’s Memphis action also pitched him on a big rail merger,” by POLITICO’s Chris Marquette 6. REDISTRICTING RODEO: The Missouri Senate advanced the state’s new congressional map yesterday, which could set the GOP up to grab an additional House seat in the state next year, POLITICO’s Andrew Howard writes. The new map carves up Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s (D-Mo.) district in Kansas City to flip it red. Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe backed the effort and is expected to sign the new map into law quickly — making Missouri the second red state to cement a redistricting plan favoring Republicans. A lawsuit challenging the map has already been filed, and there’s now a race by Democrats to launch a referendum that could potentially stall the maps, the Missouri Independent’s Jason Hancock reports. 7. IMMIGRATION FILES: An ICE officer fatally shot a Chicago man yesterday during an attempted arrest, WaPo’s Arelis Hernández and Marianne LeVine report. Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez was an undocumented immigrant who resisted arrest and “dragged a significant distance” the ICE officer who ultimately fired and killed him. The officer sustained multiple injuries, and is now in stable condition. … A federal judge is weighing options to protect a group of Gambian and Nigerian citizens that the U.S. deported to Ghana last week, calling the Trump administration’s actions “disingenuous” as the immigrants risk torture and persecution after reaching Ghana, POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein write. 8. CLIMATE FILES: The Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday they’ll stop requiring thousands of polluting facilities to report the amount of greenhouse gases that they emit, NYT’s Maxine Joselow reports. The proposal would end data collection for thousands of coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other major polluters — which experts warn could beat back efforts to fight climate change. … The Trump administration asked a federal court to void approval on the $6 billion wind project planned in Maryland, per Bloomberg’s Mark Chediak. 9. CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: “California lawmakers pass landmark bill that will test Gavin Newsom on AI,” by POLITICO’s Chase DiFeliciantonio: “Gavin Newsom will have to decide for the second year in a row whether to sign landmark AI safety legislation that could test the ambitious California governor’s ties with the state’s deep-pocketed tech industry. The bill, which cleared a final vote in the state Legislature in the early hours of Saturday morning, would require AI companies to disclose their safety testing regimes, and certify they are following them … That poses a challenge for Newsom, who must weigh the potential blowback from tech companies against voters’ concerns about the risks of AI. ”CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 13 funnies
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