Presented by Novo Nordisk — 🎤 Trump's back on the campaign trail{beacon} 12:30 REPORT It’s Wednesday. Writer Abby Olcese posted that she sat next to an Abraham Lincoln impersonator at an airport bar. “He's watching MSNBC reporting on [the] assassination attempt. This is easily the most surreal thing I've ever witnessed,” she posted. 📸 Yes, of course there’s a photo. OK, now onto the news today: The Fed is expected to cut interest rates this afternoon.Harris is speaking at a Hispanic conference, and Trump is back on the trail after Sunday’s incident. There’s a new photo of the OceanGate Titan submersible’s wreckage on the ocean floor. You can see a surprising amount of detail. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to [email protected]. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.   📉 Happening Today Let’s knock those interest rates down a bit:The Federal Reserve at 2 p.m. is poised to announce its first interest rate cut since 2020. How much will the rates be cut?: That’s TBD. Some think it will be a typical quarter-point cut. Others think it could be a more aggressive half-point interest rate cut. (CNN) 💻 Watch the 2 p.m. announcement Five ways the cut will affect consumers:Mortgage rates will come down. Auto loan rates should also decrease.It will be less lucrative to save money.Employment conditions could improve down the line.Low interest rates could support a new fiscal environment.Read Tobias Burns’s explainer  The politics of lowering interest rates: “Some Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), have pushed for aggressive rate cuts, while former President Trump has accused [Fed Chair Jerome] Powell — the longtime Republican he appointed in 2017 — of potentially cutting rates to help Democrats in the 2024 election.” Read more: ‘Fed rate cut on collision course with 2024 election politics’ ➤  MORE NEWS TODAY: Passport renewal changes: U.S. passport renewals can be done fully online, the State Department announced today.  Biden’s travel schedule: President Biden will travel to Angola and Germany in mid-October during the final stretch of the campaign, a source told The Hill’s Amie Parnes. More explosions in Lebanon: At least nine people were killed in another wave of explosions across Lebanon.🚌 On The Campaign Trail  Kamala’s strategy — keep it vague:  The Hill’s Alex Gangitano writes that Vice President Harris’s strategy to win over centrist voters is to avoid getting into the nitty-gritty of her policy positions.  How so? Here are some examples: “While the vice president has outlined a tax plan and has proposals to lower housing costs and to combat price gouging, she hasn’t gone into detail on plans to fix the immigration system, fight climate change, curb gun violence and expand access to health care.” Read her full analysis: ‘Harris avoids getting too detailed as she battles with Trump’Trump is back after a brief hiatus:Former President Trump is back on the campaign trail following a second apparent assassination attempt in just over two months. Trump sat down with Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) for a town hall event in Michigan. Here are some highlights: ⛳ “Only consequential presidents get shot at,” Trump said of the assassination attempt. 🚗 “If I don’t win, you will have no auto industry within two to three years. It will all be gone,” Trump claimed.  💌 “[Biden] was so nice to me yesterday. In one way I sort of wish the call wasn’t made, because I do feel a little — he’s so nice. … Same with Kamala today. She could not have been nicer,” Trump said about his calls with Biden and Harris after the second apparent assassination attempt.  🗣️ “The fake news likes to say, ‘Oh, he was rambling.’ No, no — that’s not rambling. That’s genius,” Trump said of his own comments, responding to Harris’s line of attack that his remarks are filled with riffs and rambling.  More from Trump’s Tuesday town hall event ➤  FWIW, REPUBLICANS SEE SUNDAY AS A BOOST TO TRUMP:The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that Republican lawmakers think the second assassination attempt could give Trump a much-needed boost.  How?: It energizes Republicans and puts Democrats on defense over their comments about Trump being a threat to democracy. Read Bolton’s full reporting🤝 A lighter read You, too, can be friends with a Republican or a Democrat: When Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, liked an Instagram post from former President Trump, it set off a firestorm about her political views (she later unliked the post amid the backlash). Brittany Mahomes had been hanging out with Taylor Swift when Swift began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and Swift vocally supports Vice President Harris’s campaign. Politics has become so toxic that it set off the question: Can Republicans and Democrats be friends?  Well, The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Judy Kurtz spoke with members of Congress to find some of the friendships of members with differing political views. Here are some of my favorite tidbits: Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) rattled off at least of at least a half dozen Democratic friends in Congress. “Maxine Waters gives me maximum high-fives,” he said. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said he’s buddies with Burchett: “I think Tim is the funniest Republican and he thinks he’s the funniest Republican too, so we definitely have something in common. But what I really love about him is that he’s a genuinely kind person.” Raskin said when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) became a grandmother, he and his wife gifted the baby with a onesie that read, “I may take a lot of naps, but I’m still woke.”  Read the whole piece — there are more funny anecdotes like this. 🐝 Internet Buzz  🍔 Celebrate: Today is National Cheeseburger Day!  🦞 A new holiday on the calendar!: On Monday, the Senate unanimously voted to designate Sept. 25, 2024, as “National Lobster Day!” 🌊 This is chilling to see: The U.S. Coast Guard released a photo of the wreckage of the OceanGate’s Titan submersible , which imploded in June 2023, on the ocean floor. (CNN)  🗳️ Keep an eye out for Obama on TikTok: Former President Obama is appearing in TikTok influencers’ videos encouraging Americans to register to vote. Oh, and according to a new Pew analysis, a growing number of U.S. adults regularly get their news from TikTok. 📆 On The Agenda  The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington. (all times Eastern)  12:15 p.m.: Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 47th Annual Leadership Conference. 💻 Livestream 1 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 1:30 p.m.: First House votes. Last votes are expected at 5:40 p.m. 📆 Today’s agenda This afternoon: A Senate judicial confirmation vote is expected. 📆 Today’s agenda 3 p.m.: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) campaigns in Raleigh, N.C. 💻 Livestream3:45 p.m.: Harris participates in a virtual campaign event. 5 p.m.: Biden hosts a reception in the East Room to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. 💻 Livestream 7 p.m.: Former President Trump campaigns in Uniondale, N.Y. 💻 Livestream👋 And Finally...   Because you made it this far, here’s a horse who could probably use a hobby … Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the 12:30 Report newsletter Subscribe