The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Kanye Guest

In an impromptu monologue in the Oval Office, rapper Kanye West, who was invited to meet with President Donald Trump, said that the president “is on his hero’s journey right now.”

By Olivia Paschal and Madeleine Carlisle

Rapper Kanye West smiles as he listens to a question from a reporter during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House with President Donald Trump. (Evan Vucci / AP)

October 11, 2018

Written by Madeleine Carlisle (@maddiecarlisle2) and Olivia Paschal (@oliviacpaschal)

Today in 5 Lines

At least five people were killed as a result of Hurricane Michael, officials said. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm, which has weakened to a tropical storm.
In an impromptu monologue in the Oval Office, rapper Kanye West, who was invited to meet with President Donald Trump, said that the president “is on his hero’s journey right now.” Trump complimented West, adding that he “could very well be” a future presidential candidate.
The Washington state Supreme Court ruled the state’s death penalty unconstitutional, saying that it “is invalid because it is imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner.”
Facebook removed more than 800 accounts that were spamming users with politically-oriented content that violated the company’s policies.
Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson reportedly donated tens of millions of dollars to two super PACs in hopes of helping Republicans maintain their majority in the House of Representatives.

Today on The Atlantic

Their Religion Is Politics: A new poll by The Atlantic and the Public Religion Research Institute found that religiously unaffiliated voters seem most excited about supporting causes, and going to rallies, among other activities. (Emma Green)
‘The Structural Barriers Have Never Been Higher’: Black civic engagement has dropped off substantially in the last year, according to a new poll by The Atlantic and the Public Religion Research Institute. What happened? (Vann R. Newkirk II)
A District Divided: Washington’s Eighth Congressional District encompasses rural and urban, conservative and liberal parts of the state. That’s made for one very distinctive House race. (Ronald Brownstein)
Policing Big Tech: Virginia Senator Mark Warner is determined to police big tech companies, even if the rest of Congress isn’t. (Franklin Foer)
Tuition-Free in the Age of Student Debt: No student has been charged tuition at Berea College, in Kentucky, since 1892. Can other schools replicate the model ? (Adam Harris)

Snapshot

Rescue personnel search amidst debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida. (Gerald Herbert / AP)

What We’re Reading

The Opioid Problem Crosses the Border: The United States deports thousands of opioid addicts to Mexico every year—and now, Tijuana is seeing a spike in Americans crossing the border to get their heroin fix. (John Stanton, BuzzFeed News)

Unprotected: An American charity, More Than Me, claimed to be protecting young Liberian girls from sexual exploitation. But its co-founder was sexually assaulting many of them all along. (Finlay Young, ProPublica)

A Lesson from History: Justice Brett Kavanaugh should take a cue from Justice Hugo Black, whose decisions on the bench led most Americans to forget he had once been a member of the Ku Klux Klan, writes Linda Greenhouse. (The New York Times)

So, About Economic Anxiety: Even though the economy looks good on paper, many working-class Americans are still experiencing economic distress. And they’re blaming President Donald Trump. (Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine)