The Note: Surrogates Spin NYT Tax Story as Proof of Trump's 'Genius'

— -- NOTABLES

--RUDY GIULIANI SAYS TRUMP’S CLAIM OF $916 MILLION LOSS SHOWS HE’S A ‘GENIUS’:In the wake of a New York Times report revealing that Donald Trump claimed a $916 million dollar loss in 1995 according to leaked tax forms, surrogate for the GOP presidential nominee Rudy Giuliani said, “he's a genius.” ABC’s ALI DUKAKIS writes that Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, said Trump took advantage of tax laws as, he said, a good businessman should. “He would have been a fool not to take advantage” of the laws, he told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on "This Week” on Sunday. http://abcn.ws/2dBksYH

--BACKSTORY: DONALD TRUMP TAX RETURNS REPORTEDLY SHOW $916 MILLION LOSS IN 1995: Donald Trump's income tax returns from 1995 reportedly show he declared a $916 million loss, according to the New York Times, which said it received three pages from Trump's filings that year. ABC’s DEAN SCHABNER writes. The Times posted three pages it said were from Trump's New York, New Jersey and Connecticut state income tax filings from 1995, all of which declared a loss of $915,729,293. The documents came to the newspaper by mail, with a New York City postmark, the Times reported. http://abcn.ws/2cKevm1

--BY THE NUMBERS: NEW POLL SHOWS AMERICANS THINK CLINTON BEAT TRUMP AT FIRST DEBATE:Americans see Hillary Clinton as the winner of the first presidential debate by a near-record margin in ABC News/Washington Post post-debate polls, with nearly half saying Donald Trump got his facts wrong and one in three saying he outright lied. His unpopularity grew slightly. While views of both candidates remain broadly negative, 64 percent of Americans now express an unfavorable opinion of Trump overall, up 5 points from its pre-debate level. Fifty-three percent see Clinton unfavorably, not a significant change. ABC’s GARY LANGER has more: http://abcn.ws/2dk4OhZ

-- THIS MORNING on ‘THIS WEEK’: After the blockbuster first presidential debate, Trump campaign adviser and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders come to “This Week.” And the Powerhouse Roundtable debates the week in politics, with ABC News chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, ABC News’ Cokie Roberts, Republican strategist and CNBC contributor Sara Fagen, Bloomberg Politics managing editor John Heilemann, and host and managing editor of TV One’s “News One Now” Roland Martin.

--SANDERS SAYS CLINTON COMMENTS IN LEAKED AUDIO ‘ABSOLUTELY CORRECT’: Bernie Sanders said Hillary Clinton was “absolutely correct when she said many of his supporters were living in their parents’ and struggling to find jobs, ABC’S MARYALICE PARKS writes. “During the campaign we had our differences,” The interview on ABC with George Stephanopoulos was Sanders’ first response to the audio that was trending on social media over the weekend, although some of his staff had taken to Twitter to defend Clinton. http://abcn.ws/2dvvQ6x

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

ALEC BALDWIN MAKES HIS 'DONALD TRUMP' Debut on 'SNL': Alec Baldwin made his debut impersonating Donald Trump -- orange spray-tan, wispy blonde hair, pouty lips and all -- during the 42nd season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" last night. Trump took to the "debate" stage, saying, "Good evening, America. I am going to be so good tonight. I am going to be so calm. I am going to be so presidential." ABC’s DAVID CAPLAN has more: http://abcn.ws/2dB89H4

--MORE THAN 40 PERCENT OF AMERICANS CANNOT NAME VP CANDIDATES:Ahead of the first and only vice presidential debate of the 2016 race, more than a quarter of Americans cannot name the vice presidential nominee of either major party. Asked to identify Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's running mates, 41 percent of respondents could not correctly name the GOP's vice presidential nominee and 46 percent were unsure of the name of the Democratic vice presidential nominee. ABC’s NICKI ROSSOLL has more: http://abcn.ws/2dJSxS0

WHO’S TWEETING?

@susannecraig: That time someone mailed me Donald Trump's tax returns https://t.co/ZiAlRaF6tP

@TheBradMielke: Rudy Giuliani's first words to @GStephanopoulos on Trump's tax liability: "he's a genius."

@rickklein: Bernie: "I'm not gonna tell people how to vote. Take a look at issue by issue." #ThisWeek

@jesshop23: As @timkaine left church today, he talked VP debate, saying he has to be himself. "I'm calm...things work out the way they are supposed to"