The Conversation -- October 10, 2024

More later.

Presidential Race

Damned if She Does, Damned if She Doesn't. Michael Bender of the New York Times: “... Vice President Kamala Harris blitzed the media this week in a series of interviews to speak to voters who say they still don’t know enough about her. One thing they learned: how she keeps answering the question she wants, not the one that was asked.... Her verbal acrobatics may be contributing to the impression that some voters have that they do not know her or her policy views very well. It has become a key weakness as she rushes to sway millions of undecided voters in the battleground states.” MB: Even though media outlets whined that Harris wasn't sitting for interviews, now that she's on this supposed “media blitz,” they're criticizing her responses -- which certainly was always their intent. Bender seems very unhappy that (a) a candidate for president is a politician, and (b) some questions require a potential president to offer pragmatic responses. For instance, Bender complains that Harris doesn't directly answer a question about Netanyahu; but in most cases, a U.S. president -- or vice-president, for that matter -- would be unwise to publicly knock a supposed ally. 

Oh, another Colbert segment I missed yesterday. Thanks to Patrick for the lead: ~~~

Colby Hall of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump is calling for an investigation into CBS News and its news magazine 60 Minutes for apparently editing Vice President Kamala Harris’s answers 'to make her look “more Presidential” or, at least, better.'... In a Wednesday morning post..., Trump alleged that the producers of 60 Minutes may be guilty of a 'major Campaign Finance Violation.' The alleged crime? Editing Harris’s answers for concision and time.... Trump is ... probably well aware that the same practice of editing for time occurs in nearly all the taped interviews he does for Fox News opinion hosts.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Brett Samuels of the Hill: During a briefing on Hurricane Milton, “President Biden on Wednesday blasted former President Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for spreading what he called 'irresponsible' and 'beyond ridiculous' falsehoods around severe weather bearing down on Florida and other states.... Biden specifically called out Trump for leading 'the onslaught of lies.' He said claims that property is being confiscated and that those impacted by the storm are only receiving $750 in assistance are not true. And he said claims the government is diverting disaster response funds to aid migrants, which Trump has amplified repeatedly, are not true. 'Now the claims are getting even more bizarre. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, is now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather. We’re controlling the weather,' Biden said. 'It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s got to stop. Moments like this, there are no red or blue states.'” (Also linked yesterday.)

Brett Samuels of the Hill: “Former President Trump on Wednesday made clear there would be no second debate between him and Vice President Harris in the closing weeks of the campaign, seemingly shutting the door for good on the prospect as media outlets made final proposals.... In explaining his decision, Trump repeated his claim that he had won his debate on Sept. 10 with Harris, though polling and criticism from some Republicans indicated that was not the case.... Trump’s post on Truth Social [declaring 'there will be no rematch!'] came after CNN told candidates they had until Thursday to accept an invitation for an Oct. 23 debate. Harris has already accepted the invitation.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump is absolutely right to turn down these media invitations. First of all, he's a lamebrain with waning cognitive abilities, so even a person as vain as he knows he isn't likely to beat a former prosecutor. Second, the media has not been especially nice to its favorite star lately: Look what happened just this week on Fox "News" & on a supposedly friendly podcast: ~~~

~~~ This Moment in History. Yes, Fox's Laura Ingraham fact-checked Donald Trump on-air. Watch the top of the video. I'd like to know why -- because certainly somebody on the top floor told her not to let him get away with lies about the hurricane response. And did they warn Trump? ~~~

~~~ Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: “Donald Trump made comedian and podcast host Andrew Schulz laugh so hard he almost fell off his couch — by claiming 'I’m basically a truthful person.'” Includes video.

On Trump's Chats with Putin

I honestly didn’t know that Bob Woodward was still alive until you just asked me that question. And that’s — what little I know about Bob Woodward is that he is — I’m going to use I’m going to use a word here. He is a hack. The guy is a hack. So have I talked to Donald Trump about his calls with Vladimir Putin? No. I’ve never had that conversation with Donald Trump in my life.... But if Donald Trump — even if it’s true, look, is there something wrong with speaking to world leaders? No. Is there anything wrong with engaging in diplomacy? Kamala Harris’s approach has been to hide in a basement, hide from the American people and hide from world leaders. And you know what that’s gotten us? We are on the verge of World War III. It’s a disgrace and it’s a complete failure of a foreign policy. -- JD Vance, responding to reporters' questions, Tuesday

This would seem to be a violation of the Logan Act. Exactly what Trump falsely accused John Kerry of. Another apparent Trump crime. -- Susan Rice, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

We only have one president at a time, JayDee, you ignorant sofa-slut. The Logan Act, passed in 1799, was designed to prevent unauthorized "diplomacy" that could undermine the current administration. Kerry did not violate the act, because he was in contact with the U.S. State Department throughout any discussions with foreign agents he may have had. -- Marie (Logan Act background via the Hill) ~~~

~~~ Ivana Sarac of Axios: "The Kremlin on Wednesday confirmed a report that former President Trump sent Russian President Vladimir Putin COVID-19 testing equipment during the height of the pandemic.... The Trump campaign categorically denied new revelations in journalist Bob Woodward's book 'War,' which renewed scrutiny of the relationship between Putin and the Republican presidential nominee." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: the "categorical denial," courtesy of Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, went like this: "None of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.... Woodward is an angry, little man and is clearly upset because President Trump is successfully suing him because of the unauthorized publishing of recordings he made previously." (Also linked yesterday.)

Hannah Knowles & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: Speaking of the small Pennsylvania town of Charlesroi, Donald Trump said at a recent rally, “'The town is virtually bankrupt.' (It wasn’t.) 'This flood of illegal aliens is also bringing massive crime,' he said. (They weren’t, and they have at least temporary authorization to live in the United States, town and factory officials said.) 'Char-le-roi, what a beautiful name. But it’s not so beautiful now.' The Republican presidential nominee had sketched a misleading caricature. But he also tapped into real tensions and a powerful anger in Charleroi and far beyond — stemming from a widespread conviction that America did too much for newcomers and not enough for citizens.... Interviews with three dozen voters show his pitch is appealing to many in the town and surrounding Washington County, Pa.... It has also angered some residents and inflamed an ugly discourse scattered with baseless claims about illegal voting and a 'great replacement' of native-born Americans.”

Bringing Back Eugenics. Michael Gold of the New York Times: “For decades..., Mr. Trump has been publicly obsessed with bloodlines and his stated belief that genetics are the best predictor of a person’s success. He has repeatedly commented on what he described as his, his family’s and his supporters’ good genes, and on others’ bad genes.... Mr. Trump’s remarks [Monday] about migrants’ having 'bad genes' brought a flurry of headlines from news outlets, and then condemnation from Democrats.His remarks on Monday in some ways echoed his repeated assertion last year that undocumented immigrants were 'poisoning the blood of our country,' a phrase criticized by many for evoking the ideology of eugenics promulgated by Nazis in Germany and white supremacists in the United States.... Mr. Trump has defended his use of that phrase by saying he was 'not a student of Hitler,' even as a number of news articles, biographers and books about his presidency have documented his long interest in Hitler.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If Michael Bender's whining about Kamala Harris's refusal to directly answer some questions aggravated you, maybe the fact that Michael Gold, in an article that appeared on the Times' online main page, finally let on that Trump is a Nazi kinda guy.

How "exceptional" is a country of immigrants where a lying lardbucket may be able to win election to the presidency based on false, racist claims about immigrants?

Richard Lardner & Dake Kang of the AP: “Thousands of copies of Donald Trump’s 'God Bless the USA' Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices — China. Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show a printing company in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou shipped close to 120,000 of the Bibles to the United States between early February and late March. The estimated value of the three separate shipments was $342,000, or less than $3 per Bible, according to databases that use customs data to track exports and imports. The minimum price for the Trump-backed Bible is $59.99, putting the potential sales revenue at about $7 million. The Trump Bible’s connection to China, which has not been previously reported, reveals a deep divide between the former president’s harsh anti-China rhetoric and his rush to cash in while campaigning.” (Also linked yesterday.)

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Florida. Ben Brasch of the Washington Post: “Florida’s health department threatened criminal charges for television stations that run a political ad calling for the repeal of the state’s six-week abortion ban, one of the nation’s strictest. At least two stations [-- WCJB in Gainesville and WFLA in Tampa --] received cease-and-desist letters Thursday written by John Wilson, general counsel from the Florida Department of Health.... He ordered the stations to remove the ads within 24 hours or open themselves up to a second-degree misdemeanor charge, which in Florida carries a sentence of imprisonment up to 60 days and a fine up to $500.... The ads were still running as of Wednesday, according to Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group that purchased the ad time. The organization said they have ads running on more than 50 stations, most of which have received the cease-and-desist letter.... 'The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment. Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech,' [FCC Chair Jessica] Rosenworcel wrote in a statement.”

Georgia Election Board Plans Election Interference. Nick Valencia & Jason Morris of CNN: “The Donald Trump-allied Georgia State Election Board is pushing to install people who deny the result of the 2020 presidential election as part of a monitoring team in Fulton County, the biggest Democratic-leaning county in the state and one that was consequential for Joe Biden’s victory four years ago. The board has no legal authority to install its own recommended monitors, but that did not stop the GOP majority from voting on Tuesday to repeat its effort to include its own suggested monitoring team in Fulton County. The move, coming less than 30 days before Election Day, is the latest example of what critics say is the board acting in a way that may create chaos next month.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

New York. William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: “As federal prosecutors scrutinize Mayor Eric Adams and his top aides, the Manhattan district attorney’s office has opened yet another corruption investigation into City Hall, this one involving the city’s leasing of commercial properties, people with knowledge of the matter said. As part of the inquiry, investigators have seized the phones of at least five people — including Mr. Adams’s chief adviser, a top New York City real estate official and a broker involved in city leases, the people said. The investigation has focused at least in part on possible bribery, money laundering and other crimes, one of the people said.”

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

David Sanger & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: “For the first time in two months, President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday in a phone conversation that focused on Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack. When the meeting ended, American officials said nothing about Israel’s plans, or whether Mr. Netanyahu indicated he would heed Mr. Biden’s warnings not to hit nuclear or energy sites, which the White House fears could lead to an escalating cycle of Iranian missile strikes and Israeli responses. Instead, a terse account of the conversation issued by the White House hours later said Mr. Biden 'condemned unequivocally Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on Oct. 1,' but made no reference to discussions on how to respond — which was the purpose of the call.” ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the White House readout.