New York Times: “A body believed to be of the suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting that left five people seriously injured this month was found on Wednesday, the authorities said, ending a manhunt that stretched into a second week and set the local community on edge. The Kentucky State Police commissioner, Phillip Burnett Jr., said in a Wednesday night news conference that at approximately 3:30 p.m., two troopers and two civilians found an unidentified body in the brush behind the highway exit where the shooting occurred.... The police have identified the suspect of the shooting as Joseph A. Couch, 32. They said that on Sept. 7, Mr. Couch perched on a cliff overlooking Interstate 75 about eight miles north of London, Ky., and opened fire. One of the wounded was shot in the face, and another was shot in the chest. A dozen vehicles were riddled with gunfire.”
To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.
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New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~
~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”
New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”
Click on photo to enlarge.
~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI."
Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”
New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”
Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”
Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."
Kenneth Chang of the New York Times: "Two astronauts who have spent months aboard the International Space Station will have to stay there months longer after NASA decided on Saturday that they could not return on Boeing's troubled Starliner space vehicle. They will return instead on a SpaceX capsule next year. That decision finally brings clarity to the saga of the two NASA astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who docked at the space station as part of a test flight of the Boeing vehicle. It also adds to months of difficult problems experienced by Boeing, a dominant aerospace company that has faced embarrassing setbacks in its much larger civilian aviation and defense divisions this year. 'A test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine,' Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, said during a news conference, 'and so the decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety."
In Saturday's episode, Maureen Dowd of the New York Timesmocks Daffy Donald and his new sidekick Bobby Junior. (And of course she had to knock Kamala Harris a little bit, too, because equal opportunity.)
Michael Bender & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "Despite a carefully scripted week of campaign events aimed at counterprogramming the Democratic National Convention, [Donald] Trumpundercut much of his messaging with a series of off-the-cuff remarks, rants and blunders that threatened to stoke the kind of Republican anxiety he has spent much of the past month trying to tamp down. On Monday in Pennsylvania, he struggled to clarify a previous comment that he believed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which honors civilians, was 'much better' than the Medal of Honor given to military members. On Tuesday in Michigan, he claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris had won the Democratic nomination after a 'vicious, violent overthrow of a president' and called Chicago, which hosted the Democratic convention, 'a war zone that's worse than Afghanistan.' He openly rejected advice from allies to limit his personal attacks on Ms. Harris and other Democrats during a speech on Wednesday in North Carolina. He called the nation;s first Black vice president 'lazy' during a stop in Arizona on Thursday afternoon and, that night, rambled during a 10-minute phone call with Fox News. The anchors ultimately cut him off and ended the interview, but Mr. Trump picked up where he had left off by quickly phoning into Newsmax. And on Friday, Mr. Trump concluded his week by embracing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in exchange for his endorsement, a move with an uncertain impact on tilting the race in his favor."
Melinda Newman of Billboard: "Donald Trump ... played the Foo Fighters' 1997 anthem 'My Hero to welcome [Bobby Kennedy, Jr.,] to the stage at a rally Friday (Aug. 23) in Glendale, Arizona.... [but] 'Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it,' a spokesperson tells Billboard of the unauthorized usage. Furthermore, 'appropriate actions are being taken' against the campaign, the spokesperson continues, and any royalties received as a result of this usage will be donated to the Harris/Walz campaign."
Man Who Ushered in President* Trump Endorses Harris. Tara Suter of the Hill: "Former FBI Director James Comeyis backing Vice PresidentHarris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), in the 2024 presidential race, he said Friday morning. 'Kamala Harris made me feel like it's finally morning in America,' Comey wrote in a post on the social platform X.... ' Comey endorsed Biden during the 2020 Democratic primary. However, Biden's campaign pushed back against the endorsement. 'Yes, customer service? I just received a package that I very much did not order,' Andrew Bates, director of rapid response for Biden's campaign at the time, said when responding to Comey's endorsement. 'How can I return it, free of charge?'"
Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: "Anthony S. Fauciwas hospitalized with West Nile virus this month, according to a spokesperson for the nation's former top infectious-disease official.... Fauci, 83, was hospitalized for six days before he returned home.... West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne illness that can cause fever, body aches, diarrhea and rash, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are no vaccines or treatments for the virus."
~~~~~~~~~~
Presidential Race
Rick Porter of the Hollywood Reporter: "The closing of the Democratic National Convention drew a big audience Thursday -- topping both the final night of the party's gathering four years ago and that of the Republican convention in July.... Coverage of the Democrats' closing night averaged 26.2 million viewers across 15 broadcast and cable networks, according to Nielsen figures. That's about 820,000 more people than the 25.38 million who watched the final night of the Republican National Convention.... The DNC's four-day average also topped the July Republican convention in TV viewers by a 14 percent margin...."
Maureen Dowd of the New York TimescritiquesKamala Harris's nomination acceptance speech, calling it "a strong speech but not particularly lyrical." MB: This seems a fair generalization to me. Where I think Dowd --and many other critics of what Dowd dubs "Kamalot" -- err is in insisting Harris get specific about policy. That's bull. When you're trying to appeal to a broad swath of the electorate (Harris needs more than 50% of the vote), you want to speak vaguely enough to allow people with different views to think you're embracing their views. And almost no president can keep policy positions intact anyway, since Congress controls much of a president's agenda. So being nebulous on policy while appearing likeable, strong and competent is probably the way to go.
Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign is releasing a new television ad in battleground states with a message aimed at the middle class, in its first major move after the convention."
Trump to Wrestle Bear in Central Park. A Kook & a Crook Hook Up. Brittany Gibson of Politico: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in a court filing, endorsed ... Donald Trump, ahead of an announcement that will likely bring an end to his quixotic campaign just months before the November elections. Kennedy filed on Friday to officially have his name withdrawn from the Pennsylvania ballot 'as a result of today's endorsement of Donald Trump for the office of President of the United States,' according to a brief filed by Kennedy's campaign attorney. He also filed to withdraw from another swing state, Arizona, on Thursday evening.... The presidential election remains incredibly close, and if even a fraction of Kennedy's support moves to Trump, it could be decisive in swing states." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "Kennedy announced that he would suspend his campaign with a number of caveats.... He said he would stop campaigning in critical states and withdraw his name from their ballots, but also that he would remain an option in blue and red states to ensure he doesn't spoil the election. Kennedy blamed the two-party system and unfair media coverage when explaining his decision to a room of reporters and hardcore supporters gathered Friday. 'In an honest system, I believe I would have won the election,' he said....
"Trump welcomed Kennedy onstage at a Friday evening campaign rally in the Phoenix area and heaped praise on his former opponent, calling him a well respected candidate who raised important issues during his campaign. Trump pledged to appoint an independent commission on assassination attempts, release all documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy and create a panel to investigate increases in chronic health problems.... Members of his famous, extended family forcefully opposed his candidacy...." The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump has previously scoffed atBobby Junior, calling him "one of the most Liberal Lunatics ever to run for office" in a post in May. ~~~
~~~ Elizabeth Crisp of the Hill: "Democrats are rolling out a set of billboards describing former President Trump, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) as 'weird' ahead of a possible [an] endorsement of Trump by Kennedy on Friday. The billboards will be seen in Arizona near Trump's rally in Glendale..., and in Phoenix, where Kennedy is holding an event earlier in the day to address 'the present historical moment and his path forward.'"
Maggie Haberman & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump, who recently said he has 'no regrets' about appointing the Supreme Court supermajority that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights, declared on social media on Friday that his administration will be 'great' for women's 'reproductive rights.' Mr. Trump's use of the specific phrase 'reproductive rights' -- the language used by abortion-rights advocates -- appeared to be an effort ... to refashion himself ... as a political moderate on an issue that has the potential to be damaging to him in November.... On Thursday night..., Mr. Trump once again falsely claimed that 'everyone' wanted Roe 'terminated' and brought back to the states.... At the Democratic National Convention, the end of Roe -- and Mr. Trump's professed pride in appointing the justices who eliminated it -- was a central focus.... Some 22 states have implemented bans on abortion at various stages of pregnancy since the end of Roe in 2022." (Also linked yesterday.)
"Man of the People" JD Vance makes an awkward trip to a doughnut shop in Valdosta, Georgia. The staff don't want to be on camera, they don't want to chat with him and he doesn't know how to order doughnuts. There is some discussion of Regular Guy JayDee is yesterday's Comments. Thanks to RAS for the link, viadigby. ~~~
~~~ Here, BTW, are Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff and Tim & Gwen Walz visiting a restaurant in rural Pennsylvania. Each stops and chats with customers. The staff are smiling, the customers are glad to see them. BTW, Doug & Kamala, neither of whom has written a book about hillbillies, are as rich as JayDee, so it isn't that the high & mighty are unable to relate to ordinary people. Kamala & Doug have no problem. ~~~
Marc Levy of the AP: "Independent presidential candidate Cornel Westlost a legal challenge Friday in his bid to get on the ballot in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer, in a 15-page opinion, sided with the Secretary of State's office under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in rejecting West's candidacy paperwork. The Secretary of State's office said West's campaign lacked the required affidavits for 14 of West's 19 presidential electors. Jubelirer, a Republican, agreed with the Secretary of State's office that minor-party presidential electors are to be considered candidates for office who must file affidavits, even if major-party presidential electors are not."
Eileen Sullivan & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "The Secret Service has assigned five agents to administrative duties as a result of its investigation into the failures that led to the assassination attempt on ... Donald J. Trump on July 13, according to two people familiar with the situation. This means that they have been relieved of their operational duties, such as planning protective details for candidate rallies...."
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "Fox News did not air a second of the speeches from alienated GOP leaders and former Trump officials who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris at this week's Democratic National Convention. The DNC speakers included former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who spoke in prime-time before Harris' Thursday keynote; former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan; former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham; Olivia Troye, who served as a homeland security aide to former Vice President Mike Pence; and Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles. MSNBC and CNN treated those speeches as newsworthy, airing each of them in full, according to a Media Matters review of the networks' convention coverage. But Fox hid the content of all of those speeches from their viewers...."
Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "Speaking in his most closely watched speech of the year, Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, clearly signaled on Friday that the central bank was poised to cut interest rates in September. And while Mr. Powell stopped short of giving a clear hint at just how large that move might be, he forcefully underscored that the central bank stands prepared to adjust policy to protect the job market from weakening further and to keep the economy on a path for a soft landing." (Also linked yesterday.)
Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana ruled on Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency is barred from using the federal civil rights law to prevent Louisiana from granting permits for numerous polluting facilities in minority and low-income communities. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act allows the E.P.A. to investigate whether state programs that receive federal money are discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. But the judge's ruling effectively means that the federal government is limited to taking action against specific agency decisions that are intentionally discriminatory. The E.P.A. cannot, however, consider cumulative or 'disparate' environmental harms. That means the state cannot be held liable for actions like allowing several chemical plants, refineries and other industrial operations in minority communities." The AP's report is here.
Gisela Salomon & Valerie Gonzalez of the AP: "Sixteen Republican-led states are suing to end a federal program that could potentially give nearly half a million immigrants without legal status who are married to U.S. citizens a path to citizenship. The coalition filed suit Friday to halt the program launched by President Joe Biden in June, saying in court filings that the administration bypassed Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for 'blatant political purposes.' 'This action incentivizes illegal immigration and will irreparably harm the Plaintiff states,' the suit filed in federal court in Tyler, Texas, says. Under the policy, which started taking applications Monday, many spouses without legal status can apply for something called 'parole in place,' offering permission to stay in the U.S., apply for a green card and eventually get on a path to citizenship."
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Prosecutors in the federal case accusing ... Donald J. Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 election now appear unlikely to seek a broad public airing of their evidence in a courtroom before Election Day, according to two people familiar with the matter.... The prospect of a courtroom hearing this fall in which the prosecutors would present their evidence in something resembling a 'mini-trial' was one possible result of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling this summer that former presidents enjoy broad immunity for official actions they took in office.... While Judge [Tanya] Chutkan could in theory still order such a hearing to be held, [Jack] Smith's prosecution team is leaning against asking her for an expansive proceeding where witnesses would provide live testimony about the case, the people familiar with the matter said."
News Lede
New York Times: "Italian authorities said on Saturday that they had opened a manslaughter investigation into the sinking of the Bayesian luxury yacht, but that they had not yet zeroed in on any potential suspects. The sleek, $40 million sailing boat went down fast in a storm off Sicily's coast on Monday morning, killing Michael Lynch, a British tech billionaire; his teenage daughter, Hannah; four of his friends; and one member of the crew. The captain escaped on a lifeboat with 14 others. On Saturday, Ambrogio Cartosio, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said at a news conference that it was 'plausible' crimes were committed during the accident."
Trump to Wrestle Bear in Central Park. A Kook & a Crook Hook Up. Brittany Gibson of Politico: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in a court filing, endorsed ... Donald Trump, ahead of an announcement that will likely bring an end to his quixotic campaign just months before the November elections. Kennedy filed on Friday to officially have his name withdrawn from the Pennsylvania ballot 'as a result of today's endorsement of Donald Trump for the office of President of the United States,' according to a brief filed by Kennedy's campaign attorney. He also filed to withdraw from another swing state, Arizona, on Thursday evening.... The presidential election remains incredibly close, and if even a fraction of Kennedy's support moves to Trump, it could be decisive in swing states."
Maggie Haberman & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump, who recently said he has 'no regrets' about appointing the Supreme Court supermajority that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights, declared on social media on Friday that his administration will be 'great' for women's 'reproductive rights.' Mr. Trump's use of the specific phrase 'reproductive rights' -- the language used by abortion-rights advocates -- appeared to be an effort ... to refashion himself ... as a political moderate on an issue that has the potential to be damaging to him in November.... On Thursday night..., Mr. Trump once again falsely claimed that 'everyone' wanted Roe 'terminated' and brought back to the states.... At the Democratic National Convention, the end of Roe -- and Mr. Trump's professed pride in appointing the justices who eliminated it -- was a central focus.... Some 22 states have implemented bans on abortion at various stages of pregnancy since the end of Roe in 2022."
Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "Speaking in his most closely watched speech of the year, Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, clearly signaled on Friday that the central bank was poised to cut interest rates in September. And while Mr. Powell stopped short of giving a clear hint at just how large that move might be, he forcefully underscored that the central bank stands prepared to adjust policy to protect the job market from weakening further and to keep the economy on a path for a soft landing."
Stephen Colbert checks out Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention: ~~~
MEANWHILE, on the Sidelines. As Akhilleus points out in today's Comments, Republicans had a spy who sneaked into the "Democrat convention" to make a case for Trump. Alas, the spy -- a friend of Donald's -- came upon a 12-year-old, and things did not go well for Incognito Man from there: ~~~
Presidential Race
Toluse Olorunnipa & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "Vice President Kamala Harrisaccepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, using the most consequential speech of her political career to cast herself as an avatar of America's middle class and an avenue to usher the country away from the abrasive style of politics embraced by Republican nominee Donald Trump.... Harris delivered a withering critique of Trump while also making several appeals to bipartisanship and patriotism during her speech, combating efforts by Trump and his allies to brand her as radical or somehow foreign. As she spoke, a packed, jubilant crowd of supporters clapped and waved American flags. Many were wearing white, the color associated with the suffragist movement. More than 100,000 red, white and blue balloons dropped at the end of her speech." ~~~
~~~ Katie Rogers & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris used her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday to present herself as a pragmatic leader who could unite all Americans behind a 'new way forward,' painting ... Donald J. Trump as a dangerous and 'unserious man' whose election would alter the foundation of American democracy. With a steady voice and a straightforward gaze, Ms. Harris, a former prosecutor, presented the lengthiest and most serious case she has made against Mr. Trump as a presidential candidate. At each turn of the nearly 40-minute address, Ms. Harris warned that the former president's truculent behavior belied a serious and substantive threat to Americans, whether they are seeking access to reproductive health care, concerned about the safety and stability of diplomatic relationships or worried about the flow of immigrants across the nation"s southern border." ~~~
New York Times reporters live-update the final night of the Democratic National Convention. Here are some entries & partial entries: ~~~
Jazmine Ulloa: "Representative Veronica Escobar, a Biden ally who represents a Texas district that includes the border city of El Paso, is chairing the Democratic National Convention tonight."
Jennifer Medina: "Senator Alex Padilla of California, who took over [Kamala] Harris's Senate seat after she became vice president, delivered a brief speech and promised Harris would restore the sueño Americano -- the American dream."
Maggie Astor: "'I'm impressed with how large this A.I.-generated crowd looks tonight,' quips Representative Ted Lieu of California, mocking Trump's false claim that a photo of a packed Harris rally was fake."
Catie Edmondson: "Representative Joe Neguse of Colorado, 40, is seen as a rising star in the House Democratic caucus. His speech appeared to be aimed at younger voters, arguing that Harris will fight to make college more affordable, invoking his own daughter in explaining his support for her.... Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the top Democrat on the China Select Committee in the House, provides some of the first foreign policy remarks we've heard all week at the convention. China wants 'us to fight against ourselves,' Krishnamoorthi says."
Kellen Browning: "Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts got one of the biggest ovations I've seen this week as she took the stage. She appeared to tear up at the strength of her reception from the crowd."
Jonathan Weisman: "The current speaker, Representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, is running for the seat of the retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow, and it is one of the closest Senate races in the country." ~~~
~~~ Medina: "For days, Democrats have invoked reclaiming patriotism, but few have made it as explicit as Slotkin. 'I want you to proudly claim your patriotism. You are here because you love your country. Do not give an inch to pretenders who wrap themselves in the flag but sit in the face of freedom it represents.'"
Astor: "Representative Pat Ryan of New York is continuing the national-security theme that has dominated the night so far. He is a combat veteran and notes that his district includes West Point, which he attended. He notes that cadets are forbidden to lie, steal, cheat 'or tolerate those who do,' and says Trump 'has violated every word in that code -- a serial liar, cheater, thief who looked soldiers in the eye, then turned around and called fallen heroes "suckers" and "losers."'"
Maggie Haberman: The Rev. Al "Sharpton is talking about Trump's full-page newspaper ad calling for the death penalty for the group, five Black and Latino teenagers who had been arrested -- but not tried -- in connection with the brutal gang rape of a white female jogger in Central Park. Those teenagers' convictions were later set aside, and their confessions found to have been coerced. One of those young men, Yusef Salaam, is now a New York city council member. Trump continues to insist he was right.... Four of the five of the 'Central Park Five' are now onstage.... Huge cheers for Yusef Salaam as he introduces himself as a New York City councilman. 'Forty-five wanted us un-alive,' Salaam says of Trump. 'He wanted us dead.'... Hearing from these men takes on a new meaning as Trump continues to insist he himself is being unfairly treated by the judicial system."
Maya King: "The Central Park Five's endorsement of Harris is significant on several levels. It draws a contrast with Trump.... It also pushes back against an ongoing narrative about how Black men view Harris, who is a prosecutor and faced real criticisms for the number of Black men who were incarcerated while she was California's attorney general."
Haberman: "The convention program has moved on to two women affirming Harris's tenure as a prosecutor, fighting sexual assault perpetrators, among others. The 'prosecutor' frame gives Harris, running for a chief executive job as a woman and facing sexist perceptions of women in those roles, an air of authority and of strength, Democratic strategists say."
Weisman: "Maura Healey, the governor of Massachusetts, is the first of a few friends of Harris who grew close as the attorneys general of their states.... Deb Haaland's confirmation as the first Native American secretary of the Interior was one of the most dramatic appointments of the Biden term. She has led an agency that was once devoted to all but eradicating Native American culture, and she brought a quiet reverance to environmental conservation. It now falls to her to attest to Harris's commitment to that vision.... The program now turns to two of the youngest, most dynamic Democrats of color in Congress, both fighting uphill battles in red states. First, Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida, the first Gen Z member of Congress, then Representative Colin Allred, who is running to defeat Ted Cruz and take his Senate seat in Texas.... [Allred] has insisted his secret weapon is the contempt that Texans of all political stripes hold for Ted Cruz, his opponent.... Allred's real secret weapon in Texas may actually be football. A linebacker from Dallas, he played for Baylor, then after going undrafted he earned a roster spot for the Tennessee Titans, where he played four seasons from 2007 to 2010."
Weisman: "Craig Sicknick's brother, Brian, died of a stroke after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. To this day, conservatives backing Trump have said Sicknick's death had nothing to do with the attack."
Browning: "NBA star Stephen Curry just appeared in a prerecorded video message, days after his head coach, Steve Kerr, addressed the convention. 'I believe that Kamala as president could bring that unity back and continue to move our country forward,' he said."
Weisman: "The choice of the Chicks to sing the national anthem is fascinating. Conservatives had once shunned them, but have recently adopted their in-your-face anthem 'Not Ready to Make Nice' as an answer to Democratic appeals for bipartisanship and support for Harris. But the theme was written after the Chicks, then called the Dixie Chicks, were all but banished from country music stations and booed by country audiences for disparaging then-President George W. Bush during the Iraq War. They are making their politics known again tonight."
Medina: "We're getting a lesson from two little nieces about how to pronounce Kamala -- comma, then 'lah.'" ~~~
~~~ Haberman: "Donald Trump has made a repeated bit out of mispronouncing Harris's first name, a way of othering her."
Rebecca O'Brien: "Meena Harris, Ella Emhoff, and Helena Hudlin -- Kamala Harris's niece, step-daughter, and goddaughter, respectively -- have taken the stage."
Haberman: "It's clear what [D.L.] Hughley is here as: He is a convert to Harris, after being a skeptic. That is a message Harris needs to communicate to a lot of people, that she's an acceptable alternative to Trump."
Mitch Smith: "Chris Swanson, the sheriff of the Michigan county that includes Flint, drew national attention in 2020 for walking with protesters following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. He appeared this year in a campaign ad for President Biden that criticized Donald Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021."
King: "Representative Lucy McBath of Georgia rose to national prominence as a gun safety advocate after her son, Jordan, was shot and killed. She is a rising figure in Georgia politics...."
Edgar Sandoval: "ays after her daughter was killed at a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Kimberly Mata-Rubio told me that she was making a promise to never stop pushing for safer gun laws.... This appearance at the convention was her largest audience yet."
Haberman: "Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman who was shot in the head more than a decade ago, is speaking now, with her astronaut and senator husband, Mark Kelly, next to her."
Nick Corasaniti: "Pink is doing an acoustic version of 'What About Us,' a ballad that she has called a political protest song."
Weisman: "Senator Mark Kelly's appearance must feel bittersweet. He was a finalist to be Harris's running mate. His supporters argued that he could secure the pivotal swing state of Arizona, lend strength on the border issue and appeal to working-class voters as the son of New Jersey cops who went to war and became an astronaut. He didn't make it -- in part because he's not a scintillating speaker.... After Kelly leans on his résumé as a combat pilot and astronaut, Leon Panetta, the former C.I.A. director and defense secretary, is attesting to Harris's foreign policy credentials, then Representative Ruben Gallego, an Iraq war combat veteran running for Senate in Arizona, will have stories to tell of valor that Trump can't compete with."
Lisa Lerer: Gov. Gretchen "Whitmer edits one of her campaign slogans for this national audience: GSD -- Get 'Stuff' Done."
Shane Goldmacher: "Democrats are trying to flip the strength vs. weakness frame that Trump had used for months against Biden. [Former Rep. Adam] Kinzinger [R-Ill.] is explicit, twice calling Trump 'weak' in his speech. 'Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong,' he says."
Erica Green: "Maya Harris's remarks are largely a tribute to their mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, whom she described as having 'defied the odds, and defined herself."
King: "Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina is the last elected official scheduled to speak before Kamala Harris. His name was on the shortlist to be her vice-presidential pick before he removed himself from contention."
Lerer: "Harris is casting herself as a 'realistic, practical' leader with 'common sense.'"
Haberman: "In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,' Harris says, part of a theme of trying to make him smaller. But she stresses that the consequences of electing him are 'extremely serious.'... While Harris is invoking Project 2025, a series of policy initiatives written by a consortium of conservative groups aligned with Trump, she is doing what most Democrats haven't done: focused on Trump's own language and proposals, which are plenty norm-shattering and radical on their own.... The only part of Biden's record that Harris is explicitly linking herself with is the effort to forge a coalition against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It's the least controversial part of his record."
Ulloa: "Harris's calls for security and dignity for the people of Gaza drew one of the loudest responses of the night in the arena."
Jess Bidgood: "Since she has been running for President, Harris has presented herself as a 'joyful warrior.' But this is a sober speech, one that is focused broadly on how she would handle issues like the economy, abortion rights, border security and foreign policy as president."
Katie Glueck: "Harris is putting patriotism at the heart of her pitch. The crowd, waving American flags and quick to burst into chants of 'USA!', embraced it."
Oliver Darcy: "Bad news for Donald Trump: The Democratic National Convention is handily beating his Republican National Convention in the one area he cares about most: television ratings. After night one of the DNC bested night one of the RNC (an average of 20 million viewers to 18.1 million), night two saw the gap open up even wider. The Michelle and Barack Obama-powered evening averaged 20.8 million viewers across television, dwarfing the average of 14.8 million viewers who tuned into night two of Trump's coronation. The strong ratings are a reflection of the electric energy coursing through the Democratic Party after President Joe Biden stepped aside and passed the torch along to Vice President Kamala Harris. The last-minute handoff to Harris has rebooted the party, leading to viral memes, record fundraising, and now muscular television ratings."
Michael Grynbaum & Michael Gold of the New York Times: Donald Trumpcalled in to Fox "News" during Kamala Harris's acceptance speech, "and the former president proceeded to issue a meandering, stream-of-consciousness rebuttal.... The impromptu call-in -- which lasted for 10 minutes, until Fox News informed Mr. Trump that the network had run out of time -- came shortly after he had taken to his social media platform, Truth Social, to provide real-time commentary on Ms. Harris's speech. His posts there, capitalized in a haphazard manner, were less directed at her specific remarks than at broader complaints.... At times, he digressed. 'WHERE'S HUNTER?' Mr. Trump asked as Ms. Harris came onstage.... At several points during the call, a familiar beeping sound interrupted Mr. Trump's remarks. It appeared that the former president was accidentally pressing buttons on the keypad of his phone." ~~~
~~~ Marie: According to many reports, Trump doesn't drink, but this sure reads like a drunk dial-in.
On Wednesday night, the DNC played this devastating video, which speaks to Trump's actions and inaction on January 6, 2021: ~~~
~~~ S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trumpis hosting a fundraiser for domestic terrorists convicted of assaulting police officers, and some defendants still facing those charges, as part of his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt to remain in power. The event is to take place on Sept. 5 at his country club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and is being staged by The America Project, a pro-Trump nonprofit based in Florida that is calling the reception and dinner 'the J6 Awards Gala.'"
Isabella Ramirez of Politico: "... Donald Trump, in a wide-ranging and unfocused 'Fox and Friends' interview on Thursday morning, slammed Tim Walz as a 'total lightweight' after the Minnesota governor delivered his vice presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention [Wednesday] night. In the live phone interview, Trump attacked Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris while also distancing himself from Project 2025.... The hosts struggled to keep him on topic as Trump spoke for more than 30 minutes on issues including crime, the border, Russia-Ukraine, abortion, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- with one of his favorite subjects being bashing Chicago, the DNC host city.... At his speech on Wednesday, Walz leaned into his background as a coach and hit Trump on attempting to separate himself from Project 2025, telling the crowd, 'When someone takes the time to draw up a playbook, they're going to use it.' Trump told 'Fox and Friends' that Walz connecting him to Project 2025 was 'disgraceful' and throughout the interview, repeatedly said he had 'no idea' what it was." ~~~
~~~ Marie: If Trump has "no idea" what Project 2025 is, why is it "disgraceful" for Walz to connect him with it?
Fierce Cruelty Is a Feature of the Right-Wing Ecosystem. Julia Metraux of Mother Jones: After Gus Walz --Tim Walz's teenaged son who suffers from complex intellectual disabilities -- responded emotionally to Tim's DNC address, right-wing commentators mocked the young man.
Rebecca O'Brien & Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has filed paperwork to withdraw from the presidential race in Arizona, a spokesman for the Arizona secretary of state's office said on Thursday night. The move comes a day before Mr. Kennedy, an independent candidate, is set to give an address in Arizona about the future of his struggling campaign. He is expected to end his candidacy and possibly to endorse ... Donald. J. Trump following weeks of discussion between their camps, although people close to Mr. Kennedy say an endorsement is not yet certain. On Thursday Mr. Trump's campaign announced that the former president would have a 'special guest' at his rally in Glendale, Ariz., on Friday."
~~~~~~~~~~
Arizona. Supreme Suppress Votes in Battleground State. Charlie Savage & Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Arizona, at least for now, to toughen some voting requirements, saying that people registering to vote before the coming election must show proof of citizenship. The decision, issued in a terse, unsigned order, handed a partial victory to Republicans who supported a 2022 Arizona law imposing new restrictions on voting. But the court declined to allow Arizona to put into effect another part of that law, which could have prohibited tens of thousands of voters who are already registered from participating in the presidential election or casting any ballots by mail, unless they provided proof of citizenship.... There were signs that the court was divided over the issue, and that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh may have split their votes between two factions. The order ... said four justices had wanted to keep the state from enforcing both measures: Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson. It named three as wanting to let the state put both provisions into effect: Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch."
Arkansas. Daniel Wu of the Washington Post: "The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that abortion will not be on the ballot in November, upholding the state's rejection of a petition to bring an abortion access measure before voters because organizers had failed to submit the required paperwork on time. In a narrow 4-3 ruling, the court's majority sided with Secretary of State John Thurston (R), who in July rejected a petition submitted by Arkansans for Limited Government that carried over 100,000 signatures because the group had not submitted training certifications for paid canvassers it used."
As Stephen Colbert says, "This is what locker-room talk is supposed to sound like": ~~~
~~~ Matt Viser & Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "Minnesota Gov. Tim Walzformally accepted the Democratic vice-presidential nomination on Wednesday, in a night that was designed to introduce him to the country as a teacher and a football coach, a father and a husband, a former congressman and current governor who now could be the nation's No. 2.... He ticked through his biography: growing up in small-town Nebraska ('I had 24 kids in my high school class, and none of them went to Yale'), joining the Army National Guard, and finding an occupation ('I fell in love with teaching'). He mentioned his run for political office, and the fertility treatments he and his wife relied upon.... The third day of the Democratic National Convention featured reproductive rights as a top issue..., and later in the evening included boisterous speeches from former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former president Bill Clinton and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) -- and a surprise appearance from Oprah Winfrey. They used GOP nominee and former president Donald Trump's age against him, and they spoke more pointedly of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. They fixed their attention on GOP vice-presidential nominee JD Vance."
The full transcript of Walz's acceptance speech, as delivered, via the New York Times, is here. Axios has an as-delivered transcript here.
New York Times reporters live-updated the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night. Here are some of their entries & partial entries: ~~~
Katie Glueck: "One month ago today, President Biden dropped out of the presidential race, setting off a stunning chapter in American politics that is still being written."
Maggie Astor: "The proceedings are underway. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey is speaking, starting his remarks with a tribute to Representative Bill Pascrell of New Jersey, who died today.... Mini Timmaraju, the president of the advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All -- previously NARAL -- notes the recent news that Arizona and Montana will have abortion-rights referendums on ballots this November."
Jazmine Ulloa: "'Here is a fact: When Latinos vote, Democrats win -- now everyone believes it so I brought receipts,' María Teresa Kumar, founding president and chief executive of Voto Latino, shouts as she takes the stage, pointing to wins in western states like Nevada and Colorado since 2008.... Representative Tom Suozzi of New York has offered one of the most sweeping speeches on immigration we have heard at the D.N.C., where the issue has been almost invisible. He acknowledged the contributions of immigrants, as well as the challenges that come with building an inclusive nation that welcomes people from all walks of life and ethnicities."
Astor: "Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, who gave an energetic speech focused in large part on economic policies, has the potential to join a small group of Black woman who have served in the Senate."
Nicholas Fandos: "Representative Grace Meng of New York got bumped from Monday night's speaking slate when Democrats ran too far behind schedule. As one of the House's top Asian American Democrats, Meng has been an influential voice pushing her party to court fast-growing immigrant groups. But she focused her brief remarks on abortion rights...."
Maya King: "Remarks by Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida focused on the themes Democrats have underlined this week to contrast their record with Republicans: reproductive rights and the Project 2025 policy plan proposed by Trump allies. After criticizing changes to Florida's school curriculum that call for middle schoolers to be instructed on the so-called benefits of enslavement, she said it was an example of the Project 2025 proposal in action."
Mitch Smith: "The Minneota attorney general, Keith Ellison, said Gov. Tim Walz had shared his horror after seeing footage of a Minneapolis police officer murdering George Floyd in 2020. Walz appointed Ellison to lead the prosecution of the officer who killed Floyd." ~~~
~~~ Chris Cameron: Ellison's "son, Jeremiah Ellison, is a member of the Minneapolis City Council and an uncommitted delegate for Minnesota. 'There are people watching tonight,' Ellison said. 'And maybe even here tonight who are not sure yet about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. If you want to know where they stand on some of the most urgent issues facing our country and the world, let me assure you: Kamala and Tim hear you. They listen. They care.'"
Nick Corasaniti: "Dana Nessel, the attorney general of Michigan, offered an extensive endorsement of Harris, referring to their battles to protect abortion rights in their respective states, and issued a threat to the Supreme Court: 'You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand.'"
Nicholas Nehamas: "Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg -- the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American hostage in Hamas captivity -- received a sustained standing ovation as they took the stage. 'Bring them home,' the crowd chanted.... 'In a competition of pain, there are no winners,' Polin says about the loss of life among both Israelis and Palestinians. He calls for the release of the remaining hostages and an end to the 'suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza.'"
Ulloa: "Representative Veronica Escobar of Texas, speaking now, has been a close ally of President Biden's and is expected to chair the convention on Thursday.... As a congresswoman from a border state, she has also been a key voice on immigration, perhaps Democrats' most significant political vulnerability as they head into November.... Representative Pete Aguilar, a Democrat from California..., argues only Harris and Walz will fight for the American dream -- it's a powerful message for Latinos...."
Catie Edmondson: "Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut is telling the story of how an improbable deal on a sweeping immigration reform bill, which would have effectively mandated that the border be shut down to migrants altogether when numbers reach unmanageable levels, was scuttled earlier this year after Trump demanded the bipartisan effort be killed. 'It would have had unanimous support if it weren't for Donald Trump,' Murphy says."
Jonathan Weisman: "Javier Salazar, the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas [-- San Antonio --], just finished attesting to his faith in Kamala Harris on the issue of the U.S.-Mexico border."
Ken Bensinger: "Carlos Eduardo Espina, an influencer who is speaking now..., [is] calling Donald Trump's policies on immigration 'downright un-American.' He cites Ronald Reagan to say that 'welcoming immigrants isn't a Democratic or Republican value, it's an American value.'"
Astor: Olivia Troye, a one-time adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, says, "'You aren't voting for a Democrat; you're voting for democracy.... You aren't betraying our party; you're standing up for our country.'"
Corasaniti: Geoff Duncan [R], the former lieutenant governor of Georgia, "received perhaps the loudest ovation I've heard so far tonight. His line directed at Republicans who don't vote for Trump -- 'You're not a Democrat. You're a patriot.' -- sent the arena into a frenzy."
Weisman: "A shocking, violent Jan. 6 video ended with the words 'If elected, he will never be held accountable.' The crowd broke into a chant of 'Lock him up.'"
King: "Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who led the congressional proceedings investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, tied the day's violence to the racial violence his father experienced as a Black man in the Deep South."
Edmondson: Aquilino Gonell, a Capitol police officer who was severely injured on January 6, said, "'I was assaulted with a pole attached to the American flag.... President Trump summoned our attackers, incited them. He betrayed us.'... Representative Andy Kim of New Jersey, who in the wee hours of Jan. 7 was captured in a photo kneeling alone in the Capitol Rotunda, picking up trash left behind by rioters who had stormed the building..., [says,] 'What I learned on Jan. 6 is that all of us are caretakers for our great republic.'"
Bensinger: "Olivia Julianna is the second social media influencer -- or content creator, as the D.N.C. is calling them -- to speak tonight.... A reproductive rights activist from Texas with a big social media following, she encourages those in Gen-Z to vote to make their voices heard, saying, 'If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.'"
Corasaniti: "Stevie Wonder called on the delegates to reject 'hate and division' to get to a 'higher ground,' a nod to one of his biggest hits, 'Higher Ground.' He then walked over to the keys for a performance of the song."
Astor: "Every night, the Democrats have sent at least one person out with an oversize replica of the Heritage Foundation's 'Project 2025' blueprint for a Republican presidential administration. Tonight, the comedian Kenan Thompson is taking a turn. 'You ever seen a document that can kill a small animal and end democracy at the same time?' he says. 'Here it is.'" ~~~
~~~ Corasaniti: "He likened Project 2025 to a lengthy 'terms and conditions' contract when downloading a new app...." [MB: It isn't easy to present a 900+ page in a way that will retain the attention of thousands of partygoers, but Democrats figured out how to do it. IMO, Thompson's bit -- in which he cited chapter and verse of the right-wing manifesto to a few individual Americans who would suffer from the consequences -- was quite funny.]
Jess Bidgood: "Mindy Kaling is onstage, where she jokes that she is the woman who 'courageously outed Kamala Harris as Indian' in an online cooking video." ~~~
~~~ Alyce McFadden: "Kaling described a cooking video she made in 2019 with Kamala Harris, which has been watched more than 6.5 million times.... She said, Harris 'made sure that my daughter heard how good of a cook I am. She was complimenting me every step of the way." [MB: You can watch the video here.]
Bidgood: "There is a big cheer in the United Center as [House Minority Leader Hakeem] Jeffries almost (but not quite!) quotes Taylor Swift. 'There is no reason for us to ever get back together,' he says of Donald Trump."
Maggie Haberman: "Bill Clinton takes the stage, basking in the applause in the hall."
Bidgood: "'Let's cut to the chase. I am too old to gild the lily. Two days ago, I turned 78,' Bill Clinton says -- before pointing out that he is still younger than Donald Trump. It's a big applause line in here."
Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, America has created about 51 million new jobs. I swear I checked this three times. Even I couldn't believe it. What's the score? Democrats 50, Republicans one. -- President Bill Clinton ~~~
~~~ Reid Epstein: "We can see the teleprompter from the press seats in the upper deck, and Bill Clinton does not appear to be sticking to the prepared remarks.... Clinton's extended riff that since the end of the Cold War, Democratic presidents have created 50 million new jobs while Republicans have created one million is a testament to just how many jobs were lost during the financial crisis that hit in the last year of George W. Bush's presidency and the pandemic that crushed the economy in Trump's last year."
Haberman: "If the delegates are upset with [Nancy] Pelosi's role in pushing [President] Biden to leave the race, they had a funny way of showing it: She was greeted by intense applause."
Weisman: "Anyone who watched the Herculean efforts of Nancy Pelosi to shepherd Biden's legislative achievements through Congress understands the humility involved in her giving the president credit for those laws."
Corasaniti: "Pelosi focused heavily on the Jan. 6 riot. Rioters that day sought to break into her office, threateningly shouting her name in the halls. The third night at the convention has focused heavily on Jan. 6, foreshadowing what will be common footage in attack ads this fall." [MB: Pelosi cited the national anthem in describing how Democrats saved the nation from Trump's insurrection & held the roll call certification early in the morning of January 7, giving "proof through the night that our flag was still there." The lyrics, as you know, come from a poem by Francis Scott Key, which he wrote after witnessing the British bomb Fort McHenry (in Baltimore) during the War of 1812. Pelosi's reference to an anthem commemorating the successful defense against a U.S. enemy puts Trump's treason in stark relief.]
Edmondson: "Lateefah Simon, who is speaking now, is the choice of the House Democratic leadership to replace Representative Barbara Lee, the veteran progressive lawmaker from the Bay Area."
Rogers: "Tony West, Kamala Harris's brother-in-law..., is also a key adviser to Harris."
Carl Hulse: "Catherine Cortez Masto, the Nevada senator now speaking, is a close ally of Harris from their time when both served as attorney general in their adjoining states."
Nehamas: "Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who was nearly picked by Vice President Kamala Harris to join her ticket, just belatedly took the stage."
Bidgood: "Amanda Gorman, the National Youth Poet Laureate, has begun speaking. She is set to deliver a new poem called 'The Sacred Scene.'"
Weisman: "A big Chicago roar for the city's own Oprah Winfrey." ~~~
~~~ Michael Grynbaum: "This surprise appearance by Winfrey was carefully kept under wraps by convention organizers (even as word began to leak out earlier this afternoon). For her rehearsal in the United Center, Winfrey wore a hat, sunglasses and a face mask, according to her friend Gayle King, who relayed the story on CBS. When she said hello to Nancy Pelosi, the congresswoman did not know who she was." ~~~
~~~ Bidgood: "Winfrey, one of the most famous women in America, made an explicit appeal to independent voters. [Winfrey said she was a registered independent.] This is an attempt to reach well beyond the Democrats who are gathered here, or who would show up at a Harris rally."
Bidgood: "Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland just stepped to the lectern. Moore, who was elected in 2022, is a devoted and energetic Harris campaign surrogate who is seen as a rising figure in his party."
Epstein: "Pete Buttigieg is introduced in the hall as 'former South Bend, Ind., mayor,' and not his current designation, the secretary of transportation."
Bidgood: "Wes Moore drew on his military service repeatedly during his speech -- he is an Army combat veteran who was deployed in Afghanistan. Now Pete Buttigieg has mentioned his deployment to Afghanistan. Both men are highlighting their military service at a time when Gov. Tim Walz, who is set to speak soon, has been attacked by Republicans over his own record of service in the National Guard."
Haberman: Sen. Amy "Klobuchar is extolling Walz's virtues, including his military service. This is a topic that the Trump team has spent weeks on, despite the fact that Walz is not at the top of the ticket." ~~~
~~~ Bidgood: "A hunter in a deer stand. A dad in plaid. Senator Amy Klobuchar's descriptions of Walz are a reminder of how Democrats are using him to try to offer an alternative to the hypermasculinity of Hulk Hogan and Dana White that was on display at the Republican convention."
Lisa Lerer: "Walz's football team just walked out to the high school fight song. They are now middle-aged men."
Corasaniti: "If there was any lingering doubt about the desire to promote Walz's rural roots, his walk-up song was 'Small Town' by John Mellancamp."
Haberman: "Walz is also underscoring why Harris felt confident in her choice. Shapiro's speech, with his Obama-esque affect, sounded very polished. Walz is folksy and compelling."
Rogers: "'I haven't given a lot of big speeches like this, but I have given a lot of pep talks,' Walz says..., throwing in multiple football references. 'It's our job to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling.'" ~~~
~~~ Weisman: "Walz adds a bit of realism to the joy, trying to tamp down overconfidence that sometimes feels as if it's running rampant in the United Center. 'It's the fourth quarter. We're down a field goal,' he said, 'but we're on offense.'"
⭐Boomerang! Michael Bender, in a post from the NYT liveblog: "... Donald J. Trump's campaign saw an opportunity on Wednesday to further question Gov. Tim Walz's military record. But the attack backfired when a campaign letter contained some of the same types of blunders that it accused the Democrat of making. The Trump campaign released a letter on Wednesday morning signed by 50 Republican members of Congress, all of whom have served in the military, attacking Mr. Walz ... as unfit for office because of misstatements he has made about his service record.... VoteVets, a veteran group that typically supports Democrats, quickly pointed out that more than half of the 50 Republican members of Congress who signed the letter as retired service members had not actually served long enough to qualify for that designation. Military rules require 20 years of service or a medical exception to formally retire or otherwise be known as a former service member. The letter also included a higher rank for one lawmaker than the military recognizes, an error that even more closely aligns to Mr. Walz's misstatements. Representative Ronny Jackson of Texas was demoted postretirement to captain by the Navy after a Pentagon investigation found he had committed misconduct on the job, but the letter identified him as a retired rear admiral." ~~~
~~~ Update. Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "... Trump's campaign reissued the letter hours later after a Democratic veterans group raised issues with how it characterized the military experience of many of the lawmakers. [Besides more than half of the letter's signators falsely claiming to be military retirees,] the letter also included at least two GOP congressmen -- Reps. Ronny Jackson and Troy E. Nehls, both from Texas -- who have faced scrutiny over their own military records, including how they have portrayed their service. The revised letter removed the veterans' titles and all references to retirement.... Nehls has drawn criticism, including from fellow Republicans, for his use of a military badge that the Army revoked from his record last year. Nehls has denied accusations of stolen valor and said he disagrees with the revocation...."
Julie Bosman & Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "The Chicago police arrested at least 55 people, including three journalists, at a protest outside the city's Israeli consulate on Tuesday night, officials said on Wednesday as they prepared for a fourth day of demonstrations surrounding the Democrati National Convention. Police officials described the pro-Palestinian protest on Tuesday as violent and a threat to the city, and said officers tried to de-escalate the situation before making arrests. Several dozen demonstrators angry over the war in Gaza chanted, made speeches and scuffled with police officers in front of a downtown office tower that houses the consulate. The consulate was never breached."
Eat Your Heart (Assuming You Have One) Out, Donald. Katie Campione of Deadline: "The second night of the Democratic National Convention saw just a slight lift in viewership as 20.8M people tuned in across 12 networks, according to Nielsen. That's about half a million more than the first night, once again besting the audience for the Republican National Convention, which suffered from a steep decline to just 14.8M viewers in its second night."
Simon Levien & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trumpreturned to form on Wednesday with an outdoor speech in North Carolina, where he insisted that he would not giveup persona attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris and continued to sow doubts about the integrity of the election in November.... He called former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 'crazy,' labeled Ms. Harris both 'stupid' and a 'Marxist or a communist' and said former President Barack Obama was 'nasty.'... As he insisted that he could end the war in Ukraine just by being elected, Mr. Trump portrayed his victory as a forgone conclusion that could be stymied only by electoral fraud.... 'Kamala and Biden have marched us to the brink of World War III,' Mr. Trump said.... Mr. Trump insisted that he would rid the military of 'woke' leadership and that he would demand the resignations of 'every single senior military official' involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal, in which 13 American service members were killed.... Mr. Trump, who while president banned transgender people from serving in the military, mocked transgender troops as unfit to serve." The reporters outline new security measures in place at the rally. The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Looks like a crowd of hundreds, Donald.
Isaac Arnsdorf, et al. of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trumpintroduced a new premise for doubting the election results in advance on Wednesday, turning routine professional revisions of government economic statistics into a baseless allegation of political manipulation.... Without presenting any evidence, he accused the Biden-Harris administration of 'manipulating job statistics' and trying to prevent the disclosure of the updated figures until after the election.... 'There's never been any revision like this,' Trump said incorrectly, during a speech here that his campaign intended to focus on national security. 'They wanted it to come out after the election, but somehow it got leaked.'" Related stories on the revision linked in yesterday's News Ledes & below.
This Is Rich. Irie Sentner of Politico: "... Donald Trumpresponded Wednesday to the Obamas' heated criticism of him at the Democratic National Convention, casting their 'personal' attacks as reason to justify his own behavior. 'Did you see Barack Hussein Obama last night taking little shots? He was taking shots at your president and so was Michelle,' Trump said at a campaign rally in Asheboro, North Carolina. 'You know, they always say, "Sir, please stick to policy, don't get personal," but they're getting personal all night, these people.'... Trump was responding to former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama';s speeches Tuesday night at the DNC, where they abandoned their 2016 call for their party to 'go high' above inflammatory insults and animated the convention with a venomous rebuke of the former president.... That's been a growing trend among Democrats, who started to stray from their political politesse after Trump won in 2016 and appear to have deserted it entirely this cycle as the Harris campaign issues snarky press releases, digs against its 'weird' competitors and couch jokes aimed at taunting Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance."
Trump v. Harris = Hate v. Hope. Marc Caputo of the Bulwark: "'This is just the way I am. I hate my opponent. I hate my opponents,' Trump told a confidant who advised the former president to consider backing away from calling the vice president 'stupid' or 'dumb' at their high-profile standoff in a few weeks, which he has done repeatedly. Trump explained to the confidant that he's treating [Vice President] Harris the same way he did Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. 'Hillary, Joe, Kamala. It doesn't matter. I just hate them.'"
Tatiana Tenreyro of the Hollywood Reporter: "Donald Trumpspokesperson Steven Cheungseemed to take a shot at the Republican's Democratic rival in the 2024 election, Vice President Kamala Harris, by using her campaign song, Beyoncé's 'Freedom,' in a social media post.... Despite concerns raised in the comments about potential copyright infringement, the video remained online until Tuesday night when The Hollywood Reporter noticed the post had been removed from the platform. Earlier on Wednesday, Rolling Stone had reported that Beyoncé's team threatened to send a cease-and-desist to the Trump campaign over the use of the song, which they reportedly did not receive permission for.... This incident comes days after the former president and Republican nominee was called out by Celine Dion and Isaac Hayes' estate for unauthorized use of their music."
Kristen Holmes, et al., of CNN: "Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to suspend his campaign on Friday at an event in Arizona, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN. There are current talks between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's team and Kennedy's orbit for the independent candidate to endorse the former president and appear at Trump's Phoenix-area rally that same night, the source said.... Kennedy's campaign announced earlier Wednesday that he will make a speech in Phoenix, saying he would 'address the nation' Friday morning, but it did not share details of what he will be speaking about. Kennedy's speech will come days after his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said in a podcast interview on Tuesday that the campaign is considering whether to 'join forces' with Trump to prevent the 'risk' of Vice President Kamala Harris winning the election." The New York Times story is here.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. As the Worms Turn. Ann Laurie of Balloon Juice: "Having spent the last many years gleefully attacking Democrats and rewarding Republicans, Our Very Serious Mainstream Media cannot believe that the people in charge of the Democratic National Convention are treating them as a caste somewhere between Nuisance and Adversary[.]" It seems the DNC had reduced the number of seats for credentialed media AND the electrical connections were not to the New York Times staff's standards. Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~
~~~ The article by Max Tani, writing for Semafor is here. It is titled, "A friendly media grows grumbly in Chicago." MB: Frankly, I think this is a story with two sides, and the MSM may not be entirely wrong here. What seems to be upsetting them most is that "media access" now includes social media influencers, and these non-journos are taking up butt-space formerly allocated to the bona fide lords of the press and reliable interpreters of all they observe.
Ben Casselman & Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "A number of Wall Street investment firms obtained details about [a revised Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs] report -- which showed a large downward revision to job growth in 2023 and early 2024 -- at least 15 minutes before the information was posted on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. That head start could, at least in theory, have given in-the-know investors an opportunity to profit on the information before the public at large.... The episode was the latest in a series of incidents in which the agency provided information to investors that wasn't available to the general public.... In an email statement late Wednesday, Cody Parkinson, a Bureau of Labor Statistics spokesman, said the agency had notified the Labor Department's inspector general of the incident. He said the delayed release had been 'unintended,' but he did not explain the cause or how some people had received the data sooner." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Not sure how an employee could "accidentally" send a report to a few of his favorite friends.
Jessica Ogilvie & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: “Lawyers for Hunter Bidensparred with prosecutors in federal court [in Los Angeles] Wednesday over what evidence should be allowed in his tax trial next month, giving a glimpse into what sordid details could be revealed about the lavish spending and sex life of the president's son while he was addicted to drugs.The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Sept. 5 and opening statements on Sept. 9, U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi said. Prosecutors and defense attorneys said they expect the trial to take up to eight days in court, plus two days for jury selection." MB: Luckily for Hunter, the trial will probably not garner the breathless coverage it would have received had his father still been a candidate for re-election.
And now we turn to the latest news about criminals & alleged traitors connected to Donald Trump & his crime organization: ~~~
~~~ There's This. Steven Myers & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "The Department of Justice has begun a broad criminal investigation into Americans who have worked with Russia's state television networks, signaling an aggressive effort to combat the Kremlin's influence operations leading up to the presidential election in November, according to American officials briefed on the inquiry. This month, F.B.I. agents searched the homes of two prominent figures with connections to Russian state media: Scott Ritter, a former United Nations weapons inspector and critic of American foreign policy, and Dimitri K. Simes, an adviser to ... Donald J. Trump's first presidential campaign in 2016. Prosecutors have not announced charges against either of the men. More searches are expected soon, some of the officials said...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: So an advisor to Donald Trump might be a Russian pro-Russia influencer. I'm so surprised. ~~~
~~~ And This. Michael Schmidt & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Ever since Donald J. Trump issued a series of pardons and commutations as he left office, he and his allies have defended his administration's vetting of clemency candidates.... But the case of one of those convicts -- a New York drug dealer and predatory lender named Jonathan Braun, who had a history of violence and faced an array of other legal problems -- has stood out and raised doubts about how rigorous the vetting was. On Tuesday, the police on Long Island arrested Mr. Braun after he allegedly punched his 75-year-old father-in-law in the head. Mr. Braun struck his father-in-law twice as he tried to protect his daughter from Mr. Braun..., according to the Nassau County District Attorney's office. Mr. Braun's wife, according to court documents, told police that Mr. Braun had assaulted her twice in the past five weeks.... Mr. Braun was among a parade of convicts who used connections, money and influence to seek pardons from Mr. Trump, who ran an often ad hoc process for considering clemency requests, largely bypassing an established Justice Department system." Read on; the guy is a one-man crime spree. Oh, and that nice Jared Kushner was behind the commutation of his sentence. ~~~
~~~ And This. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The former lawyer for the Oath Keepers militia pleaded guilty on Wednesday to advising members of the far-right group to illegally delete their text messages after the violent mob attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. At a hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, the lawyer, Kellye SoRelle, admitted to charges that included tampering with evidence and illegally entering and remaining in a restricted area of the Capitol grounds. After Donald J. Trump lost the 2020 election, Ms. SoRelle, who is based in Texas, had close ties to the 'Stop the Steal' movement, which claimed that Mr. Trump had been cheated out of a victory in his run against Joseph R. Biden Jr. She also served as the general counsel of the Oath Keepers and had a romantic relationship with the militia's leader and founder, Stewart Rhodes, who was found guilty at a trial in Washington of seditious conspiracy for his role in the attack and sentenced to 18 years in prison." ~~~
~~~ And Finally a Bit of Attention to This. Carl Gibson of AlterNet: "... Donald Trumpmay have called Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu to discuss a potential ceasefire deal with Hamas that President Joe Biden's administration is currently negotiating. Now, experts are saying Trump may have committed a felony. Newsweek reported that two anonymous 'U.S. sources who were briefed on the call' confirmed to Axios that Trump spoke with Netanyahu. And according to the New Republic and PBS, the former president reportedly urged Netanyahu to reject the deal currently on the table. The Israeli prime minister's office has denied reports that Trump spoke with him, and the Trump campaign hasn't publicly commented on whether the call actually took place. A private citizen engaging in diplomatic conversations with foreign governments is a violation of the Logan Act of 1799.... However, no one has been successfully prosecuted under the Logan Act...."
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Florida Election Results. Andrew Atterbury of Politico: "Gov. Ron DeSantis' attempt to elect conservative-leaning school board members across Florida hit a snag Tuesday, as candidates backed by the Republican governor fell in several key races. DeSantis, who has made reshaping Florida's education system a top priority, endorsed 23 candidates ahead of Tuesday's election. And as of late Tuesday night, at least 11 appear to have lost. That is a notable downturn from 2022, when DeSantis saw a runaway success: Of the 30 he endorsed two years ago, just five lost."
⭐Vivian Yee & Bilal Shbair of the New York Times: "The war in Gaza is taking children from parents and parents from children, undoing the natural order of things, rupturing the basic unit of Gazan life. It is making so many orphans in such chaos that no agency or aid group can count them. Medical staff say children are left to roam hospital hallways and fend for themselves after being rushed there bloodied and alone -- 'wounded child, no surviving family,' some hospitals label them. Neonatal units house babies whom no one has come to claim.... Using a statistical method drawn from analyzing other wars, United Nations experts estimate that at least 19,000 children are now surviving apart from their parents...."
News Lede
Washington Post: "The body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynchhas been recovered from the wreckage of a sunken yacht off Sicily's coast, an Italian government official said Thursday, speaking on the condition of anonymity in keeping with protocol. The British-flagged Bayesian was carrying 12 passengers and 10 crew members roughly half a mile from the Sicilian fishing village of Porticello when it encountered what authorities called a 'violent storm' about 4 a.m. Monday. Fifteen people were rescued shortly after the sinking and the body of the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered during initial search efforts."
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