The Conversation -- July 26, 2024

Election News: About That Severed Finger in a Chili Bowl. Jamie Frevele of Mediaite: "... The New York Times issued a retraction on Thursday of a quote it used in an article about new polling -- because ... one of [people they queried] was the woman who was convicted of fraud for planting a severed finger in a cup of chili. The article, about a new NYT/Siena poll that has Vice President Kamala Harris narrowing the gap on ... Donald Trump, quoted a few registered voters on their electoral choices. One of them caught the eye of The Atlantic senior editor Gilad Edelman..., [who tweeted that the voter cited, Anna Ayala, had been 'convicted of planting a severed finger in her Wendy's chili.']... Back in 2005, Ayala and her husband pleaded guilty to charges that she planted a severed finger in a serving of Wendy's chili as part of an extortion scheme.... The New York Times removed her quote and issued a retraction: '... The Times removed comments from one voter in an earlier version of this article after learning that the person had been convicted in an extortion scheme in which she made fraudulent claims.'"

Trolling Trump. Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: "Kamala Harris has trolled Donald Trump by using his words against him after the Republican presidential nominee backed out of a proposed television debate. 'What happened to "any time, any place"?' the vice president posted on X late on Thursday night. Trump had previously used those words back in March to lay down the gauntlet to President Joe Biden as the two rivals sparred about when and where they would face each other on the debate stage."

Gregorio Sorgi of Politico: "The European Commission transferred €1.5 billion of profits from investing frozen Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine. After months of grueling negotiations in Brussels, the EU executive finally sent the first batch of funding to the war-torn country. Ninety percent of the cash will be used for military purposes, while the remaining amount will go towards humanitarian aid."

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Marie: The Trump campaign plans to knock Vice President Harris as the failed "Border Czar" (a title they invented for her), and that's quasi-fair in a political sense. But factually, it's problematic. First of all, mass immigration, partially caused by climate change, is a world-wide problem. And of course, Trump opposes climate-change mitigation. More specifically, we all know that Trump strong-armed Republicans into voting against their own border security bill last year, a bill the Biden administration reluctantly supported. Now the Washington Post reports,

"The Trump White House was warned that harsh sanctions on Venezuela could accelerate that country's economic collapse and speed an exodus of millions of migrants to neighboring nations, according to three current and former U.S. government officials.... The Trump administration nevertheless imposed some of the harshest economic penalties in U.S. history on Venezuela in response to documented human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings and corruption by the regime of dictator Nicolás Maduro.... Today, however, Maduro remains in power, and a surge in Venezuelan immigrants has emerged as a flash point in the U.S. presidential election." ~~~

     ~~~ So the fact is that, however culpable the Biden administration may be, the Trump administration did as much but probably more to worsen the border crisis.

Wherein Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times takes a few moments to psychoanalyze J.D. Vance. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. MB: I think it's fine that we do this for a few weeks or so, but once we get sort of a handle on what's wrong with that smug punk, can't we mostly ignore him?

Presidential Race

Ebony Davis of CNN: "Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid in a video released Friday. 'Michelle and I couldn't be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,' the former president told Harris on a phone call joined by his wife, according to the video." ~~~

How magnanimous of Trump to cut a campaign ad for Harris! ~~~

We approve this message pic.twitter.com/Kd1zKlqFmp

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 25, 2024

Ryan Reilly & Yamiche Alcindor of NBC News: "... fears of another Trump term are central to a new letter endorsing [Vice President Kamala] Harris, signed by more than 40 former Justice Department officials who served under presidents of both parties. They include former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former deputy attorneys general Sally Yates, David Ogden and Jamie Gorelick, and John McKay, who was appointed as a top federal prosecutor in Washington state during the George W. Bush administration, among others. 'The fabric of the nation, the rule of law and the future of the Democracy are at stake in this election,' reads the letter, first obtained by NBC News. It warns: 'The stakes could not be higher. Former President Trump presents a grave risk to our country, our global alliances and the future of democracy.'"

Marie: To those of you who haven't been following politics for 50 years as I have, more or less, I'll admit there has been some mudslinging between presidential candidates. But as far as I can recall, not one of the major parties' nominees has ever stooped so low as to call his opponent "real garbage." Until this morning. The nicest thing I can say about this is to remind you of Trump's propensity for projection.

Maggie Haberman & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Advisers to ... Donald J. Trump said they would not commit to another debate, one they had already agreed to participate in [on Sept. 10], now that the Democrats have changed candidates from President Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris.... Mr. Trump's communications director, Steven Cheung..., [said] 'general election debate details cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee.'" MB: I don't understand why Trump would be reluctant to debate an opponent who he says is as "dumb as a rock." ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Boak & Chris Megerian of the AP: "Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters on Thursday that she's 'ready to debate Donald Trump.' She accused him of 'backpedaling' away from a previous agreement for a debate hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10. 'I think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on the debate stage,' she said after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a trip to Indiana and Texas."

Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "For the first time since Donald J. Trump was indicted in the spring of 2023, he has lost his grip on the news cycle and -- temporarily at least -- his message. Instead of commanding morning-to-night media attention, the former president and his allies suddenly find themselves reacting to their opponents.... [Kamala Harris] has brought in more than $120 million in new donations. She has already drawn bigger crowds than he ever did this election season. She has electrified TikTok and put a jolt into Democrats' volunteer efforts.... And, unlike [President] Biden, she is receiving blanket news media coverage that is, so far, overwhelmingly positive." (Also linked yesterday.)

Nicholas Liu of Salon: "According to a CNN survey taken after the Republican National Convention, J.D. Vance has an approval rating of -6 points.... The average rating for a running mate after a party convention has been +19 points.... With Trump struggling to appeal to moderate women, the former president may rue choosing a man who ran for Senate on a hardline anti-abortion stance, criticized childcare subsidies as 'class war against normal people' and suggested that married women would be selfish for divorcing their abusive husbands.... When running for Senate in 2022 with Trump's endorsement, and before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Vance declared that he would back a nationwide ban on abortion, even in cases of rape and incest."

Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "In 2021..., [J.D.] Vance explained what he saw as one of the biggest problems facing America: It's being run 'by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.' He name-checked, among others, Vice President Kamala Harris.... Even for a red-meat, red-state Senate candidate, this was a remarkably harsh -- and conspiracy-minded -- insult to a large number of people: Around one in six American women 40 to 44 have never had children. It's the kind of comment that makes you wonder if Vance thinks that he has been nominated by the Republican Party to serve as the vice president of the Republic of Gilead.... There's a real 'Handmaid's Tale' vibe to a lot of what we're hearing from the right.... Vance ... is trying to turn the clock back half a century or more." ~~~

~~~ Niha Masih of the Washington Post: "'I truly can't believe this is coming from a potential VP of The United States,' actress Jennifer Aniston wrote Wednesday, slamming Vance in an Instagram story.... "The View' host Whoopi Goldberg also weighed in on the show Wednesday: 'Sir, there are people who have chosen not to have children for whatever reason,' she said. 'There are people who want to have children who cannot. How dare you. You never had a baby; your wife had a baby ... you know nothing about this.'... 'It's bold, for someone seeking votes, to hone in on "childless cat ladies" when the leader of Childless Cat Ladies is TAYLOR SWIFT,' author Caitlin Moran posted. Swift, 34, has three cats and has described them as some of her biggest influences." ~~~

~~~ Alexandra Marquez & Peter Alexander of NBC News: "In a statement to NBC News, Kerstin Emhoff [-- Doug Emhoff's ex-wife --] called Vance's attacks 'baseless,' adding: 'For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I. She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.' Ella Emhoff [-- Doug & Kerstin's daughter & Kamala's stepdaughter --], 25, posted a screenshot on her Instagram story in support of her mother's statement, adding, 'How can you be "childless" when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I?'... At the bottom of the image, Ella Emhoff wrote, 'I love my three parents.'" ~~~

     (Marie: Kerstin and Ella's responses raise an issue more fundamental than family dynamics: "Should we simply dispense with object pronouns?") ~~~

~~~ Unpossible! How Could the "Father of Our Country" Be Childless??? Even George Washington -- also a stepparent -- vehemently disagreed with J.D., arguing that his own lack of natural progeny was good for the country because it precluded any dynastic ambitions he might have. (WashPo link.)

Marie: I've heard a number of pundits ask, perhaps rhetorically, if the Trump campaign bothered to vet Vance. They did, they found problems, and Trump picked him anyway, over vehement objections from some campaign insiders.

Adam Goldman & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. is examining numerous metal fragments found near the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., to determine whether an assassin's bullet -- or potential debris -- grazed ... Donald J. Trump's head, bloodying his ear, according to the F.B.I. and a federal law enforcement official.... Unanswered questions about the object that struck the Republican nominee for president have lingered since the shooting on July 13, with Mr. Trump claiming that he was struck by a bullet -- and casting his survival as an act of divine intervention. F.B.I. officials have been more circumspect, citing the need to analyze the evidence before determining what struck Mr. Trump -- a bullet, metal shard or something else.... With respect to former President Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,' Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, told Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday. That statement prompted a fierce backlash and continued Republican attacks on Mr. Wray.... In a social media post Thursday night, Mr. Trump lashed out at Mr. Wray, saying: 'No wonder the once storied F.B.I. has lost the confidence of America!' Mr. Trump said there was no glass and no shrapnel. 'No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One thing likely is hindering the FBI's investigation: As far as we know, Trump still won't release the doctors who treated his wound to speak to authorities. Maybe they gave him a cursory cognitive test -- as they well might to someone with a head injury -- and he flunked it. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Ryan Nobles & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung also blasted Wray, saying, 'Anyone who believes this conspiracy bulls--- is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons.'... The former president has not released any medical records from his treatment at the hospital after the shooting, and the doctors who treated him were not made available to answer questions. The Trump campaign did release a letter from Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, a former White House physician. Jackson ripped Wray in a statement on X. 'What little credibility he may have left is gone after recklessly suggesting Trump might not have been hit from a bullet. It was a bullet -- I've seen the wound. Pathetic!!!' he wrote in the post, with the last two sentences in all-capital letters." MB: What's "pathetic" is these macho-men who think that being hit by shrapnel is somehow less "heroic" than being hit by a bullet.

Aiding & Abetting. Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "In September 2020, the Justice Department announced it was investigating the dumping of pro-Trump absentee ballots in Pennsylvania. But prosecutors quickly determined it was an innocent error. A mentally impaired seasonal elections employee had mistakenly believed that nine ballots were invalid, and tossed them in a dumpster -- yet the fact that no charges would be brought was not made public until well after Joseph R. Biden Jr. defeated Mr. Trump. On Thursday, nearly four years later, the Justice Department's in-house watchdog issued a scathing report criticizing the attorney general at the time, William P. Barr, and David Freed, then a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney..., for publicly disclosing a continuing criminal investigation and allowing a mistaken perception of the incident to linger during an election. The inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, said he was particularly 'troubled' by Mr. Barr's decision to brief Mr. Trump on the inquiry, which, in turn, might have encouraged him to make false and exaggerated claims about election security.... But neither [Barr nor Freed] could be charged with misconduct, he added, because of ambiguity in federal law...."

Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday that she would support the creation of a committee of judges to examine potential violations of the Supreme Court's new ethics code, speaking out on a contentious subject as President Biden and others are increasingly calling for reform at the high court.... Last fall, in response to criticism from Democratic lawmakers and outside experts about perceived ethics violations, Roberts announced that the court for the first time had agreed to abide by an ethics code specific to the justices. But the policy did not include a way to examine alleged misconduct, or to clear or sanction justices who might violate the rules." CNN's report is here.

"This Porridge Is Just Right!" Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "The U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly robust 2.8 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, capping two years of solid expansion, despite some signs of softening. Gross domestic product for the quarter ending in June was double the 1.4 percent reading in the previous quarter, but it reflects a general cool-down from last year's brisk pace, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday morning. 'Economic growth is solid, not too hot and not too cold,' said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds, a financial research firm. 'The soft patch we had at the beginning of the year has gone away, and with it, the risks of a recession are dying on the vine.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

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Oklahoma. Isabelle Taft of the New York Times: "The Oklahoma state superintendent vowed on Wednesday to force public schools to comply with his mandate that they teach the Bible and issued striking guidance for teachers, amid pushback from critics who say the move infringes on students' religious freedom. According to the guidance from Ryan Walters, the Republican state superintendent, every teacher must be given 'a physical copy of the Bible, the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Ten Commandments.' It breaks down how instructors should teach the Bible by subject -- including its historical context, literary significance and influences on arts and music.... The guidance comes about a month after Mr. Walters, a conservative Christian and former high school history teacher, directed all state K-12 schools to teach the Bible."

     ~~~ Marie: We are at a place in U.S. history where those who favor following First Amendment principles are labeled "woke radicals" in a "radical leftist mob."

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Only One President at a Time. But. Tyler Pager & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "Vice President Harris implored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to accept a cease-fire deal that would pause the fighting in Gaza and release hostages, as U.S. leaders say they are closer than ever to an agreement.... Harris's decision to give her full backing for the deal and explain its genera outline appeared designed to add pressure on Israel and Hamas to close the remaining gaps in reaching an agreement to at least temporarily end more than nine months of conflict. That it was the vice president, not President Biden, giving public remarks after they each held bilateral meetings with the Israeli leader reflected how much has changed in Washington in recent days." ~~~

What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time -- we cannot look away in the face of these tragedies, we cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent. -- Kamala Harris, after meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris offered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strong support for Israel's right to defend itself from terrorism on Thursday but declared that 'far too many innocent civilians' had died in Gaza.... In what amounted to her debut on the world stage since her rapid ascension as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Ms. Harris sought to strike a balance and capture what she called 'the complexity' of the strife in the Middle East. But while she did not stray from President Biden on policy, she struck a stronger tone on the plight of Palestinians."

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Northern California's massive Park Fire continued to grow overnight, fueled by wind and dry, hot weather. The wildfire, which authorities believe was an act of arson, reached more than 145,000 acres by late Thursday and was only 3 percent contained. It is California's largest this year.... District Attorney Michael L. Ramsey said Chico resident Ronnie Stout, 42, would be arraigned Monday on to-be-determined charges related to arson. Investigators allege a witness saw him pushing a flaming car off an embankment in upper Bidwell Park, starting the blaze."

CNN: "An alleged Mexican drug kingpin suspected of flooding the United States with deadly fentanyl and who evaded authorities for decades is in US custody after he was apparently lured across the border by federal agents. Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, 76, the alleged co-founder and leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, was arrested in El Paso, Texas on Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. Another alleged cartel leader, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 38, was also arrested, he said. Guzman is a son of the cartel's infamous co-founder and former boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, 69, who is serving a life sentence in a US prison after he was convicted five years ago on multiple charges."

The Conversation -- July 25, 2024

Harris' first campaign ad:

Marie: To those of you who haven't been following politics for 50 years as I have, more or less, I'll admit there has been some mudslinging between presidential candidates. But as far as I can recall, not one of the major parties' nominees has ever stooped so low as to call his opponent "real garbage." Until this morning. The nicest thing I can say about this is to remind you of Trump's propensity for projection.

Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "For the first time since Donald J. Trump was indicted in the spring of 2023, he has lost his grip on the news cycle and -- temporarily at least -- his message. Instead of commanding morning-to-night media attention, the former president and his allies suddenly find themselves reacting to their opponents.... [Kamala Harris] has brought in more than $120 million in new donations. She has already drawn bigger crowds than he ever did this election season. She has electrified TikTok and put a jolt into Democrats; volunteer efforts, especially among Black voters and women. And, unlike [President] Biden, she is receiving blanket news media coverage that is, so far, overwhelmingly positive.:

"This Porridge Is Just Right!" Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "The U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly robust 2.8 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, capping two years of solid expansion, despite some signs of softening. Gross domestic product for the quarter ending in June was double the 1.4 percent reading in the previous quarter, but it reflects a general cool-down from last year's brisk pace, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday morning. 'Economic growth is solid, not too hot and not too cold,' said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds, a financial research firm. 'The soft patch we had at the beginning of the year has gone away, and with it, the risks of a recession are dying on the vine.'"

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Michael Williams, et al., of CNN: "President Joe Biden, speaking to the nation from the Oval Office Wednesday evening, framed his decision to step aside from the 2024 presidential race as a matter of saving democracy. 'I revere this office. But I love my country more,' Biden said in a rare speech that marked the beginning of the closing chapter of his presidency and half-century in public service. 'It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in defense of democracy, which is at stake -- and is more important than any title. I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people,' he said." ~~~

     ~~~ Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post: "President Biden delivered a somber, reflective address from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, extolling democracy and decrying dictators during his first remarks to the nation since his monumental decision to end both his reelection campaign and political career.... With less than six months left in his presidency, Biden used the prime time address to defend his record, define his legacy and describe his vision for the rest of his term. He repeatedly called on Americans to take up the mantle of safeguarding the nation's principles, asserting that as he prepares to exit public life he was passing the baton to the public."

Sarah Ellison & Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "When President Biden announced he was suspending his campaign for president, Donald Trump and some of his supporters stitched together a series of conspiracy theories about Biden's health, his motives for dropping out, and even whether he was still alive. Those false assertions built on years of reality-bending messages from Trump and others on the right that have helped polarize the electorate and shaken Americans' belief in a shared set of facts.... Hours after Biden said on Sunday that he was dropping out of the race, which came days after he received his covid diagnosis, Trump ... [wrote]. 'Does anybody really believe that Crooked Joe had Covid? No,'..., challenging the announcement from Biden's own physician describing his symptoms. In the same post, Trump claimed, without evidence, that Biden 'had wanted to get out' of the presidential race since the night of the debate...." Several prominent wingers, including Laura Loomer, Naomi Wolf & Bill Ackman claimed Biden did not write the letter announcing he was leaving the race. Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA wrote that he had heard from police sources Biden had been airlifted to Johns Hopkins where he was dying or already dead; Tucker Carlson read Kirk's posts online. Sean Davis, CEO of the Federalist site, said Biden dropped out after his attempts to jail and assassinate Trump had failed. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I read elsewhere that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was demanding that Biden provide "proof of life." As for me, I'm still waiting to see Trump's bone spurs.

Presidential Race

Yes She Did. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times on how Kamala Harris took hold of the Democratic party in 48 hours. "She worked the phones. Her team worked the delegates. When it was over, she had quickly locked down the nomination in a 'well-orchestrated cascade,' as one party leader put it.... The blitz demonstrated exactly the kind of vigor and energy that [President] Biden had lacked in recent weeks. Mr. Biden had reportedly made 20 calls to congressional Democrats in the first 10 or so days after the debate, while his candidacy hung in the balance. Ms. Harris made 100 calls in 10 hours." (Also linked yesterday.)

Veepstakes. Nancy Cordes, et al., of CBS News: "Approximately a dozen individuals are being vetted as possible running mates for& Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a source familiar with the process. That number is larger than previously reported, and is an indication that the campaign is casting a wide net at the start of this process and isn't winnowing the list yet. Multiple sources tell CBS News that the list of candidates includes several governors: Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Tim Walz of Minnesota, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.... Members of the Biden administration, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are also being considered, along with Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, among others. The Harris campaign is also looking at individuals who do not currently hold elective office." ~~~

~~~ Lisa Lerer & Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Although Vice President Kamala Harris has officially been a presidential candidate for less than four days, the parlor game over her running mate is well underway.... After Americans slogged through nearly two years of an expected presidential matchup with little mystery, the drama and intrigue around Ms. Harris's running-mate selection have reached new heights.... Already, some of the possible candidates have become frequent guests on cable news programs, with appearances that serve as real-time tests of their media skills and that fuel the veepstakes rumor mill.... Traditionally, campaigns look for politicians who could 'balance the ticket' by offering geographic, gender and racial diversity, expertise and experience that differ from the presidential nominee, or another kind of political appeal."

Nancy Did It. Jessica Bennett of the New York Times: "As concerns mounted among Democrats about President Biden's mental fitness and his disastrous debate performance, and as Mr. Biden responded by digging in his heels, it was the 84-year-old [Nancy] Pelosi -- a fellow octogenarian, no longer in charge, yet as shrewd and formidable an operator as ever -- who took those concerns and helped organize them into a sustained pressure campaign.: Thanks to laura h. for the link. MB: So let's presume that the reporting and the assumptions here are all true, and that the first female Speaker of the House also is responsible for clearing the way for the first female POTUS. Nancy Pelosi is already the most powerful woman in U.S. history; this would make her one of the most powerful people in U.S. history. And she did it dancing backwards in high heels. (Also linked yesterday.)

Speaker Johnson Says Overt Racism Is Not a Good Look. Mariana Alfaro & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "House Republican leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have asked their members not to make comments about Vice President Harris's race after a number of GOP lawmakers referenced her identity in attacks on the likely Democratic presidential nominee. Almost immediately after President Biden announced Sunday that he was endorsing Harris to replace him on the ticket, Republicans began their offensive, with some veering into attacks over the race and gender of the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as vice president."

Caitlan Gibson of the Washington Post: "In a video drawn from a 2021 interview..., J.D. Vance ... said that [Vice President] Harris and other prominent Democrats (including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 'don't really have a direct stake' in the country's future because they are 'people without children.'... Others on the right have echoed Vance's argument[.]... Harris's relationships with the son and daughter whom she helped raise with her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, absolutely deserve respect and recognition, says Jann Blackstone, a co-parenting mediator, author and founder of the nonprofit Bonus Families, which supports divorced or separated parents and their combined families.... Matthew Brake..., the stepfather of three, says he's noticed anti-stepparent sentiments growing in recent years, primarily in certain right-leaning corners of the internet." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When researchers get through combing through his remarks, we will find that J.D. of the Glib Pronouncements has offended almost everyone: he's already dissed all gay couples who are married or who might want to marry, all women who might ever get pregnant or who find themselves in abusive relationships (or any relationships at all), stepparents of any sex, childless people, cat lovers, Taylor Swift fans... and Donald Trump.

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "New voter registration spiked to record levels in the first 48 hours after president Joe Biden ended his presidential campaign. The nonpartisan Vote.org website saw its highest level of new voter registrations of the 2024 election cycle in the first two days after Biden dropped out and endorsed vice president Kamala Harris, with 38,500 people signing up -- a 700 percent spike, reported Politico Playbook. That's even higher than when Taylor Swift made an Instagram post urging her fans to register, Playbook noted, and most of the new registrations came from voters who are 34 years old or younger." (Also linked yesterday.)

Felonious Trump Slams Harris. Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Wednesday blasted Vice President Kamala Harris as radically liberal and blamed her for what he called the Biden administration's 'disastrous' policies, repurposing attacks he had long leveled at President Biden.... But in a signal of how his campaign strategy may shift after Mr. Biden dropped out of the race and Ms. Harris cleared the field of potential Democratic rivals, Mr. Trump at a rally in Charlotte, N.C., denigrated her time as a prosecutor and attacked Ms. Harris as 'radical' on abortion, an effort to undercut what may be two of her strongest arguments to voters.... He stumbled to pronounce the word 'abortion'..., then falsely claimed that [Ms. Harris] supported abortion 'even after birth, the execution of a baby,' something no state law supports.... By attacking her views on abortion, an issue he had largely minimized in his stump speech, he will most likely draw attention to his role in overturning Roe. And even as he attacked Ms. Harris's campaign strategy, he twice used the phrase 'convicted felon,' an inadvertent reminder of his criminal cases."

Natalie Allison of Politico: "Even Donald Trump's supporters sense he suddenly has a tougher race on his hands. As the former president unloaded on Kamala Harris in the swing state of North Carolina on Wednesday -- calling her a 'radical, left lunatic' at one point -- faithful fans conceded that what had been a sleepy contest had abruptly become something quite different.... Harris, after being endorsed by Biden to run at the top of the Democratic ticket, in recent days has seen a bump in polling compared to Biden's lagging performance, including among independents, people of color and women, among other critical voting blocs.... [The crowd at Trump's North Carolina rally] cheered when he conceded he was 'not going to be nice' about Harris, despite saying he 'became nice' after the attempted assassination on July 13.... Criticizing Harris for failing to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's joint address to Congress earlier Wednesday, Trump falsely claimed that Harris, whose husband is Jewish, is 'totally against the Jewish people.'"

Yes, Trump Is Worse Than He Was. Linda Qiu of the New York Times: "A comparison of [Donald Trump's] addresses before the Republican National Convention in 2016 and 2024 demonstrates how his relationship to the truth has changed.... In 2016, when he accepted the nomination after a bitter primary campaign, with doubts and skepticism lingering over his candidacy, Mr. Trump hewed closely to his prepared remarks and paid some heed to the facts. Last Thursday..., the address Mr. Trump gave in 2024 was ... almost twice as long as his speech in 2016.... The number of inaccurate claims also doubled.... Many of his claims during his acceptance speech last week were flat-out false." (Also linked yesterday.)

And He Can't Remember What He Said Weeks Ago. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump said Tuesday he has not discussed Jamie Dimon as a potential Treasury secretary if he is reelected, despite saying himself he would consider the JPMorgan Chase CEO for the position. 'I don't know who said it, or where it came from, perhaps the Radical Left, but I never discussed, or thought of, Jamie Dimon or Larry Fink for Secretary of the Treasury,' Trump said, also ruling out the BlackRock CEO. But it was the former president who said Dimon was someone he would consider for a Cabinet post during an interview earlier this month with Bloomberg. 'I have a lot of respect for Jamie Dimon,' Trump told the outlet. Asked if he might consider Dimon as a future Treasury secretary, Trump said, 'He is somebody that I would consider, sure.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

In Case You Think Trump Cares About You. Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: "Fred Trump, 61, describes himself as fairly close to his uncle [Donald Trump]. He attended the 2017 inauguration ... and visited the White House several times.... Fred Trump's son was born with a rare medical condition that led to developmental and intellectual disabilities. His care had been paid for in part with help from the family.... [Fred] was able to convene a group of advocates for a meeting with his uncle. The president 'seemed engaged, especially when several people in our group spoke about the heart-wrenching and expensive efforts they'd made to care for their profoundly disabled family members,' he writes. After the meeting, Fred Trump claims, his uncle pulled him aside and said, 'maybe those kinds of people should just die,' given 'the shape they're in, all the expenses.'... A couple of years later, when he called his uncle for help because the medical fund that paid for his son's care was running out of money, Fred Trump claims his uncle said: 'I don't know. He doesn't recognize you. Maybe you should just let him die and move down to Florida.'" ~~~

     ~~~ A Mother Jones report is here. An excerpt of the book, in Time magazine, which includes Fred Trump's allegations about Donald Trump's contempt for disabled people, is here.

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "At least five quality polls out this week have gauged [J.D.] Vance's image, and each shows that more people dislike him than like him. They show he is between two and nine points underwater. As CNN' Harry Enten noted Tuesday, that appears to be without recent precedent. Vice-presidential picks usually get a honeymoon period, and none has been in such negative territory so soon after their debut on the biggest stage.... Generally speaking, VP picks are ... more popular than the people who pick them.... And, notably, Vance's numbers are also worse than those for most of the big names being floated as potential running mates for Harris."

Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, disclosed on Wednesday that a gunman who tried to assassinate ... Donald J. Trump searched on Google a week before the shooting for 'How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?' Mr. Wray added that the revelation appeared to be a possible first indication that the shooter began to contemplate an assassination. That same day, he registered to attend the rally in Butler, Pa., where Mr. Trump was set to speak. 'That's a search that obviously is significant in terms of his state of mind,' Mr. Wray said. In addition, Mr. Wray said the gunman had visited the area a week before the rally, spending about 20 minutes at the scene. He returned twice on the day of the shooting, for about 70 minutes in the morning and then later that afternoon, when he appeared to fly a drone in the vicinity for about 11 minutes." (Also linked yesterday.)

Yeah, Right. Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "The Justice Department's in-house watchdog found no evidence of political interference in the reduction of a prison sentence proposed for the longtime Trump ally Roger Stone in 2020, attributing the stunning reversal to 'ineffectual' leadership, according to a report released on Wednesday. The report concluded a four-year investigation into the decision by Attorney General William P. Barr in February 2020 to reduce Mr. Stone's proposed sentence to about three years, after initially recommending seven to nine.... [Mr. Barr told his staff that the longer sentence recommendation needed to be 'fixed.'...] The decision to seek a lighter sentence was announced after ... Donald J. Trump sharply criticized the harsher sentence initially proposed.... The central player in the saga was Timothy Shea, who had been appointed as the top prosecutor in the department's Washington, D.C., office on an interim basis just two weeks before, and seemed 'unsure' of what to do after being thrust into the politically charged case, [Inspector General Michael] Horowitz wrote.... Mr. Stone never served any time; Mr. Trump commuted his sentence before leaving office." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Wait a minute. The political appointee who runs the department tells his underling to "fix" the senctencing recommendation for the friend of the guy who appointed him, and that's not political interference? Okay then, can we just call it "corruption" at the top?

Jim Rutenberg & Jonathan Mahler of the New York Times: "Rupert Murdoch is locked in a secret legal battle against three of his children over the future of the family's media empire, as he moves to preserve it as a conservative political force after his death, according to a sealed court document obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Murdoch, 93, set the drama in motion late last year, when he made a surprise move to change the terms of the Murdochs' irrevocable family trust to ensure that his eldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan, would remain in charge of his vast collection of television networks and newspapers.... [Rupert Murdoch] is arguing in court that only by empowering Lachlan to run the company without interference from his more politically moderate siblings can he preserve its conservative editorial bent.... Those three siblings -- James, Elisabeth and Prudence -- were caught completely off-guard by their father's effort to rewrite what was supposed to be an inviolable trust and have united to stop him."

Gail Collins remembers her husband reporter Dan Collins, who died this month.

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Utah. Jeré Longman, et al., of the New York Times: "The International Olympic Committee awarded the 2034 Winter Games to Salt Lake City on Wednesday only after a last-minute demand that the agreement shield global sports authorities from U.S. investigations into doping by Chinese athletes. Organizers of Salt Lake City's bid and Gov. Spencer J. Cox of Utah agreed to the changes sought by the I.O.C. The unexpected twist came amid an escalating dispute between the global antidoping agency and its American counterpart, and at a time when the Justice Department and Congress are looking into why Chinese swimmers who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs three years ago were not subject to penalties from the World Anti-Doping Agency. Mr. Cox told I.O.C. members before Wednesday's vote awarding the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to Salt Lake City that he would 'work with the levers of power,' including in Congress, to 'alleviate your concerns.'"

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Ellen Knickmeyer, et al., of the AP: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed 'total victory' against Hamas and condemned American opponents of the war in Gaza on Wednesday in a scathing speech to Congress boycotted by dozens of Democratic lawmakers and protested by thousands seeking an end to the war and the humanitarian crisis created by it. Netanyahu's combative speech offered no sign that his visit to the United States -- his first trip abroad since the war started -- could bring some progress in months of U.S.-led mediation for a cease-fire and hostage-release, as the Biden administration has hoped. Speaking for nearly an hour to frequent applause from U.S. lawmakers, as well as stony silence from many leading Democrats in the chamber, Netanyahu said the U.S. has a shared interest in his country's fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

Washington Post: "Lewis H. Lapham, the innovative editor who revived Harper's magazine and penned books and essays that skewered the American upper class from which he sprang, died July 23 in Rome. He was 89."

The Conversation -- July 24, 2024

Ellen Knickmeyer, et al., of the AP: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed 'total victory' against Hamas and condemned American opponents of the war in Gaza on Wednesday in a scathing speech to Congress boycotted by dozens of Democratic lawmakers and protested by thousands seeking an end to the war and the humanitarian crisis created by it. Netanyahu's combative speech offered no sign that his visit to the United States -- his first trip abroad since the war started -- could bring some progress in months of U.S.-led mediation for a cease-fire and hostage-release, as the Biden administration has hoped. Speaking for nearly an hour to frequent applause from U.S. lawmakers, as well as stony silence from many leading Democrats in the chamber, Netanyahu said the U.S. has a shared interest in his country's fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups."

The New York Times is liveblogging developments surrounding Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress this afternoon. ~~~

Annie Karni & Erica Green: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forcefully defended Israel's military campaign in Gaza during an address on Wednesday to a joint meeting of Congress, in which he praised the Israeli-American alliance and sought to portray the war as a battle between good and evil, civilization and barbarism. Mr. Netanyahu said the war against Hamas was part of a larger conflict between Iran and the United States, and he said America must stand with Israel to defend their common values." This is the pinned item Wednesday afternoon.

Shashank Benjali: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to forcefully defend Israel's military campaign in Gaza during an address on Wednesday to a joint meeting of Congress, a visit that is laying bare the divisions in Washington over a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. Crowds of protesters gathered outside the Capitol in the hours before the speech. About 5,000 people, some wearing Palestinian scarves, chanted for the United States to stop arming Israel. Some carried signs calling Mr. Netanyahu a 'war criminal' and the 'prime minister of genocide.'" This was the pinned entry earlier Wednesday.

Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, disclosed on Wednesday that a gunman who tried to assassinate ... Donald J. Trump searched on Google a week before the shooting for 'How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?' Mr. Wray added that the revelation appeared to be a possible first indication that the shooter began to contemplate an assassination. That same day, he registered to attend the rally in Butler, Pa., where Mr. Trump was set to speak. 'That's a search that obviously is significant in terms of his state of mind,' Mr. Wray said. In addition, Mr. Wray said the gunman had visited the area a week before the rally, spending about 20 minutes at the scene. He returned twice on the day of the shooting, for about 70 minutes in the morning and then later that afternoon, when he appeared to fly a drone in the vicinity for about 11 minutes."

Yes She Did. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times on how Kamala Harris took hold of the Democratic party in 48 hours. "She worked the phones. Her team worked the delegates. When it was over, she had quickly locked down the nomination in a 'well-orchestrated cascade,' as one party leader put it.... The blitz demonstrated exactly the kind of vigor and energy that [President] Biden had lacked in recent weeks. Mr. Biden had reportedly made 20 calls to congressional Democrats in the first 10 or so days after the debate, while his candidacy hung in the balance. Ms. Harris made 100 calls in 10 hours."

Nancy Did It. Jessica Bennett of the New York Times: "As concerns mounted among Democrats about President Biden's mental fitness and his disastrous debate performance, and as Mr. Biden responded by digging in his heels, it was the 84-year-old [Nancy] Pelosi -- a fellow octogenarian, no longer in charge, yet as shrewd and formidable an operator as ever -- who took those concerns and helped organize them into a sustained pressure campaign." Thanks to laura h. for the link. MB: So let's presume that the reporting and the assumptions here are all true, and that the first female Speaker of the House also is responsible for clearing the way for the first female POTUS. Nancy Pelosi is already the most powerful woman in U.S. history; this would make her one of the most powerful people in U.S. history. And she did it dancing backwards in high heels.

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "New voter registration spiked to record levels in the first 48 hours after president Joe Biden ended his presidential campaign. The nonpartisan Vote.org website saw its highest level of new voter registrations of the 2024 election cycle in the first two days after Biden dropped out and endorsed vice president Kamala Harris, with 38,500 people signing up -- a 700 percent spike, reported Politico Playbook. That's even higher than when Taylor Swift made an Instagram post urging her fans to register, Playbook noted, and most of the new registrations came from voters who are 34 years old or younger."

Yes, Trump Is Worse. Linda Qiu of the New York Times: "A comparison of [Donald Trump's] addresses before the Republican National Convention in 2016 and 2024 demonstrates how his relationship to the truth has changed.... In 2016, when he accepted the nomination after a bitter primary campaign, with doubts and skepticism lingering over his candidacy, Mr. Trump hewed closely to his prepared remarks and paid some heed to the facts. Last Thursday..., the address Mr. Trump gave in 2024 was ... almost twice as long as his speech in 2016.... The number of inaccurate claims also doubled.... Many of his claims during his acceptance speech last week were flat-out false."

And He Can't Remember What He Said Weeks Ago. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump said Tuesday he has not discussed Jamie Dimon as a potential Treasury secretary if he is reelected, despite saying himself he would consider the JPMorgan Chase CEO for the position. 'I don't know who said it, or where it came from, perhaps the Radical Left, but I never discussed, or thought of, Jamie Dimon or Larry Fink for Secretary of the Treasury,' Trump said, also ruling out the BlackRock CEO. But it was the former president who said Dimon was someone he would consider for a Cabinet post during an interview earlier this month with Bloomberg. 'I have a lot of respect for Jamie Dimon,' Trump told the outlet. Asked if he might consider Dimon as a future Treasury secretary, Trump said, 'He is somebody that I would consider, sure.'"

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Hottest. Day. Ever. Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: "Global temperatures hit the highest levels in recorded history on Sunday, according to preliminary data from Europe;s top climate monitor -- another worrying sign of how human-caused climate change is pushing the planet into dangerous new territory." a Guardian report is here.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... when his motorcade pulled into the White House gates on Tuesday for the first time since he withdrew from the race, [President] Biden returned to a vastly different presidency. He is now that creature most dreaded in the Oval Office: a lame duck.... He made clear in a phone call to his old campaign headquarters on Monday that he still harbors hope for progress. 'I've got six months left of my presidency, and I'm determined to get as much done as I possibly can, both foreign policy and domestic policy,' he said, citing initiatives to curb gun violence, expand child care and elder care, lower the cost of prescription drugs and stem climate change. He also mentioned efforts to broker a cease-fire in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.... But he will get a sense of how difficult that may be on Thursday, when he meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.... While Mr. Biden has said he planned to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, the president has canceled his travel schedule for the rest of the week, including several campaign fund-raisers."

Presidential Race

Reid Epstein & Simon Levien of the New York Times: "Delivering a jolt of enthusiasm to a party reeling from weeks of infighting, Vice President Kamala Harris rallied Democrats on Tuesday in Wisconsin and laid out a fierce argument against ... Donald J. Trump. Ms. Harris vowed, in her first rally as the de facto Democratic presidential nominee, to defeat Mr. Trump by attacking him as a prosecutor would. She defined herself as a tribune of the middle class fighting against a tool of billionaires and as a champion of abortion rights against a man who would deny such rights to all Americans. Ms. Harris offered a far more energetic denunciation of Mr. Trump than President Biden, in front of a crowd that her campaign said was the largest she or Mr. Biden had addressed since their re-election bid began over a year ago. She walked out to cheers to the tune of Beyoncé's 'Freedom,' which the singer had allowed her to use. As one attendee put it, the moment felt like a release of months of pent-up Democratic energy." ~~~

     ~~~ Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "A roaring crowd of battleground state voters greeted Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday as she opened her public case against Republican ... Donald Trump by declaring November's election will be 'a choice between freedom and chaos.'"

Kamoola, Ctd.! Michael Scherer, et al., of the Washington Post: "Weeks of pent-up Democratic panic gave way to a historic flood of campaign cash for likely presidential nominee Vice President Harris this week, as allied groups reported massive fundraising hauls amid donor elation. The coordinated Harris campaign reported Tuesday morning that they had raised more than $100 million from 1.1 million donors in the first 41 hours after President Biden announced he was stepping aside. FF PAC, also known as Future Forward, the largest outside group supporting Biden, announced $150 million in commitments in the first 24 hours after Biden's Sunday afternoon announcement."

Here are the New York Times' live election updates for Tuesday. See yesterday's conversation for some reporters' updates and observations. Here's are a couple of late additions: ~~~

Maggie Haberman: "Donald J. Trump's campaign filed a complaint on Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission against President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing them of violating campaign finance laws by rolling Mr. Biden's campaign funds over to Ms. Harris."

Nicholas Nehamas: "The Democratic National Committee offered new clarity on how the party will formalize its next nominee, who is almost certain to be Vice President Kamala Harris, in a set of draft rules released on Tuesday.... Candidates ... must demonstrate they have met the qualifying criteria by the evening of July 30, principally by having acquired the support of at least 300 delegates, with no more than 50 from a single state. If only one candidate meets that threshold -- that is, if Ms. Harris remains unchallenged -- delegates will begin voting virtually on Aug. 1."

Adam Wren of Politico: "So much for the new Donald Trump. The former president is back, after a brief pause, to the insults and personal attacks that characterized his last two presidential campaigns -- less than two weeks after the attempted assassination that allies and aides insisted had left him a changed man.... He called [Vice President] Harris 'dumb as a Rock,' 'crazy,' 'nuts' and 'Laughing Kamala.'... He even repurposed an old insult of President Joe Biden, labeling his new opponent 'Lyin' Kamala.'"

Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "Allies of [Vice President] Harris have already telegraphed that she will run a campaign framed around a 'prosecutor versus felon' theme.... The ... approach ... may ... goad Mr. Trump, who reacts strongly to criticism, into resurrecting the language he has used against other Black female prosecutors, such as Letitia James in New York and Fani Willis in Georgia.... Over many years, he has turned off a sizable proportion of college-educated voters and suburban women with his rhetoric on gender and race.... Mr. Trump has a long history of attacking female rivals and critics in personal terms, usually describing them as mentally unstable or worse.... Publicly, Mr. Trump has described [Harris] as 'nasty,' 'crazy' and 'disrespectful,' mocked her laugh, mispronounced her name and promoted a false claim that Ms. Harris is constitutionally ineligible to serve as vice president, echoing his racist 'birther' campaign against Barack Obama....

"On Sunday, Mr. Trump, who has insisted he would debate [President] Biden anytime and anywhere, appeared to try to change the terms of the second debate. On Truth Social, he posted that the debate should be moved to Fox News, a channel on which he receives favorable coverage, from the agreed-upon ABC." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "In a new book, Donald Trump's nephew recalls the future US president, at the start of his New York real estate career, surveying damage to a beloved car and furiously using the N-word. The shocking scene appears in All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way by Fred C Trump III, which will be published in the US next Tuesday. The Guardian obtained a copy. '"Niggers," I recall him saying disgustedly. "Look what the niggers did,"' Fred Trump writes, describing his uncle's racist outburst." ~~~

~~~ Emmanuel Felton of the Washington Post: "During her short-lived 2020 presidential campaign, conservatives described Kamala Harris as 'angry,' 'mean' and 'aggressive,' attacks that her supporters likened to the racist trope about angry Black women. One small town Virginia mayor called Harris 'Aunt Jemima.'... After three-and-a-half years as vice president, the racial attacks on Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, have continued but are now tied to the broader culture war over corporate diversity and affirmative action programs.... In the wake of Biden's announcement that he would not run for a second term, attacks based on Harris's racial identity were the most common form of criticism of her on X, according to data from PeakMetrics, a data firm.... It is difficult to untangle the racism from the sexism that Harris is likely to face in this election, said Koritha Mitchell, author of 'From Slave Cabins to the White House.' 'Americans are not honest with the fact that they have a hard time seeing merit when it doesn't come in a straight, White male package,' she said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A comment from Patrick yesterday afternoon surprised me, and while I was thinking about it, other contributors endorsed his argument. You should read his comment in full, but the gist of it is that "prosecutor" is a bad look for a woman. I must admit that never crossed my mind, demonstrating, I reckon, what a silly Pollyanna I am -- and how far women have to go to attain a reasonable degree of professional parity with white men. Worse, this prejudice is nothing Harris can "fix" by, I don't know, campaigning in flowered housedresses and frilly aprons. If men cannot handle women in positions of power -- like law enforcement officials -- then they cannot abide one in the ultimate power position: POTUS. I'm not trying to "correct" anyone's "feelings" here; I'm trying to articulate how dismaying it is to see how far American women are from achieving equal respect as human beings. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Amanda Marcotte of Salon doesn't get it any more than I did: "Having a candidate who can talk about [sexual violence] without squirming or tripping over words is especially important in a race where abortion is a central issue.... The Republican vice presidential nominee wants a national standard of forced childbirth for rape victims. Having a candidate who can speak about the horrors of this in an experienced and concise manner may matter a lot.... She can do one interview and speech after another where she reminds female voters that Trump is a sexual predator and that he and his team would ban abortions, even for rape victims. With her background, she may be in a better position to push this issue than any other potential Democratic nominee could have been." ~~~

     ~~~ Oh, and here's Monica Hesse of the Washington Post: "Listen, nearly everything you need to know about the presidential candidacy of Kamala Harris can be summed up by 19 words she uttered at the 2018 confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.... 'Can you think of any laws,' she asked the nominee, 'that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?'... Laws related to reproductive health care only impact female bodies.... The most compelling version of Kamala is that of a savvy practitioner at the top of her game, asking the right questions even when the answers never arrived."

One More Reason Kamala Cannot Be President. Adriana Licon of the AP: "Comments JD Vance made in 2021 questioning Vice President Kamala Harris' leadership because she did not have biological children have resurfaced.... During Vance's bid for the Senate in Ohio, he said in a Fox News interview that ... Democrats ... [were] 'a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.' He said that included Harris, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.... 'How does it make any sense that we've turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it?' asked Vance.... Harris became stepmother to two teenagers when she married ... Douglas Emhoff in 2014. And Buttigieg announced he and his husband adopted infant twins in September 2021, more than a month before Vance made those comments.... The recirculated comment may be a sign of the GOP ticket's troubles appealing to women voters, and on the issue of reproductive rights." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As far as I know, no men holding high public office -- including J.D. & Donald Trump -- have given birth, so are they all unqualified to lead?

It's been the saddest part of this entire drama to see a man of great integrity and competency and almost heroic political engagement put in this position.... I want to see him regaled as an American hero, not an American tragedy. So it's really hard. -- Dean Phillips, on President Biden ~~~

~~~ ** Peter Baker of the New York Times: "For Dean Phillips, the modern Cassandra of American politics, this I-told-you-so moment brings no joy. A little vindication, yes. Sadness, too, and sympathy for a man who gave his life to public service and deserved a better finale.... 'Vindication,' he said, 'has never felt so unfulfilling.'... His decision to challenge Mr. Biden had its roots in the president's visits to Capitol Hill in 2021 to push for his domestic program. What Mr. Phillips saw was what much of the country would see three years later in the disastrous debate that doomed Mr. Biden's campaign: an aging politician who had trouble articulating his own agenda." MB: I found this piece surprisingly interesting, including the parts about Dear Abby & Talenti gelato. (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Gold & Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: "Ahead of President Biden's planned prime-time address from the Oval Office on Wednesday night..., Donald J. Trump and his campaign sent a letter to ABC, NBC and CBS on Tuesday demanding that Mr. Trump be given equal airtime. Mr. Biden is expected to address his decision to end his re-election campaign and outline his plans for the rest of his time in office. In a social media post, he wrote that he would discuss 'what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people.'... The Trump campaign's letter was a throwback to an earlier, pre-cable era in television, when the broadcast networks were held to strict 'public interest' standards.... None of the broadcast networks responded to a request for comment on Tuesday night.... Mr. Trump has received intense news coverage over the last two weeks, first after an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and then with his nightly appearances at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee."

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would be willing to debate Vice President Kamala Harris multiple times if she is nominated, as expected, by the Democratic National Convention as the party's presidential candidate."

Em Steck & Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "... JD Vance ... repeatedly indicated in 2016 that he believed Donald Trump had committed sexual assault, even suggesting in one TV segment that in a 'he said, she said' situation Trump was less credible than one of his accusers.... 'At a fundamental level, this is sort of a "he said, she said," right? And at the end of the day, do you believe Donald Trump, who always tells the truth? Just kidding,' said Vance sarcastically. 'Or do you believe that woman on that tape?' he said, referring to [Trump accuser Jessica] Leeds. But by May 2023..., Vance's position changed entirely ... just after the former president was found liable by a jury for sexual abuse against author E. Jean Carroll. '... It's a "he said, she said" situation. And I trust my friend and the guy that I've known and gotten to know,' the Ohio Republican told CNN's Wolf Blitzer, about six months after winning his US Senate race with Trump's endorsement."

Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Secret Service officials encouraged Donald Trump's campaign to stop scheduling large outdoor rallies and other outdoor events with big crowds after the assassination attempt on the former president in Butler, Pa.... The campaign is not currently planning any large outdoor events, a person close to Trump said.... Trump has held hundreds of outdoor rallies since launching his first presidential bid, often bragging about -- and sometimes falsely inflating -- his large crowds."

Hamed Aleaziz, et al., of the New York Times: "The director of the Secret Service, Kimberly A. Cheatle, resigned on Tuesday, after security failures surrounding the attempted assassination of ... Donald J. Trump and calls for her to step down from prominent Republican lawmakers. According to an email sent to Secret Service agents on Tuesday, Ms. Cheatle said that one of the Secret Service's foremost duties is to protect the nation's leaders and that the agency 'fell short of that mission' during the assassination attempt.... The resignation is a rapid fall for the agency veteran who protected Dick Cheney and Joseph R. Biden Jr. in their vice-presidential tenures and was publicly supported by Biden administration officials after a gunman shot at Mr. Trump at a rally on July 13. The glaring security mistakes before the shooting, however, and the heated criticism that Ms. Cheatle faced in the days since had left her position increasingly in doubt." (Also linked yesterday.) CNN's report is here.

Campbell Robertson & David Fahrenthold of the New York Times: On Tuesday, Pennsylvania state police commander Colonel Christopher Paris testified before the House Homeland Security Committee about the security preparation and response for the Butler, Pa., rally for Donald Trump. "He described a security situation that was disastrously undermined by breakdowns in communications and responsibilities, by the complex manner in which a photo of a suspicious man was relayed among the various law enforcement agencies, and by the last-minute decision for local snipers to leave an elevated vantage point to search for the suspicious man on foot.... Colonel Paris's appearance was far different in substance and tone than the one a day earlier by Kimberly A. Cheatle, then director of the Secret Service, in a hearing in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Ms. Cheatle, though acknowledging the failure of her agency, frustrated the committee by repeatedly refusing to answer questions...."

~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, have struck a deal to form a bipartisan task force to lead the congressional investigations into the attempted assassination of ... Donald J. Trump. The two leaders planned to announce their deal for the task force, which would be led by Republicans who control the House but would be nearly evenly divided between them and Democrats, later Tuesday morning. 'The security failures that allowed an assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life are shocking,' Mr. Johnson, of Louisiana, and Mr. Jeffries, of New York, said in a joint statement. 'The task force will be empowered with subpoena authority and will move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and make certain such failures never happen again.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Leanne Abraham, et al., of the New York Times: "The New York Times used drone photography to build a 3-D model and recreate the lines of sight for both the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, and three teams of countersnipers -- two federal and one local. The analysis shows that Mr. Crooks, 20, who appears to have flown a drone to survey the site the morning of the rally, exploited one of the few blind spots within a rifle's range of Mr. Trump, raising questions about serious lapses in security planning for the event.... The gunman was largely concealed by two trees and the slope of a warehouse building roof, which he used as his perch." Lots of graphics. (Also linked yesterday.)

Nicholas Fandos & Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey announced on Tuesday that he would resign from Congress effective in late August, bowing to intense pressure from Democratic colleagues who had pushed him to step down after his conviction in a vast international bribery scheme or face an expulsion vote. Mr. Menendez has maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal a guilty verdict returned last week by a federal jury in Manhattan. But with his own party fast-tracking a vote to expel him, he chose to spare his party an ugly fight and avoid becoming the first senator ousted since the Civil War by quitting with months to go in his term. The senator made his intention to resign official in a letter to Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey, shortly after he shared the news with what remained of his staff. Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, is expected to quickly appoint a replacement who would serve until January." (Also linked yesterday.)

Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The Army disciplined three officers for inaction and administrative failures before military reservist Robert Card killed 18 people last year in Maine, but officials found no evidence connecting the violence to his work in the service, according to the findings of an investigation made public Tuesday.... Card's part-time military career has been the subject of intense scrutiny since it was learned in the days after the massacre that a soldier in his unit warned local authorities weeks earlier that Card might 'snap and commit a mass shooting.'... He was briefly hospitalized at a psychiatric facility in the months before the rampage.... The Army report stops short of positing what Card's motive was or whether investigators believe his military job, which included work on a grenade range, contributed to his mental health decline. A separate study of his brain concluded traumatic injuries 'likely played a role' in his behavioral changes, and his family has said that Card was probably exposed to thousands of low-level blasts."

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Annie Karni of the New York Times: "When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel arrives on Capitol Hill on Wednesday afternoon to address a joint meeting of Congress, he will confront a legislative body divided over his leadership in the face of international censure over the war in Gaza, with some showing open hostility to the government of a country that is supposed to be among the United States' closest allies.... Vice President Kamala Harris will be absent from the rostrum.... She is only the most high-profile Democrat who will be absent -- empty seats on one side of the chamber will represent the deep anger from the party's progressive base about Mr. Netanyahu's conduct of the war with Hamas.... In the Senate, several members of the Democratic caucus plan to skip the address, including Senators Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 leader, and Patty Murray of Washington, the president pro tempore."

Ellie Silverman of the Washington Post: "U.S. Capitol Police arrested around 200 people protesting U.S. weapons sales to Israel inside the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building on Tuesday afternoon, just a day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak to Congress. The protest, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, a national Jewish anti-Zionist organization, included rabbis, students, Israeli Americans and descendants of Holocaust survivors."