Why Never Trumpers Must Endorse Harris
Rick Wilson: “Just saying you won’t vote for Trump and that you’ll write in a third-party candidate or someone not on the ballot is morally and politically insufficient. It is not a sign of courage to merely reject Trump. It is not a sign of strength to say he’s unqualified to be president and then refuse to endorse Harris. (Some of you will vote for Harris in secret; this is fine for rank-and-file folks but not for you.)”
“The test here is only passed with a ringing, public endorsement of Kamala Harris. Nothing else suffices.”
“I failed this test in 2016. I worked for and voted for Evan McMullin as a write-in in Florida. It made exactly zero difference. My vote wouldn’t have put Hillary Clinton over the top, but it could have at scale and in an election decided by the narrowest of margins.”
“Voting for Harris is not a declaration you’re a raving progressive now, ready to seize the means of production and usher in the vanguard of the proletariat. It doesn’t mean you’ve adopted every policy and premise of the Democratic Party.”
“It means you give a damn about your country. Unlike Trumpism, this decision doesn’t demand uniformity and obedience.”
Democratic Operative Fined $6 Million for Fake Robocalls
“The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday finalized a $6 million fine for a political consultant over fake robocalls that mimicked President Joe Biden’s voice, urging New Hampshire voters not to vote in that state’s Democratic primary,” Reuters reports.
Why Mitt Romney Hasn’t Endorsed Kamala Harris
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) has so far refused to endorse Kamala Harris despite “subtle pressure” from Republicans who have supported her campaign, the Washington Post reports.
Said Romney: “People know where I stand on Donald Trump, and that’s enough.”
He says he wants to “preserve his ability to rebuild the Republican Party in a post-Trump world,” and also has concerns about his family’s safety if he were to back Harris.
Trump to Meet Zelensky
“Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet at Trump Tower on Friday morning, according to Trump, giving the Ukrainian leader the chance to make a personal pitch to a GOP presidential nominee openly skeptical of continued US security assistance for Ukraine against Russia,” CNN reports.
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Jack Smith Files Evidence Under Seal Against Trump
“Special counsel Jack Smith filed a sealed legal brief in former President Trump’s federal Jan. 6 case Thursday, outlining legal arguments for criminally prosecuting the Republican presidential nominee over efforts to overturn the 2020 election results,” Axios reports.
“U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan will decide whether or not to publicly release the brief containing previously unseen evidence, or a redacted version of it, and it’s possible this could occur before November’s presidential election.”
Harris Loses Ground in Arizona
A new USA Today/Suffolk poll in Arizona finds Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris by 6 points, 48% to 42%.
CNN: Harris heads to the US southern border, looking to close a polling gap with Trump.
Trump Speech on Border Veers Off Course
“Donald Trump began his news conference on Thursday in the lobby of Trump Tower, standing in front of seven American flags. He laid a bound folder down on a lectern and declared that he was going to focus on the southern border, where his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, is headed on Friday,” the New York Times reports.
“That lasted about 10 minutes.”
“Mr. Trump quickly appeared to grow bored with the remarks he read from, and drifted repeatedly toward other topics. He talked about inflation, accused Ms. Harris of lying about working at McDonald’s years ago and nursed his fury over how the ABC News debate moderators handled his face-off with Ms. Harris nearly three weeks ago.”
“At the beginning of the news conference, Mr. Trump struggled at times to articulate his thoughts or make a point clearly. He stumbled over some words as he read from remarks he had plainly not written. He bootstrapped one thought onto another based on whether the words associated with something else, as opposed to having a clear through line.”
Harris Prioritizes the Rust Belt
Politico: “When Harris touches down in Arizona, she will be setting foot in the West for the first time in seven weeks. And a close read of her travel schedule and advertising across the battlegrounds suggests it isn’t the Sun Belt but the Rust Belt that her campaign is primarily banking on.”
“It’s a reality that some Democrats even in the South and West are beginning to accept. Recent polling shows former President Donald Trump’s strength in Arizona and other Sun Belt battlegrounds. Though Harris has brought those states within striking distance of victory — polls and her campaign’s spending show they are still in play — she continues to perform better in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.”
Harris to Accuse Trump of ‘Playing Political Games’
“When Vice President Kamala Harris makes her first trip to the southern border as the Democratic nominee, it will mark a major step in her effort to cut into Donald Trump’s strength with voters on immigration,” Politico reports.
“The issue is one of her top vulnerabilities. And Harris is going on the attack. She will use the stop in Douglas, Arizona, to call for tougher border security, while once again emphasizing Trump’s role in killing the bipartisan border deal earlier this year.”
Wall Street Journal: “Harris is making the trip as Republicans ramp up their attacks on her earlier immigration record, saying her liberal stances in the past as a senator and presidential candidate in 2020 don’t square with the image she is attempting to project as a moderate on the issue.”
Newsmax Settles Defamation Lawsuit
“Conservative cable network Newsmax on Thursday settled a defamation lawsuit brought by voting-machine company Smartmatic, narrowly avoiding a high-profile trial over the airing of 2020 election falsehoods,” Axios reports.
Harris Says Trump Is Trying to ‘Tear Us Apart’
“Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is out with a new advertisement pushing back against attack ads by the Trump campaign,” Semafor reports.
Says Harris, in the direct-to-camera spot: “You’ve probably seen all these negative ads against me. Well, here’s the deal. They are designed to tear us apart. Look, everyone is tired of the petty, destructive politics. Let’s turn the page and chart a new way forward.”
“The new TV spot is designed to reach out directly to on-the-fence voters still forming a picture of Harris amid a barrage of competing ads.”
Harris Holds Significant Ad Advantage
Wesleyan Media Project: “Kamala Harris maintains a significant advertising advantage over Donald Trump thanks largely to a decline in pro-Trump advertising on television in the past 2 weeks.”
“On broadcast stations across the country, pro-Harris forces have spent nearly $73 million on 73,000 ad spots. Pro-Trump forces have spent just under $45 million on 52,000 ad airings.”
“Harris also maintains a huge ad advantage – one that has grown – on digital advertising as well.”
Harris Holds Small Lead in Georgia
A new Fox News poll in Georgia finds Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump among likely voters, 51% to 48%.
“Party loyalty is also a factor. By a 4-percentage point margin, more Democrats back Harris than Republicans back Trump.”
Trump Holds Small Lead in Arizona
A new Fox News poll in Arizona finds Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris among likely voters, 51% to 48%.
Trump Won’t Pull Endorsement of Mark Robinson
Donald Trump refused to pull his endorsement of North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) claiming he “doesn’t know the situation” with his racist comments made on a porn website, NBC News reports.
Kathy Hochul Could Remove Eric Adams
“Gov. Kathy Hochul has begun to examine a long-dormant power that lets governors remove local officials such as New York City mayors, following Thursday’s indictment of Eric Adams,” Politico reports.
“Lawyers in Hochul’s office on Thursday internally discussed the legal and constitutional framework for removing an elected official.”
Said Hochul: “I will be deliberative, I will be thoughtful, but we’re going to come to the right resolution on what to do in this moment.”
