A source in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign told The Hill that his wife, Cheryl Hines, does not want Kennedy to endorse Donald Trump.
Bill Clinton Sinks His Fangs Into Trump
“Bill Clinton served as Barack Obama’s economics explainer-in-chief in a memorable speech a dozen years ago at the Democratic convention in Charlotte,” Politico reports.
“On Wednesday, the Big Dog, a little older and his bark more faint, sunk his teeth into another favorite topic and savaged Donald Trump as a narcissist obsessed with himself.”
Shapiro on Fetterman
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) was asked by Bloomberg about his reported rivalry with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
Said Shapiro: “You’ve got to ask Fetterman. Or I would say you should ask his spokesperson, but I think they’re not on the same page, either.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“We don’t have it. We are a polarized nation in a challenging time and despite all the things that are happening in this country, Donald Trump still has more support than he has had at any other point… It is going to come down to every single vote.”
— Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, quoted by Politico, on whether she has identified a clear path to victory.
Now Harris Has to Stick the Landing
Dan Balz: “Nothing counts quite as much at political conventions as what the nominee says in the spotlight. Former president Donald Trump managed to undermine three good nights at his convention in Milwaukee with a rambling, unfocused 90-minute speech that ran counter to efforts by others to remake his image in the eyes of voters. His candidacy hasn’t been the same since then.”
“As effective as Harris has been over the month since President Joe Biden abruptly ended his reelection campaign, Thursday’s speech provides her with the most significant opportunity yet to move voters, particularly those on the fence, in her direction. It will probably be the last time she will command such attention solely for herself.”
Playbook: “Aides have made it clear to the convention brass that they don’t want any hint of the timing issues that have plagued the party this week, with speeches from the most important figures pushed way past prime time (Walz, for instance, started at 11:22 p.m. Eastern). Snafus will not be tolerated. As one senior aide told us in the halls of the United Center, ‘they better not even think about cutting her damn video like they did President Biden’s.’”
How Tim Walz Learned to Throw a Punch
John Harris: “The man who rose to power in Minnesota as a pleasant, sensible, stolid politician — emblematic of a state with a pleasant, sensible, stolid political culture — has emerged as an improbably effective performer and pugilist.”
Quote of the Day
“That’s my dad!”
— Gus Walz, the 17-year-old son of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, shouting as his father accepted the Democratic party’s vice presidential nomination.
The High-Stakes Race to Define Kamala Harris
Wall Street Journal: “Democrats have a story to tell as they reintroduce Vice President Kamala Harris to a national audience: She was raised by a middle-class single parent and was once a college-age McDonald’s employee and a big-hearted prosecutor. Republicans tell a different story: She is an out-of-touch California liberal who is soft on crime and immigration.”
“Which story voters believe will be crucial to the outcome of the November election between her and former President Donald Trump, her GOP rival. Though Harris has been in political life for 20 years—including four years in the Senate and nearly four as the vice president—she is still a relatively new figure on the national stage.”
Politico: Harris has never had an Obama 2004 moment. Tonight’s speech is her chance.
Are Voters Ready to Elect a Woman?
New York Times: “The first time Kamala Harris ran for president, in 2019, one question dogged her and the handful of others running to be the first female president: Can a woman win?”
“Just three years earlier, Hillary Clinton had lost to Donald J. Trump after a campaign she and her defenders believed was dripping with misogyny and sexism. The question of whether Democrats wanted to try to break the gender barrier again was a running and fraught debate for months.”
“Those doubts have mostly been banished this time.”
For members: The Real Year of the Woman?
How Kamala Harris Is Preparing for Her Biggest Speech
“Kamala Harris often leans on a favored phrase to focus her team before beginning an important project: ‘What business are we trying to accomplish here?,” the New York Times reports.
“In deciding what to say in the most important speech of her life on Thursday, the vice president’s answer has been threefold, aides said: tell her life story, frame her contest with Donald J. Trump as one pitting the future against the past and reclaim the banner of patriotism for the Democratic ticket.”
“Ms. Harris has been taking her convention address so seriously that she has held rehearsals complete with teleprompters in three different time zones.”
Hickenlooper Will Run Again
“Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) announced Wednesday he will run for reelection in 2026 but added his second term will be his last,” Punchbowl News reports.
Said Hickenlooper: “I’m only going to do two terms. I said it first here. Two-term limit. Oath of conscience.”
Democrats Define Trump as a Self-Interested Fraud
New York Times: “In slickly produced videos shown to delegates and in speech after speech, a host of attacks emerged. Ms. Harris is the future-oriented change agent, and Mr. Trump is the stale past. He’s been playing a long con on the American people that has outlived its expiration date.”
“The goal of Ms. Harris’s anti-Trump messaging is trying to shrink her opponent in order to rise above him, minimizing him and disengaging from him to avoid getting drawn into reacting to his every provocation. There is less engagement on highlighting Mr. Trump’s racist statements or casting him as a threat to democracy, than focusing on a portrait Democrats believe will resonate with voters: that of Mr. Trump as a meanspirited fraud who only cares about himself and his billionaire friends.”
FBI Investigates Maggot Incident at DNC Breakfast
The FBI is investigating whether maggots were intentionally slipped into a breakfast prepared for delegates attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, WGN reports.
Trump Says He’ll Be ‘Mean’ to Kamala Harris
“Donald Trump has no plans to heed the advice of his aides and limit himself to policy contrasts when he debates Kamala Harris. He wants to make it personal,” The Bulwark reports.
Said Trump to a confidant: “This is just the way I am. I hate my opponent. I hate my opponents.”
He added: “Hillary, Joe, Kamala. It doesn’t matter. I just hate them.”
To another adviser, Trump was blunt about taking on Harris: “I’m going to be mean.”
Trump Clemency Recipient Accused of Assaulting Wife
“Jonathan Braun, whose drug sentence was commuted by Donald Trump shortly before he left office, was charged on Long Island, the latest incident to raise questions of how clemency applications were vetted,” the New York Times reports.
“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, who was chasing after her while the couple had an argument in their home.”
“Mr. Braun’s wife, according to court documents, told police that Mr. Braun had assaulted her twice in the past five weeks.”
Harris Had More Donors in 11 Days Than Biden Did
“Vice President Kamala Harris drew more than 2.4 million donors in her first 11 days at the top of the Democratic ticket — nearly 200,000 more contributors than during the entirety of President Joe Biden’s year-plus long campaign,” Bloomberg reports.
Harris Improves Among Low Engagement Voters
A new Cook Political Report poll finds Kamala Harris leads among high-engagement voters by the same four point margin Biden led in May, 50% to 46%.
But the secret to her surge is that she’s arrowed Trump’s lead among low/mid-engagement voters from 51%-41% to 48%-45%.
Trump Alleges Scheme Around U.S. Economic Data
“Donald Trump introduced 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,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump portrayed revised job creation numbers the Bureau of Labor Statistics released publicly on Wednesday as an accidental disclosure. 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.”
