“Before she became the Democratic nominee for president, there was a view of Vice President Kamala Harris among party elites and Washington insiders that she might not have what it takes to mobilize voters,” NBC News reports.

“Her approval ratings were low. She’d been criticized not just by Republicans, but also by fellow Democrats, for miscues in her early days in the No. 2 job in government. She couldn’t keep staff.”

“But while the Beltway set cemented its take on her, Harris built a formidable political network across the country and online. Her direct engagement with tens of thousands of political activists and voters — particularly through a tour of college campuses, events promoting reproductive rights and pushing an economic-empowerment agenda tilted toward the Black community — positioned Harris to energize her party when she was tapped to top the ticket.”

“In other words, there was a ready core of Harris supporters ready to jump into action.”

Matt Bai: “I’ve called Donald Trump a lot of things over the last eight years — reckless, callous, nativist, rageful, shameless and even adventurous, which was actually a compliment. But here’s something new and unexpected.”

“Suddenly, Trump is kind of boring.”

“I don’t mean boring in the pragmatic sense of: I’ve decided to tamp down the crazy, act like a normal candidate and let the spotlight fall on my very flawed opponent. No, I mean boring like Greenpeace protests and rental cars. Boring as in same old. Played out. Predictable.”

Donald Trump posted video of a Trump supporter shouting praise for the ex-president in a boat marked with WWG1WGA — which stands for “where we go one, we go all” — a QAnon slogan.

New York Times: “Democrats have a strong bench of candidates who spent the year mostly wandering the wilderness, unwilling to challenge Mr. Biden in the primary. Some were positioning themselves to run in 2028 or to jump into the race should Mr. Biden bow out. But the speed with which the party coalesced around Ms. Harris after Mr. Biden announced he would not seek a second term precluded them from joining the contest, and should Ms. Harris win in November, 2028 might be tough as well.”

“The convention will give these candidates, many of them relatively young, an opportunity to build support among key Democrats and donors should they decide to run in the future. Speaking slots, breakfasts with state delegations, and post-convention events will offer would-be candidates an opportunity to make a splash.”

“Four governors — Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gavin Newsom of California and JB Pritzker of Illinois — along with Pete Buttigieg, the secretary of transportation, have all been mentioned as potential future Democratic candidates for the White House.”

David Frum: “Donald Trump is campaigning for president on a vow to hike tariffs on foreign goods: 10 percent on all goods from all countries—or even 20 percent, as he has more recently suggested—topped by an extra-punitive rate of at least 60 percent on goods from China. Economists estimate that Trump’s brain wave would raise costs for the typical American family by at least $1,700 a year.”

“Trump’s screw-the-consumer tariff plan should create a grand political opening for his opponents. There’s just one small problem: The Biden-Harris administration’s record is almost as anti-trade as Trump’s. Trump was the most protectionist president since Herbert Hoover. Biden is a strong runner-up.”

“Voters do not seem to blame Vice President Kamala Harris for the price increases of the Biden years. One way for her to lock in that advantage? Repudiate the price-hiking trade protectionism of the past eight years—and recommit to open trade and its enormous advantages for almost all Americans.”

“If a Democrat said, ‘I don’t want Bernie Sanders voters,’ even moderate Democrats would say ‘You’re out of your fucking mind.'”

— Democratic strategist James Carville, quoted by Politico.

Axios: “Biden’s friends tell us that as the president heads to his Democratic National Convention sendoff in Chicago tonight, he’s somewhat relieved and pretty nostalgic — but also still stunned and pissed about the way he was pushed out of his re-election race.”

“I said I’m going to vote for him. I didn’t say I support everything he does. I’m not even telling you that you need to vote for him.”

— Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), quoted by The Atlantic, clarifying his endorsement of Donald Trump.

Tressie McMillan Cottom: “The idea of a childless cat lady is an uninspired dog whistle among others — old maid, crone, witch — that are designed to reduce a woman’s social value to her ability and willingness to reproduce.”

“When Vance says that Harris is one of many childless cat ladies who are miserable and trying to make the rest of the world miserable, he is calling on a set of sexist, racist ideas about which women are even allowed to count as real women. Namely, married mothers are real women, and the rest of us are horrible divergences from the social contract.”

ProPublica obtained more than 100,000 messages between members of the right-wing militia known as American Patriots Three Percent.

The texts discussed a number of concerning plans — including migrant sweeps, potential political assassinations, and operations at voting centers to ensure a victory for Donald Trump in 2024.

“Donald Trump has posted a series of AI-generated images on his Truth Social account falsely claiming that Taylor Swift has endorsed him for president,” Variety reports.

“They’ll say ‘he was rambling.’ I don’t ramble. I’m a really smart guy. You know, I’m really smart. I don’t ramble.”

— Donald Trump, at a campaign rally.

Tyler Austin Harper: “Harris’ politics, style, and coterie of confidants seem to align with Obama’s. But as Joe Biden’s VP, she was second-in-command in an administration that aspired to shepherd the country toward a post-neoliberal consensus defined by trust busting, innovative industrial policy, and a reinvigorated labor movement. And with Tim Walz at her side, she can mount a serious attempt to create a multiracial, cross-class coalition that could expand the left-liberal tent, claw back the rightward list of non-college-educated voters, and usher in a fairer economy for American workers.”

“This is the kind of hope Obama traded on in 2008, and the kind of change he failed to deliver over his two terms. The populist mantle is hers for the taking, if she wants it. The puzzle is: Does she? Or will Harris and her campaign follow Obama and double down on corporate technocracy?”