My only take tonight is that I feel confident that Kamala Harris made the right decision picking Tim Walz. Walz is good in his own right. But he complements Harris, tonally, culturally. This was the right call.
Walz Delivers On-Brand Speech As Democrats Look Towards Harris Finale
VP nominee Tim Walz hit what have already become classic notes in his oeuvre Wednesday: family, football, popular progressive policies, decency, the “weirdness” of the other guys. His speech was punctuated with shots of his proud, sometimes crying children — his son Gus yelling “that’s my dad” — and cardboard cutouts of his face held aloft by the crowd.
A series of other speakers, including fellow Minnesotan Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and his former students, testified to his real-guy bona fides before he took the stage.
Former President Bill Clinton, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also spoke, though the overall rhetorical electricity dipped from Tuesday’s double-barrel Obama barn burner.
With three convention nights in the books, Democrats await the Kamala Harris finale.
Catch up on our live coverage below:
A Key Jan. 6 Figure Pleads Guilty, Saying She Urged Oath Keepers To Delete Texts
You can divide people who took Donald Trump’s claims that he actually won the 2020 election into roughly two camps: those who were in the know, and the true believers.
Continue reading “A Key Jan. 6 Figure Pleads Guilty, Saying She Urged Oath Keepers To Delete Texts”Kennedy Out?
If you haven’t seen, just in the last hour or so there are indications that RFK Jr is planning to drop out of the race and endorse Donald Trump. Kennedy’s campaign has put out word that he’ll be giving a speech about the “path forward” in Phoenix. And people are noting that Trump is supposed to be in Phoenix Friday too. The reporting suggests that the Kennedy people are signaling something like an endorsement. But who knows. That’s what it looks like to me. But we will know Friday, if not sooner.
A few points on this. The first one is that there’s some evidence that Kennedy is now hurting Trump more than Harris. Obviously Trump thinks so or he wouldn’t be trying to get Kennedy to drop out. Polls suggest that the balance changed after Harris got into the race. The more Dem-adjacent supporters basically went to Harris. So in this still very tight race, this could hurt Harris in the horse race numbers.
Continue reading “Kennedy Out?”Booooooom!!!! Thank You, Folks
Well, there it is. We just flew past our goal of raising $500,000 in this year’s annual TPM Journalism Fund drive. We’re currently at $503,822. I want to say just a big, big thank you. We started this year’s drive with a relative confidence we could hit this mark. But you simply never know. Each year people’s moods are different. The economy is different. And these are just very big numbers. Each new time is really like a trust fall all over again. I personally want to thank the whole TPM team whose collective work this result is based on. The site promos will stay up a bit longer. And of course you are very welcome to continue contribute. Every extra dollar will be put to very good use. But this was our critical goal. So this will be my last post pitching you on this year’s drive.
Truly, we thank you. I thank you. We couldn’t be happier and prouder.
The Obamas Fire Up Dem Convention With Penis Joke And Real Talk
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Oh, He Went There
Barack and Michelle Obama welcomed the Democratic convention to their hometown of Chicago, with sterling back-to-back speeches that harkened to the brighter pre-Trump days.
Neither has lost a step as orators, with precision timing and panache that very few politicians have ever mustered, except that Michelle is not a politician and this was never her day job.
Barack added physical comedy to his repertoire Tuesday night.
While he struck familiar themes from his two terms as president and wove them into the Harris-Walz campaign messaging in a way designed to make her a natural successor to his legacy, it was this pantomimed dart at the manhood of the man who did succeed him that brought down the house:
I cannot imagine Trump’s reaction to that one, but this seems right:
Michelle Obama Still Has It, Too
A lot of silly analysis overnight about Michelle eschewing her motto — “When they go low, we go high” — as if calling out racism and misogyny is going low.
“Going small is petty, it’s unhealthy, and, quite frankly, it’s unpresidential,” Michelle Obama said. “It’s his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”
She also unspooled an anti-Trump thread that I haven’t seen Democrats use as often as they might have over the past decade, perhaps because they generally avoid explicit appeals based on class:
But her speech peaked with her invocation of Trump’s derogatory reference to “Black jobs”:
Georgia Representin’
We’re not going back to the days of fusty convention roll calls:
What Else Did You Miss?
- TPM’s highlight piece: Dem Speakers Urge Voters To Not Get Complacent
- For the obsessives: TPM’s moment-to-moment live blog
Meanwhile, In Milwaukee …
The Harris-Walz ticket filled the NBA arena in Milwaukee that hosted the Republican convention last month, a split-screen primetime feat with the Democratic convention going on 90 miles away in Chicago:
Maria Bartiromo Still Spewing Nonsense On Air
Media Matters flags the xenophobic election conspiracizing that Fox Business News’ Maria Bartiromo has been airing this week:
Maria Bartiromo repeatedly used her Fox Business show to peddle an election fraud conspiracy theory that she claimed originated with the wife of a friend of a friend in Texas and that she made no apparent effort to confirm. But when the Texas Department of Public Safety and the local Republican Party investigated her reckless allegation, they discovered that none of it was true.
It’s Not Just Trump
TPM’s Khaya Himmelman: Republican State Officials Do Trump’s Election Denying Prep Work For Him
2024 Ephemera
- The Harris campaign swamped the Trump campaign in fundraising in July. Harris has raised in the vicinity of $500 million in the month since President Biden ended his re-election bid.
- Reclusive Republican megadonor Timothy Mellon gave another $50 million to a pro-Trump Make America Great Again super PAC, raising his total contributions to the group since the start of 2023 to $115 million.
- North Carolina moves from Leans Republican to Toss-up in the Crystal Ball Electoral College rating.
Trump Campaign Hack Update
Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan was targeted by the Iranian hacking effort though when it happened and whether it was successful remain unclear, CNN reports.
Santos Is A Two-Time Loser This Week
The same day he pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges, ousted Rep. George Santos (R-NY) saw his civil lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel dismissed. Santos sued Kimmel for copyright infringement for eliciting and then airing absurd Cameo videos that Santos did.
Important
NYT’s David Sanger: Biden Approved Secret Nuclear Strategy Refocusing on Chinese Threat
Yeah, Keep Talking About Michelle Obama ‘Going Low’
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‘The Next 77 Days’: Dem Speakers Urge Voters To Not Get Complacent
The Democratic National Committee hosted the second night of its convention — themed “A Bold Vision for America’s Future” — on Tuesday.
A good chunk of the messaging was focused on policy — and specifically, the elements of the progressive agenda implemented by the Biden administration that Donald Trump intends to dismantle — and introducing voters to a more personal side of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Continue reading “‘The Next 77 Days’: Dem Speakers Urge Voters To Not Get Complacent”Obama: America Is ‘Ready For A Better Story’
The keynotes of the DNC’s second day ran the tonal gamut. From Doug Emhoff, an intimate and warm portrait of the woman he loves. From Michelle Obama, an urgent call to action, to fend off complacency and prepare for the torrent of lies and inevitable attempts to overturn a Trump loss from the right. From Barack Obama, fan service peppered with his old catchphrases, a story of redemption and of hope.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz played to a packed Milwaukee rally — the very venue where the Republicans held their convention. Boasting two full arenas, a scratchy-voiced Harris beamed into Chicago for brief remarks.
Follow our live coverage below:
Hey Now!!! We’re Going to Make It!
We are down to under $35,000 $31,000 $12,000 $10,000 before we hit $500,000. We’re in the final countdown. I’m trying to balance my and our excitement that we’re going to hit the goal with whatever encouragement I can give you to help us get past the finish line. But I’ll just say we’re so pumped and also … well, this is a great time to contribute! Just click here.
Will Kevin McCarthy’s Revenge Tour Defeat His Biggest Enemy?
You’d be forgiven for not remembering that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is facing a challenger tonight in the Republican primary election in his home state — with the House out on recess and the 2024 presidential campaign season in full swing, Gaetz hasn’t had much room to troll his way into the news in recent weeks (though he did make some headlines with his … stiff appearance during a speech at the RNC last month).
Continue reading “Will Kevin McCarthy’s Revenge Tour Defeat His Biggest Enemy?”