Candidates for President in 2024

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Vance Backed Attempts To Gut Dozens of Biden Rules

Since the start of his term in Congress, Ohio Sen. and now-Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance has sponsored two dozen GOP attempts to kill rules pushed by the Biden administration — fighting policies and protections on everything from new corporate climate disclosure rules to student loan forgiveness.

https://www.levernews.com/vance-backed-attempts-to-gut-dozens-of-biden-rules/?

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Five things to know about Tim Walz

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has decided on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in her bid for the White House. The 60-year-old Democrat and military veteran rose to the forefront with a series of plain-spoken television appearances in the days after President Joe Biden decided not to seek a second term. He has made his state a bastion of liberal policy and, this year, one of the few states to protect fans buying tickets online for Taylor Swift concerts and other live events.

https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-harris-vice-president-walz-minnesota-006bca6e18be7ce39ef4bfd97547c3b5?

Why Harris picked Walz

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's ability to crystalize several Democratic lines of attack into one viral word — "weird" — helped catapult him to the top of the veepstakes over the past two weeks.

• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had seemed like the front-runner heading into Vice President Harris' one-on-one interviews this past weekend, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.
• But Walz's record in Minnesota along with his happy-warrior persona and facility with attacks like "weird" ultimately put him over the top.

🗳️ What we're watching: Harris is making a high-stakes bet that she can win Pennsylvania even without its popular Democratic governor on the ticket.

Preparations for this evening's rally in Philadelphia. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

• The party's left flank wanted Walz, and Republicans have already criticized him as a radical and Harris as captive to progressives.
• One GOP strategist told Axios the Walz pick is the "first break we've caught since the Biden switcheroo."
• But Democrats say they're confident that Walz's communication skills and Midwestern-ness can deflate those attacks.

Go deeper.

 

Defining Tim Walz

Despite the viral cable hits that catapulted him to being named Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Gov. Tim Walz is a genuine unknown for most Americans.

Why it matters: 70% of registered voters have no opinion of Walz or have never heard of him, according to new NPR/Marist polling.

• Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is at 51%, and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is at 50%.
• GOP VP nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) was at 41% when he was introduced in July.

Zoom in: The GOP has a clear early plan to define Walz, blasting out "dangerously liberal" across their messaging.

• Republicans plan to paint Walz as far left, highlighting that he was backed for VP by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and reminding people of Walz's handling of the 2020 protests after the police killing of George Floyd, Axios' Stef Kight and Juliegrace Brufke report.
• House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) called the Walz pick "amazing" and "a great pick for us ... you can't script this any better."
• House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) praised Harris' selection of Walz as her running mate, calling him a "heartland of America Democrat."

Between the lines: Harris is seeking to define him as "Coach Walz," harkening back to his days as a teacher and football coach.

• She told of Walz serving as the faculty adviser for a Gay-Straight alliance at his high school after being asked to help by one of the first openly gay students there.
• "Tim knew the signal it would send to have a football coach get involved. ... As students have said, he made the school a safe place for everybody."

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz appear together at Temple University in Philadelphia after VP announcement. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The big picture: Parts of Walz's resume as governor look like a progressive wish list.

• Walz enshrined 20 weeks of paid family and medical leave, protected abortion rights and signed a pair of "shield" laws for people who travel to Minnesota to receive gender affirming care and abortions.
• He signed legislation legalizing recreational marijuana, restoring voting rights for 55,000 felons on probation and making undocumented immigrants eligible for driver licenses.
• He pushed aggressive targets on climate change and renewable energy and created a prescription drug affordability board.
• Walz also made Minnesota one of six states that provides universal free school lunches and proposed an expansion of the child tax credit and billions in increases on some taxes.

Go deeper: Before he went viral for calling Republicans "weird," Walz was going after Iowa and Florida over "banned" books.

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Two enlisted men

No matter who wins in November, the next vice president will have served in the U.S. military, Axios' Avery Lotz reports. Tim Walz signed up for the Army National Guard two days after his 17th birthday, encouraged by his late father, a Korean War-era veteran. He has acknowledged he did not see real combat, saying in 2018, "There are certainly folks that did far more than I did. I know that." JD Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school. He was deployed to Iraq for six months as a combat correspondent in 2005, working with members of the media, writing and taking photos, among other duties. He later wrote, "I was lucky to escape any real fighting."   The lands that shaped Walz   Photo: Justin Green/Axios Walz shouted out his Nebraska roots tonight while appearing with Harris at their first joint rally in Philadelphia: "I was born in West Point, Nebraska, and lived in Butte, a small town of 400 where community was a way of life. Growing up, I spent summers working on the family farm." Between the lines: This newsletter is written by an Axios editor who lives in Nebraska and loves to hunt and fish near where Walz came of age. In West Point, where Walz was born: Las Cañas has great food. There's also a Pizza Ranch. In Valentine, where Walz spent most of his childhood: Tank down the Niobrara River. If driving there, take the route north through Thedford to see the Nebraska Sandhills in their full glory. In Chadron, where Walz went to college: Swing over to nearby Crawford and take a day hike at Fort Robinson. In Alliance, where Walz taught school: Check out Carhenge. Delightfully weird.

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Harris’ pick of Walz amps up excitement in Midwestern states Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will spend their first full day as running mates on Wednesday rallying Democrats across the Midwest, a politically divided region that is crucial to their effort to win the White House in less than three months. Read more.

Why this matters: Walz’s addition to the ticket has soothed some tensions in the states. The Biden-Harris coalition showed signs of fraying over the summer, particularly in Michigan, which has emerged as a focal point of Democratic divisions over the administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. With Biden now out of the race and Harris officially the Democratic nominee, leaders of the Arab American community and key unions say they are encouraged by the choice.   Leaders say Democratic enthusiasm has surged since Harris announced her candidacy. That could be pivotal in Detroit, which is nearly 80% Black, where leaders for months had warned administration officials that voter apathy could cost them in a city that’s typically a stronghold for their party.   Donald Trump had put a similar emphasis on appealing to voters in Midwestern states with his choice of Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his vice presidential pick. Vance will again bracket the Harris-Walz ticket with appearances in the same states on Wednesday.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ What polling shows about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ new running mate   Picking a running mate: Inside the 16 days between Kamala Harris’ launch and her VP choice   How Tim Walz became beloved by young voters with a message that the GOP is ‘weird’

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The Harris Cabinet

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

If she wins, Vice President Harris is expected to name a Cabinet and West Wing that are younger than President Biden's, with more people of color, sources close to her tell Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei for a Behind the Curtain column. Why it matters: Biden took a comfort-food approach to staff, so a second term could've looked like a rerun. Despite her risk aversion, Harris — while turning to plenty of familiar names — will also add some powerful new characters to Washington's cast. It's been 18 days since Biden bowed out. Harrisworld has been consumed with locking up the nomination, rebooting the campaign, preparing for the convention in Chicago two weeks from now — and getting ready for last night's captivating debut with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. So staffing the government hasn't been a central obsession. But based on conversations with a wide variety of current and former aides and associates, we can give you a good sense of her early shortlists. "You won't see a bunch of new people you've never heard of," said one Harris adviser, noting she kept much of Biden's campaign hierarchy. What we're hearing: The options listed below are preliminary. But they show how Harris and her team will start mapping her prospective administration: White House chief of staff: Harris, who has already made lots of history herself, might well make history with the first chief of staff who is Black — perhaps former Attorney General Eric Holder, who led the vetting of her veep options. Or the first chief of staff who's a woman — perhaps Lorraine Voles, her vice-presidential chief of staff, or Jen O'Malley Dillon, the campaign chair. Either could also be rewarded with the plum West Wing jobs of counselor or senior adviser. Secretary of State: Sen. Chris Coons (Del.), who's on the Foreign Relations Committee, would love to run Foggy Bottom. For confirmation reasons, Harris could be expected to lean into senators and former senators if Republicans take the Senate. CIA director Bill Burns and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also would be on the list. Treasury: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is popular with business and would be considered for Treasury. Wally Adeyemo, now deputy Treasury secretary, is one of the Biden officials most likely to get promoted in a Harris administration. Blair Effron, an investment banking partner who's very active in D.C. and New York, is another name to watch. Defense: Another place to make history — perhaps with Michèle Flournoy, who was undersecretary of Defense for policy under President Obama, as the first woman to lead the Pentagon. Attorney General: Former Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, a former U.S. attorney, could be confirmed to head Justice, even if Republicans win control of the Senate. Commerce: Ray McGuire, president of the investment bank Lazard, Charles Phillips (a tech executive on the Defense Innovation Board), and other Black business leaders would be on the list. U.S. ambassador to the UN: Pete Buttigieg, 42, the Transportation Secretary and a finalist for Harris' running mate, still has ambitions to be president one day. So a role where he gets international experience would be attractive to him. We're told he and Harris have gotten friendlier since they were rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. U.S. trade representative: Tom Nides — U.S. ambassador to Israel under Biden, and deputy secretary of state under Obama, now with the private equity and real estate giant Blackstone — would be strong for USTR, UN ambassador, or other top international roles. White House counsel (or Justice): Tony West is a top Harris campaign adviser who's chief legal officer at Uber, a former U.S. associate attorney general, and is married to Harris' sister, Maya. But bringing a family member into the White House is complicated. So West could remain an outside adviser. Brian Nelson, a close California ally who just left the Treasury to join her campaign, could land in a top role, either as White House counsel or at Justice. National security adviser: Phil Gordon, Harris' national security adviser in the V.P.'s office, looks headed for this role. Others to watch include Tom Donilon, who was Obama's national security adviser, and Rahm Emanuel, now U.S. ambassador to Japan. White House press secretary: Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign's senior adviser for communications, would be a top contender for the podium. Fallon is an alumnus of Sen. Chuck Schumer's tough office, plus the Justice Department and the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. Ian Sams, who has done well in podium outings as White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, worked on Harris' 2019 presidential campaign. Communications director: Lily Adams, assistant Treasury secretary for public affairs, was communications director in Harris' Senate office and on her 2019 campaign. Column continues below.   🧠 Part 2: Super-prepared short list Vice President Harris has had a stair-step progression to the pinnacle of American power — from elected D.A. of San Francisco, to state attorney general, to U.S. senator, to vice president to party nominee, Mike and Jim write. So look for her to reward officials who similarly have worked their way up, and are super-prepared — even over-prepared — for the jobs she gives them. Watch for: Rahm Emanuel, U.S. ambassador to Japan, to be a key player in the transition if Harris wins. Emanuel is a former House member, Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff for Obama. Emanuel would be interested in a Cabinet job with an international dimension. Harris sources mentioned several current officials who would have a good chance at a variety of Cabinet roles: At the top of this list is Sen. Laphonza Butler, 45, a longtime labor leader from Harris' home state of California. She was appointed to fill out the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Butler isn't seeking a full term, so she leaves office in January. Sen. Alex Padilla — California's senior senator and the son of parents who emigrated from Mexico — was appointed to fill Harris' term after she was elected vice president, making him the first Latino to represent the Golden State in the Senate. If Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were to take a job in a Harris administration, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II would become the Wolverine State's first Black governor. All three of those officials would be considered confirmable by a Republican Senate.   "Two middle-class kids" "The promise of America," Vice President Harris said in Philadelphia last evening as she introduced her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, "is what makes it possible for two middle-class kids — one, a daughter of Oakland, Calif., who was raised by a working mother; the other, a son of the Nebraska plains who grew up working on a farm ... Only in America — only in America — is it possible for them, together, to make it all the way to the White House." [Chants of "U-S-A!"] 🏈 As defensive coordinator, Walz helped coach the Mankato West (Minn.) High School football team to the school's first state championship in 1999. "Coach Walz and I may hail from different corners of our great country," Harris said, "but our values are the same." "Don't ever underestimate teachers," Walz said, hamming it up when it was his turn at the microphone. "My dad was a teacher. My brothers and sisters and I followed in their footsteps. Three out of four of us married teachers. What we do. For nearly 20 years, I had the privilege of teaching high school social studies and coaching football, including winning that state championship. Don't ever close the yearbook!" Walz bio. This afternoon, Harris and Walz will take their road show to Eau Claire, Wis., where they'll be introduced by a dairy and grain farmer. This evening, a first-time voter will introduce them in Detroit.

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Charted: Nate Silver's forecast

Data: Silver Bulletin. Chart: Axios Visuals Vice President Harris has narrowly pulled ahead of former President Trump in Nate Silver's election model, which moved last year from FiveThirtyEight to Substack. When Biden left the race, Silver's model gave him a slim 26.9% chance of winning the Electoral College. Full election model ($).

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🏦 Tim Walz's empty portfolio

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz doesn't own a single stock, Axios Pro Rata author Dan Primack reports.

• His financial disclosures, both from his final year in Congress and his time as governor, also show no mutual funds, bonds, private equities or other securities. No book deals, speaking fees, crypto or racehorse interests.
• Not even real estate. Walz and his wife, Gwen, sold their home after moving into the governor's mansion. Their only investment assets appear to be via state pensions, including teacher pensions.

💰 This lack of investment is highly unusual for elected officials, particularly high-profile ones vying for federal office.

[stinsonmarri]

• What I have seen is joy and happiness, not evil thinkers! Freedom and showing that people of all nationalities can and will love each other. I AM NOT GOING BACK; going forward is a message that shows all of us who will be ready to reach these people. Hearts are being changed, and THE HOLY SPIRIT is prepared to reach the heart and change the mind! It is coming, and Trump today is speaking out of his head. He is showing his age and how ridiculous Tim Waltz says he is-Weird! Vance is a stocker. Can you believe how he tried to get close to Harris Plane? WEIRD!

[bonnie1962]

Might be enlightening to speak to those that lived thru the BLM riots and were injured and watched their life's work go up in flames,to say nothing of the families that lost family members.

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5 Things Christians Should Know about the Faith of Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris has rocketed to the top of the Democrats’ most desired pick for their favored front-runner for the 2024 Presidential Campaign. For most Democrats, she seemed to be the most logical choice after President Biden announced that he’d be stepping down as a candidate. Many Democrat party backers were relieved, and Harris’ endorsements and fresh campaign funds flooded in over a week. 

https://www.crosswalk.com/slideshows/5-things-christians-should-know-about-the-faith-of-kamala-harris.html?

Trump reverts to the mean

Former President Trump, feeling the heat of Vice President Harris' surging momentum in the polls, is reverting to his brawler instincts — auditioning caustic attacks and incoherent nicknames in real time to figure out what sticks.

• On Truth Social, Trump repeatedly has referred to Harris as "Kamabla" — a nonsensical nickname that appears intentional, but has bewildered journalists and even GOP surrogates, Axios' Zachary Basu writes.

Why it matters: Gone is much of the fleeting discipline Trump flashed when polls put him on course for a potential landslide over Biden earlier this summer.

⏱️ Zoom out: Having lost the luxury of a familiar foe in President Biden, Trump has just three months to try to define Harris and her relatively unknown running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

• Trump and his allies have revived old claims by a pair of Army veterans accusing Walz — who served in the National Guard for 24 years — of "abandoning" his unit by retiring two months before it received deployment orders to Iraq in 2005. (Go deeper.)

⏪ Between the lines: Trump campaign co-leader Chris LaCivita helped lead the notorious "Swift Boat" campaign to try to discredit the military service of then-Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president in 2004.

• Not lost on Democrats is Trump's own record of avoiding the Vietnam draft five times, including once for bone spurs.

During a call-in appearance on "Fox & Friends" yesterday, Trump acknowledged he was frustrated by Harris' political "honeymoon."

• Expect his team's attacks to grow more provocative — and more personal — if her momentum continues.

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💰 Dems outspend GOP on presidential race

Data: AdImpact. Chart: Axios Visuals Democrats have poured nearly twice as much cash into political ads this cycle ($325 million) compared to Republicans ($180 million), Axios' Sara Fischer writes from new projections by AdImpact, a political advertising analysis firm. Why it matters: After donors balked at continuing to back President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris' momentum suggests her party could maintain its advertising edge heading into November. 📱By the numbers: Democrats so far have spent the bulk of its advertising dollars on digital properties, including Facebook and Google. That's notable, since campaigns have historically poured most of their dollars into local broadcasts. TV ads, which tend to be longer and viewed on a big screen, are good for persuading voters. Digital ads, typically used for fundraising and list-building, help candidates target certain populations, such as younger or minority voters. 💡 Axios insight: Historically, campaigns were limited to advertising opportunities on heavily regulated mediums with limited inventory, such as television, radio and print. Today, the internet offers infinite inventory for campaigns to place ads with few regulations. That has contributed to soaring political ad spending.

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🔥 Hot campaign swag

Photo: Courtesy of Harris for President

Liberals' newest status symbol might be a viral camo hat reading "Harris-Walz." 🧢 The Harris campaign released the hat a few hours after announcing that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would join the ticket. It became an immediate internet favorite, Axios D.C.'s Mimi Montgomery writes. The $40 camo hat sold out in 30 minutes, with 3,000 orders totaling almost $1 million in purchases, the campaign tells Axios. Now it's only available for preorder, with shipping expected in October.   Harris and Walz say they’re ‘joyful warriors,’ narrowly avoid confrontation with Vance on tarmac Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, got an unusual glimpse of how hotly contested the region would be on Wednesday when they overlapped on a Wisconsin tarmac with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. Read more. Key points: Harris told a rally in Eau Claire, “As Tim Walz likes to point out, we are joyful warriors.” Contributing to that feeling, the Harris campaign said it had raised $36 million in the first 24 hours after she announced Walz as her running mate. The vice president said the pair looks at the future with optimism, unlike Trump, whom she accused of being stuck in the past and preferring a confrontational style of politics — even as she criticized her opponent herself.   At the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Wisconsin, Vance’s campaign plane arrived as Harris was greeting a group of Girl Scouts. He began walking over to Air Force Two, trailed by his security detail."I just wanted to check out my future plane,” Vance later told reporters. “If those people want to call me weird I call it a badge of honor,” Vance also said, responding to a moniker Walz famously used to describe him. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Majority of Americans say democracy is on the ballot this fall but differ on threat, AP poll finds   FACT FOCUS: False claims follow Minnesota governor’s selection as Harris’ running mate   Trump praised Minnesota Gov. Walz in 2020 for response to unrest over Floyd’s murder, audio shows

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Presidential race

 

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, went head-to-head Wednesday, campaigning in separate events in Wisconsin. Harris, who was joined by her newly-announced running mate Tim Walz, also appeared at a second rally in Michigan. The candidates slammed each other's records as they pitched themselves to Midwest voters as the best option. Trump, who was off the campaign trail, said that he expects to debate Harris "in the near future," while leaving open the possibility for the event to take place on another network besides Fox News. The comments come after Trump on Saturday said he would only debate Harris on Fox News or "I won't see her at all."

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Harris sticks to script

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Vice President Harris still hasn't given an interview or taken questions from voters since she became a presidential candidate. Harris has spoken publicly on her own terms — at rallies and through social media, Axios' Avery Lotz writes. 💡 Why it matters: She's enjoying a honeymoon of eye-popping fundraising and largely positive attention. So the campaign has little incentive to risk jeopardizing the good times with an unscripted encounter. The other side: Former President Trump has given several interviews to friendly, conservative media. He held his first news conference in months today at Mar-a-Lago. "She can't do an interview. She's barely competent," Trump said of Harris. The Harris campaign said in a statement: "If Donald Trump is so concerned about the success of VP Harris' campaign blitz, he could, you know, get out there on the campaign trail."

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Trump's next sprint

The first presidential campaign press conference since July 11 quickly yielded news, including pushback on former President Trump's claim of being in an emergency helicopter landing with the ex-mayor of San Francisco.

Why it matters: With momentum swinging against him, Trump spoke to reporters today for more than an hour.

• A month ago, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada were moved from "Toss Up" to "Lean Republican" by Cook Political Report.
• Today, they're back in the "Toss Up" column, a sign that Vice President Kamala Harris is working with a different map than President Biden.

Zoom in: Trump said he's back in for the Sept. 10 presidential debate on ABC News, which he said was off as recently as last week.

• Trump said mail-in voting can't be trusted, cutting against his campaign's strong effort to encourage early voters.
• He refused to take a position on Florida's upcoming abortion referendum, saying he'll declare a stance at a press conference soon.
• He called out Harris for not hosting a press conference or sitting for an interview at this point in her campaign. Harris took some questions from reporters after Trump's comments on Thursday.

Trump repeatedly asked reporters to speak up and repeat their questions, blaming the size of the room.

• He made the dubious comparison of the crowd size at his Jan. 6 rally to the one from MLK's March on Washington in 1963.
• He falsely said it was his fans, not him, who pushed the "Lock her up" chants against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton back in 2016.
• He said he once had to take the emergency landing with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who told the San Francisco Chronicle the event never happened.

Between the lines: GOP VP nominee JD Vance has been deployed to swing states to launch a disciplined assault on Harris' team over immigration, crime and inflation, Axios' Sophia Cai reports.

• Vance delivered the GOP's opening jabs in questioning Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's military resume — and, mirroring Trump, chiding Harris for not taking reporters' questions.

The bottom line: Non-traditional media is a huge focus of the campaign at this point, the New York Times reports. That includes podcasts like Trump's recent appearance with Adin Ross.

• The two danced and recorded an interview. Ross gave Trump a Cybertruck and a Rolex.
• The campaign's target with such interviews, per The Times: a group that's disproportionately younger, male, moderate and non-white. They tend to think the economy and their own finances are doing poorly.
• The campaign estimates this group is about 11% of voters, the Times reports.

 

Focus group: Swing voters compare Harris to Obama

Some Wisconsin swing voters say they are "relieved" or "cautiously optimistic" when they see Vice President Harris, according to our latest focus group with Engagious/Sago.

Why it matters: These voters, who backed Biden in 2020 after supporting Trump in 2016, indicated that Harris injects new energy into the 2024 race.

• When asked which of the last three Democratic Party nominees Harris is most similar to, nine of the 12 respondents said former President Obama.
• Nine of the respondents are independents, two are Democrats and one is a Republican.
• While a focus group is not a statistically significant sample like a poll, the responses show how some voters are thinking and talking about current events.

Between the lines: "Even though Harris serves alongside Biden, and is the same gender as Hillary Clinton, most respondents said that among the last three Democratic nominees, Harris is most similar to Obama," said Rich Thau, President of Engagious, who moderated the focus groups.

• Four of the 12 respondents said they had not planned to vote for Biden, but they do now plan to vote for Harris.
• In a six-way race, eight respondents said they would back Harris, one would back Trump, two would back Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and one would not vote.

Go deeper

 

Walz’s U.S. House tenure: Bipartisan bills and a focus on vets and farms

WASHINGTON — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, spent 12 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives before winning election to his home state’s highest office.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/08/09/walzs-u-s-house-tenure-bipartisan-bills-and-a-focus-on-vets-and-farms/?

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Harris Considered Hiding Laugh Because of ‘Political Risk of Cheerfulness’

The Democratic White House hopeful decided to ignore Trump's insults over her laugh after getting advice from close confidantes.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-considered-hiding-laugh-over-political-risk-of-cheerfulness?

ps:Good for her!!

Trump ‘Can’t Tell’ If What He Says Is True or False Says Former Adviser

Former Trump administration National Security Adviser John Bolton says he doesn't think Trump knows when he is lying and he ‘doesn’t really care.’

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-cant-tell-if-what-he-says-is-true-or-false-says-john-bolton?

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America's mood-swing election

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

This election is about more than two very different ideologies. It's about two very different moods: joy vs. rage. Why it matters: The conflicting rhetoric reflects the conflicting calculations of how to win in 2024 — and how Americans are really feeling about the state of the nation, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. Former President Trump sees fear as the primary motivator — fear of illegal immigration, crime, inflation, a declining America. He believes swing voters will embrace his darker view and demand protection, even if they don't love his style. Vice President Harris sees hope (or conflict exhaustion) as the primary motivator — hope to move beyond Trump and fighting, hope in a rising/rebounding America. She believes voters are tired of doom-and-gloom. 🖼️ The big picture: Both strategies have proven effective in elections over the past two decades. But misreading the national mood can kill a campaign. Harris' strategy smacks of Barack Obama's election theory. Obama is privately advising Harris and his top political mind, David Plouffe, was brought aboard to expand her team beyond Biden holdovers. Obama famously wrapped his campaigns around hope and change. It worked. This helps explain why Harris has dropped President Biden's central obsession with threats to democracy for more hopeful, future-focused messaging — including a new rallying cry: "We're not going back." The backstory: Trump's strategy — and his vision of a dystopian future under Democratic rule — has been consistent since he rode a wave of populist anger to the White House in 2016. In 2020, voters grew tired of the daily chaos wrought by Trump's presidency and COVID, and bet on Biden to guide the country back to normalcy. Four years later, Gallup's tracking poll shows just 18% of Americans are satisfied with the direction of the country — offering fertile ground for Trump to revive and refine his politics of grievance. "The world has gone to sh*t in the last 2 weeks," the Trump campaign blared in a fundraising email this week. "The stock market is CRASHING Unemployment is RISING! Wars in the Middle East are spiraling OUT OF CONTROL!" Vice President Harris and running-mate Tim Walz take a selfie yesterday with a "Kamala and the Coach" poster at a campaign office in Phoenix. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images 💬 "There's a large segment of America that does acknowledge things are tough out there," veteran GOP pollster Frank Luntz told Axios. "But they're tired of getting yelled at, and they're tired of gloom and doom. And they want hope rather than blame." "Trump is not a good news bear candidate — he's a bad news bear candidate," Luntz added. "He's going to be negative no matter what. But you have to be credible in your attacks." 🎤 Split screen: Watch Harris' early events with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and you'll see — and hear — their shared obsession with seeming and sounding joyous, bullish, fun-loving. "The one thing I will not forgive [Republicans] for is they try to steal the joy from this country," Walz declared at a rally in Detroit. "But you know what? Our next president brings the joy. She emanates the joy." The other side: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Trump's running-mate, captured the GOP's frustrations with the "joyful warrior" narrative when asked this week: "What makes you happy?" "I smile at a lot of things — including bogus questions from the media, man," Vance responded to a reporter in Michigan. "I think most people in our country, they can be happy-go-lucky sometimes and enjoy things sometimes — and turn on the news and recognize what's going on in this country is a disgrace." 🔎 Between the lines: Harris is benefiting from being a fresh face that many voters don't blame for perceived failures of the Biden administration. "She has been able to remake herself in a way that I've never seen in American politics before," Luntz marveled. "People think the system is broken, they think the government is broken, they think the border is broken, they think the economy is broken. That all works in [Trump's] favor. But what they don't think is that Harris is responsible for that."

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Trump calls Harris a "bitch"

Former President Trump speaks yesterday at Montana State University in Bozeman. Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images Former President Trump has been in a foul mood the past few weeks and has repeatedly called Vice President Harris a "bitch" in private, the N.Y. Times' Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan report. Why it matters: Axios has written extensively about this as the girls vs. boys election, with Democrats crushing the women's vote. Trump advisers privately concede his misogynistic language is deeply problematic, and something they worry he will unload in a public debate to his detriment. Vice President Harris speaks yesterday at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Photo: Go Nakamura/Reuters Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director, told The Times: "That is not language President Trump has used to describe Kamala, and it's not how the campaign would characterize her." Trump said about Harris on Wednesday in a phone interview with "Fox & Friends": "I heard she's sort of a nasty person." At his Mar-a-Lago news conference on Thursday, he asserted Harris is "not smart enough to do a news conference." Read the Times story (gift link).

[bonnie1962]

On 8/9/2024 at 2:46 PM, phkrause said:

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Photo: Courtesy of Harris for President

Liberals' newest status symbol might be a viral camo hat reading "Harris-Walz." 🧢 The Harris campaign released the hat a few hours after announcing that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would join the ticket. It became an immediate internet favorite, Axios D.C.'s Mimi Montgomery writes. The $40 camo hat sold out in 30 minutes, with 3,000 orders totaling almost $1 million in purchases, the campaign tells Axios. Now it's only available for preorder, with shipping expected in October.   Harris and Walz say they’re ‘joyful warriors,’ narrowly avoid confrontation with Vance on tarmac Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, got an unusual glimpse of how hotly contested the region would be on Wednesday when they overlapped on a Wisconsin tarmac with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. Read more. Key points: Harris told a rally in Eau Claire, “As Tim Walz likes to point out, we are joyful warriors.” Contributing to that feeling, the Harris campaign said it had raised $36 million in the first 24 hours after she announced Walz as her running mate. The vice president said the pair looks at the future with optimism, unlike Trump, whom she accused of being stuck in the past and preferring a confrontational style of politics — even as she criticized her opponent herself.   At the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Wisconsin, Vance’s campaign plane arrived as Harris was greeting a group of Girl Scouts. He began walking over to Air Force Two, trailed by his security detail."I just wanted to check out my future plane,” Vance later told reporters. “If those people want to call me weird I call it a badge of honor,” Vance also said, responding to a moniker Walz famously used to describe him. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Majority of Americans say democracy is on the ballot this fall but differ on threat, AP poll finds   FACT FOCUS: False claims follow Minnesota governor’s selection as Harris’ running mate   Trump praised Minnesota Gov. Walz in 2020 for response to unrest over Floyd’s murder, audio shows

 

[phkrause]

Inside Trump's slump

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Don't buy the public bravado. President Trump's advisers are deeply rattled by his meandering, mean and often middling public performances since the failed assassination attempt, Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei write in a "Behind the Curtain" column. They're pleading with him to adopt a new "hard-hitting" stump speech to define Vice President Harris as liberal and weak, advisers tell us. And praying he'll stop the recidivistic pull to simply improvise haphazardly. Why it matters: Trump, who looked and felt like a clear front-runner heading into last month's Republican convention, has fumed, stewed and stumbled in private and public ever since. Advisers are telling him Harris will grow her lead coming out of the Democratic convention, which begins a week from tomorrow — especially if they don't define her better, faster. Then just a week after the convention, it's already Labor Day. What we're hearing: Republican sources close to Trump tell us he realizes he needs to bring new focus to a message that can be meandering and self-indulgent. But it's Trump. So a new script is often fictional wishfulness. Trump "is struggling to get past his anger," a top Republican source tells us. Trump's aides know he won't change. So they're focusing "not on the need for him to change but on the need to adapt his message to win," the source said. "But he has to convince himself to leave the other garbage behind." "President Trump knows he's the only one who can end the media's honeymoon with Kamala Harris," a top Trump ally tells us, "and he sees a significant opening to do so with Harris' inability to defend her record on inflation and the border." "To get past the media force field protecting Harris, however, he knows he needs to be very specific with his policy contrasts and is planning on debuting a hard-hitting stump speech very soon." 🖼️ The big picture: Three weeks after President Biden left the race, no longer does it look like Trump could win every swing state. No longer does he hold the advantage on crowd size and base fervor. 📊 New polls by The New York Times and Siena College show Harris up by four points among likely voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania (50% to 46% in each state) — quite a momentum shift after Trump spent eight months before Biden's exit tied or ahead in most battlegrounds. This past week, the Cook Political Report reset its ratings to "toss-up" for Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, after earlier moving them to "lean Republican." Those states rejoin Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania as the six toss-ups, with North Carolina leaning Republican. Amy Walter, publisher and editor-in-chief, writes that the campaign has gone from "Trump's to lose to a much more competitive contest," with Democrats "united and energized" and Republicans "on their heels." 💰 In addition to the new speech, look for a Trump ad blitz. Trump's campaign and the biggest Trump-aligned super PAC spent four times as much on TV ads in Georgia in the two weeks after Biden left the race than in the rest of 2024 combined, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. On Friday, the Trump campaign placed $37 million in new ad buys (nearly two-thirds of it in Georgia) — the most he's reserved on TV ads in a single day this cycle, the tracking firm AdImpact found. ⚡ The latest: The Trump campaign said yesterday that its internal email had been hacked, with documents "obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process." Steven Cheung, the campaign communications director, warned reporters in a statement: "Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America's enemies and doing exactly what they want." Today's N.Y. Times, Washington Post front pages 🔎 Behind the scenes: A New York Times article over the weekend (the one that says Trump has repeatedly called Harris a "bitch" in private) vividly captures the former president's foul mood, pettiness and stubborn refusal to change. Among the revelations: At an Aug. 2 dinner in the Hamptons, "rattled donors" hoped Trump "would signal that he was recalibrating after a series of damaging mistakes." Instead, he invoked the "stop the steal" claims about 2020 that his advisers have urged him to drop. And Trump said of a race-baiting comment to the National Association of Black Journalists, where he questioned Harris' identity: "I think I was right." Trump stunned one of his wealthiest patrons, Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, on July 25 "by having an aide, Natalie Harp, fire off a series of angry text messages to Mrs. Adelson in Mr. Trump's name," complaining about people running Mrs. Adelson's super PAC, Preserve America, into which she's pouring millions to support Trump. The bottom line: Put the Times piece and this column in a time capsule. If Trump loses, you'll understand why.

[phkrause]

Cyber-chaos begins

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

News of a reported cyberattack on the Trump campaign is likely just the beginning of what promises to be a hectic, unpredictable cybersecurity run-up to November's election, Axios cybersecurity expert Sam Sabin reports. Why it matters: Since 2016's Russian-backed pilfering of the Hilary Clinton campaign's private emails, the specter of foreign meddling in U.S. elections has returned every four years, fueling mistrust in the political process. Politico reported yesterday that over the past few weeks, beginning July 22, a person with an AOL account and identifying themselves as "Robert" began relaying what appeared to be internal communications from a senior Trump campaign official — along with a 271-page vetting report, dated Feb. 23, about Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. The Washington Post later reported that on Thursday, "Robert" used an AOL account to send the Vance dossier, which "highlighted potential political vulnerabilities" but was based on "publicly available information, including past news reports and interviews." 🔭 Zoom out: Microsoft released a report Friday warning that Iran-backed hackers had targeted a high-ranking political campaign official via a spear-phishing email. Microsoft hasn't drawn a connection to Trump. But his campaign pointed to the report yesterday in a statement confirming the hack. The U.S. intelligence community assessed late last month that Iran was pushing influence operations to undermine the Trump campaign. 💬 "Buckle up," Chris Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, tweeted yesterday. "Someone is running the 2016 playbook, expect continued efforts to stoke fires in society and go after election systems." State of the art: More nation-states are using Russia's 2016 playbook to spur chaos and confusion through whatever means they can — including hack-and-leak schemes and social-media-based disinformation campaigns. China and Iran are both already using AI in their online disinformation campaigns. Between the lines: Even a report of a cyberattack targeting a political campaign — verified or not — is enough to stoke voter skepticism in the current political environment, Jake Braun, a former White House official and a national deputy field director for the 2008 Obama campaign, told Axios. "This stuff is what's actually going to undermine confidence far more than some deepfake that comes out," he said yesterday on the sidelines of the DEF CON hacker conference in Las Vegas.

[phkrause]

Latinos are excited about Harris, but she has work to do to win the crucial voting bloc, experts say

Latino voters and leaders say they are enthusiastic about Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, but for her to win their crucial support, they want to know where she stands on issues like the economy, immigration and education.

https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-election-2024-latino-support-74ebbf92bd21d581bc1462f52fc7e6a4?

 

🗳️ Harris' Latino lag

By Russell Contreras

Jimmy Carter supporters with signs in Spanish in 1976; President Ronald Reagan with Latino supporters in 1983; Latinos campaigning for Bill Clinton in 1992. Photos: Owen Franken/Corbis via Getty Images/Bettmann; Contributor/Joe Sohm Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris hasn't hit the level of Latino support that Democrats historically needed to win the White House, according to an Axios review of exit polls going back 50 years. Why it matters: When Democratic presidential candidates get less than about 64% of the Latino vote, they usually lose. Harris' support among Latinos is polling in the mid- to upper 50s — a big improvement from President Biden's numbers this year, but a signal to Democrats that they have work to do. 🔎 Zoom in: Donald Trump has helped increase Latino support for Republicans, partly by appealing to those who support his economic policies, oppose abortion and favor crackdowns on illegal immigration. 📉 But many Latinos are turned off by Trump's heated rhetoric about immigrants and his plan for mass deportations. Harris has moved quickly to try to appeal to Latino voters — particularly in the Sun Belt. This week Harris' campaign released an ad emphasizing her family's immigrant roots. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, campaigned in the Southwest and had a big rally near Phoenix. 👀 One encouraging sign for Harris: an endorsement Friday by the political arm of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which hadn't endorsed anyone for president in its nearly 100-year history. 🧮 By the numbers: Since Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976, when reliable exit poll data on Latinos were first collected, most Latino voters have backed Democrats. 1976: Carter got 76% of the Latino vote in defeating Gerald Ford. 1980: Carter got just 56% of the Latino vote and lost badly to Ronald Reagan. 1992: Bill Clinton got 61% of Latino support while winning a 3-way race. 1996: Clinton captured 72% of the Latino vote and defeated Bob Dole. 2000: Al Gore got 63% of the Latino vote and lost to George W. Bush. 2004: John Kerry got just 53% of the Latino vote and lost to Bush in a close race. 2008: Barack Obama got 67% of the Latino vote and defeated John McCain. 2012: Obama got 71% of the Latino vote and defeated Mitt Romney. 2016: Hillary Clinton got 66% of Latino support and lost to Trump. 2020: Biden got about 65% of the Latino vote in defeating Trump — though some exit polls showed Biden with less support. Trump did particularly well among Latinos with no college education. Go deeper

[phkrause]

🥊 Mapped: Latino voting power

Data: Census Bureau; Chart: Axios Visuals   🎓 Education drives Latino gender split By Astrid Galván     Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   ⚡️ A growing partisan split between Latino men and women is being driven partly by gaps in education, experts tell Axios. 👩🏽‍🎓 Why it matters: Latinos overall have made broad gains in obtaining college degrees during the past two decades, but women have significantly surpassed men, according to the UCLA Latino Data Hub. 27% of Latinas aged 25-29 are now likely to have a college degree, compared with 20% of Latino men, according to the Pew Research Center. Trump was backed by 31% of Latino men in 2020, a jump of roughly 7 percentage points from 2016, according to polling by the firm Latino Decisions. Between the lines: Latinas' support for Trump also grew in 2020, but during the past decade-plus they've backed Democrats at steady rates while Hispanic men have shifted further right. Go deeper

[phkrause]

On the campaign trail, Harris is pushing joy while Trump paints a darker picture Democrats are playing up their sunnier outlook. But the Trump campaign argues their candidate is more accurately reflecting the country's mood. Will the mismatch matter? Read more.

Key points: Two-thirds of Americans reported feeling very or somewhat pessimistic about the state of politics, according to polling by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research from last month. Roughly 7 in 10 said things in the country are heading in the wrong direction.   Just how hard Kamala Harris is betting on her approach is evident in her decision to pick Tim Walz as her running mate. The Minnesota governor’s relentless positivity is meant to give supporters a jolt of new energy and keep the momentum that Harris has built after Joe Biden stepped aside and endorsed his vice president.   The Trump campaign sees their candidate as reflecting reality rather than what they believe is a temporary exuberance igniting the Democratic base after months of discouragement over their ticket. Donald Trump has tried to harness that with his repeated predictions of stock market crashes and war, and his campaign appearances have included a long list of other warnings that have veered into the apocalyptic.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Donald Trump’s campaign says its emails were hacked   From Biden to Gabbard, here’s what Harris’ past debates show before a faceoff with Trump   Vance hails Trump’s Fed idea and pushes back against criticism over past words on American families   Harris pledges to work to end taxes on tips for service industry employees, echoing Trump vow LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris promised Saturday to work to eliminate taxes on tips paid to restaurant and other service industry employees, echoing a pledge that her opponent, Republican Donald Trump, has made, and marking a rare instance of political overlap from both sides. https://apnews.com/article/harris-walz-nevada-trump-las-vegas-ac21118dbb24290e46d32ad9669507d4?

[phkrause]

America's crime reset

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

New preliminary data from major U.S. cities shows a sharp drop in violent crime in the first half of the year — more than 25% in some communities — as the COVID-era crime wave recedes, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. Why it matters: The drop in violent crime puts a serious dent in one of the most frequently used lines of attack by former President Trump. It also gives Vice President Harris, a former prosecutor in San Francisco and California attorney general, a potent defense against attacks from the right on crime. President Biden seized on the numbers last week: "Americans are safer today than when Vice President Harris and I took office." Trump spent much of his Thursday press conference hitting Harris for being "weak on crime." Running mate JD Vance has targeted Democratic rival Tim Walz over his response to riots after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd four years ago. 🧮 By the numbers: An Axios analysis of data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association found an overall 6% decline in violent crime among 69 cities during the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period last year. 54 of the 69 major cities in the report saw drops in violent crime in the first half of 2024, according to the Axios review. Columbus experienced the largest percentage decline in violent crime in the nation, with a massive 41% drop so far in 2024. Omaha was second with a 30% decrease. Miami and D.C. so far, have seen 29% declines in violent crime. 👀 The intrigue: The Axios review also found that the number of homicides in the 69 reported cities fell by more than 17% during the first half of 2024 compared to the last period last year. Boston experienced a dramatic 78% drop in homicides. Philadelphia was among others that saw a big fall in homicides, with a 42% decrease in 2024. Caveat: The Major Cities Chiefs Association's preliminary data didn't include New York City — the nation's largest city — since it did not submit violent crime numbers to the organization for the first half of 2024.