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Ohio Sen. JD Vance and wife Usha Vance will be introduced to the nation at the GOP convention on Wednesday night, in what stands to be a big moment for the future of the Republican Party. Polls show former President Trump’s running mate is largely unknown on the national stage. The latest AP-NORC survey found that 60 percent don’t know enought about Vance to have an opinion.
The 39-year-old can fill that blank slate with his compelling biography. -
Vance grew up up poor in Appalachia, served in the Marines, spent time in the tech sector, wrote a best-selling book and became Ohio’s junior senator in 2022 without ever having held public office.
Vance will also introduce his multicultural family, with wife Usha expected to speak. -
Usha Vance is the daughter of Indian immigrants. She was born in San Diego and raised Hindu. She’s had a successful legal career, having clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the D.C. Circuit.
Vance’s political journey will also be on display, including his evolution from fierce Trump critic to a leading voice of the New Right. -
Vance has adopted Trump’s brand of economic and cultural populism, marking a clean break from the GOP’s old guard of pro-business, interventionist, and small government conservatism.
Republicans hope that shift, and the new faces leading the charge, will help them win over a more racially and culturally diverse cross-section of working class voters, particularly in a year when the Rust Belt and Midwest states appear primed to determine the outcome of the election. -
After the convention, Trump and Vance will hold their first campaign rally in a Grand Rapids, Mich., district that swung from Trump in 2016 to Biden in 2020.
For a full view of Trump’s economic populism on taxes and tariffs, read this sweeping interview with Bloomberg. -
Trump paused the interview at one point to consider why people who drink regular Coke seem to be thinner than those who drink Diet Coke: “I say it in a sort of friendly way. But people drink a Diet Coke, I’ve never seen a thin person drink it. I’ve just never seen it. These guys come in and they order regular Cokes and they’re so thin. So, I don’t know what’s going on with it? So go ahead.”
What to watch for: -
Big name speakers tonight include Donald Trump, Jr., North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).
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The parents of 22-year old Omer Neutra, who is being held hostage by Hamas, will speak.
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Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro, who was released from prison on Wednesday, will address the convention. Navarro served four months for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena related to the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill.
Perspectives: -
John Halpin: Trump’s most popular and least popular ideas
- Damon Linker: Vance is forging a new kind of right-wing populism.
- Michael Goodwin: Republicans are becoming the party of the Working Class.
- Chris Lehman: Vance is the perfect soul-less vessel for the future of MAGA.
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Matt Taibbi: Is this the beginning of a new political era?
Related coverage: |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Schiff calls on Biden to step aside
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Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who is likely to be the next senator for California, became the 21st House Democrat to call on President Biden to drop out.
“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch. And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”
Schiff, who is close with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), is easily the most prominent Democrat to call on Biden to step aside. This comes days after Schiff’s private remarks to donors about how Democrats will lose control of the White House and Senate, and fail to take back the House, with Biden at the top of the ticket. The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, is plowing ahead with plans to virtually nominate Biden weeks ahead of the Aug. 19 convention, even as calls grow for Biden to step aside. -
The DNC has delayed the virtual roll call by a few days, but still plans to hold the early vote sometime between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7.
- The justification for the early nomination was to ensure Biden makes it on the Ohio ballot. But Ohio passed a law extending its ballot deadline to ensure Biden can be included.
Biden is adamant he’s staying in the race. He said in an interview with BET that only medical condition would cause him to reevaluate his candidacy.
New polls show Biden is badly weakened both within his own party and in the race against Trump: -
Nearly two-thirds of Democrats want a different candidate, according to the latest AP-NORC poll.
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A survey of 1,200 Black women conducted by The Cut found that 64 percent support Biden, compared to 18 percent for Trump and 10 percent for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Biden took more than 90 percent support among Black voters in 2020.
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The Hill obtained internal Democratic polling from BlueLabs Analytics that found a host of alternative Democratic candidates outperforming Biden, including Vice President Harris, Sen. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In the interview with BET, Biden was asked why he ran as a transitional candidate if he planned to stick around for two terms.
“I thought that I’d be able to move from this just pass it on to someone else. But I didn’t anticipate things getting so, so, so divided. And quite frankly, I think the only thing age brings a little bit of wisdom. And I think I’ve demonstrated that I know how to get things done for the country, in spite of the fact that we were told we couldn’t get it done. But there’s more to do, and I’m reluctant to walk away from that.”
Perspectives:
The Atlantic: Believe your own eyes.
The Hill: Democrats should stop apologizing and fight for democracy. |
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Biden pushes ahead despite fresh Dem blowback
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The president has spent the past few days in swing state Nevada courting Black voters.
President Biden is promoting several new liberal policies he says he’ll implement in a second term, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have emerged as some of his most staunch supporters on Capitol Hill.
In Nevada, Biden has given multiple interviews and speeches, but none of his appearances have squashed Democratic fears about his ability to successfully prosecute his campaign’s case against Trump.
Puck News has an explosive report about a Zoom call Biden held last week with Democratic lawmakers.
Biden got into a heated exchanged with Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a Bronze Star recipient who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Name me a foreign leader who thinks I’m not the most effective leader in the world on foreign policy,” Biden said. “Tell me! Tell me who the hell that is!…Tell me who did something you’ve never done with your Bronze Star like my son – and I’m proud of your leadership, but guess what…things are in chaos and I’m bringing some order to it.”
“It’s not breaking through, Mr. President, to our voters,” Crow responded.
“You outa talk about it!,” Biden shot back.
Read more: Meghan McCain rips Biden’s ‘disgusting’ Bronze Star comments |
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Secret Service director subpoenaed amid calls to resign
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign Wednesday, and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena for Cheatle to testify at a public hearing scheduled for next week.
Cheatle has become the focal point as lawmakers and officials open new inquiries into the security failures that preceded the assassination attempt on former President Trump. - Johnson will create a task force with subpoena power to consolidate the myriad Congressional investigations.
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The Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened a probe.
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House Republicans are clashing with DHS, which has rescheduled lawmaker briefings.
If the Monday hearing goes forward, expect lawmakers to grill Cheatle on her comments that the building the shooter scaled didn’t have snipers on top because the roof was “sloped” and too dangerous to ascend.
Cheatle initially said that local police should have locked down the building because it was outside the perimeter of the rally, but she told CNN on Tuesday that the responsibility falls squarely on the Secret Service.
“At that particular site, we divided up areas of responsibility, but the Secret Service is totally responsible for the design and implementation and the execution of the site…What I was trying to stress was that we just divided up areas of responsibility, and they provided support to those areas of responsibility.” A few new details on the shooting:
Related coverage: |
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“Judge Cannon takes a sledgehammer to the rule of law,” by Laurence H. Tribe and Dennis Aftergut for The Guardian.
“The political impacts of assassination attempts,” by Mark Mellmann for The Hill. |
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Day 3 of the Republican National Convention is underway in Milwaukee.
33 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
55 days until the second presidential debate. 111 days until the 2024 general election. 187 days until Inauguration Day 2025. |
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| Wednesday Thursday -
The final day of the Republican National Convention.
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