2024 campaign

If you felt the ground shaking, it was Democrats jumping for joy after dumping Joe Biden and settling on a new, more energetic replacement. Joe was the old clunker. Kamala has that new car smell. The switcheroo raises three fundamental questions for the election. First: how long will Harris’s novelty last? Answer: until Labor Day, but probably not longer. Second: how does Harris deal with the Biden administration’s policy failures? Answer: by emphasizing a hopeful future with few details and avoiding talking about her role in the administration’s mistakes. Third: how does Harris deal with her record of very progressive positions, on tape from her last presidential run?

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently tried to arrange a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the possibility of serving in her administration, offering to drop out of the 2024 race in exchange for a position as cabinet secretary.   Kennedy’s campaign manager, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, told ABC News the Kennedy campaign had yet to hear back from Harris. RFK’s attempt to meet with Harris comes after the candidate met with former president Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month, where he offered a similar deal that resulted in no agreement. Kennedy spoke about advising Trump in a second term on health and medical issues.

Watch out California: Gavin Newsom is wearing a T-shirt. You know what that means: the Golden State governor means business! Every few years the well-coifed pol dons his everyman garb (jeans, trucker hat, aviators, et cetera) and puts on an impassioned performance for the press. His latest PR stunt has to do with his state’s worsening homeless crisis. Two weeks ago Newsom issued an executive order directing state agencies to clear the tent cities and encampments that bestrew the state. To drive the point home, Newsom even put his gloves on and picked up garbage from underneath an overpass in Mission Hills before heading back to the place hefeels most comfortable— in front of the cameras. “We need local government to step up. This is a crisis,” he huffed to the press gaggle.

“I think it’s very important to have debates,” former president Donald Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago press conference Thursday afternoon, confirming his agreement to three debates against Kamala Harris throughout September on Fox, ABC and NBC. The Harris campaign has only confirmed the ABC debate on September 10, which will be moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis. Until now, Trump would not commit to a date to debate Harris, saying he could consider skipping it after Biden's disastrous performance in their previous face-off. The Harris campaign accused Trump of refusing to debate out of fear. Harris “wants to say I don’t want to debate, but I do want to debate,” he added at the presser, his first public appearance since Tim Walz was selected as the Democratic VP candidate.

It’s not hard to recognize the sunny optimism that embodies the phrase, “Minnesota Nice.” You must be able to survive in a state where the land-locked upper Midwest weather vacillates between the stiflingly humid ninety-degree summers and dark, subzero winters. It’s those slivers of perfection between each season that make living here worthwhile; people flock to lakes with Native American names like Winnibigoshish and Minnetonka, whose purifying waters were made famous by Minnesota’s favorite native son, Prince. Our professional sports teams suffer from record-setting championship droughts, yet the fan base is never deterred.

OK, it’s August 6, the anniversary of the detonation of Little Boy over the city of Hiroshima in 1945. That marked the end of World War Two. (I know, it took one more bomb and a little more time, but August 6 was the gang plank to the signing of the act of surrender aboard the Missouri.)  Fast forward to August 6, 2024. As of 9:25 ante meridiem there have been no huge detonations. True, the market has yet to open. If we have a repeat of yesterday cautious folk will lock windows on the upper stories in the buildings where the financial experts congregate. But we do have a little whimper of news, a tiny pssst of a political crepitation. Kamala Harris has just chosen Tim Walz, tapioca progressive and governor of Minnesota as her running mate.

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro is on the shortlist to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate and with his newfound national profile comes plenty of scrutiny. In addition to progressive furor over his stance on the Israel-Hamas war, Shapiro is also under fire for allegedly covering up a case of sexual harassment in his office.  National media organizations have acknowledged that Governor Shapiro’s office settled a sexual harassment complaint for nearly $295,000 just last year. Former cabinet secretary Mike Vereb, a top aide to Shapiro, was accused of repeatedly making sexual advances and inappropriate comments toward a female office employee.

On Thursday, while delivering remarks at the eulogy for the late Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, Vice President Kamala Harris “accidentally” referred to herself as the president. Kamala was discussing a bill that Lee co-sponsored with Republican senator John Cornyn that eventually became law and made Juneteenth a federal holiday. “As a United States senator, I was proud to co-sponsor it. Then, as president — as vice president — it was my honor, with the president. With the president! It was my honor, along with our president, Joe Biden, to stand beside Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee as our president signed her bill into law.” Whoops.

The Democratic National Convention Committee announced last month that it has issued the same credentials as traditional news outlets to over 200 content creators from TikTok, YouTube and other platforms for the August convention in Chicago. The creators will be able to use dedicated workspaces at Chicago’s United Center and have access to party surrogates. They will also be able to attend related events in Chicago, such as third party panel discussions, and capture content there. The RNC also offered credentials to some content creators last month. @DemConvention shared a clip on X featuring multiple different left-wing influencers/content creators planning on attending the convention announcing their attendance.

Will Donald Trump and Kamala Harris face each other in a debate? Three months ago, Trump and his team agreed to a pair of debates, the second of which was set to take place on ABC News on September 10, obviously assuming both debate would take place against Joe Biden. But ever since Harris has replaced him as the nominee, the Trump campaign appears reluctant to schedule a Trump-Harris match up.  Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he will “probably” debate Harris, but he “can also make a case for not doing it.” “I want to do a debate. But I also can say this. Everybody knows who I am. And now people know who she is,” said Trump. “The answer is yes, I’ll probably end up debating,” he eventually said.

When I was a younger man, I found myself on the receiving end of a good bit of unsolicited advice for surviving as a member of the right — tried and true lessons in how to stay interesting without getting canceled or killed. Read all the archives of the Weekly Standard. Avoid talk of Israel, IQ and the Glorious Revolution. Don’t drink too much. Don’t drink too little. Take up smoking. And, most importantly, don’t involve yourself with any organizations predicated on white identity. I have never been very good at following sound advice, which is why I joined “White Dudes for Harris” on Monday. The existence of such an affinity group is remarkable in itself.