Happy Friday! It was a wild morning of heavy rain in Washington. Debby has made her extraverted arrival. Here’s what’s happening: -
Dems are warning Harris that she should have an effective economic message ready once the initial excitement dies down.
- The U.S. Capitol complex was briefly under a tornado warning this morning.
- Is Trump getting outworked by Harris?
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: I’ll be off next week for vacation. The Hill’s Liz Crisp, Miranda Nazzaro and Lauren Sforza will be guest writing the 12:30 Report. Let’s not change any presidential nominees or anything while I’m gone, OK? Talk soon, friends! 🌴 |
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To quote Scar, be prepaaaaaared:
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Vice President Harris has been riding a wave of momentum since President Biden’s withdrawal from the race. Democrats are elated with the shift in polling and enthusiasm boost but have shifted to battle mode.
However: The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Tobias Burns report that Democrats are warning that Harris needs to solidify her economic message before former President Trump takes control of the narrative. The economy was a dominant issue for voters when Biden was on top of the ticket, and Trump was winning on that matter.
Once the newness of the Harris-Walz ticket dissipates, they will have to be prepared with a solid economic message.
Economic timing: “The economy is gaining in urgency as an issue as it nears an inflection point following a period of interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening undertaken by the Federal Reserve in response to elevated postpandemic inflation. A key recession indicator known as the Sahm Rule was triggered last week by an increase in the unemployment rate to 4.3 percent.” Read Parnes and Burns’s full reporting: ‘Democrats warn Harris must find right message on economy’ |
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Tim Walz’s finances do not look like many politicians’: |
“Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz does not own any stocks, securities or real estate, per the newly minted Democratic vice presidential candidate’s most recent financial disclosures,” reports The Hill’s Jared Gans. “Walz’s only investment comes from pensions, including from his past time as a teacher. He taught social studies for years before first running for Congress in 2006.” Keep in mind: Gans pointed out that “most elected officials tend to have considerably more financial investments.”
Why he doesn’t own a house: He and his wife reportedly sold their house in 2019 and moved into the governor’s residence.
Their income: “The couple earned a combined income of a little over $166,000 in 2022, according to their tax return, including Walz’s $115,485 annual salary as governor,” according to The Washington Post.
Read more: ‘Walz owns no stocks, securities or real estate, per disclosures’ Plus: ‘How Tim Walz’s personal finances compare to JD Vance, other politicians’ |
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I’ll take one Trump presser. Add irritation. Extra snark, please. And a side of frustration:
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Vice President Harris appears to be getting under former President Trump’s skin. So much so that he lashed out and ranted about her campaign during an hourlong press conference Thursday at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. Here are some highlights:
🔷 The biggest news: Trump says he has agreed to participate in three televised debates: Sept. 4 on Fox News, Sept. 10 on NBC and Sept. 25 on ABC. Until this point, Trump was vague about whether he would debate Harris at all.
🔷 Trump defended Biden (?!): Trump argued that the “presidency was taken away from Joe Biden” and suggested that the mechanism for Harris to take over could be “unconstitutional.” Trump also touted the 14 million votes that Biden received during the primaries. This is Trump’s attempt to add some dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party. |
🔷Trump’s biggest line of attack: Trump has slammed and taunted Harris for not participating in a news conference or unscripted interview since becoming the de facto Democratic nominee. At one point, he said she’s “not smart enough” to do so. 🔷 Trump tried labeling Harris and Walz as ‘radical left’: Including saying that Walz is “heavy into the transgender world.”
More takeaways from Trump’s presser, via The Hill’s Niall Stanage 💻 Watch Trump’s full press conference |
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➤ OMG, THIS PRESS RELEASE FROM THE HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN:
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They seem to be enjoying themselves. “Donald Trump’s Very Good, Very Normal Press Conference,” it’s titled. “Donald Trump took a break from taking a break to put some pants on and host a press conference public meltdown.” Read the full text |
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➤ HOW HARRIS REACTED TO TRUMP’S DEBATE COMMENTS:
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“I’m glad that he’s finally agreed to a debate on Sept. 10,” Harris told reporters on the tarmac. “I’m looking forward to it. And hope he shows up.”
And she addressed the lack of an unscripted interview: “I’ve talked to my team. I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month.”
📹 Watch the clip, via C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman |
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Is Trump getting outplayed?: |
Former President Trump has only had five campaign rallies since the Republican National Convention in July. Vice President Harris has had that many rallies this week alone.
The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports that “Democrats and Harris campaign aides have reveled in the contrast in schedules, using it to stoke questions about Trump’s stamina and taunt him with Harris’s large, enthusiastic crowds.”
Why this matters: “It’s a drastic shift from when President Biden was in the race and would travel to campaign roughly once a week. It has led some Republicans to suggest Trump will need to ramp up his presence in battleground states to keep pace, even as the former president bristled at the idea that he’s lying low.”
Read Samuels’s full reporting: ‘Trump faces questions about getting outworked by Harris’ |
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➤ MORE HEADLINES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL:
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🔷 ‘Harris Used to Worry About Laughing. Now Joy Is Fueling Her Campaign.’: The New York Times
🔷 ‘Why the Midwest Remains the Power Broker of American Politics’: The Wall Street Journal
🔷 ‘From Walz, a Rosier View of a Midwestern Upbringing’: The New York Times
Plus: Check out today’s new episode of The Hill’s Switch-Up podcast. Cheyanne M. Daniels and Caroline Vakil do a deep-dive on the Harris-Walz ticket — and what obstacles they face ahead of November. Listen here
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👏 Simone Biles has become a meme: This clip of Simone Biles looking at the camera has garnered hilarious captions on social media. “when someone asks if you wanna get ice cream,” @JennaCottrell posted. “When my wife is saying our goodbyes at the party and hears me crack a fresh beer,” @DustyBottoms04 posted.
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The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Delaware with no public events. Vice President Harris is in Arizona. (all times Eastern) |
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8 p.m.: Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) campaign in Phoenix. 💻 Livestream
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10 p.m.: Former President Trump campaigns in Bozeman, Mont. 💻 Livestream
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9 a.m. Sunday: Robert Costa’s exclusive interview with President Biden airs on CBS News’s “Sunday Morning.”
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3 p.m. Sunday: The Olympic closing ceremony.
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