2024 U.S. Election of President and Vice President

[Monash]

Barack Obama remains one of the most compelling speakers in or out of politics.

True, I'm just wondering if Harris will try to use that to her advantage and ask him to appear in some election adds.

[Bigfella]

True, I'm just wondering if Harris will try to use that to her advantage and ask him to appear in some election adds.

I imagine there are clusters of advisers looking at the best way to trade on the impact of BOTH Obama's (Michelle's speech was great too). I suspect both will be doing campaign events in Georgia & North (?) Carolina among others. That speech made me think that if he was allowed to run again (and wanted to) he might just win. Still very impressive.

[tbm3fan]

Barack Obama remains one of the most compelling speakers in or out of politics.

Listening to Obama speak simply amazes me as I see nothing that looks like a teleprompter anywhere near him. He is looking left, he is looking right, he is looking straight ahead all the while talking. That would tell me this is extemporaneous which is amazing in and of itself. The other side has mumbles who is hard pressed to read his teleprompter and when he goes off on one of his many tangents can rarely put a simple coherent sentence together.

[TopHatter]

Listening to Obama speak simply amazes me as I see nothing that looks like a teleprompter anywhere near him. He is looking left, he is looking right, he is looking straight ahead all the while talking. That would tell me this is extemporaneous which is amazing in and of itself. The other side has mumbles who is hard pressed to read his teleprompter and when he goes off on one of his many tangents can rarely put a simple coherent sentence together.

Haven't been watching any of the DNC, just picking up bits and pieces here and there from the news.

But what impresses me the most about Obama is that he's not whining like a little pussy ass bitch about how "unfair" things are.

[statquo]

I really like Walz. Very impressed.

[TopHatter]

Trump's cult of personality threatens to hasten the demise of the GOP



Today’s Republican Party and the “conservative” movement belong to Donald Trump. They are an extension of his mind, character, emotions, personality, desires, and impulses. This means that Trump’s character failings, apparent emotional and psychological unwellness and challenged intellect are theirs as well.

Donald Trump, convicted of 34 felonies, believes that he is above the law. Once the party of “law and order," today’s GOP is a de facto political crime organization Trump is the boss.

He is manifestly corrupt. Today’s Republican Party is now a practical extension of his business and brand. Like other autocrats and dictators, Trump has installed a relative, Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law, as co-chair of the Republican National Committee as a way of solidifying his control over it.

Donald Trump is an aspiring dictator who attempted a violent coup on Jan. 6—an attempt to end America’s multiracial democracy which has not stopped, and in many ways is accelerating. The Republican Party claims to have a monopoly on “patriotism” and “real American values” but is now complicit with and supports the MAGA movement's attempts to end democracy — which include support for political violence as a way of getting and keeping power.

He has shown himself, repeatedly, to be a racist, a white supremacist, and a misogynist. In the post-civil rights era, the Republican Party and the “conservative” movement have long shared those values. The rise of Trump has only amplified and emboldened such values and behavior.

Donald Trump is an egomaniac who believes he is a martyr-prophet-warrior who is on a mission from God to become the country’s first dictator. This is part of a much larger pattern of delusional and unhinged behavior, which includes habitual lying and other fantastical claims and thinking. In turn, the Republican Party and its propagandists amplify these lies as facts as part of a strategic disinformation propaganda program.

In the most basic and obvious example of how Donald Trump and the Republican Party are now basically one and the same thing, the party’s platform has almost literally been rewritten to be “whatever Donald Trump wants he gets.” In all, today’s Republican Party and "conservative" movement are a personality cult with Donald Trump as the cult leader. Political personality cults are one of the defining features of autocratic and authoritarian systems of government and society.

Recent research by political scientists Benjamin E. Goldsmith and Lars J. K. Moen explores why so many Americans are attracted to the Trump political personality cult and his MAGA fake populist authoritarian movement:
.

What is different about Trump that has allowed him such success where others have failed?

Support from a “personality cult”—something his would-be successors lack—has, we believe, been essential for Trump’s political success. In new research, we argue that there is an identifiable hard core of extremely loyal Trump supporters that comprise his personality cult. Members of such a cult show unquestioning loyalty to a strong leader, such as Argentina’s Juan and Eva Perón or Italy’s Benito Mussolini, whom they perceive as infallible and truthful. Their devotion has religious parallels as they consider their leader a savior with unique ability to protect society against internal or external threats. Trump has himself embraced such a status in relation to his followers in statements such as “I am your voice” and “I alone can fix it,” both of which he declared at the 2016 Republican convention.

Trump’s followers are often referred to as a personality cult. Republican former representative Liz Cheney lamented that her party had “embraced Donald Trump [and] embraced his cult of personality” after her 2022 defeat by a Trump-backed candidate. Mainstream news media often refer to the idea of a personality cult in connection with Trump, but until now there has been little discussion of the idea by political scientists.

Personality cults are commonly associated with authoritarian systems, where a strong leader sits atop a regime with strict control of public information. It may therefore seem surprising to find this level of loyalty to a former president in the U.S. However, we identify a group of cultlike Trump followers by their loyalty and personality characteristics. We suggest that commanding such a personality cult lets Trump succeed, where other U.S. right-wing populists fail.

Goldsmith and Moen continue, “Devoted support for Trump demonstrates how political behavior need not be based on policy preferences or ideology. It might instead be motivated by psychological needs found in individuals seeking the guidance of strong leadership. Loyal Trump supporters put their faith in a strong leader they believe can effectively solve problems and save their country from internal and external threats. They find assurance in a leader boasting 'I alone can fix it.' We suggest Trump’s political success springs from this psychological wellspring.”

Ultimately, a political personality cult can be both a powerful advantage as well as a great vulnerability and weakness in terms of taking political power.

In 2016, Donald Trump through the force of his personality and brand, timing, a compliant and enabling news media, white racial resentment and outright racism among white “working class” voters, and other deciding factors (most notably the help of hostile foreign actors) was able to defeat Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. Many of the establishment Republicans and conservative leadership saw Trump as a tool they could use to get even more power in a country that is increasingly hostile to their policies. Instead, Trump and his MAGA movement would absorb the Republican Party and conservative movement. There was little to no resistance; The coupling was consensual and very welcome.

Eight years later, after a coup attempt, a disastrous handling of the COVID pandemic, malignant normality, near economic collapse, and general chaos the American people are exhausted by it all. Instead of being new and novel, Donald Trump and his MAGA movement are now a known commodity and stagnant. Public opinion polls and other data show that Donald Trump has not grown his base of support (some measures show that the MAGA movement and Trump have become increasingly unpopular over the last four years if not longer).

Even with those liabilities and an increasingly bored and disinterested public, Donald Trump was well on his way to defeating President Biden in what could have been a landslide. His political fortunes would quickly change, however. President Biden made the honorable and selfless decision to step aside and to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris. In the month since that decision, Kamala Harris (and now her vice-presidential running-mate Tim Walz) would catch up with Trump in the polls. Harris now leads or is tied with Trump both nationally and in the key battleground states. Moreover, Kamala Harris has more avenues to victory in the Electoral College than Donald Trump.

If these early polling trends continue (and assuming they are accurate) the 2024 election could be a landslide victory for Harris-Walz and the Democrats. In a reversal of 2016, it appears that it is increasingly Donald Trump and the Republicans who will have snatched defeat from the mouth of victory.

To say that Donald Trump is not taking this change of political events and momentum well would be an understatement to the extreme.

At his MAGA political rally-cult meetings, and in interviews and other communications, Donald Trump and his surrogates are attacking Vice President Harris with some of the ugliest old-fashioned and naked white supremacy, racism, and misogyny. Trump’s surrogates are also making vile statements and suggestions about her past intimate and dating life in an attempt to impugn her character and dignity. Trump has also made antisemitic attacks on Harris’s husband Douglas Emhoff. It has been reported that Donald Trump calls Harris a “bitch” in private—and has done so repeatedly. Trump and his propagandists across the right-wing hate media echo chamber are also dragging out the old Cold War era-slur that Kamala Harris is a “communist.” Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn would be very proud of Donald Trump’s twenty-first century red baiting.

During his speeches, interviews, and in his posts online Trump appears to be increasingly detached from reality as he makes bizarre claims about fake crowds, fake polls, and continues with his obsessions about electricity, sharks, and the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter.

The thought that a Black woman who is a former prosecutor and attorney general is defeating him in the polls appears to have caused Donald Trump to suffer an extreme narcissistic injury. The fact that his attacks on Kamala Harris have not found traction with the public and may have actually backfired is undoubtedly contributing to Trump’s frustration and rage.

Senior members of the Republican Party are pleading with Donald Trump to stay on message about the economy, Harris’s role in the Biden administration, and other issues that they believe can bring them victory on Election Day. Leading Republican pollsters and influentials such as Frank Luntz are warning that Donald Trump’s behavior and response to Vice President Harris’s energized campaign is a loser and “political suicide.” On NBC’s “Meet the Press” last Sunday, Senator Lindsey Graham, who is one of the corrupt ex-president’s supplicants, warned that “President Trump can win this election. His policies are good for America and if you have a policy debate for President, he wins. Donald Trump the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.”

It is being reported that Donald Trump is attacking (and firing) his campaign staff instead of listening to their counsel. Donald Trump is incapable of change. President Biden is no longer the nominee. The Republican Party Trump personality cult is showing its weakness and inability to pivot and adapt to the new reality on the ground. They are yoked to him.

By comparison, the Democratic Party is not a personality cult. If anything, it tends toward the other extreme, being undisciplined in terms of messaging and organizing. In all, the Democrats are a coalition that a senior political strategist told me was like trying to organize a bag of cats. By comparison, the Republicans are part of a right-wing movement that operates lockstep like a religion where victory is all that matters, and at any cost.

At this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, something appears to have changed.

Salon’s executive editor Andrew O’Hehir is attending the convention. In a new essay, he writes:
.

That noise you heard emanating from the United Center on Monday night wasn’t just the exuberant chant of “Lock him up!” that erupted during Hillary Clinton’s speech to the Democratic National Convention — no, technically speaking Clinton did not lead that chant, though she clearly enjoyed it — nor was it the faintly cringe, carefully orchestrated “We love Joe” chant that preceded President Biden’s speech. It wasn’t even the tiny outbreak of discord toward the back of the Florida delegation, a few dozen feet behind my seat, where a few activists unrolled a protest sign in Palestinian flag colors before being vigorously tackled.

No, it was the sound of the Democratic Party’s collective id — a genie squelched and suppressed for so long its very existence seemed apocryphal — escaping from the underground cavern where it’s been trapped for ever so many years. This building, which hosted numerous championship games for the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, was literally packed to the rafters and bursting with explosive energy on Monday evening, something that never once occurred during the Republican convention a few weeks ago, 80 miles north in Milwaukee.

Whether or not “Lock him up!” was entirely spontaneous, it felt entirely genuine: To be specific, it felt like a genuine desire for payback, a longing for revenge for the many large and small injuries inflicted on liberal vanity, the liberal conscience and cherished liberal certainties by the Trump movement over the last eight or nine years…. [W]hat’s suddenly tangible at this convention is not just a desire to win, but a longing to crush the opposition into dust. That won’t quite happen, of course, but that brand of GOP-branded hunger is something new for Democrats.

What comes next?

Vice President Harris is enjoying one of the longest political honeymoons in modern American political history. It will inevitably end. There are seventy or so days until Election Day and much hard work is to be done. Contrary to the momentum and "vibes," the 2024 election will likely be a very close one.

Donald Trump is a great man of history. This is an observation based on how he has changed the arc of American and world history. It is not a normative claim about Trump's behavior or politics.

Thus, the irony. Donald Trump, being such a man, and in control of a personality cult in the form of the Republican Party, exerts such an inescapable force that it may have doomed them to defeat in the 2024 Election and perhaps beyond.
_______

Sometimes I feel bad for Republicans, by which I mean the party faithful who have lived their lives voting for Republican candidates who, up until a couple of decades ago, were generally regular, sane people who just had a different take on national issues.

They had pushed the crackpots, rabid racists, and religious zealots out of positions of power and the spotlight. But then something happened - I personally think it was Barack Obama getting elected - that brought those same crackpots and racists back from under the rocks they had hidden under, with a vengeance.

And then in 2016, purely by accident, Trump managed to harness that negative energy, and thanks solely to the Electoral College, became president.

And nowadays, those sane, regular people (like Liz Cheney and Brian Kemp) are branded as 'RINOs' and the party seems geared to the wishes of people who weren't even registered to vote ten years ago. That negative runs the party today. The GQP offers nothing but apocalyptic doom and gloom, with civil war for dessert.

Look no further that the Trump campaign - their beloved Leader can't even discuss the issues in a reasonable, coherent way because it's too 'boring' for the MAGA crowd.

[JRT]

It seems widely rumored that somebody's heroin addicted brain worm might direct it's host to drop out of the race and endorse the convicted felon and alleged racketeer Don Johnny Trump. That heroin addicted brain worm's host is rapidly losing support, and Trump may not gain much in the bargain, if anything.

[statquo]

Sometimes I feel bad for Republicans, by which I mean the party faithful who have lived their lives voting for Republican candidates who, up until a couple of decades ago, were generally regular, sane people who just had a different take on national issues.

They had pushed the crackpots, rabid racists, and religious zealots out of positions of power and the spotlight. But then something happened - I personally think it was Barack Obama getting elected - that brought those same crackpots and racists back from under the rocks they had hidden under, with a vengeance.

And then in 2016, purely by accident, Trump managed to harness that negative energy, and thanks solely to the Electoral College, became president.

And nowadays, those sane, regular people (like Liz Cheney and Brian Kemp) are branded as 'RINOs' and the party seems geared to the wishes of people who weren't even registered to vote ten years ago. That negative runs the party today. The GQP offers nothing but apocalyptic doom and gloom, with civil war for dessert.

Look no further that the Trump campaign - their beloved Leader can't even discuss the issues in a reasonable, coherent way because it's too 'boring' for the MAGA crowd.

From the outside, it seemed the W Bush administration obliterated the old Republican Party. I don't think you can underestimate the disaster of that administration. They tried it again with Romney in 2012, but ultimately were rudderless and didn't know where to go. Trump won in 2016, they saw how much the base fell in line, purged anyone from the old guard, and now we are where we are.

I wouldn't excuse social media for its role in this as well. The same crowd that warned my generation to not put pictures of ourselves drinking on our Facebooks because a potential employer might see it went from that to livestreaming themselves raiding the Capitol. What happened? IMO social media illiteracy.

The everyday Trump supporter who is out there complaining about the economy while spending all of their money on Trump merchandise are the pawns, but I'd be careful with the professional class of Trump supporters behind the scenes. Project 2025 is their playbook, but they fundamentally don't believe in this system of governing. I was watching a doc on American conservatives in Hungary and they flat out say that's the system they want because it preserves 'conservative values'. THey look at liberal democracy and only see the word liberal and it makes them sick to their stomach. This new breed is in contrast to the old guard which were for small government. The new breed sees government as their instrument to retain power. I can't remember the guys name but in this doc they were interviewing this Harvard guy who was teaching in Hungary and he flat out said changing the Constitution to retain political power is a need for them and there was nothing wrong about it. That's scary.

[Bigfella]

Well, that ended pretty well. Kinzinger was a good choice - more outreach to sane republicans. Harris isn't a natural speaker, but she hit her marks pretty well & covered all the bases. Kudos for being prepared to address the Israel/Palestine situation. No side is going to be happy, but avoiding it would have looked worse.

So, where to from here? Harris still has a lot of work to do. Will there be a campaign bounce, or has she already 'bounced'? Can she keep the momentum going? Will the Kennedy nutjob going all in for Trump have any impact? Will Trump actually start to get his message focussed? She has to do some in depth media & then there is the debate - plenty of chances to mess up. Lets hope she doesn't.

[tbm3fan]

Well, that ended pretty well. Kinzinger was a good choice - more outreach to sane republicans. Harris isn't a natural speaker, but she hit her marks pretty well & covered all the bases. Kudos for being prepared to address the Israel/Palestine situation. No side is going to be happy, but avoiding it would have looked worse.

So, where to from here? Harris still has a lot of work to do. Will there be a campaign bounce, or has she already 'bounced'? Can she keep the momentum going? Will the Kennedy nutjob going all in for Trump have any impact? Will Trump actually start to get his message focussed? She has to do some in depth media & then there is the debate - plenty of chances to mess up. Lets hope she doesn't.

Jr. a complete and total disgrace to the family name. RFK is turning over in his grave.

[DOR]

Some excellent insight from The Green Papers (greenpapers.com).

An electoral college vote from California represents 732,903 people. One from Wyoming represents 192,573, a ratio of 2.64:1.

A California senator represents 19,788,379 people; one from Wyoming, 288,860, a ratio of 68.5:1.

A Delaware congressional seat represents 990,837 people; one from Montana, 542,704, a ratio of 1.83:1 ratio.

Some pigs are more equal than other pigs ...

[TopHatter]

What Are We Conserving?
No policy preferences are worth risking the Constitution.



WHEN MY FRIEND DAVID FRENCH—New York Times columnist, pro-life evangelical, and lifelong conservative—announced that he would be voting for Kamala Harris, it was like dropping a Porterhouse steak amid a pride of lions. The Dispatch’s Jonah Goldberg wrote a rebuttal, asserting, among other things, that “endorsements trigger an instinctual desire to defend them after the fact.”

Nick Catoggio, also of the Dispatch, noted with his usual percipience that “neutrality between Trump and Harris implies that conserving the constitutional order isn’t an important priority of conservatism. Or at least no more important than, say, fiscal responsibility or restricting abortion is.” There was much sparring on social media.

This debate illuminated an interesting question: What is conservatism conserving? As someone who spent decades as a conservative advocate, I am no longer as certain as I once was that conservatives have all the right answers.

None of us has the time or ability to become an expert in everything, so we use shortcuts. If person X agrees with me about anti-communism or phonics, I will be more likely to trust their views on Federal Reserve policy or some other topic that I know less about. We all outsource our judgment to some degree. But in the past nine years, too many people I formerly believed were honest and reliable have proven themselves capable of staggering dishonesty and bad faith. Someone said it’s like finding out that your spouse has been unfaithful or a friend has betrayed you. Suddenly you look back at the entire relationship with a jaundiced eye, interpreting everything differently.

It’s been wrenching in some ways, but in the end, I’m grateful for the jolt. It has forced me to reconsider ideas that may have become calcified and opened me to people and perspectives I would previously have dismissed.

I remain opposed to affirmative action, for example, because it mandates the very unfairness it was designed to overcome. But I’ve also come to believe that the conservatism of my youth underestimated how much active racism remains out there.

I supported the Reagan and Bush tax cuts, but thought the Trump tax cut was a bridge too far at a time of steep deficits and without corresponding spending cuts.

I remain concerned about widespread abortion, but resent the bullying of pro-life zealots who have abandoned every other moral precept in the name of saving babies and presume to tell me that I’m a hypocrite if I don’t support a moronic demagogue. Is voting for a person who mouths the right words about abortion really the most effective way to live out your beliefs? (Especially if he then throws you overboard?) I helped found and continue to support a crisis pregnancy group that has stepped in to help women and their unborn children hundreds of times. Trump supporters who preen about their righteousness because of Dobbs should reflect that the number of abortions in America rose under Trump after declining for three decades. Having the right political opinions doesn’t equate with doing good in the world. Besides, the argument against abortion is moral. As such, it can’t be severed from other moral issues. Supporting protections for the unborn doesn’t absolve you of supporting cruelty against the born.

---

THE PAST FEW YEARS have not only called into question some conservative dogmas; they have also caused me to reflect on what conservatives should be conserving. It’s not tax policy or small government or a vigorous defense posture. Those are important matters, but they pale in comparison to the overriding task of conserving the Founding. That means ensuring that the rule of law and the constitutional system we were bequeathed is preserved and handed down to our descendants.

That goal, which conservatives should share with all Americans, is simply incompatible with voting for Donald Trump.

Four years ago, I contemplated the truly terrible prospect of having to choose between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. I might have had to squeeze my eyes closed as I voted, but I would have chosen Sanders, because as misguided and destructive as I find his policies, I would have had confidence that he would abide by the law and not attempt to rule as a dictator.

In 1800, Alexander Hamilton faced a similar dilemma. The Electoral College had tied between Thomas Jefferson (Hamilton’s political opposite) and Aaron Burr, a man of no principles. The House of Representatives had to choose. Hamilton lobbied his Federalist friends to vote for Jefferson, explaining that:
.

Mr. Jefferson, though too revolutionary in his notions, is yet a lover of liberty and will be desirous of something like orderly Government—Mr. Burr loves nothing but himself—thinks of nothing but his own aggrandizement—and will be content with nothing short of permanent power . . . in his own hands.

Compared with pulling the lever for Sanders, a vote for Kamala Harris is a treat—and she’s making it easier with every flip-flop. End fracking? No longer. Medicare for All? Nah. The tough prosecutor is back. Her acceptance speech was practically a bouquet for centrists and Never Trumpers. She invoked an “opportunity economy,” not redistribution. She pledged that as commander-in-chief, she would maintain the U.S. military as the “most lethal fighting force” in the world” and vowed to stand by Ukraine and NATO. She heaped scorn on Trump for “cozying up to tyrants and dictators” and promised to uphold the “rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power.”

Carved into the mantel in the East Room of the White House is this benediction from John Adams, the first president to reside there: “I Pray Heaven To Bestow The Best Of Blessings On This House And All that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.”

I think he would have had little difficulty making the choice between Trump and Harris.
___________

That's exactly what I would like to know. After a lifetime of generally espousing conservative principles, and still hold several, such as disagreeing with Affirmative Action (like the author, and for the very reason he gives)....the arrival of Trump make me take a hard look at the conservatives around me that drank Trump's Kool-Aid and ask myself: WTF are they doing, and why? How surrendering your soul to such an obvious racist misogynist and utterly stupid conman being supportive of conservatism?

The answer has always been "Well, his policies!"

And are those policies worth the erosion of democracy and the building up of authoritarianism?

Too often, the unspoken response was "F--k YEAH!"

[TopHatter]

Trump campaign strategy pivots to praying he wins September debate
As former president fails to land attacks against Harris campaign, advisers hope to capitalize on upcoming debate

Donald Trump’s campaign insists that they’re pursuing multiple strategies against Kamala Harris, but the true picture that is emerging is that the Trump senior advisers’ grand plan, for now, is to pray that the former US president has a good night at the presidential debate next month.

The game plan, in other words, has become one of hoping that Trump wins the debate so they can regain momentum – a stunning approach that shows the serious predicament for Trump and his campaign as he struggles to find ways to land effective attacks against the vice-president just months before the election.



What has happened internally in the Trump campaign in recent weeks is the realization that nothing they do in the period up to the debate is likely to cut through in a significant way that blunts Harris’s gains that have her level in key swing state polls, according to people close to the matter.

And because they don’t think the messaging will cut through, senior advisers are left hoping that Trump can energize voters with his performance on stage, the people said.

Trump is certain to continue his day-to-day campaign work until the debate on 10 September: he has a busy travel schedule that will see him do a town hall event in Wisconsin and a rally in Pennsylvania this week, after his visit to the Arlington national cemetery became mired in controversy.

He has also had some success in cutting through the news cycle in recent days, including when he took over headlines at the end of last week when Robert F Kennedy Jr gave his endorsement.

But the reality is that good news has been in short supply. Since Joe Biden exited the race in July and Harris rapidly replaced him, her campaign has flipped the narrative, turning a consistent Biden loss in the polls into a narrow but solid Harris lead.

With Trump struggling to frame the narrative against Harris, the general posture inside campaign leadership is to write off the regular programming that won’t change the race – and look to a debate that might.



The pivot to praying Trump does well at the debate is practical, even if writing off two weeks is unusual. Trump can perform on stage, and knocked opponents back in 2016 and 2020 and against Biden in 2024 with sarcastic quips and an avalanche of disorientating false claims.

The campaign also feels that Trump can use the debate as an opportunity to get across to a national primetime audience his messaging points criticizing Harris on policy – accusing Harris of allowing waves of illegal immigrants and not cracking down on crime – that have so far not broken through.

As the reasoning goes, even if the television networks decline to air Trump’s rallies or remarks criticizing Harris day-to-day, they will be forced to air Trump and his attack lines when he has the floor.

Trump’s advisers have also been buoyed by the likelihood that microphones will be muted when it is not a candidate’s turn to speak, believing it defangs Harris in being able to fact-check him in real time and in her ability to make quips of her own.

The muted microphones have been a particularly big deal for Trump’s advisers, who internally have been repeatedly pushing for “CNN rules”, in a reference to the disastrous CNN debate with Biden last month when microphones were muted.

It comes as several Trump advisers have warned about Harris’s jabs in debates in 2020: telling Mike Pence: “Mr Vice-President, I’m speaking”, and responding to former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard – now involved in Trump’s debate prep – in the Democratic primary debate with chiding comments.

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Yet, from Elon Musk to the Murdochs, a small number of billionaire owners have a powerful hold on so much of the information that reaches the public about what’s happening in the world. The Guardian is different. We have no billionaire owner or shareholders to consider. Our journalism is produced to serve the public interest – not profit motives.

And we avoid the trap that befalls much US media: the tendency, born of a desire to please all sides, to engage in false equivalence in the name of neutrality. We always strive to be fair. But sometimes that means calling out the lies of powerful people and institutions – and making clear how misinformation and demagoguery can damage democracy.

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________

Been saying this from the start: The debate will make or break either campaign.

[JRT]

Thursday, 29 August 2024
US Army confirms that Trump staffer "pushed aside" female worker at Arlington National Cemetery
(03 min, 03 sec)

The army confirmed that a woman working there had confronted Trump's team about filming and taking pictures there -- which is against federal law.

Thursday, 29 August 2024
‘Did The Trump Campaign Break The Law’: Pentagon Spox Pressed On Arlington Nat. Cemetery Controversy
(06 min, 25 sec)

During Thursday's Pentagon press briefing, Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh answered reporter questions on former President Donald Trump's visit to Arlington National Cemetery.

Thursday, 29 August 2024
Heard on Morning Edition
Army says Arlington National Cemetery worker was 'pushed aside' by Trump aides
by Stephen Fowler, Quil Lawrence, Tom Bowman

The U.S. Army said an employee at Arlington National Cemetery who tried to "ensure adherence" to rules that prohibit political activities at the cemetery "was abruptly pushed aside," but that the employee decided not to press charges against the Trump campaign staffers who allegedly pushed her.

The statement Thursday comes in response to NPR's reporting on former President Donald Trump's visit to Arlington and an altercation his staff had with a cemetery employee.

"Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds," the statement said. "An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed."

The Army, in its statement, called the incident "unfortunate," adding: "it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked."

Because federal law prohibits Army employees from being involved with any political campaign, the staff at the cemetery did not deal directly with the Trump campaign about his visit there. A source familiar with the event said the cemetery staff worked with the staff of Republican Congressman Brian Mast of Florida, who joined Trump at Arlington.

Arlington Cemetery staff dealt directly with Mast’s chief of staff James Langenderfer, briefing him extensively on the rules, which include no campaign events at the cemetery. They also reiterated that only an official Arlington National Cemetery photographer — and no campaign photographer — could be used at Section 60, the location of the recent American war dead. The source said Langenderfer told them the Trump campaign agreed to these rules.

In a statement to NPR, Rep. Mast said: "President Trump conducted no politics at Arlington National Cemetery."

The statement comes a day after Trump shared a TikTok video including footage from Arlington National Cemetery that likely violates a federal law against using military cemeteries for campaigning purposes.

NPR reported that Trump campaign staffers had a physical altercation with an Arlington National Cemetery staffer on Monday over the restriction.

It's not the first time Trump has been accused of politicizing the military, but the campaign is seeking to downplay what happened in the aftermath.

Trump was at Arlington on Monday to commemorate the third anniversary of an attack in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. service members amid the disastrous withdrawal of troops. Trump and other Republicans have blamed President Biden and Vice President Harris for the chaos and loss of life.

The 21-second video posted on Trump's TikTok account shows the former president laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and several snippets of Trump joining Gold Star family members at gravesites of their loved ones in a part of the cemetery known as Section 60.

"We lost 13 great, great people — what a horrible day it was," Trump says over somber music. “We didn't lose one person in 18 months, and then they took over the disaster, the leaving of Afghanistan.”

But the Trump campaign was not authorized to film or photograph in Section 60, federal law prohibits the use of military cemeteries for campaign events, and two campaign staffers got in a physical and verbal altercation with the Arlington staffer who tried to prevent the filming.

In a statement after NPR's original story, family members present Monday said they invited Trump and gave approval for his photographer and videographer to document an emotional moment of remembrance.

Some of those family members also spoke at the Republican National Convention, bashing Biden and vocally endorsing Trump.

"Joe Biden may have forgotten that our children died, but we have not forgotten — Donald Trump has not forgotten," said Cheryl Juels in Milwaukee at the RNC in July. Juels is the aunt of Sgt. Nicole Gee, one of the 13 U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan in 2021.

"Joe Biden owes the men and women that served in Afghanistan a debt of gratitude and an apology. Donald Trump loves this country and will never forget the sacrifice and bravery of our service members," she added. "Join us in putting him back in the White House."

Though the loved ones said they were OK with the cameras present, the families do not have the power to suspend the rules.

The family of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano, a Green Beret who died by suicide after serving multiple combat tours and who is buried in Section 60, said according to their conversations with the cemetery, "the Trump campaign staffers did not adhere to the rules that were set in place for this visit."

"We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that there were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected and treated accordingly," they said in a statement.

The Trump campaign responds

In the aftermath of the visit to Arlington, the Trump campaign's response has taken on a tone of nastiness. One spokesman said the cemetery staffer was "clearly suffering from a mental health episode" and promised to release footage of the encounter but has so far declined to do so.

On the campaign trail in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, said Harris could "go to hell" over the Afghanistan withdrawal and blamed reporters for the campaign's controversy, which he called a "disagreement."

"You guys in the media, you're acting like Donald Trump filmed a TV commercial at a grave site," Vance said. "He was there providing emotional support to a lot of brave Americans who lost loved ones they never should have lost. And there happened to be a camera there, and somebody gave him permission to have that camera there.”

Meanwhile, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who attended the Arlington events with Trump, apologized in a social media post for sending a campaign fundraising email with a photo of him and the former president in Section 60 with the family of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover.

Cox's official gubernatorial X account posted a photo from the restricted area, and the post is still online.

This is not the first time Trump has been accused of politicizing the military for his personal gain. He has allegedly called dead soldiers "suckers" and "losers," insulted the late Sen. John McCain for being a prisoner of war and recently stoked controversy for saying civilian Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients are much better than those who received the Medal of Honor — the highest military award in the country, often given posthumously.

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[TopHatter]

This is not the first time Trump has been accused of politicizing the military for his personal gain. He has allegedly called dead soldiers "suckers" and "losers," insulted the late Sen. John McCain for being a prisoner of war and recently stoked controversy for saying civilian Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients are much better than those who received the Medal of Honor — the highest military award in the country, often given posthumously.

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No such thing as rock bottom. Trump could piss on a veteran's grave and his cult would find a way to call it "fake news" or throw around "Trump Derangement Syndrome" or some such shit.