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Put policy aside: Kamala Harris will win or lose based on the excitement factor

Put policy aside: Kamala Harris will win or lose based on the excitement factor

Kamala Harris’s first big policy speech did not exactly draw rave reviews from a media establishment that largely seems to adore her. But with the Democratic convention getting under way, does that matter? Perhaps the most stinging criticism came from the Washington Post’s mostly liberal editorial board, which declared that “unfortunately, instead of delivering a substantial plan, she squandered the moment on populist gimmicks.” That may well be true. But again, does it really matter? KAMALA HARRIS, TIME COVER GIRL: IS HER SURGE AGAINST TRUMP FUELED BY AN ENDLESS MEDIA HONEYMOON? Policy is crucially important as voters weigh how the candidates would govern for the next four years. It’s especially vital because Harris suddenly emerged as the substitute nominee in a three-month campaign – not a “coup,” as Donald Trump says – when Joe Biden was pressured into stepping aside. But as ideologically different as the two nominees are, I believe policy will play a relatively minor role in 2024.   Josh Barro, in the Atlantic, says a crackdown on price-gouging will make things worse and be virtually impossible to enforce:  “The substance likely won’t appeal to many people who actually know about economics. But it’s hard for me to argue with the politics…. “Harris is trying to win a presidential election, and to win elections, you run on popular ideas.”  By the way, while I agree that going after price-gougers won’t work–groceries already operate on very thin margins–I see the Harris proposals as being mischaracterized as wage and price controls. I lived through Richard Nixon doing just that in the early 1970s and it was a disastrous failure. Harris isn’t saying the government should set prices for all products, though I can see why that’s a useful attack line for the Trump campaign. DEMS CONVENE IN CHICAGO TO NOMINATE HARRIS-WALZ AS ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS PREPARE COUNTER-RALLY I also agree with the Post’s editorial page that the vice president is offering all kinds of expensive goodies – such as a $25,000 down payment for first-time home buyers – without explaining how to pay for them. As the paper notes, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says her overall plan would add $1.7 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. That’s sobering stuff. But I don’t believe this election will turn on policy. Harris, who’s done a strikingly skillful job of handling her first three weeks, is drawing big crowds, raising a fortune and rising in the polls because she brings youth, vigor, excitement and, her favorite word, joy. Harris is, among other things, a cultural phenomenon and a TikTok sensation. Much of what she’s proposing now is largely symbolic and will never pass, but she’s sending a message that she’s laser-focused on reducing inflation on kitchen-table issues for middle-class families (and distancing from Bidenomics). That doesn’t mean she’s going to win. Trump still has an easier path to 270. The VP still has to win Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, even though a New York Times/Sienna College poll shows her closing the gap or statistically tied in four Sun Belt states – Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada. Harris remains, as she says, the underdog. But if Kamala does pull it out, it will be because key voters, especially women, are drawn to her personally. And in the end, that’s how most elections are won. In 2016, when everyone expected a Hillary victory, Trump ran on a few key issues – especially immigration and crime – but he won because of his image as a relentless fighter, not to mention an entertaining one.  After the eight-year Obama presidency, enough voters were drawn to Trump’s culture war–and the media were criticized for carrying his rallies!–that the Democrats’ Midwestern blue wall collapsed. DINERS FURIOUS AFTER THEY’RE CLEARED OUT OF EATERY FOR ‘STAGED’ VP HARRIS STOP: ‘THIS IS BS’ Running against a 59-year-old woman of color–and a hostile press corps–seems to have thrown Trump off his game. While insisting he is “entitled” to make “personal attacks” against Harris–despite advice from the likes of Lindsey Graham–the former president has continued to denigrate the vice president, rightly noting that she and her campaign are ripping him as well. That’s the Trump pattern.  And after journalists and commentators kept insisting that Joe Biden had the mental acuity for another four years, the press has now flipped to spotlighting every mistake by the 78-year-old Trump. Man, does Trump miss Biden – he keeps talking about how Joe was unfairly deposed – because he spent years preparing to run against the frail 81-year-old president. Trump has in fact become the old man in the race, but this is sheer media hypocrisy. Imagine how depressed the Democrats and the pundits would be if Biden had stuck it out and was speaking in Chicago as the nominee, headed for certain defeat. Instead, they’re swept up by Kamala fever. And most of the mainstream media, having pounded the president for avoiding interviews, are largely uninterested in whether Harris does any. She’s getting a total pass. The veep did take questions for about 4 minutes the other day, the second time she’s done that, but largely because Trump and his allies keep ripping her as a Teleprompter candidate.  Trump openly says he wants to define Harris as a communist, so he dredges up far-left positions she took four years ago as if those are her current positions, a game played by both sides. But she left the opening by not explaining her flip-flops (or, more charitably, evolution). Policy may matter to that extent. We’ll also see after the convention whether her numbers are a “sugar high,” meaning the inevitable bump may soon bring her back to earth. Keep in mind that Harris still hasn’t done an interview. Nor, for that matter, has Tim Walz, while JD Vance is working the Sunday shows and holding pressers. The reason: with such a docile press corps, which Harris prefers to brief off the record on Air Force 2, it’s working for her. One more thing:

Emotional Joe Biden passes torch to Kamala Harris ending 5 decades in elected office

Emotional Joe Biden passes torch to Kamala Harris ending 5 decades in elected office

CHICAGO – In what may be one of the last major speeches of his decades-long political career, President Biden on Monday night handed the reins of the party to Vice President Kamala Harris as he spotlighted their administration’s accomplishments over the past three and a half years. Speaking in front of a jam-packed United Arena, site of the Democratic National Convention, the president declared “America, I gave my best to you,” as the crowd of party officials and delegates, activists, and supporters repeatedly gave Biden sustained ovations and chants of “thank you, Joe.” Praising his vice president, Biden said that “selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made before I became when I became our nominee, and it was the best decision I made my whole career.” “She’s tough, she’s experienced, and she has enormous integrity, enormous integrity. Her story represents the best American story,” the president highlighted. CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS UPDATES FROM THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION And he asked the crowd are “you are ready to vote for freedom. Are you ready to vote for democracy and for America? Let me ask you, are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, President and Vice President of the United States.” Biden repeatedly took aim at former President Trump and the threats he said the Republican presidential nominee posed to America’s democracy and international alliances. And looking to his vice president and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, he pledged to be “the best volunteer Harris and Walz have ever seen.” HARRIS PROPOSES MAJOR CORPORATE TAX HIKE, TO REVERSE TRUMP ERA TAX CUTS Harris and Walz and their spouses, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz, joined the president, First Lady Jill Biden and their family, at the podium following Biden’s address, in a clear sign of party unity. The president’s speech came four weeks and one day after his blockbuster announcement that he was ending his own White House bid and endorsing his vice president to replace him on the party’s 2024 ticket in the election showdown against former President Trump. Biden’s disastrous performance against Trump in their late June debate fueled questions over whether the 81-year-old president had the physical and mental abilities to handle another four years in the White House and sparked a chorus of calls from within his own party to end his 2024 campaign. Biden eventually caved to the pressure, announcing the suspension of his re-election campaign three days after the Republican National Convention ended with a solidified GOP ticket of Trump and running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.  Biden spoke in front of a crowd that included plenty of politicians who publicly urged or maneuvered behind the scenes for the president to drop out of the race, as his support in public opinion polls began to fade following his debate showdown with Trump. Since Harris succeeded Biden, the vice president has been riding a wave of energy, with a jump in polling and fundraising as the battle with Trump is once again a margin-of-error race. As Harris has surged, Trump has increasingly attacked the Democrats for what he charged was “a vicious COUP” against Biden. “Crooked Joe Biden was told, “Sorry Joe, you’re losing to Trump, BIG, and you can’t beat him – You’re Fired,” the former president claimed Monday in a social media post. But Biden in his speech aimed to dispel any notion that he was angry about changing course and giving up his bid for a second term in the White House. “You see, it’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more,” Biden said. “And all this talk about how I’m angry [at] all those people who said I should step down — that’s not true.” With five months left in his presidency, the speech was not billed as a farewell address, but it did in some ways have the feeling of a swan song, as he touted his administration’s accomplishments. But Biden also pointed to the work he has left – including supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia and securing a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas to end the deadly war in Gaza. Outside the security zone surrounding the arena, anti-Israeli protesters marched throughout the day. And inside the United Center, a small group of delegates protesting Biden’s handling of the war briefly held up a banner that read “stop arming Israel.” But delegates quickly blocked them with “We Love Joe” signs and drowned them out.  At one point, pointing to the rising death toll, Biden said the “protesters have a point.”  Speaking minutes before Biden at the convention podium was former Secretary of State, former senator, and former first lady Hillary Clinton, the Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee.  Clinton, in her speech, blasted Trump, praised Biden, and said that Harris has the “character, experience and vision to lead us forward.” The speeches by Clinton and Biden – the party’s two previous standard-bearers – symbolized how the Democrats old guard was passing the torch to a younger generation. Harris, in a brief surprise appearance from the podium earlier in the evening, praised her boss. “I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president,” she emphasized. “Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you.”  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Biden says DNC anti-Israel agitators ‘have a point,’ rips Trump as ‘not worthy’ of Oval Office

Biden says DNC anti-Israel agitators ‘have a point,’ rips Trump as ‘not worthy’ of Oval Office

CHICAGO – President Biden delivered his highly anticipated address to the Democratic National Convention late Monday night and touched on a variety of subjects including strong criticisms of former President Trump and the conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization in control of Gaza. “Those, those protesters out in the street, they have a point,” Biden told the crowd in the United Center after anti-Israel protesters marched on the convention calling for an end to the U.S. support of Israel. “A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.” “We’re working around the clock,” Biden said. “To end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people and finally, finally, finally deliver a ceasefire and end this war.” “We’re working around the clock. My Secretary of State, to prevent a wider war and reunite hostage to their families and surge humanitarian, health and food assistance into Gaza. Now. To end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people and finally, finally, finally deliver a cease-fire and end this war.” HILLARY CLINTON BLASTS TRUMP’S LEGAL WOES AMID ‘LOCK HIM UP’ CHANTS IN DNC SPEECH: ‘ONLY CARES ABOUT HIMSELF’ In the same speech, Biden repeated the claim that Trump said there were “fine people” on “both sides” of the 2017 Charlottesville protest which has been debunked by several fact checkers. Criticizing Trump was a major theme in Biden’s speech, which did not conclude until after midnight on the East Coast. “I never thought I’d stand before a crowd of Democrats and refer to a president who’s a liar so many times,” Biden said. “Now, I’m not trying to be funny. It’s sad.” VP HARRIS PRAISES BIDEN IN SURPRISE REMARKS AT DNC’S OPENING NIGHT: ‘WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL TO YOU’ Biden also hit Trump on abortion and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, warning that Trump “is going to find out the power of women in 2024.” “Now, where Trump is MAGA Republican, right-wingers seek to erase history,” Biden said. “We Democrats continue to write history and make more history. I’m proud. I’m proud to have kept my commitment to appoint the first black woman in the United States Supreme Court. Ketanji Brown Jackson. A symbol for every young woman in America that you can do anything.” COMMUNIST ACTIVIST SLAMS DEMS FOR ‘DECEPTIVE’ MESSAGING AT DNC: ‘THEY NEED VOTES’ Biden also renewed the allegation that Trump called military members who had died in battle “suckers” and “losers”, which Trump and sources present at the time have said did not occur.  “Who in the hell does he think he is?” Biden said.  “Who does he think he is? There’s no words for a person. There are not the words for a person not worthy of being commander in chief. Period. Period. Not then, not now, and not ever. I mean that I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Just as no commander chief should ever bow down to a dictator, the way Trump bowed down to Putin, I never have. And I promise you, Kamala Harris will never do it, will never bow down.” Praising Harris was another theme in the speech which Biden did several times. ‘Selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made before I became when I became our nominee, and it was the best decision I made my whole career,” Biden said.  “We’ve not only gotten to know each other, we’ve become close friends. She’s tough, she’s experienced, and she has enormous integrity, enormous integrity. Her story represents the best American story.” Biden, who appeared to shed a tear after walking out on stage following an introduction from his daughter Ashley, said Harris will be “a president we can all be proud of” before mentioning the Capitol Hill riots on January 6th. “This will be the first presidential election since January 6th,” Biden said. “On that day, we almost lost everything about who we are as a country and that threat. This is not hyperbole. That threat is still very much alive.” “Donald Trump says he will refuse to accept the election result if he loses again. Think about that. He means it. Think about that. He’s probably seeing a bloodbath if he loses. In his words, and that he’ll be a dictator on day one. In his own words, by the way, this sucker means it. No, I’m not joking. Think about it.” Biden told his supporters that the “power” is “literally” in your hands. “History is in your hands, not hyperbole,” Biden said. “It’s in your hands. America’s future is in your hands. And because of this, nowhere else in the world could a kid with a stutter and modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware grow up to sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.”

Biden rehashes debunked Trump Charlottesville claim in late-night DNC speech

Biden rehashes debunked Trump Charlottesville claim in late-night DNC speech

CHICAGO – President Biden on Monday evening during his DNC speech spotlighted a debunked claim that former President Donald Trump spoke favorably of neo-Nazis in 2017 following the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally.  “We’re in a battle for the very soul of America. I ran for president in 2020 because of what I saw in Charlottesville in August of 2017. Extremists coming out of the woods carrying torches, their veins bulging from their necks, carrying Nazi swastikas and chanting the same exact antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the early ’30s,” Biden said just after 10:30 CT on Monday night.  “When the president was asked what he thought had happened, Donald Trump said, and I quote, ‘There are very fine people on both sides.’ My God, that’s what he said. That is what he said and what he meant. That’s when I realized … I could not stay on the sidelines. So I ran,” Biden continued, citing the debunked claim about Trump.  Biden has repeatedly and emphatically cited the riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, for spewing “antisemitic bile” and claiming Trump spoke favorably of neo-Nazis.  SNOPES’ DEBUNKING OF CHARLOTTESVILLE HOAX SHOWS BIDEN LIED, SAYS TRUMP CAMPAIGN “With those words, the president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it,” Biden said in 2019 when announcing his candidacy.  “In that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime,” he added at the time.  Left-leaning fact-checking website Snopes published a piece in June, however, debunking the claim that Trump called neo-Nazis “very fine people.” “While Trump did say that there were ‘very fine people on both sides,’ he also specifically noted that he was not talking about neo-Nazis and White supremacists and said they should be ‘condemned totally.’ Therefore, we have rated this claim ‘False,’” Snopes wrote at the time.  LEFT-WING FACT-CHECKER ADMITS TRUMP NEVER CALLED CHARLOTTESVILLE NEO-NAZIS ‘VERY FINE PEOPLE’ IN BLOW TO BIDEN The protests in Charlottesville that year, which played out across two days in August, included White nationalists descending on the city who were met by hundreds of counter-protesters. The protests devolved into violence, including three deaths and dozens of injuries stemming from a car plowing through people and other attacks.   The protests were condemned by both Republicans and Democrats at the time, with Trump saying such protests and violence have “no place in America.”  INDEPENDENT, GOP VOTERS SHOW SPIKING SUPPORT AS TRUMP SLAMS BIDEN’S ‘FULLY DEBUNKED’ CHARLOTTESVILLE NARRATIVE “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides,” Trump said in August of that year. Trump added days later in a press conference that he condemned the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence” and came under fire from Democrats for his remarks that there was “blame on both sides” and “very fine people, on both sides.” BIDEN ONCE RIPPED ‘ANTISEMITIC BILE’ BUT NOW FACES OWN ‘CHARLOTTESVILLE MOMENT’ The Snopes fact check aligns with Trump’s longstanding argument that the remarks were taken out of context before they quickly spread on social media and were promoted by the left and members of the media.  The fact check and Trump repeatedly saying the comments were taken out of context, however, has not swayed Democrats to drop the talking point. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign last week also posted about the protests on the 7th anniversary of the rally.  “Seven years ago today, white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched on Charlottesville, chanting racist and antisemitic bile and killing an innocent woman. This is who Donald Trump calls ‘very fine people,’” the Kamala HQ account posted on X along with a video.  Biden took the DNC’s stage on the first evening of the convention at about 11:30 p.m. ET and wrapping up after midnight. He spoke after a handful of other high-profile Democrats delivered solo speeches before the audience, including short surprise remarks from Harris.  “I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden who will be speaking later tonight,” Harris said of President Biden, adding “we are forever grateful to you.” “This November, we will come together and declare with one voice as one people, ‘we are moving forward with optimism, hope and faith,’” she said. “When we fight, we win.”  Biden’s speech comes after he dropped out of the presidential race last month following mounting concerns over his mental acuity, and as elected Democrats called on the president to pass the mantle to another, younger candidate. Shortly following his exit from the race, Biden announced his endorsement of Harris to take over the race.  Harris rose to the top of the ticket, and will formally accept the Democratic Party’s nomination on Thursday when she delivers the convention’s final speech.  As the DNC kicked off on Monday, anti-Israel and other left-wing protesters descended on the Windy City where they slammed Biden and Harris for their support of Israel as it continues battling Hamas since October.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The March on the DNC 2024” drew thousands of activists who marched in the city before briefly escalating the protests Monday evening, including trying to knock down security fencing surrounding the convention before police were seen detaining offenders.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.