The Obamas Fire Up Dem Convention With Penis Joke And Real Talk
INSIDE: Donald Trump ... Kamala Harris ... George Santos
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Oh, He Went There
Barack and Michelle Obama welcomed the Democratic convention to their hometown of Chicago, with sterling back-to-back speeches that harkened to the brighter pre-Trump days.
Neither has lost a step as orators, with precision timing and panache that very few politicians have ever mustered, except that Michelle is not a politician and this was never her day job.
Barack added physical comedy to his repertoire Tuesday night.
While he struck familiar themes from his two-terms as president and wove them into the Harris-Walz campaign messaging in a way designed to make her a natural successor to his legacy, it was this pantomimed dart at the manhood of the man who did succeed him that brought down the house:
I cannot imagine Trump’s reaction to that one, but this seems right:
Michelle Obama Still Has It, Too
A lot of silly analysis overnight about Michelle eschewing her motto – “When they go low, we go high” – as if calling out racism and misogyny is going low.
“Going small is petty, it’s unhealthy, and, quite frankly, it’s unpresidential,” Michelle Obama said. “It’s his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”
She also unspooled an anti-Trump thread that I haven’t seen Democrats use as often as they might have over the past decade, perhaps because they generally avoid explicit appeals based on class:
But her speech peaked with her invocation of Trump’s derogatory reference to “Black jobs”:
Georgia Representin’
We’re not going back to the days of fusty convention roll calls:
What Else Did You Miss?
TPM’s highlight piece: Dem Speakers Urge Voters To Not Get Complacent
For the obsessives: TPM’s moment-to-moment live blog
Meanwhile, In Milwaukee …
The Harris-Walz ticket filled the NBA arena in Milwaukee that hosted the Republican convention last month, a split-screen primetime feat with the Democratic convention going on 90 miles away in Chicago:
Maria Bartiromo Still Spewing Nonsense On Air
Media Matters flags the xenophobic election conspiracizing that Fox Business News’ Maria Bartiromo has been airing this week:
Maria Bartiromo repeatedly used her Fox Business show to peddle an election fraud conspiracy theory that she claimed originated with the wife of a friend of a friend in Texas and that she made no apparent effort to confirm. But when the Texas Department of Public Safety and the local Republican Party investigated her reckless allegation, they discovered that none of it was true.
It’s Not Just Trump
TPM’s Khaya Himmelman: Republican State Officials Do Trump’s Election Denying Prep Work For Him
2024 Ephemera
The Harris campaign swamped the Trump campaign in fundraising in July. Harris has raised in the vicinity of $500 million in the month since President Biden ended is re-election bid.
Reclusive Republican megadonor Timothy Mellon gave another $50 million to a pro-Trump Make America Great Again super PAC, raising his total contributions to the group since the start of 2023 to $115 million.
North Carolina moves from Leans Republican to Toss-up in the Crystal Ball Electoral College rating.
Trump Campaign Hack Update
Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan was targeted by the Iranian hacking effort though when it happened and whether it was successful remain unclear, CNN reports.
Santos Is A Two-Time Loser This Week
The same day he pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges, ousted Rep. George Santos (R-NY) saw his civil lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel dismissed. Santos sued Kimmel for copyright infringement for eliciting and then airing absurd Cameo videos that Santos did.
Important
NYT’s David Sanger: Biden Approved Secret Nuclear Strategy Refocusing on Chinese Threat
Yeah, Keep Talking About Michelle Obama ‘Going Low’
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Interesting and contrasting visuals you've offered up this morning, David...the polished and urbane Obamas v the rude, crude Hulk Hogan, the latter I had no idea was still a thing until the RNC put him up on the rostrum as "featured". But, those vids eloquently illustrate the gulf separating the Dems from the MAGA set...rather be us than them, thank you very much.
It's simple: Trump has gone so abysmally low, that even the gutter is elevated territory