As a liberal Democrat I'm thrilled that Cori Bush lost to a progressive who is not an extremist. I wish someone would challenge MY "squad" rep, Ayanna Pressley. I respect AOC even when I disagree with her as a smart, savvy and nuanced politician. The same cannot be said for Pressley, Omar, Tlaib. I get that we're stuck with Pressley for another two years but could someone PLEASE primary her in 2026?
Trump is scared of standing side by side with a young, intelligent, vibrant , poised and polished woman in Kamala Harris. That will further expose Trump's advanced age.(Trump is 78 yrs!!).
Agree 💯! However, I think Chris, and many other political pundits I read, are right that Trump is panicking that he’s not in the news and that Harris-Walz are surging, and he needs to do *something* to change the narrative back to him.
Here’s what I’m confident Trump is not thinking through: he thinks he’ll get a “rerun” of the debate with Biden, ie that he’ll score bigly and reset everything. He couldn’t be more wrong! Biden’s performance was so bad that it gave Trump’s truly horrible performance a “free pass”. 602 lies in 40 minutes, a lie every 3.9 seconds! It was horrible but far less so than Biden. Harris, as a prosecutor, will be calm under pressure (just as successful prosecutors *have* to be when something unexpected comes up in cross-examination and they have to think fast on their feet), and she won’t let the lies go unchallenged. And think about how it will rattle DonOLD when she laughs at every one of his statements!
Trump has very few choices to regain his momentum, and this may be his only real one, but I think he’s dramatically underestimating how it will go. His word salad, and obviously declining cognitive state, given that HE’S now the oldest candidate in American history, will become more and more obvious the more he speaks, if the moderators can keep it from becoming a sh*tshow!
Harris has a town hall without him. Independents in audience. Panel to ask questions then respond to questions from audience. She or Walz can close it by reading passages from Project 2025.
I agree that the trend lines are important. Kamala has been pitch perfect so far. I wouldn't object if Kamala broke from standard practices in a number of ways. Hostile interviews?The press clamors for them. But do people really require them? Same with debates. If I were on her team, I'd see how things look after the convention before deciding on debates. She needs a lead of several points nationally and beyond the margin of error in swing states to be comfortable . I assume she'll feel the need to debate. A debate should be on CSPAN or PBS. As to interviews, she should confine herself to real journalists who will give her space to answer fully.
Chris, you say, "Trump believes that Harris has gotten a free pass — especially from the media — to date. (He’s not wrong!)"
If it is true that Harris has gotten a free pass, then it is also true that Trump has received one as well. The media normalizes him with its coverage.
You are talking about a debate as though Trump actually debates. He doesn’t. He just streams out lies and exaggerations and indue do and rumor and there is no way to respond to the avalanche of vituperative nonsense and have any time left over to make your own points. Turning off a mic does no good. It doesn’t deter him in the least. He wants to have a national stage to spread his lies.
You and other journalists continue to talk about Trump as though he is a normal, legitimate candidate for President of the United States, and he’s not, instead of helping to promote the people who are fighting for our lives. I’ve faithfully followed you from your WaPo days, but now I’m so disappointed, not only with you, but with Post and the Times and CNN … I’ve defended you all for years, but no more. You aren’t satisfied with just publicly crippling the best president we’ve had in my life time, now you are ready to demean the ticket that can save our undeserving asses. It’s shameful.
I just disagree on one point, "He just streams out lies" After watching him for many years, I would say that he actually vomits it out. The smell and disgust after he is done with his deed is far worse than streaming. He's a sorry excuse for a human being, and there is nothing man-like about his cowardly self.
I also agree! If only some young aspiring journalist with real moral courage would do an almost weekly recap of the craziest things Donald Trump has said at a rally or a press conference. Chris, that’s a little pro tip for you, gratis, from me to you.
Yeah, his “blinked” and “weird VP choice” column was too far, especially for someone that likes to think of themselves as “unbiased”: and it was all about soothing his ego after he totally misread the pick with his “Shapiro is a no-brainer” comments.
I think it would be good for Chris to take a minute and do some deep introspection about his motives and perspective…
The "Squad" are not liberal, they are radical. Good riddance to Cori Bush, Jamal Bowman, and any other extremists in government. Especially those with toxic ideologies and outsized influence.
DT. “You saw the other day with the stock market crashing, that was just the beginning. That was just the beginning. It's going to get worse. It's going to get a lot worse, in my opinion.”
CC. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 683 points on Thursday. The S&P 500 had its best day since 2022 — surging 2.3%.
You are painting a false story...as of 8/9 the DJ did not "recover" and futures went flat to negative. In this example, among many, you are acting as a activist for the democratic party.
Chris, while AIPAC certainly had an impact on both Bowman and Bush, I think you are somewhat ignoring the other major factor in both their losses — each candidate was plagued by some embarrassing scandals. Bowman was on camera screaming at another Member of Congress juat off the floor of the House in the Capitol, and then pulled a fire alarm — both of which were juvenile incidents, and did not inspire confidence among his voters. Bush had her campaign finance issues, along with employer her husband out of campaign and office funds as a body guard.
Obviously, those scandals gave AIPAC plenty of fodder to seize upon, but also allowed their challengers to portray themselves as grownups running against grandstanders. That dynamic might be overcome in heavy MAGA districts by a GOP electorate that seems to have a higher tolerance for that kind of thing, but I m skeptical that the average Democratic primary voter is activated and motivated by a lefty candidate that is embroiled in scandal. That is even more grown when Bowman is in New York which suffered unending scandal headlines over George Santos and Bob Menendez. Bush replaced a milder mannered and venerable civil rights leader in Emmanuel Cleaver, which isn’t exactly a rhetorical bomb-throwing rabble rousing history for the district several years after the initial surge of George Floyd protests had cooled.
Liberal squad getting pushed out, most liberal presidential ticket in the modern era likely to see the same result. Liberalism plays well on the coasts but the rest of America very very likely to oppose. Defund police, cater to illegal immigrant, boys/girls gender confusion, ect….. not to mention an awful war overseas, economy in the tank, and a Democratic Party that was just caught lying to the American people about JB fitness for office. It all spells disaster for the Dems.
The winds are changing. You are underestimating the Gen Z vote and their fresh enthusiasm for the Harris ticket. One or two individual districts are not indicative of a national trend.
You know what they tell you when you walk through the forest, "don't feed the bears" Our best policy here is don't feed the Dutch! Anyone who is still stuck on defund the police is not worthy of the electrons to reply to him.
BWAHAHAHA! Put down the crack pipe, @dutchmaga, you’ve had enough and are flying out of orbit now. I know you’d prefer to go back to how the “race” was a month ago and, just like your Dear Leader, you haven’t figured out how to respond to this ticket, and you rely on precisely what DonOLD is doing: lie, lie, lie!
“Economy in the tank”. I thought the markets were doing well because they “anticipated” Trump returning to power? “Most liberal ticket in history”. If you actually listened to what they’re saying, you’d know that was a farce.
I’ll say it again: maybe you should take Abraham Lincoln’s advice. “Better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
The Dear Leader? Are you referring to Joe Biden, who behind closed doors hit an amazing 875 holes in one? Or the one who is sharp as a tack behind closed doors? The one who has the most energy in the room, of course behind closed doors? Democrats have absolutely no room to wax poetic about the “Dear Leader” when they couldn’t stop fawning over Biden’s amazing mental intellect until over throwing him.
It’s crazy to me how two people can look at the same issue and draw such differing opinions. Are there supporters or Trump who revere him in a cult like manner? Yes. But the same can be argued for those who, even after the debate debacle, swore they would vote for Biden no matter what. It seems American politics has become two cults who worship one dear leader and despise the other. I don’t know how we break through this quandary, but I sure hope we do.
As a liberal Democrat I'm thrilled that Cori Bush lost to a progressive who is not an extremist. I wish someone would challenge MY "squad" rep, Ayanna Pressley. I respect AOC even when I disagree with her as a smart, savvy and nuanced politician. The same cannot be said for Pressley, Omar, Tlaib. I get that we're stuck with Pressley for another two years but could someone PLEASE primary her in 2026?
As a fellow classically liberal Dem, I completely agree with you Daniel!
Trump is scared of standing side by side with a young, intelligent, vibrant , poised and polished woman in Kamala Harris. That will further expose Trump's advanced age.(Trump is 78 yrs!!).
Agree 💯! However, I think Chris, and many other political pundits I read, are right that Trump is panicking that he’s not in the news and that Harris-Walz are surging, and he needs to do *something* to change the narrative back to him.
Here’s what I’m confident Trump is not thinking through: he thinks he’ll get a “rerun” of the debate with Biden, ie that he’ll score bigly and reset everything. He couldn’t be more wrong! Biden’s performance was so bad that it gave Trump’s truly horrible performance a “free pass”. 602 lies in 40 minutes, a lie every 3.9 seconds! It was horrible but far less so than Biden. Harris, as a prosecutor, will be calm under pressure (just as successful prosecutors *have* to be when something unexpected comes up in cross-examination and they have to think fast on their feet), and she won’t let the lies go unchallenged. And think about how it will rattle DonOLD when she laughs at every one of his statements!
Trump has very few choices to regain his momentum, and this may be his only real one, but I think he’s dramatically underestimating how it will go. His word salad, and obviously declining cognitive state, given that HE’S now the oldest candidate in American history, will become more and more obvious the more he speaks, if the moderators can keep it from becoming a sh*tshow!
Harris has a town hall without him. Independents in audience. Panel to ask questions then respond to questions from audience. She or Walz can close it by reading passages from Project 2025.
Love your proposed closing!
A podcast with you and Chuck Todd? It's not even my birthday!
Cori Bush being unable to say Hamas was a terrorist organization pretty much sums her up.
^^^^What Sam said (about Cori Bush).
Good riddance to Bush and her message of hate.
I agree that the trend lines are important. Kamala has been pitch perfect so far. I wouldn't object if Kamala broke from standard practices in a number of ways. Hostile interviews?The press clamors for them. But do people really require them? Same with debates. If I were on her team, I'd see how things look after the convention before deciding on debates. She needs a lead of several points nationally and beyond the margin of error in swing states to be comfortable . I assume she'll feel the need to debate. A debate should be on CSPAN or PBS. As to interviews, she should confine herself to real journalists who will give her space to answer fully.
Harris does not need to subject herself to "hostile" interviews. And agree with you that the debates should be on CSPAN.
Chris, you say, "Trump believes that Harris has gotten a free pass — especially from the media — to date. (He’s not wrong!)"
If it is true that Harris has gotten a free pass, then it is also true that Trump has received one as well. The media normalizes him with its coverage.
Agreed 💯
You are talking about a debate as though Trump actually debates. He doesn’t. He just streams out lies and exaggerations and indue do and rumor and there is no way to respond to the avalanche of vituperative nonsense and have any time left over to make your own points. Turning off a mic does no good. It doesn’t deter him in the least. He wants to have a national stage to spread his lies.
You and other journalists continue to talk about Trump as though he is a normal, legitimate candidate for President of the United States, and he’s not, instead of helping to promote the people who are fighting for our lives. I’ve faithfully followed you from your WaPo days, but now I’m so disappointed, not only with you, but with Post and the Times and CNN … I’ve defended you all for years, but no more. You aren’t satisfied with just publicly crippling the best president we’ve had in my life time, now you are ready to demean the ticket that can save our undeserving asses. It’s shameful.
I just disagree on one point, "He just streams out lies" After watching him for many years, I would say that he actually vomits it out. The smell and disgust after he is done with his deed is far worse than streaming. He's a sorry excuse for a human being, and there is nothing man-like about his cowardly self.
I also agree! If only some young aspiring journalist with real moral courage would do an almost weekly recap of the craziest things Donald Trump has said at a rally or a press conference. Chris, that’s a little pro tip for you, gratis, from me to you.
Yeah, his “blinked” and “weird VP choice” column was too far, especially for someone that likes to think of themselves as “unbiased”: and it was all about soothing his ego after he totally misread the pick with his “Shapiro is a no-brainer” comments.
I think it would be good for Chris to take a minute and do some deep introspection about his motives and perspective…
The "Squad" are not liberal, they are radical. Good riddance to Cori Bush, Jamal Bowman, and any other extremists in government. Especially those with toxic ideologies and outsized influence.
Definitely sang Friends in Low Places at our wedding reception in 95. I too am old!
Trump and Harris should debate ONLY on ABC on Sept. 10th. Forget Fox News and forget about an audience.
I think Harris should let Trump blow in the wind.
This is why you are not a trusted journalist:
DT. “You saw the other day with the stock market crashing, that was just the beginning. That was just the beginning. It's going to get worse. It's going to get a lot worse, in my opinion.”
CC. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 683 points on Thursday. The S&P 500 had its best day since 2022 — surging 2.3%.
You are painting a false story...as of 8/9 the DJ did not "recover" and futures went flat to negative. In this example, among many, you are acting as a activist for the democratic party.
Yes Chris! Share more county music...
Chris, while AIPAC certainly had an impact on both Bowman and Bush, I think you are somewhat ignoring the other major factor in both their losses — each candidate was plagued by some embarrassing scandals. Bowman was on camera screaming at another Member of Congress juat off the floor of the House in the Capitol, and then pulled a fire alarm — both of which were juvenile incidents, and did not inspire confidence among his voters. Bush had her campaign finance issues, along with employer her husband out of campaign and office funds as a body guard.
Obviously, those scandals gave AIPAC plenty of fodder to seize upon, but also allowed their challengers to portray themselves as grownups running against grandstanders. That dynamic might be overcome in heavy MAGA districts by a GOP electorate that seems to have a higher tolerance for that kind of thing, but I m skeptical that the average Democratic primary voter is activated and motivated by a lefty candidate that is embroiled in scandal. That is even more grown when Bowman is in New York which suffered unending scandal headlines over George Santos and Bob Menendez. Bush replaced a milder mannered and venerable civil rights leader in Emmanuel Cleaver, which isn’t exactly a rhetorical bomb-throwing rabble rousing history for the district several years after the initial surge of George Floyd protests had cooled.
Liberal squad getting pushed out, most liberal presidential ticket in the modern era likely to see the same result. Liberalism plays well on the coasts but the rest of America very very likely to oppose. Defund police, cater to illegal immigrant, boys/girls gender confusion, ect….. not to mention an awful war overseas, economy in the tank, and a Democratic Party that was just caught lying to the American people about JB fitness for office. It all spells disaster for the Dems.
The winds are changing. You are underestimating the Gen Z vote and their fresh enthusiasm for the Harris ticket. One or two individual districts are not indicative of a national trend.
You know what they tell you when you walk through the forest, "don't feed the bears" Our best policy here is don't feed the Dutch! Anyone who is still stuck on defund the police is not worthy of the electrons to reply to him.
BWAHAHAHA! Put down the crack pipe, @dutchmaga, you’ve had enough and are flying out of orbit now. I know you’d prefer to go back to how the “race” was a month ago and, just like your Dear Leader, you haven’t figured out how to respond to this ticket, and you rely on precisely what DonOLD is doing: lie, lie, lie!
“Economy in the tank”. I thought the markets were doing well because they “anticipated” Trump returning to power? “Most liberal ticket in history”. If you actually listened to what they’re saying, you’d know that was a farce.
I’ll say it again: maybe you should take Abraham Lincoln’s advice. “Better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
The Dear Leader? Are you referring to Joe Biden, who behind closed doors hit an amazing 875 holes in one? Or the one who is sharp as a tack behind closed doors? The one who has the most energy in the room, of course behind closed doors? Democrats have absolutely no room to wax poetic about the “Dear Leader” when they couldn’t stop fawning over Biden’s amazing mental intellect until over throwing him.
Cult Members just keep on culting….
Classic.
Why, thank you!
It’s crazy to me how two people can look at the same issue and draw such differing opinions. Are there supporters or Trump who revere him in a cult like manner? Yes. But the same can be argued for those who, even after the debate debacle, swore they would vote for Biden no matter what. It seems American politics has become two cults who worship one dear leader and despise the other. I don’t know how we break through this quandary, but I sure hope we do.