Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump committed to their first debate on Thursday, setting up for a primetime showdown on ABC News on Sept. 10. Trump suggested two more debates, one on Fox on Sept. 4 and one on NBC on Sept. 25. Harris has yet to announce whether she’ll take him up on the offer.
The confirmation of the first debate took place as Harris gained momentum in the race and edged Trump in polling in some battleground states. The second “first” debate in September will take place after Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, accept their formal nominations at the DNC convention, which starts in Chicago on Aug. 19.
Brazile and Conway Agree
Kamala Harris has undoubtedly reinvigorated political opponents of Donald Trump, but can she lead the way to a Democrat victory in 2024? That is, unsurprisingly, still up for debate.Opposing political strategists and commentators Kellyanne Conway and Donna Brazile put forward their views on how the Harris Factor is affecting Trump’s election chances, in an article by The Epoch Times’ John Haughey.
Conway, a Republican, and Brazile, a Democrat, agree on two things—that Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race changed the dynamics of the battle, and renewed Democrat enthusiasm for the fight.
The battle is now very different, says Conway: “I’m much more sober and less sanguine than other Republicans are about it. It’s not the same race—not even close.”
However, she told an audience of thousands while speaking in Kentucky at a “Down to the Wire” debate at the annual National Conference of State Legislators: “I still think it’s Donald Trump’s race to lose.”
Brazile told the crowd the Democrats are reinvigorated and eager to defeat Trump. “Harris has been able to make up ground, close the gap” in political polls, she said.
“Why? Because the party is coming together. We argue and fuss and fight so we can make love at night. This party is unified!”
Conway was not sure it would be enough. She said the Democrats’ voting bedrock of non-college, blue-collar workers has swung support behind Trump.
While Harris is likely to win the popular vote, “the electoral map favors Trump,” she said.
Brazile predicted the White House would be won in six or seven states and: “In a nation that is very polarized, it will come down to the last day and hours.”
While Conway sees it as a changed political landscape, “The issues haven’t changed at all.”
She said the main concerns were the economy, border security, energy, affordable housing, and foreign affairs.
Brazile agreed those selections are the key issues, and said she expected voters would see that Democrats have better proposals than Republicans.
“Regardless what you think of Kamala Harris, you haven’t seen nothing yet. It’s going to be a race like nothing we expected. Expect the unexpected,” she said.
—Richard Moore
18 Republicans Urge Johnson to Keep Part of IRA
A group of Republican congressional members have called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to keep the energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, were the GOP to control Congress and the White House next year.In a Tuesday letter, the 18 lawmakers acknowledged that President Joe Biden’s signature legislation, which passed in 2022, is “deeply flawed” but pleaded to keep some of the tax credits. The lawmakers heard from constituents who invested in projects under that would be undermined if the current tax regime were to be “turned on its head.”
The measure invested $369 billion in energy security and to combat climate change, according to the Senate Democrat conference.
While they called for both American energy independence and dominance and noted the United States’ effort to keep emissions low, the lawmakers cited that U.S. companies rely on energy tax credits.
Repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, they said, would make the money invested in energy tax credits a waste.
The lawmakers called for a policy embracing all types of energy.
Those who signed the letter were Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), Lori Chavez DeRemer (R-Ore.), Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), Erin Houchin (R-Ind.), Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), Young Kim (R-Calif.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.), David Joyce (R-Ohio), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), and Mark Amodei (R-Nev.).
—Jackson Richman
Transnational Repression
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is intensifying its transnational repression campaign against Falun Gong, especially in the United States, according to three whistleblowers with access to the regime’s internal information.Beijing’s new strategy involves manipulating social media influencers and Western media to propagate misinformation and false allegations, with a goal to sow public discord and to trigger a U.S. law enforcement response against practitioners of the spiritual discipline, who have been brutally persecuted by the CCP for decades.
While Chinese dissidents in the United States have long been targeted by the CCP, the newest campaign appears to be unprecedented in its scale and sophistication, even “trending into unchartered territory,” according to a Aug. 7 report by the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC), a nonprofit documenting the CCP’s persecution. (Full Story ›)
—Petr Svab
Bookmarks
Samsung has issued a recall for more that 1.12 million electric ranges following a slew of fires caused by malfunctioning units. The culprit appears to be faulty knobs, which activate unintentionally when touched.Ricky Jones, a former British Labour councilor, has been arrested for allegedly inciting murder at a pro-immigration rally. “They are disgusting Nazi fascists and we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all,” he said, referring to a group of opposing protesters.
Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus has been tapped as interim leader of Bangladesh, after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country. Yunus is hoping the nation will be able to peacefully reunite, saying: “Be calm and get ready to build the country.”
The CDC is concerned over an emerging, deadlier strain of monkeypox that has killed 1,100 people, mostly children since 2023. So far the outbreak seems to be concentrated in Central Africa, with the latest wave of illness being concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
China’s Ministry of Public Security is launching a new digital ID, which it says is “voluntary,” and will streamline web activity by making identity verification easier. Some critics who raised concerns about the ID being used as a scheme for increased governmental control quickly had their social media posts scrubbed from the internet.
—Stacy Robinson
