never really paid much attention to josh shapiro because pennsylvania doesn't even register with me, but damn this man straight up copied obama's style. he went in the lab and got to creating. i don't hate it, it's just weird. a jewish obama.

    I’m reading that in Obama’s voice even before listening to Shapiro 😂

    Claudius US state agencies seem unable to contain the spread of misguided agenda-building and avoid further terrible outcomes. As an example, take the "steps to a convenient Sunni statelet in East Iraq" thought bubble that was circulating in the State Department around 2010.

    Someone senior at one of the agencies becomes convinced one of these objectives is strategic and achievable. RAND Corporation comes in and does the white paper. The agency seeks support from the executive. I reckon the difference between "bad and worse" is between one President who says "Halliburton would love this idea, we're all in" and the next who says instead "I haven't got the political capital for this, set your objections aside and bring me a plan that's bound to fail so long as it only involves funding contras".

      Meatwad unfortunately he has some truly depressing thoughts on palestinians, which has to drop him down the vp rankings, imo

        he truly cannot help himself

        Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed Wednesday that his 2024 Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, “happened to turn Black” a few years ago, saying that “all of a sudden, she made a turn” in her identity.

        Trump’s comments at a gathering of Black journalists in Chicago came when an interviewer asked him whether he agreed with Republicans on Capitol Hill who have characterized Harris as a “DEI hire.” Trump responded by questioning Harris’ heritage.

        “She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” the former president said.

        “I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went – she became a Black person,” he said at the National Association of Black Journalists convention. “I think somebody should look into that too.”

        Trump’s comments are reminiscent of his similar attacks on Black political rivals in the past, including the years he spent pushing the false, racist “birther” conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

        Harris’ mother was Indian and her father is Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. Harris was born in Oakland, California, and attended a historically Black university, Howard University, in Washington. She is the first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.

        Trump on Wednesday was interviewed by a panel that included ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Semafor’s Kadia Goba and Fox News’ Harris Faulkner.

        Scott began the interview by asking Trump: “You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told four congresswomen of color, who were American citizens, to go back to where they came from. You have used words like ‘animal’ and ‘rabid’ to describe Black district attorneys. You have attacked Black journalists, calling them a ‘loser,’ saying the questions they ask are, quote, ‘stupid’ and ‘racist.’ You’ve had dinner with a White supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question, sir – now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”

        A combative Trump responded: “Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question so – in such a horrible manner, first question. You don’t even say, ‘Hello. How are you?’”

        https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/31/politics/donald-trump-kamala-harris-black-nabj/index.html

        oh also, this

        Trump did not answer directly when asked by Fox News’ Faulkner whether his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, would be “ready on Day One to be president.

        “Historically, the vice president, in terms of the election, does not have any impact – I mean, virtually no impact,” Trump said.

        “You have two or three days where there’s a lot of commotion,” he said, pointing to Harris’ consideration of a running mate, “and then that dies down, and it’s all about the presidential pick. Virtually never has it mattered.”

        “You can have a vice president who’s outstanding in every way, and I think JD is … but you’re not voting that way. You’re voting for the president,” Trump said.

        congrats, JD, im sure this is everything you could have hoped for and more.

          mdgoonah41 haha. Vance deserves every bit of this. how power hungry do you have to be to sign up for this knowing how he treated his last VP

          there's an air of arrogance and complacency about how trumps people have run his campaign. they have been coasting since it became apparent Biden was a husk, and it's led to them not bothering to mask their normie-repellent rhetoric and agenda. now that's it a contest, trump is having to explain himself and play defense. if he's explaining or apologising, it means he's losing

            Even though Trump is batshit crazy I'll give him credit for the fact he is willing to put himself in a hostile environment. When was the last time Biden did that? Kamala is running a slick campaign right now but it all feels like a massive promotional tour. To be fair she's doing a lot better than I thought, I think the whole party rallying behind her quickly has given her much needed momentum.

            I enjoy seeing politicians up against hostile journalists, nowadays everything seems so soft and you can just tell hand-picked journalists ask pre vetted questions.

              JazzG he’s a sociopath. The interviewer asked him a reasonable question and he started by saying it’s the most horrible question he’d ever been asked. Can’t compare

                Oh I don't disagree with you but I haven't seen the clip in question. I'm just making a general point about Politicians who prefer staying in friendly environments rather than reaching across the political divide and interacting with those who probably don't like you.

                  He deserves no credit. Every non-extremist environment he 'puts himself in' will be hostile.

                  it feels like ages that a journalist questioned him on the crazy shit he says to his face, and the thin skinned autocrat showed his colours immediately. outside of MAGA world journos he's hopeless. this isn't normal behaviour for any leader.

                  JazzG he's attempting to play those journalists for his own campaign - it benefits Trump to create a us vs them mentality, more than most politicians. They did a good job holding their frame.

                    I’m only interested in swing states, and Georgia is one of them. 2020 numbers that I’d assume Kamala can improve upon:

                    • 88% of Black voters chose Biden
                    • 64% of LGBT for Biden
                    • 52% of first time voters
                    • suburban voters (62% of the cohort) with 48% for Biden

                    Need to look at other states, but those demographics (some large cohorts, some small) have me confident in Georgia remaining blue.

                    bit off topic, but I don't really like how much gassing buttigieg is getting. he goes on fox and does a good job dunking on the loons, but he represents more of the same polished mckinsey status quo guff that the democrats really should leave behind.

                      Gazza M I warm to Buttigieg a bit because he's articulate and has a few zingers, but that then makes me realise he's a bit of a Kevin Rudd type.

                        Gazza M have to agree. hes okay and would be okay as the choice, but the mckinsey stench is hard to overcome.

                          if i had to rank it right now in terms of my preference

                          walz - has an awesome track record in MN, has the folksy grandpa vibe that won't scare away older more moderate voters, and is very good on messaging. doesnt seem to have any baggage, was a high school principal, etc.

                          beshear - red state dem with a good track record. hes essentially the anti-jd vance, as in, hes actually from appalachia and actually understands the people in the region. very popular in a state that trump won by 20+ pts, could help in purple states. only concern is he might not have the national name recognition to move the needle

                          mark kelly - hes pretty popular on the whole and is from a purple state that dems really need to win. his biggest strike against is that hes weak on labor issues, and that could cause problems, especially as republicans are making more of an effort (disingenuous as it is) to appeal to labor unions.

                          buttigieg - hes fine. im not sure he moves the needle in any one area. also, his ability to go on fox news and talk about how weird republicans are isnt really going to swing votes. no one who watches fox news is considering voting for kamala harris

                          shapiro - id have been all in here, given hes the governor of my state, has very high popularity ratings here, and is young/a good communicator. but his handling of the israel stuff has been outright problematic. i think alienating people who support the self determination of palestinians could be costly, especially in states like michigan and minnesota.

                          whitmer - she took herself out of the running, which is okay, shes hugely important to winning michigan and i think if harris does not win in 2024, she'll be the front runner in 2028, so this will keep her clean for now. she'd have been my top choice if she wanted the nom.

                            Moments before former President Trump took the stage at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago on Wednesday, the organization's president was called back to address an issue.

                            Why it matters: Trump did not want to be fact-checked live and was refusing to go on stage, NABJ president Ken Lemon told Axios.

                            "[Trump's team] said, 'Well, can you not fact check? He's not going to take the stage if you fact-check,'" Lemon said.

                            you do not, in fact, gotta hand it to him

                            https://www.axios.com/2024/08/02/trump-nabj-fact-checking-black-journalists