J.D. Vance's Stunning Admission About Trump Spells Trouble for MAGA  —  Now that Ohio Senator J.D. Vance is Donald Trump's running mate, everyone is combing through his old quotes, and a striking one has surfaced: In 2016, Vance warned that Trump threatened to take the white working class to a “very dark place.”

Biden set to announce support for major Supreme Court changes  —  Plans include proposals for legislation to establish term limits for the justices and an enforceable ethics code  —  President Biden is finalizing plans to endorse major changes to the Supreme Court in the coming weeks …

Boiled Frog Journalism: Is Trump an Agent of Saudi Arabia, and Other Pressing Questions Buried under Biden's Age  —  A jury found Robert Menendez guilty on all charges yesterday, including those alleging he accepted payments from Egypt and Qatar (I didn't follow the trial closely enough …

Playbook: New polling bolsters ‘Dump Biden’ push  —  With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: WHAT DEMOCRATS ARE READING — This polling memo (h/t JMart) from BlueLabs Analytics is circulating among party officials still keen …

The phony populism of JD Vance  —  It's a cynical branding exercise. … Trump chose JD Vance as his running mate this week, and a certain segment of the news media immediately rushed to declare the start of a new kind of working-class Republicanism.  —  “JD Vance pick unnerves GOP's business elite …

Trump's tariffs mean big opportunities for corruption  —  The White House will be picking winners and losers  —  I didn't write about tariffs or trade policy in Monday's post on the economic implications of a GOP sweep in November.  That's in part because, to the extent any policy issue …

Donald Trump calls for Taiwan to ‘pay’ for its own defence  —  TSMC shares slide after Republican candidate's comments rattle island nation reliant on security guarantee  —  Former US president Donald Trump has said Taiwan should pay the US for its defence guarantees, a statement …

Andreessen Horowitz co-founders explain why they're supporting Trump  —  Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of one of the most prominent venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, says he's been a Democrat most of his life.  He says he has endorsed and voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Court ‘Going To Remove’ Aileen Cannon From Trump Case: Anti-MAGA Lawyer  —  's classified documents case will be removed from the proceedings following her latest ruling, a legal expert has said.  —  Ben Meiselas, attorney and frequent Trump critic, hit out at the “horrific” decision from Judge

Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro released from prison after serving 4 months for contempt of Congress  —  Former Donald Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro was released from a Miami federal prison Wednesday after completing his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the January 6 congressional committee.

DNC letter says virtual roll call to nominate Biden will happen in August  —  The Democratic National Committee has determined that a virtual roll call vote to formally nominate President Biden as the party's nominee will happen in August, according to a letter sent Wednesday by the heads of the convention rules committee.

Germany to halve military aid for Ukraine despite possible Trump White House  —  Germany will halve military aid for Ukraine next year, even with the possibility that Republican candidate Donald Trump could return to the White House and curb support for Kyiv.

GOP Platform Author Admits There's a National Ban  —  Click to skip ahead: In WTF NYT, the paper of record deceptively edited a quote.  In the States, news out of Ohio, Michigan, Montana and more.  I Told Ya So on the GOP's abortion plank.  Ballot Measure Updates has more on the financial impact statement fight in Florida.

Donald Trump doesn't have stitches after assassination attempt, but a “nice flesh wound,” Eric Trump says  —  Former President Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump, said his father doesn't have stitches after he was shot in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend …

Organizers expect enough signatures to ask Nebraska voters to repeal private school funding law  —  Public school advocates believe they have enough signatures to ask Nebraska voters in November to repeal a law that provides taxpayer money for private school tuition, marking the latest twist …

MAGA Makes Racist Attacks Against JD Vance's Wife  —  Extremist figures and members of the Make America Great Again movement have criticized the  —  named him as his running mate in the 2024 election.  —  Usha Vance, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was raised in San Diego before meeting her husband at Yale Law School.

Microsoft laid off a DEI team, and its lead wrote an internal email blasting how DEI is ‘no longer business critical’  — Microsoft laid off a diversity, equity, and inclusion team, citing “changing business needs.”  — The move follows commitments made by Microsoft and other tech firms after the George Floyd protests.

Biden Group Therapy  —  Fresh reporting on the collective private mourning of top Democrats after the tragic “events”—as they are known in Washington-speak—of the weekend.  Nevertheless, some cling to hope.  “He also said he would drop if he saw data saying he can't win,” said a campaign source.

Trump calls widow of firefighter who died protecting his family: ‘He was very kind’  —  Helen Comperatore says Trump phoned her on Tuesday after husband Corey was killed in Butler, Pennsylvania  —  The widow of the volunteer firefighter who was shot and killed over the weekend at the Trump rally …

Christie carries on anti-Trump role by blasting Vance: ‘Not a message of unity’  —  Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is leaning into his anti-Trump credentials with a scathing message about the former president's selection for vice president.  —  Continuing his role as the chief Trump agitator …

The extraordinary duplicity of Musk's $180 million donation to support Trump  —  Billionaire Elon Musk will reportedly spend $180 million to encourage former President Donald Trump supporters in swing states to vote absentee, a practice Musk has publicly described as “insane,” “too risky,” and a recipe for “large-scale fraud.”

In Milwaukee, a G.O.P. Transformation From Dysfunctional to Unified  —  On Tuesday, Republicans effectively took a victory lap in the middle of the presidential race, expressing a sense of invincibility at their convention.  —  Supporters of former President Donald J. Trump listened …