memeorandum: Trump Hasn't Changed, but the GOP Has (Molly Ball/Wall Street Journal)

7:00 AM ET, July 19, 2024

Top Items:

People Close to Biden Say He Appears to Accept He May Have to Leave the Race — One person familiar with President Biden's thinking cautioned that he had not yet made up his mind to leave the race, after three weeks of insisting that almost nothing would drive him out.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Semafor, Breitbart, Forbes, Election Law Blog, The National Pulse, The Spectator World, NPR and NBC News

Reuters:

Once defiant, Biden is now ‘soul searching’ about dropping out of race, source says — U.S. President Joe Biden is taking calls to step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate seriously and multiple Democratic officials think an exit is a matter of time, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Fox News, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, New Republic, The Daily Beast and NBC News

Washington Post:

Obama tells allies Biden needs to seriously consider his viability — The former president, hugely influential in the party, has told associates that Biden's path to victory has significantly shrunk. — Former president Barack Obama has told allies in recent days that President Biden's path …

Politico:

Why the big boot-Biden House Dem wave isn't here yet — With assists from POLITICO's Congress team — In the last 24 hours, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and, now, Barack Obama, have essentially given political cover to any congressional Democrat who wishes to speak out against Joe Biden.

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Hartford Courant and CBS News

Washington Post:

Pelosi has told House Democrats that Biden may soon be persuaded to exit race — The former House speaker has stepped up her behind-the-scenes role in working to persuade the president to bow out of campaign — Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi has told some House Democrats …

Discussion: Politico, Business Insider, The Guardian, New York Daily News, Forbes, RedState, Truthout, Fox News, Washington Times, Slate, The National Pulse, News18, The Times of Israel, Axios and The Gateway Pundit

NBC News:

Biden left feeling angry and betrayed by top Democratic leaders wavering on his campaign — President Joe Biden is furious at how the party has tried to force him out, as Democrats in Congress increasingly believe the question is when, not if, he will end his campaign.

Discussion: Politico, Today's Edition Newsletter, Instapundit and New York Post

Stephen Neukam / Axios:

Sen. Jon Tester calls on Biden to drop 2024 presidential bid … - “While I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term,” Tester said in a statement Thursday. — Tester is facing re-election in deep-red Montana …

Discussion: Punchbowl News, CBS News, New York Post, Fox News, Politico, Business Insider and USA Today

Jake Lahut / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Plan to Slam Dems for Their ‘Coup’ Against Biden: Campaign

Discussion: The Guardian, New Republic, The Federalist, E&E News, Scripps News, NPR and New York Post

CBS News:
Trump's national lead over Biden grows — CBS News poll

Discussion: Bloomberg, Breitbart, The Hill, New York Post, Power Line, DNyuz and The Atlantic

Associated Press:
Biden is isolated at home as Obama, Pelosi and other Democrats push for him to reconsider 2024 race

Discussion: Yahoo News, Associated Press, Politico, DNyuz, New York Post, WHDH-TV, Axios, KGW-TV, CNBC, RedState, Fox News, Al Jazeera and CNN

NBC News:
'We're close to the end': Biden world braces for the possibility that the president steps aside

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, Mediaite, CNN and Washington Post

Lisa Kashinsky / Politico:
Sununu says ‘I told you so’ on Biden

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Sabato's Crystal Ball:
If Biden Stays: A Glimpse into a Grim Electoral Future for Democrats

Discussion: Roll Call, New York Times, Breitbart, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, LifeNews.com, HotAir, Slate and Washington Examiner

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Jamie Raskin, a Key Democrat, Urged Biden to Reconsider Campaign

Discussion: Boston Herald, The Bulwark, Washington Examiner, New Republic, Axios, Politico, DNyuz, The Daily Beast and The Hill

S.V. Date / HuffPost:

Excruciating! Trump's Endlessly Long, Wildly Dishonest RNC Speech — Donald Trump briefly tried a “new tone” — before pivoting to Hannibal Lecter, “crazy” Pelosi, insurrection lies and more of his greatest hits. — LOADING — MILWAUKEE — Not four years after Donald Trump's eldest son boasted …

Discussion: The Good in Us, The Guardian, Washington Post, New Republic and Raw Story

Molly Ball / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Hasn't Changed, but the GOP Has — The nominee's convention mouthed unity but was really a show of dominance — MILWAUKEE—Donald Trump took the stage a humbled man, the bandage on his right ear testament to his recent brush with death. It had taught him, he said, that …

Discussion: USA Today, New York Times, ABC News, The Hollywood Reporter, Times Now, News18, Boston Herald, DNyuz, Variety, Breitbart and The Japan Times

Zachary Basu / Axios:

Trump tramples unity theme in two-act convention speech … - Inside the Fiserv Forum, the ebullient mood gave way to rapt silence. … - “I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God,” he said, echoing a long list of GOP convention speakers who had cited divine intervention for Trump's survival.

Discussion: NPR, Business Insider, The Guardian, New Statesman and ABC News

Politico:
Trump will describe the shooting in his RNC speech. He won't mention Joe Biden.

Discussion: Deadline, Bloomberg, Forbes, CBS News, NPR, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Associated Press

Associated Press:
Rebranding the brand man, softer Trump vs. fighter Trump, regular mentions of Harris: RNC Takeaways

Discussion: Associated Press

Natalie Allison / Politico:
A changed Trump? Some allies detect an ‘existential’ shift after the shooting

Discussion: New Yorker, Associated Press, News18 and Daily Kos

Ross Barkan / Persuasion: Overconfidence at the RNC — The Republican Party is ascendant but may be more frail than it looks.

Wired:

J.D. Vance Left His Venmo Public. Here's What It Shows — The Republican VP nominee's Venmo network reveals connections ranging from the architects of Project 2025 to enemies of Donald Trump—and the populist's close ties to the very elites he rails against.

Discussion: The Bulwark, The Information, DNyuz, Raw Story, New Republic, Washington Post and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:

Hunter Biden seeks dismissal of tax, gun cases, citing decision to toss Trump's classified docs case — President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, asked federal judges on Thursday to dismiss tax and gun cases against him, citing a ruling in Florida this week that threw out a separate prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Axios, CNN, New York Times, One America News Network, Fox News, NBC News, Washington Examiner, PoliticusUSA, Election Law Blog and NPR

Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Hunter Biden cites Trump ruling in seeking dismissal of gun and tax cases

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, USA Today and UPI

Hailey Fuchs / Politico:

Democratic donors begin mobilizing to raise money for Harris if she's the nominee — While acknowledging the volatility of the situation, some organizers said donors were already “lining up” to give in case Kamala Harris leads the Democratic ticket. — Allies of Vice President Kamala Harris …

Discussion: Scripps News and Axios

Eugene Daniels / Politico: Kamala Harris allies prepare her defense

Axios:

What Secret Service and FBI told Congress about attempted Trump assassination … - FBI and Secret Service officials briefed House lawmakers on Wednesday on their preliminary findings. — The Secret Service said they identified the building used in the assassination attempt as …

Discussion: San Diego Union-Tribune, Politico and New York Times

House Committee on the Judiciary:
Whistleblowers Reveal Security Failures at Trump Rally

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Times, Breitbart and RedState

Liz Dye / Public Notice:

Rudy Giuliani can't even fall out of bankruptcy right — His tumble at the RNC was bad. His legal problems are even worse. … If Rudy Giuliani simply would've walked into the sunset after his 2008 presidential bid, he'd probably have airports named after him by now.

Discussion: Above the Law

Holly Yan / CNN:

‘Treated like a convict’: NFL legend Terrell Davis describes getting handcuffed on a plane near his kids after asking for ice — Terrell Davis and his family were looking forward to vacationing in California when pro football Hall of Famer was handcuffed and removed from a United Airlines plane - for no apparent reason.

Discussion: Denver Post, Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Black Star, Global News, The Root, The Sun, Mediaite and DNyuz

Griffin Eckstein / Salon:

Elon Musk's X pushes Trump tags on all US users — The platform prevents users from blocking or muting the tags, which inorganically appear atop the trending page — X, the social media platform owned by Trump megadonor Elon Musk, is promoting Trump campaign-curated content to all U.S. users …

Discussion: Forbes and RedState

Inti Landauro / Reuters:

Wife of Spain's PM declines to testify in corruption case — Begona Gomez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, appeared before a judge on Friday but declined to answer questions about corruption and influence peddling accusations in a case that led her husband to consider resigning in April.

Discussion: Bloomberg

RTÉ:

Five Just Stop Oil protesters jailed for a total of 21 years after UK motorway blocked — Five Just Stop Oil protesters, including one of its co-founders, have been jailed for a total of 21 years for conspiring to organise protests that blocked the M25 motorway in London, England.

Discussion: Daily Mail, Watts Up With That?, Metro.co.uk and The Guardian

CNN:

Fact check: Trump makes more than 20 false claims in RNC acceptance speech — Former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday with the most dishonest speech of the four-day Republican National Convention, making more than 20 false claims by CNN's count.

Discussion: New York Times, The Guardian and Baltimore Sun