memeorandum: There are still key questions about Trump's injuries after attempted assassination (Dr. Sanjay Gupta/CNN)

8:20 PM ET, July 20, 2024

Top Items:

Trump Campaign Prepares Attack Plan for Harris in Case Biden Withdraws — The effort, which includes expansive advertising and polling, assumes that the vice president would be the most likely candidate to replace the president at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Discussion: PJ Media, Raw Story, Associated Press, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Forbes, Fox News and USA Today

Washington Post:

Democratic donors funding an effort to vet potential VP candidates — The effort to vet potential running mates, should Biden exit and Harris become the nominee, is independent of the Biden campaign — Major Democratic donors are funding a preliminary vetting process for potential vice …

Discussion: NPR

Stef W. Kight / Axios:

GOP builds new case for Biden resignation … - “Everyone calling on Joe Biden to *stop running* without also calling on him to resign the presidency is engaged in an absurd level of cynicism,” Trump's running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) posted on Saturday. — “If you can't run, you can't serve.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Forbes, The Daily Beast and HuffPost

CNN:

Democratic consensus solidifies around Harris, should Biden step aside — No one quite knows what the process of picking a new nominee would be if Joe Biden did step aside - but many Democrats say that any process is likelier than ever to quickly end with Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee.

Discussion: Politico, Telegraph, The Daily Beast, Forbes, Frontpage Mag, Raw Story and PoliticusUSA

Rebecca Picciotto / CNBC:

‘Ready to step up’: VP Harris gains Capitol Hill cheerleaders as Biden isolates with Covid … Vice President Kamala Harris has gained more public support from Democratic lawmakers as a potential replacement for President Joe Biden, should he decide to drop out of the race against former President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Washington Times, New York Post, UPI and Times of San Diego

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

Democrats are gaming out post-Biden options while he remains insistent he'll remain in the race — Opposition continues to mount as some Democrats start exploring who should replace him and how. — Sequestered at his Delaware beach house as he recovers from Covid, President Joe Biden got …

Discussion: HotAir, WelcomeStack and Breitbart

Matt Viser / Washington Post: Biden family grapples with pressure on their patriarch to step aside

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
A Searing Reminder That Trump Is Unwell

Discussion: Raw Story

Annie Linskey / Wall Street Journal:
Elizabeth Warren Signals Support for Harris if Biden Drops Out

Discussion: Associated Press, The Wrap and Florida Politics

Pablo O'Hana / The Hill:
Ready for Round 2: Why we Need Hillary more than ever

Discussion: Fox News, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion and The Gateway Pundit

Axios:
Biden eyes Georgia and Texas trips from Rehoboth bunker

Discussion: Business Insider

Alex Thompson / Axios:
“Don't watch cable news”: Biden campaign tries to rally staff

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Twitchy, New York Times, CBS News, Townhall, Politico, Fox News and The Daily Beast

Timothy Nerozzi / Fox News:
Kamala Harris reassures Democratic Party donors that there's nothing to worry about

Discussion: Truthout, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Politico, RedState, Reuters, Raw Story, The National Pulse, Columbian, Business Insider, Washington Times, CNBC, Deadline, Washington Examiner, DNyuz, Breitbart, New York Times and New York Post, more at Techmeme »

Chris Cameron / New York Times:
Trump and Zelensky speak by phone as Ukraine worries about U.S. backing.

Discussion: Althouse and LGBTQ Nation

Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg:
JD Vance Leads Trump's Push to Win Key ‘Blue Wall’ States

Discussion: Fox News, ABC News, Democrats and WisPolitics

Washington Post:
Twelve more Democrats, including two senators, call on Biden to drop out

Discussion: USA Today, Mother Jones, Washington Times, New York Times and Axios

Dr. Sanjay Gupta / CNN:

There are still key questions about Trump's injuries after attempted assassination — It has been nearly a week since gunfire erupted at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, resulting in an injury to the former president, the death of one attendee …

Discussion: Business Insider, STAT, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Heartland Signal and Mediaite

Marco Margaritoff / HuffPost:

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta Calls For ‘Public Assessment’ Of Trump's Injuries After Shooting … LOADING

Savannah Kuchar / USA Today:
‘In the clear’: Dr. Anthony Fauci weighs in on Trump injury after shooting

Discussion: RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, TMZ.com, New York Post and Mediaite

emptywheel:

Will Peter Baker Exhibit the Same Tenacity about Medical Records on the Trump Shooting as He Did a Parkinson's Conspiracy Theory? — Something funny happened on Xitter. — In an attempt to demonstrate the double standard and cowardice of the captive media, I tweeted at Peter Baker asking …

Washington Post:

Secret Service said to have denied requests for more security at Trump events — Top officials repeatedly rejected requests from Trump's security detail for more manpower and gear at events before attempted assassination, at times citing lack of resources, people familiar with the asks said.

Discussion: WNWO-TV, RedState and New York Post

Jacob Knutson / Axios:

How Project 2025 would change American life … - At least 140 former Trump administration officials contributed to Project 2025, CNN reports. — Trump has publicly disavowed the project; his campaign has pointed to his own policy plan, Agenda47, and the official Republican Party platform as his agenda if he wins in November.

Discussion: Iowa Starting Line and WFAA-TV

Matt Young / The Daily Beast:

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Dies at 74 After Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis — ‘INCREDIBLE GRIEF’ — The long-serving Democratic congresswoman went public with her health battle in June. — Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), a longtime congresswoman who served three decades in Congress …

Discussion: Axios, KHOU-TV, Roll Call, Twitchy, Rolling Stone, FOX 26 Houston, Lou Dobbs, CBS News, Business Insider, New York Post and The National Pulse

Michelle Shen / CNN:
Sheila Jackson Lee, long-serving Democratic congresswoman and advocate for Black Americans, dies at 74

NBC News:

Some Democratic cities have quietly begun cooperating with ICE, director says — Some sanctuary cities that wouldn't tell ICE when they released undocumented immigrants from jail are now doing so because of public concern about crime, said P.J. Lechleitner.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Breitbart

Jeff Greenfield / Politico:

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Someone Else? The Convention Rules Might Decide. — The rules might determine who gets the nomination. — It's been decades since America last witnessed an actual contested convention, so it's easy to forget something important as Democrats barrel toward …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Examiner and Talking Points Memo

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Ignoring controversy, Democrats move forward with nominating Biden via virtual roll call

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Dispatch, UPI, Breitbart, Election Law Blog, CBS News, ABC News, New York Times, Politico, HotAir and Reuters

Barak Ravid / Axios:

Israel strikes Yemen in response to Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv … - The Houthis, an Islamist militant group backed by Iran, have harassed and attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea for months in response to Israel's war in Gaza. — Houthi officials said the Israeli strike hit oil facilities …

Ann E. Marimow / Washington Post:

Tossing Trump's case was risky for Judge Cannon — at least for now — Judge Aileen Cannon sidestepped key legal rulings to find that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed to investigate Donald Trump. — Judge Aileen M. Cannon's stunning dismissal this week …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Federalist