memeorandum: Why Mike Lee Folded (Tim Alberta/The Atlantic)

5:55 PM ET, September 10, 2024

Top Items:

Megan Messerly / Politico:

Harris is bringing two former Trump administration officials as her debate guests — It's part of the campaign's ongoing effort to use Trump's former allies to troll him. — Vice President Kamala Harris is bringing two unusual guests to tonight's debate in Philadelphia: two former officials in her opponent's administration.

Discussion: Mediaite, New Republic, New York Times, The Hill and CNN

Stephen Robinson / Public Notice:

Sanewashing and the damage done — 🚨 This special, five-edition week of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. If you aren't one already, please sign up to support our independent coverage. 🚨 — 🧼 Subscribe to Public Notice 🧼

Discussion: New York Times

Alex Shephard / New Republic:

Kamala Harris Can't Keep Running Like This — After seven weeks of euphoria over Kamala Harris's ascension to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, panic finally returned to the party on Sunday. The New York Times published a poll showing Donald Trump with a slim lead …

Alex Thompson / Axios:

Harris to have a shorter debate podium than Trump's … - The different podium sizes will allow both candidates to look closer to the same stature in a split screen during the debate. … - A Trump campaign official mocked Harris for using a smaller podium, telling Axios that “it looks like the kids' table at Thanksgiving.”

Marist Poll:
The U.S Presidential Contest (September 2024)

Discussion: The 19th, RedState, New York Post, Politico, Fox News, The Hill, Virginia Mercury, NewsNation, PBS NewsHour, Pew Research Center and PoliticusUSA

Joseph Bosco / The Hill:
Trump could suffer the same fate as Biden in tonight's debate — how will his party react?

Discussion: Fox News, Los Angeles Times, Semafor, The Haitian Times, Reuters, Global News, Breitbart, New York Daily News, ABC11, USA Today, Associated Press, Raw Story, ABC News and The 19th

emptywheel:
Whatever Happens with the Debate, Kamala Harris' Campaign Is Not Yet Half Done

Discussion: NOTUS, New Yorker, Vanity Fair, PoliticusUSA, The Guardian and HuffPost

Abby Ellin / New York Times:
Trump Mocks Harris's Height. But Her Fans See a Certain Stature.

Discussion: Robert Reich and The Daily Beast

Garrett Haake / NBC News:
'You don't know what to expect': Trump outlines his biggest challenge in debating Harris

Discussion: Washington Post, NPR, CBS News, Politico, Florida's Voice, RedState, Raw Story, Voice of America, Hartford Courant, One America News Network, Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera, Deseret News and American Greatness

Domenico Montanaro / NPR:
NPR poll shows why the stakes are so high for Harris and Trump in the debate

Discussion: The Hill, Forbes, RedState, Louder With Crowder, New Jersey Online and Fox News

Jared Gans / The Hill:

Vance fires back at criticism over Haitian pet-eating online conspiracy theory — Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance defended himself on Tuesday against criticism over his amplification of false claims that Haitian immigrants had abducted and eaten others' pets in Springfield, Ohio.

Alex Kasprak / Snopes:

No Evidence Haitian Immigrants Are Eating Ducks, Geese or Pets in Springfield, Ohio — Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and a constellation of right-wing influencers elevated a dubious claim. … In early September 2024, a series of claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, went viral.

PBS NewsHour:
Ohio city with Haitian migrant influx thrust into political spotlight

Discussion: Townhall, CBS News, Washington Times, American Greatness, Esquire, The Federalist, Twitchy, Mediaite, Newsweek, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, KENS, The Hill, New York Post, Breitbart, Daily Kos, djt.nucleusemail.com, NBC News and New York Times

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

Centrist Maine Democrat says he'll support GOP's short-term funding bill — A centrist House Democrat said Tuesday that he will back the Republicans' short-term government funding bill if it hits the floor Wednesday, as scheduled, becoming the first Democrat to announce support for the controversial spending package.

Discussion: Axios, Roll Call, New Republic, CBS News and NRCC

The Hill:

Speaker Johnson plowing ahead with funding plan despite GOP opposition — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is plowing ahead with his plan to avert a government shutdown despite GOP opposition that is large enough to tank the effort, setting the stage for a potentially embarrassing vote …

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, KARK-TV, The Post Millennial, NewsNation, ABC News and Washington Post

Al Weaver / The Hill:
McConnell takes issue with Trump on shutdown: ‘Always a bad idea’

Discussion: New Republic, CNBC, Alternet.org, The Gateway Pundit, NBC News, Raw Story, NOTUS, Axios, New York Daily News and The Post Millennial

Politico:
Johnson forges ahead on spending plan as GOP support crumbles

Discussion: The Hill, Breitbart, Raw Story and New York Times

Tim Alberta / The Atlantic:

Why Mike Lee Folded … Listen to more stories on Curio — When it was finally his turn to speak during the televised roll call at this summer's Republican National Convention, Senator Mike Lee wore the canny smile of a man who was selling something bigger than his home state of Utah.

Discussion: NBC News, Alternet.org and Raw Story

Thomas Zimmer / Democracy Americana:

Liz Cheney and the Problem of the Anti-Trump Republican — “We may have set a record for Republicans speaking at a Democratic convention,” Pete Buttigieg proudly proclaimed in an interview on the Colbert Show during last month's DNC. Colbert had asked him whether he thought it was still possible …

Zach Everson / Forbes:

How Trump Lost Millions On His D.C. Hotel—Years After He Sold It — The former president pocketed $127 million when he sold his D.C. hotel in 2022. To close that deal, he had to lend the buyer a chunk of money that he'll now never get back. — In what seemed like a stroke of genius …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

Elon Musk's misleading election claims reach millions and alarm election officials — The X billionaire's false posts about noncitizen voting spur officials to fact-check him, lead to requests to purge voter rolls, and add to worries about threats, election officials say.

Discussion: Roll Call, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Kaplan / Washington Post:

One of the most potent greenhouse gases is rising faster than ever — Methane emissions from fossil fuels, farms and landfills will make it impossible for the world to maintain a safe climate, scientists say. — Emissions of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas — are rising at the fastest rate …

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Los Angeles Times and Al Jazeera

MSNBC:

Lawrence: The media is trying (and failing) to cure themselves of ‘sane-washing’ Trump — What The New York Times calls a “disputable policy assumption,” MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell explains that that is just the Times “sane-washing” Donald Trump's tariff lies.

Discussion: HuffPost

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

GOP red states launch a war on voting rights — The hoopla over the looming debate in Philadelphia has been obscuring a ton of non-political news. Stop me if you've seen these headlines in America before: A high school massacre. A man with a troubled past nonetheless buys an AR-15 and go on a shooting spree.

Discussion: Associated Press, Digby's Hullabaloo, Rolling Stone and Washington Post

NBC News:

Missouri abortion-rights amendment will appear on the ballot, state Supreme Court rules — The state is one of 10 that will put the issue of reproductive rights directly before voters this fall. — The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an amendment that would enshrine abortion access …

Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:

GOP Group Concedes Pro-Gun Graphic Was ‘Unfortunate’ Amid Georgia Shooting — DELETE, DELETE, DELETE — The bizarre mock-up showed the faces of Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, and other Republicans plastered on top of rifle-wielding members of “The Expendables.” — That's “unfortunate” timing indeed.

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gabriella Borter / Reuters:

Biden says ending ban on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons being worked out — U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that his administration was “working that out now” when asked if the U.S. would lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long range weapons in its war against Russia.

Discussion: The American Conservative and Al Jazeera

Ana Swanson / New York Times:

For Trump, Tariffs Are the Solution to Almost Any Problem — The former president has proposed using tariffs to fund child care, boost manufacturing, quell immigration and encourage use of the dollar. Economists are skeptical. — It has been more than five years since former President …

Discussion: CNN, Axios, Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit

NBC News:

Donald Trump's call to mandate free IVF coverage baffles Republicans in Congress — Trump's plan drew a mix of confusion, skepticism and opposition from his GOP allies on Capitol Hill. It even surprised his own advisers, a source said. — WASHINGTON — Donald Trump's call for mandating free access …

Discussion: Axios

Kevin Fallon / The Daily Beast:

‘The Apprentice’ Trailer Reveals New Footage of Damning, Scandalous Trump Film — This is the film Donald Trump doesn't want you to see. Now we know why. — “The first rule is: attack, attack, attack.” A kaleidoscopic trailer was released Tuesday of the new Donald Trump biopic/origin story …

Discussion: Variety, Forbes, UPI, TMZ.com, ComingSoon.net, Rolling Stone, Raw Story and The Hollywood Reporter

David Moye / HuffPost:

JD Vance Would've Done For Trump What Mike Pence Refused To Do — “I would have asked the states to submit alternative slates of electors and let the country have the debate about what actually matters,” the Ohio senator said Tuesday. — LOADING — Former President Donald Trump has never …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Reason, Raw Story, Daily Kos, New Jersey Online, USA Today, Alternet.org, Democrats and Mediaite

Cristina Laila / The Gateway Pundit:

“Excuse Me, Are You His Daughter?” - Watch This Newly Unearthed Video of Married San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown with His Side Piece Kamala Harris in 1995 — Never forget that Kamala Harris launched her political career in the bedroom as married Mayor Willie Brown's mistress.

Discussion: Louder With Crowder and Twitchy

Bloomberg:

Israel Offers Hamas Leader Safe Exit From Gaza in Bid to End War — Proposal comes as US, Qatar, Egypt work on new cease-fire deal — Hostage envoy Gal Hirsch speaks in interview with Bloomberg — Israel proposed giving Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar safe passage out of Gaza in exchange …

Discussion: The Hill, The Times of Israel and Associated Press