RNC 2024 live updates: JD Vance puts his mom and his ‘Mamaw’ at center of his life story

Donald
Trump
Jr.
called
his
father
“Trump
tough”
in
the
wake
of
the

attempted
assassination
of
the
former
president
on
Saturday.

“I’ve
never
been
prouder
of
my
father
than
I
was
in
that
moment,”
the
president’s
son
said,
describing
the
moment
his
father
stood
up
and
said
“Fight”
after
a
bullet
grazed
his
ear.

“That’s
when
the
world
found
out
that
there
is
tough,
and
then
there’s
Trump
tough.
And
the
good
news
is,
America
is
Trump
tough,”
Trump
said.

–
Josephine
Rozzelle

Usha
Vance,
the
wife
of
Donald
Trump’s
newly
selected
running
mate,
JD
Vance,
recounted
her
history
with
her
husband
in
a
speech
that
largely
avoided
hot-button
MAGA
issues,
as
she
acclimates
to
a
new
level
of
public
attention.

“Although
he’s
a
meat
and
potatoes
kind
of
guy,
he
adapted
to
my
vegetarian
diet
and
learned
to
cook
food
from
my
mother,
Indian
food,”
Usha,
a
Yale-educated
lawyer
and
the
daughter
of
Indian
immigrants,
said.
“Before
I
knew
it,
he
had
become
an
integral
part
of
my
family,
a
person
I
could
not
imagine
living
without.” 

Noting
the
differences
between
her
upbringing
and
that
of
the
Ohio
senator,
Usha
lauded
her
husband’s
background
and
resume,
which
has
been
characterized
by
a
meteoric
rise
through
the
GOP.

“When
JD
met
me,
he
approached
our
differences
with
curiosity
and
enthusiasm,”
she
said.
“The
JD
I
knew
then
is
the
same
JD
you
see
today,
except
for
that
beard.”

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

Sen.
JD
Vance
plans
to
tell
Trump
from
the
RNC
stage
that
“I
will
never
take
for
granted
the
trust
you
have
put
in
me”
—
and
that
he
will
never
forget
the
“forgotten
communities”
in
America.

“What
an
honor
it
is
to
help
achieve
the
extraordinary
vision
you
have
for
our
country,”
Vance
is
to
say,
according
to
prepared
remarks.

“I
pledge
to
every
American,
no
matter
your
party,
I
will
give
everything
I
have
to
serve
you
and
to
make
this
country
a
place
where
every
dream
you
have
for
yourself,
your
family,
and
your
country
will
be
possible
once
again,”
Vance
plans
to
say.

“And
I
promise
you
one
more
thing
–
the
people
of
Middletown,
Ohio,
and
all
the
forgotten
communities
in
Michigan,
Wisconsin,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
and
every
corner
of
our
Nation
…
I
promise
you
this:
I
will
never
forget
where
I
came
from.”

–
Dan
Mangan

Sen.
JD
Vance
said
that
as
a
boy
growing
up
in
humble
circumstances,
it
“never
in
my
wildest
imagination
would
I
have
believed
that
I
could
be
standing
here
tonight,”
as
the
running
mate
of
Donald
Trump.

“I
grew
up
in
Middletown,
Ohio,
a
small
town
where
people
spoke
their
minds,
built
with
their
hands,
and
loved
their
God,
family,
community,
and
country
with
their
whole
hearts,”
Vance
said.

“But
it
was
also
a
place
that
had
been
cast
aside
and
forgotten
by
America’s
ruling
class
in
Washington,”
he
said.

“When
I
was
in
the
fourth
grade,
a
career
politician
by
the
name
of
Joe
Biden
supported
NAFTA,
a
bad
trade
deal
that
sent
countless
good
American
manufacturing
jobs
to
Mexico,”
said
Vance.

“When
I
was
a
sophomore
in
high
school,
a
career
politician
by
the
name
of
Joe
Biden
gave
China
a
sweetheart
trade
deal
that
destroyed
even
more
good
middle-class
jobs,”
Vance
said.
“And
when
I
was
a
senior
in
high
school,
Joe
Biden
supported
the
disastrous
invasion
of
Iraq. “

Vance
contrasted
Biden
with
the
Republican
presidential
nominee.

“Somehow,
a
real
estate
developer
from
New
York
by
the
name
of
Donald
Trump
was
right
on
all
of
these
issues,
while
Joe
Biden
was
wrong.
Donald
Trump
knew,
even
then,
that
we
needed
leaders
who
would
put
America
First.”

–
Dan
Mangan

A
group
of
Republican
senators
physically
chased
Secret
Service
Director
Kimberly
Cheatle
at
the
Republican
National
Convention,
chiding
her
about
the
security
lapses
that
could
have
led
to
the
attempted
assassination
of
Donald
Trump.

“This
was
an
assassination
attempt!
You
owe
the
people
answers!
You
owe
President
Trump
answers!”
Tennessee
Sen.
Marsha
Blackburn
shouted
at
Cheatle,
according
to
a

video
the
senator
posted
on
social
media.

In
the
days
since
the
rally
shooting,
Cheatle
has
been
bombarded
with
congressional
inquiries
and
public
questions
about
what
went
wrong
in
security
protocols
to
allow
a
gunman
within
shooting
range
of
the
former
president.
Some
lawmakers,
including
Republican
House
Speaker
Mike
Johnson,
have
called
on
her
to
resign.

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

Sen.
JD
Vance’s
speech
will
portray
his
running
mate
Donald
Trump
as
“America’s
last
best
hope
to
restore
what
—
if
lost
—
may
never
be
found
again.”

“From
Iraq
to
Afghanistan,
from
the
Financial
Crisis
to
the
Great
Recession,
from
open
borders
to
stagnating
wages,
the
people
who
govern
this
country
have
failed
and
failed
again,”
Vance
will
say
in
prepared
remarks.

“That
is,
until
President
Donald
J.
Trump
came
along.”

–
Dan
Mangan

Kai
Trump,
Donald
Trump’s
17-year
old
granddaughter,
said
she
sees
her
grandfather’s
path
as
something
she
could
try
to
live
up
to.

“Obviously,
he
sets
the
bar
pretty
high,
but
who
knows?
Maybe
one
day
I’ll
catch
him,”
she
said.

Kai
also
shared
vignettes
about
her
relationship
with
Trump,
working
to
draw
contrasts
with
what
she
said
she
sees
in
private
and
his
allegedly
unfair
portrayal
by
the
media.

“To
me,
he’s
just
a
normal
grandpa,”
she
said.
“Even
when
he’s
going
through
all
these
court
cases,
he
always
asked
me
how
I’m
doing.”

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

JD
Vance
plans
to
give
a
shout-out
to
his
mother,
Beverly
Aikins,
from
the
stage
of
the
RNC,
praising
her
for
her
recovery
from
drug
addiction. 

“I
am
proud
to
say
that
tonight
my
mom
is
here,
10
years
clean
and
sober,”
Vance
will
say,
according
to
excerpts
of
his
prepared
remarks.

 “I
love
you,
mom.”

Vance
in
his
memoir
“Hillbilly
Elegy”
wrote
about
how
Beverly
became
addicted
to
prescription
pills
and
heroin
when
he
was
a
child,
which
led
to
him
being
raised
by
his
grandparents.

–
Dan
Mangan

The
parents
of
American
Israeli
Omer
Neutra
delivered
an
emotional
plea
to
rescue
their
son,
who
is
currently
being
held
hostage
by
Hamas
in
Gaza,
leading
the
crowd
in
chants
of,
“Bring
them
home.”

“Imagine,
over
nine
months,
not
knowing
whether
your
son
is
alive,
waking
up
every
morning
praying
that
he,
too,
is
still
waking
up
every
morning
—
that
he
is
strong
and
is
surviving,”
Orna
Neutra
said.

The
moving
address
came
shortly
after
Gold
Star
families
read
the
names
of
their
relatives,
service
members
who
were
killed
in
the
2021
withdrawal
from
Afghanistan.

–
Josephine
Rozzelle

Trump’s
running
mate
Sen.
JD
Vance
will
tell
RNC
delegates
that
Trump
sacrificed
a
private
business
life
to
“endure
abuse,
slander
and
persecution”
—
as
well
as
a
would-be
assassin
—
for
the
good
of
the
United
States.

“For
the
last
eight
years,
President
Trump
has
given
everything
he
has
to
fight
for
the
people
of
our
country.
He
didn’t
need
politics,
but
the
country
needed
him,”
Vance
will
say,
according
to
excerpts
of
his
prepared
speech.

The
speech
notes
that
Trump
rose
to
his
feet
after
gunman
Thomas
Crooks
fired
bullets
at
him
and
a
crowd
at
a
Pennsylvania
campaign
rally,
when
Trump
pumped
his
fist
at
the
crowd.

“Even
in
his
most
perilous
moment,
we
were
on
his
mind.
His
instinct
was
for
us,”
Vance
will
say.
“To
call
us
to
something
higher.
To
something
greater.
To
once
again
be
citizens
who
ask
what
our
country
needs
of
us.”

–
Dan
Mangan

Harvard
graduate
Shabbos
Kestenbaum,
who
is
currently
suing
his
alma
mater,
blasted
Ivy
League
culture
and
Democrats,
his
former
party,
for
becoming
what
he
called
“ideologically
poisoned.”

“Let’s
elect
a
president
who
recognizes
that
although
Harvard
and
the
Ivy
Leagues
have
long
abandoned
the
United
States
of
America,
the
Jewish
people
never
will.”

As
the
Gaza
war
polarized
the
U.S.
in
the
wake
of
the
Oct.
7
Hamas
attack
on
Israel,
colleges
campuses
became
the
site
of
intense
political
division
and
hot-tempered
protests,
many
of
which
attacked
President
Biden
for
providing
military
support
to
Israel.

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

Some
family
members
of
service
members
killed
in
the
2021
U.S.
evacuation
from
Afghanistan
condemned
Biden,
saying
the
president
has
never
said
the
13
service
members’
names
out
loud.

“There
has
been
a
deafening
silence
from
the
Biden
and
Harris
administration,”
Alicia
Lopez,
mother
of
Corporal
Hunter
Lopez,
said.

“Despite
our
pleas
for
answers
and
accountability,
they
have
pushed
us
away
and
tried
to
silence
us,”
Lopez
said.
“The
Biden
administration
has
not
owned
up
to
the
bad
decisions.
They
have
not
been
transparent
about
their
failures.”

Each
year
since
the
2021
attack
at
the
Abbey
Gate
base
at
the
Kabul
Airport,
Biden
has
issued
statements
commemorating
the
lives
of
the
13
service
members
killed
and
listing
their
names
and
ranks.

He
has
not,
however,
read
a
list
of
the
13
names
out
loud,
a
White
House
spokesman
told
NBC
News.

–
Josephine
Rozzelle

A
White
House
spokesman
bluntly
responded
to
reports
that
Biden
has
heard
from
the
Democratic
leaders
in
the
Senate
and
House
of
Representatives
that
is
risking
the
party’s
electoral
chances
in
November
if
he
remains
the
nominee.

Senate
Majority
Leader
Chuck
Schumer
and
House
Minority
Leader
Rep.
Hakeem
Jeffries,
both
of
New
York,
have
met
with
Biden
and
shared
how
their
respective
caucuses
feel.

White
House
spokesman
Andrew
Bates
in
a
statement
said,
“The
President
told
both
leaders
he
is
the
nominee
of
the
party,
he
plans
to
win,
and
looks
forward
to
working
with
both
of
them
to
pass
his
100
days
agenda
to
help
working
families.”

–
Dan
Mangan

Kimberly
Guilfoyle,
a
former
Trump
campaign
adviser
who
is
now
engaged
to
his
son,
Donald
Trump
Jr.,
delivered
her
speech
at
a
notably
higher
volume
than
the
previous
speakers.

“We
are
closer
to
World
War
III
than
any
time
in
my
life,”
Guilfoyle
roared.

“We
are
done
being
told
by
the
radical
left
to
sit
down
shut
up
and
obey,”
she
said.
“The
Democratic
vision
for
America
is
governed
by
fear,
hatred
and
political
oppression.”

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

Longtime
Trump
advisor
Kellyanne
Conway
praised
what
she
described
as
Trump’s
history
of
elevating
women
in
his
business
and
political
empires,
recounting
an
all-female
White
House
meeting.

“One
morning
I
was
in
an
early
senior
staff
meeting
in
the
White
House.
And
as
I
glanced
around
the
table,
something
caught
my
eye,”
Conway
said.
“In
that
meeting,
where
Sarah
Huckabee
Sanders,
Mercedes
Schlapp,
Brooke
Rollins,
Ivanka
Trump
and
me.”

“I
soon
realized
that
among
us,
we
have
19
children
at
the
time,
ages
two
through
16,”
she
said.
“Show
me
a
C-suite
in
America
where
five
working
moms
of
19
young
children
could
have
the
highest
rank
in
the
company
and
work
alongside
the
president.”

–
Josephine
Rozzelle

Trump
just
arrived
at
the
RNC
site
for
the
third
straight
night,
still
wearing
a
white
bandage
on
his
right
ear,
which
he
says
was
hit
by
a
bullet
from
a
would-be
assassin
on
Saturday.

–
Dan
Mangan

North
Dakota
Gov.

Doug
Burgum,
whom
Trump
had
considered
as
a

running
mate,
told
the
RNC
that
“Biden
is
acting
like
a
dictator”
with
his
electrical
vehicle
mandates
and
other
policies.

“He’s
using
mandates
to
shut
down
reliable
base
load
electricity,”
Burgum
said.
“That’s
why
your
electric
bills
have
soared
upwards
as
our
nation’s
electric
grid
reliability
spirals.”

“Four
more
years
of
Joe
will
usher
an
era
of
Biden
brownouts
and
blackouts,”
the
governor
said.

–
Dan
Mangan

Sarah
Philips,
a
petroleum
engineer,
said
that
while
“President
Trump
is
high
energy,
and
supports
energy,
Biden
is
low
energy
and
is
against
energy.”

This
is
not
entirely
accurate,
however.
Biden
has
overseen
an
explosion
in
domestic
energy
production
during
his
presidency.
In
2023,
the
United
States
produced
more
crude
oil
than
any
country
in
history,
according
to
the
U.S.
Energy
Information
Administration.

–
Josephine
Rozzelle

Trent
Conaway,
the
Republican
mayor
of

East
Palestine,
Ohio,
slammed

President
Biden
for
his
administration’s
response
to
the
2023

Norfolk
Southern
train
derailment.

“When
the
train
derailed,
spilling
flames
and
toxic
chemicals
to
our
town,
[we]
faced
a
disaster
unlike
we’ve
ever
seen,”
Conaway
said.
“And
in
the
chaos,
we
witnessed
a
clear
contrast
between
leadership
and
incompetence.”

The
mayor
criticized
Biden
for
only
visiting
East
Palestine
over
a
year
after
the
disaster,
which
infused
the
surrounding
community
with
toxins
in
the
water
and
air,
making
some
residents
ill.

“I
know
a
thing
or
two
about
train
wrecks
now,
and
let
me
tell
you,
that’s
what
the
Biden
administration
has
been,”
Conaway
jeered.

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

Texas
Gov.

Greg
Abbott
blasted
Biden
over
his

immigration
policy,
saying
“Joe
Biden
deserted
his
duty
on
his
first
day
in
office.”

“He
gutted
President
Trump’s
policies,
and
the
result
has
been
catastrophic.
Under
Joe
Biden,
illegal
immigration
has
skyrocketed
under
his
watch,”
said
Abbott,
whose
state
shares
a
long
border
with
Mexico.”

“Biden
has
welcomed
into
our
country
rapists,
murderers,
even
terrorists,
and
the
price
that
we
have
paid
has
been
deadly,”
the
governor
said.

–
Dan
Mangan

Rep.
Brian
Mast
(R-FL),
a
veteran
who
lost
both
of
his
legs
while
service
in
Afghanistan,
slammed
Biden
on
the
U.S.’s

withdrawal
from
Afghanistan
in
2021,
which
resulted
in
the
deaths
of

13
U.S.
service
members.

“With
his
botched
withdrawal
from
Afghanistan,
Biden
delivered
what
President
Trump
rightly
called
‘the
most
embarrassing
day
in
American
history,'”
Mast
said.
“And
what’s
worse
is
that
Joe
Biden
doesn’t
even
remember
that
it
cost
the
lives
of
13
American
heroes.”

This
is
not
accurate.
In
addition
to
honoring
their
sacrifice
shortly
after
the
withdrawal,
Biden
has
honored
the
13
service
members
who
were
killed
every
year
since
then
on
the
anniversary
of
their
deaths.

“Today,
I
am
praying
for
the
families
of
those
13
fallen
warriors,
who
lost
a
piece
of
their
soul
one
year
ago.
Our
nation
can
never
repay
such
incredible
sacrifice—but
we
will
never
fail
to
honor
our
sacred
obligation
to
the
families
and
survivors
they
left
behind,”
Biden

said
on
August
26,
2022.

One
year
later,
Biden
said,
“We
will
forever
honor
the
memory
of
the
13
service
members
who
were
stolen
far
too
soon
from
their
families,
loved
ones,
and
brothers-
and
sisters-in-arms,
while
performing
a
noble
mission
on
behalf
of
our
nation.”

–
Josephine
Rozzelle

Nevada
Attorney
General
Aaron
Ford
said
he
could
also
be
sick
after
spending
time
with
President
Biden,
nodding
to
the
fact
that
the
president’s
Covid
diagnosis
came
after
several
days
of
unmasked
public
events
where
he
was
in
close
proximity
with
people.

In
response
to
the
Biden
campaign’s
social
media
post
writing,
“I’m
sick,”
Ford
replied,
“I
might
be,
too,”
punctuating
the
message
with
an
emoji
of
a
man
shrugging.

“Good
seeing
you
today
anyway,
@POTUS,”
Ford
added,
including
a
selfie
of
him
and
Biden,
both
unmasked
within
inches
of
each
other.

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

Former
Trump
trade
advisor

Peter
Navarro
bragged
of
walking
out
of

federal
prison
“this
morning”
as
he
warned
his
Republicans
that
“if
they
can
come
for
me,
if
they
can
come
for
Donald
Trump,
be
careful.
They
will
come
for
you!”

“If
we
don’t
control
our
government,
their
government
will
control
us,”
said
Navarro,
who
completed
a
four-month
jail
term
in
Miami
on
Wednesday
for

contempt
of
Congress.

“If
we
don’t
control
all
three
branches
of
our
government,
legislative,
executive
and
judicial,
their
government
will
put
some
of
us,
like
me
and
Steve
Bannon,
in
prison.
And
control
the
rest
of
us.”

Navarro,
like
his
fellow
former
Trump
aide
Bannon,
was
locked
up
for
flouting
congressional
subpoenas
demanding
documents
and
testimony
related
to
the
Jan.
6,
2021,
insurrection
at
the
U.S.
Capitol
by
a
mob
of
Trump
supporters.

–
Dan
Mangan

The

Biden
campaign
cryptically
posted
“I’m
sick”
on
social
media
before
following
up
three
minutes
later
with
another
post
slamming
Elon
Musk
and
“his
rich
buddies.”

Taken
together,
the
posts
read:
“I’m
sick…of
Elon
Musk
and
his
rich
buddies
trying
to
buy
this
election.”

Musk
officially
endorsed
Donald
Trump
on
Saturday,
hours
after
his
attempted
assassination
at
the
Pennsylvania
rally
shooting
that
killed
one
attendee
and
critically
injured
two
others.

Biden’s
follow-up
post
ended
by
asking
for
campaign
donations:
“If
you
agree,
pitch
in
here.”

The
campaign’s
social
media
stunt
came
shortly
after
the
White
House
confirmed
that
Biden
had
tested
positive
for
Covid
while
in
Las
Vegas.

Earlier,

Biden
posted
a
more
earnest
response
to
his
Covid
diagnosis
on
his
official
White
House
account.

“I
am
feeling
good
and
thank
everyone
for
the
well
wishes,”
he
wrote.
“I
will
be
isolating
as
I
recover,
and
during
this
time
I
will
continue
to
work
to
get
the
job
done
for
the
American
people.”

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

Rep.
Ronny
Jackson,
who
previously
served
as
the
White
House’s
head
doctor,
told
the
RNC
that
Trump
“literally
took
a
bullet
for
our
country.”

“President
Trump
and
I
have
been
through
a
lot
together
over
the
years,”
said
Jackson,
who
represents
a
Texas
district.
“But
I
have
never,
ever
been
prouder
of
his
leadership
than
I
was
last
Saturday.”

Jackson
has
said
he
examined
Trump
after
an
attempted
assassination
of
the
former
president
on
Saturday,
and
that
the
“bullet
took
a
little
bit
off
the
top
of
his
ear
in
an
area
that,
just
by
nature,
bleeds
like
crazy.”

Jackson,

whose
nomination
as
Trump’s
secretary
of
Veteran’s
Affairs
was
scuttled
due
to
allegations
about
his
professional
conduct,
contrasted
Trump
with
Biden,
calling
the
current
president
“someone
who
can
barely
shuffle
to
a
podium.”

Jackson
said
earlier
this
week
that
his
nephew’s
neck
was
grazed
by
a
bullet
during
the
shooting
at
Trump’s
rally.

–
Dan
Mangan

On
Day
3
of
the
RNC
Convention,
several
attendees
are
donning
bandages
on
their
ears
in
solidarity
with
former
President
Donald
Trump,
days
after
his
ear
was
grazed
in
an
assassination
attempt
at
a
rally
in
Butler,
PA.

—
Adam
Jeffery

Following
his
conviction
on
federal
corruption
charges,
Sen.
Bob
Menendez,
D-N.J.,
has
informed
allies
that
he

plans
to
resign
from
Congress,
two
sources
told
NBC.

A
New
York
jury
on
Tuesday

found
Menendez
guilty
on
16
federal
charges
related
to
accepting
bribes
in
return
for
taking
actions
to
benefit
the
governments
of
Qatar
and
Egypt.

Dozens
of
senators,
including
Sen.
Majority
Leader
Chuck
Schumer,
D-N.Y.,
have
called
for
Menendez
to
resign
following
the
conviction.

–
Josephine
Rozzelle

President
Biden
has

tested
positive
for
Covid,
the
White
House
said
in
a
statement.

“He
is
vaccinated
and
boosted
and
he
is
experiencing
mild
symptoms,”
the
statement
from
Press
Secretary
Karine
Jean-Pierre
said.
“He
will
be
returning
to
Delaware
where
he
will
self-isolate
and
will
continue
to
carry
out
all
of
his
duties
fully
during
that
time.”

The
White
House
statement
also
included
a
note
from
the
President’s
doctor.

“He
felt
okay
for
his
first
event
of
the
day,
but
given
that
he
was
not
feeling
better,
point
of
care
testing
for
COVID-19
was
conducted,
and
the
results
were
positive
for
the
COVID-19
virus,”
the
doctor
said.

“His
symptoms
remain
mild,
his
respiratory
rate
is
normal
at
16,
his
temperature
is
normal
at
97.8
and
his
pulse
oximetry
is
normal
at
97%,”
the
physician
said,
adding
that
Biden
has
already
received
his
first
dose
of
Paxlovid.

Biden
was
set
to
speak
at
the
UnidosUS
Annual
Conference
in
Las
Vegas
on
Wednesday
afternoon,
but
UnidosUS
President
Janet
Murguía
took
the
stage
shortly
after
3:00
p.m.
PT
to
announce
that
Biden
would
not
be
speaking.

“Regrettably,
I
was
just
on
the
phone
with
President
Biden,”
Murgia
said
to
the
audience.
“And
he
shared
his
deep
disappointment
at
not
being
able
to
join
us
this
afternoon.
The
President
has
been
at
many
events
as
we
all
know.
And
he
just
tested
positive
for
COVID.”

–
Josephine
Rozzelle

The
Trump
campaign
said
Wednesday
it
will
not
agree
to
a
Vice-Presidential
debate
before
the
Democratic
National
Convention,
pointing
to
the
calls
for
President
Joe
Biden
to

drop
out
of
the
race
as
its
reason.

“We
don’t
know
who
the
Democrat
nominee
for
Vice
President
is
going
to
be,
so
we
can’t
lock
in
a
date
before
their
convention,”
Trump
campaign
aide
Brian
Hughes
said
in
a
statement.
“To
do
so
would
be
unfair
to
Gavin
Newsom,
JB
Pritzker,
Gretchen
Whitmer,
or
whoever
Kamala
Harris
picks
as
her
running
mate.”

Biden
has
insisted
that
he
does
not

plan
to
drop
out
of
the
race.

In
an
interview
on
Newsmax
Tuesday
night,
Trump’s
running
mate
JD
Vance
indicated
that
he’d
be
willing
to
a
debate
with
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris,
who
previously
agreed
to
an
invitation
from
CBS
to
debate
on
July
23
or
Aug.
13.

“We
want
to
debate
Vice
President
Harris
because
it’s
important
for
the
American
people
to
see
the
contrast,”
he
said.

–
Josephine
Rozzelle

President
Joe
Biden
said

he
might
reconsider
whether
to
stay
in
the
race
against
GOP
nominee
Donald
Trump
if
his
doctors
told
him
that
he
was
suffering
from
a
“medical
condition.”

“Is
there
anything
that
you
would
look
to
you,
personally…to
say,
‘if
I
see
that,
I
will
reevaluate?'”
BET
host
Ed
Gordon
asked
Biden
in
an
interview
set
to
air
in
full
on
Wednesday
at
10
p.m.
ET.

“If
I
had
some
medical
condition
that
emerged,
if
somebody,
if
doctors
came
to
me
and
said,
‘you
got
this
problem,
that
problem,'”
Biden
replied,
according
to
a
video
clip
shared
ahead
of
the
broadcast.

Biden,
81,
has
resolutely
rejected
calls
from
within
his
own
party
to
withdraw
from
the
race
after
his
abysmal
performance
in
last
month’s
presidential
debate.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Rep.

Adam
Schiff,
the
California
Democrat
heavily
favored
to
win
a
U.S.
Senate
seat
in
November,
called
on
Biden
to
exit
the

presidential
race
and
let
the
party
nominate
another
candidate.

Schiff
said
had
“serious
concerns
about
whether
the
President
can
defeat

Donald
Trump
in
November.”

“While
the
choice
to
withdraw
from
the
campaign
is
President
Biden’s
alone,
I
believe
it
is
time
for
him
to
pass
the
torch,”
Schiff
said.

–
Dan
Mangan

Vice
President

Kamala
Harris
made
her
first
on-camera
public
comment
about
the
attempted

assassination
of

Donald
Trump
at
his
Pennsylvania
rally
where
one
crowd
member
was
killed
and
two
others
were
critically
injured.

Harris
opened
her
remarks
at
a
Michigan
abortion
rights
panel
by
sending
her
condolences
to
the
family
of
Corey
Comperatore,
the
former
Pennsylvania
firefighter
who
was
killed.
She
also
said
she
was
“thankful”
that
Trump
was
not
more
seriously
hurt
at
the
Saturday
shooting.

“Violence
is
never
acceptable,”
Harris
said.
“One
of
the
questions
we
now
confront
is
about
the
way
we
should
engage
with
one
another
in
this
campaign.”

Harris
then
dovetailed
her
message
of
sympathy
into
political
talking
points,
making
the
case
for
hers
and
President
Biden’s
reelection.

“Just
as
we
must
reject
political
violence,
we
must
also
embrace
a
robust
discussion
about
what
is
at
stake
in
this
election,”
she
said.
“One
of
the
ideas
and
one
of
the
principles
that
is
at
stake
in
this
election
is
the
issue
of
reproductive
freedom,
and
that
is
why
I
am
here
today.”

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

Roughly
two-thirds
of
Democrats
think

President
Biden
should
bow
out
of
the
presidential
race
and
let
someone
else
take
the
top
of
the
ticket,
according
to
new
polling
from
the
past
several
days.

A
new

AP/NORC
poll
published
Wednesday
found
that
65%
of
Democrats
believe
Biden
should
step
aside.
From
July
11
to
July
15,
the
poll
surveyed
1,253
adults.
It
had
a
margin
of
error
of
+/-
3.8
percentage
points.

That
result
aligned
with
a
similar
finding
from
an

NBC
News
poll
released
Sunday,
which
showed
that
62%
of
Democrats
and
Democratic-leaning
registered
voters
also
thought
Biden
should
drop
out.
The
poll
surveyed
800
registered
voters
from
July
7
to
July
9.
It
had
a
margin
of
error
of
+/-
3.5
percentage
points.

Biden
has
repeatedly
rejected
polling
data
that
has
shown
drop-out
pressure
escalating
in
the
weeks
since
his
debate
flop
against

Donald
Trump.
Rather,
he
maintains
that
the
media
and
political
pundits
has
been
disproportionately
covering
his
political
vulnerabilities
rather
than
Trump’s.

As
of
Wednesday,
at
least
20

Democratic
lawmakers
had
publicly
called
on
Biden
to
drop
out
of
the
race,
including
most
recently
California
Rep.
Adam
Schiff.

The
Democratic
rifts
present
a
split
screen
with
day
three
of
the
Republican
National
Convention
where
the
GOP
has
vigorously
rallied
around
the
Trump-Vance
ticket,
especially
in
the
wake
of
the
Pennsylvania
rally
shooting
where
the
former
president
came
within
an
inch
of
a
deadly
bullet.

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

The

Democratic
National
Committee
pledged
that
its
virtual
roll
call
process
to
designate

President
Biden
the
party’s
official
presidential
nominee
will
not
start
before
Aug.
1,
according
to
a
letter
to
delegates
obtained
by
NBC
News.

The
virtual
roll
call
process
could
have
begun
as
soon
as
next
week,
which
some
Biden
allies
were
pushing
for.
But
other
Democrats
wanted
the

DNC
to
delay
its
early
voting
process
to
give
the
party
time
to
lock
down
a
new
nominee
as
concerns
mount
about
Biden’s
age.

“Our
goal
is
not
to
fast-track,”
wrote
Minnesota
Gov.
Tim
Walz
and
Bishop
Leah
Daughtry,
co-chairs
of
the DNC’s
rules
committee.
“None
of
this
will
be
rushed.”

The
DNC’s
letter
eased
some
concerns
on
Capitol
Hill.

Shortly
after
the
letter
was
released,
House
Democrats
called
off
their
own
effort
to
collect
signatures
on
a
drafted
letter
that
would
have
called
on
the
DNC
to
hold
the
nomination
process
in
person
at
the
Democratic
convention,
as
is
typical.

“We’re
glad
to
see
that
the
pressure
worked,
and
the
DNC
will
not
be
moving
forward
with
the
rushed
process,
so
we
won’t
be
sending
a
letter
at
this
time,”
a
spokesperson
for
California
Rep.
Jared
Huffman,
one
of
the
Democratic
lawmakers
leading
the
push,
told
CNBC.

Though
the
DNC
promised
that
the
virtual
voting
process
will
not
kick
off
before
August,
Walz
and
Daughtry
noted,
it
will
be
finished
before
the
Democratic
convention
starts
on
Aug.
19.

Read
the
full
story



here.

—

Rebecca
Picciotto

Former
Trump
trade
advisor

Peter
Navarro
is
scheduled
to
speak
in
Milwaukee
just
hours
after
he
completed
a

four-month
jail
sentence
in
Miami.

A
federal
jury
convicted
Navarro
in
September
on
two
counts
of
contempt
of
Congress
for
his
refusal
to
comply
with
the
House
select
committee
investigating
the
Jan.
6,
2021,
Capitol
riot.

The
U.S.
Supreme
Court
had rejected
Navarro’s
requests to
get
out
of
jail
early
while
he
appealed
his
sentence.

—

Kevin
Breuninger