Vice President Kamala Harris “risks raising the stakes” of the debate, as the Washington Examiner’s Sarah Bedford put it, by placing such a focus on her debate performance. Without any other media performances to compare it to, bar her recently announced joint interview with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) on CNN tonight, her handling of former President Donald Trump and the moderators’ questions will be under intense scrutiny.
Harris’s fast-paced ascension and nomination to the top of the Democratic ticket have meant the public has not had the time frame typical in elections to vet the candidate fully. Her policies, many of which she has flip-flopped on since becoming the Democratic nominee — such as fracking, a single-payer healthcare system, mandatory buyback programs, and, recently, the border wall — are still unclear even after four days of Democratic National Convention speeches by party leaders.
“It’s like a baseball player who refused to take batting practice, coming off the bench having failed to play any games in the last month, stepping up to the plate in the seventh game of the World Series,” Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary for George W. Bush, told Sarah.
“Without tough media interviews, she is raising the stakes on how important the debate will be,” Fleischer added.
The strategy with President Joe Biden did not pay off, with his disastrous performance leading to his ousting.
Some watching Harris closely suggest her lack of unscripted moments or media interviews may be a telling sign about her team.
“You become more experienced in handling questions if you actually do handle them, but she and her team must think that the risk of mishandling them is so grave that they want to avoid it,” Charles Lipson, political science professor emeritus at the University of Chicago, told Sarah. “That means that she has to prepare for the debate with handlers who can coach her, and she seems to be working with real media experts to polish her approach.”
Click here to read more about the stakes of the debate from Sarah.
Citizenship voting bill threatens government funding bill
Hard-line Republicans pushing for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, may be facing roadblocks from leadership about tacking it onto the stopgap measure to continue funding the government.
The continuing resolution needs to pass by Sept. 30 to avert an Oct. 1 government shutdown. House Republicans such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) want to attach the SAVE Act to that bill, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has pushed back, putting House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in a tough spot, the Washington Examiner’s Rachel Schilke reported.
“Here’s my issue: I don’t want to vote for something that I don’t have a speaker of the House that will fight for it,” Greene told Rachel. “And I know for a fact we do not have a speaker of the House that will fight for it.”
Senate sources told Rachel that McConnell is pushing against adding the measure out of concern it could upend the entire spending bill in the Democratic-led Senate. What’s more, the three senators running to replace McConnell as leader are all co-sponsors of the SAVE Act: Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).
Click here to read more about the GOP leadership test from Rachel.
Jack Smith recalibrates Trump strategy after Supreme Court rulings
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling this summer that presidents are immune from prosecution for presidential acts, special counsel Jack Smith had to pivot his legal strategy in his case against Trump.
On Tuesday, Smith filed an edited 36-page indictment in the 2020 election subversion case against Trump, cut down from the original 45-page indictment. Much of the content is the same, but absent is some evidence and the mention of former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark in a list of unindicted co-conspirators. The special counsel maintained the four counts against Trump, including conspiracy to defraud the United States.
This indictment is a “last-ditch effort to try to avoid a motion to dismiss,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told the Washington Examiner’s Kaelan Deese.
Smith is walking a “fine line” of adhering to the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling while continuing to go after Trump on criminal charges, Ohio-based attorney Danny Karon said.
Still, the case is not expected to go to trial before the election, so the decision about whether to prosecute Trump for his actions after the 2020 election is partially in the hands of voters. If Trump wins, he will likely direct the Justice Department to shut down the case.
Click here to read more about Smith’s change in strategy from Kaelan.
China crossing ‘red lines’ in South China Sea violates Philippines sovereignty: Ambassador
Philippine officials are increasingly anxious about movements from China in the South China Sea, an area regularly subject to territorial disputes. Its habit of crossing “red lines” could bring about “the end of the world,” according to one senior Philippine envoy who spoke with the Washington Examiner’s Mike Brest.
“The red lines have been crossed on many occasions, especially when it comes to our territory,” Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez told Mike. “As a sovereign country, we will continue to do whatever we can to protect our sovereignty and our territorial rights.”
A series of clashes last week showcased China’s willingness to show force against the Philippines, though the Southeast Asian country is in a stronger position than it has been. China’s maneuvers may be showing the weakness of the U.S.’s ability to contain the conflict, according to some experts.
“China is carefully trying not to do things that [would] directly provoke the U.S., but it’s sort of taking on its aggression on other people — you know, the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan,” a Pentagon strategist told Mike. “As far they’re concerned, if they can weaken the alliance network without touching the U.S., and the U.S. won’t intervene directly … it sort of weakens the entire premise of U.S. power and leadership at the same time.”
Prior to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s visit to Beijing this week, China rammed a Philippine vessel and entered Japanese airspace, which Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said was a “serious violation of our country’s sovereignty.”
After those incidents, a U.S. Navy admiral who leads the Indo-Pacific Command affirmed it would be “entirely reasonable” for U.S. forces to provide escorts to Philippine ships under the terms of the mutual defense treaty during a trip to Manila on Tuesday.
Click here to read more about the region’s territorial disputes from Mike.
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For your radar
Harris and Walz will sit down for the CNN interview at 1:45 p.m. From there, Walz will go to Raleigh, North Carolina, for a campaign event, and Harris will head to Savannah, Georgia, for a 5:30 p.m. rally as she concludes her bus tour through the Peach State.
Trump will hold a campaign event focused on the economy in Michigan at 3:30 p.m. and then head to Wisconsin for a town hall event moderated by former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard at 7 p.m.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) will speak to the same group of Boston firefighters that Walz did yesterday.