Happy Thursday from Milwaukee. It’s Day 4, and my voice is basically gone. It’s sore feet and tired attendees here in Milwaukee. Ah, that’s a convention! Here’s what’s happening: -
Tonight is the night former President Trump speaks at the convention. And the classic balloon drop!
- I ran into two men selling Trump’s tweets bound as a coffee table book. They swear they’re not trolling and have sold hundreds of copies at the convention. It’s a funny read.
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Actor Tim Daly had an interesting anecdote when asked about attending the GOP convention.
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
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Will he yank off the bandage tonight?: |
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Tonight’s the big night. Former President Trump will address the Republican National Convention, his first public remarks since a gunman attempted to assassinate him at a campaign rally last weekend.
How is he doing since the shooting?: It’ll be worth watching to see how Trump frames the shooting during his remarks tonight. Trump has had a visible presence at the convention (ear bandage and all) but has remained fairly tight-lipped about his health following the shooting. His team has also provided very minimal updates on his health. Here’s what we know about his health
💻 Here’s tonight’s livestream: It begins at 7 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. in Milwaukee).
Five things to watch: What’s the tone? How does Trump invoke Saturday’s shooting? How much does he detail a second term? Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and wife Melania Trump are joining the show today. Read Brett Samuels’s preview in The Hill
This is quite the video: The New York Times’s Jonathan Swan reports “an extraordinary scene played out at the convention tonight, with US Senators confronting the head of the Secret Service who is here in Milwaukee.” 📹 Watch the footage Day 3 takeaways |
One of the biggest applause lines of the night: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) fondly described finding 19 loaded guns stashed around his grandmother’s house when she died. “This frail old woman made sure that no matter where she was, she was within arm’s length of whatever she needed to protect her family.” 😅😅
📸 Hey, more ear bandages have popped up on the convention floor
Spotted on the floor: Roger Stone. 📸 Photo
Lol: “Crowd at RNC boos when Usha Vance says JD Vance became a vegetarian after meeting her,” NewsNation’s Libbey Dean noticed. Check out these signs on the floor: “Trump will end the Ukraine war,” they read. Great venue, Iowa Republicans: My colleague, Julia Mueller, posted a photo from the Iowa Republican terrace reception along Lake Michigan. 📸 Check out the view
Meanwhile in Washington, D.C.: Vance’s book ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ with a note, “PLEASE TAKE. NO LONGER WANTED.” 📸 Photo |
➤ TIDBIT FROM THE CREATIVE COALITION’S RNC COCKTAIL RECEPTION: |
The Creative Coalition’s president Tim Daly and CEO Robin Bronk hosted a cocktail reception nearby the convention to honor “congressional leaders championing arts in America.”
I chatted with Tim Daly (who is famous for his roles in “Madam Secretary,” “The Sopranos,” “Wings,” etc.) He has publicly supported Democrats — and I asked him what it’s been like to be at the Republican convention. He told me a story about being at an event with a Republican woman.
The woman focused in on him and became visibly angry. “You Hollywood liberals. You blah, blah, blah,” Daly recounted her yelling at him. “I just kind of let her go and then I started talking to her about carpool and about coaching T-ball … soccer, gardening and school plays — stuff like that. And it was like, the air just went out of her anger balloon because she realized that we actually have a lot more in common than we did when we had differences.”
“And then she gave me a big hug and a kiss and asked my autograph.”
“The air went out of her anger balloon” is an incredible expression that I now plan to use. |
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I haven’t laughed this hard writing a story in a while: | They swear they’re not trolling.
Two men have a booth set up at the convention selling a 300-page hardcover book featuring former President Trump’s tweets — or “the great work, the collected poems of Donald J. Trump” as they call it. The $45 book divides the posts into sections including, “loathing,” “introspective musings” “big, bigger, biggest” and “free verse.” Free verse “leaves the confounds of the English language behind and soars to new heights.” Overheard at the booth: A seller explaining to a woman how Trump is the greatest poet in a generation. “Are you a Democrat?” she asked, demanding to know if he was trolling. He promised he wasn’t. “Are you sure? I won’t buy this or anything from a Democrat.” Once again, he promised he was not. She then bought multiple copies. The two sellers told The Hill that Volume 2 is in the works. It will be sold for $47 and will feature the “the impeachments, the indictments, the incitement, the global pandemic …”
When asked again whether they were trolling, Gregory Woodman smiled and insisted he was not. After some back-and-forth, he said he doesn’t know whether he’ll vote for Trump in November. He only knows Trump as a poet. “Is he running for something?” |
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Joe’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Month:
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Three weeks ago today, the chatter about the election was the usual preelection discussions. Who will win the debate? Will Trump be too aggressive? How will Biden be? It all feels so mundane now.
Now, less than a month later: -
Democrats are having serious discussions about replacing President Biden on the top of the ticket.
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ABC News is reporting that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) confronted Biden last weekend about his candidacy.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has also privately suggested Biden could jeopardize down ballot races.
- Oh, and the cherry on top of an unfortunate stretch: Biden has COVID-19.
It appears that Biden is hearing the concerns: CNN’s Jeff Zeleny reports Biden has been more “receptive” to discussions about his political future. A senior Dem adviser told CNN: “He’s gone from saying, ‘Kamala can’t win,’ to ‘Do you think Kamala can win?’” the adviser said. “It’s still unclear where he’s going to land but seems to be listening.” |
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- ‘Senate Democrats raise concerns about early certification of Biden nomination’: The Hill
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‘Behind the Curtain: Top Dems now believe Biden will exit’: Axios
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‘Biden’s political crisis deepens as Schiff calls for him to drop out’: The Washington Post
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‘Pelosi hasn’t told Biden to drop out yet. Here’s what her California allies have said.’: Politico
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🍍 Celebrate: Today is National Tropical Fruit Day! 📺 Emmy nominations are out!: FX’s “Shōgun” received 25 nominations, and FX’s “The Bear” received 23 nods. List of Emmy nominations |
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The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Rehoboth Beach, Del., recovering from COVID-19. Vice President Harris is in North Carolina. (all times Eastern) |
- 1:55 p.m.: Harris delivers remarks at a campaign event in Fayetteville, N.C.. 💻 Livestream
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3:50 p.m.: Harris returns to Washington, D.C.
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