by Kristina Karisch
It was a study in contrast.
Thursday marked a boisterous and celebratory end to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee as former President Trump officially accepted the nomination to become his party’s candidate. Across the aisle, the mood was tense, as pressure mounts on President Biden to drop his reelection bid.
Democratic insiders said Biden could make a major announcement about his future in the coming days, The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Alexander Bolton report. Congressional leaders, meanwhile, expect that Vice President Harris will become the nominee if Biden drops his reelection bid. The talk among high-level strategists and donors has now turned to who is best positioned to serve as Harris’s running mate, with a short list of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D).
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) both communicated to senior party leaders that they would not be interested in serving on the ticket.
Two key figures who could help bring the president closer to a decision are former President Obama and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). The Washington Post reports Obama has told allies in recent days that he thinks the president needs to consider the viability of his candidacy. And since Biden’s dismal debate performance three weeks ago, Pelosi has listened to members, huddled with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and called Obama, writes The Hill’s Amie Parnes. Behind the scenes last week, Pelosi relayed her concerns to Biden, coupled with poor polling showing he would lose to Trump.
“She’s like a magician,” said a source close to Pelosi. “She’s extraordinarily intentional.” With Biden, the source added, “She’s trying hard to keep the balance and helping him reach a decision by gently pulling, never pushing.”
IT ALL BOILS DOWN to Biden’s most perilous moment yet, The Hill’s Niall Stanage writes in The Memo. The president has tried several times to heal the wound he inflicted upon himself with his dismal debate performance on June 27 in Atlanta. But none of it has worked. The 81-year-old Biden, now self-isolating with COVID-19, has offered grim counterprogramming to an energetic Republican convention this week, writes The Hill’s Alex Gangitano. While Biden is isolating in Delaware, his campaign has been releasing ads and holding press conferences to counter Republicans — but the president himself will not have any public appearances for at least a few days.
TRUMP CLOSED OUT an emotionally charged convention with an appeal for the country to heal “discord and division” days after he was injured in an assassination attempt — even as he mocked and attacked his opponents. In a speech that lasted more than an hour, Trump dramatically recounted the experience of the shooting at his rally five days prior, and he opened and concluded with calls for Americans to set aside partisan divisions he has often stoked himself.
I am running to be president of all of America, not half of America,” he said.
Those calls for unity didn’t last throughout the speech; instead he delivered something akin to a rally speech with an intensely somber opening. He simultaneously urged Americans to stop fighting among themselves while railing against Democrats and frequently going off script.
Trump referred to an “inflation crisis,” an “illegal immigration crisis” and an “international crisis” that he blamed on “the current administration.” He described a bleak state of affairs in the four years since he left office, calling the country a “nation in decline.”
- The Hill: Key takeaways from the fourth and final day of the Republican convention.
- The Washington Post: Fact-checking Trump’s speech on Day 4 of the convention.
- The Hill: Five key moments from Trump’s speech.
- The New York Times analysis: Trump promised to bridge political divides on Thursday, and then returned to delighting in deepening them.
- The Hill: Biden is “more determined than ever” to beat Trump after his RNC speech, according to his campaign
