There is one person out there who knows what it’s like to debate both Joe Biden and Donald Trump
Hillary Clinton.
She debated Trump three times in 2016 when they ran against each other for president. She also was part of a debate with Biden during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary race.
Clinton wrote a guest essay for The New York Times: “I’ve Debated Trump and Biden. Here’s What I’m Watching For.”
About Trump, Clinton wrote, “It is a waste of time to try to refute Mr. Trump’s arguments like in a normal debate. It’s nearly impossible to identify what his arguments even are. He starts with nonsense and then digresses into blather. This has gotten only worse in the years since we debated. I was not surprised that after a recent meeting, several chief executives said that Mr. Trump, as one journalist described it, ‘could not keep a straight thought’ and was ‘all over the map.’ Yet expectations for him are so low that if he doesn’t literally light himself on fire on Thursday evening, some will say he was downright presidential.”
Despite this, Clinton goes into detail about what she expects Thursday night, and which tactics she would use if she was there. It’s a really good primer for the debate, so check it out.
An important letter
The Wall Street Journal published a letter from editor-in-chief Emma Tucker on Tuesday. The subject was Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is about to go to trial in Russia after being accused of espionage. The paper and the U.S. government vehemently deny that Gershkovich is a spy. The U.S. considers him “wrongfully detained.”
Tucker wrote, in part, “When his case comes before a judge this week, it will not be a trial as we understand it, with a presumption of innocence and a search for the truth. Rather, it will be held in secret. No evidence has been unveiled. And we already know the conclusion: This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man who would then face up to 20 years in prison for simply doing his job. And an excellent job he was doing, at that.”
Gershkovich has been detained in Russia since March 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted that, eventually, there could be a prisoner swap that would allow Gershkovich to return to the U.S. But that hasn’t happened as what is expected to be a sham trial gets underway.
Tucker wrote, “Even covering the case presents challenges to us and other news organizations over how to report responsibly on the proceedings and the allegations. We pride ourselves on our impartial and accurate reporting that doesn’t take sides and avoids bias. Nor would we repeat baseless allegations that we know categorically to be untrue lest we amplify the slander against Evan. We will state the facts clearly as we know them, as we did in our headline and story earlier this month when news of his indictment was announced: WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich, Falsely Accused of Espionage, Is Indicted in Russia. As we pledged earlier this year, we will continue to tell Evan’s story until he can tell his own.”
Doing the right thing
The Associated Press announced Tuesday that it is setting up a sister organization to fundraise for and support state and local journalism.
In a statement, the AP said the new organization will have a separate board of directors and the 501(c)3 charitable organization “will help AP sustain, augment and grow journalism and services for the industry, as well as help fund other entities that share a commitment to state and local news.”
AP president and CEO Daisy Veerasingham said in the statement, “The crisis in local news is only exacerbating. It’s AP’s role as the cooperative at the heart of the news ecosystem to both reinforce our own state and local reporting as well as support other organizations who share our commitment to local journalism. State and local news is essential, both to the democratic process and to combatting misinformation. Simply put, it’s a public good.”
Veerasingham told the AP’s David Bauder, “We feel we have to lean in at this point, not pull back. But the supporting mechanism — the local newspaper market that used to support this — can’t afford to do that anymore.”
The new group will be called The AP Fund for Journalism. The initial fundraising goal is around $100 million.
Veerasingham told Axios’ Sara Fischer, “I haven't put a timeline around that yet, but that's our initial goal.”
Fischer wrote, “The new funds will be used to support AP's local journalism efforts, as well as the work of other organizations or services that support local newsrooms, per Veerasingham. The allocation of those funds will be up to the organization's independent directors. Within the AP, the funds could be used to help build services that can localize big datasets for local newsrooms, Veerasingham said. The funding could also help the AP build training and services around artificial intelligence for local newsrooms. (AP inked a two-year licensing and tech-sharing deal with ChatGPT parent OpenAI last year.) AP will retain complete editorial control of all journalism it will produce with philanthropic funding from the new organization.”
AP executive editor Julie Pace tweeted, “So excited about this new initiative @AP, as we look to deepen our longstanding commitment to state and local news in the United States.”
Setting another record