[What A Day]([link removed])

Friday, August 23, 2024
BY CROOKED MEDIA

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[-Former Fox News Host Eric Bolling,]([link removed]) having a normal one over fears that Democrats could win over independent voters.

 

Donald Trump is seeking to capitalize on RFK Jr.’s withdrawal from the presidential race. But it’s far from clear how much he’ll really benefit.  

- Conspiracy theorist and all-round weird guy RFK Jr. folded up his campaign tent on Friday, officially suspending one of the quirkiest presidential bids in recent memory. His quixotic candidacy will perhaps be best remembered for a series of downright bizarre episodes featuring special guests from the animal kingdom. The Kennedy family scion revealed that a [worm ate part of his brain]([link removed])and died there, and that he once staged the [death of a bear cub]([link removed]) in Central Park. He posed for the camera [covered in bugs]([link removed]). In another image, he posed enthusiastically eating what appeared to be a [roasted dog]([link removed]) carcass (he insisted it was a goat). He claimed to have once had an entire freezer full of roadkill meat. Somehow, to everyone’s great surprise, these very relatable moments did not translate into momentum on the campaign trail! Kennedy sank from double-digit support to mid-low single-digit. His numbers really tanked after President Biden left the race and Vice President Kamala Harris surged.

- RFK Jr. threw his support behind disgraced former President Trump in a rambling speech in Arizona on Friday afternoon, attacking Democrats and complaining that he was never given a fair chance. He said he would pull his name off the ballot in “about ten” battleground states where he might be a spoiler. As of Friday, he had filed paperwork to remove his name from the ballot in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Arizona. 

- Polls suggested that RFK Jr. seemed to be taking a bit more from Trump than Harris. But there’s reason to think that his departure may not help Trump that much. First, Harris still leads Trump in many national and battleground state polls, whether RFK Jr.’s name is included or not. Second, the guy’s endorsement comes with drawbacks. Harris’ team has joyfully branded Trump and his veep pick, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), “weird.” Adding RFK Jr. to their entourage only reinforces that message, thanks to his long history of doing decidedly weird stuff. 

- There is also plenty of evidence that RFK Jr.’s alliance with Trump amounts to a brazen case of mercenary self-promotion. Before he backed out of the race, RFK Jr. reached out to the Harris camp and reportedly offered to swap his support for a job in her future administration. The Harris team slammed the door in his face. Trump, however, who speaks the language of graft and corruption, was a lot more receptive to a quid-pro-quo. [Other members of the Kennedy family]([link removed]) blasted RFK Jr.’s endorsement of Trump as a “betrayal” in a statement on Friday afternoon. 

An alignment between Trump and RFK Jr. creates opportunities for the Harris camp to go on the attack. And Kennedy will presumably learn, as so many have before him, that nobody stays in Trump's good graces very long.  

Democrats staged the kind of jubilant, joy-filled convention that few considered possible only a few short weeks ago, when anxieties were surging over President Biden’s foundering campaign. But after sweeping up all the confetti and balloons, they awoke on Friday morning to the difficult task of securing victory, in the two-and-a-half months until election day, against an opponent who is far from vanquished. 
 
Plenty of experienced political heavyweights are warning Democrats not to get overly optimistic, despite all the bunting and good cheer at the convention. True, the polls suggest Kamala Harris made real progress. She now leads in analyst [Nate Silver’s polling average]([link removed]). And 538’s forecast model [gives Harris a 58 percent]([link removed]) chance of winning the presidency. But those numbers could be hiding a more difficult reality. The founder of the main Super PAC backing Harris recently warned that she thinks they do.

"Our numbers are much less rosy than what you're seeing in the public," Chauncey McLean, president of Future Forward, said in rare public comments on Monday. History, of course, also suggests Dems should be wary. [Trump outperformed many of his polls]([link removed]) in both 2016 and 2020.  
 
So there’s no time to chill. Democrats will have to go all gas no brakes until November 5 to beat Trump. The next big political moment will be the debate on September 10 — just two-and-a-half weeks away. 
 

 

This week, we went all out for the Democratic National Convention. Here at Crooked Media, we’re giving Friends of the Pod subscribers access to a ton of behind-the-scenes content and community events including a DNC subscriber live chat, a new subscriber exclusive segment featuring Jon, Jon, Tommy and Dan, FOUR back-to-back, and ad-free episodes of Pod Save America recapping the biggest convention news of the night. It’s been a hell of a week for content, and as a bonus we now have a Democratic Party nominee! Pretty good deal! Get all of our exclusive DNC content and more when you subscribe to Friends of the Pod. Head to [crooked.com/friends]([link removed]) to sign up now!

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[Rumors that a big-name]([link removed]) “special guest” would appear at the Democratic National Convention failed to pan out, when neither Beyoncé nor Taylor Swift showed up. We were just as disappointed as you! We now plan to tirelessly investigate why a White House official tweeted a bee emoji on Thursday evening, signaling to many observers that Beyoncé was, indeed, on the way. ([The same official later tweeted]([link removed]), in what appears to have been a joke: “Sorry guys my 6 year old took my phone.” Har-dee-har-har, very funny!) 
 
DOJ [Special Counsel Jack Smith decided]([link removed]) not to present detailed evidence in Donald Trump’s Washington D.C.-based election-subversion criminal case before this November, opting against what has been dubbed a “mini-trial” before Election Day 2024. 
 
[Donald Trump is trying]([link removed]) to mend fences with Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA), after starting a self-destructive political fight with the governor of a vital swing state for certifying the 2020 election results/accepting the reality that Biden had won Georgia. We’re sure this goodwill will last until about [checks watch] the next time Kemp has to certify election results. 
 
Our own [Pod Save America co-host Jon Favreau]([link removed]) appeared on Fox News with host Jesse Watters on Thursday night at the DNC, apparently to show that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg isn’t the only one who can drop in on Fox News and survive to tell the tale. What’s more, Watters admitted that his mom is a big fan of Favreau, who replied with “Tell your mom I said hi.” Savage!!! 
 
[The Arkansas Supreme Court handed]([link removed]) a win to Republicans by blocking an abortion measure from appearing on the state’s ballot, agreeing with the state’s attorney general that its backers had failed to submit the proper paperwork. The two dissenting justices—both women—accused their colleagues of having made up the requirement “out of whole cloth.” 

[Voters in Nebraska will see both pro-choice]([link removed]) and anti-abortion petitions on their ballots in November. Choose wisely, corn-huskers!

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Typical children’s vitamins are basically candy in disguise — filled with two teaspoons of sugar, unhealthy chemicals, and other gummy junk growing kids should never eat. [That’s why Hiya was created — the pediatrician-approved superpowered chewable vitamin]([link removed]).

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[As a special deal for WAD readers, receive 50% off your first order]([link removed]) and get your kids the full-body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults.

[Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell]([link removed]) said “the time has come” for interest rate cuts, meaning the Fed now appears set to switch strategy towards boosting economic growth (instead of primarily fighting inflation). Stocks jumped. 
 
[A lot more people watched Kamala Harris’ convention]([link removed]) speech than Donald Trump’s. Early ratings figures suggest she beat his numbers by a whopping 22 percent. For a guy obsessed with ratings and crowd sizes, you know he’s spinning out about this.  

[Former Fox News host Eric Bolling]([link removed]) melted down in an online rant urging Donald Trump’s campaign to shake things up. “We’re losing the race. We’re losing the presidency,” he growled. “The enthusiasm level on the left right now is overwhelming!” 

[What A Day]([link removed])

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