Just twenty days ago, we wondered in an editorial if the media’s aggressive coverage of Biden following his Atlanta debate failure signaled a return to fairer coverage and raised hopes for American democracy. We couldn’t believe our own headline, so we hedged it with:
“Is the change for real?”
One reader, obviously more of a realist than us, commented on social media: ?? (1 time – NOT good enough). He was not convinced that the media would be so well-behaved and neutral and would return to their usual partisan ways.
He is right.
Ever since Biden’s disastrous exit from the 2024 race via a tweet showing an image of a withdrawal letter and a signature, the media has been at it again. Coverage for Kamala Harris has been constant and, by our estimate, over 99% positive. Other than a rare comment or two by mainstream journalists about the process – not Kamala, mind you – everything has been perfect in the Harris world.
The New York Times/Siena College poll even placed the last-minute intra-party mutiny, which led to a bait and switch of a major party candidate, in excellent stead. Part of the reason for this storyline was to defend The Times’ campaign against Biden. It was one of the first major news outlets to call for Biden to step down, and it worked closely with George Clooney to publish an opinion page arguing for the President to exit the race. So, in The Times’ telling, the poll vindicated the Editorial Board’s wisdom:
For once, American voters are in near total agreement about politics: They (almost) all agree that President Biden was right to exit the presidential race (87% of registered voters).
To assure nervous Democrats that the Harris campaign could be competitive on the fundraising front after the Trump campaign had reported record collections following the assassination attempt and the RNC convention in Milwaukee, The Times kept close tabs on the donations that the Harris campaign collected after Biden anointed her as his heir-in-chief. One piece described how big check after big check from billionaires and millionaires accrued as they stockpiled money into the newly renamed Harris Victory Fund. “Donors are calling asking how and where can I contribute to Harris for President,” said Andy Spahn, a top fund-raiser in Hollywood. He added that there was “tremendous excitement and enthusiasm for Kamala’s candidacy here.”
To instill confidence in exhausted liberals who felt there was not enough time for a candidate who had been coronated without winning a single primary vote to succeed in the general election, The Times engaged in a bit of aggressive snake oil selling: “The 107 days Vice President Kamala Harris has to run for president may be shaping up as the shortest campaign in modern American history, but in many major democracies, the official election season would not even have started yet.”
The American presidential calendar is the longest in the world, starting around November after the prior congressional election. Given how crucial the presidency is to world peace and stability, it has been this way for decades. It has been dubbed the longest job interview in the world for this precise reason. So why is The Times comparing our presidential calendar to the Philippines and Indonesia elections as benchmarks? It is disappointing journalism, as these comparisons fail to account for the unique role and responsibilities of the U.S. presidency on the global stage.
When former President Barack Obama finally endorsed Harris on Friday morning, CBS News reported in glowing terms how the 44th president and his wife, Michelle, were totally in on the endorsement: “There is no doubt in our mind that Kamala Harris has exactly what it takes to win this election and deliver for the American people,” their statement read. “At a time when the stakes have never been higher, she gives us all reason to hope.”
The CBS News story never explained why it took Obama more than 112 agonizing hours after Biden named Harris as his choice for the top of the ticket to endorse her. Did Obama hesitate for a reason? Was he for an open mini-primary of delegates in Chicago where the best candidate would win? Didn’t he want Arizona Sen. Mark Kelley to be at the top of the ticket because he thought Harris was too liberal to win the White House?
Politico wanted to give free professional advice to the Harris campaign. So, it assembled three political strategists – all devout Trump-haters – Patti Solis Doyle, who ran Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential primary campaign; Robby Mook, who ran Clinton’s 2016 general election campaign; and Stuart Stevens, a lead strategist in Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign – for an hourlong roundtable discussion.
CNN, the most anti-Trump media outlet ever, which paradoxically helped bring down the Biden candidacy when it hosted the Atlanta debate, was eager to make amends with the Left. So it cooed with a puff piece: “The five days since Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign launched at warp speed have remade the 2024 race – and given Democrats new hope of preventing a second Donald Trump presidency.” Was it giving Democrats new hope or CNN new hope? The question is practically irrelevant, given how one is a mouthpiece of the other.
USA Today couldn’t resist a piece about gender, heritage, and youth fawning over Kamala Harris. It completely ignored America’s deep policy crises ushered in by Harris during the last 3½ years, including record-high inflation, unsustainable levels of federal debt, wars and conflict around the world, and rampant illegal immigration that has hamstrung cities and towns across America. “Harris is drawing parallels to Obama as young voters eye a chance to be part of a historic first,” said a glowing essay.
We are not sure if most Americans are ready to consume 107 more days of this non-stop ooh-aah coverage of Kamala Harris.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Israel Army Says Preparing ‘Decisive Offensive’ Against Lebanon’s Hezbollah – AFP
An Israeli military commander said that troops in the country’s north were preparing for “a decisive offensive” against Lebanon’s Hezbollah after months of deadly cross-border exchanges.
The exchanges of fire have been largely restricted to the border areas and displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese as well as Israeli residents. The statement said troops were now preparing “for the transition to offense,” Major General Ori Gordin, Israel’s commanding officer in the north.
2. Britain Ends Objections To ICC War Crimes Warrants For Netanyahu, Gallant – UPI
The Guardian first reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office confirmed the new Labor Party government would not challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction as it seeks arrest warrants.
The decision came after Britain’s Labor Party took control of the government after former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for elections, which saw his Conservative Party lose power. The ICC is also seeking war crime arrest warrants for three top Hamas leaders.
3. EU Gives $1.6 Billion In Profits From Frozen Russian Assets To Ukraine – UPI
The European Union transferred $1.6 billion in frozen Russian assets held by central securities depositories to Ukraine for military and reconstruction support against Russia’s invasion.
EU sanctions froze Russian Central Bank assets in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Roughly $324 billion in Russian central bank assets were frozen by EU and G7 nations, including the United States, after Russia invaded Ukraine. Profits from those frozen assets are now being harnessed for Ukraine.
4. Former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Arrested On Corruption Charges – Current Time
Russia’s Investigative Committee said former Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov had been arrested on corruption charges. Bulgakov was dismissed in September 2022 after serving as deputy defense minister for almost 14 years.
His detention comes after several other top military and Defense Ministry officials were arrested on corruption charges before and after Putin dismissed his longtime ally, Sergei Shoigu, as defense minister in mid-May. Former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov took over for Shoigu.
5. Indian PM Modi To Visit Ukraine In August, Media Reports Say – The Kyiv Independent
According to WION, an Indian news channel, the visit, which is still in the planning stages, is expected to occur in the third week of August, likely around Ukraine’s Independence Day.
This will be the Indian Prime Minister’s first visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its all-out war in February 2022.
6. Russia Working Hard To Reverse “Terribly Low” Birth Rate, Says Kremlin – AFP
Russia has faced a myriad of demographic challenges since the collapse of the USSR, including an aging population, an outflow of men due to the conflict in Ukraine, and the lowest fertility rate in 17 years.
The country’s birth rate has not recovered since Soviet times despite President Vladimir Putin’s government offering generous payouts and mortgage subsidies to large families. Demographers have forecasted that Russia’s population could drop to 130 million by the 2040s.
7. Hungary Accuses Kyiv Over Oil Dispute – D.W.
An aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Ukraine is “blackmailing” Hungary and Slovakia after Kyiv halted oil deliveries from the Russian group Lukoil.
Hungary and Slovakia asked the European Commission to mediate a consultation procedure with Ukraine, Hungary’s foreign minister said. According to Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, Hungary receives 2 million metric tons of oil from the Russian group annually, around a third of its total oil imports.
8. As Venezuela Votes, Russia Will Be Watching – RFE/RL
Venezuelans vote in the July 28 election, which pits authoritarian Kremlin ally Nicolas Maduro against the leader of an opposition group advocating for democracy and capitalism.
A Maduro exit would jeopardize Russia’s power projection in Latin America at a time when Putin is seeking to rattle the United States in the Western Hemisphere amid increasing tension in Europe over Moscow’s war against Ukraine, where U.S. weapons are crucial to Kyiv’s defense and which the Kremlin casts as a battle against the West.
9. Meloni Arrives In China, Aims To Boost Trade Balance – Brussels Signal
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in China for the first time since she took office in 2022. It will be the first visit by an Italian PM in five years.
The Italian Government’s priority objective is to improve its trade balance. 2023 it favored China, with a deficit of €40 billion. Italy also seeks to attract Chinese investment and support the approximately 1,600 Italian companies operating in the Asian country.
10. Buddhist Monastery Destroyed To Make Way For Chinese Hydropower Project – RFA
Authorities have demolished a 19th-century Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the Tibetan area of Qinghai province to make way for a hydropower dam project, sources with knowledge of the situation said.
The expansion of the Yangqu hydropower station on the Yellow River—known as the Machu River among Tibetans—started in the province in 2022 and will be completed later this year. Tibetans say the dam’s construction is yet another example of Beijing’s disregard for their culture, religion, and environment, especially when it comes to Chinese government infrastructure projects.
11. Cambodian Naval Base Could Accommodate Chinese Submarines: Analyst – RFA
A new dry dock that could service Chinese submarines has been added to Ream naval base in southern Cambodia, a U.S. military analyst said.
Thomas Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, said the construction of a new dry dock and a wharf south of the base appeared to be almost completed.
12. Paris Olympics Officially Open Under Rainy Skies In French Capital – Kyodo News
The 2024 Paris Games officially opened under rainy skies Friday after a flotilla of athletes traveled along the Seine River in the first Olympic opening ceremony held outside a stadium.
13. EU Takes Action Against France, 5 Nations Over Budget Rule Violation – AFP
“Today, the Council adopted decisions establishing the existence of excessive deficits for Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia,” the body representing the 27 member states said.
The seven countries’ deficits—the gap between government revenue and spending—exceeded three percent of gross domestic product, in violation of the bloc’s fiscal rules.
14. Wealth Of World’s Top 1% Grew By $42 Trillion Over The Past Decade: Oxfam – NDTV
According to a new Oxfam analysis, that is nearly 34 times more than the entire bottom 50 percent of the world’s population.
The organization released the new report before the third meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Brazil. It said that the average net worth of the elite jumped by nearly $400,000 per person, after adjusting for inflation, compared to $335 for the bottom half of residents.
15. G20 Agrees To Work To Effectively Tax The Superrich – D.W.
The statement adopted after a meeting in Rio de Janeiro said, “With full respect to tax sovereignty, we will seek to engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed.”
The initiative is a key priority for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who chairs the grouping of the world’s major economies this year. Lula had hoped for a 2% minimum tax on the wealthy elite, but the final declaration represents a compromise on an issue that has divided member states.
16. Odds Of Accidental Gun Death Much Higher In Certain States – HealthDay News
Americans’ risk of dying in a firearm accident depends in large part on where they live in the United States, a new study finds.
People in Southeastern states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama run the greatest risk of a gunshot accidentally killing them, researchers said. Meanwhile, the risk of accidental gun death is much lower in Northeastern states like Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, and Connecticut, results show.
17. Study: Tough Workouts Safe For People With Long QT Syndrome – HealthDay News
People diagnosed with one of the most common inherited heart arrhythmias, called Long QT syndrome (LQTS), can safely engage in vigorous exercise without any added risk of sudden death or cardiac arrest, a new study finds.
Prior studies had suggested that vigorous exercise might help trigger cardiac arrest in people with LQTS. Still, as the researchers pointed out, those studies largely involved patients whose LQTS was only diagnosed after such a heart event.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
