With her 100% glowing coverage from the mainstream media for two weeks, Kamala Harris decided to continue running the clock out on a fast-moving political game.
She refused to appear with former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on September 4 with Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Incredibly, the Harris campaign blamed Trump for abandoning an appearance on ABC News with George Stephanopoulos, which had been scheduled for September with a different candidate, President Biden.
“Donald Trump is running scared, trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to, and running straight to Fox News to bail him out,” Harris campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said in a statement on Saturday. “He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on September 10. Mr. Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th.”
It was the ultimate example of hubris, which Harris is long accustomed to. Here was a politician who struggles with thoughts and words even in front of friendly audiences, ridiculing Trump as someone scared to debate her. Not that Harris has such a stellar debate record herself. She hasn’t appeared on a debate stage in over four years. She performed so poorly in her debates during the 2020 Democratic primaries that she withdrew from the campaign before the first state even voted. And Trump is scared of her?
If anything, Harris should be profoundly grateful to Trump for his debate skills. Were it not for his outstanding debate performance in Atlanta when he vanquished the legitimate Democratic Party nominee, President Biden, Harris would not be enjoying the media’s new-found love and admiration as the presidential nominee.
Trump showed up in Atlanta as the absolute underdog. He agreed to all the terms established by the Biden campaign.
He accepted Biden’s condition that no people would be in the room. It was a massive victory for Biden, who loses his train of thought because applause and boos distracted him. (Biden got distracted anyway).
The turf was CNN, the most anti-Trump network with the exception of leftist opinion factory MSNBC. It was an extraordinary gamble for Trump, considering that CNN has consistently criticized him through nearly all of its hosts on a 24/7 basis for over eight years.
CNN carries some legitimacy as the network most people turn to for news, so Trump’s appearance on the channel was particularly risky. Launched in 1980, CNN employs around 4,000 journalists and staff globally. It broadcasts to over 200 countries and territories, with viewership averaging around 100 million households worldwide. Its website attracts over 100 million unique monthly visitors, and CNN boasts millions of followers across major social media platforms. In our June I&I/TIPP Poll, 70% of Democrats had a favorable opinion of CNN, and just 12% were unfavorable. For independents, it was 35% favorable, 40% unfavorable. And for GOP voters, it was 27% favorable, 56% unfavorable.
Worse, the two CNN moderators, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, are avid Never Trumpers. Tapper has made little effort to hide an outright disdain bordering on hatred for Trump. When he was defeated in 2020, Tapper declared, “For tens of millions of our fellow Americans, their long national nightmare is over. It’s been a time of extreme divisions, many of the divisions caused and exacerbated by President Trump himself,” Tapper asserted.
After the first debate in 2020, Tapper said on the air, “It wasn’t even a debate. It was a disgrace, primarily because of President Trump lying, maliciously attacking the son of the vice president.” You took the words right out of my mouth,” agreed Dana Bash. “You used some high-minded language. I’m just going to say it like it is: That was a shitshow.”
Biden hunkered down in Camp David for seven long days to practice for the debate. Meanwhile, Trump was active on the campaign trail and fending off the various lawsuits engineered by Biden and his cohorts.
Yet, Trump handily beat Biden at the debate. For the first time in American history, a major party candidate abandoned his White House bid after overwhelmingly winning his Party’s primaries. This happened because Party leaders were scared that Trump would destroy Biden in their ABC debate on September 10, finishing off their campaign. For the Harris campaign to state that Trump fears debating her is bizarre. The media doesn’t see it that way, but bread-and-butter voters do.
Trump’s reasoning for withdrawing from the ABC News debate on September 10 was sound. He maintained that the deal to appear on ABC was with Biden, not Kamala Harris, a last-minute bait-and-switch candidate.
Even more importantly, Trump has a legal matter pending before ABC News. Trump had sued the network and the anchor, Stephanopoulos, for defamation and for publicly stating that Trump had been found liable for raping the writer E. Jean Carroll. Defamation cases against the media are rarely won. Still, a federal judge in Florida allowed the case to continue: “A jury may, upon viewing the segment, find there was sufficient context…but a reasonable jury could conclude Plaintiff was defamed and, as a result, dismissal is inappropriate.” No sane lawyer would permit a face-to-face altercation between the plaintiff and the defendant when a legal case is pending, or worse, on international television. The Harris campaign ignored this fact. So, predictably, did the media.
Lastly, after Trump appeared on a highly unfavorable network such as CNN, it was only fair for him to expect Kamala Harris to appear on Fox News, which is not altogether pro-Trump. Recall that Fox News first called Arizona for Biden in 2020, inviting Trump’s ire. We can conclude only one thing: Harris is terrified of debating Trump. We would be, too, if we had a record of failures like Harris does.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Countries Urge Nationals To Leave Lebanon As Mid-East War Fears Grow – BBC
The US has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon on “any ticket available” amid worries of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
An increasing number of countries issue similar warnings, including the UK.
Iran has vowed “severe” retaliation against Israel, which it blames for the death of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday. Israel has not commented. His assassination came hours after Israel killed Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
2. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Heads To Iran Amid Rising Regional Tensions – RFE
Iran’s state media report that Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi is traveling to Tehran on August 4 in a rare visit amid rising tensions between Iran and its archfoe, Israel.
Safadi and Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Baqeri Kani, spoke on the phone twice in the last two days to discuss developments in the Middle East after the assassination in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Safadi’s trip to Iran will be the first by a Jordanian foreign minister since March 2015.
3. Ukraine Intensifies Its Long-Range Strikes, Sinking A Russian Submarine And Striking An Airfield – AP
Ukraine has sunk a Russian submarine and hit a Russian airfield in the past 24 hours, in line with a surge of long-range attacks against Russian targets, officials said. Russia said Ukrainian drones also hit an apartment building, killing one person.
The uptick in attacks since July comes as Ukraine mounts pressure on allies to allow it to use long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia. Western allies, in particular the U.S., have so far resisted, fearing escalation from Moscow.
4. Kellyanne Conway Registers As A Foreign Agent Of Ukraine And Viktor Pinchuk Foundation – X
She is arranging meetings between Ukrainian soldiers and U.S. political leaders and getting U.S. lawmakers to speak at the Yalta European Strategy next month.
5. Hunter Biden’s Bio Firm Partnered With Ukraine Lab On Bird Flu Research Funded By Fauci, Pentagon – War Room
An investment firm directed by President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was a leading financial backer of a pandemic tracking and response firm that collaborated on bird flu research in Ukrainian laboratories, receiving funds from the Obama administration’s Department of Defense.
War Room can now reveal that much of this work was focused on avian influenza, the virus behind the allegedly surging bird flu pandemic. Internal documents detailing the U.S. government-funded work of Metabiota mention “avian influenza” by name.
6. China Stands By Maduro In Venezuela To Safeguard Its Investments – VOA
China now holds a substantial loan portfolio with Venezuela, representing nearly half of all Chinese loans extended to Latin America and the Caribbean. It’s estimated that China has financed more than $60 billion worth of projects in Venezuela.
In return, through an oil-for-loan model, China has secured essential resources from the oil-rich country, including crude oil and minerals.
Maduro also repays China by staunchly supporting the country on the international stage. His administration has provided unconditional backing to China, including endorsing Beijing’s one-China principle by recognizing Taiwan as an inalienable part of China. Additionally, Maduro supports China’s national security law in Hong Kong and upholds China’s claims in the contested South China Sea.
7. Putin Vows Support To North Korea After Devastating Floods – AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered condolences to North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un over devastating floods that caused untold casualties and damaged thousands of homes, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
8. Glitzy Shanghai Mall Closes, Leaving US Visa Office Sole Occupant – Radio Free Asia
A glitzy Shanghai shopping mall once packed with designer fashion stores is shutting down, leaving the U.S. Consulate’s visa section the only occupants of a once-bustling building, staff told RFA Mandarin.
The closures come amid an economic downturn that has seen nearly 7,000 retail outlets closed down in China during the first six months of this year despite ongoing efforts by the ruling Chinese Communist Party to boost economic growth by encouraging consumption.
9. Starbucks Sees Plunging China Sales As Middle Classes Trim Spending – Radio Free Asia
The economic downturn hits the company as people seek cheaper options amid widespread unemployment.
Narasimhan said that same-store sales plummeted by 14% in China, Starbucks’ second-largest market, which is under pressure from lower-priced rivals. Same-store sales refer to stores that have been open for longer than a year.
10. Richard Gere Helping To Produce Documentary On Dalai Lama’s Message Of Kindness – Tibet Review
Hollywood star Richard Gere, possibly the world’s most famous lay Tibetan Buddhist and Tibet activist, is helping to produce a documentary about the Dalai Lama and his message of peace.
Gere, 74, will serve as executive producer for the Swiss documentary Wisdom of Happiness, along with producer and director Oren Moverman (58).
As stated in the press release, the film will “create a powerful cinematic exploration of the inner thoughts of the Dalai Lama,” the report said. The documentary will be released worldwide in theatres in the fall/winter of 2024 and aims to be “a philosophical testament of the Dalai Lama on the big screen.”
11. India Says Ties With China Not Normal, Refuses To Abandon Border-Settlement Precondition – Tibetan Review
India’s External affairs minister S Jaishankar said that relations with China continued to be problematic and that he had held two meetings with his counterpart Wang Yi in July to resolve the eastern Ladakh border standoff, which remains the main cause of it.
He has rejected the idea of any third-party involvement in resolving the issue as he attended the QUAD group meeting of the USA, Australia, Japan, and India in Tokyo.
“Obviously, other countries in the world would have an interest in the matter because we are two big countries, and the state of our relationship impacts the rest of the world. But we are not looking to other countries to sort out what is an issue between us,” he added while responding to a question about QUAD members’ reaction to the India-China issue.
12. Taliban Gets $239 Mil In U.S. Afghanistan Aid After State Dept. Fails To Vet Awardees – Judicial Watch
The watchdog found issues with 29 awards distributed by DRL and INL.
For instance, investigators found that DRL failed to properly screen the recipients of seven awards totaling about $12 million. INL did not provide any supporting documentation for 19 of its 22 awards, totaling about $295 million, so there is no way to determine if they complied with the vetting requirements.
The State Department acknowledged that not all its bureaus have complied with document retention requirements, which makes it conveniently impossible to fully assess the magnitude of its transgressions.
13. Should You Be [Financially] Stressed About the Election? – Barchart. com
The data shows that, while performance differences depend on which party runs which parts of the federal government (and while stock market performance has varied widely under different presidents), no permutation of Washington control signals an automatic hand brake for Americans’ portfolios.
14. Nancy Pelosi Is Buying The Dip In Nvidia Stock, Should You? – Barchart.com
Nancy Pelosi, the Congressional representative from the 11th district in California and former House Speaker, is more than just a dabbler regarding stocks.
According to a new disclosure form, Pelosi purchased 10,000 shares of Nvidia on July 26, with the stock trading between $111 and $116 on the day. Pelosi also disclosed the sale of 5,000 shares of Microsoft valued between $1 million and $5 million.
There’s even an ETF whose ticker symbol is a nod to the San Francisco Democrat, the Unusual Whales Democratic ETF (NANC) – a clear testament to her influence in the market.
15. Smoking, Vaping Called A Deadly Combination For Lung Cancer Risk – Health Day News
Experts have long suspected it, but a new study confirms that folks who vape and smoke tobacco face higher risks for lung cancer than if they’d done either alone.
The study led by Marisa Bittoni, an oncology researcher at Ohio State University in Columbus, tracked rates of both vaping and smoking among nearly 5,000 Columbus-area people diagnosed with lung cancer and compared them to a group of almost 27,300 people without cancer.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
