The 24 Seven: Tick Tock
The 24 Seven: Tick Tock
The top seven stories shaping the race for the White House
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1. The Clock
Time running out fast in the race — which explains a lot of the action of late. Trump may have been off the trail most of the past two weeks or so, he’s back now. He’s hosting another press conference, this one at 4:30p ET today. Trump headlined a rally in North Carolina last night (more on that in the next item), he has another rally set for Saturday in Pennsylvania.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared together this afternoon at a rally in suburban Washington, and Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have a number of campaign stops planned in the lead up to the Democratic convention in Chicago next week.
Early voting, at this point both a regular and essential part of the electoral landscape, starts in about one month. Election Day, largely the close of voting — with some exceptions for overseas and absentee voting, by law — is two and a half months away. The chance to shape the Narrative in the race is fast slipping away.
The Harris/Walz energy seems to be holding — but as many of my sources have noted over the years, a day can be a lifetime in politics and the close of voting is still a long way off.
Writing at
Bill Kristol and Andrew Eggers say it’s hardly “weird” for Democrats to simply embrace the vibe. And as veteran Never Trumper and Lincoln Project co-founder has said before on the 24sight Podcast, Republicans have long been good at channeling the emotions of the electorate. It seems Democrats may now be catching up.
2. The Economy
Of the “known unknowns” heading into the start of voting, the state of the economy is starting to take shape.
The Trump campaign has attempted to rebrand “Bidenomics” as “Kamalanomics” — and polling backs up that, among Republicans, the economy remains a top issue alongside immigration.
A number of outlets noted this week that with year-over-year inflation dropping to 2.9 percent, the hard-hitting surge of consumer prices may now be “over” and possibly give way to the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates.
In a campaign rally in the borderline swing state of North Carolina Wednesday night, Trump said that if re-elected he would drive down consumer prices and make permanent the tax cuts he approved during his time in office.
has the full rundown of Trump’s rally over at his Substack, So What.Meanwhile, Harris used her first joint appearance with Biden since the historic overhaul of the Democratic ticket, to praise Medicare’s historic negotiating of drug prices — announced Thursday, with an expected saving of $6 billion across 10 drugs, Politico reports.
A clearly at-ease Biden received wild applause and reveled in the news, noting his efforts decades ago as a young senator to reduce drug costs.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long, long time,” he said.
But former Trump White House top health policy aide Joe Grogan writes in a memo provided to 24sight News that the rollout Thursday masks deeper problems which result in higher costs for consumers as part of the Biden administration moving money from the Medicare Part D program to cover Inflation Reduction Act programs, likely resulting in increased premiums from insurers.
3. The Protests
Perhaps the biggest unknown, however, is what will be the shape of pro-Palestinian campus protests as students begin heading back to campus across the country.
Columbia University president Minouche Shafik announced Wednesday she was stepping down as a result of the wild protests which rocked Columbia months ago.
Harris’ first rallies with Walz last week had a smattering of protests inside the room. And Walz has been hit recently for his previous meetings with an imam who has shared videos promoting anti-semitism.
Bigger protests are expected around the convention next week. As NPR’s longtime human political encyclopedia Ron Elving notes, Chicago has a history with convention protests — but 2024 is not 1968.
Few issues like the ongoing Israel Hamas War have as much potential to split the Democrats’ base of support heading into the election.
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4. The Debates
Plural, now. The Trump and Harris campaigns agreed on a vice presidential debate, hosted by CBS, on October 1.
The Harris campaign also proposed a second presidential debate between the vice president and Trump. (Trump has called for three presidential debates.)
The first presidential debate is scheduled for September 10, hosted by ABC News. This will be the first head to head showdown between Harris and Trump.
Look for more coverage here after the convention as we get closer to the debates, this isn’t the first for Harris or Trump. We have plenty of markers to look back on for an idea of what’s to come.
5. The Ukrainian Incursion
The New York Times offers a good wrap on the state of Russia’s war against Ukraine with some important context as Ukraine’s continuing incursion into Russia’s Kursk region has forced Russia to redirect resources from occupied Ukrainian territories to its own border region and has sent Russian families fleeing (sadly) in a way that Ukrainians know all too well (sadly.)
And make sure to sign up for regular dispatches from the ground with
and his team.6. The Tacking
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants in with Harris if she wins and sought a meeting with the vice president. She hasn’t agreed to a meeting with him, CBS News reports.
He also wants in with Trump if he wins.
7. Special Convention Access
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And as always, would love to hear from you with thoughts, observations, snark and more. Drop a note: tom@24sight.news. (Also, if you’d like a bulk discount for your firm, company or campaign, drop a note for special pricing.)