Politics
Trump threatens to quit Kamala debate after RFK backs him, denounces media
The debate over debates tells us a great deal about the state of the presidential race.
If only we could figure out what it is.
Donald Trump, by slamming “ABC FAKE NEWS,” suggested he may pull out of the Sept. 10 faceoff. He said yesterday at a Vietnamese restaurant in Virginia that it was Kamala Harris who is trying to back out of the debate.
A top Harris campaign official, Michael Tyler, responded on MSNBC that the vice president is actually anxious to debate and he thought all the issues had been worked out.
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My best read is that the debate will happen and that this is the kind of last-minute negotiation for which Trump is renowned.
Remember, this debate was worked out with Joe Biden, whose first encounter with Trump, which the president demanded, was such a disaster that it knocked him out of the race. That led to Harris as the substitute nominee, which was not a “coup” – it’s clear that Trump misses Biden – because nobody ran against Kamala.
A good rule of thumb is that the candidate who is perceived to be behind, or to have lost momentum, wants the debate more urgently.
With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abandoning his longshot presidential bid to join team Trump, the state of the race is anybody’s guess – and incredibly hard to gauge. (Left: Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Right: Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images; Inset: Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
At the CNN debate, Biden insisted that the microphones be muted for the candidate who wasn’t recognized to speak. He was obviously trying to avoid a repeat of their first 2020 encounter, when Trump constantly talked over him.
But now Kamala is insisting that the mikes be kept live no matter who is speaking. Her campaign says this will demonstrate that Trump isn’t capable of acting “presidential” for 90 minutes.
Another way to look at it: If the former president does constantly interrupt her, it will remind people what they don’t like about him – and could seem more rude when up against a woman of color. Then she can complain that he trampled on her.
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In fairness, though, what Harris wants now is the way it’s been in virtually every presidential fall debate. It was the CNN debate, at the insistence of the 81-year-old Biden, that was the exception.
Is this dispute enough to derail the thing? Again, I doubt it.
Here’s what Trump had to say (and he’s back tweeting!):
“I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl’s (K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?…
Trump slammed ABC and other mainstream outlets in a Truth Social tirade suggesting he may not participate in his scheduled Sept. 10 debate with Vice President Harris. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)
Will panelist Donna Brazil[e] give the questions to the Marxist Candidate like she did for Crooked Hillary Clinton? Will Kamala’s best friend, who heads up ABC, do likewise.” After making fun of the name of George Stephanopoulos – who will not be involved in the debate – Trump says: They’ve got a lot of questions to answer!!! Why did Harris turn down Fox, NBC, CBS, and even CNN? Stay tuned!!!”
The ABC panel that drew Trump’s ire was Karl, Politico’s Jonanthan Martin and Rachael Bade, and contributor Donna Brazile.
The 45th president, who is facing an overwhelmingly hostile press corps, may also be trying to grab some attention after a month of pro-Kamala coverage. The Democratic convention was successful by almost any measure, including Harris’ speech, but when Rachel Maddow said that she and others at the MSNBC mothership “stood up and cheered” over Tim Walz’s appearance, that was rather striking.
What’s equally fascinating is how many pundits defended Biden’s mental acuity, but now, with Trump running against a 59-year-old woman, are trying to portray him as having lost a few steps.
Most journalists and commentators have displayed little interest in Harris’ refusal to do interviews, with some even saying she shouldn’t because things are going so well. Her deputy campaign manager told me on “Media Buzz” that the first one would be by Aug. 31, and we’ll see if it’s with a sympathetic liberal.
Trump, meanwhile, did two lengthy news conferences in about a week – and MSNBC refused to take the second one live, with their pundits saying he lies all the time anyway.
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RFK Jr. stepped on Harris’ post-convention vibe fest by dropping out and endorsing Trump, which certainly could help him at least marginally in such a close race. MSNBC, again, refused to take Kennedy’s presser live. Now does anyone seriously believe that if RFK had endorsed Kamala Harris, the network wouldn’t have aired it live – and immediately invited him on?
Kennedy fans are welcome to vote for him, although his siblings called his Trump endorsement the ultimate betrayal. His response was to scapegoat the media:
“ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC and CNN combined gave only two live interviews. Those networks instead ran a continuous deluge of hit pieces with inaccurate, often vile audios and defamatory smears …
“Your institutions have made themselves government mouthpieces and stenographers for the organs of power.”
RFK Jr.’s withdrawal from the race effectively neutered the post-convention morale bump anticipated for Harris. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Many interviews are pretaped, but the reason the networks gave RFK little airtime is he was a fringe candidate with no plausible hope of winning a single state. He was certainly a colorful candidate – saying he had a brain worm, covering up how he put a dead bear carcass in his car that he planned to eat for dinner – but that’s something entirely different.
And consider this: RFK ran as a Democrat, then an independent. He tried to make a deal with both Kamala and Trump to trade his endorsement for the promise of a top health care job if either won. That didn’t work out.
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So he endorsed Trump anyway without a job promise, unless there was a wink and a nod.
Doesn’t that raise questions about what Kennedy actually stands for?
Now, as such speakers as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama warned, Harris faces a tough two months where Republicans will relentlessly attack her record and particularly the left-wing positions from 2020 that she changed without explanation.
Some analysts say she calls herself the underdog as a way of positioning herself as the change candidate, but she is in fact the underdog.
Politics
Socialism goes west as DSA-backed challenger ousts longtime Democrat
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Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., a 30-year incumbent, lost to a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed challenger in a high-profile primary on Tuesday evening.
Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old socialist, defeated DeGette in a Democratic primary for a deep-blue House seat anchored in Denver, according to The Associated Press, scoring a major victory for the socialist left on Tuesday evening.
The DSA had been aiming to cast DeGette’s loss as evidence of its growing momentum after a slate of socialist candidates won Democratic primaries in New York City last week.
“Today, the East Coast, next week the Mountain West,” the DSA wrote in a social media post last week.
Rep. Diana DeGette speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10, 2024. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
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If elected in November, Kiros, who was born in Ethiopia, will likely join the ranks of the far-left group known as the Squad and become one of a handful of the House chamber’s outspoken socialists.
The millennial challenger was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and the anti-incumbent leftist organization Justice Democrats. Controversial socialist streamer Hasan Piker, who has said Hamas is “a thousand times better” than Israel and praised the Chinese Communist Party, also backed Kiros’ insurgent primary run.
DeGette, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus who supports abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), sought to win a 16th House term by flexing her leftist bona fides. She argued her seniority on an influential House committee would allow her to push for Medicare-for-All legislation — a longtime priority of the party’s far-left flank.
DeGette, who was endorsed by former CPC Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., also spotlighted her experience as an impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment trial in 2021.
Though DeGette and Kiros shared few policy disagreements, they diverged sharply over Israel and antisemitism. Kiros also sharply criticized DeGette for accepting corporate PAC contributions.
Kiros, a PhD student and lawyer, was fired from a New York firm in 2023 after publishing an open letter, arguing that pro-Palestinian student protesters calling for the elimination of Israel were not antisemitic and appearing to defend Hamas.
Melat Kiros participated in a League of Women Voters Congressional District 1 candidate forum at Montview Presbyterian Church in Denver on May 28, 2026. (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post)
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She has also described the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks against the Jewish state as the “inevitable consequence of apartheid” and declined to characterize the deadly firebombing of protesters in Boulder last year who were urging the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza as antisemitic.
“I don’t know what was in the heart of the perpetrator,” Kiros told Colorado’s 9News in a recent television interview. “All I know is that he went and attacked innocent people because of what they might have believed.”
A June 2025 bipartisan resolution condemning the attack as part of a “rise in ideologically motivated attacks on Jewish individuals” won every present lawmaker’s support, except for Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who voted present.
Kiros has also suggested the United States deserved 9/11.
“Inevitable in the sense that we destabilized a lot of the Middle East that forced people to believe that another act of violence was the only response,” Kiros told 9News when asked if she thought the terror attack was “the inevitable consequence of American foreign policy.”
“And again, just like I said before, our responsibility is to get rid of those conditions that lead to violence in the first place,” Kiros continued.
DeGette argued that Kiros’ embrace of Piker and her comments about antisemitism and 9/11 were disqualifying.
“I’m shocked and disgusted that Kiros is doubling down on excusing terrorism and the murder of innocent people,” the 30-year incumbent wrote on Facebook earlier this month.
Streamer and creator Hasan Piker speaks at a press conference during day two of Web Summit Vancouver at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, Canada, on May 13, 2026. (Sam Barnes/Web Summit via Sportsfile via Getty Images)
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Colorado’s 1st Congressional District is the most liberal seat in the state and voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris by 56 points in 2024.
The primary fight was further scrambled by University of Colorado Regent Wanda James, also running for DeGette’s seat. Though James did not pose the same threat as Kiros, her vote share could ultimately have swayed the contest.
Politics
Newsom signs off on 100% California tax for money from Trump’s $1.8-billion ‘slush fund’
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed off on a 100% state tax on money any Californians receive from Trump’s $1.8-billion “anti-weaponization” fund for his political allies.
Newsom unveiled his proposal in May, after Trump’s Justice Department said it would create a fund to compensate Trump’s allies who claim they have “suffered weaponization and lawfare” under Biden’s Justice Department.
The settlement fund was criticized by politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who described it as a “slush fund to pay people who assault cops.”
The fund remains in legal limbo. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Virginia extended a court-ordered block on the plan, which critics warned could be used to pay pardoned Jan. 6 rioters.
Fast-tracked into law as part of Senate Bill 122, Newsom’s plan imposes “a tax on any settlement fund payment from the federal Anti-Weaponization Fund, or any subsequent fund, settlement, or agreement, as provided, at a rate of 100%,” according to the bill text. The tax applies to all tax years between 2026 and 2030.
Newsom signed the bill Tuesday. In a statement, his office said the tax is meant to ensure that, should Trump’s fund proceed, California recipients won’t “receive favorable state treatment on those payments.”
“We believe democracy is worth defending, the rule of law matters, and public dollars should support victims—not those who attacked the very institutions that protect our freedoms,” Newsom said in the statement.
University of Southern California law professor Ariel Jurow Kleiman, an expert on tax law and policy, said that while Newsom’s tax is a “novel legal strategy,” she believes there is “no categorical legal restriction” preventing California from implementing it.
States have a “wide degree of discretion” to design their tax systems — including how they define income — so long as they do not violate their constitutions, Jurow Kleiman said.
If a California resident wanted to challenge the tax in court, they would need to show they were harmed by it to have standing to sue, according to Jurow Kleiman. That would mean receiving a payment from Trump’s settlement fund and then paying the 100% California tax. Unless the settlement fund is established and distributes payments, that scenario is unlikely.
While there have been proposals to levy a 100% tax on income above certain thresholds — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in 2023 said he supports a 100% tax on income exceeding $1 billion — Jurow Kleiman said she is not aware of any governments that have adopted such a policy.
Politics
Congress eyes rare bipartisan housing win with or without Trump’s help
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The House has officially shipped a colossal bipartisan housing package to President Donald Trump, and lawmakers are hoping that, at the very least, he doesn’t veto it.
Trump was supposed to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act last week, but his last-minute decision to ghost the signing ceremony with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., put into question whether the bill was dead.
His refusal to sign the bill, which passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support in both chambers, was to leverage the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which doesn’t currently have the votes to succeed in the Senate.
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Trump has refused to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump appears to be in no hurry to sign the bill, despite Republicans who are hungry for a win in the affordability fight ahead of the midterm elections.
“It’s so unimportant … compared to the SAVE America Act,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “I think the SAVE America Act is exactly what it says. It’s saving America from crooked elections.”
“Here’s what I would like to sign, much more than a bill that — big deal, it’s a yawn,” he continued. “Some people say it’s wonderful. To me, compared to the SAVE America Act, just about everything is a big yawn.”
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It’s legislation that is loaded with nearly 60 provisions from both sides of the aisle in both chambers that’s designed to make it easier for homes to be built and for younger Americans to buy their first home. It also includes a ban on hedge funds buying up housing stock that Trump pushed Congress to include during the State of the Union earlier this year.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the architects behind the bill in the upper chamber alongside Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., charged that Congress handed the bill to Trump “on a silver platter.”
“When you ask me what happens next, if he cared about the American people, he’d have already signed the damned thing, and we’d be underway,” Warren said on WCVB’s “On the Record” on Sunday.
But Trump doesn’t have to put his signature on the bill for it to become law.
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The Senate advanced a massive, Trump-backed housing package geared toward lowering the costs of homes and supercharging the housing supply. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., pitched it as legislation to prevent America from becoming a “nation of renters.” (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Protect Borrowers; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The Constitution grants presidents the ability to veto a bill within 10 days of it being transferred over to the White House. In that scenario, Congress could override a veto of the housing package.
It’s happened before under the Trump administration. In early 2021, Congress overrode Trump’s veto of the annual National Defense Authorization Act — a massive Pentagon funding authorization package that some House Republicans are trying to use as a vehicle to pass the SAVE America Act.
But during that 10-day period, if Trump doesn’t sign the bill, it would automatically become law. That’s unless Congress completely adjourns, in which case a “pocket veto” could happen. The Senate is currently in recess and the House is scheduled to leave town by week’s end, but neither count as a full adjournment.
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Johnson, who spent the last few days meeting with Trump at the White House about the housing bill and the SAVE America Act, said: “I hope he does sign it.”
“If he doesn’t, it’s still law,” Johnson said. “We’ll still celebrate it, but he’s trying to make a point, and I think he’s making it very effectively. And the fact that you all ask me every three steps down the hallway illustrates that he has achieved the desired objective, and that is to make SAVE America the number one thing, because if we don’t get that right, everybody’s concerned about what happens next.”
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