TRUMP’S VP PICK
Donald Trump has picked Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate and vice-presidential nominee after he was formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate at the party’s national convention in Milwaukee, The New York Times reports.
The 39-year-old, who only became a senator last year, was once a fierce critic of Trump but has since become an outspoken defender of the former president.
Vance gained significant attention following the release of his 2016 bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which highlights his blue-collar upbringing and its impact on his politics, the BBC reports.
Trump, who is in Milwaukee two days after surviving an assassination attempt, said he made the decision “after lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others”, The Washington Post reports.
Thousands of Republican delegates descended on the convention to hear the announcements. In a huge boost for Trump, on the morning the convention started US District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the criminal case accusing him of illegally holding onto classified documents and sided with the former president’s argument that special counsel Jack Smith had been unlawfully appointed, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Atlantic described the ruling as “astonishing” and said it was certain to be appealed. Trump, for his part, said on Truth Social the decision should be “followed quickly by the dismissal of the ALL the Witch Hunts” in reference to his other legal battles, The New Republic reports.
Some 50,000 people are expected to attend the Republican National Convention over the next four days. Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, the RNC coordinator for the Secret Service, has said the agency is “ready to go” for the event, The New York Times reports. She added the service was “not anticipating any changes to our operational security plans” in light of Saturday’s shooting in Pennsylvania.
The Washington Post reports the assassination attempt has also not had any impact on plans for demonstrators to march on the convention in protest against the Republican Party’s agenda.
With regards to security, Trump earlier called on independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to also receive Secret Service protection, The Daily Beast reports.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said: “In light of what is going on in the world today, I believe it is imperative that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receive Secret Service protection — immediately.” He added: “Given the history of the Kennedy family, this is the obvious right thing to do!”
Speaking of Truth Social, shares in Trump’s social media company surged on the first trading day after his attempted assassination, The New York Times reports.
After the start of trading on Monday, shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of the Truth Social social media platform, rose more than 30%.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are taking a mixed approach to the unfolding news events after the assassination attempt on Trump. Joe Biden’s team has paused political communications and the US president’s planned trip to Texas has been postponed. CNN reports a senior adviser has said the strategy regarding Trump is to be careful “until further notice”.
Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, though, has responded forcefully to a report in Axios which quoted a senior House Democrat as saying: “We’ve all resigned ourselves to a second Trump presidency.”
Salon reports Ocasio-Cortez countered with: “If you’re a ‘senior Democrat’ that feels this way, you should absolutely retire and make space for true leadership that refuses to resign themselves to fascism. This kind of leadership is functionally useless to the American people. Retire.”
THREATS TO DEMOCRACY
In Australia, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has warned democracy at home and abroad is under threat due to populism, dis/misinformation, social media echo chambers and foreign interference, the ABC reports.
O’Neil, speaking at the Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra on Monday evening, said: “Many democratic countries are becoming less democratic. Like a virus, populists are replicating at an exponential rate. New strains of nationalism are emerging around the world.
“They are personalising political power, strangling free speech, attacking diversity and adopting ‘strongman’ authoritarian measures — all in the name of ‘saving the soul of the nation’.”
The Australian reports O’Neil also referenced the vandalism of MPs’ electorate offices, quoting her as saying: “Denying access to government services, terrorising politicians and their staff, painting symbols of terrorism in public spaces, smashing windows, setting buildings alight — these are the measures of autocrats, despots and tyrants. They have no place in our democracy.”
Speaking to The Australian, former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo has called for a review into protective security arrangements amid concerns over political violence.
Opposition Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson also said a review of the resourcing of the Australian Federal Police was needed to ensure it can meet the threats facing politicians, the AFR reports.
During her speech on Monday, O’Neil warned against Australia becoming an “island of democracy in a sea of autocracy”. When it comes to the general state of the country though, the latest poll shows 55% of Australians expect the overall national outlook to worsen, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The poll also found Opposition Leader Peter Dutton maintains a small preferred prime minister lead over Anthony Albanese of 35% to 34%.
The results show the Coalition and Labour tied in two-party terms for the first time in the Resolve Political Monitor since the last federal election, The Age reports.
“The economy is one of the biggest risk areas for the government, with their path to retaining power having steep drops on either side represented by inflation on the one hand and recession on the other,” Resolve director Jim Reed said.
Greens leader Adam Bandt, meanwhile, has declared the party has replaced Labor as the authentic party of the centre-left, The Australian reports.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE…
All children like bedtime stories, especially from an enthusiastic narrator.
While previously that responsibility most likely fell to a parent and the delivery was very much dependent on their exhaustion levels, these days kids are receiving nighttime tales from actual celebrities and proper artists.
The latest to tackle the tricky task of reading prose for children out loud is global singing superstar Billie Eilish, The Independent reports.
Eilish will read This Moose Belongs To Me by Oliver Jeffers, the BBC reports.
Following the likes of Tom Hardy, Kate Winslet and Steve Carell, Eilish’s reading will air on CBeebies from Friday.
Ahead of the airing, the 22-year-old said of bedtime stories: “My favourite thing in the world as a child was a bedtime story and I would be upset if I didn’t get one! I had a lot and I loved them all!”
Say What?
I don’t think it’d be hard to change the four into an eight in four years’ time. I won’t be covering it up. Absolutely no regrets and I still love it.
Dan Thomas
The 29-year-old England football fan got the phrase “England Euro 2024 Winners” and a picture of the tournament trophy tattooed on his leg ahead of the final in Berlin on Sunday, the BBC reports. Once again though, football did not, in fact, “come home” and England lost the final 2-1 to Spain. Dan reckons that’s fine though, England will just go and win the tournament in 2028 instead…
CRIKEY RECAP
In the fallout of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Australian media supporters of the former president lined up to argue that responsibility for the act of political violence fell squarely upon President Joe Biden, the Democrats and their supporters.
Undeterred by the little we know about the shooter’s confusing political history (he was a registered Republican who once donated to a scammy progressive campaigning outfit) and the absence of any information about his motive, the pro-Trump media machine wasted no time in blaming their opponents for the attack.
Not only were the claims baseless, but they also attempted to rewrite history — including their own previous statements — about Trump’s involvement and incitement in political violence, notably his role in inciting the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
The name of Corey Comperatore, shot dead at the rally at which Trump was injured, shouldn’t be forgotten — yet another victim of American gun culture, as well as its long history of political shootings.
This political shooting, however, was on the campaign trail, and significantly increases the likelihood that Trump will win the White House against a feeble Joe Biden, perhaps with Republican majorities in both houses, off the back of his near-martyrdom.
Trump has already indicated that he intends to act like a dictator in his second term, go after critics and political opponents including Biden, and strengthen police and military forces to use against protesters. His commitment to a radically more authoritarian presidency has been clear and unabashed. The assassination attempt now provides Trump with the basis for an even more aggressive plan to pursue critics and opponents if he returns to the White House.
Politicians are often overly cautious with such democratic reforms, ironically for fear they might appear to be “buying more votes”. Being both morally persuasive and potentially electorally useful is somehow too good a deal. This instinct appears to have sunk recent efforts to increase representation of territories in the Australian Senate. And unlike UK Labour, there is no talk from Anthony Albanese about lowering the voting age — another worthy reform.
Yet democratisation should not be controversial. Democracy is increasingly imperilled in other parts of the world. To defend our commitment to it, we ought to extend its benefits to as many residents as practicable.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Italy reconsiders nuclear energy 35 years after shutting down last reactor (Semafor)
‘Be yourself’: Ukraine launches PR drive to attract recruits to weary army (The Guardian)
Fans use stadium air vents to get into Copa America (BBC)
Google is close to making its biggest acquisition ever (CNN)
China’s economic growth slows in second quarter (The Financial Times) ($)
Jay Slater ‘may have suffered fall’ Civil Guard says as body recovered in Tenerife (The Evening Standard)
THE COMMENTARIAT
See ya, Setka! Why union chief’s departure is good news for women — Jenna Price (The Sydney Morning Herald): I’m optimistic the construction union can recover, and hopeful this will be a good move for women in construction. Natalie Galea, a long-time construction industry worker, judo Olympian and now senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne, is not so confident. She says Setka’s resignation is unlikely to result in big changes in the industry.
Whatever goes on in construction with men and male entitlement is baked into how the industry works, what behaviours are valued and revered in what is an essential sector for our economy, says Galea. I guess that’s one of the reasons Setka and his mates have survived so long.
Ambitious Greens must be more than a party of protest — Joe Kelly (The Australian): Adam Bandt has clarified the existential challenge to Labor by revealing the Greens’ long-term political objective — to become the genuine party of Australia’s political left.
This means replacing Labor rather than working with it, a task highly ambitious yet highly improbable.
To realise this vision the Greens must become more than simply a party of protest.
