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August 20th 2024

A sharp round-up of the most important political news

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The US in brief

A sharp round-up of the most important political news

DNC watch
Joe Biden was visibly emotional as he addressed the crowd at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. His speech, seen as a symbolic handover to Kamala Harris, was mostly a recital of his own accomplishments. “For 50 years,” he said, “I gave my heart and my soul to our nation.” Earlier both Ms Harris and Hillary Clinton, the party’s presidential candidate in 2016, appeared on stage to praise the president. With Mr Biden’s valedictorian speech done, speakers at the convention will now focus on November’s election. As he spoke, the crowd waved “We love Joe” signs. On them the words “paid for by Harris for president” appeared in small print.

American intelligence officials said that Iran had hacked accounts associated with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. The Trump campaign had accused Iran of doing so on August 10th; Iran denied responsibility. American authorities said Iran seeks to “stoke discord” and “undermine confidence in our democratic institutions”.

Ms Harris proposed raising the corporate-tax rate from 21% to 28%, echoing Mr Biden’s call for a similar increase. Mr Trump slashed the rate from 35% in 2017, and has promised to make his tax cuts, which expire in 2025, permanent if he returns to office. In July he suggested he would cut the corporate-tax rate even further, to 15%.

George Santos, a congressman who lasted less than a year in the House of Representatives before he was expelled for ethics violations, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft. Mr Santos, whose CV was largely fiction, faced 23 felony charges related to stealing money from donors and lying to the government. His plea deal means he will probably face at least two years in prison.

Prosecutors will defer to Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing Mr Trump’s hush-money payments case, to decide on a sentencing date. They acknowledged that he needs “adequate time” to work out the complications presented by the Supreme Court’s ruling in July that ex-presidents are entitled to presumptive immunity. Mr Trump’s lawyers asked Mr Merchan to delay sentencing until after the election.

Funeral oration

Well after prime time for American television was over in Chicago, Mr Biden took to the stage at the DNC to deliver his own eulogy. Forceful and even angry at times, he spent more time recounting his accomplishments than making the case for Ms Harris’s presidency. Read Lexington’s own column in memoriam to a man who promised to be a “transition” president but strove to be a transformational one.

A view from elsewhere
The “extreme sectarianism of Trumpism” has been hogging the attention in American politics for years, wrote the editorial board of Politiken, a Danish newspaper. But with Ms Harris and Mr Walz running it is as if “the centre has resurfaced”. “The ordinary American” is realising that Messrs Trump and Vance’s “witch hunts” against sexual minorities and attack on the right to abortion do not benefit them at all.

We want to hear from you
Readers are sending us lots of thoughtful emails so we’ve decided to publish some. If you have views on what is happening in America drop us a line at usib@economist.com. And, of course, we still welcome your feedback on this newsletter.

Editor’s picks

Our latest US coverage

The view from the Bay

San Francisco Democrats are embracing “law and order” politics

Who is going to tell Donald Trump?

God and grades

Pious pupils in America perform better

But that does not justify Republican efforts to put Christianity into classrooms

From the archive

Donald Trump’s tax cuts would add to American growth—and debt

He has unfinished businesses in making his tax reforms of 2017 permanent

Today’s forecast

Our forecasting model finds that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have nearly equal chances of winning the election in November.

Daily quiz

Tuesday: What commonplace thing, still in current use, did Grover Cleveland introduce Americans to at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893?

Monday: What is the official name of the Chicago building commonly called the “Sears Tower”?

See how to take part in the quiz at the bottom of this page.

If you enjoyed this week’s quiz, play Dateline, The Economist’s new history game.

Figure of the day

30, the number of times Mr Walz has visited China. Read our story about how the new Democratic ticket reveals the limitations of China’s understanding of its superpower rival.

Heard on Fox News

Giving Kamala Harris control over inflation policies, Shannon, it’s like giving Jeffrey Epstein control over human-trafficking policy.

—While speaking to Fox News’s Shannon Bream, J.D. Vance questions the vice-president’s economic-policy credentials in the most inflammatory way possible.

Read all of our recent coverage of the 2024 election. Confused about a term? Check out our A-Z of American politics.

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