Harris considers bipartisan cabinet
Harris considers bipartisan cabinet
Plus: Lara Trump has a new song out about first responders
Hi, I’m Hunter and welcome to Whig, my new newsletter about politics and pop culture. Subscribe for more:
If she’s elected president, Vice President Kamala Harris’ administration could include at least one Republican. That’s what she said when CNN host Dana Bash asked her about all the Republican speakers at last month’s Democratic National Convention and whether she would consider appointing one to her cabinet. “Yes I would,” Harris said.
“No one in particular in mind,” she added. “We got 68 days to go with this election, so I’m not putting the cart before the horse. But I would. I think it’s really important. I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my cabinet who is a Republican.”
Could we see former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) at Veterans Affairs if Harris wins? What about Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake at State (or… Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah)??)? History shows no shortage of cross-party cabinet appointments. President Joe Biden made job offers to two Arizona Republicans who backed his 2020 presidential bid, Flake and Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture Cindy McCain, while former President Barack Obama made former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) his Defense Secretary and former Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) his Transportation Secretary. A Republican in a Democratic cabinet might not be a completely revolutionary idea, but in being open to it, Harris shows she’s serious about giving others a seat at the table. — Hunter
Biden says Netanyahu isn’t doing enough to reach a deal:
Protesters in Israel called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire with Hamas and bring the hostages home this weekend after the bodies of six hostages including one U.S. citizen were found dead in Gaza Saturday. In the U.S., Biden said Netanyahu isn’t doing enough to reach a deal. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told the families of U.S. hostages Biden could present Israel and Hamas a hostage-release and ceasefire deal later this week.
Trump pleads not guilty in new federal election interference indictment:
Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in court filings for a revised indictment from special counsel Jack Smith related to his election interference case. The new indictment leaves out evidence that might fall under Trump’s official duties when he was president following the U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. Trump also waived the right to be present at his arraignment in the filing.
Harris has raised so much money she’s spending some of it down ballot:
The Harris campaign and Democratic National Committee announced today they plan to spend nearly $25 million helping other Democratic candidates. The money will be divided between committees for House ($10 million) and Senate ($10 million) candidates and groups electing state legislative candidates ($2.5 million) and gubernatorial and attorney general candidates ($1 million).
“The Vice President believes that this race is about mobilizing the entire country, in races at every level, to fight for our freedoms and our economic opportunity,” Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement to Politico. “That’s why the Vice President has made the decision to invest a historic sum into electing Democrats up and down the ballot.”
Tim Walz’ motorcade was involved in a crash:
While Walz was en route to an event Monday in Milwaukee, vans in his motorcade carrying staff and journalists were involved in a crash on Interstate 794. Walz, whose vehicle was not involved in the crash, said there were a "few minor injuries.” His opponent for the vice presidency Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) wrote “Hoping everyone's OK” on X.
Trump’s nephew speaks out after Arlington cemetery controversy:
Following accusations that members of Trump’s campaign staff pushed officials at Arlington National Cemetery and took photos where they weren’t allowed to, Trump’s nephew Fred Trump III said his uncle “doesn’t give a sh*t” about military members. “Donald believes in Donald,” Trump told MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace Monday.
Fallout from the Arlington cemetery controversy continued today with Jimmy McCain, son of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), calling it a “violation.” McCain said he had changed his party registration to Democrat and endorsed Harris for president.
Justice Jackson says she’s considering supporting Supreme Court ethics code:
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she’s “considering supporting” an ethics code for members of the court “as a general matter,” making her the second member of the court to do so following Justice Elena Kagan last month.
Speaking in a CBS Evening News interview that aired Sunday to promote her new book Lovely One (the meaning of her name, Ketanji Onyika), Jackson said, “I'm not going to get into commenting on particular policy proposals, but from my perspective, I don't have any problem with an enforceable code.”
Jackson has been in the majority of 78% of the cases she has ruled in since being nominated by Biden in 2022 as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court in U.S. history. She said she hopes to be “better at forging consensus.”
Lara Trump has a new song out about first responders:
Tiffany Trump’s “Like A Bird” is sadly not currently available to stream on Spotify or Apple Music, but fear not, there’s new Trump family music to stream thanks to her sister-in-law Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump.
Trump released a new song titled “Hero” with Madeline Jaymes, a singer I’ve never heard of before whose top search results are all her own social media accounts. The song is Trump’s fourth, following a 2023 cover of James Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” her 2024 single “Anything Is Possible,” and a collaboration with the Moonshine Bandits called “Colors Don’t Run.”
Lara Trump currently has more than 36,00 monthly listeners on Spotify, less than her father-in-law, who has more than 930,000 monthly listeners for his 2023 single “Justice For All,” featuring a choir of men imprisoned for their roll attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as songs that feature excerpts from Trump’s speeches, credit him, and show up on his artist page.
The U.S. just seized the Venezuelan president’s plane:
The Justice Department said it seized a plane in the Dominican Republic that was used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. U.S. officials say the plane was illegally purchased and smuggled outside the U.S. “Let this seizure send a clear message: aircraft illegally acquired from the United States for the benefit of sanctioned Venezuelan officials cannot just fly off into the sunset,” the Commerce Department’s Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod said in a statement.
🦠 Long COVID knocked a million Americans off their career paths. Long COVID has pushed around one million Americans out of the labor force, economists estimate. More than 5% of adults in the U.S. have long COVID, and it is most prevalent among Americans in their prime working years. [Wall Street Journal]
🇫🇷 Why the Eiffel family and others don’t like the plan to keep Olympics rings on the Eiffel Tower. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s call to keep the Olympic rings on the tower after the Games has sparked opposition from heritage conservation advocates, her peers, and even the family of the monument’s architect Gustave Eiffel. [Time]
💸 Berkshire Hathaway becomes the first U.S. non-tech company to reach $1 trillion valuation. Shares of Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Neb.-based conglomerate have rallied more than 28% in 2024. [CNBC]
🐋 A celebrity “Russian spy” whale spotted with harness found dead in Norwegian waters. A white beluga whale named “Hvaldimir,” first spotted in Norway not far from Russian waters with a harness that ignited rumors he may be a Moscow spy, has been found dead. [Associated Press]
🇺🇦 Zelenskyy says Ukraine plans to indefinitely hold Russian territory it has seized. Ukraine will “hold” the territory as it is integral to his “victory plan” to end the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding he will present the proposal to international partners like the United States. [NBC News]
Sabrina Carpenter’s new album debuts at No. 1 and every song charted:
Sabrina Carpenter’s album Short n’ Sweet debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, becoming her first No. 1 album, but wait there’s more. All 12 tracks from the album also charted on this week’s Billboard Hot 100, led by “Taste” at No. 2, “Please Please Please” at No. 3, and “Espresso” at No. 4. That makes Carpenter only the second artist in chart history to chart her first three top five hits in the top five simultaneously. The first to do it? The Beatles, who pulled off the feat in 1964 with “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You,” and “Please Please Me.”
Billboard says Post Malone had the song of the summer:
Brat summer who? “Espresso” what? Billboard said the No. 1 song on its annual Songs of the Summer chart was actually Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen. OK, sure, whatever.
Gaga says the lead single of her next album comes out next month:
In a photo of an itinerary on stationary from the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Lady Gaga dropped some news. Gaga is in town to promote Joker: Folie à Deux, and the itinerary lists her press conference, red carpet, and press junket for the film. At the bottom of the itinerary there are two notes, one for the movie’s premiere in theaters on Oct. 4, and another for “LG7 first single” listed only as Oct. XX. Paws up, little Monsters, let’s do this.
Umm… is Adele retiring?:
At her recent show in Munich, Germany, Adele told fans she’s going to go away for a while. “I have 10 shows to do, but after that I will not see you for an incredibly long time, and I will hold you dear in my heart,” she said.
Adele has 10 remaining shows in her Weekends with Adele residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace with the final show scheduled for Nov. 23. She also has a history of laying low between albums. She released her most recent album 30 in 2021, and before that, it was six years since she had released a new album. Bye, Adele, miss you already.
The executive producer of the DNC said even his staff believed Beyoncé was coming:
Ricky Kirshner, executive producer of the Democratic National Convention, told The Hollywood Reporter he had nothing to do with rumors that Beyoncé was going to be at the DNC. He said he and his team “never put out anything about Beyoncé. We denied it every time the media asked us — even though, by the way, people on my staff didn’t believe me.”
“I kept getting texts from news organizations saying, ‘When is Beyoncé coming out?,’” Kirshner said. “But come on, we have the biggest star, the Democratic nominee for president. Why would we overshadow that?”
Swifties for Harris raise more than six figures:
On their kickoff call last week, a group of Taylor Swift fans organizing in support of the Harris campaign independent of their favorite pop star brought in more than $140,000. Held on Zoom, the call featured cameos from Carole King, and Democratic Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
“In the words of Taylor Swift, ‘I never trust a narcissist,’” Markey said of Trump. “And this narcissist in chief clearly doesn't know enough about karma or what I like to call the infinite organizing power of the Swifties on this Zoom call.”
Clooney compares Biden to Washington for stepping down:
Actor and Democratic megadonor George Clooney is giving Biden props. When asked at the Venice Film Festival about the impact of his New York Times editorial calling for Biden to drop out of the race, Clooney said all the kudos go to POTUS.
“The person who should be applauded is the President who did the most selfless thing that anybody has done since George Washington,” Clooney said. “All of the machinations that got us there, none of that’s going to be remembered, and it shouldn’t be. What should be remembered is the selfless act of someone who did the hardest thing to do. You know we’ve seen it all around the world, and for someone to say, 'I think there’s a better way forward,' he gets all the credit, and that’s really the truth.”
Thanks for reading! See you next week. ⭐