Welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing – where we take a quick look at the most viewed stories of the week in case you missed any of them. Grab a cup of coffee (or something stronger – it’s been a crazy summer) and read this 21st Century Weekend Edition of your favorite publication (online)!
#1 – Pure Fire: Governor Sarah Sanders addresses the gigantic issue: The Cheneys and other “Republicans” are backing Harris – by Becca Lower
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR), who served as press secretary during the Trump administration, then had the unenviable task of responding to Cheney’s comments. She didn’t just give a perfunctory response, which would have been good enough. More on that in a moment.
Sanders gave viewers an insider’s analysis/preview of Tuesday’s debate and explained why she thinks we’re not really hearing anything about Trump, but instead, pages of stories about Harris’ debate preparations:
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders says @JonKarl that “every day is debate prep for Donald Trump.”
“He will go into the game like he does in every interview and every rally. It’s not a big burden for him.” https://t.co/dtMGBibcIo pic.twitter.com/0hnnQJs4B3
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) 8 September 2024
#2 – Watch: Kamala Harris and Democrats must stand awkwardly as people cheer for Trump at 9/11 rally – by Brandon Morse
But maybe you think X has become too much of a right-wing echo chamber. Then maybe this moment will shed some featherlight on whether Trump is still popular.
Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer and Michael Bloomberg were joined by Donald Trump and JD Vance to pay their respects at the 9/11 memorial. As they shook hands with each other, the crowd behind the camera made it clear who they wanted and loved.
Democrats had to sit and listen as the crowd cheered and applauded Trump. Another woman in the crowd could be heard shouting, “We need you,” while Kamala Harris could only awkwardly wave at people.
#3 – Elton John’s fresh remarks about Trump will probably drive Democrats crazy – by Nick Arama
He was told that Trump gave Kim one of Elton’s CDs, and that seemed to amuse him, too. He said he thought the nickname Rocket Man was a “light moment; it was fun.”
How nice to see a normal reaction to Trump from a celebrity rather than over-the-top madness. This probably surprised the reporter. He said it was comical because it was comical. And unlike other “friends” who have jumped on the anti-Trump cult bandwagon, he doesn’t, so good for him.
I think Elton is a little bit too gigantic to cancel, but you know that doing so will rile up some people on the left who will scream and lose their minds and actually call Trump “Donald” and say they’ve been kind. That doesn’t fit with the demonization they want of him.
#4 – NBC reveals some hilarious details about what Harris is planning for the debate – by Nick Arama
That’s pretty comical. So she’s planning an impromptu response that she thinks (or NBC hopes) will “make history.” No bias.
Um, Kamala? If you spend days planning a viral comeback, that’s not natural. Part of the problem is that people think she’s phony and inauthentic. She’ll get ahead of herself, freak out, and prove that their thoughts about her are true.
They seem to be counting on him to make a snide remark about her, or hoping to provoke an furious reaction from him about something like Project 2025, which they think he has something to do with, even though he doesn’t. She’ll also try to pretend she’s a prosecutor (and probably call him a convicted felon).
#5 – Quiet part thunderous? ABC debate co-moderator makes insightful confession about why they fact-checked Trump’s statements – by Sister Toldjah
One of the co-hosts, Linsey Davis, was criticized by Republicans for her incorrect fact-checking of Trump’s statements on the abortion issue. Instead of questioning her, LA Times published a eulogy about Davis, praising her performance and claiming, “Colleagues consider her old-fashioned in her commitment to fairness and balance.”
However, a statement that Davis herself made during the interview caused a stir. In it, she apparently admitted that they had checked Trump’s statements so thoroughly because they wanted to have a different debate than the CNN debate. At that debate, Trump’s performance and Biden’s disastrous performance led to Biden having to drop out of the presidential race almost a month later and being replaced by his vice president:
Davis, wearing rose-colored glasses at breakfast at the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia, said the decision to correct the candidates was a response to the June 27 CNN debate between Trump and President Biden, whose penniless performance led to his exit from the race.
“People were concerned that statements were simply left hanging and not [be] “This was not disputed by candidate Biden or the moderators at the time,” Davis said.
