THE WEEK’S GOOD NEWS

Watch Kamala’s speech in Atlanta, as carried by Fox News. Experience the energy, up one hundredfold from last week (that’s saying something). Click here: Fox 5 Atlanta

Pete Buttigieg’s Fox interview went viral this week. Democratic strategist Lis Smith wrote on X, “@PeteButtigieg just led an absolute masterclass on why Dems should go on Fox News.” Respectful, undeterred, positive, factual, he undid all the Fox News talking points thrown at him. If you watch nothing else, this 12-minute interview might provide comfort and pride. Fox News

Jimmy Carter says he’s hoping to vote for Kamala Harris as his 100th birthday approaches. We’re cheering for you, Jimmy. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Kamala hits the ground running. This ad covers the whole gamut. Serious. Uplifting. Timely. Truth Matters

Another Harris campaign ad starts with love and respect for Joe, then pivots to Trump. The gloves come off. The Lincoln Project

White Dudes for Harris, including The Dude himself, raised over $4 million. After the stupendous Zooms of last week—44,000 Black Women for Harris, 20,000 Black Men for Harris, and 164,000 White Women for Harris—200,000 White Dudes for Harris weren’t going to be outdone. Jeff Bridges, Mark Hamill and Pete Buttigieg among others. The Washington Post

Following the money. Harris has raised a record $310 million in July—a cash advantage over Trump. The sum more than doubles what Trump raised. With $377 million cash in hand, it’s the largest war chest at this point in an election cycle. She’s also had the best grassroots fundraising month in presidential history. Harris’ total includes $200 million raised in the first week. Grassroots donors, giving less than $200, accounted for 94% of the 4.2 million donations. Of the three million individuals who gave, two million made their first donation. (Noted; if these records are for all of July, she only launched her campaign on July 21st. Less than two weeks ago. Somehow.) Bloomberg

Harris has shifted the electoral map. Biden was looking at a narrow path to 270, hinging on Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Harris has put fast-growing, diverse states like Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia back into play. Even North Carolina. Maybe even Florida. The Christian Science Monitor

Speaking of Florida, in a legendary MAGA stronghold, hundreds turned out for Kamala Harris, shocking everyone. The Villages hasn’t voted for a Democrat since 2000. Deeply conservative, they might not again, but the Democrats are all fired up—not a great sign for Trump. Vanity Fair, The Washington Post

Kamala Harris has pledged to sign the border bill that Donald Trump opposed, a bipartisan immigration deal that fell apart earlier this year after the Republican nominee urged his party to pull their support, denying President Joe Biden a political victory. Bloomberg

And in Arizona, a high-profile Republican mayor is backing Harris. Because Trump refuses to accept the 2020 election results. Because of the continuing extremism of the Republican party. Because Biden and Harris delivered infrastructure improvements and jobs for Arizonians. Because Trump turned down immigration reform. Because Harris represents a return to decency. Thank you, Mayor Giles. The Hill

In the largest prisoner exchange with Russia since the Cold War, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and 22 others are coming home—a diplomatic triumph for Biden, years in the making. (This steals Trump’s thunder. He’s been bragging that the day after he wins re-election, Gershkovich would come home.) Worth noting, Joe was pulling this off during the weeks when everyone was telling him he wasn’t up to the job. For the good of all, he still let go of the baton. ABC News

Biden has told Netanyahu to accept the truce in a “very direct” call. “We have the basis for a ceasefire,” Biden told reporters. “He should move on it.” The president is trying to use his last months in office to end the war, struggling to influence Netanyahu. Bloomberg

President Biden has announced a plan to reform the Supreme Court. He supports a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court. He also proposes a binding code of conduct for the court, and is looking to ensure that former presidents have no immunity for crimes committed while in office. Here is his editorial in The Washington Post. Here is The White House Fact Sheet.

Trump lost a bid to lift the gag order in his Manhattan fraud trial. He’s complaining that Harris is calling him a felon and he can’t fully respond. The narrow gag order prohibits Trump from vilifying prosecutors, family members of the judge or court staff. The DA argues the gag order is necessary because people connected with the case are continuing to receive “significant and imminent” threats. Bloomberg

Trump is mad at Fox News. Why? Watch the Harris Atlanta Rally, above, shown on Fox. Then watch George Conway’s Anti-Psychopath PAC ad also running on Fox. (The Lincoln Project and the Anti-Psychopath PAC make points of needling Trump in his feel-good, go-to places. This ad also ran on The Golf Channel.) Fox is also reporting Trump’s slipping polls. Salon

Trump is mad at Black journalists–but not why you think. He was in a temper before he even started this week’s disastrous, now infamous, event. You see it in his body language as he grumps onto the stage an hour late. He blamed his tardiness on the organization’s sound problems—but offstage, he was gumming up the works to prevent being fact-checked in real time. Axios. Watch the full interview if you’d enjoy hearing aggressive questions you’ve been waiting for someone to ask.

Trump keeps shooting himself in the foot. First he said that we won’t have to vote in four more years if we elect him. A horrible gambit, energizing his opposition (us). Rachel Maddow worries his notion has something to do with the 70 election deniers he has in place nationally. In charge of elections, they are capable of refusing to certify the vote. Scary thought. But wait—this is The Good News! Here’s an article on the many fail-safes in place. Democracy Docket

Then he said that world leaders won’t respect Vice President Harris because of the way she looks, that she’d be like a play toy. He said, “They look at her and they say, ‘We can’t believe we got so lucky.’ They’re going to walk all over her.” He turned to look at the camera and added: “And I don’t want to say as to why. But a lot of people understand it.” That caused widespread outrage, as well it should, good for our side—The Washington Post— but you might have missed it, because twenty-four hours later, it was eclipsed by something more self-incriminating and egregious.

In a room full of Black journalists, he accused Vice President Harris of recently becoming Black, inferring this was for political expediency. He offered other clueless bits as well, like claiming he’s been the best president for Black people since Abraham Lincoln. Right. Axios, The NY Times

Meanwhile, JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential pick, is also shooting himself in the foot. You won’t have missed his harangue about about “childless cat women” (whom he believes lead miserable lives and don’t care about the future of the country). It’s become a huge meme, and good news for us because an estimated 38 percent of American adults do not have biological children—roughly 101 million people. If the proliferation of Childless Cat Ladies For Kamala tee-shirts is any evidence, they care about the country…a lot. The Boston Globe