Analysis: Obama's China Trip Shows Power Shifting

Brian Klaas: “Republican fealty to Donald Trump—no matter his crimes, no matter his moral transgressions—is the hallmark of authoritarian devotion to a man, regardless of policies or ideas. It’s the telltale sign of a broken political party—one that long ago abandoned principles and values, falling back instead on an amoral, unwavering allegiance, by which Trump can do no wrong.” “By contrast, the Democratic freak-out over Joe Biden is a sign of a healthy political party.

Axios: “The only way President Biden steps aside, despite his debate debacle, is if the same small group of lifelong loyalists who enabled his run suddenly — and shockingly — decides it’s time for him to call it quits.”

“Donald Trump’s top advisers are planning to drastically scale back and simplify the official platform of the Republican Party, according to a memo sent to the party’s platform committee,” the New York Times reports. “Anti-abortion activists, in particular, have been gearing up for a fight in case the Trump team seeks to dilute or delete longstanding language in order to make Mr.

New York Times: “In those first stricken moments after a raspy, rambling and at times incoherent performance, he turned to his wife, Jill Biden… The first lady’s message to him was clear: They’d been counted out before, she was all in, and he — they — would stay in the race.

“Amid all of the Democratic panic-texting prompted by President Joe Biden’s shaky debate performance Thursday, one name was curiously absent from many of those conversations: Vice President Kamala Harris,” Politico reports. “Names including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer trended online as potential replacements for Biden on the Democratic ticket, while Harris — by several measures the most obvious and best-positioned candidate — was left to publicly defend Biden at the single worst moment of their four-year-old political partnership.” “That was to the chagrin of some Harris allies, who are privately expressing frustration that her name is not being mentioned in the same company as other ambitious Democrats.

Dan Balz: “More than half a century ago, an embattled Democratic president decided unexpectedly not to run for reelection. The month was March, the year was 1968 and the president was Lyndon B. Johnson.” “The fight to replace Johnson led to discord and violence. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago brought tumult inside the convention hall and bloody clashes between police and anti-Vietnam War demonstrators in the streets.