Mike’s Blog Round-up

Karl Rove told Fox News that allowing sentencing to proceed in Donald Trump’s New York hush money case could have given Trump a boost in the polls. Said Rove: “Donald Trump has risen in the polls the more the people have reacted negatively to his treatment in the courtroom. And if the judge had gone ahead with this, it could have easily been the October surprise.”

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“Spectators at the University of Michigan football game against Texas on Saturday will be reminded of a different rival before the game: Ohio State,” CBS News reports. “At the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, an aerial banner paid for by the Democratic National Committee will read: ‘JD Vance <3 Ohio State + Project 2025.’ It’s a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Republican vice presidential nominee, who got his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University, and the dense conservative blueprint by the Heritage Foundation for a potential second Trump term.” “From the tailgates until kickoff, fans at four separate college football games in battleground states on Saturday will see aerial banners paid for by the Democratic National Committee.”

New York Magazine: “Part of Harris world’s thinking is that voters already know about Trump’s character and have set views of him that aren’t worth reinforcing in the tight but highly valuable speaking windows Harris will have on the campaign stage. (It’s not like she has new information to add that might change those views.)” “And since the debate rules about muted microphones mean she is unlikely to have many clear back-and-forths with him, many close to her team figure she should not try too hard to create moments like her viral ones questioning Jeff Sessions and Brett Kavanaugh as a senator.”

“She just should not be baited. She should bait him. He can be rattled. He doesn’t know how to respond to substantive, direct attacks.” — Hillary Clinton, quoted by the New York Times, on Kamala Harris debating Donald Trump.

“Vice President Kamala Harris is holed up for five days in a Pittsburgh hotel, doing highly choreographed debate practice sessions ahead of Tuesday night’s clash. There’s a stage and replica TV lighting and an adviser in full Lee Strasberg method-acting mode, not just playing Donald Trump but inhabiting him, wearing a boxy suit and a long tie,” the New York Times reports. “The former president’s preparations are more improv.