The News Not Noise Letter: The Cat Lady Vote
Vance explains himself, Harris re-introduces herself, and Netanyahu inserts himself. Plus: a closer look at cat ladies past and present.
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It’s been a week of exuberance for Democrats who “answered the call” to support VP Kamala Harris with such enthusiasm they’ve broken fundraising records, volunteered at historic levels, and even crashed Zoom. How much of this is pure love for Harris? How much is relief at having a candidate who can do candidate things: deliver a punchy soundbite on the tarmac, prosecute a case against the opponent, and generate viral memes (don’t worry if you still haven’t figured out what brat means)?
Analysts say if the election were held today, Trump would win. But while voters have formed their opinion of Trump, a significant subset of voters don’t have a view of Harris. That presents an opening to “introduce” her to these voters — and both campaigns will rush to paint a picture that sticks in voters’ minds. They have very little time to do it. The convention is in 23 days. The election is in 101 days.
Here are your headlines:
Vance’s Sarcasm: Trump’s vice presidential candidate JD Vance went on “The Megyn Kelly Show” to defend his controversial 2021 claim that the Democratic Party is run by “childless cat ladies” (full context below). Vance said the comment was “sarcastic” and meant to illustrate how the Democrats are “anti-family and anti-children.” (We can unpack that another time.) It’s not the only old statement of Vance’s that resurfaced this week – social media is full of clips of him saying he “would like abortion to be illegal nationally,” that childless adults should pay higher taxes than parents, and arguing for a “federal response” to block women traveling for abortions. (Side note: he imagined this “federal response” would be necessary in a bizarre scenario in which George Soros charters “daily flights” from states with abortion bans to transport “predominantly Black women” to get abortions in California. He said all this on a podcast in 2022. On the bright side – he’s creative!).
Vance’s Debut: There is such thing as bad press – and Vance is generating it. This week America’s sweetheart, Jennifer Aniston, called out Vance for the cruel irony of slamming childfree women as lesser citizens while simultaneously opposing IVF. Historically, VPs have a net favorability rating of +19 points after their convention. Vance’s rating is -5 nationally, and -16 in his home region.
Harris’s Choice: The Harris for President campaign says she will announce her choice of a running mate by August 7. The DNC plans to nominate her by virtual roll call that week. Thursday she unveiled her first campaign ad, and new motto: Choose Freedom. She and Trump are already at odds over a planned September 10th debate (she’s in, he’s not). And the Trump campaign has branded Harris as Biden’s “border czar.” Though it’s not a real position, the media used this term, and she was tasked with delivering a report on immigration’s root causes.
Netanyahu’s Visits: After wrapping up a meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former President Trump said the two men are on good terms and if re-elected he’d avoid a “third world war.” He also slammed VP Harris as “disrespectful to Israel.” He was responding to Harris’s comments a day earlier when she spoke about the “devastating” “images of dead children and desperate hungry people” in Gaza and said, “I will not be silent.” Netanyahu, who is allied with Israel’s far-right, suggested that Harris’ comments could endanger a ceasefire agreement.
Worth Noting: Harris also affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself, denounced the terrorism of Hezbollah and Hamas, and blamed Hamas for inciting the war.
The Politics: Harris distinguished herself from President Biden by more forcefully spotlighting the suffering of Palestinians, but she did not break with his policy approach to the conflict. She urged both sides to accept the ceasefire and hostage release deal now.
Cartel Arrests: The Justice Department arrested two major leaders in the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García and Joaquín Guzmán López (the son of “El Chapo”). The Sinaloa cartel is the top supplier of fentanyl to the US, and cartel violence in Latin America is a significant driver influencing immigration to the US. Experts warn there may be an uptick in violence in Mexico and at the border as competitors vie to fill the new power vacuum. Still, the Harris campaign can cite the arrests to blunt the force of Trump’s attacks over the administration’s failure to stop cartel violence.
Olympics Opens: The Paris Olympics kicked off today with the opening ceremony after arson attacks on several train lines disrupted transportation. Some big-name celebrities took part: Snoop Dogg was one of the final torchbearers. Lady Gaga sang an opening number in French. And organizers announced each Paris Olympic medal contains a piece of the Eiffel Tower.
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Why Are We Scared of “Childless Cat Ladies”?
You may have found it jarring to hear JD Vance, the GOP Vice Presidential nominee, argue that “childless cat ladies” in politics have no stake in the future and therefore shouldn’t be in politics. “Look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC. The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,” he told Tucker Carlson in 2021. Then he called this group a bunch of “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives,” asking “How does it make any sense we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”
First, the facts.
