Amna Nawaz: The end of the Democratic National Convention marks a major turning point in the battle for the White House.
That is New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Jonathan Capehart, associate editor for The Washington Post.
From the last four days, Jonathan, that the Democrats spent rallying behind their ticket and rolling them out to the nation.
Jonathan Capehart: The jubilation and relief.
Jonathan Capehart: In her remarks.
You need to… Amna Nawaz: Well, we already have our first post-convention curveball in the race just today.
Jonathan Capehart: You know, quite honestly, I don’t know.
Donald Trump, I can’t tell you what his policies are, other than drill, baby drill, and tax cut.
The Amna Nawaz.
The Democratic National Convention’s conclusion represents a significant turning point in the race for the presidency.
We now turn to Brooks and Capehart’s analysis regarding this week’s political events and what lies ahead. That’s David Brooks, a columnist for the New York Times, and Jonathan Capehart, an associate editor of The Washington Post.
I feel like we didn’t have time to miss each other, but it’s great to see you both.
(Laughter).
(Stalk).
Amna Nawaz.
However, it’s good to have you back on the set.
Alright, so I just want to get your main takeaways here for anyone who wasn’t watching every hour of the conventions with us, even though I don’t see why you wouldn’t have. From the last four days that the Democrats have been putting their ticket together and promoting it across the country, Jonathan. What caught your attention from those days?
Jonathan Capehart:.
The relief, the joy. Many were looking forward to the convention, but as soon as the ticket’s design changed, word spread that people were attempting to obtain tickets to enter the hall from all over the nation.
It was a place where people wanted to be. People desired to take part in it. Additionally, the celebration centers on a candidate and a party where, well, people are starving. In contrast to Milwaukee, where every night I felt like a weighted blanket when we left the set, I believe they are tired of all the negativity, hate, and heaviness and want to be joyful in solving the nation’s problems. This is why, over the course of four days, I felt different.
A four-day visit to Chicago is an entirely different experience. Therefore, I believe that Democrats are joyful and enthusiastic, and that they have blasted out of Chicago prepared, eager, and able to propel Kamala Harris to victory.
David Brooks.
Yes, without a doubt, the emotional shift within the Democratic Party is as pronounced as it gets.
On the other hand, I would argue that the Democrats broadened their narrative while the Republicans stuck to their main one if you compare the two parties and their conventions. Therefore, by stepping up, they are essentially telling us that the elites have deceived us and that we must create a working-class army in order to topple the government. choosing J as well. B. Vance just intensifies the narrative.
Afterwards, with Dana White and Hulk Hogan involved, it was evident that this was our narrative and our target audience.
However, only about 46% of the nation is affected. Conversely, Kamala Harris refuted any preconceived notions she may have had about the Democrats at this convention. The running mate for vice president is seen hunting. A number of football players are arranged in a line on the stage. On stage, a number of military personnel are appearing. There’s more patriotism than you can ever imagine.
She gives a fairly hawkish and expansive description of US foreign policy. Thus, I’m not sure if it will succeed. And that might be the case; a gloomy national sentiment would be advantageous for Trump. Still, as Jonathan points out, perhaps we’re simply sick of the dark and ready for a change of pace.
Thus, I considered both approaches. Generally speaking, I believed that in order to gain a majority, you had to develop your core narrative. Thus, I believed Harris to be slightly more intelligent.
Amna Nawaz.
Yeah, that’s not what we have yet seen.
Jonathan, one other thing we briefly discussed was the disagreement within the party regarding U.S. S. policy regarding Israel’s conflict in Gaza. Protesters were visible outside. The Democratic National Committee made the decision to refuse a Palestinian-American speaker opportunity.
Many of the people who supported that speaker told me that you cannot claim to be the party of inclusion and dialogue while denying someone like this a platform to speak. Are you of the opinion that that was an error?
Jonathan Capehart.
As she said. And to be really honest, I believe it belonged there. Everyone was curious about her position. What is her opinion? What direction will she take this?
especially in light of the widespread outrage towards President Biden and his actions. People are curious about her future plans if she becomes the next president, and she expressed her feelings quite well. She handled it expertly, in my opinion, and in a very pro-Israel manner, allowing it to stand. We intend to assist in defending Israel while simultaneously advocating for the Palestinian people and their plight.
It is necessary that you.
Amna Nawaz:.
In fact, today is the first post-convention curveball that the race has seen. F. Robert. Kennedy Jr. declares that he is halting his campaign. has been running as an independent, naturally.
His endorsement is of Donald Trump. He is remaining on the ballot in some states but is attempting to have his name removed from others. Not to mention, in a statement released five of his siblings called for him to be removed from his father’s side and from their family’s ideals.
Jonathan, what might happen to the race?
Jonathan Capehart:.
To be completely honest with you, I have no idea. And the mere mention of his name makes me feel so bored that I’m unable to feel any sort of excitement or rage. Given all of the terrible things that have been said about him since he first entered the presidential race, it is heartbreaking for the Kennedy family that he is doing this and that, as a result, he has come out and endorsed Donald Trump.
I’m not sure how it will affect the race, though. Not very significant, but if he remains on the ballot, people who might have supported Kamala Harris might cast ballots for him. However, this vote is essentially pointless.
Nawaz, Amna.
Taking a step back, we can see that both parties have quite different post-convention visions and messaging.
They are very, very clear, and best summed up by a few quotes we selected from each candidate’s acceptance speech. Listen to what is said.
Former Republican presidential candidate and current U.S. s. Presidential Candidate: Our country has accepted too little for far too long. We made the wrong concessions. Other countries and people have received everything from us. It is advised that you should accept less for your families and reduce your expectations.
The opposite message is what I am bringing with me tonight. You don’t have sufficiently high expectations.
The Vice President of the United States (Democratic) and U.S. S. Presidential Candidate: This election offers our country a unique and short-lived chance to put the past’s resentment, cynicism, and polarizing conflicts behind us and forge a new path forward.
Jonathan Capehart.
I believe the vice president achieved this by discussing concerns about costs and issues at the kitchen table, as did everyone else. Additionally, she has the opportunity economy that she discussed.
Other than drill, baby drill, and tax cuts, I have no idea what policies Donald Trump has in mind. I’m not sure who, but perhaps an extension of the Trump tax cuts, which aided and benefited those at the top of the income spectrum.
However, out of everything you took out of Trump’s speech, that is probably the nicest part. You don’t have sufficiently high expectations. That might sound good on its own, but it was surrounded by two hours of nothing but cruelty and darkness.
And regardless of how many times people ask him to, I believe that the issue that both Republicans and Donald Trump will face is his inability to discuss policy. He is concerned with slights and denigration directed towards individuals. Furthermore, as the past four days in Chicago have demonstrated, while Democrats are not voicing as much policy as David would like, they are speaking far more than the Republicans are.
David Brooks.
Indeed, the message conveyed by Donald Trump in those two clips is that America has been declining and that we need to reverse this trend. It is therefore a tale of decline.
And then, it is implicit in Kamala Harris’s very nature. It’s a momentous occasion. A prominent political party in the United States of America nominates a Black woman. We now have hope for the future at this point in time. She is consequently presenting a far more upbeat tale.
This is demonstrated by the policies, which call for America and the rest of the world to play a very assertive role in defending liberal democracy and Ukraine. The person is Kamala Harris. Donald Trump, on the other hand, that war is not necessary. We’re being taken advantage of by our NATO allies; they’re stealing all of our money, making no contributions, drawing us in, and we can’t afford it, so let’s pull out.
And so you see how these, what I suppose I should call, optimistic versus pessimistic stances result in a set of policies that are either very ambitious and outward-focused, or let’s pull inward and protect ourselves.
