‘Imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.’ Formally accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in Chicago last night, Vice President Kamala Harris asked voters to consider Trump’s “explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents, anyone he sees as the enemy; his explicit intent to deploy our active-duty military against our own citizens.”
■ Andrew Prokop at Vox: Harris revealed three keys to her formula for taking Trump down.
■ See her full address here.
■ New York’s Jonathan Chait pronounces it “the best acceptance speech I’ve ever seen: A perfectly targeted message.”
■ Conservative Bill Kristol at The Bulwark: “Pretty damn impressive.”
■ Public Notice’s Noah Berlatsky: “‘We’re not going back’ is the perfect theme for 2024.”
■ The Onion: “Stammering Democrats Unsure How To Accept Positive Feedback.”
‘It’s not clear he knows what to do.’ Washington Post columnist Dan Balz: “Trump has never experienced anything like the past month.”
■ Jon Stewart, live from Chicago: “If I was Donald Trump right now, I’d probably just be tweeting nonsensical sh*t to distract from the fact that [Harris] doesn’t faintly resemble the caricature that’s been painted. By the way, that is what he was doing.”
■ Stephen Colbert—also live from Chicago: Harris “is a prosecutor in the trial of Donald J. Trump. He is guilty as charged and now it is time to sentence him to four to eight years of President Harris.”
■ Next month, Trump’s golf club will host a legal fundraiser for the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters.
‘I didn’t expect … a balloon drop.’ USA Today’s Rex Huppke: “Not to sound rude, but I was kind of expecting the DNC to end with a bit more … you know … violence. Maybe a public beheading or two. You know—coup stuff.”
■ Earlier in the evening, Republican ex-Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois took the stage to endorse Harris and condemn Trump as “a weak man pretending to be strong … a perpetrator who can’t stop playing the victim.”
■ Kinzinger got the word weirdly in there, too.
■ Last night’s speakers also included a 19-year-old Chicagoan who witnessed a classmate’s drive-by shooting two years ago.
‘Suddenly the Biden-Harris administration’s pro-Israel stance is something most people can live with even if they disagree.’ Columnist Matt Yglesias: “The vibes haven’t won swing voters over to a progressive message—the vibes have won progressives over to pride in the Democratic Party.”
■ The Sun-Times’ Neil Steinberg asked Chicago protesters what “Free Palestine” means to them.
■ The New York Times’ David Leonhardt: “Harris’s move to the political center seems to be working, at least so far.”
Thanks for coming. The Daily Beast’s David Rothkopf pronounces “this week in Chicago … the Woodstock or the Live Aid or the Lollapalooza or the Coachella or Burning Man of political oratory.”
■ The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser celebrates the week as “a four-day master class in Trump-bashing.”
■ Axios Chicago calls it “a rousing ratings success” that “went off without a hitch.”
■ Axios Chicago calls it “a rousing ratings success” that “went off without a hitch.”
■ Chicago’s designated free-speech platform for the convention—a stage with a microphone and industrial amps pointed toward the United Center parking lots—went largely unused.
■ A Tribune editorial: The city’s cops this week “have been a credit to Chicago.”
■ Politico: “Though there were arrests, violence didn’t consume the events of the week.”
■ You may now have your streets back, Chicagoans.
■ Expatriate Illinoisan Dennis Byrne, now living in Florida, sees things differently: “Democrats and their hosts—Chicago and Illinois—deserve one another. They’re all perfect failures.”
■ Lori Lightfoot’s response to JD Vance’s labeling Chicago “the murder capital of the United States”: “Nice thing about not being mayor anymore is I don’t care who hears me tell this clown to STFU.”
Dingus of the Week. Lyz Lenz’s pick: A sometimes-New York Times commentator who declared Harris’ stepdaughter a “nightmare scenario.”
■ Columnist Parker Molloy calls out the hateful people mocking Tim Walz’s neurodivergent son, Gus.
■ Missing from the celebration of Harris’ nomination: Her father, Donald J. Harris—who’s still alive.
A perfect score. Your Chicago Public Square columnist nailed all the questions on The Conversation’s weekly news quiz, devised by past Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Fritz Holznagel …
■ … but that’s a low bar for anyone who gets the free daily Conversation newsletter.
■ Trib critic Michael Phillips’ quiz: Which political leader—fictional or real, foreign or domestic, deceased or living—said it? (5/10 correct for your Square columnist.)
■ And one more: Whose line is it—Star Trek or Doctor Who? (Three wrong here.)