Donald Trump Questions Kamala Harris' Black Identity
What the two Middle East assassinations mean; Federal protections for LBGTQ students take effect in some states, blocked in others
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Good morning,
Swimmers take your marks… Olympic triathletes jumped into Seine River on Wednesday after delays over E. coli levels following heavy rains. Officials determined Paris’ $1.5 billion cleanup of the water finally worked, and the water was safe to swim.
Team USA’s Taylor Spivey, who finished 10th in the race, said she swallowed “a ton of water,” but that her main concern was the “insane” strength of the current — not water quality. France took gold, with Switzerland and Great Britain in second and third.
Hudson River here we come 😉
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to subscribe to the Mo Newsletter… you could get free Mo News merch — DETAILS at the bottom of this newsletter!
📌 DONALD TRUMP SAYS KAMALA HARRIS ADOPTED BLACK IDENTITY FOR POLITICS
Former President Donald Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’s identity on Wednesday, saying that she has adopted her racial profile for political reasons. “All of a sudden, she made a turn, and she became a Black person” he told the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conference in Chicago.
Harris is of Jamaican (her father) and Indian (her mother) heritage, attended Howard University — a historically Black university, and while there joined Alpha Kappa Alpha — a historically Black sorority.
Harris, already scheduled to speak in Houston at an event for another Black sorority, said Trump’s comments were “the same old show” of “divisiveness and disrespect.” She added that Americans deserve “a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts.”
TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN
Following the interview, Trump posted a 2019 video of Harris with actress Mindy Kaling. In the clip, Harris acknowledges that half of her family is South Indian, like Kaling’s family. Though she never denies her Black heritage in the clip either. Her embrace of both sides of her identity is something familiar to tens of millions of bi-racial Americans.
It comes as House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) and other GOP leaders recently advised colleagues to stop criticizing Harris’s race or gender, and instead focus on her policies.
ABC News’ Rachel Scott moderated the Wednesday event alongside Fox News’ Harris Faulkner and Semafor’s Kadia Goba. And from the start, Trump did not appreciate Scott’s tough questions. Here’s how it started:
Trump claimed at the end of the clip that he was the best president for Black people since Abraham Lincoln. He reiterated the claim Wednesday night at a rally.
Trump’s campaign criticized the media following the event, accusing reporters of “unhinged and unprofessional commentary.”
BLACK VOTERS
Trump has been trying to court Black voters this campaign season — especially men. And polling before Biden’s exit showed that Trump could secure the largest percentage of the African American vote for a GOP candidate in modern history. For now, Harris cutting back into those gains. It is unclear what impact, if any, Wednesday’s comments might have on his support.
Via CNN
📌 MIDDLE EAST ON EDGE AFTER HAMAS LEADER’S ASSASSINATION
Following two strikes in less than 24 hours on Tuesday that took out Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel has dealt “crushing blows” to Iran’s proxies.
While Netanyahu did not claim responsibility for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh inside Iran, he pointed to three other strikes:
Hamas military leader Muhammad Deif in Gaza several weeks ago, Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Hodeida port, and Hezbollah #2, Fuad Shukr, also killed on Tuesday.
Yesterday, Iran’s leader ordered plans drawn up for a retaliatory strike on Israel. The rise in tensions has led the US and regional diplomats to fear that the hostage and ceasefire deal has been derailed.
MORE ON THE STRIKES & WHAT’S NEXT
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on Wednesday that the US was not involved in Haniyeh’s killing in Iran. He said it was difficult “to speculate” if the Hamas leader’s assassination would complicate ongoing ceasefire and hostage talks, but reiterated his support for an urgent deal.
“It’s profoundly in the interest of putting things in a better path,” he said of a temporary ceasefire. “We’ll continue to work at that every day.”
Qatar and Egypt, who have been mediators with the US on the potential deal, said the assassination has hurt negotiation.
"How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?," Qatar’s prime minister wrote on X (Twitter).
About the assassination, we learned that a missile hit the bedroom of a state guesthouse where Haniyeh was staying.
Neither Israel nor Iran is interested in a full-scale war, but for every attack and counter attack, the risks increase that the next incident could set off a chain of events leading to a regional war.
IRANIAN RETALIATION
Haniyeh’s death is an embarrassment to Tehran. He was there as a guest of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in celebration of the new Iranian president’s inauguration. Khamenei has now ordered a retaliatory strike on Israel. Most analysts believe Tehran will attempt to show strength without escalating the conflict.
Iran walked a similar line in April, when the nation directly attacked Israel in response to a strike near its embassy compound that killed several Iranian military commanders in Syria.
Mairav Zonszein, a senior Israel analyst for the International Crisis Group, told the Wall Street Journal that she does not think that “Iran’s going to go to war over the killing of a Hamas leader in the same way that Hezbollah didn’t react to the Saleh Arouri [the leader of Hamas’ military wing] assassination [in January].” However, she notes that this is uncharted territory.
Political scientist Ian Bremmer says look at oil prices — their stability signals that investors believe the chance of all-out war is “pretty low.”
📌 NEW PROTECTIONS FOR LGBTQ STUDENTS BLOCKED IN HALF OF US STATES
Rally for LGBTQ students in January. Via: AP
About half of US states will begin enforcing a new Biden administration rule that expands protections for transgender and pregnant students today. Why just half? Well, legal challenges by Republican attorneys general and conservative groups have led judges in 21 states to block the rule from being enforced until litigation is complete.
The patchwork of court orders has created confusion for schools just weeks before students return to campus. The Biden administration has asked the Supreme Court to step in.
TITLE IX EXPANDED
The rule says schools must treat transgender students the same as their classmates. It allows transgender students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, though it doesn’t address sports participation. Teachers would also need to use students’ chosen pronouns. Students who are pregnant, or have children, would get more protections too.
It builds on the 1972 federal civil rights law associated with women gaining access to sports and education programs.
Supporters argue that it aligns with the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling that extended federal protections to LGBTQ workers, finding that gender discrimination extends to that group.
Opponents say that students do not fall into that category.
WHAT’S NEXT
One Trump-appointed judge in Alabama allowed the rule, but then the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals stepped in to block it while cases play out. About half of the states fall into that bucket now.
The Biden Administration asked the Supreme Court to let the Department of Education enforce the rule without the gender identity provisions, which make up the majority of the legal fights.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Rudy Giuliani agrees to deal to end his bankruptcy case, pay creditors' accounting firm $400,000 (AP)
📌 Cancer rates in millennials, Gen X-ers have risen starkly in recent years. This may be why. (YAHOO)
📌 Texas border floating barrier in Rio Grande can stay for now, court rules (FOX NEWS)
📌 Secret Service detains man for incident involving security detail for Harris’ stepdaughter (CNN)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 9/11 alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and 2 others reach plea deal to avoid death penalty after two decades in court (ABC NEWS)
📌 Venezuela shops shuttered, transport limited amid fears of more opposition arrests (REUTERS)
📌 UK police open criminal investigation into Washington Post publisher (NPR)
📌 Podium selfie with North and South Korean athletes at the Olympics starts buzz (CNN)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Taco Bell to roll out AI drive-thru ordering in hundreds of locations by end of year (NBC NEWS)
📌 Boeing names new CEO after losses more than triple (CNN)
📌 Fed holds rates steady and notes progress on inflation (CNBC)
📌 Study identifies 14 risk factors for dementia, including 2 new ones (CBS NEWS)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Maya Rudolph will return to ‘SNL’ to play Kamala Harris through 2024 election (CNN)
📌 Netflix ‘Squid Game’ returns in December with Season 2. Final season is set for next year (THE WRAP)
📌 USA's Katie Ledecky wins gold in 1,500-meter freestyle, claiming record-tying 12th Olympic medal in women's swimming (CBS NEWS)
📌 Colin Jost to host pop culture ‘Jeopardy!’ spinoff for Prime Video (DEADLINE)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: AUGUST 1
1944: The final entry was recorded in the diary of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who spent two years in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
1972: Elvis Presley released his version of ‘Burning Love.’
1980: Icelandic teacher and politician Vigdís Finnbogadóttir became president of Iceland; she was the first woman in the world to be elected head of state in a national election.
1996: American author George R.R. Martin published ‘A Game of Thrones,’ the first installment in his hugely popular fantasy series.