The Press Conference August 8, 2024 Frank Bruni: Donald Trump is the Prince of Self-Pity. And dangerous! Project 2025 is his blueprint for turning our pluralistic democracy, beacon to the world, into a white Christian nationalist autocracy, replacing competence with sycophantic loyalty. He says it’s not his 920-page roadmap — he doesn’t even know Kevin Roberts, the guy behind it. But it so is — and he so does! Trump Busted Cozying Up to Extremist Leader He Claims to Not Know “Project 2025 architect Kevin Roberts compared abortion access to slave auctions, lynchings, and the Holocaust,” reports Media Matters. And guess who wrote the foreword to Kevin Roberts’ forthcoming book? I’ll give you a hint: JD Vance. Vance, of course, is well known for having called Trump “America’s Hitler.” But lately I’ve been wondering whether he meant that (or Trump took it) as a compliment. After all, Hitler “did a lot of good things.” Not like the “vermin” Trump promises to “root out” once he and JD take office. (As noted Wednesday, Vance Just Blurbed a Book Arguing That Progressives Are Subhuman.) AND NOW — THE PRESS CONFERENCE I didn’t watch it, but the Harris campaign did — and have some quibbles: But first, an important reminder on the question Donald didn’t answer: how he will vote on the Florida abortion referendum. (He has been ducking this question since April.) We worked to pin down reality so Donald Trump, bless his heart, doesn’t have to. Here are the facts: We had 12,000 and 15,000 people in Wisconsin and Michigan yesterday, respectively (Not 2,000.) The ABC debate is September 10th. Not the 25th. People have spoken to bigger crowds than Donald Trump. (Obama, Clinton, literally anyone at Lollapalooza, Coachella, the World Cup…) January 6th was decidedly nothing like MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech. And Trump did not get a bigger crowd than Martin Luther King Jr. on that historic day. There was famously not a “peaceful transfer” of power after the 2020 election, which Donald Trump fought to overturn. Five police officers died because of January 6th. Donald Trump said he was off the trail this week because of the Democratic convention. (That convention is not happening this week.) Trump said they have commercials at a level no one else does. (He is being drastically outspent on the airwaves.) Governor Josh Shapiro is actually a great guy. Project 2025 author Tom Homan, the “father” of Trump’s cruel child separation policy, is not a person to praise. Jewish people should not “have their head examined” for not supporting him. (That’s actually antisemitic.) Trump said he was not complaining. He in fact very much was. Trump does not know the difference between asylum seekers and an insane asylum. Donald Trump does not “cherish” the Constitution. Abortion is not “less of an issue” for voters. It is not “subdued.” It is not a “small issue” for voters, despite how much Donald Trump wants it to be. Donald Trump did not answer the abortion question “very well in the debate.” Everybody did not want Roe v. Wade overturned. The American people do not support states banning abortion. After-birth abortion does not exist. Minnesota and Virginia are not the same. Donald Trump doesn’t know what progressive means. Kamala Harris does not want to take away everyone’s guns. Tim Walz is a gun owner. Vice President Harris does not support an arms embargo on Israel. Donald Trump could not remember Tim Walz’s name. Donald Trump’s tax cuts are not the biggest in history. We don’t know what “the transgender became such a big thing” is supposed to mean. Donald Trump will cut Social Security – just like he proposed every year he was in office. Government was not weaponized against Trump and Steve Bannon. Mail ballots are secure. We agree – Elon IS a different kind of guy. There are no polls that say Donald Trump is going to win in a landslide. The MAGA base is not 75% of the country ### Paid for by Harris for President Have a great weekend. The money and support keep pouring in.