Principals

1. Unity night at the RNC
2. Trump-Vance divide on taxes
3. Dems break over Biden
4. Iran threatens Trump
5. Menendez guilty
6. Trump ally on Europe fears
7. Biden’s rent cap pitch thuds

PDB: Trump said he would let Powell finish his term, consider Dimon for Treasury post

EU court rejects TikTok challenge to tech crackdown… Reuters: TSMC stock slides after Trump suggests Taiwan pay for defense … NYT: Will Biden reap benefits from declining border numbers?

Haley, DeSantis back Trump from convention floor

“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period,” NIkki Haley said in her primetime convention speech. Haley, who had previously called Trump “unhinged” and in mental decline, asked voters who also don’t “100%” agree with the former president to support him based on his national security record. She speaks from experience: By our count, it’s the fifth time she’s flipped back and forth on Trump since 2016. Ron DeSantis, another bitterly defeated primary rival, focused his remarks on Biden and the left: “America cannot afford four more years of a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ presidency,” he said. Marco Rubio took a more sensitive approach, paying tribute to Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old father killed at Saturday’s rally, and asking non-Trump voters to reconsider if they’d misjudged red-hatted neighbors like him. “There is absolutely nothing dangerous, or anything divisive about putting Americans first,” he said.

The theme of the night was “Make America Safe Again.” In an especially dark speech, Ted Cruz listed individual Americans killed by illegal immigrants, leading the crowd in a chant that similar things occur “every damn day”; he and several speakers falsely suggested they were also allowed to vote.The Biden campaign gently reminded viewers the “law and order” night was in service of electing a felon. Trump wasn’t the only one whose charges came up: Reality star Savannah Chrisley delivered a speech attacking prosecutors for convicting her parents on fraud and tax charges.

Trump and Vance diverge on corporate tax rate

Donald Trump and his running mate don’t exactly agree on one major economic policy proposal: Trump said he’d support cutting the corporate tax rate to 15% from its current level of 21% in a Bloomberg Businessweek interview, a move which Sen. JD Vance voiced opposition to roughly two months ago. That gap “reflects the difficulties in reconciling their ideologies, giving corporate America a bit of whiplash,” Semafor’s Joseph Zeballos-Roig writes. “We’re sort of in line with the OECD right now,” Vance told Semafor in early May, referring to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. “I don’t think we need to be cutting the corporate tax rate further.”

Dems rush to confirm Biden in ‘virtual vote’

The Democratic Party remains at war with itself over Joe Biden’s candidacy. Democrats are forging ahead with plans to vote on Biden as their nominee weeks before their convention, citing concerns over an Ohio ballot issue despite it already being resolved by the Republican-led state legislature, Semafor’s David Weigel reports. “Having the early roll call ensures that Republicans won’t gather and pull off some new dirty trick,” Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said. Meanwhile, House Democrats are circulating a letter that argues there is “no legal justification” for the early roll call vote on the nomination and dozens may sign onto it. A spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose told Semafor “the issue is resolved in Ohio, and Democratic proxies know that and should stop trying to scapegoat Ohio for their own party dysfunction.”

Trump’s protection was increased due to Iran threat

US officials obtained intelligence recently about an Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump, leading them to increase his Secret Service protection. There isn’t any evidence the alleged plot, CNN reported, is tied at all to the shooting at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally over the weekend, but it raises more questions about security lapses that occurred there given the heightened alert. A US official told NBC the Trump campaign was alerted to the threat, which follows a pattern of efforts by Iran to target former officials. Meanwhile, the Secret Service and local Pennsylvania law enforcement can’t even agree on which building officers were stationed in when the gunman opened fire on the Trump rally crowd on Saturday, but it’s clear they were at least inside a building in the same complex as the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Menendez faces calls to resign after conviction

Bob Menendez is under pressure from Senate leadership to resign after being found guilty on all counts in his federal corruption trial. “In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and a few other Democratic senators voiced support for expelling Menendez if he does not voluntarily resign. Menendez, who will be sentenced on Oct. 29 just before the election, indicated he would appeal the verdict. “I have never, ever been a foreign agent,” he said. Menendez filed to run for reelection as an independent, facing Democrat Andy Kim.

Trump ally talks Europe approach

A leading conservative foreign policy thinker characterized the Trump-Vance agenda as an “opportunity” for Europe to become less reliant on the US for security as Donald Trump pushes for higher defense spending. “I hear a real opportunity for Europe, actually, which is a move away from this kind of dependency model of alliances where it’s always ‘what will Washington do,’” Elbridge Colby, whose name has been floated for national security in a second Trump term, said at a China-focused event hosted by the EU in Milwaukee. EU Ambassador to the US Jovita Neliupšienė appeared to warn against future Trump tariffs, arguing placing “barriers” on trade between the US and EU would hurt Washington’s efforts to untangle its economy from China’s. Among those attending: Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US Alexander Tah-ray Yui, who told Semafor he thought the recent assassination attempt against Trump was a moment for unity in the US.

— Morgan Chalfant

Biden’s rent cap is a half-hearted populist gesture

The White House’s recent effort to curtail rent costs was met with a collective groan from mainstream economists, Semafor’s Jordan Weissmann reports. The proposal — which would require congressional approval — would temporarily block big landlords from claiming lucrative tax deductions if they raise rents by more than 5% annually. “Rent control has been about as disgraced as any economic policy in the tool kit,” Jason Furman told The Washington Post. It was met with mixed reactions from housing advocates too, with one telling Semafor “It’s great that he’s calling for it, but he should back that up by taking action where he can.” Biden is essentially taking a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook “by pitching a catchy, populist policy proposal that will make people who read white papers for kicks tear their hair out,” Jordan argues.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Republicans are starting to turn their attention to House seats that President Biden won by sizable margins in 2020 due to the intraparty squabbling among the Democrats following Biden’s poor debate performance. “If it’s a D+3, we already got you,” NRCC Chair Richard Hudson said. “We’re looking at D+11 and plus. … We’ve seen numbers all cycle that show we can win [in] a number of places like that.”

Playbook: Democrats are circulating a new poll from BlueLabs Analytics showing alternatives to Biden are running an average three points ahead of him in battleground states. The strongest hypothetical candidates are Sen. Mark Kelly, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, all of whom ran ahead of Biden by about 5 points in battlegrounds.

WaPo: Republicans are feeling more confident about keeping the House majority after Biden’s debate performance and the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. “I think there’s obviously going to be a big down-ballot effect,” Speaker Mike Johnson said. “The chasm of enthusiasm is so wide between those two sides now, especially after a failed assassination attempt. I mean, Trump is legendary figure status now, and it has a very emotional effect for the electorate. I think we’re going to see that.”

Axios: Donald Trump Jr. said he wants “veto power” over presidential transition hiring if his father wins the November election.

White House

• President Biden will sit for a radio interview with Univision before speaking at the UnidosUS Annual Conference and holding another campaign event in Las Vegas.
• Biden is considering proposals to significantly alter the Supreme Court, which include term limits and an enforceable code of ethics for the justices. — WaPo
• The Biden administration announced $5 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law will go toward repairing or replacing large bridges across 13 states, in timing with another round of the administration’s “Investing in America” tour.
• The White House is considering tougher trade restrictions on semiconductor companies if they continue to give China access to advanced chip technology. — Bloomberg
• The Biden administration has declined to provide Secret Service protection to former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien for nearly a year, despite pressure from lawmakers who claim there are continuing threats against his life. — WSJ

Congress

• House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green requested public testimony before his panel next week from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
• House Republicans are threatening to subpoena the Pentagon for information related to deadly Osprey crashes. — NBC
• Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told donors in a meeting over the weekend that Democrats would probably face huge losses if President Biden remains on the ticket. “I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” he said during the private event. “And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.” — NYT

Outside the Beltway

A man wielding two knives outside the perimeter of the convention in Milwaukee was shot and killed by police.

Economy

• Donald Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek he would, if reelected, let Fed Chair Jerome Powell finish out his full term, and that he would consider JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon as a possible candidate for Treasury secretary.
• Retail sales, excluding autos, rose in June at the fastest clip in three months.

Courts

The Georgia Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in December on the appeal to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting Donald Trump and others over election interference charges.

On the Trail

• Vice President Harris is headed to Kalamazoo, Mich. today for a campaign event with former Trump administration official turned critic Olivia Troye.
• The Democratic National Committee said it will dole out $15 million into its state parties in seven battleground states.
• Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance will hold their first rally (indoors) together in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Saturday.
• Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apologized over a leaked video of a Sunday phone call with Trump, the day after the assassination attempt on him, in which the former president questioned the safety of childhood vaccines.
• At the Republican National Convention, cowboy hats are everywhere.
• Venture capital heavyweights Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz plan to donate to a pro-Trump PAC. — The Information
• Trump met with former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

National Security

The assassination attempt on Trump may help the FBI repair its damaged relationship with the Republican establishment. — Politico

Foreign Policy

• Jeff Flake, the former Republican senator from Arizona, has informed the White House he will leave his post as the US ambassador to Turkey in September. — Axios
• French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has resigned but will remain as a caretaker until a new cabinet is formed following recent legislative elections in which no bloc won a majority.
• The secret trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is set to resume today in Russia, nearly a month earlier than scheduled after a request from his attorneys.
• We gathered global reactions to JD Vance as the Republican vice presidential nominee.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s years of trying to mend his relationship with Donald Trump appear to have progressed after the attempt on the former president’s life. — Axios

Technology

• Big Silicon Valley investors praised Donald Trump’s pick of former venture capitalist and Sen. JD Vance as his running mate, which is seen as likely to put the tech industry closer in the focus in Washington, DC if the former president retakes the White House.
• Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek he is “for TikTok because you need competition” as the company fights a law that would require ByteDance to divest the company or face a ban in the US.
• Elon Musk said SpaceX and X will move their headquarters to Texas from California, blaming the state’s new law that bars school districts from requiring parental notification of a child’s gender identification change.
• The Biden administration announced it will give GlobalWafers $400 million in chips grants to expand semiconductor production in Texas and Missouri.

Media

• “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough blasted MSNBC for pulling his show off the air Monday to broadcast news coverage of the attempt on Donald Trump’s life and threatened to quit if it occurs again.
• The family behind home builder PulteGroup said it has acquired an activist stake in BuzzFeed and is backing changes suggested by Vivek Ramaswamy after he bought positions in the digital media company in recent months.

Big Read

The Republican National Committee co-chair post is well-suited for a nepotism hire since it has no real responsibilities and authority. Lara Trump “is what party officials dream of when they think of this role,” former Donald Trump White House press secretary told the Washington Post. Lara Trump headlines at state conventions, is the face of the “Protect the Vote” party effort to recruit volunteers to monitor the elections, and defends her father-in-law on TV. She “articulates the message of the campaign — and the message of the party — in a very clear, concise and easily understood manner,” Trump campaign adviser and RNC chief of staff Chris LaCivita said. Lara, when asked what she provides besides her last name, points to the $280 million the RNC has raised since she joined in March and the party’s focus on election integrity.

Blindspot

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: Cori Bush, D-Mo., is trailing her Democratic challenger by 23 points ahead of next month’s primary, according to a new poll.

What the Right isn’t reading: Newark, N.J., City Council president LaMonica McIver has won the election to replace the late former Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant

Reporters: Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Cory Mills is a Republican congressman from Florida.

• ‘CEOs are shocked’ that JD Vance is Trump’s running mate.
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• Italy reconsiders nuclear energy 35 years after shutting down last reactor.