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      Biden at the Democratic convention was unrecognisable from his disastrous debate

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      Joe Biden took the stage and held his daughter, Ashley, in a long embrace, whispered some tender words and wiped tears from his eyes. She smiled and kissed the hand of her ageing dad. The pair seemed to be at the quiet centre of a storm.Around them more than 20,000 stood, applauded, roared and chanted, “We love Joe.” They held tall narrow signs that said, “We ♥️ Joe”. The US president walked to the lectern, smiling, pointing, looked pensive, smiled again and dabbed his nose with a handkerchief.“I love you!” he shouted back, knowing there won’t be another night like this. “That was my daughter!” The adulatory cheering continued for all of four and a half minutes. It was the culmination of a night that for Biden must have felt either like receiving an honorary Oscar or giving the oration at his own funeral.Among those holding a sign and chanting “Thank you, Joe” was Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives. Call her Pelosi the Pitiless. She was among the party leaders who decided to override the primary election and tell the 81-year-old president that his time is up.Asked by the New Yorker magazine if her long friendship with Biden can survive, Pelosi replied: “I hope so. I pray so. I cry so… I lose sleep on it, yeah.”That intervention changed everything at this Democratic national convention in Chicago. Biden had expected to give the closing speech after accepting the presidential nomination on Thursday night.Instead he was the opening act on Monday. His old foe Donald Trump observed on social media: “They are throwing him out on the Monday Night Stage, known as Death Valley.” Worse still, Biden did not appear until 10.26pm Chicago time – which was 11.26pm in New York and Washington.Yet again Democrats had decided that he was not fit for prime time.All of it shows the mercilessness of politics and, as anyone with an ageing relative understands, the mercilessness of time. How quickly the golden boy becomes yesterday’s man.There may be a kernel of Biden seething with a lifetime’s resentments. The needless plagiarism row that scuppered his first run for president in 1988. The failure to get off the ground in 2008. The way that Barack Obama gave Hillary Clinton the nod instead of him in 2016.He overcame it all to reach the summit in 2020, proving be the man for the moment of the bleak pandemic winter. Yes, his victory said, unglamorous strivers can be president too. Biden will forever be in the school textbooks as 46.But as a one-term president rather than two. He didn’t quite have the last laugh as Obama, Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries concluded that he had to hand back the crown. Somehow the old truism reared its head again: all political careers end in failure.“I’ve got five months left in my presidency,” he told his 13th Democratic convention. “I’ve got a lot to do. I intend to get it done. It’s been the honour of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more.”The relief in Chicago has been palpable, as the ecstatic reaction to a surprise appearance by Kamala Harris on Monday night made clear. Democratic aides say it is the same plane with a different pilot but anyone in Biden’s shoes would surely be hurt by their eagerness to move on. The crowd was far warmer to him as an outgoing president than it would have been if he were still their last hope of defeating Trump.The irony of it all was that, despite the late hour, Biden came out with all guns blazing. Standing at the lectern, surrounded by white stars that resembled a Star Trek teleport pad, he was a man unburdened, liberated, unrecognisable from the doddering June debate. Biden 2028!He spoke for nearly 50 minutes, his voice strong and clear. He said pro-Palestinian protesters outside “have a point”. He articulated a vision for America in the world. And he issued a clarion call: “Democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered. And now democracy must be preserved.”He also hammered Trump with relish. “You cannot say you love your country only when you win.” And: “Donald Trump promised infrastructure week every week for four years and he never built a damn thing.”Trump regularly speaks to blood, as in “bloodbath” or “poisoning the blood” of the nation. For Biden, it’s all about soul.Recalling the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, he said: “I could not stay on the sidelines so I ran. I had no intention of running again. I had just lost part of my soul,” – a reference to the death of his son, Beau.Wistfully reflecting on the long journey here, he told delegates: “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career but I gave my best to you for 50 years. Like many of you, I gave my heart and soul to our nation.”Earlier, Jill Biden, the first lady who has been married to Biden for nearly half a century, recounted the moment that she saw him “dig deep into his soul and decide to no longer seek reelection – and endorse Kamala Harris”.No wonder Biden has a love of Irish poetry, unrivaled in its soulfulness. Of course WB Yeats’s lines, “When you are old and grey and full of sleep/ and nodding by the fire,” seems all too applicable these days. But you can also imagine him telling Jill: “One man loved the pilgrim soul in you/ And loved the sorrows of your changing face.”Democratic convention highlights:

      What is the DNC?

      Joe Biden speaks at DNC night one following surprise appearance by Kamala Harris

      Pro-Palestinian protesters march before DNC

      Here are the rising stars and politicians to watch this week

      What to know about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz More

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      Biden says he gave ‘heart and soul to our nation’ as he passes torch – as it happened

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      Joe Biden passed the torch to Kamala Harris as the Democratic national convention ended the first of its four nights in Chicago.Here’s a look back at what happened this evening:

      Biden told the convention that “democracy has prevailed” and recounted his accomplishments, while also saying that Harris and Tim Walz would carry on his work.

      As he closed his speech, Biden said he had dedicated himself to serving the US, and had never felt more optimistic about the country’s future. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you for 50 years. Like many of you, I gave my heart and soul to our nation.”

      Harris briefly spoke from the convention stage, telling attendees it was “going to be a great week” and thanking Biden for his leadership.

      Hillary Clinton gave Harris her endorsement, saying the vice-president “has the character, experience, and vision to lead us forward”.

      Pro-Palestine demonstrations brought thousands to the streets outside the United Center, where the convention was being held. Part of the protest grew violent, with demonstrators breaking through the outer security fencing, but not getting near the convention, Chicago police said. At least two arrests were made.

      Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who is Harris’s running mate, appeared in the convention hall, but did not give a speech.

      The president said pro-Palestinian protesters “had a point”, while reaffirming his support for a ceasefire in Gaza. Some demonstrators interrupted his speech, though it was not clear that he noticed.

      Residents of red states told of the damage done by Republican-supported restrictions on abortion, which is a key campaign issue for Democrats.
      With that important DNC fashion news, this blog is closing. You can read our full story on Biden’s speech at the link below:It is a truth universally acknowledged that a prominent female politician in possession of a wardrobe will have her outfits divined for clues about who she is and what she thinks. Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, is no exception.But the dissection of Harris’s choice of outfit took on a different tone after her surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Monday evening, with some asking simply: is she trolling us?Harris wore a suit that could be described as tan: a colour that Barack Obama famously favoured during his two terms in office. It was an outfit choice that drove Republicans and right-wing pundits mad. Most famously when Fox News host Lou Dobbs declared that it was “shocking to a lot of people” that Obama wore a tan suit in 2014 to discuss escalating the US response to Islamic State in Syria.The Harris-Walz ticket is not immune to poking fun at their Republican rivals. Their debut collection of merchandise included an accessory to rival the Maga hat: a Harris Walz hunting cap that raised a million dollars for the campaign within hours of its release.And Harris has form when it comes to including references in her clothing and image: for her cover of Vogue, she appeared in front of colours that represent her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and wearing their signature string of pearls. She was also once known for wearing Converse All Stars.Though the Republicans had, hours after Harris’s appearance, resisted taking the alleged tan suit bait, they have not been above sartorial slights. At the RNC, Republican party co-chair Lara Trump compared Harris to an $1,800 faux trash bag sold by Balenciaga.Here is our full story on Biden’s speech, from Joan E Greve:Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance at the convention on Monday night to thank Joe Biden for his service: “Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do, we are forever grateful to you. Thank you, Joe!”Harris, who is due to give her formal speech at the end of the week, electrified the crowd when she entered the stage, with Beyoncé’s Freedom playing in the background. “Looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation. People from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here united by our shared vision for the future of our country,” the vice-president said.Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Democratic National Convention, calling for a ceasefire and arms embargo on Israel. Dozens of protesters appeared to break through one security fence near the convention site and several demonstrators were handcuffed and detained. During Biden’s speech, demonstrators unfurled a “Stop Arming Israel” banner, but the speech continued uninterrupted. There was limited talk of Gaza on the convention floor, though Biden reiterated his efforts to secure a ceasefire and said, “Those protesters out in the street, they have a point – a lot of innocent people are being killed, on both sides.”The Democratic party’s official platform released before the convention did not include an arms embargo, a key demand by uncommitted delegates.Biden took questions when he arrived at O’Hare. From the pool report (and for those following, on him and Pelosi):
      Ask if he’s mad at Pelosi or at spoken to her: ‘I haven’t spoken to Nancy. No one made the decision but me.’
      Asked about tearing up: ‘The reception was pretty overwhelming.’
      Ask about his comment earlier questioning Trump’s stability: ‘I think he has a problem.’
      On the cease-fire: ‘It’s still in play.’
      The highlight of the night: ‘My daughter’s introduction.’
      Speakers from red states gave personal accounts of the impacts of abortion bans. Hadley Duvall, from Kentucky, described how she was raped by her stepfather and became pregnant at age 12: “I can’t imagine not having a choice. But today, that’s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump’s abortion bans.” She noted Trump’s previous remarks calling abortion bans a “beautiful thing”: “What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent’s child?”Speakers also repeatedly tied the Trump and the Republican agenda to Project 2025, the roadmap for a second Trump administration crafted by former Trump officials. Mallory McMorrow, a state senator from Michigan, held a copy of the Project 2025 document and assailed the plan to “turn Donald Trump into a dictator”. Congressman Jim Clyburn called Project 2025 “Jim Crow 2.0”. Biden noted that the project calls for the dismantling of the US department of education.Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and 2016 presidential candidate, also gave an impassioned speech, outlining the historic nature of Harris’s nomination: “I see the freedom to look our children in the eye and say, ‘In America, you can go as far as your hard work and talent will take you,’ and mean it. And you know what? On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris, raising her hand and taking the oath of office as our 47th president … Because when a barrier falls for one of us, it falls and clears the way for all of us.”Clinton drew a sharp contrast between Harris, a former prosecutor, and Trump who “fell asleep at his own trial, and when he woke up, he made his own kind of history … the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions”. The remark sparked “lock him up” chants, a throwback to the “lock her up” chants Clinton faced in 2016 at Trump rallies.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave one of the most energetic speeches of the night, talking about her roots as a bartender and saying: “America has before us a rare and precious opportunity in Kamala Harris. We have a chance to elect a president who is for the middle class, because she is from the middle class. She understands the urgency of rent checks and groceries and prescriptions. She is as committed to our reproductive and civil rights as she is to taking on corporate greed.”The progressive congresswoman and “Squad” member also earned loud applause for saying that Harris was “working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bringing hostages home”.As the president took the stage at around 10:30pm CT, the crowd broke out into enthusiastic “Thank you, Joe” and “We love Joe” chants, with drawn-out cheers that repeatedly prevented him from continuing his remarks. Biden revisited some of the darkest chapters of the Trump administration, including the January 6 insurrection, and attacked Trump’s vision of America, saying, “He says we’re losing. He’s the loser.” He earned loud applause for his praise of Kamala Harris, saying selecting her as vice-president was the “best decision I made my whole career”, and, “Crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the office instead of a convicted felon.”Speakers throughout the night heaped praise on Biden. Dr Jill Biden, the first lady, praised her husband for withdrawing from the race, saying she watched him “dig deep into his soul” as he weighed the decision. The president said of his decision: “I love the job, but I love my country more.” Toward the end of his speech, he said, “America, I gave my best to you.”Pelosi has just tweeted a picture of herself holding a We heart Joe sign. As I pointed out a short while ago, Pelosi has given some harsh criticism of Biden’s skills as a politician recently, but also said she hoped that their friendship could survive the role she played in ending his presidency.Pelosi recently said she had “never been that impressed” with Joe Biden’s “political operation” discussing a judgment that helped her conclude the president could not beat Donald Trump and should step aside.Speaking to the New Yorker, she said she hoped her role in ending Biden’s presidency would not destroy her relationship with Biden.“I hope so,” she said. “I pray so. I cry so.” More

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      The Guardian view on the Democratic convention: Kamala Harris must be the candidate of change as well as continuity | Editorial

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      A month ago, Joe Biden and his aides were beginning to draft a closing speech with which, on Thursday, he would top off this week’s Democratic convention in Chicago. The speech would seal Mr Biden’s bid for a second White House term and send his party out to do battle with Donald Trump in November. Instead, on Monday, Mr Biden did not deliver the convention’s closing address. He delivered his own.Mr Biden’s convention speech is one of his last big moments in the political spotlight, and the start of his withdrawal from the US political field after half a century. From today, the Democratic party belongs to Kamala Harris. It is she who matters now. For the next few days, Mr Biden will not be in Chicago or on the campaign trail, but on holiday.If Mr Biden had not withdrawn from the race, as he did last month, Democrats would undoubtedly have greeted him in Chicago with enthusiasm. But the misgivings about his age, his grasp and his ability to serve four years would never have been far away, not least in the media coverage. Nor would the growing and gut-wrenching expectation of defeat in November’s general election, a defeat that could change the United States – and the world – for ever, in irreparable ways.By stepping down, Mr Biden has turned that situation around, at least for now. Ms Harris has moved smoothly into the campaign driving seat. The party has quickly united behind her and Governor Tim Walz. They have been rewarded with a huge influx of cash and a Democratic poll uptick, both nationally and in swing states. Down-ballot Democrats are relieved too. Mr Trump still seems nonplussed. Expectations of a Democratic defeat have been replaced by expectations of a competitive contest that is winnable once again.All of this will have assured Mr Biden of a hero’s welcome in the appropriately named United Center on Monday night. The cheering comes from the party’s heart, and it is overwhelmingly deserved, the more so because it involved Mr Biden doing something he manifestly did not want to do. But he did the right thing. He deserves the plaudits.It will, however, be Ms Harris, more than Mr Biden, who defines the convention. Both have rightly made Mr Trump’s unquestionable threat to democracy and liberty the centre of their pitches. But the other key question for the week is how well Ms Harris positions herself as the candidate of change as well as continuity.Mr Biden, showcasing his achievements as he passes the baton to Ms Harris, implicitly casts her as the latter. Her own task, while embracing the Biden administration’s record, is to turn the page and become the former. The argument about Gaza, which is dominating Chicago streets as the convention starts, is the most emotive issue where this matters, but it is not the only one. A truncated campaign means Ms Harris arrived in Chicago with enthusiastic backing, but still without a domestic policy manifesto on her campaign website.Mr Biden has been a pivotal figure in the divisive 21st-century politics that emerged out of the Reagan era, 9/11, the banking crash, the rise of China and Black Lives Matter. He is also the man who saved his country once, by standing against Mr Trump in 2020, and may perhaps have done it again, by not standing against him four years later. As he leaves the stage, the US – and the world – should salute him. Ms Harris, however, must use this week to speak to America’s future too. More

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      Biden lands in Chicago ahead of Democratic convention speech as thousands protest Gaza war near venue – live

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      Joe Biden has arrived in Chicago, where he is scheduled to this evening address the Democratic national convention.After arriving on Air Force One at O’Hare international airport, the president flew on the Marine One helicopter to Soldier Field, just south of downtown:Biden’s speech this evening will be one of the last major appearances in his more than half-century career in politics, after he last month opted to end his bid for a second term and allowed Kamala Harris to take his place atop the Democratic ticket.In addition to Biden, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are also scheduled to address the convention in the coming days.The protest march against the Democratic national convention has alighted at a city park within sight of the United Center in Chicago.“What does Harris stand for? Genocide and war. We know what that meeting’s for. Genocide and war”, protesters chanted, facing the convention center. “If we don’t get no justice, then they don’t get no peace.”Speaking to the Guardian after the podcast recording, congresswoman Becca Balint of Vermont said her young constituents are fired up and ready to work to elect Kamala Harris in November.“The people that you should be centering in the work that you do back home are those folks who are going to be the future leaders in those communities and those organizations,” Balint said.Asked whether she thought Harris had done an effective job so far in centering young voices, Balint said that she has been very impressed by the vice-president’s campaign.“It’s remarkable when you think about what they’ve done in just a few weeks time,” Balint said. “I think that they understand that it is about the future.”Three House Democrats – Becca Balint of Vermont, Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Maxwell Frost of Florida – sat down with podcast host Molly Jong-Fast and Skye Perryman, president of the group Democracy Forward, for an interview in Chicago this afternoon.Asked about Project 2025, Crockett said there is “no daylight” between the rightwing manifesto and Donald Trump’s agenda, even though the former president has tried to distance himself from the effort.“I’m not saying that just because I’m a proud Democrat,” Crockett said. “I’m saying that because over 30 people that either worked in his administration or worked on his campaign are the authors of this.”Frost added that young people are fired up about Harris’s campaign in part because they are scared about the policy proposals promoted in Project 2025.Discussing the newfound enthusiasm around Harris’s candidacy, Frost noted that the ranks of new campaign volunteers are “very diverse”.“That shows that our movement and the vice-president and what she’s doing has gotten to the culture,” Frost said. “And that’s when you have truly untapped movement potential.”Joe and Jill Biden came onto the stage at the United Center, where the Democratic convention is taking place, for a quick sound check ahead of their speech at the convention tonight.Reporters in the room shouted questions at the president, including whether he was ready to pass the torch. Biden replied: “I am.”Asked about what his speech’s message would be, Biden said: “You’ll hear tonight.”Joe Biden has arrived in Chicago, where he is scheduled to this evening address the Democratic national convention.After arriving on Air Force One at O’Hare international airport, the president flew on the Marine One helicopter to Soldier Field, just south of downtown:Biden’s speech this evening will be one of the last major appearances in his more than half-century career in politics, after he last month opted to end his bid for a second term and allowed Kamala Harris to take his place atop the Democratic ticket.In addition to Biden, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are also scheduled to address the convention in the coming days.Thousands of people gathered this afternoon in a Chicago park not far from the venue of the Democratic national convention to protest the party’s stance on Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the Guardian’s George Chidi and Andrew Roth report.The demonstration was one of several expected during the convention over Joe Biden’s policy of supplying Israel with weapons used in the incursion, while pushing for it to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas. Among the protesters was independent presidential candidate Cornel West, as well as people with family members in Gaza.Here’s more:
      About half a mile east of the Democratic national convention in Chicago, Union Park filled at noon Monday with demonstrators intent on sending a message to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, delegates and the world: that the war in Gaza should not be an afterthought.
      Organizers for the Coalition to March on the 2024 Democratic convention drew 172 local and national organizations together for the protest. Thousands of people gathered for the march, one of the main anti-war demonstrations this week.
      “This is not about some Machiavellian politics,” said social critic and independent presidential candidate Cornel West at the onset. “This is about morality. This is about spirituality.”
      Mo Hussief, a Chicago accountant, joined the rally.
      “My family is in Gaza,” Hussief said. “I’ve had over 100 family members murdered over the last 10 months by the genocide. So, I’m here to protest as an American, to say I don’t want my tax dollars to be used to murder my own family.”
      Hussief is a Democratic voter. Or, he had been, he said. He supports labor rights and wants public healthcare support, key Democratic policy goals. But none of that brings back dead cousins in Jabalia, he said. The death toll in Gaza hit at least 40,000 last week.
      Hussief said it is impossible for him to cast a ballot for the vice-president as long as she supports arming Israel.
      “I want the Democrats to basically do a weapons embargo for Israel,” he said. “If there is a weapons embargo on Israel, I will 100% vote for Harris. I love Tim Walz. The Democratic party does align on domestic issues. But for me, they have to end the genocide.”
      Read the full story here:Singer-songwriter James Taylor will perform at the Democratic national convention, and was spotted by photographers rehearsing in the hall:In addition to Taylor, the Hollywood Reporter says that Americana star Jason Isbell and country artist Mickey Guyton will also perform at the convention.George Santos, the former Republican congressman from New York, pleaded guilty on Monday to criminal corruption charges.Santos pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a minimum two-year prison sentence.Joe Biden was “continuing to fine-tune” his speech tonight at the Democratic national convention, the White House said.The president was in a “great mood” and in “great spirits”, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters as Air Force One landed in Chicago’s O’Hare airport this afternoon.Biden plans to “spend time, continuing to prep for his big night”, she said.Donald Trump has been speaking at a factory plant in York, Pennsylvania, his second campaign stop in the battleground state in less than two days.Addressing workers, Trump said America’s future would be “built right here in Pennsylvania, and it will be built by American workers like you” if he is re-elected to the White House.Kamala Harris is calling for raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, according to her campaign.In a statement shared by NBC News, Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer said the Democratic presidential candidate would push for a 28% corporate tax rate, calling it “a fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share”. The statement added:
      As President, Kamala Harris will focus on creating an opportunity economy for the middle class that advances their economic security, stability, and dignity.
      Cornel West, the independent presidential candidate, has made a surprise appearance at the protest at Chicago’s Union Park, Semafor’s David Weigel reports:Organizers of the Coalition to March on the DNC had predicted a crowd of tens of thousands as recently as Monday morning, but the Washington Post reports that fewer than 2,000 protesters filled a portion of Chicago’s Union Park by this afternoon.Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, will deliver a speech at the Democratic national convention on Tuesday night.Sanders will speak “to the popularity of a progressive economic agenda that delivers for the working class of America”, a statement from his office said.
      The address will also highlight the critical importance of getting big money out of the political process, and ending the greed of the billionaire class.
      Sanders is scheduled to speak at 8.30pm CT.Congressional Republicans have accused Joe Biden of “egregious” conduct for which he should be impeached – despite providing no evidence that the president committed a crime – in a 291-page report whose impact has been significantly blunted by his withdrawal from the presidential race.In what was supposed to be a central theme of the GOP’s drive to derail Biden’s re-election effort, the report alleges that he was the architect and beneficiary of a lucrative influence-peddling scheme fronted by his son, Hunter Biden, and brother, James Biden.The culmination of a months-long impeachment inquiry conducted by three Republican-led House of Representatives committees – the oversight, judiciary and ways and means panels – the report was timed to coincide with the opening of the Democratic national convention in Chicago, but it is now Kamala Harris, the vice-president, at the top of the ticket, not Biden.“Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that President Biden participated in a conspiracy to monetise his office of public trust to enrich his family,” the report states.
      President Biden’s participation in this conspiracy to enrich his family constitutes impeachable conduct.
      It added:
      The totality of the corrupt conduct uncovered by the Committees is egregious. President Joe Biden conspired to commit influence peddling and grift. In doing so, he abused his office and, by repeatedly lying about his abuse of office, has defrauded the United States to enrich his family.
      However, the report failed to provide evidence that Biden committed a crime and appeared to fall short of the constitutional definition of “high crimes and misdemeanours” required to impeach a sitting president.My colleague Rachel Leingang has been eyeing the merchandise section of the Democratic national convention in Chicago: More

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      ‘I’m better looking than Kamala’: why Donald Trump is so rattled by his rival’s Time magazine cover

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      Name: Time Magazine’s Kamala Harris cover.Age: Published last week.Appearance: Well, that’s the question.Hang on, what’s the question? Does the magazine’s illustrated portrait of Kamala Harris make her look like “the most beautiful actress ever to live”?Eh? Who’s that? Unclear, but it might be Sophia Loren, or possibly Elizabeth Taylor.I’ve looked at the picture, and no, she doesn’t look like either of them. She looks perfectly nice, but definitely like Kamala Harris. Why? Because that’s what Donald Trump said about the illustration; that it makes Harris look like Loren or Taylor. He has also said the sketch resembles “our great first lady Melania”.Only in the sense that it represents a human woman. What on earth is going on? Trump appears to be in a huff because he thinks the picture is too flattering. It’s got so severely under his skin he’s mentioned it four times so far since it was published.Delicious. Tell me more. He made the Melania claim in his Elon Musk interview last Monday (wrapping up, weirdly, with “She’s a beautiful woman, so we’ll leave it at that”). Then, at a rally on Wednesday, he said he wanted to use the cover artist himself, because he liked the artist “very much”. On Thursday, at a press conference, he called the decision to use an illustration “crazy”. Finally, on Saturday, he came out with the Sophia Loren thing at another rally.Oof. It actually got worse after the Loren bit: “I say that I’m much better looking than her. Much better. Much better. I’m a better-looking person than Kamala,” he added.The repetition definitely makes it more convincing. The thing is, Trump is famously obsessed with Time covers. He has claimed – wrongly – to be the most frequent cover star (that was Richard Nixon). He also hung fake Time covers featuring pictures of him in his golf clubs. So this is hitting him squarely where it hurts: in the Time-related vanity.The rightwing media has grumbled about overly complimentary coverage of Harris recently. Is it remotely possible Trump has a point about this picture? No. It actually seems to be based very closely on a recent photo. New York Magazine did some detective work and the “photo-illustration by Neil Jamieson” credit indicates it was drawn quite precisely from a 22 July photograph by Andrew Harnik for Getty Images.I’ve just looked again and the text under the illustration reads: “Her moment”. Is Trump’s ranting really insecurity about Harris smashing fundraising records, seducing the TikTok generation and drawing ahead on national polling? No. It’s definitely about her looking prettier than him in his favourite publication.Do say: “She’s a beautiful woman so we’ll leave it at that.”Don’t say: “Time cover is brat.” More

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      Lindsey Graham warns Trump ‘the provocateur’ in danger of losing election

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      The Republican senator and Donald Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham has warned that Trump is in danger of losing the US presidential election if he continues to talk about Kamala Harris’s race and make other personal attacks instead of focusing on policy issues.Graham’s comments came on Meet The Press when asked whether he agreed with Nikki Haley’s recent admonition that Trump and Republicans should “quit whining” and stop “talking about what race Kamala Harris is”.“Yeah. I don’t think – I don’t look at vice-president Kamala Harris as a lunatic,” Graham told moderator Kristin Welker. “I look at her as the most liberal person to be nominated for president in the history of the United States.”He said the election should be fought on policy. “A nightmare for Harris is to defend her policy choices,” he said.“President Trump can win this election,” Graham continued. “If you have a policy debate, he wins. Donald Trump the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.”Trump’s ad hominem digs against Harris have ranged from disparaging and false comments about her race and intelligence to snide remarks about her appearance. During a Saturday rally Trump said: “I’m a better looking person than Kamala” and that Harris had “the laugh of a crazy person”.With Harris rising in the polls many saw Trump’s rally, in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, as an opportunity for him to reboot his campaign by focusing on issues of importance to voters, but he has instead continued to emphasize personal differences.Trump has repeatedly questioned the racial identity of Harris, whose mother is Indian and father is Jamaican. In a chaotic appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists several weeks ago, Trump incorrectly claimed that Harris suddenly “became a Black woman” and falsely stated that she had only identified with her Indian background.“Is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump remarked, prompting audible gasps. “I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t because she was Indian all the way and then all of sudden she became a Black woman.”Harris on Sunday suggested without naming him directly that Trump’s habit of constantly attacking opponents made him a “coward”.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“Over the last several years there’s been this kind of perversion that has taken place, I think, which is to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down. When what we know is the real and true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up,” Harris said at a campaign appearance in Pennsylvania. “Anybody who’s about beating down other people is a coward.”JD Vance, Trump’s vice-presidential candidate, has previously described Harris as a coward, too, in keeping with his running mate’s personal attacks on her.“President Trump walked right into the NABJ conference and showed he had the courage to take tough questions, while Kamala Harris continues to hide from any scrutiny or unfriendly media like the coward she is,” Vance wrote last month. More

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      The joke’s on Truss for backing Trump | Brief letters

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      So Liz Truss thinks the lettuce joke is “puerile” but supports Donald Trump, whose unhinged rants largely comprise pitifully childish schoolyard insults (Liz Truss leaves stage over ‘I crashed the economy’ lettuce banner, 14 August). Trump and Truss are united not just in their politics but also in their absolute lack of self-awareness, sense of humour, and belief in demonstrable fact.Hilary KnightVictoria, British Columbia, Canada Banksy’s rhino is described as an “artwork”, a “mural” and an “installation” (Banksy rhino artwork in London defaced with graffiti tag, 13 August), yet the individual who added their own composition to the image is a “mindless vandal”. Double standards perhaps?Stuart HarringtonBurnham-on-Sea, Somerset Letters on accents (Letters, 15 August) reminded me of my educational ambitions in 1960s Liverpool. My Toxteth teacher learned of my aspirations for further education and counselled: “You’ll have to lose your Liverpool accent. But don’t worry, the catarrh will disappear when you move away.”Dr Ken BrayBath A while ago, I was surprised that a delicious delicacy was signed on one of the market stalls as asparagu’s, thus becoming, perhaps, a medieval mid‑European warlord (Letters, 16 August). I taught English in town for years.Ian RunnaclesBury St Edmunds, Suffolk Re “How to rein in the malign influence of Elon Musk” (Letters, 15 August). Hands up all those who own a Tesla.John PeacheyWoking, Surrey More

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      Apprentice in Wonderland by Ramin Setoodeh review – how Donald Trump’s big break changed America

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      Every time someone complains that our new prime minister is boring, I rue the day that politics became a performing art. The degradation began, as the entertainment journalist Ramin Setoodeh relates, when Donald Trump was catapulted into power by The Apprentice, a reality/talent/gameshow over which he presided on NBC from 2004 until 2017. Before this, Trump was best known as a loud-mouthed, laughable vulgarian, a fixture in tabloid gossip columns whose business career mostly consisted of bankruptcies. The British producer Mark Burnett endowed him with a new persona as a charismatic leader, a “godlike character” worshipped by teams of ruthless young entrepreneurs who fought for the chance to serve as apprentices in his property company. It was in this phoney guise that Trump won the election in 2016; installed in Washington, he nationalised the show’s cut-throat scenario by stoking social and ideological feuds, then sat back to enjoy the mayhem that ensued.Trump’s rabid animosity energised The Apprentice. The show’s ethos was supposedly aspirational, but success proved less telegenic than the gloating spectacle of failure: at the climax of every episode Trump eliminated losers by abusively booming: “You’re fired!” This catchphrase became a clarion call. “When I said it,” he boasts to Setoodeh, “the whole building shook. The place just reverberated. People were screaming, they went crazy.” Was their reaction ecstasy or hysterical alarm? Either way, they heard a megaphonic deity trumpeting doom.As president, Trump shrank from recreating that eschatological reign of terror. Afraid of real-life confrontations, he sacked chiefs of staff and cabinet members remotely, in small-voiced tweets, not thundering public denunciations. But in interviews with Setoodeh after he was voted out of office in 2020, this hunched, dejected “shadow of a famous man” physically bulks up again as he recalls a time when he was judge, jury and executioner. Play-acting authority on television was his forte; by contrast, running the country turned out to be both a chore and a bore.On The Apprentice, as in the White House, Trump disdained preparation and refused to read briefs, “purely focused on maximising his screen time”. The only protege to whom he paid attention was the back-stabbing diva Omarosa Manigault Newman, who saw herself as a female Trump. He subsequently eased her into a job at the White House, where what Setoodeh calls her “weaponised incompetence” soon caused her to be marched off the premises in disgrace. Although she then underwent a “total Trump detox”, he still speaks of Manigault Newman admiringly. He tells Setoodeh that in her first season on the show “she was evil”, which from him is high praise, then adds that the next year “she tried to be evil – and when you try it doesn’t work”. It’s a revealingly self-reflexive remark: is Trump himself authentically malign, or just pretending to be? He probably doesn’t know. As one would-be apprentice puts it, “Trump conducts himself like an actor playing Trump”; to further complicate matters, he plays the part badly.View image in fullscreenListening as he rants and rambles, Setoodeh likens him to “a novelty talking Trump doll, its battery on the fritz”. But that battery has recently been recharged: he now resembles a dummy perched on a ventriloquist’s knee, compliantly voicing the diatribes of the homegrown fascists who are his handlers. He has also revived the demeaningly competitive format of the show that launched him, and at a rally this July he claimed to be remaking The Apprentice by goading JD Vance, Marco Rubio and Tim Scott to outdo one another in sycophancy as they vied to become his vice-presidential running mate.The framing conceit of Setoodeh’s book comes from Alice in Wonderland. Trump, he argues, “took America through the looking glass” and warped government into nonsensical farce. Other literary antecedents cast darker shadows. Burnett “envisioned a Lord of the Flies society” and devised initiatic trials as exercises in psychological torture. Auditions even included invasive STD tests. One male competitor shudders as he describes “a funnel that they stuck in there”; scraping his urethra, it extracted a sample that somehow testified to his aptitude for a business career. The ritualised firings were brutal, “carried out like public floggings”.The show’s title had an equally sinister provenance. Burnett chose it as a homage to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Goethe’s ballad about a trainee magus who runs amok with his master’s spells. In the poem, acted out by Mickey Mouse in Walt Disney’s Fantasia, the absent sorcerer returns to chasten the apprentice and immobilise all those strutting broomsticks and sloshing pails of water. Trump’s mischief-making, however, has continued unchecked, and his current wheeze is to pretend that the burgeoning crowds at Kamala Harris’s rallies are conjured up by AI, like a digital version of Mickey Mouse’s phantasmagoric broomsticks.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionSetoodeh – whose parents emigrated from Iran in the 1970s to live the American dream – seems so resigned to Trump’s victory in November that he raises a white flag in the book’s dedication. Choking on the fatal name in disgust or dismay, he offers it “To my dad, who is voting for him”. Sticking to pronouns, let’s hope that more Americans vote for her.

      Apprentice in Wonderland by Ramin Setooheh is published by HarperCollins (£22). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply More