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      After a Big Week for Democrats, One Good Day for Trump

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      Former President Donald J. Trump talked policy in Las Vegas and seemed almost chipper. In Arizona, he reveled in the endorsement of a former campaign rival, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.It was a moment the political world had been wondering about for weeks.If Vice President Kamala Harris had a good convention, would it knock former President Donald J. Trump further off his game?Would all that positive press for Ms. Harris — the big ratings, celebrity froth and the double-barreled Obama zingers — drive Mr. Trump deeper into his most self-destructive patterns?At a Mexitalian restaurant in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon, we seemed to have our answer: It would not — at least for now.Mr. Trump had turned up at the restaurant to stand among service industry workers and promote his “no tax on tips” policy proposal. He stayed mostly focused — he did not talk all about himself but rather about the plight of waiters and bartenders. He told them it was Ms. Harris who cast a tiebreaking vote to provide the Internal Revenue Service with funds to hire 87,000 people — the very people who would be snatching their hard-earned tips. (The truth is a bit more nuanced than all that.)He did not devolve into any racist tangents about Ms. Harris, or call anyone a fat pig, or pick a fight with a popular governor from his own party, or tell dark tales about young women being raped, strangled and murdered by immigrants.He seemed almost chipper (at least more chipper than the night before, when he called into Fox News with his initial meandering reviews of Ms. Harris’s big speech). He talked about how the restaurant’s owner had started as a dishwasher and worked his way up, and joked with him about how he must have lots of cash now. The owner compared Mr. Trump to Ronald Reagan. “Thank you, Javier,” said Mr. Trump, looking touched.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Words Used at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions

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      From left, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images;J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press Speakers at the Democratic National Convention used more than 109,000 words over four days in Chicago this week. Their choice of words and phrases contrasts the themes and ideas of last month’s Republican National Convention. Excluding common and routine words, the most frequently spoken words at the […] More

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      Harris’s DNC Speech Seen by 29 Million, Slightly More Than Trump at RNC

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      Overall, TV viewership of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago was up 14 percent from the Republicans’ event last month.Maybe it was curiosity about the untested candidate who took command of the ticket at the last minute, or the cameos by TV-ready celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling and Kerry Washington. The runaway (and ultimately misguided) speculation that Beyoncé might make an appearance certainly did not hurt.Whatever the reason, Democrats notched a victory this week in one of the year’s biggest media bouts: Which party’s political convention would attract more viewers?The four-day celebration in Chicago of Vice President Kamala Harris was watched on TV by an average of 21.8 million viewers across four nights, Nielsen said on Friday. That was 14 percent more than the Republicans’ jamboree last month in Milwaukee, a four-day tribute to former President Donald J. Trump.The gap between the conventions, however, narrowed on the final day, when the presidential nominees delivered their climactic remarks. On Thursday, the night of Ms. Harris’s acceptance speech, 26.2 million people tuned in. On the evening in July when Mr. Trump spoke, in his first extensive address since surviving an assassination attempt, 25.4 million watched — a difference of only 3 percent.On its own, Ms. Harris’s 40-minute speech averaged 28.9 million TV viewers, according to Nielsen. The audience for Mr. Trump’s 92-minute address last month fell short of that figure, peaking early at 28.4 million viewers and then dwindling as the former president spoke long into the night.Live TV ratings are a useful metric of the nation’s attention economy, but they are not all-encompassing. The Nielsen data did not capture viewers who streamed the conventions on their phones or laptops. Democrats, in particular, encouraged podcasters and social media influencers to post short videos from Chicago in the hopes of reaching voters who do not watch traditional TV.This year’s convention ratings also underscored the continuing flight toward partisanship in television news.Just as Fox News crushed its network rivals in the ratings race during the Republican convention — beating MSNBC and CNN combined — the Democratic convention had one clear winner: MSNBC. The cable home of Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid, which has a fervent liberal fan base, beat every network (including ABC, CBS, and NBC) in total convention viewership.This year marked MSNBC’s largest audience for a Democratic convention since the network’s founding in 1996, a milestone achieved despite the cord-cutting that has drastically reduced the number of people who subscribe to cable in the first place.CNN has endured a tough stretch in the ratings, but its Democratic convention coverage attracted more viewers in the most coveted demographic — adults 25 to 54 years old — than any other network. (MSNBC fell just short, losing to CNN in the category by a margin of roughly 1 percent.)CNN’s new leadership is trying to appeal to more casual, and less partisan, consumers of news. It has already played a central role in this year’s campaign: It was CNN’s presidential debate in June that set off the head-spinning series of events that led to Ms. Harris’s prime-time speech on Thursday. More

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      In Las Vegas, Trump Calls Harris a ‘Copycat’ Over ‘No Tax on Tips’ Plan

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      Former President Donald J. Trump on Friday fumed over the fact that when it comes to exempting tips from being taxed, he and his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, are on the same page.Mr. Trump, before a gathering of supporters at a Las Vegas restaurant, complained that Ms. Harris had stolen his idea and sought to cast her as an opportunist who was pandering to service industry workers by cribbing from one of his signature proposals.“She’s a copycat,” Mr. Trump said. “She’s a flip-flopper, you know. She’s the greatest flip-flopper in history. She went from communism to capitalism in about two weeks.”A Harris campaign spokesman declined to comment. This month, while in Las Vegas herself, Ms. Harris said she would seek to end federal income taxes on tips if she were elected. Mr. Trump first floated the idea in June, and it quickly garnered bipartisan support.He has publicly stewed over her embrace of the plan, especially in Nevada, a battleground state that Mr. Trump lost in 2016 and 2020.Before President Biden withdrew from the race in late July, Mr. Trump had appeared to be on a trajectory to end his electoral drought in the desert — where one of his hotels towers over the Strip. Mr. Biden, whose campaign called the “no tax on tips” overture a “wild campaign promise,” had been trailing Mr. Trump by an average of seven percentage points in Nevada.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kamala Harris’s Main-Character Energy

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      Accepting the nomination, the vice president completed a whirlwind ascent — and sought to finally supplant Donald Trump at the center of America’s political drama.There were a lot of big names at the Democratic National Convention. Night 1 had the unprecedented send-off of a sitting president. Night 2 had not one but two Obamas (plus a raucous roll call of states feat. Lil Jon). Night 3: You get Oprah! And you get Oprah!There were whispers and reports all day on Thursday that the biggest, most special secret guest of all would appear at the climax. Was it Beyoncé? Taylor Swift? Mitt Romney?At the end of the night, after a typical program of endorsements and character witnesses, Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, wrapped up and yielded the stage to …Kamala Harris?The rumors, it turned out, were just that. Ms. Harris was the surprise star of her own show.But in a way, that had been the theme of the entire convention. As a TV production, the event was designed to build on the Kamalanomenon and magnify it. It expressed not a platform but a vibe.Ms. Harris’s ascent was of course politically extraordinary, a whirlwind of less than a month from replacing President Biden to the convention. But it was also unprecedented as a media phenomenon — at least in politics, where images are usually built over years.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kerry Washington, Who Played Olivia Pope on ‘Scandal,’ Hosts DNC Night 4

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      The star of the hit show “Scandal” is emcee for the final night’s program at the Democratic National Convention.When “Scandal” debuted on ABC in 2012, Kerry Washington became the first Black woman to play the leading role in a network drama in almost 40 years. The show was a hit, particularly with Black viewers. At one point, more than 10 percent of Black households tuned in weekly to see Ms. Washington play a hard-charging Washington lawyer.On Thursday, Ms. Washington — known to fans of the show as Olivia Pope — stepped into the real-life political spotlight as the fourth and final host of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.Tony Goldwyn, Ms. Washington’s “Scandal” co-star, was the first host. Ana Navarro, a Republican commentator, and the actress and comedian Mindy Kaling filled the role on the intervening days.On “Scandal,” Ms. Washington’s Olivia Pope character captivated audiences with her political acumen, striking intelligence and flawless professional style — crisp suits, elegant wraps, red-soled Louboutin heels.After the show went off the air in 2018, Ms. Washington increased her own political activity. She told The Hollywood Reporter last year that she was inspired in part by how the character shaped the audience’s feelings about politics and activism.“People wanted this imaginary character to fix their problems, and I felt like this was a moment of real disconnect because we’re living in a democracy; we’re the people who hold the power to unlock the change that’s most important, but we keep passing that power off to characters on television,” Ms. Washington said.Last year, she started a nonprofit, the KW Foundation, to support civic engagement. On several occasions, she has taken to social media to encourage her followers to register to vote, often with messages sure to grab the attention of “Scandal” fans. In one, she posted what she said was information about a “Scandal” movie. The link actually redirected to a voter registration website.Thursday marks the third time Ms. Washington has spoken at a political convention. In 2012, she delivered remarks at former President Barack Obama’s second nominating convention, and in 2020 she was one of several celebrities to emcee President Biden’s virtual convention.Ms. Washington has been an enthusiastic convention attendee this week, posing for photos with Mr. Goldwyn, Oprah Winfrey and various politicians including Representative Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland and former President Bill Clinton.Ms. Harris and Ms. Washington have met before, when Ms. Washington visited the White House last year. It’s not clear what they discussed, but in an apparent nod to her tenure as a (fictional) D.C. operative, Ms. Harris posted a photo to social media with the caption “Welcome back to the White House.” More

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      Ella Emhoff Speaks at Democratic National Convention

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      Ella Emhoff, the stepdaughter of Vice President Kamala Harris, spoke onstage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday evening, alongside Meena Harris, Ms. Harris’s niece, and Helena Hudlin, Ms. Harris’s goddaughter whose mother introduced Ms. Emhoff’s father, Doug Emhoff, to Ms. Harris over a decade ago.“Kamala came into my life when I was 14, famously a very easy time for a teenager,” Ms. Emhoff said. “Like a lot of young people, I didn’t always understand what I was feeling, but no matter what, Kamala was there for me. She was patient caring and always took me seriously. She’s never stopped listening to me and she’s not going to stop listening to all of us.”She also described her stepmother’s focus on fighting for health, environmental and social justice. “She isn’t alone, we’re all in this fight together,” Ms. Emhoff, 25, said.Ms. Emhoff and her family have been fixtures at this week’s events. Her brother, Cole Emhoff, introduced their father before his speech on Tuesday evening. Their mother, the film producer Kerstin Emhoff, has also been in attendance. (The couple divorced in 2009; Ms. Harris and Mr. Emhoff married in 2014.) In his speech, Mr. Emhoff proudly described his “big, beautiful blended family.” Before Ms. Emhoff took the stage, Ms. Harris’s grandnieces, with some help from the actor Kerry Washington, taught the crowd how to properly pronounce Ms. Harris’s name. “Comma-la!”Ms. Emhoff had discussed her father’s speech on Instagram earlier in the week, writing “if you saw me cry on tv NO YOU DIDNT.” She continued, “Just kidding I was crying like a little baby.”In the post, she included a photo of herself kissing her purse for the evening: a black leather bag with a fake chocolate chip cookie affixed to the front from the designer Puppets and Puppets that she paired with a plaid suit from Thom Browne.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More