RNC has questions about Kamala Harris taking questions

NEWS AND OPINION:

The Republican National Committee is watching the comings and goings of Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris. Here’s what the committee had to say about its observations.

“It has been 10 days since Kamala’s coup to force Joe Biden off the presidential ballot — but she hasn’t done a single interview nor press conference,” Jake Schneider, RNC rapid response director, said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“That’s an obvious departure from her first 1,278 days in office, when she did no fewer than 240 interviews between taking office and Biden’s exit — on average, one interview every five days. The only logical conclusion is that she’s terrified,” Mr. Schneider said.

“Is Kamala Harris trying to make history as the first major nominee to take zero questions from the press? Is she concerned she’ll be pressed on the coverup of Biden’s decline? Is she worried she’ll have to defend her indefensible far-left positions and her humiliating failures in office?” he said.

“Or is she simply scared Americans will see her for who she is? Weak, failed, and dangerously liberal,” Mr. Schneider said.

WATCHFUL REPUBLICANS

“The Federal Open Market Committee  — the Federal Reserve’s committee that decides the future path of interest rates — has announced that there will be no immediate change to interest rates, leaving rates at a 23-year high,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, Texas Republican.


“The Biden-Harris experiment in central planning of our economy has failed so miserably that even our central bank can’t throw us a lifeline of lower interest rates. Democrats’ unbridled spending combined with their unparalleled barrage of regulations have thrown the entire sandbox in the gears of our economy, and working families are paying the price,” Mr. Arrington said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

He has the numbers and his statement lays them out in detail.

“In July, for the sixth consecutive month, consumers remained worried about a possible recession in the next 12 months. Consumer confidence peaked in October 2018, at a rate of 137.9. Inflation was at a year-over-year rate of 2.5 percent. Now, the Consumer Confidence Index is at just 100.3. Inflation is sitting at a year-over-year rate of 3.0 percent. In Q4 of 2018, when consumer confidence was at a high point, debt to GDP was 105 percent, and today, debt to GDP is 122 percent,” he wrote.

Mr. Arrington said that since President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office, their “unbridled spending and failed economic policies have left their mark.”

“Prices have risen by a staggering 19.2%, while families have had to spend $17,000 more per year to maintain the same standard of living they could afford prior to President Biden’s leadership,” the Texan wrote.

ALL’S FAIR

The summer is beginning to ebb away; have you noticed? That said, it’s time for Inside the Beltway to present its annual review of unusual foods now being served at the nation’s state fairs.

Yes, cotton candy and popcorn remain the mainstays of midways. But here’s a brief look at what else is out there, both the fare and the fair:

Deep-fried ranch dressing (Minnesota State Fair); dill pickle pizza (Illinois State Fair); pickle lemonade (Ohio State Fair); deep-fried peanut butter, banana and jelly sandwich (New Jersey State Fair); lobster corn dog with candied bacon gnocchi (Iowa State Fair); 1-pound deep-fried mozzarella cheese log (California State Fair); cotton candy margarita (Texas State Fair); glazed-doughnut coffee float (Wisconsin State Fair); and bacon caramel peanut-butter apple fries (Florida State Fair).

Inside the Beltway will highlight more fair food in the near future.

IVY-COVERED HALLS

Harvard University plans to adopt campus rules on the use of college property that will prohibit overnight camping, chalking or painting university property, and unapproved signage and displays, according to a draft document obtained by the Crimson, the school’s student-written newspaper.

“Harvard’s Office of General Counsel and the Working Group on Campus Space Use produced the document, which comes after months of pro-Palestine student protests on campus, including a 20-day encampment in Harvard Yard,” The Crimson said.

“The draft policy seeks to discourage many tactics that are frequently used by campus activists, and marks another effort by interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 and his administration to prevent a return of the large-scale protests that have become a regular aspect of campus life since October 2023,” the student paper said.

FOXIFIED

Fox News finished July with an average daily audience of 3.5 million prime-time viewers that month, compared with 1.2 million who chose MSNBC and 856,000 who went with CNN.

Fox News also delivered 99 of the top 100 telecasts in cable news in the time period, while MSNBC netted just one program and CNN none. Fox News bested non-news rivals such as ESPN (757,000 average daily prime-time viewers), Hallmark (754,000 viewers), Food Network (427,000) and Lifetime (301,000).

“July was the highest-rated month since the November 2020 election as more independents continued to tune in to Fox News Channel over any other network, according to data from Nielsen MRI Fusion,” the network said in a statement.

The leaders during the month were “Jesse Watters Primetime” (average of 4.4 million daily viewers), “Hannity” (4.3 million), “The Five” (3.9 million), “The Ingraham Angle” (3.3 million), and “Special Report” and “Gutfeld” (each with 2.9 million viewers).

POLL DU JOUR

• 52% of U.S. adults disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is “handling its job”; 82% of Democrats, 47% of independents and 32% of Republicans agree.

• 58% of women and 45% of men also agree.

• 43% of U.S. adults overall approve of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job; 15% of Democrats, 44% of independents and 66% of Republicans agree.

• 34% of women and 52% of men also agree.

• 5% overall don’t know or refused to answer; 2% of Democrats, 9% of independents and 2% of Republicans agree.

• 8% of women and 3% of men also agree.

SOURCE: A Gallup Poll of 1,010 U.S. adults conducted by telephone July 1-21.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperBulletin.