Former CNN anchor Brian Stelter couldn't help but laugh as he recounted former President Donald Trump's speech Wednesday, which was intended to focus on the economy but devolved into one of his signature stump speeches, as he attacked his Democratic opponent. As other analysts noted, Trump struggled to stick to the topic in his speech in North Carolina, a fact Stelter noted when asked for his thoughts on MSNBC's "11th Hour." "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't laugh," he said, "but I heard a mess.
I did not hear him focus on the economy." Stelter then criticized media outlets that he felt misrepresented Trump's speech. "I think some of the media coverage that acts as if he's on message is doing a disservice to the viewers," said Stelter.
ALSO READ: Sen. John Fetterman violates financial law with botched corporate bond disclosures He added: "He seems physically incapable of hiding his jealousy of Kamala Harris ," said Stelter. "He was even talking about her Time magazine cover and complimenting it and wanting to know who illustrated it.
I think Kamala Harris is his kryptonite and he doesn't know what to do about it." Trump plans to hold another news conference Thursday, which Stelter believes "probably won't go well for him." "He's flailing around trying to figure out how to respond now that everything is changing in this race," he concluded.
Watch the clip below or at this link . A new study from Harvard University reveals the extent to which celebrities could influence the course of the 2024 presidential election, reported the New York Daily News on Wednesday. “While some polling shows that people claim they aren’t influenced by celebrity voices when it comes to politics, more rigorous evidence indicates that these voices are incredibly powerful,” said the report.
“This potential impact is why nonprofits, candidates, and elected officials are increasingly seeking ways to engage celebrities.” Among the impacts the report found, pop megastar Taylor Swift drove 250,000 people to register to vote with a single post in 2018. She has not made a formal endorsement this year, as she did for President Joe Biden in 2020, although some fans have speculated that one of her recent moves was an implicit endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris .
Royce White, the MAGA candidate for Senate in Minnesota, even had a public meltdown over what he incorrectly thought was a Democratic endorsement from Swift. ALSO READ: Sen. John Fetterman violates financial law with botched corporate bond disclosures While voters continue to tell pollsters that celebrities don't influence their choices, both parties campaign as though they do, noted the Daily News.
"Despite often railing against celebrity culture , the Republican Party officially nominated former reality TV star Donald Trump as its presidential candidate. The party’s convention in Milwaukee last month featured rapper Kid Rock , wrestler Hulk Hogan and country singer Lee Greenwood ," said the report. Meanwhile, Democrats will kick off their convention in Chicago next week, "and while the list of celebrity attendees is still up in the air , Harris has already gotten support from musicians including Beyoncé , Megan the Stallion and Charli XCX .
" Even without celebrity influence, Harris' entrance into the race following President Joe Biden's decision to end his bid for re-election has turbocharged young voter enthusiasm , according to recent polling data. Former President Donald Trump's speech on the economy in North Carolina was highly notable and entertaining for one key reason, Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell wrote on Wednesday in a post on X. Specifically, he was unable to stick to the actual topic of the speech — despite trying to commit to memory how important it was and audibly disagreeing with his decision to veer away.
"Funniest part of Trump's big 'economy speech' today was that he kept reminding himself aloud that he was supposed to be talking about the economy, but then immediately returned to rambling about tampons or San Francisco crime or whatever," wrote Rampell, posting an excerpt of what Trump said. ALSO READ: Trump’s smear job climaxed prematurely — and now he’s stuck "It's important. They say it is the most important subject," Trump said at one point.
"I am not sure it is but they say it is. Inflation is the most important but that is part of the economy. Kamala Harris wants to be in charge of the entire U.
S. economy, but neither she nor her running mate — another beauty, isn't he? He signed a bill. He wants tampons in boys' bathrooms.
I don't think so." Republicans have repeatedly made this claim, although the menstrual products bill Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed does not actually do that .
All of this unfolded as Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D.
Vance (R-OH), spoke in Michigan, where among other things, he struggled to find local reporters to ask him questions and mixed up the Secretaries of Agriculture and Commerce . Trump has engaged in fewer public events than usual in recent weeks; his most recent rally prior to the North Carolina event was last week in Bozeman, Montana. Election forecaster Nate Silver has been one of the most bullish on former President Donald Trump's chances at re-election in recent months, but even he believes the winds have shifted.
In an interview on Fox News Wednesday evening, Silver said he believes the picture has changed dramatically in the few short weeks since President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election campaign and stepped aside for Vice President Kamala Harris . "Polls are a snapshot of the time," said anchor Bret Baier . "You talk about this all the time.
But where is the snapshot that you see right now in this race?" "If you have the election tomorrow, which would be a strange thing to do by the way, I think Harris would be a slight favorite," said Silver. "She has been ahead in most recent polling in the 'blue wall' states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan. Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada all polling in the margin of error range.
" ALSO READ: Sen. John Fetterman violates financial law with botched corporate bond disclosures "Look, this Fox News poll is pretty good for Trump , that will help a little bit when we update our model tomorrow," he added. However, "You would rather be Harris today.
People should remember though two things. One, we have three more months to go, there will be more surprises, and two, the polls have been wrong before, in the last two general elections they've both underestimated Trump." "Polling is difficult," he cautioned in response to Baier asking how that underestimation occurred.
This comes as Goldman Sachs analysts take a similar assessment, noting that they are seeing a shift in voter preferences toward Democrats across the board in the past few weeks. Watch the video below or at the link here . - YouTube www.
youtube.com.
