California Dem Congressman and Senate candidate Adam Schiff on Saturday told a gathering of wealthy donors in the Hamptons that he thinks Biden is doomed, the New York Times reports.

“I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” Schiff said, per a recording. “And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.” The comments came before the failed assassination attempt on convicted felon former President Trump, which the Times reports took a lot of the momentum out of the efforts inside the Democratic Party to get Biden to step down.

When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer. I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted. I apologize to the president.

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 16, 2024

Trump links vaccines to autism in leaked video with RFK Jr.: “And then you see the baby, all of a sudden, starting to change radically. I’ve seen it too many times. And then you hear that it doesn’t have an impact, right” pic.twitter.com/r7bBsiEqxA

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) July 16, 2024

The Philadelphia Fox Affiliate’s Tuesday headline “Snow reported at Philadelphia International Airport in the middle of July: NWS” leans heavily on the fact that the National Weather Service does for some goddamned reason count accumulation of hail dropped by a thunderstorm as “snow.”

“It appears Philadelphia took ‘Christmas in July’ a little too seriously this year! As temperatures hit a high of 94 degrees on Sunday, a record daily snowfall was reported at the Philadelphia International Airport. The National Weather Service says thunderstorms produced small hail, which counts as a trace of snow!” Fox 29 wrote, adding the exclamation to emphasize the technical truth.

They didn’t actually print what the accumulation was or why the federal government’s meteorology agency classifies two distinct forms of precipitation as the same. Try building a “hailman” or catching a golfball-sized “hailflake” on your tongue if you think they’re so goddamned similar.

While the overall number was steady, consumer spending in general rose in June despite analysts predicting a significant decrease, Bloomberg reports.  Confusingly, the topline number remained the same while spending actually increased because a hack into a software platform used by car dealers was hacked last month, significantly impacting car sales; the attack was reportedly ended when software firm CDK Global paid a $25 million ransom earlier this month.

Democrats spotlight Biden alter-ego 'Dark Brandon' as they launch billboards near GOP conventionhttps://t.co/syrE0c5j3p

— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 16, 2024

Republican National Convention attendees can enter to win their very own AR-15, a famous weapon of war most recently featured in an incident in which a devoted fan of their party was killed because their now-nominee turned his head at the correct split second, Rolling Stone reports.

The raffle is sponsored by a non-profit called the US Concealed-Carry Association – which is kind of funny because an AR-15 sure seems awfully difficult to conceal while carrying – a group boasting supposedly 800,000 members and centered around insuring gun owners from having to deal with legal fees if they kill another person and find themselves prosecuted or sued for it.

“Thomas Crooks’ phone has offered federal investigators no clear explanations about why the 20-year-old from suburban Pittsburgh tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump,” the New York Post reports in the lede to their Monday night story about the phone’s contents, citing “law enforcement sources.” Given the Post’s reputation for being less-than-reliable narrators and the elasticity of the language there with “no clear explanations,” it’s hard to imagine the phone would not yield at least something satisfactory to those among us whose biases crave confirmation.

This is a leak, there’s no real restriction on what can be said to reporters, just what the Post wants to print. Which is to say a quote like “We found out Crooks was into that weird anime porn and had saved up a lot of reward points on his Pizza Hut app” or even just “the source declined to offer further specifics about the phone’s contents” would go a long way with blunting our skepticism.

Instead we have to take our pick between the Post were just too fucking lazy to ask some basic questions about the nature of the data or that they did and deliberately chose not to print that the FBI source told them Crooks was a lurker who followed this or that deranged MAGA influencer on Telegram or Zello because that wasn’t a “clear” enough explanation for their audience.

You guys can get mad at me for saying it but the first day of the convention was totally absurd and a very bad omen of things to come. Trump has never had more momentum or good will and the RNC decided to use that to push a message of diversity and inclusivity rather than using…

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) July 16, 2024

“Trump has never had more momentum or good will and the RNC decided to use that to push a message of diversity and inclusivity rather than using it to advance anything resembling a conservative agenda. I call it as I see it and that’s what I saw,” continued the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh in his lament. On Monday night Walsh bitched that “Trump has just reached mythic status by defying death and surviving an assassination attempt and the GOP decides that the best next move is to have him sit and listen to a porn star talk about diversity. Brilliant move. Thanks guys.”

The “porn star” in that rant being Kanye West’s ex-girlfriend, Amber Rose, an OnlyFans model who addressed the crowd to endorse the Orange God Emperor, described by Walsh as “a pro-abortion feminist and self-proclaimed slut with a face tattoo whose only claim to fame is having sex with rappers. Truly an embarrassment. Not a single voter will be mobilized by this person.”

The Democratic National Committee are planning to move ahead with the virtual nomination process for President Biden, starting on Friday with a virtual call of the rules committee on Friday, another party group on Sunday, and then with the 4,000-plus delegates casting their ballots for him on Monday, with that process expected to last the week, the New York Times reports.

Romania’s parliament on Monday adopted legislation allowing for the culling of 481 bears, an increase from last year’s 220, after a hiker was killed in an attack last week, Al-Jazeera reports.

The wife of the man killed during the failed assassination attempt on convicted felon former President Trump on Monday told the New York Post that President Joe Biden reached out and tried to call but she declined and that she did not do the same to Trump because he hasn’t bothered yet.

“I didn’t talk to Biden. I didn’t want to talk to him,” said Helen Comperatore, widow to 50 year-old victim Corey Comperatore. “My husband was a devout Republican and he would not have wanted me to talk to him… I don’t have any ill-will towards Joe Biden. I’m not one of those people that gets involved in politics. I support Trump, that’s who I’m voting for but I don’t have ill-will towards Biden.”

“He didn’t do anything to my husband. A 20-year-old despicable kid did,” Helen added. The Post story mentions that Trump didn’t call but does not quote her saying as such. Donald spent his Sunday golfing in New Jersey before flying to Milwaukee for his coronation in the afternoon.

Fox News’s Greg Gutfeld on Monday said it was “hilarious” when, as liberal host Jessica Tarlov pointed out, convicted felon former president Trump posted that pic of a decal on the back of a pickup truck depicting Joe Biden tied up in the back, but it was also a “drumbeat” of rhetoric from the Democrats that inspired would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks. Somehow, despite facts.

A neighbor of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks tells WPXI that until recently, the home in which he lived with his parents had pro-Trump signs on the front lawn, curious because reportedly the father is a registered Libertarian and his mom a Democrat. Which means it might have been the kid himself who had put out the signs before he decided to try to kill Donald.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s office on Monday vowed to appeal MAGA Judge Aileen Cannon’s dismissal of the case against convicted felon former President Trump for stealing classified documents and hoarding them at Mar-a-Lago, CBS’s Scott MacFarlane reports.”The dismissal of the case deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a Special Counsel. The Justice Department has authorized the Special Counsel to appeal the court’s order,” said Smith’s office in a statement.

Brainwormed presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr met with convicted felon former President Trump in Milwaukee on Monday and discussed dropping out and endorsing him, Politico’s Rachel Bade reports, adding Bobby Jr confirmed it but said he’s staying in the race for now.

“The FBI continues to investigate the shooting incident at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, as an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and as potential domestic terrorism.”

“The investigation is still in the early stages, and the FBI is providing the following updates: FBI technical specialists successfully gained access to Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone, and they continue to analyze his electronic devices. The search of the subject’s residence and vehicle are complete. The FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement personnel, event attendees, and other witnesses. That work continues. The FBI has received hundreds of digital media tips which include photos and videos taken at the scene, and we continue to review incoming tips. We encourage anyone with information that may assist with the ongoing investigation to continue to submit it online at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI,” says a bureau press release.

In related news, CNN on Sunday reported that a classmate of Crook’s, “who asked not to be named, said that Crooks was very smart, took honors classes, and was shy. She said that he had a group of friends who were fairly conservative, some of whom would wear Trump hats.” Getting closer.

Trump just went ahead and posted “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the Great State of Ohio” in a long post touting the resume and the 19 month-long career of the Peter Thiel asset.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio. J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association. J.D.’s book, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ became a Major Best Seller and Movie, as it championed the hardworking men and women of our Country.  J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond […] As Vice President, J.D. will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our Troops, and will do everything he can to help me MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Congratulations to Senator J.D. Vance, his wife, Usha, who also graduated from Yale Law School, and their three beautiful children. MAGA2024!”  Donald Trump announced on his failing social media platform.

Brash upstart contestant Marco Rubio, a non-fan favorite on this first season of degenerate real estate tycoon Donald Trump’s reality show The Veeprentice, has been eliminated from contention, with Trump informing the Florida Senator on Monday, Politico’s Meredith McGraw reports.

UPDATE 7/15/2024 2:17 PM EDT: Fox News just reported that other top contender, North Dakota Gov Doug Burgum, was told he was “fired” from the reality show as well. Burgumania has ended.

Flying under the radar of The Narrative™ and its hyper-focus on the Holy Orange Savior’s miraculous survival of an assassination attempt and Democrats suicidally despondent over it these days is the deep feelings of betrayal among “pro-life” Evangelicals furious with their most important issue being aborted from the Republican Party’s official 2024 platform, with one leading fetus-loving activist, 2020 RNC guest speaker Abby Johnson, telling NOTUS she’s hearing from “thousands” of fellow forced birthers supposedly intent on staying home in November after this snub.

“A lot of people feel politically homeless right now. They feel so betrayed by the Republican Party, and honestly, they feel betrayed by Trump because of the things that he’s been saying about life in the womb,” said Johnson, adding “there’s a lot of people that are going to sit [the election] out, and that’s really unfortunate.” Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler echoed the sentiment saying “The gap is there. We’re about to find out where the GOP is going on this and where Donald Trump is going on this. He must have overwhelming evangelical Christian support.”

“And he better remember that,” Mohler added. Sounds very warning-y. It’s not clear why these people aren’t in on the kayfabe that Trump is just pretending to move to the center on abortion politics, that he’ll do whatever they want if reelected and he’s simply bullshitting his way through the campaign in a lame attempt to neutralize the Dems’ strongest issue. But that’s his problem, not ours, and we’d be more than happy to see it metastasize and cost him the votes of Evangelicals who aren’t picking up on the pretty obvious reality that he would continue to deliver for them.