TGIF! At the RNC, Trump calls for unity, while also returning to divisive campaign rhetoric, as the clock is ticking on Biden’s candidacy. Top Dems report he could drop out this weekend.

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Good morning,

Soccer fans have something else to cheer for: Major League Soccer (MLS) just debuted the youngest player in any major professional US sports league in history — NBA, NHL, NFL, NWSL, WNBA, and MLB.

• 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan played as a substitute in the 85th minute in the Philadelphia Union’s 5-1 win against the New England Revolution this week.

  • Sullivan made his debut moments after his brother, 20-year-old Quinn, scored a goal.

• Sullivan is from Philadelphia and comes from a soccer-loving family.

Have a great weekend!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

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📌 TRUMP TAKES CENTER STAGE MAKING HIS PITCH TO RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE

The Republican National Convention wrapped last night, and former President Donald Trump took center stage with a speech that began with a reflective, unifying tone — recounting his recent assassination attempt — and then returned to his familiar, unscripted campaign anecdotes and talking points.

• In a 1 hour 32 minutes speech that stretched past 12amET, the longest convention address in modern history (beating his own record from 2016), Trump formally accepted the GOP nomination for president.

  • Following Saturday’s assassination attempt, Trump said he threw out his original speech to instead focus on the idea of unity. But, the kumbaya did not last long.

WHAT HE OUTLINED
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said. With images from the attack projected behind him, Trump told his first-hand experience of the shooting. He recounted brave Secret Service agents jumping on him, how ear wounds are particularly bloody, and that it’s God who saved him.

The former President started his speech by saying he will show “confidence, strength, and hope” to the American people, and vowed to be a president for “all Americans.”

• Economic proposals: Trump promised to lower tax rates, “drill baby drill” for more US oil, and to stop taxing any income workers make via tips. He argues the best way to boost the US economy will be to “end this border nightmare.”

• Immigration: He said America can't succeed “unless we stop the illegal immigrant invasion” at the border, and promised a mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants. It is an issue that resonates with many voters. He falsely claimed that other countries are emptying out “insane asylums and prisons” and sending migrants here, comparing them to the “late great Hannibal Lecter”—the fictional serial killer from ‘Silence of the Lambs.’

• Overseas: “I could stop wars with a telephone call,” he claimed, arguing that another four years of Trump could get the hostages in Gaza out and would end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

• Going off-script: He often deviated from the script, and jumped back into his campaign rally stories.

  • One of them was a favorite topic of Trump’s: Stolen elections. He falsely claimed that Democrats “use[d] COVID to cheat” in 2020 and plan to do it again.

  • Ad-lib moments: He told Wisconsinites that “I am trying to buy your vote,” referenced the “China virus,” talked about how Kim Jong Un misses him, and referred to the former House Speaker as “Crazy Nancy Pelosi.” Trump was still… Trump.

UNITED IN TRUMP
The GOP had undergone a monumental shift under Trump’s leadership before the shooting — supporters feel like they are a part of a movement. Trump said last night, “The attacker in Pennsylvania wanted to stop our movement, but the truth is the movement has never been about me. It has always been about you."

• The Dispatch’s Sarah Isgur notes how Trump has transformed the GOP into a totally different political party from decades past.

  • The 1964-2012 GOP projected strength abroad, focused on abortion/guns, and limited government. Now, it’s about isolationism, anti-woke policies, and actually growing the government’s safety net—-as it has become a more populist party.

HISTORY ON “AMERICAN FIRST”
Trump’s VP pick, JD Vance, further solidified a faction of the Republican party that embraces an increasingly isolationist, “America First,” approach to the world stage.

• Vance and Trump say Americans need to focus on home vs aiding allies like Ukraine and Taiwan abroad. When it comes to trade, the focus is on protectionism, with Trump’s proposed 10% across-the-board tariff on imports from other countries.

• It marks a remarkable transformation for a party that embraced free trade, and the US role in leading the free world for decades. Here is a clip of former President George W. Bush addressing what was then the party’s mantra for decades in a 2011 conversation:

TRUMP SHOOTER UPDATE
Back to the RNC, featured on stage last night was Corey Comperatore’s firefighting gear as the former president spoke. He was killed at the Trump rally nearly a week ago, when Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to assassinate Trump. Here’s the latest on the investigation:

• Lawmakers briefed on the investigation into Crooks’ motives revealed that he had searched online for information about both Trump and Biden.

  • He had photos of them, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and a member of the British royal family saved on his phone.

  • He had also searched about major depressive disorder, the rally in Butler, PA, and information on the Democratic National Convention.

• A week prior to the rally, Crooks visited the site. The day of the event, he arrived several hours before it started.

  • New video shows him roaming around the rally grounds an hour before the shooting. Local police also sent a photo to the Secret Service and an alert about Crooks looking suspicious 26 minutes before he opened fire.

📌 DEMOCRATS SAY BIDEN IS GETTING CLOSER TO DROPPING OUT

President Biden could drop out of the presidential race as soon as this weekend — that’s what some top Democrats told Axios.

• And there’s reportedly a palpable sense that the campaign is “close to the end.”

  • In recent days, Biden has had private conversations with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other lawmakers in his party, all of whom have tried to convince him that he cannot win the election.

  • The Obamas and Clintons are also reportedly making a push for him to step aside.

Democrats are concerned that he can’t beat Trump, and are pointing to polling. Regardless of what the numbers say (65% of Democrats say Biden should withdraw), the decision is ultimately Biden’s to make. He has the delegates locked up to secure the nomination, so it remains his call.

IF HE STEPS ASIDE…
The most likely scenario is that Biden would endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.

• The question is whether the party immediately rallies around Harris, or decides to pass her over for a different candidate at the convention (unlikely).

  • Before 1976 and the modern primary system, parties decided their candidate at the convention for more than 100 years.

WHO’S TALKING (BEHIND THE SCENES)
We aren’t hearing much from Biden as he isolates from COVID in Delaware with the First Lady.

• The down-ballot risk: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told Biden in separate private meetings last week that polling shows he can’t win the White House, and could ensure Republicans win both chambers of Congress too.

• Former President Barack Obamahas told allies that Biden is unlikely to win and thinks he needs to seriously reconsider.

• Donors: The Biden campaign reportedly expects to raise only 25% of the big donor money it had originally projected to raise in July. Democratic allies are closing their checkbooks until he drops out.

For now, Biden has said he was the best candidate, and disagreed with a close confidant when they recently said he should end his candidacy to preserve his legacy. We will be watching closely.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children engaged in sexual abuse and harassment, DOJ says (AP)

📌 Illinois deputy charged with murder in fatal shooting of woman who called 911 (ABC NEWS)

📌 Secret Service says it's appalled by DEI rhetoric against female agents after Trump rally shooting (NBC NEWS)

📌 Biden administration cancels another $1.2B in student debt (AXIOS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 European leaders discuss migration and Ukraine at a UK summit amid worries about Trump (AP)

📌 Israel's Knesset votes overwhelmingly against Palestinian statehood as Netanyahu prepares for U.S. visit (NBC NEWS)

📌 South Korea's top court recognizes some rights for same-sex couples (NPR)

📌 Rare pictures released of uncontacted Amazon rainforest tribe in Peru emerging near logging site (ABC NEWS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Amazon Prime Day drives US online sales to record $14.2 billion (CNBC)

📌 Netflix earnings surge as hit shows attract big new audience (THE WRAP)

📌 World’s rarest whale washes up on New Zealand beach (KOMO)

📌 A stegosaurus fossil fetched a record $44.6M at Sotheby's (NPR)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Bob Newhart, legendary comedian and sitcom star, dead at 94 (FOX NEWS)

📌 Dubai Princess Sheikha Mahra appears to divorce husband in Instagram post (TIME)

📌 Brad Pitt seeks dismissal of Angelina Jolie's request for messages about plane incident (USA TODAY)

📌 Ariana Madix takes swipe at ex Tom Sandoval after he sues her for sharing explicit video of Raquel Leviss (PAGE SIX)

🎉 CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN WEEKEND

• WHAT WE’RE WATCHING: Mosheh: Hillbillly Elegy~ Netlix

  Jill:Young Woman and the Sea~ Disney Plus

• WHAT WE’RE READING: Mosheh:Demon of Unrest~ Erik Larson

  Jill:Hillbilly Elegy~ JD Vance

• WHAT WE’RE EATING: Mosheh: Honeypie, Stratton, Vermont;

  Jill: Viral Pickle sandwich: scooped out pickle instead of bread, with turkey and honey mustard from Schmear Bagel and Cafe