August 6, 2024 - 6:30pm

→ Tim Walz pick delights the Left — and his opponents

Kamala Harris’s choice of progressive Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for her running mate — and her spurning of a popular swing-state candidate — has both the Left and Right cheering, though for very different reasons. For conservatives, the VP’s apparent disregard for moderate voters is a gift to Donald Trump. Former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway called the choice “a relief”, while the former president himself posted “THANK YOU” on Truth Social after the announcement.

“She’s more interested in doubling down on her radical base than in winning”, Ben Shapiro wrote. “I’m truly amazed by the incompetence.”

Progressives, of course, are pleased with the pick. Meanwhile, centrists who wanted Harris to win are disappointed. Could this be a rare VP pick who makes a difference? 

→ Brits more likely to think Starmer is handling riots badly

Keir Starmer has postponed his holiday to deal with ongoing riots across the UK. He’s even worked on a Friday night to try and find a solution to the chaos. And yet the British public isn’t too happy with his performance.

According to a YouGov poll, Britons think the Prime Minister is handling the 2024 riots badly by 49% to 31%. Unsurprisingly, 88% of Reform voters think he is doing badly, while a substantial 24% of Labour voters agree, even if these groups may be at odds on why he is doing badly.

In other findings, by 52% to 34% Britons say the police have handled the recent riots well, but most Reform UK voters disagree. Worryingly, a combined 58% of Brits either have no confidence or not a lot of confidence that the police can defend and protect people and property from further unrest. May as well take that holiday, Keir…

→ Elon Musk declares war with a tweet

“We tried peace for two years, now it is war,” Elon Musk warned on X today alongside an announcement of the platform’s recently filed antitrust lawsuit.

X is suing a number of major advertisers for allegedly boycotting the platform following Musk’s acquisition in 2022. The lawsuit claims advertisers illegally banded together to discourage brands from giving advertising money to the social media platform, and CEO Linda Yaccarino has claimed today that the alleged boycott cost the company billions of dollars. Musk has been encouraging other companies to sue: “Everyone who has been boycotted should file a lawsuit in every country they’ve been boycotted.” Huge week for Big Tech lawsuits