The art of the ramble
I have watched a lot of speeches in my life. Donald Trump’s meandering, nearly 90-minute exhibition, which included a mix of self-involved bluster, a gruesome recounting of the assassination attempt on his life and a series of bizarre stories about everything from UFC President Dana White’s vacation to the “late and great Hannibal Lecter,” was simply not a good speech.
The entire point of a prime-time address is to speak to an audience broader than your core supporters.
The entire point of a prime-time address is to speak to an audience broader than your core supporters. These opportunities don’t come along very often for presidential candidates. And yet, I doubt even Trump’s biggest fans were still listening after 45 minutes of garbled drivel. It certainly wasn’t the unifying speech we were promised. Not that I ever really believed Trump could pull off that sort of dramatic pivot.
Indeed, Thursday night was just another reminder that every promised reinvention of Trump is bound to be thwarted by Donald Trump himself.
So maybe it’s time that we stop buying into it. All of it.
And while we’re at it, let’s also stop treating him and the MAGA movement as if it is some insurmountable genius collective. A prime-time convention speech is only as helpful to a campaign as the person delivering it. And Thursday’s speech may go down as one of the worst acceptance speeches delivered by a nominee from either party.
A story you should be following: The real JD Vance
On the first night of this year’s Republican convention, Trump selected Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to be his vice presidential nominee. Vance has billed himself as a “man of the people” who truly understands the struggles of the Rust Belt, but his work addressing Ohio’s opioid crisis tells a different story.
When Vance returned to Ohio after working at a San Francisco venture capital fund, he launched the nonprofit Our Ohio Renewal, claiming it would be a “focused effort on solving the opioid crisis.” However, his nonprofit — which he shut down shortly after winning the Republican primary for Senate in 2022 — didn’t fund a single treatment program. In fact, the largest share of the organization’s budget went to “management services” provided by a company that employed Jai Chabria as its executive director. Chabria would later go on to be a senior adviser for Vance’s 2022 Senate run. Additionally, the organization spent $45,000 on polling — but nonprofit staffers told The New York Times they never saw the results. Coincidentally, The Atlantic reported Vance had commissioned a poll to test his viability for a Senate run.
Vance later funded a psychiatrist, Sally Satel, to work in Ironton, Ohio. Vance used Satel to bolster his image as a leader in addressing Ohio’s opioid crisis. However, Satel was later found to have financial ties to Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin.
With a carefully crafted persona, Vance has gained the support of Trump and simultaneously revealed his true priority: to achieve political gain by whatever means necessary. And that includes exploiting Ohio’s opioid crisis.
Someone you should know: Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters
One of the key figures in the effort to keep Democrats in control of the Senate is Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Liz Walters.
Last year, Walters successfully led the Ohio Democratic Party’s effort to protect a woman’s right to choose on a statewide ballot initiative.
Now, she is currently steering the state party through a crucial election for Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, but her role has become even more significant this week as Trump selected Ohio’s junior senator as his running mate. You can expect to see much more of Walters in the news, breaking down how Vance failed to advocate for the interests of Ohioans during his brief time in the U.S. Senate.
Jason and Yeganeh Rezaian’s weekend routine
What show are you bingeing right now?
We’re trying to find time to get through “The Crown.” We just binged the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on flights back and forth to California last week. Pretty, pretty good.
What’s the last book you read?
What time do you wake up on the weekends?
In the 7 a.m. hour. We have an almost-4-year-old boy.
How do you take your coffee?
Jason likes it black and iced. Yegi takes it hot with oat milk. But the day isn’t complete without a Persian tea too.
And ICYMI…
Want to meet me and some of your favorite MSNBC hosts in person? On Saturday, September 7, I’ll be joining Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, Joy Reid and more for “MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024” in Brooklyn, New York. It’s a first-of-its-kind interactive experience where you’ll hear thought-provoking conversations about what matters most in the final weeks of an historic election cycle. Buy tickets here.
Jen Psaki is the host of "The Briefing with Jen Psaki" airing Tuesdays through Fridays at 9 p.m. EST. She is the former White House press secretary for President Joe Biden.