Today in one sentence: Biden, speaking to the American public from the Oval Office, said he ended his re-election campaign because there is “a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices — yes, younger voices”; Kamala Harris warned that Trump and Project 2025 would “return American to a dark past” of “chaos, fear and hate”; JD Vance once argued that Kamala Harris is unfit to be president because she has not given birth to children; House Republicans passed a resolution criticizing Harris for her role in the Biden administration’s handling of the border; the U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter, growing at a 2.8% annualized rate; Justice Elena Kagan called for an enforcement mechanism to hold justices accountable for any violations of the Supreme Court’s code of conduct; Trump leads Harris 48% to 47% among likely voters in a head-to-head match; and 60% of 18- to 34-year-olds prefer Harris to Trump (40%).

1/ Biden, speaking to the American public from the Oval Office, said he ended his re-election campaign because there is “a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices — yes, younger voices.” He said that “saving our democracy” was “more important than any title,” and that “The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our nation.” Biden never mentioned Trump by name, but instead framed his decision to step aside by saying, “Americans are going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide — do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy.” Biden, who entered political life as one of the youngest U.S. senators in history and is leaving as the nation’s oldest president in history, praised Kamala Harris and ended by saying “it’s been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years.” (Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / CNN / Axios / NPR)

2/ Kamala Harris warned that Trump and Project 2025 would “return American to a dark past” of “chaos, fear and hate.” In a speech to the American Federation of Teachers in Houston, Harris blasted the Heritage Foundation’s 900-page vision for a second Trump term, saying: “Trump and his extreme allies want to take our nation back to failed trickle-down economic policies, back to union busting, back to tax breaks for billionaires [they] want to cut Medicare and Social Security, to stop student loan forgiveness [and] want to eliminate the Department of Education and end Head Start.” She added: “We want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books,” as teachers responded with chants of “Bring it on, bring it on.” While Trump has largely tried to distance himself from Project 2025, his vice presidential candidate, JD Vance, wrote the foreword for the upcoming book from the architect of the right-wing blueprint. “We are now all realizing that it’s time to circle the wagons and load the muskets,” Vance writes. “In the fights that lay ahead, these ideas are an essential weapon.” (CNBC / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / ABC News / Bloomberg)

3/ JD Vance once argued that Kamala Harris is unfit to be president because she has not given birth to children. During a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, Vance called Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other Democrats the “childless cat ladies” who “want to make the rest of the country miserable […] the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.” He added: “And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?” The comments have resurfaced now that Harris is the likely Democratic nominee for president. While Harris doesn’t have biological children, she does have two stepchildren – Cole and Ella Emhoff – who refer to her as “Momala.” Buttigieg, who now has two children, criticized Vance’s comments, saying: “The really sad thing is, he said that after Chasten and I had been through a fairly heartbreaking setback in our adoption journey. He couldn’t have known that, but maybe that’s why you shouldn’t be talking about other people’s children. It’s about … people’s families whose well-being will depend on whether we go into a future led by somebody like Kamala Harris who is focused on expanding the prosperity and the freedom, the well-being of our families.” (NBC News / ABC News / Rolling Stone / Washington Post / New York Times)

4/ House Republicans passed a resolution criticizing Harris for her role in the Biden administration’s handling of the border. Six Democrats in vulnerable House races voted with Republicans to pass the measure “strongly condemning” the administration’s “failure to secure the United States border.” Migrant encounters along the southern border, however, are down 55% since Biden issued an executive order that temporarily suspends most asylum claims at the southern border when unauthorized crossings exceed a daily threshold. In February, Senate Republicans blocked the $118 billion bipartisan border package that Republicans had demanded but later rejected after pressure from Trump, who wanted to make the border a campaign issue. The resolution is symbolic and has no chance at getting taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate. (Associated Press / Politico / The Hill / Axios / ABC News)

5/ The U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter, growing at a 2.8% annualized rate. Economists had forecast 2.1% growth following a 1.4% rise in the first quarter. The new data raises confidence in the economy achieving a “soft landing” — economic growth alongside cooling inflation. (Axios / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / New York Times)

6/ Justice Elena Kagan called for an enforcement mechanism to hold justices accountable for any violations of the Supreme Court’s code of conduct. Kagan suggested that Chief Justice John Roberts could appoint an outside panel of highly respected, experienced judges to review allegations of wrongdoing by the nine justices. Although the justices adopted an ethical code of conduct for the first time in November, it’s been criticized for lacking a way to examine alleged misconduct, or sanction justices who violate the rules. (Washington Post / Bloomberg / CNN)

poll/ Trump leads Harris 48% to 47% among likely voters in a head-to-head match. In early July, Biden trailed Trump by six percentage points. Among registered voters, Trump leads Harris 48% to 46%. Following the debate, Trump led Biden by nine percentage points. (New York Times)

poll/ 60% of 18- to 34-year-olds prefer Harris to Trump (40%). In a Biden-Trump race, the split was 53% for Biden and 47% for Trump. (Axios)

  • 📅 The WTFJHT Calendar: Now until then.

  • 🫏 Aug. 1-7: Democratic virtual roll call vote to formally nominate Harris.
    🫏 Aug. 19-22: Democratic National Convention.
    ⛔️ Sept. 2: Labor Day – No WTFJHT.
    📺 Sept. 10: Second presidential debate.
    ⚖️ Sept. 18: Trump is sentenced.
    📆 Oct. 6: Last day to register to vote in some states.
    ⛔️ Oct. 14: Indigenous Peoples’ Day – No WTFJHT.
    🗳️ Nov. 5: Presidential Election.

  • ✅ Get election ready: Register to vote, update your address, or request an absentee ballot at Vote.org, TurboVote or RocktheVote.

Last year today: Day 917: "Tipping point."
Two years ago today: Day 552: "Moment of truth."
Five years ago today: Day 917: Extensive activity.
Six years ago today: Day 552: All the stuff.