Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - A race like no other

Immediately after US President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, a move not seen since President Lyndon Johnson stepped back at the height of the Vietnam War, a question suddenly arose. What path would Vice President Kamala Harris take to try and beat Donald Trump? The Republican nominee had been on a winning streak of late, avoiding a spotlight on his historic criminal conviction, pending trials or even repeated references to a fictional serial killer. Instead, the media spent almost a month focused on Biden, his age and botched debate performance (Biden, at 81, is three years older than Trump). Well, Harris wasted no time providing answers to the question. Her campaign is focusing on Trump’s status as a convicted felon, his various other legal entanglements, including being found liable for sexual abuse, and his starring role in blowing up abortion rights. “I know Donald Trump’s type,” said the 59-year-old Harris, a former US senator, state attorney general and district attorney. Francis Wilkinson writes in Bloomberg Opinion that “from here to November, the prosecutor should prosecute the predator.” 

Donald Trump with his pick for vice president, Ohio Senator JD Vance Photographer: Bloomberg

Polls showed the race tightening with Harris’ entry, with more enthusiasm among Black and younger voters. Republicans are already trying to use immigration against her, despite Trump arguably being the main reason a bipartisan immigration reform bill was killed. Then there’s the question of whether Americans are ready to elect the first female president. Trump, who has a history of racist and misogynistic statements, risks alienating some of the very voters he needs if he pursues that track this time. Many prominent Republicans however have already started racial attacks on Harris, calling her “the DEI candidate.” In short, this is a race like no other in US history. The next step will be for Harris to select a running mate ahead of the Democratic National Convention. As the new race was forming up this week, Biden addressed the nation, framing his decision to bow out as a way of uniting the country around a new generation of leaders. He also warned of what he’s said is the existential peril democracy faces in November. “Americans are going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division,” Biden said. “We have to decide—do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy.”

Can Trump win without Biden? As Harris steps into the Democratic Party spotlight, Trump’s recent run of good luck could be coming to an end. In this week’s Bloomberg Originals mini-documentary, we look at the seasoned veterans running Trump’s campaign and the new, significant challenges they face in Harris.

The soft landing is in sight. The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying US inflation rose at a tame pace in June and consumer spending remained healthy, all positive signs for the central bank as it seeks to cool inflation without going too far. It also bolstered investor bets the Fed will signal at its meeting next week that it intends to begin unwinding tight monetary policy in September, with a quarter point interest rate cut. Globally, Russia raised interest rates for the first time this year following six months of price acceleration. And Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has been silent ahead of the bank’s policy meeting next week, making rate decisions even harder to predict and adding to volatility in the financial markets.

Vice President Harris struck a forceful tone with Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting during the Israeli prime minister’s visit to Washington, while acknowledging deep disagreement among Democrats over the war in Gaza. She said she pressed him to accept a cease-fire and warned about the civilian death toll—almost 40,000 dead according to the Hamas-run health ministry—and the humanitarian crisis facing all those living in Gaza. Netanyahu defended the war in a speech before Congress, praised by Republicans and boycotted by some top Democrats. He also called Americans protesting the war outside the US Capitol “useful idiots” for Iran. Netanyahu then traveled to Florida to meet Trump, were he was warmly welcomed.

The Paris Olympics arrive amid a backdrop of political tension in France (and many other countries with athletes participating) as well as the first Games since the International Olympic Committee reformed its bidding processes for candidate host cities. With that, hours before the Opening Ceremony, trains to and from Paris, including the international Eurostar service, were hit by what authorities called a “massive attack aimed at paralyzing the network.” Just days before, French authorities reportedly said they arrested a Russian man plotting acts to “destabilize” the Games.

Visitors in the Hotel de Ville fan zone ahead of the Olympic Games in central Paris, France. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

On this week’s episode of the Bloomberg Originals series Power Players, Shahid Khan, the billionaire owner of the National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars and English Premier League’s Fulham FC, reveals his plan for a cross-Atlantic empire involving both kinds of football. And Misconception, a new Bloomberg podcast, dives into the business of fertility, uncovering a fractured industry that thrives on dueling messages of hope and fear.

• Bank of England’s rate decision after volatile economic data.
• Euro-area GDP, inflation data ahead of ECB’s September meeting.
• Another busy earnings week—banks, beverages, Shell and BMW.
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni travels to China. 
• Venezuela presidential election, Nicolas Maduro seeks a third term. 

In a remote village temple late one night in 2004, thieves pulled off a daring heist of some of India’s most precious cultural heritage. With little effort, they methodically emptied the site of a series of priceless bronze idols. The brazen crime was part of a sprawling effort to feed a global art market where millions of dollars can be made. In Stealing the Gods, the first episode of a new season of Bloomberg Investigates, we meet two men on opposite sides of the planet—citizen detectives both—who joined forces along with Indian authorities and a special unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to bring down the mastermind behind one of the biggest art thefts in history.

Some of the stolen objects being returned to India, including this bronze Shiva Nataraja valued at $4 million. Photographer: Seth Wenig/AP

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