Trump deflates his convention bounce with a week of deranged conspiracies and potential felonies, a Pollapalooza shows the race largely unchanged by the conventions and Trump’s crime message, and Joe Biden’s record-breaking month of fundraising allows him to launch a homestretch advertising blitz. Then WNBA player Renee Montgomery talks to Dan about taking this season off to focus on activism and social justice.

Show notes

Trump Insanity

• WaPo: ‘Thugs’ on a plane: Trying to paint Biden as extreme, Trump ramps up promotion of conspiracy theories
• NYT: Trump Spread Multiple Conspiracy Theories on Monday. Here Are Their Roots. 
• Vox: Trump went full authoritarian in his latest Fox News interview
• NYT: Trump’s False and Misleading Statements About Protests and Violence 
• NYT: Trump Says Some Really Strange Things. Republicans Say No Comment, Again
• New Yorker: Donald Trump’s Incitements to Violence Have Crossed an Alarming Threshold 
• WaPo: Trump’s interviews with friendly hosts can go awry even when they throw him a lifeline
• CNN: Trump and his doctor say mini-stroke did not prompt President’s trip to Walter Reed last year 
• CNN: Pence was on standby to ‘take over’ during Trump’s unannounced Walter Reed visit, new book reports 
• Mediaite:  Trump Campaign Calls On CNN to Fire Joe Lockhart for His ‘Reckless’ Tweet Asking If the President Had a Stroke 
• Vanity Fair: TRUMP’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T HAVE A STROKE WOULD BE MORE CONVINCING IF HE DIDN’T CONSTANTLY LIE ABOUT EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME
• CNBC: Trump encourages North Carolina residents to vote twice to test mail-in system
• Mediaite:  Is This… Cancel Culture? President Trump Calls For Joy Reid, Chris Cuomo and Joe Lockhart to All Be Fired
• NBC: Trump encourages North Carolina residents to vote twice to test mail-in system 
• The Hill: Trump encourages North Carolina residents to test system by voting twice 
• The Guardian: Trump told Sarah Sanders to ‘take one for the team’ after Kim Jong-un wink
• Salon: Trump storms out of press conference after pressed on his support for alleged Kenosha shooter
• Deadline: President Donald Trump Tweetstorm – The Sunday Edition
• Mediaite:  Why is Everyone Talking About Soup? Trump Rant About Weaponized ‘Bags of Soup’ Goes Viral
• NYT: Visitors to antifa.com are redirected to Biden’s website. His campaign is not happy.
• USA Today: Fact check: Antifa.com redirects to Joe Biden’s website, but Biden campaign not involved

State of the Race

• FiveThirtyEight: Who’s ahead in the national polls? 
• Quinnipiac: Biden Tops Trump By 10 Points Among Likely Voters, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Nearly 6 In 10 Say The Country Is Worse Off Than It Was In 2016 
• USA Today: Exclusive: The conventions over, Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by a narrower 50%-43% in USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll
• Reuters: No bounce in support for Trump as Americans see pandemic, not crime, as top issue: Reuters/Ipsos poll
• Grinnell College: Joe Biden Leads Donald Trump in Latest Grinnell College National Poll 
• The Economist/YouGov Poll
• Fox News: Fox News Poll: Biden tops Trump among likely voters in key states 
• CNN: CNN Poll: Biden’s lead persists post-conventions 
• Navigator: Public Opinion on Coronavirus: Navigator Update 
• Monmouth University: Presidential Race Tightens 
• Politico: Trump attacks take a toll on Black Lives Matter support
• Morning Consult: Arizona Stands Out From a Mostly Static Presidential Race in Battleground States
• WaPo: The latest polling evidence suggests Trump’s convention flopped
• WaPo: Even the good polling news for Trump isn’t that good 
• WaPo: Biden adjusts strategy in Midwestern battlegrounds to blunt Trump’s ‘law and order’ focus 
• The Atlantic: Kenosha Could Cost Trump the Election 
• CNN: Trump continues to break the polling
• YouGov: Do you think the violence happening at protests will get better, get worse or will it stay the same if Donald Trump is reelected President in 2020? (
• YouGov: Do you think the violence happening at protests will get better, get worse or will it stay the same if Joe Biden is elected President in 2020? 

• NYT: Trump-Biden Debates: 3 Matchups, With Solo Moderators 
• Politico: Presidential debate commission announces moderators for fall contests 
• ABC News: Moderators announced for 2020 presidential debates
• CNN: Debate breaks record as most-watched in U.S. history
• The Hill: Trump touts online viewership for GOP convention after trailing in TV ratings 
• WaPo: Television ratings for the Democratic convention edge out the GOP’s
• Axios: Biden campaign says it raised record-breaking $364.5 million in August 
• NYT: Biden Expected to Surpass $300 Million Raised in August, Shattering Record 
• CBS: Joe Biden shatters record with $364.5 million haul in August 
• Politico: Biden Posts stunning monthly cash haul: $365 million 
• NYT: Biden and Trump Unveil Dueling Law-and-Order Ads as Both Eye Swing States
• WaPo: Biden adjusts strategy in Midwestern battlegrounds to blunt Trump’s ‘law and order’ focus 
• Star Tribune: Campaign ad wars begin in battleground Minnesota
• Politico: An unlikely state tightens up 

The Hill: On The Trail: Trump, Biden face broad battlefield as first ballots go out CNN: This is the widest presidential battleground in a very long time