Trump cheers on violent supporters in Kenosha and Portland, Joe Biden gives a speech in Pennsylvania condemning violence and Trump, Covid outbreaks on college campuses get worse, and the White House weighs a strategy of herd immunity and a quick vaccine. Then Obama pollster Cornell Belcher talks to Jon Lovett about the state of the race after both conventions.

Show notes

Trump’s America

• NYT: One Person Dead in Portland After Clashes Between Trump Supporters and Protesters 
• Oregon Live: Clashes escalate in downtown Portland after Trump rally in Clackamas
• WaPo: Biden accuses Trump of ‘recklessly encouraging violence’ in response to Portland shooting
• The Atlantic: The Violence Could Get Much Worse
• CNN: Vigilante group activity on the rise, worrying law enforcement and watchdog groups
• Vox: Facebook banned violent militia groups. We still found plenty of them on its platform.
• Buzzfeed: Facebook Employees Are Outraged At Mark Zuckerberg’s Explanations Of How It Handled The Kenosha Violence
• The Verge: Facebook chose not to act on militia complaints before Kenosha shooting
• HuffPo: White Vigilantes Have Always Had A Friend In Police
• WaPo: Before a fatal shooting, teenage Kenosha suspect idolized the police
• Vox: Why police encouraged a teenager with a gun to patrol Kenosha’s streets
• Buzzfeed: The Kenosha Shooting Suspect Was In The Front Row Of A Trump Rally In January
• LA Times: Trump and allies seek to turn violence at protests to his advantage
• Marketwatch: Kellyanne Conway says ‘the quiet part out loud’: For Trump, the more chaos and violence the better
• WaPo: How the Trump campaign came to court QAnon, the online conspiracy movement identified by the FBI as a violent threat
• The Guardian: Kenosha: fears rise that Trump visit amid protests could inflame tensions
• NPR: Kenosha Mayor Does Not Want President Trump To Visit ‘At This Point In Time’
• Politico: Trump to visit Kenosha in wake of police protests
• AP: Trump, at NH rally, sows fears about ‘thugs,’ ‘anarchists’
• WaPo: Trump escalates rhetoric on unrest in cities, looking for a campaign advantage
• The Hill: Trump decries DC protesters as ‘thugs’
• NYT: What Is the Insurrection Act of 1807, the Law Behind Trump’s Threat to States?

Biden Leaves Basement

• The Hill: Biden: I condemn violence in Portland, ‘challenge Trump to do the same’
• Politico: After Portland shooting, Trump and Biden allies trade blame for clashes across the country
• WaPo: Trump visits Gulf Coast to survey hurricane damage; Biden addresses National Guard conference
• NYT: Biden, Speaking to National Guard Group, Takes Aim at Republican Criticism on Crime
• CNN: Biden says Trump is rooting for violence
• NYT: Biden Says Trump Is ‘Rooting for More Violence’ Amid Kenosha Unrest
• Politico: Biden will not visit Kenosha on Monday
• NYT: Biden, Speaking to National Guard Group, Takes Aim at Republican Criticism on Crime
• CNN: Why Democrats are worried about Kenosha
• FiveThirtyEight: Could A Backlash Against Black Lives Matter Hurt Biden? The Two Don’t Appear Linked So Far.
• The Hill: Democrats worry about voter backlash in suburbs
• The Atlantic: This Is How Biden Loses
• Politico: ‘It’s playing into Trump’s hands’: Dems fear swing-state damage from Kenosha unrest
• NYT: How Chaos in Kenosha Is Already Swaying Some Voters in Wisconsin
• WaPo: Biden to resume in-person campaigning as race with Trump kicks into gear
• The Hill: Trump urges Biden to hit campaign trail: ‘Get out there today, Joe!’
• NYT: Rival Themes Emerge as Race Enters Final Weeks: Covid vs. Law and Order
• Axios: Biden plans modified return to campaign trail

Remember Covid?

• Reuters: U.S. coronavirus cases approach 6 million as Midwest, schools face outbreaks
• CNBC: Coronavirus cases climb in the Midwest as more states report growing outbreaks
• Axios: Coronavirus cases fell by 15% this week
• WaPo: Coronavirus update: Infections rise to more than 1,000 on University of Alabama campus
• NYT: See How All 50 States Are Reopening (and Closing Again)
• Vox: Your state’s Covid-19 epidemic, explained in 5 maps
• CNN: ‘Rolling hotspots’ are the new normal: Sun Belt states see progress on coronavirus as rates drift up in the Midwest
• Axios: Coronavirus hotspots keep improving
• WSJ: Coronavirus Hits Midwest Rural Areas That Had Been Spared
• The Guardian: ‘This is unstoppable’: America’s midwest braces itself for a Covid-19 surge
• NYT: Why New Jersey’s Plan for In-Person Schooling Is Falling Apart
• NYT: Covid in the Classroom? Some Schools Are Keeping It Quiet
• WSJ: Schools Are Reopening, Then Quickly Closing Due to Coronavirus Outbreaks 
• NYT: As the Coronavirus Comes to School, a Tough Choice: When to Close
• CNN: Colleges and universities work to control outbreaks as a new school year starts amid coronavirus
• Bloomberg: Colleges With Covid Outbreaks Advised to Keep Students on Campus
• WSJ: U.S. Colleges Continue to Grapple With Coronavirus Outbreaks
• WaPo: Universities sound alarm as coronavirus cases emerge just days into classes
• Inside Higher Ed: August Wave of Campus Reopening Reversals
• NYT: Looking to Reopen, Colleges Become Labs for Coronavirus Tests and Tracking Apps
• WaPo: The University of Arizona says it caught a dorm’s covid-19 outbreak before it started. Its secret weapon: Poop.
• Axios: FDA commissioner says he’s willing to fast-track coronavirus vaccine
• Reuters: FDA commissioner says willing to fast-track COVID-19 vaccine
• Axios: Axios-Ipsos poll: The racial gap on coronavirus vaccine
• Navigator Polling
• CNN: Fauci warns against premature authorization of coronavirus vaccine
• Vox: Why it’s unlikely we’ll have a Covid-19 vaccine before Election Day
• Reuters: It’s not for me: speed of COVID-19 vaccine race raises safety concerns
• NYT: Scientists Worry About Political Influence Over Coronavirus Vaccine Project (8/2, updated
• Politico: Most voters say they’d rather wait for an effective coronavirus vaccine
• WaPo: Elizabeth Warren, others seek details of Warp Speed co-chief Moncef Slaoui’s contract
• NBC News: House Democrats begin probe into Trump’s ‘Warp Speed’ vaccine initiative
• ABC News: Dems want expert panel to OK coronavirus vaccine before mass use 
• NBC News: Biden demands Trump let coronavirus vaccine process happen ‘free of political pressure’
• WaPo: The tainted polio vaccine that sickened and fatally paralyzed children in 1955