The Trump campaign smashes that reset button, the President tries to undermine the election by attacking mail-in voting and the Postal Service, Republicans refuse to extend unemployment benefits, and Joe Biden gets close to selecting his running mate. Then journalist Kara Swisher talks to Jon Lovett about Trump’s threat to ban TikTok and the tech CEOs who recently testified on Capitol Hill.

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Show Notes

Trump’s August Reset

• AP: Clock is ticking on Trump comeback as early voting nears 
• NYT: Trump Halts TV Advertising as He Struggles in Polls Against Biden
• Politico: Trump’s top strategist reboots campaign with focus on early-voting states
• NBC News: Trump campaign, in strategy shift, makes push in early-voting states
• WaPo: Trump’s Four-Pinocchio interview on Russian bounties
• Axios: Exclusive: Trump never raised Russia’s Taliban bounties with Putin
• Politico: ‘He just needs to win 60 percent of the next 100 days’
• NYT (Upshot): How Local Covid Deaths Are Affecting Vote Choice
• WaPo: One question still dogs Trump: Why not try harder to solve the coronavirus crisis?

Trump’s war on mail-in voting

• Donald Trump tweet
• WaPo: White House steps back from Trump suggestion about delaying the election
• HuffPo: Trump Urges Voters To Use Absentee Ballots, Which Are, Uh, Mailed In
• CNN: Trump campaign fighting to make it harder for Democrats to vote by mail
• Politico: Trump predicts this year will bring the ‘greatest election disaster in history’
• NYT: Trump Floats an Election Delay, and Republicans Shoot It Down
• New Yorker: The Chaotic Design of Trump’s Mail-In-Voting Rants
• NYT: Voting by Mail Is Popular. So Is the False Idea That It’s Ripe for Fraud.
• Vox: The slow-motion 2020 election disaster states are scrambling to prevent, explained
• Recode: Why Facebook and Twitter won’t fact-check Trump’s latest false claims about voting
• AP: Wealthy donors pour millions into fight over mail-in voting
• FiveThirtyEight: Americans Mostly Support Voting By Mail
• Business Insider: Vice presidential contender Stacey Abrams says Trump is trying to ‘steal the vote’ by undermining the US Postal Service
• NYT: Mail Delays Fuel Concern Trump Is Undercutting Postal System Ahead of Voting
• CNN: New postal policies that are slowing service may affect 2020 mail-in voting, union leader says
• WaPo: Postal Service backlog sparks worries that ballot delivery could be delayed in November
• NBC News: Trump’s new postmaster general could corrupt a key institution ahead of Election Day
• WaPo: Postal Service memos detail ‘difficult’ changes, including slower mail delivery
• NYT: Postal Service Pick With Ties to Trump Raises Concerns Ahead of 2020 Election
• The Hill: GOP fears Trump attacks on mail-in vote will sabotage turnout
• USA Today: ‘He’s scaring our own voters’: Republicans run into a Donald Trump problem as they push mail voting
• CNN: GOP to Trump: Change tune on mail-in voting or risk ugly November
• WaPo: Trump’s attacks on mail voting are turning Republicans off absentee ballots

Covid Relief Negotiations 

• CNN: Pelosi and Mnuchin dig in on stimulus positions ahead of scheduled Monday talks
• Axios: What’s next in coronavirus stimulus negotiations 
• WaPo: Pelosi, Mnuchin, Meadows point to disagreements as deal on unemployment benefits, coronavirus relief remains elusive
• Politico: Leaders duel over coronavirus relief bill
• WSJ: Democratic, Administration Negotiators at Loggerheads Over $600 Jobless Benefit
• WaPo: 30 million unemployed lose extra jobless benefits, as talks between Congress and the White House are at an impasse
• CBS News: Democrats reject White House offer for short-term extension of unemployment benefit 
• Yahoo News: Coronavirus stimulus: Mitt Romney and other GOP senators propose 11th hour extension of extra unemployment benefits
• Vox: Senate Republicans’ dramatically smaller unemployment insurance proposal, explained
• WaPo: Ten bucks left, no place to go: How the pandemic and a broken unemployment system are upending people’s lives
• USA Today: $1,200 checks? Money for schools? Breaking down what Republicans and Democrats want in the coronavirus stimulus plan
• NYT: The Gulf Between Republicans and Democrats on Coronavirus Aid, in 9 Charts
• Axios: Trump: Republicans who oppose funding FBI building in stimulus “should go back to school”
• AP: Administration wants West Wing remodel money in virus bill
• CNBC: Republicans earmark $70 billion for K-12 schools, but tie bulk of funding to in-person learning
• WaPo: Here is what’s in the Senate GOP’s $1 trillion ‘Heals Act’ package
• AJC: States could see years of money woes, job losses from the COVID-19 recession
• CNN: Treasury report: Less than 25% of state and local emergency funds used as congressional debate heats up
• WaPo: State, local governments wrestle over quickly dwindling coronavirus aid, complicating talks on next federal bill
• Mother Jones: Postal Service Shortfalls Threaten Election Disaster. Republicans Don’t Want To Save It.
• WaPo: Treasury agrees to lend Postal Service $10 billion in trade for rivals’ shipping contracts
• WSJ: U.S. Postal Service Reaches Agreement on $10 Billion Coronavirus-Relief Loan
• AP: House rescue package includes $25 billion for Postal Service

Veepstakes

• CNBC: Joe Biden nears final decision on running mate
• NYT: Lobbying Intensifies Among V.P. Candidates as Biden’s Search Nears an End
• WaPo: Biden likely to name his running mate in second week of August
• CBS News: Biden is on the verge of narrowing his VP list. But don’t expect a pick next week.
• CNN: Biden says he will choose his running mate next week
• NYT: Kamala Harris, a top vice-presidential contender, confronts double standards.
• CNN: Harris talks ambition in women of color after personal attacks during Biden’s VP search
• Bloomberg: Democrats Ply Biden With Running Mate Alternatives to Harris 
• CNBC: Some Biden allies wage a shadow campaign to stop Kamala Harris from becoming vice president
• Politico: ‘She had no remorse’: Why Kamala Harris isn’t a lock for VP
• The Hill: Trump campaign targets Bass amid speculation over Biden VP pick 
• CNN: Joe Biden narrows down his VP list, with Karen Bass emerging as one of several key contenders
• WaPo: Rep. Karen Bass fought for Blacks and Latinos in South Los Angeles. Now, she’s on Biden’s VP shortlist
• Politico: Karen Bass rises as sleeper pick to be Biden’s VP