Wake up with the Washington Examiner: Hints about Harris’s debate strategy, ‘Squad’ member safe, and DNC protest plans

Looking back at what has been — in Harris’s last debate performance

With Vice President Kamala Harris avoiding questions from the press, the debate against former Vice President Mike Pence in 2020 provides insight into what her strategy will be this time with former President Donald Trump. She and the former president are set to spar at an ABC debate on Sept. 10.

Two viral moments came out of the 2020 debate, including when a black fly nestled into Pence’s white hair, and the six times Harris told Pence, “I’m speaking,” a line she recently revived at a campaign rally in Michigan when protesters interrupted her.

“On day one, Joe Biden will repeal that tax bill. He’ll get rid of it,” Harris said in 2020 about the Trump tax cuts, while Pence argued that repealing the cuts would raise middle-class taxes. President Joe Biden did not repeal the Trump tax cuts upon taking office, though Harris is now saying she will do so if elected.

Another topic that is likely to come up again is fracking. During Harris’s presidential run that cycle, she said unequivocally that she was in favor of banning fracking. During the debate, she said, “Joe Biden will not end fracking. He has been very clear about that.” Now, a Harris campaign adviser has told news outlets the vice president is no longer in favor of banning the practice, either.

Harris’s dramatic flair was in full form during the COVID-19-era debate and will likely be again in September. She offered up a few word salads, lots of eyebrow-raising, head-shaking, pointing, smiling, and laughing. At one strong moment, she emphasized her record prosecuting criminals, which is something she has focused on in her recent stump speeches as well, claiming she knows “Donald Trump’s type.”

“I will not sit here and be lectured by the vice president on what it means to enforce the laws of our country,” she said when Pence accused her of being soft on crime. “I am the only one on this stage who has personally prosecuted everything from child sexual assault to homicide.”

Read more about the 2019 debate from Haisten Willis.

Ilhan Omar survives primary while other ‘Squad’ members fall

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) won 56.2% of the vote last night in her primary against challenger Don Samuels. The progressive representative has faced Samuels before, in 2022, when she beat him by a narrow 2 points. With the last election’s race being so tight, she hunkered down for a toughly fought primary this year.

Samuels primarily targeted Omar for her pro-Palestinian stance, attempting to make the same successful argument that bumped other “Squad” members from their seats this cycle. Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO) both lost their seats after primary elections that centered on their comments about the Israel-Hamas war and related campus protests.

Samuels, a former Minneapolis City councilman, entered the race after Oct. 7 and said Omar was a “pawn for Hamas.”

However, the financial backing that Bowman’s and Bush’s challengers had from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel political action committee, wasn’t as strong for Samuels. Bowman’s challenger, George Latimer, benefited from the $14 million AIPAC spent on ads attacking Bowman, while the PAC only spent $19,000 in Omar’s race.

Omar also had a huge fundraising advantage against Samuels and benefited from strong relationships with top Democrats, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who campaigned alongside her.

Click here for more about last night’s primary from Cami Mondeaux.

Real estate industry braces for shake-up as new rules roll out

This week, major changes are coming to the real estate industry.

Previously, sellers could expect to pay their realtor a 5% or 6% fee when selling their homes. About half of that would go toward the realtor selling the house, and the rest would go to the buyers’ agent, Stephen O’Connor, chairman of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at George Washington University, told the Washington Examiner’s Zachary Halaschak.

The National Association of Realtors was sued by sellers who accused the organization of running up fees. The changes are a result of the settlement that saw $418 million in damages and the requirement of the NAR to change the commission rules.

As of Aug. 17, sellers will now have to sign an agreement with the agent.

“So, no longer is the seller responsible for paying the commission structure or the fees associated with the buyer’s representation,” O’Connor said. “So, right now, as of Aug. 17, if I want to go out and I want to buy a house, I’m going to have to negotiate with a real estate agent and sign an agreement for buyer’s representation and negotiate what I’m going to pay out of my own pocket … the fee that that person is going to charge me for their professional services.”

The goal of the change is to increase transparency of fees.

Read more about the real estate agency rejig from Zach.

Anti-Israel network moves ahead with massive DNC protest despite legal hurdles

Nearly 100 organizations have been planning protests outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week, according to exclusive reporting from the Washington Examiner’s Gabe Kaminsky.

A report from watchdog group NGO Monitor details the pro-Palestinian groups that have plans for the Democratic convention, including CODEPINK, Palestinian Feminist Collective, Students for Justice in Palestine Chicago, and American Muslims for Palestine Chicago.

“The same NGO network that orchestrated and funded the mobs chanting ‘intifada now’ on university campuses and in major cities will be harassing and intimidating DNC delegates and participants in Chicago,” Gerald Steinberg, the founder and president of NGO Monitor, said in a statement.

Democrats have faced a party divide when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war and campus protests over it. During the presidential primary, more than 650,000 voters wrote in “uncommitted” rather than choosing President Joe Biden because of his support for Israel. Harris, who has since become the Democratic nominee, has faced similar criticism to Biden, though she has been friendly to the Palestinian cause.

Learn more about what to expect at next week’s convention from Gabe.

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For your radar

The president will speak with the president of Panama at 3:15 p.m. He has no public events scheduled, but there will be a press briefing at 1:45 p.m.

The vice president has no public events scheduled. Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) will speak at a campaign event at 2:20 p.m. in Denver and then head back to the East Coast for another event at 8:10 p.m. in Boston.

Trump will hold a rally in Asheville, North Carolina, at 4 p.m. Eastern. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has his own campaign event in Byron Center, Michigan, at 2 p.m.

The House and Senate are out.