White House Dossier's

The Race to the First Republican Debate . . . Candidates must meet certain fundraising and polling requirements to earn a spot on the Aug. 23 debate stage. The first Republican presidential primary debate is slated for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee. Twelve candidates have entered the race to date, but some are unlikely to make the stage for the first debate. To participate, candidates must meet a mix of fundraising and polling criteria set by the Republican National Committee. They must also pledge to support the party’s eventual nominee.

Fundraising requirements. . . The fundraising criteria set by the RNC require candidates to have.

At least 40,000 unique donors to their principal campaign committee
At least 200 unique donors in each of 20 or more states or territories 
Here is a breakdown of what the campaigns say they have raised as of July 17:

A spokesman for former Vice President Mike Pence declined to share the number of unique donors to his campaign so far. The Francis Suarez and Will Hurd campaigns didn’t return a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Larry Elder said he hadn’t qualified as of Monday. Wall Street Journal

Dems Grapple with Anti-Semitism Ahead of Israeli President’s Visit . . . Democratic leaders are rushing to combat accusations of anti-Semitism after a slew of anti-Israel comments from members of the party raised the stakes on a planned Democratic boycott of Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s address to Congress. At least four members of the Democratic Party’s progressive "Squad" announced they would boycott Herzog’s address to Congress this Wednesday. The group includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.), Cori Bush (D., Mo.), and Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.). Omar and fellow progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) drew widespread scrutiny over the weekend for criticizing Israel, which Jayapal slammed as a "racist state." Free Beacon

Joe Biden begins filling out his lean 2024 campaign team . . . President Joe Biden is growing his unusually small reelection campaign team, announcing Monday plans to add three new people to the payroll. Former Rep. Cedric Richmond is joining as campaign co-chair. Former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford will serve as finance chair of Biden-Harris 2024 and DNC National Finance Chair Chris Korge will join as finance chair of the Biden Victory Fund, the larger of the president’s joint fundraising committees. Politico

Why Democrats might be content to see Biden lose in 2024 . . . Are Democrats forfeiting the 2024 election? In the Republican Party, Donald Trump has plenty of critics who say he can’t win next year. To test that hypothesis, a strong slate of candidates is running as an alternative to him. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott, former Govs. Nikki Haley and Chris Christie and the rest have their chance to convince voters they can do better. So far, polls show Republicans sticking with Trump — and show Trump with a fair chance of beating Biden. In national surveys where he trails, Trump is often behind by just a point or two, but national polls actually underestimated Trump’s support in 2016 and 2020.

Democrats can’t take any comfort from those that show Biden with a narrow lead. NY Post

Trump plans to rip the Deep State out at its roots if he’s elected . . . President Trump is preparing a massive effort to overturn the liberal bureaucracy that runs this country without standing for election and that cannot be fired. This we find from the New York Times, which of course characterizes it as a power grab. It’s actually a dramatic plan to diminish the unchecked, overweening power of the federal government. White House Dossier

‘Not My Concern” Narrows the GOP Field . . . By Roger Kimball. Who won the Republican blow-out interview lalapalooza with Tucker Carlson in Iowa Friday night? Besides Tucker himself—who was on the Q side of this extended Q & A—the participants were South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. American Greatness

Ron DeSantis' Struggling Campaign, RFK Jr. On COVID, and Third Party Candidates . . . RealClearPolitics co-founder and president Tom Bevan joins RCP Washington bureau chief Carl Cannon to discuss Gov. DeSantis' dropping poll numbers, Trump's resiliency with his supporters, RFK Jr.'s appeal in the Democratic Party, and the possibility of a third-party challenger in the 2024 presidential election. Real Clear Politics

If not DeSantis, who? Five alternatives to Trump for the GOP nomination . . .  Questions are growing sharper by the day about whether Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) can pose a serious challenge to former President Trump for the GOP nomination. DeSantis has been plateauing in polls. He has been criticized for campaign missteps on issues from Ukraine to LGBTQ rights. And, just this past weekend, it emerged that his campaign had laid off some midlevel staff, a decision widely assumed to be related to money worries. DeSantis’s weakness opens the door to some lower-polling candidates, if they can find a way to draw real support from GOP voters eager for an alternative to Trump. Here are five other alternatives in the Republican field. The Hill

Why Gen-Xers are the indie voters both parties need now . . . According to a Gallup study from last summer, 44% of X-ers identify as “politically independent,” exactly the same as in 1992. The durability of this figure is remarkable considering that both boomers —  and the “silent generation” before them — sharply decreased independent leanings as they grew older. The problem with independents — at least where progressives are concerned — is that while they front as nonpartisan, they’re actually losing faith in the Dems. NY Post
 

North Korea detains US soldier who crossed Military Demarcation Line . . . An American soldier has been detained in North Korea on Tuesday after crossing the Military Demarcation Line, a senior U.S. official tells Fox News. The U.N. Command earlier said that a U.S. national on a tour to the joint security area between North and South Korea crossed the Military Demarcation Line without authorization and is now believed to be in detained in North Korea. Fox News

China and Russia step up military co-operation on Japan’s doorstep . . . China and Russia are deepening their military co-operation with their largest joint naval and air exercise on Japan’s doorstep. The “Northern/Interaction-2023” exercise, which kicked off in the Sea of Japan on Monday, is technically part of the Chinese military’s regular annual training programme, a sequence of drills that rotate through its military districts. It is unclear how long the exercises will last. But by holding the exercise in the waters that separate Japan from Russia and the Korean peninsula, Beijing and Moscow are starting to use their increasingly close military partnership to project power against other countries, officials of other governments and analysts said. Financial Times
 

The Death of the Monroe Doctrine . . . Analysis by Rebekah Koffler. The Washington establishment’s security apparatus spends extraordinary effort on an endless array of overseas military operations. But it has neglected America’s own backyard.

Left untended, that backyard has become increasingly occupied by hostile squatters as China, Russia, and Iran descend upon Latin America and the Caribbean to spread their autocratic ideologies. The Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Western Hemisphere off limits to foreign meddling, is nearly dead mere months before its 200th anniversary. And this could have perilous consequences for the US. NY Post

Hamas Summer Camps For Children And Teens In Gaza Strip Provide Weapons And Military Training In Order To Raise 'Generation That Will Liberate Palestine' . . . On July 8, 2023, Hamas launched its summer camps in the Gaza Strip, this year called the "Shield of Jerusalem" camps. As in previous years, the camps, held throughout the Strip, are aimed at inculcating extremist ideology, including ideals of jihad and armed struggle against Israel, and are attended by about 100,000 children and teens from elementary-school to high-school age.  The activities they offer include military training and instruction in the handling and use of various weapons, in order to "train the generation of liberation and victory," as Hamas officials explained. MEMRI

The Best of Frenemies: Saudi Crown Prince Clashes With U.A.E. President . . .  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gathered local journalists in Riyadh for a rare off-the-record briefing in December and delivered a stunning message. The country’s ally of decades, the United Arab Emirates, had “stabbed us in the back,” he said. “They will see what I can do,” he told the group, according to people at the meeting. A rift has opened up between the 37-year-old Mohammed and his onetime mentor, U.A.E. President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, that reflects a competition for geopolitical and economic power in the Middle East and global oil markets. The two royals, who spent almost a decade climbing to the top of the Arab world, are now feuding over who calls the shots in a Middle East where the U.S. plays a diminished role. Wall Street Journal

Russia strikes Ukraine grain port after exiting export deal . . . Russia struck Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, a day after pulling out of a U.N.-backed deal to let Kyiv export grain, and Moscow claimed gains on the ground in an area where Ukrainian officials said Russian forces were going back on the offensive. Russia said it hit fuel storage in Odesa and a plant making seaborne drones there, as part of "mass revenge strikes" in retaliation for attacks by Ukraine that knocked out its road bridge to the occupied Crimean Peninsula. Reuters

Money

Lockheed Martin Projects Higher Sales as War Boosts Orders . . . Lockheed Martin said it expects to resume growth this year, reversing its earlier prediction that sales would shrink despite the conflict in Ukraine and rising global military budgets. Sales and profit in the second quarter beat expectations among analysts polled by FactSet, and the company raised its full-year guidance for both. Other defense companies, including RTX, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies RTX 0.16%increase; green up pointing triangle, and Northrop Grumman, report results next week. How has Lockheed Martin’s financial outlook improved? The world’s largest defense company reported net profit of $1.68 billion for the three months ended June 30 compared with $309 million a year earlier, the latter weighed by a charge on a classified program. Sales rose 8% to $16.7 billion in the quarter, lifted by big orders for its F-35 combat jet and GMLRS and Himars missiles. Full-year sales are forecast to rise as high as $66.75 billion, up 1.5% at the midpoint from Lockheed’s prior guidance in April, which would top the $66 billion generated in 2022. Wall Street Journal

Shocking.

Bidenflation At 16.0% Highlights Bidenomics Failure . . . Bidenomics is a complete and utter failure that has led to stagflation in the United States. No amount of sugarcoating can hide the truth. Americans are struggling with high prices. You need $1,000 in earnings today to buy what $862 could buy when Biden took office. Alternatively, if you needed $50K yearly for household expenses before Biden took office, you now need $58K. Tippingsights

Karine Jean-Pierre torched for claiming 'wages are up' because of 'Bidenomics': 'The economy stinks, ma'am' . . . Twitter users attacked Jean-Pierre’s claims about Bidenomics.

"Shorter KJP: Facts shmacks!" Pluribus editor Jeryl Bier tweeted.Economist Max Murray wrote, "Constantly necessary to call out Miss Pinocchio and the Biden administration for putting out malarky." "Facts are Racist™," National Review contributor Pradheep Shanker joked. The Americans for Prosperity noted, "We (and 74% of Americans) disagree that Bidenomics is right for America." "The regime's most qualified liar thinks seeing a near 17% rise in prices in the two years since Biden took office, along with a 3% loss to hourly wages, is a positive achievement. Way to go! He's got the #BidenTouch. Like the Midas touch only the opposite," radio host Alan Sanders remarked. Fox News

Goldman Sachs cuts odds of a U.S. recession in the next year . . . Goldman Sachs revised down the odds of a U.S. recession happening in the next 12 months, cutting the probability down to 20% from 25% on the back of positive economic activity.

The investment bank's chief economist, Jan Hatzius, cited a slew of better-than-expected economic data in a research report released Monday. CNBC

Culture

Vanishing Families, Shrinking Schools . . .  New population data show an unprecedented flight of parents with young children from big cities. Public school districts in large cities, many facing budget squeezes from plunging enrollments driven by parental discontent over Covid-19 policies, are unlikely to find relief anytime soon. The latest census data show that families with the preschool-age children who would form the next generation of students are abandoning cities, especially big ones, at unprecedented levels. The combination of outmigration and a slowdown in births is thus accelerating a trend that emerged even before Covid: cities with fewer and fewer children as a percentage of the overall population. Though the trend is most pronounced in states where population growth has lagged, like New York and Illinois, it’s also happening in growing places like Texas, suggesting a broad retrenchment by families with young children, especially to so-called “exurban” areas beyond cities and suburbs. City Journal

Megyn Kelly Spills Tea On Private Meeting With Trump . . . Podcast host Megyn Kelly spilled the tea Monday about her private meeting with former President Donald Trump. The duo met over the weekend at Turning Point’s West Palm Beach event that featured big name stars including the former president. “He and I got a one-on-one together for the first time in years and it was frankly great to see him,” Kelly said. “You know, all that nonsense between us is under the bridge and he could not have been more magnanimous, you know. It’s just the thing about Trump is, he commands the room, he walks in and it’s not just because he’s a former president now because I knew him before that, he, there’s just something about him. It’s like an aura that sort of takes over the room, there’s only one person you can look at.” Daily Caller

Forbidden questions, denied warrants, witness tipoffs: Agents detail interference in Biden probe . . . A retired FBI supervisor’s account to Congress of how the bureau tipped off Joe Biden’s team in December 2020 about plans to conduct a surprise interview of his son Hunter not only corroborates a key allegation from two IRS whistleblowers, it further paints a portrait of unusual meddling into the investigation of the first family’s overseas business dealings and taxes. Just the News

Rand Paul lambasts Fauci for getting 'treated like a president' with taxpayer-funded security . . . Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., expressed outrage over new revelations that recently-retired ex-NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci is privy to a taxpayer-reimbursed security detail. Documents obtained by "Jesse Watters Primetime" from the U.S. Marshals Service through a request described how the marshals took over that responsibility from the Department of Health & Human Services at the beginning of 2023. Paul sent a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in June requesting additional details about Fauci's current employment status and special taxpayer-funded benefits. Fox News

Who’s The Alpha German Blonde Dragging This Climate Protester By Her Hair? . . . A video shared Saturday showed the moment a group of disgruntled German drivers dragged a number of so-called climate “activists” out of the street. Apparently these people thought that sitting in the middle of a road was a great way to stop the planet’s fluctuating weather patterns. But let’s be honest, no one really cares when this thing went down or why. We are all here to talk about the blonde driver who yanked one of the activists out of the street by their hair, twice, like a freaking alpha. Daily Caller

The video is a delight to watch.

Video | The Obama AI Bud Light commercial