Prince Harry’s paperback edition of Spare came out this week. I haven’t been to a bookstore recently, but I absolutely believe that many bookstores will probably display the paperback edition prominently towards the front of the store. That’s mostly because the hardback was such a huge success, but Spare is still incredibly relevant today, 21 months after it was first published. The British media especially has not stopped whining about Spare in all of this time, and they keep trying to force this narrative that Harry “regrets” writing the book because he destroyed his relationships with his father and brother. The same father and brother who treated him like sh-t for years before he even published the book.

It’s also funny that Harry hasn’t given his critics anything new to whine about. He didn’t add any new chapters to Spare, nor did he edit out anything from the hardback edition. GB News hilariously tried to retread old news by suggesting that Harry “snubbed” King Charles and Prince William anew because he didn’t add their names to his dedication. Spare’s dedication still reads, “For Meg and Archie and Lili…and of course, my mother.” They’re so desperate to turn this paperback into a scandal, they’re positioning Spare against Mike Tindall’s new dumb book:

Mike Tindall is set to go head to head with Prince Harry tomorrow, with the former rugby player’s new book to be released on the same day as the Duke of Sussex’s paperback version of Spare hits shelves. Mike, who resides in Gloucestershire, is set to release ‘The Good, The Bad & The Rugby – Unleashed’ on Thursday.

The book – which he co-authored with Alex Payne and James Haskell – will give an insight into ‘the highs and lows their podcast, friendship and rugby.’ Mike – who is married to the Duke of Sussex’s cousin, Zara Tindall – revealed in the book he was teased by James, who once referenced Prince Andrew’s ‘car-crash’ Newsnight interview.

However, Harry is also putting out his paperback version of Spare on Thursday. The hardback version was originally released in the UK on January 10, 2023. The royal wrote that the book was ‘for Meg and Archie and Lili… And of course, my mother’. The Duke threw around many accusations about the Royal Family in Spare, along with alleging that he had a physical fight with his brother and heir to the throne, Prince William. He claimed in the book that the Prince of Wales grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the floor, while shattering a dog bowl with his back. William then allegedly declared: ‘I didn’t attack you, Harold.’

Harry also called his mother-in-law, Queen Camilla, ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’ in his memoir and alleged she had ‘sacrificed him’ to improve her reputation.

In Mike’s new book, he described joining the Royal Family in 2011 after marrying Zara and is thought to have made a dig at Meghan Markle. He said: ‘Believe it or not, marrying into the Royal Family was pretty easy for me. They were always nice to me, and I was always nice to them. Simple really.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I covered Mike Tindall’s interview with the Telegraph last week – he sounded like a meathead who couldn’t wrap his head around why Meghan was treated much differently than a white rugby douche who married an untitled royal-adjacent. Anyway, it’s really been a publishing blitz over there in recent months. Tom Parker Bowles, James Middleton and now Mike Tindall, all with books out around the same time as the Spare paperback release. Not to defend them, but I doubt James, Tom and Peter really planned it out, to have their books out at the same time. Has anyone heard anything about book sales numbers? I figured that if James or Tom’s book sold well or made it onto whatever piddling British bestseller list, the Mail would have a blaring headline about it. But it’s been really quiet, right? Almost like no one really gave a sh-t. I imagine it will be the same with Tindall’s book.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

The outrage machine has been working overtime on Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe all week, ever since her ballsy protest of King Charles in Australian Parliament. I feel like history will be very kind to Senator Thorpe, but in the short-term, she’s being targeted heavily by Australian and British media. She’s getting the “Full Meghan Markle” treatment. As I’ve mentioned previously, this is not Senator Thorpe’s first rodeo with the international media. In 2022, her swearing-in as a senator became headline news. Australian senators have to swear an oath of office and swear an allegiance to the British crown. Senator Thorpe tried unsuccessfully to modify the oath, only for the other senators tell her that she *had* to do it the real way. Now that oath is being thrown back in her face, as in “if you don’t support the crown, why did you take the oath of office, HYPOCRISY MUCH?” To which Senator Thorpe had a hilarious comeback:

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has offered an extraordinary defence of whether she breached her parliamentary oath, claiming she pledged allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II’s “hairs” rather than her “heirs” when she was sworn into parliament.

The revelation comes after Senator Thorpe interrupted a royal reception in Parliament House on Monday, shouting “you are not our king” and “this is not your land” to King Charles III.

On Wednesday, the Indigenous senator was asked by the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing if she had renounced her sworn parliamentary affirmation to bear true allegiance to the monarch in her heckling of the king.

“I swore allegiance to the queen’s hairs,” she replied. “If you listen close enough, it wasn’t her ‘heirs’, it was her ‘hairs’ that I was giving my allegiance to, and now that, y’know, they are no longer here, I don’t know where that stands. I’m not giving up my job, I’m not resigning.”

Senator Thorpe was sworn in as a Greens senator for Victoria in 2022, during which she described the queen as a “coloniser” before being told to recite the oath as printed on the card.

A re-examination of the swearing-in appears to show that Senator Thorpe did pronounce “heirs” as “hairs”, though it is recorded as “heirs” in the Hansard.

[From ABC Australia]

In case you want to watch Senator Thorpe’s 2022 oath, I’m including the video below. She absolutely said “hairs” not “heirs.” The Australian accent is a crazy thing! Also: if they try to come for Senator Thorpe’s job – her elected position! – because she spoke truth to a tired old British king, then that will be an even bigger story, right?

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

It’s been interesting to watch the British media try to selectively piggyback on Tina Brown’s interview on The Ankler this week. Tina Brown talked a lot of sh-t about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but she also said some unflattering things about Prince William. Guess which part of Brown’s interview is being glommed onto by the British media? You guessed it. Brown spoke in unspecific terms about how Meghan “is a perfectionist about getting it all wrong. Her issue is that she doesn’t listen. She has all these people, asks them their opinion, and then doesn’t follow it. She does what she wants to do. And all of her ideas are total crap, unfortunately.” Brown also revived the sexist/racist trope about Meghan ordering Harry around and Harry being “in thrall” of Meghan. As you can imagine, the old white royalist men are delighted that they get to talk about how Tina Brown is right about everything (in regard to Meghan alone).

A British royal expert has said he agrees with Tina Brown’s comments made earlier this month that Meghan Markle has the ‘worst’ judgement. Ex-Vanity Fair editor Brown, who famously once described Megxit as a ‘disaster’ and accused the couple of being ‘addicted to drama,’ alleged that Meghan has the ‘worst’ judgement while appearing on The Ankler podcast with the media brand’s CEO Janice Min.

Richard Fitzwilliams – a royal expert and commentator – told MailOnline he agrees with Brown’s judgement on the Duchess of Sussex. He said: ‘Tina Brown is highly respected journalist and royal biographer. I have consulted her brilliant study of Diana several times in the last week. She has highlighted Meghan’s terrible judgement on the prestigious Ankler podcast. Brown is right that Harry is led by Meghan. She is also correct in saying that the split when they left was “a disaster all round”.’

‘With the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) about to begin in Samoa, we would do well to remember how Queen Elizabeth made Harry President and Meghan Vice-President of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust. They deserted these patronages and in their documentary Harry and Meghan for Netflix, had talking heads rubbishing the institution which was a form of betrayal, something that Harry, however frustrated he was with royal life, would never have done on his own.’

Fitzwilliams said Brown’s point that ‘all of her ideas are total crap’ brought to mind a reference by Meghan in The Cut Magazine that people celebrated in the streets of South Africa when she married Prince Harry in 2018. He said: ‘Meghan quoted an individual who was never identified. He was supposed, at the 2019 premiere of The Lion King, to have told her that there was rejoicing in the streets in South Africa when they married which was similar to that when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. With an ego like that, it is clear that Brown’s comment that Meghan “has the worst judgement of anyone in the entire world” is all too true.’

Fitzwilliams adds: ‘Brown sees Meghan’s judgement as dreadful and the facts bear this out. The couple’s Charitable Foundation Archewell has made little impact, they lost their contract with Spotify and have actually done little [to] save their kiss and tell documentary, for Netflix who may not renew their contract next year. Also when she signed with the William Morris Agency in April last year, what did it lead to?’

Fitzwilliams concurred: ‘Brown is correct in saying that the split when they left was “a disaster all round”. As she has noted, the parting was a “disaster” as they obviously represented the contemporary face of the royal family and she notes that he can be a great success as a prince as it’s all he understands. Now he’s in exile. Their tours are “faux-royal”.’

[From The Daily Mail]

The main thrust, for me, of Tina Brown’s interview was that she’s beyond furious that Prince Harry refuses to divorce his wife and come crawling back to the UK so he can “do his duty” as a prince… and then Harry would outshine his brother, much to William’s chagrin. Like, they’re saying that explicitly: Harry needs to come back so he can do William’s work and steal William’s thunder, which will make William incandescent with rage. Tina Brown and Dick Fitzwilliams blame Meghan for the fact that Harry wants no part of the royal trainwreck, rather than give a 40-year-old prince any agency. Also: Harry and Meghan didn’t “desert” their patronages – they were more than willing to retain all of their patronages and continue to do that work. QEII and her courtiers were hellbent on punishing the Sussexes, so the palace removed H&M from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and everything else.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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In recent days, there have been some very loud murmurs of an “October Surprise” involving Donald Trump. MAGA World has been jittery and they’re already trying to say that whatever comes out, it’s not real, it’s some kind of deepfake, and people are out to get their demented Nazi north star. Journalist Mark Halperin spoke out on Tuesday that he’s been pitching a story for more than a week, a story which would conceivably end Trump’s campaign. Then last night, Keith Edwards tweeted: “I have been told that Trump groped a minor at one of his donor dinners — and that there’s video.” As of this moment, no one has confirmed any of that and no video has been released. I think that’s the story (maybe?) which has MAGA World so jittery. Either that or they were just trying to change the story from all of those first-hand accounts of how often Donald Trump talks about how he loves Adolf Hitler.

Meanwhile, I have no idea if this story blindsided MAGA World, but they’re already doing some nasty work around it. Last night, the Guardian published an account of Stacey Williams, who claims she was sexually assaulted by Donald Trump after being introduced to Trump by Jeffrey Epstein.

A former model who says she met Donald Trump through the late sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein has accused the former president of groping and sexually touching her in an incident in Trump Tower in 1993, in what she believed was a “twisted game” between the two men.

Stacey Williams, who worked as a professional model in the 1990s, said she first met Trump in 1992 at a Christmas party after being introduced to him by Epstein, who she believed was a good friend of the then New York real estate developer. Williams said Epstein was interested in her and the two casually dated for a period of a few months.

“It became very clear then that he and Donald were really, really good friends and spent a lot of time together,” Williams said.

The alleged groping occurred some months later, in the late winter or early spring of 1993, when Epstein suggested during a walk they were on that he and Williams stop by to visit Trump at Trump Tower. Epstein was later convicted on sex offenses and killed himself in prison in 2019.

Moments after they arrived, she alleges, Trump greeted Williams, pulled her toward him and started groping her. She said he put his hands “all over my breasts” as well as her waist and her buttocks. She said she froze because she was “deeply confused” about what was happening. At the same time, she said she believed she saw the two men smiling at each other.

…Williams, who is 56 and a native of Pennsylvania, has shared parts of her allegation on social media posts in the past, but revealed details about the alleged encounter on a call on Monday organized by a group called Survivors for Kamala, which supports Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The Zoom call featured actor Ashley Judd and law professor and academic Anita Hill, among others. Survivors for Kamala also took out an ad in the New York Times this week, signed by 200 survivors of sexual and gender violence, which was meant to serve as a reminder that Trump has been found liable for sexual abuse in a court.

[From The Guardian]

I believe Stacey Williams, just as I believe all of the women who have come out to tell their horrific stories about Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Trump is an adjudicated rapist, and, just a reminder, Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll $88.3 million for raping her and defaming her. We still don’t know the extent of Trump and Epstein’s relationship, we still don’t know whether Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell had Trump’s permission to hunt for victims at Mar-a-Lago, we still don’t know how many victims Epstein supplied to men like Donald Trump. MAGA World is already making fun of those victims too – the MAGAts and the Russian bots got “#KamalaGropedMe” trending overnight.

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Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.

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In 2023, Justin Bieber sold his music catalog to a company called Hipgnosis Songs Capital for $200 million. Hipgnosis is one of those companies that basically buys song catalogs in order to earn royalties when a song appears in a movie or TV show, commercial, or is streamed online. Justin made a ton of money with the sale and now has an estimated net worth of $300. Unfortunately, Justin’s fortune may have been mismanaged by his former business managers. Page Six via TMZ is reporting that Justin has been angry for “several years” because he feels his ex-managers have lost him a lot of money. He’s even considering suing them over it.

Justin Bieber is reportedly considering taking legal action against his former business managers for mismanaging his money.

The “Peaches” singer has been livid for several years because he believes he has lost a lot of dough due to decisions made by his managers, sources told TMZ Wednesday. Though it is unclear exactly how much money Bieber, 30, believes has been squandered, the insiders told the outlet that he has been discussing the possibility of suing those responsible.

However, the pop star’s current team is reportedly divided about a potential lawsuit.

Those who are against legal action claim Bieber was spending irresponsibly for some time and caused his own issues, according to TMZ. The “Never Say Never” crooner, who has an estimated net worth of $300 million, made the bulk of his fortune in January 2023 when he sold his music catalog for $200 million to Hipgnosis Songs Capital.

The deal included shares of Bieber’s publishing and recorded-music catalog, interest in his publishing copyrights, master recordings and neighboring rights for his entire back catalog. Hipgnosis buys song catalogs from artists and earns revenue when their music is streamed online or used in movies or advertising.

Bieber rose to fame when he was 13 years old following the success of his 2010 song “Baby.” Before selling his music rights, the “Sorry” singer, who recently welcomed son Jack with wife Hailey Bieber, was reportedly worth $100 million. Justin parted ways with his business manager Lou Taylor earlier this year and replaced her with Edward White, who also works with Johnny Depp. TMZ did not name the managers in question in its report.

[From Page Six]

This sounds messy, and it’s no wonder that his team is split on what to do. I wonder if he’ll hire a financial investigator to sort it all out for him. Someone who can figure out what Bieber spent vs. any lost money at the hands of his former managers. If his money was mismanaged, then I feel badly for the Biebs. It must suck to feel and be constantly be taken advantage of, no matter how much fame or money you have. Justin is not without his problems, but he does seem to have had the quintessential child-star journey, which is sad. Hopefully, they’ll be able to get to the bottom of this and he can get some better people around him moving forward.

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Photos credit: BauerGriffin/INSTARimages, Getty, Star Influx LA/ShotbyNYP/Backgrid

Lashana Lynch, who recently confirmed her pregnancy, wore Lurline to the London premiere event for The Day of the Jackal. This is very “prom dress,” but I always give pregnant ladies a break, most maternity fashion is not great. [RCFA]
Zoe Saldana wore Saint Laurent to the Emilia Perez premiere. [Go Fug Yourself]
Ariana Grande & Elvira’s beef is such a weird storyline. [Socialite Life]
An update on Christopher Nolan’s next moves. [LaineyGossip]
People reveal the secrets they kept because they were bound by NDAs. [Pajiba]
Kim Cattrall & The Invisible House. [OMG Blog]
Justin Timberlake is sick & he postponed six concerts. [Just Jared]
People love Kathy Bates in Matlock! [Seriously OMG]
Jason Duggar found his wife on Instagram. [Starcasm]
What’s all this Zach Bryan-Brianna Chickenfry drama? [Hollywood Life]
The infuriating phrase found on so many dating apps: “someone who doesn’t take herself/himself too seriously.” I get it. [Buzzfeed]

Kanye West is probably still with his wife Bianca Censori, and for years now, he seems committed to making a horse’s ass out of himself at all times. That’s how it’s been ever since his divorce from Kim Kardashian was finalized, although I would argue that his mental health was in a steep decline for years during his marriage to Kim. In any case, Kim walked away and she’s got their kids almost all of the time. I still believe that Kanye only really cares about North and not the other kids, so North is the only one with any kind of relationship with Ye. Speaking of, Kim Kardashian turned 44 on October 21st, and “sources close to Kim” did a status report on what’s going on with Kim’s life these days. I mentioned that Kim and the other K-Js have been suspiciously quiet in recent months, but maybe that’s because Kim is just being a single mom and focused on her businesses?

Kim Kardashian is navigating parenthood largely without her ex Kanye West, a source tells PEOPLE exclusively. On Monday, Oct. 21, a source close to the reality star, 44, tells PEOPLE that Kardashian’s life revolves around her and West’s four kids: daughters North, 11, and Chicago, 6, and sons Saint, 8, and Psalm, 5. The source notes that Kardashian is “pretty much a single mom,” as West, 47, is often “not around.”

“Kanye is sadly not around very much. She’s pretty much a single mom,” the insider tells PEOPLE. “Although she has help, it’s still a lot of work for her to balance and coordinate everything.”

The source continues, “Kim’s life is around her kids’ schedules. When they are in school, she works. When they are off, she’s very much focused on being a mom.” They add that the SKIMS co-founder “is not even dating anyone now. It’s all about work and the kids.”

A rep for West did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

[From People]

Yeah, I totally believe that Kanye isn’t around for the other three kids, but he does see North somewhat regularly. Which probably causes some issues in Kim’s house too, if Kanye is so blatantly playing favorites with the kids. I don’t envy Kim, although I will say that… this is what she wanted. She wanted four kids. She knew she was probably going to raise them by herself too. I sort of believe that Kim isn’t dating anyone as well – the fastest way to get Kanye suddenly demanding to be “involved” with his kids is for Kim to get a boyfriend. I also think that’s why Kanye treats Bianca like a doll too – it’s not about Bianca, it’s about Kanye showing Kim that he’s “replaced” her with a new doll.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Richard E. Grant is such a splendid, witty spirit. He has a knack for telling it like it is with flair and humor — even when it’s devastating. Like with A Pocketful of Happiness, the collection of journal entries and letters he published last year to celebrate his 38 year marriage to Joan Washington, who died of cancer in 2021. Richard has been a dedicated diarist since age 10 (he started as a way to cope with a traumatic event), and I imagine the long habit is what helped him hone his skill at observing the world around him and recording it with candor. So it’s not all that surprising, but still deeply touching that Richard writes letters to his late wife every night to share with her the details of his days. And having been together for nearly four decades, Richard says “I can hear her response.” He discussed this nightly ritual with The Guardian, during an interview to promote his new series The Franchise. A few highlights:

What he writes to his late wife every night: “Everything,” he says. “Stuff I know would amuse her.” He looks at me steadily. “I’ll describe what you look like. What you’re wearing. How old you are. Do you have kids. All of that. She would want to know what your accent is, because that was her specialty. She would ask, ‘What did Alex sound like? What is the shape of his mouth? Does it open when he talks?’” The questions hang between us for a moment. “I have no spiritual or religious delusion that I’m ever going to get a reply. But after 38 years of marriage, I can hear what her response would be. It feels as close a connection as I can have. And I’ve found it very hopeful, that at the end of the day I’m having a conversation.”

‘The intimacy of conversation’: “The physical intimacy…” he begins. “Even if you’re in five hours of tantric sex with someone, it’s relative to the amount of time in your day — it’s a very small amount of time. Most of your life with somebody is spent in the intimacy of conversation. When you share absolutely everything with another human being, who sees you completely for who you are, to me that is unquantifiable.” He sighs, then adds, “What a thing to have.”

On the inadvertent, motivating impact his mother had on him: “She died a year ago, she was 93, and she withheld approval right up until her last breath. The lifelong habit to prove yourself to somebody, that doesn’t go away just because the person’s died…” He pauses. “I’ve seen people who have had more stable upbringings than I had who are less driven, less ambitious. The drive comes as a result of trying to prove wrong all the people I grew up with — who mocked the notion of me becoming a professional actor.”

A pivotal moment in his childhood: When Grant was 10, he awoke from a nap to find his mother having sex with his father’s best friend — they were all together in a car. “Saw my mother bonking,” is how he puts it to me. Grant kept the discovery to himself. When the pressure of his silence became too much, he let the secret spill out into the diary he has kept ever since.

He eventually reconciled with his mother at 42: “It took 18 months,” he says, “but we had a conversation in which she finally said three magic words: ‘Please forgive me.’” It was the first time Grant had revealed to his mother what he had witnessed in the car. “And she cried, which I’d never seen her do before.” The conversation was the “greatest epiphany” of Grant’s life. “I went from holding on to resentment and anger towards someone to forgiving them, and all of the pain shifted instantaneously.”

[From The Guardian]

I love the reverence Richard shows for language and conversation, and I think morphing his journal writing into a way to keep communicating with his late wife is just beautiful. It also sounds like it’s perfectly suited to how they were as a couple, given the way he talked about “the intimacy of conversation,” (which, by the way, should definitely be the book title if he ever publishes the nightly letters he writes). Man, what a life he’s had. And there’s plenty more in the full article! Funnily enough, the topic that gets the briefest coverage is the show he’s there to plug: The Franchise. It’s written by Armando Iannucci (VEEP!) and directed by Sam Mendes, and follows a ragtag film crew as they struggle to film an umpteenth installment of a comic book franchise. Richard plays one of the actors. I am SO excited to see this! The episodes air Sunday nights on HBO Max in the US (three have already come out, but I’m trying to hold out until all eight are available). So now Richard has starred in an earnest comic book series (Loki), and also a satire of the genre. He’s a cool cat.

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photos credit: Lee Floyd/Avalon, Ian West/PA Images/INSTARimages.com, Lia Toby/Bang Showbiz/Avalon, Getty

George W. Bush is now the only living president who has not endorsed any presidential candidate in this election cycle. I’m at the point now where I’m just like… there are certain people who we do not need to hear from, right? I remember the Bush years and they were awful. Well, I sort of feel the same way about Bill Gates. Bill’s ex-wife Melinda French Gates endorsed Kamala Harris over the summer and announced she was donating millions to the Harris campaign and to various super PACs involved in reproductive rights (French Gates is also donating $1 billion to women’s and girls’ health issues). Melinda is the one who has authenticity here, not her ex-husband. But Bill Gates wants credit for supporting Kamala Harris too, and for quietly donating $50 million to Future Forward super PAC.

After decades of sitting on the sidelines of politics, Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world, has said privately that he recently donated about $50 million to a nonprofit organization that is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential run, according to three people briefed on the matter. The donation was meant to stay under wraps. Mr. Gates, one of the founders of Microsoft, has not publicly endorsed Ms. Harris, and his donation would represent a significant change in the strategy that has previously kept him away from gifts like this.

In private calls this year to friends and others, Mr. Gates has expressed concern about what a second Donald Trump presidency would look like, according to a person briefed on Mr. Gates’s thinking, although he has stressed that he could work with either candidate. Mr. Gates does not have a deep relationship with Ms. Harris, but he has celebrated the Biden-Harris administration’s work on climate change. Mr. Gates’s philanthropic organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is significantly concerned about potential cuts to family planning and global health programs if Mr. Trump is elected, according to two people close to the foundation.

Mr. Gates has said he made his donation to Future Forward, the main outside fund-raising group supporting Ms. Harris, according to the people briefed on the matter. Mr. Gates has talked about his pro-Harris donation with his peers, including Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and a major supporter of Future Forward who has considered a similarly sized gift, two of the people briefed said. Mr. Gates’s donation went specifically to Future Forward’s nonprofit arm, Future Forward USA Action, which as a 501(c)(4) “dark money” organization does not disclose its donors, according to the people briefed. So any contribution by Mr. Gates will never appear on any public filing.

In a statement in response to this reporting, Mr. Gates did not explicitly address the donation or offer an endorsement of Ms. Harris in the race. He stressed his bipartisanship — but also said that “this election is different.”

“I support candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving health care, reducing poverty and fighting climate change in the U.S. and around the world,” he told The New York Times. “I have a long history of working with leaders across the political spectrum, but this election is different, with unprecedented significance for Americans and the most vulnerable people around the world.”

[From The NY Times]

As I said, Melinda’s full-throated endorsement of Kamala Harris (after she also endorsed Joe Biden earlier in the cycle) means a lot more to me, as does Melinda’s focus on reproductive rights and women’s rights. While every little bit counts, I find it interesting that men like Bill Gates and Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan’s CEO) are coming out this late in the game to quietly-but-not-really endorse VP Harris. It feels like Gates and Dimon both think VP Harris is going to win and that’s why they feel safe putting out these stories, two weeks from Election Day.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

In recent weeks, I’ve been curious to see what the Harris-Walz campaign’s internal numbers look like. The campaign is doing two things simultaneously: projecting calm, steady confidence in the closing days AND talking about how everything will come down to the wire. I get it – they don’t want to walk around like they’ve got this thing won, even if that’s what their internals say. They’ve still got to get people out to vote, they’ve got to keep the heightened urgency, because the last thing anyone wants is a bunch of Harris voters in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia skipping out because they think she’s got in the bag. Speaking of, CNN had this interesting interview with David Plouffe (former Obama campaign manager and Harris’s senior advisor):

“Historically, it would be unusual to have seven states come down to a point or less,” David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign manager who now serves as a senior adviser to Harris, said of the battleground landscape. “But I think at this point, you have to assume that’s a distinct possibility.”

Plouffe and other Harris advisers do not believe Trump’s largely outsourced door-knocking and other on-the-ground outreach operations can match what the national Democrats and the Harris campaign – which inherited some of the same team from President Joe Biden – spent a year putting together. But they believe this advantage can only take them so far.

“Democrats wish Donald Trump wouldn’t get more than 46% of the vote,” Plouffe said, referring to the national popular vote percentage the former president secured in his previous campaigns. But in the battleground states, “that’s not reality. He’s going to get up to 48% in all of these states. And so we just have to make sure we’re hitting our win number, which depending on the state, could be 50, could be 49.5.”

Plouffe and other Harris aides, though, believe that the vice president still has room to grow. To get there, the campaign is finalizing marquee, attention-grabbing events showcasing Harris, with symbolic backdrops aimed at driving home the message.

“The goal is to make sure that you’re motivating your operation, that you’re being felt in all these places,” said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Harris campaign co-chair. With Harris aides still on a frantic chase to find disengaged voters, much of that outreach will come in the form of campaign tactics that are new to presidential campaigns – some that rely on new technology. Campaign aides believe they can make the difference via the surrogates they have lined up, whether those are celebrities making targeted social media appearances or community members sending direct texts like the attendees at a Doug Emhoff event in Southfield, Michigan, with Jewish voters, who were asked to send messages encouraging people to host “Kamala Shabbat” dinners.

The Harris aides CNN spoke to expressed a jittery self-confidence, but they also kept using phrases such as“jump ball” and “down to the wire” and the occasional emoji with nauseous green cheeks.

While several top Democratic operatives said they worry Harris may be losing the traditional TV ad wars in the face of Republicans’ extensive and intense attacks on transgender issues, the Harris aides disagreed. Most of the up-for-grabs voters aren’t paying attention to those ads if they’re watching TV at all, the aides contended. And the campaign believes it has the edge over Trump’s operation, thanks to months of precinct-by-precinct organizing and planning that is constantly being adjusted based on early vote and online data. All through “brat summer” and the tent revival-like atmosphere of the Democratic convention, aides said, this was what they were planning for: a stable race that will be won on the margins and that will require a few big swings that some political insiders may see as desperate Hail Mary moves.

[From CNN]

I realize that I’m unusual in how I consume media, but I’ve barely seen any political commercials on TV in recent months because I’ve barely watched network television since the Olympics, which was where VP Harris bought a lot of ad time. It makes sense that the Trump campaign’s calculations are old-school like that – ad buys and staged stunts at McDonald’s, plus some sleepy town halls. There are several things which worry me about the Trump campaign’s operations though: the disappearance of JD Vance (the most unpopular running mate in history) and Trump leaning into the bro podcasts, with a heavy emphasis on misogyny. But yeah… the Harris-Walz campaign is acting like they know exactly what they’re doing.

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