Tangle - Kamala Harris weighs her choices for vice president.

Episode Date: July 25, 2024

Kamala Harris’s pick for vice president. Four days after President Joe Biden announced he was dropping his reelection bid, Vice President Kamala Harris has reportedly secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Harris is now weighing her options for running mate and will likely make her selection within the next two weeks. Democrats have said that they will finalize their ticket by August 7 to meet the earliest state ballot requirement in Ohio, although that deadline may not be legally binding.You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can catch our trailer for the Tangle Live event at City Winery NYC. Full video coming soon!Check out Episode 5 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!Today’s clickables: A quick note (0:37), Quick hits (1:38), Today’s story (3:43) Right’s take (6:47), Left’s take (10:51), Isaac’s take (15:04), Listener Question (23:19), Under the Radar (25:59), Numbers (26:42), Have a nice day (27:48)You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: Who do you think Kamala Harris should select as her running mate? Let us know!Our podcast is written by Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Jon Lall. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.

Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. Whether renting, renewing a mortgage, or considering buying a home, everybody has housing costs on their minds. For free tools and resources to help you manage your home finances, visit Canada.ca slash ItPaysToKnow. A message from the Government of Canada. From Searchlight Pictures comes A Real Pain,

one of the most moving and funny films of the year. Written and directed by Oscar-nominated Jesse Eisenberg and starring Eisenberg and Emmy Award winner Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain is a comedy about mismatched cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. A Real Pain was one of the buzziest titles at Sundance Film Festival this year, garnering rave reviews and acclaim from both critics and audiences alike.

See A Real Pain only in theaters November 15th. From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle. some independent thinking, and a little bit of my take. I'm your host, Isaac Saul, and on today's episode, we're going to be talking about Kamala Harris and her pick for vice president. Before we jump into that story, which is obviously very Kamala Harris-centric, I do want to give you a reminder in tomorrow's members-only Friday edition of our newsletter, we are taking a deep dive into Kamala Harris, the new presumptive Democratic nominee. We're going to break down her upbringing, her politics, her flip-flops, her strengths, her weaknesses, and how she might differ from President Biden. I'm going to share my take on all of that. If you are strictly a podcast listener, we're going to have some of

that same material in our Sunday podcast. If you're a newsletter reader and a podcast listener, in order to get the deep dive tomorrow, you need to subscribe. Become one of Tangle's 17,000 paying subscribers. For that, you will get Friday and Sunday editions on top of our Monday through Thursday newsletter, which is free for everybody. So with that, I'm going to pass it over to John to break down today's main story, and I'll be back for my take. Thanks, Isaac, and welcome, everybody. Here are your quick hits for today. First up, President Biden addressed a nation last night, saying he believes his record merited a second term, but is ready to pass the torch to the next generation. Number two, the U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter with GDP growth

at a rate of 2.8 percent from April through June. That was double the 1.4 percent rate in the first quarter and well above economist expectations of 2.1 percent. Number three, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech to Congress advocating for U.S. support of Israel.1 percent. Number three, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech to Congress advocating for U.S. support of Israel. Six audience members were arrested and charged for disrupting the proceedings, while protesters lit American flags on fire and clashed with police outside the capital. Representative Rashida Tlaib, the Democrat for Michigan, the only Palestinian American in Congress, held a sign that said war criminal during his address. Number four, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before House lawmakers about the attempted assassination of President Trump, revealing the shooter

researched the JFK assassination and flew a drone 200 yards from where the podium would be constructed days before the attack. And number five, at a rally in North Carolina, former President Trump rejected the notion that he would be running a nice campaign, saying you can't be nice when dealing with dangerous people. Now that she has the support of enough delegates to lock up the democratic nomination kamala harris has her first big decision to make and she has to make it quickly choosing a running mate the speculation is growing over vice president harris's a short list of potential running mates arizona senator mark kelly of course astronaut, a veteran, and married to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. And Pennsylvania Governor Josh

Shapiro, very popular in his home state, a key battleground, of course, Pennsylvania, you need to win the White House. Both are believed to be among the early favorites here. Four days after President Joe Biden announced he was dropping his re-election bid, Vice President Kamala Harris has reportedly secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become the party's presumptive presidential nominee. Harris is now weighing her options for running mate and will likely make her selection within the next two weeks. Democrats have said that they will finalize their ticket by August 7th to meet the earliest state ballot requirement in Ohio, although that deadline may not be legally binding.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is leading the vetting process for the candidates. On Tuesday, USA Today reported that the Harris campaign requested vetting materials from seven potential VPs. Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona, Governor Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania, Governor Roy Cooper from North Carolina, Governor Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, Governor Tim Waltz from Minnesota, Governor J.B. Pritzker from Illinois, and former Representative Cedric Richman from Louisiana. Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky is also in the running, while Whitmer and Governor Gavin Newsom of California reportedly asked to be removed from consideration. Pundits now consider Kelly and Shapiro to be the frontrunners. Kelly is a U.S. Navy veteran and former NASA astronaut who was elected to the Senate in a special election in Arizona in 2020. In 2022, he was re-elected to serve a full

six-year term. Kelly is also the husband of former Representative Gabby Giffords, the Democrat from Arizona, who was shot and seriously wounded during an event with constituents in January of 2011. Giffords and Kelly have since become proponents of gun control legislation. Shapiro won the Pennsylvania governor's race in 2022 after serving as the Commonwealth's attorney general from 2017 to 2023. In that role, he was a prominent opponent of former President Donald Trump's administration, challenging policies like the proposed travel ban on people entering the U.S. from Muslim-majority countries. Both men present potential benefits and liabilities on the ticket with Harris. Kelly's image as a veteran and astronaut with moderate political views could help Democrats appeal to independent and swing voters. And as a senator from a border state, he has firsthand

experience with immigration issues at the U.S.-Mexico border. While Kelly's support for limits on gun access plays well with the base, who likely already support the ticket, those views could dampen his appeal to other groups of voters. Furthermore, some labor unions have criticized Kelly for his reluctance to support labor reform legislation. Shapiro is popular and respected across party lines in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state that was decided by fewer than 82,000 votes in 2020. The governor is also seen as an ascendant figure in Democratic politics for his success in defeating Trump's challenges to Pennsylvania's 2020 election results. However, his outspoken support for Israel and school vouchers could suppress enthusiasm for his candidacy among progressives.

Today, we'll explore arguments from the right and the left about Harris' decision and then Isaac's take. We'll be right back after this quick commercial break. Are you sure you parked over here? Do you see it anywhere? I think it's back this way. Come on. Hey, you're going the wrong way.

Feeling distracted? You're not alone. Whether renting, considering buying a home, or renewing a mortgage, many Canadians are finding it hard to focus with housing costs on their minds. For free tools and resources to help you manage your home finances and clear your head, visit Canada.ca slash it pays to know. A message from the Government of Canada. From Searchlight Pictures comes A Real Pain, one of the most moving and funny films of the year. Written and directed by Oscar-nominated Jesse Eisenberg and starring Eisenberg and Emmy Award

winner Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain is a comedy about mismatched cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. A Real Pain was one of the buzziest titles at Sundance Film Festival this year, garnering rave reviews and acclaim from both critics and audiences alike. See A Real Pain only in theaters November 15th. First up, let's start with what the right is saying. The right thinks Harris' best pick would

be a moderate, though they suggest the impact of the pick will be minimal. Some say Harris' campaign will fail no matter whom she picks. Others say Mark Kelly would be a formidable figure on the campaign trail. In The Spectator, James Johnson asked, Who should Kamala Harris make her running mate? Harris needs to make both a safe choice that appeals to middle-class and working-class white voters, especially men, but also a bold choice, someone who can shift the dial and grab attention on the trail, Johnson wrote. All of these possible candidates, bar one attention on the trail, Johnson wrote.

All of these possible candidates, bar one, have the same thing in common. They're white men, and mostly lean to the center. That will be an important attribute for Harris, who performs better with left-leaning voters, African Americans, and women. Trump built a commanding 22-point lead over Biden with men. It will be crucial for Harris to whittle that down closer to the eight points Trump won by in 2020 to have a shot at the White House. The demographic groups that Harris lacks support among are looking for strength, plain speaking, and an understanding of blue-collar workers. It will also help if they are not seen as too liberal. If the candidate convincingly embodies that and can survive under pressure, they will perform better for Harris on the ticket, Johnson said. She will need to pick someone with low name recognition, but who she is confident can forge an

identity for themselves nationally. They will need to embody the values and attributes that a white working-class man who voted for Trump in 2016, but Biden in 2020, is seeking without putting off other voters. In National Review, Jack Butler wrote about Kamala Harris' Mark Kelly delusion. Kelly could bring some obvious advantages to a Harris ticket. Purple Arizona is one of the five states that switched from voting for Donald Trump in 2016 to voting for Joe Biden in 2020. Kelly is not only from the state, but also has won two Senate elections there. He has a reputation, albeit undeserved, as a moderate,

as well as an appealing background, Butler said. There is another potential asset Kelly could bring to the Democratic ticket. In 2022, he ran for Senate against Blake Masters. Like Trump vice presidential pick J.D. Vance, he's a protege of tech billionaire Peter Thiel. Putting Kelly up against another Thiel protege might be an appealing prospect for the Democrats. Though Vance may have underperformed statewide candidates in Ohio in 2022, he did win his race. He is clearly a superior political talent to masters. More important, Kamala Harris is a superior political talent to basically nobody. Harris did not even make it to Ohio when she ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. She last had a competitive election against a Republican in 2010. She is unpopular.

She will have to sink or swim on her own merits. It is a fantasy that even a popular purple state politico at the bottom of the ticket could make people forget that they would be voting for Kamala Harris. In the Arizona Republic, Phil Boas said, Kamala Harris doesn't scare Republicans, but Mark Kelly absolutely should. If you're a conservative, it's not Kamala Harris you fear. It's her running mate. That is, of course, if she chooses the right running mate.

And it's beginning to look like she could. Mark Kelly is on the short list of names for the number two spot, and he's rapidly rising as the popular choice, Boas wrote. Kelly's third career would not bring much to the ticket. He's a neophyte politician, a first-term senator just beginning to create a record. But his mind-bending first and second careers as a Navy fighter pilot and a NASA astronaut are his ticket to ride. They earned him entry to the U.S. Senate in his initial run for office. When Republicans attacked the Biden-Harris record for mass illegal immigration,

Kelly could shoot back, where have you been? I've lived in border states much of my adult life. I fought for a stronger border, Boas said. Republicans are giddy at the thought of crushing Kamala Harris in November. They need to get a grip. If Harris chooses the Arizonan as her running mate, you can call the Democrats soft, but Americans will look at Mark Kelly and see a rock. All right, that is it for what the right is saying, which brings us to what the left is saying. Many on the left think Mark Kelly is the strongest pick. Some favor Josh Shapiro for his mix of policy acumen and communication skills. Others say Shapiro's pro-Israel stance could divide Democrats. In time, Marvin Kalb and Garrett Mitchell made the case for Mark Kelly.

The case for Kelly is shiny, authentic, and persuasive. Kelly comes with extensive military experience, helping harris who has none kelly is a decorated navy pilot with combat experience he is a seasoned astronaut who commanded the space shuttle endeavor he campaigned as a political moderate favoring stricter gun control and won a senate seat from arizona after four years on capitol hill a tough place to make friends kelly is highly regarded by colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Kolb and Mitchell said. That he almost certainly puts Arizona's 11 electoral votes in the Democratic column is a clincher for Harris Kelly and a coup de grace for Trump-Vance.

During his Senate career, Kelly has been instrumental in several important public policy initiatives, including landmark legislation to reduce prescription drug prices and lower out-of-pocket costs for seniors, the $52 billion bipartisan package to increase domestic microchip manufacturing, and select proposals to ban stock trading by members of Congress and eliminate corporate PACs, Colbin Mitchell wrote. Kelly's story and stature, if attached to the Harris ticket, would strengthen the Democratic quest for an election victory on November 5th, ushering in a new generation of political leadership. In MSNBC, Rotimi Adeoye argued Harris should choose Josh Shapiro. Despite his relatively short tenure as governor, Shapiro has already made significant strides that

he demonstrated interstate cooperation by partnering with New Jersey to form a task force strengthening labor law enforcement and worker protections. This showcases his ability to collaborate across state lines to achieve progressive goals, Adeoye said. As Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Shapiro rooted out sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, combined his background in fighting for survivors of sexual abuse with Harris's background as a prosecutor protecting victims of sex crimes, and the choice between the Democratic ticket and the one headlined by Trump, a sexual predator, is a stark one for voters. His approach to governance emphasizes practical solutions and effective communication, qualities that are increasingly valued in today's polarized political landscape. Shapiro's success in navigating complex policy issues, such as labor law enforcement and infrastructure projects,

underscores his ability to deliver tangible results while maintaining broad public support, Arroyo wrote. Harris needs a political ally who is not only skilled in governance, but also adept at communicating these achievements to the public. In the New Republic, David Kleon called Shapiro the one vice presidential pick who could ruin Democratic unity. On paper, it's understandable why Shapiro the one vice presidential pick who could ruin Democratic unity. On paper, it's understandable why Shapiro is among the leading candidates reportedly being vetted by Harris. Like nearly all the VP contenders, he's a white male governor with a centrist reputation. At 51, he's even younger than Harris with a fresh face, having only held his current job for 18 months, Kleon said. Unfortunately, Shapiro also stands out among the

current field of potential running mates as being egregiously bad on Palestine. It's not just that he, like many other Democrats, is an outspoken supporter of Israel, though he certainly is, having championed Israel's war against Hamas consistently without any apparent concern for Palestinian civilians. His particular hostility towards pro-Palestine activists threatens to blunt the enthusiasm among young progressive voters that Harris has managed to generate in the past few days. It could also undermine the Democratic ticket in Michigan, where Arab-American activists have cheered the news of Biden's withdrawal and adopted a wait-and-see posture towards Harris, Kleon wrote. Harris has a real opportunity to turn Biden's dismal numbers around

and has given at least some indication that she understands how. Picking Shapiro as her running mate would send a very different message and would discourage precisely the people she needs to ensure her victory over Trump. All right, let's head over to Isaac for his take. All right, that is it for it with the left and the right are saying, which brings us to my take. So I've been donning my Democratic strategist hat quite a bit this past month, and I'm feeling pretty well primed to evaluate Harris' potential running mates. Here are my top five picks based solely on how I think they would improve her odds of being elected. First up, we've got Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona. Everything the writers we've featured in our newsletter and that you'll see all across the press are saying about Mark Kelly are true.

in our newsletter and that you'll see all across the press are saying about Mark Kelly are true. He's an astronaut. He's a military veteran. He is a popular senator living in a swing state. Trump does much better with men than Harris or Biden, and Kelly could provide a nice salve for that weakness. One underrated element of Kelly, he's a relatively new politician. That is both in vogue right now, see J.D. Vance and Donald Trump, and it's an advantage on the campaign trail, where a lack of opposition research about him will provide less attack ammunition. The GOP won't be able to run ads like the ones they're running against Kamala Harris, against Senator Kelly. And finally, he lives in a border state where he can talk about his proposals and his

approach to immigration, an issue that is one of the weakest for Democrats, the Biden administration, and for Harris in particular. If I were a Democratic strategist, I'd be pushing Kelly hard. He would be my number one choice. And so he's ranked number one here. Number two is Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. Honestly, I'm surprised more people aren't taking the prospect of him seriously. He's one of the most active and productive liberals in the country. And in Minnesota, he's managed to pass a constitutional right to abortion, three months of family leave and paid sick leave, universal free school meals, legal cannabis, free public college, automatic

voter registration, and red flag laws for gun purchases, all with a slim majority in the state government. He has a military background. He had a career in education as well. He's also not very well known nationally, which means Democrats could define him however they want to the public. Governor Tim Walz is a very interesting choice. He's not a big name. He's not a household name, but I think he's probably number two on my list, which is where I'm putting him because if you are a Democrat, if you are a liberal, this is a guy who gets a lot of things done that liberals and Democrats want. He's got the white male thing going on, which is clearly where Harris

is looking. And while he's not from a swing state, he is from a state that borders the blue wall that Democrats need in the 2024 election. Number three is Governor Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania. This is perhaps the most obvious choice on the board. He's a popular governor. He's from my home state. Shapiro has proved himself apt at winning the hearts of both liberals and conservatives, and he leads a state that Democrats cannot win the presidency without. Some people have suggested that because he's Jewish and a staunch supporter of Israel, he'd be a risky pick. Aside from being shocked that his Jewish faith is something viewed as a knock on his resume, I do think the people he'd bring over would outweigh the people he would lose for his support

of Israel. In other words, there are progressives, I think, who would genuinely boycott the ticket with Josh Shapiro on it because of his stance on Israel and the war in Gaza. But I think he'd bring over more moderates and potentially never-Trump conservatives if he's on the ticket than he and Harris would lose in terms of progressive voters. Number four is Gretchen Whitmer. That's right, I've got Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, the governor, number four on my list. Even with reports that Whitmer isn't gunning for the job, Even with reports that Whitmer isn't gunning for the job, it's a bit incredible to me how she is being discussed.

On the one hand, I get why everyone thinks Harris has to pick a white guy. I've suggested that myself, so I'm guilty of it too. But could you imagine if Harris tapped Whitmer? It'd be a bold, newsy, shocking choice. It's the kind of high-risk, high-reward political play that the media would eat up. Harris can make the pick and say she was ignoring Whitmer's gender, a kind of anti-DEI pick, as you could easily argue that Whitmer is the most qualified choice. She's been governor of Michigan for five years. She was a state rep for 15 years before that. And aside from having the first ever all-woman ticket in the history of

the country, Whitmer on paper is just like Kelly and Shapiro. She's a moderate governor from a swing state Democrats need to win. Her politics are not going to shock any centrists or moderates, and her poll numbers are considerably outpacing Biden's in Michigan, another must-win state for Democrats. Frankly, I understand all the risks, but if I were running the Harris campaign, I would give her a real, genuine, long look. And I think it's a bit shallow-minded for so many people, myself included, to outright dismiss the idea. And finally, number five is Andy Beshear from Kentucky. Outside the hailing from a swing state, Beshear checks every box. He's a moderate Democrat who can win over voters in a conservative state.

He's a governor. He's got down-to-earth vibes that are kind of accentuated by this, like, Mr. Rogers-like demeanor, if you ever watch him talk. He's from Kentucky, and he's already attacking J.D. Vance for being a pretender for claiming Kentucky. He won his state's gubernatorial race with 52% of the vote in November, and he's already attacking J.D. Vance for being a pretender for claiming Kentucky. He won his state's gubernatorial race with 52% of the vote in November, which was an improvement on his margins from four years earlier. And he's now the most popular Democratic governor in America with a 67% approval rating. As with Shapiro, the hard part for Democrats would be

losing him in Kentucky because I don't think they could bring up another Democrat who would definitely win there. And as with Governor Tim Walz, it's unclear how we hold up on the biggest stage. But there's a reason he's so popular and a reason he's on the short list. So that's it. That's my top five for Kamala Harris in terms of people who might help her win this race. Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona, Governor Tim Walz from Minnesota, Governor Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania, Governor Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, my hot take, and Andy Beshear, the governor from Kentucky. Of course, I know a lot of people

are also floating Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. I recognize that Mayor Pete is a great communicator, and when I watch his appearances on Bill Maher or Fox News, I get the appeal. A lot of people point to the fact that he's gay as the reason that Harris won't pick him, questioning whether Americans are ready for a Black woman and a gay guy on the same ticket. I'm sure that would make a lot of people uncomfortable, but I think a far bigger issue is that his brand of politics just connects more with highly educated

liberals than it does with a lot of more normie Americans that Democrats need to win over in 2024. Like Harris, there is a reason he didn't do all that well in 2020, and they've already got a 2020 underperformer on the ticket. Now, normally I would give some spiel here about how the vice president doesn't matter all that much, but for very obvious reasons, I think that's a pretty dated notion, especially in this race. It's top of mind for voters that the vice president could very well end up the president, especially in the case of Donald Trump, who is now 78 years old. And not enough people seem to realize what a risky pick J.D. Vance is. The early data indicates

that he is the least popular running mate since 1980 by a long shot. Harris, for now, has an opportunity to narrow some of the concerns about her and demonstrate how she approaches important decisions, which we'll discuss in our Friday edition of the newsletter. Her pick will matter a great deal, and it'll be fascinating to see what her risk threshold is and how her campaign views her own weaknesses. We'll be right back after this quick break. Oh, that coffee smells good. Can you pass me the sugar when you're finished? Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing? That's salt, not sugar. Let's get you another coffee.

Feeling distracted? You're not alone. Many Canadians are finding it hard to focus with mortgage payments on their minds. If you're struggling with your payments, speak to your bank. The earlier they understand your situation, the more options and relief measures could be available to you. Learn more at Canada.ca slash it pays to know. A message from the Government of Canada.

From Searchlight Pictures comes A Real Pain, one of the most moving and funny films of the year. Written and directed by Oscar-nominated Jesse Eisenberg and starring Eisenberg and Emmy Award winner Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain is a comedy about mismatched cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. A Real Pain was one of the buzziest titles at Sundance Film Festival this year, garnering rave reviews and acclaim from both critics and audiences alike. See A Real Pain only in theaters November 15th. Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book,

Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+.

All right, that is it for my take, which brings us to our reader questions. This one's from Andrew in Dublin, California. Andrew said, I listened to a few Wall Street Journal podcasts, and every time there's an update regarding Evan Gershkovich's situation, they mention that Russia hasn't publicly shared evidence of espionage. Is this normal or common, or is it suspicious? My first thought was that it was suspicious, that they wouldn't provide any evidence, but I realize I don't know enough about other countries' systems that maybe it's common for the evidence to not be made public or findable. Yeah, it is definitely suspicious, if not outright and obviously corrupt. Let's start

with the macro and work our way down here. Russia has an authoritarian government, dominated by its leader, Vladimir Putin. During his regime, rival politicians have been mysteriously killed, its own citizens have been arrested for showing sympathy to those rival politicians, and foreign citizens in Russia are commonly arrested on charges for which there is very little supporting evidence. The organization Freedom House, which rates political freedoms internationally, gives Russia a score of 13 out of 100. In the Russian court system, thanks to the 2020 amendment, Supreme Court and constitutional court justices can be removed by the president. That means the

courts are subject to a nearly dictatorial level of ideological capture. The courts have deemed the LGBT movement an extremist organization, allowing the state to jail anyone associating with it, and ordered the country's journalists union to be dissolved for being critical of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. So that's the context in which Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment for espionage. And even in that context, Gershkovich's trial was suspicious. And not just for the lack of publicly released evidence, Brittany Greiner's trial even had some publicly released details. Espionage cases typically last months in Russia, but the Gershkovich trial concluded after two days of hearings.

Taken all together, these facts suggest what many journalists have thought since the beginning. Russia is ginning up a charge to convict an American so they can swap them for other prisoners. It fits a pattern for Putin's Russia, and you'd have to try very hard to see this case any other way. All right, that is it for my take and your questions answered. I'm going to send it back to John for the rest of the pod. Don't forget to check out our Sunday podcast for some deep dive stuff on Kamala Harris, or you can subscribe to our newsletter to get the full piece tomorrow in your inbox. You can do that

by going to readtangle.com and becoming a paying member. Otherwise, we'll be back here over the weekend. Have a good one. Thanks, Isaac. Here's your under the radar story for today, folks. Vice President Kamala Harris polls much better with younger voters than either President Biden or former President Donald Trump. In the first Axios Generation Lab poll of young voters since Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Harris is leading Trump by a 60 to 40 percent margin. Biden, conversely, had a much slimmer 53 to 47 percent lead over Trump among young voters. among young voters. 45% of those surveyed said they have an extremely or somewhat favorable opinion of Harris, while 33% said that of Biden and 34% said that of Trump. Axios has this story, and there's a link in today's episode description.

All right, next up is our numbers section. The percent chance that Vice President Kamala Harris chooses Senator Mark Kelly as her running mate is 37%, the highest of any candidate, according to the betting platform PolyMarket. The percentage chance that Harris chooses Governor Josh Shapiro as her running mate is 20%, the second highest of any candidate. The percentage chance that Harris chooses Governor Roy Cooper as her running mate is 15%, the third highest of any candidate. as Governor Roy Cooper as her running mate is 15%, the third highest of any candidate.

Kelly's margin of victory in Arizona in his 2020 Senate race was 2.4%. President Joe Biden's margin of victory in Arizona in 2020 was 0.4%. Shapiro's margin of victory in Pennsylvania in his 2022 gubernatorial race was 14.8%. Biden's margin of victory in Pennsylvania in 2020 was 1.2%. The most recent year the Democratic nominee for president chose a governor as their running mate was 1924. And since 1924, the number of Democratic nominees for vice president who were sitting U.S. senators was 16 out of 17. All right, and last but not least, our Have a Nice Day story. Today is Elizabeth Francis's birthday, making her the only 115-year-old in the United States. Francis, a Houston resident, was born in Louisiana in 1909 and then later ran a Houston coffee shop for 20 years while also raising her child as a single mom.

She lives at home with her 95-year-old daughter and enjoys regular visits from her other family members. Speak your mind and don't hold your tongue, Frances offers as advice for a long life. The Washington Post has this story and there's a link in today's episode description. All right, everybody, that's it for today's episode. As always, if you'd like to support our work, please go to retangle.com and sign up for a membership. As Isaac mentioned at the top, we have a deep dive Friday edition on Kamala Harris that is for members only. So it's a good time to sign up if you want to get some more in-depth coverage. And Isaac and Ari will be back on the mic for the Sunday podcast.

You can check that out on a variety of digital platforms, and there is always a link on our website. We'll be back here for the daily podcast on Monday. For Isaac and the rest of the crew, this is John Law signing off. Have a fantastic weekend, y'all. Peace. Our podcast is written by me, Isaac Saul, and edited and engineered by John Law. Peace. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. If you're looking for more from Tangle, please go to readtangle.com and check out our website.