WASHINGTON: Democrats gathered in Chicago on Monday for a four-day party fiesta aiming to accelerate momentum for presidential nominee Kamala Harris, whose unexpected elevation to the top of the ticket has electrified US elections.
Outgoing President Joe Biden (who will remain in office till Jan 20, 2025) will headline the opening evening before making way for other party luminaries — including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — to talk up the first woman of color in US history to be formally nominated to the White House race.
Despite leading in the polls, Kamala Harris has a tough road ahead as evidenced by an avalanche of attacks by white nationalists shocked by the prospect of a black Caribbean-Indian-American woman ascending to the White House that they have owned for most of the country’s 248-year history.
From dusting up a relationship she had 30 years ago to insinuate she slept her way to the top, to alleging she has a drinking problem, MAGA Republicans’ dirty tricks department is leaving no stone unturned to derail the Harris campaign. In one of the more ludicrous efforts over the weekend, the MAGA media lathered up outrage over her eating Doritos (a brand of tortilla chips) even as Trump is getting crunched in pre-election surveys, a dramatic turnaround from only a month ago when he was facing Biden and leading comfortably.
So desperate is the former President over sagging poll numbers that he falsely claimed an endorsement on Sunday from America’s reigning cultural czar Taylor Swift, after his supporters misappropriated a spoof about the singer’s fans turning to Trump because she had to cancel a concert after a threat from ISIS.
Spurious claims of “Swifties for Trump” was endorsed by the rapidly aging Republican nominee, who posted an AI generated image of Swift dressed up as Uncle Sam and telling Americans to vote for him, and declared “I Accept!”
There was nothing to accept. Although she has not formally endorsed Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift is avowedly anti-Trump. But the MAGA caper underscored the mischief AI deployment is expected to cause over the next ten weeks leading to the election day on November 5.
On Monday, Microsoft warned of AI generated deepfakes influencing elections, citing examples from other countries where this has already happened. Separately, AFP, citing disinformation researchers, reported that hundreds of fake media outlets have proliferated in recent months, “fueling an explosion of polarizing or false narratives” and inviting foreign powers to meddle in the November 5 election.
Not that there isn’t enough domestic mischief. Over the weekend, MAGA activists flooded social media with slowed down video clips of Kamala Harris speaking at public forums to allege she comes to events “drunk.” Democrat-leaning operatives too have not lagged behind in promoting deep fakes, including doctored photos to suggest the assassination attempt on Trump was a hoax.
On Sunday, both sides duked it over Kamala Harris stopping at a gas station during her bus tour of Pennsylvania to pick up a bag of Doritos, with Democrats citing it as a reflection of how she was a “regular” person and MAGA trolls alleging the whole episode was staged.
“That’s the emotional response of the leader of the free world is to binge eat Doritos? Can you imagine Putin chugging down a bag of Sour Patch Kids?” a pro-Trump talking head fumed. “I’ll take the candidate that eats Doritos, not the one who looks like he rolls around in them before he goes on camera,” clapped back a Harris supporter.
The vicious battle for perception has trivialized more germane policy issues, with profound differences distilled into alarmist epithets ranging from “socialist” to “traitor.” With Trump’s lead at the polls evaporating rapidly, his supporters are characterizing the DNC in Chicago as a gathering of communists and anarchists, their narrative based on pro-Palestine protests near the venue.
A celebrity line-up of impresarios and entertainers are expected to regale Democratic party faithful at the four-day fiesta of “fun and joy” between political speeches featuring Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton on Monday, Michelle and Barack Obama on Tuesday, Bill Clinton and Tim Walz on Wednesday, culminating with Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech on Thursday.
Outgoing President Joe Biden (who will remain in office till Jan 20, 2025) will headline the opening evening before making way for other party luminaries — including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — to talk up the first woman of color in US history to be formally nominated to the White House race.
Despite leading in the polls, Kamala Harris has a tough road ahead as evidenced by an avalanche of attacks by white nationalists shocked by the prospect of a black Caribbean-Indian-American woman ascending to the White House that they have owned for most of the country’s 248-year history.
From dusting up a relationship she had 30 years ago to insinuate she slept her way to the top, to alleging she has a drinking problem, MAGA Republicans’ dirty tricks department is leaving no stone unturned to derail the Harris campaign. In one of the more ludicrous efforts over the weekend, the MAGA media lathered up outrage over her eating Doritos (a brand of tortilla chips) even as Trump is getting crunched in pre-election surveys, a dramatic turnaround from only a month ago when he was facing Biden and leading comfortably.
So desperate is the former President over sagging poll numbers that he falsely claimed an endorsement on Sunday from America’s reigning cultural czar Taylor Swift, after his supporters misappropriated a spoof about the singer’s fans turning to Trump because she had to cancel a concert after a threat from ISIS.
Spurious claims of “Swifties for Trump” was endorsed by the rapidly aging Republican nominee, who posted an AI generated image of Swift dressed up as Uncle Sam and telling Americans to vote for him, and declared “I Accept!”
There was nothing to accept. Although she has not formally endorsed Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift is avowedly anti-Trump. But the MAGA caper underscored the mischief AI deployment is expected to cause over the next ten weeks leading to the election day on November 5.
On Monday, Microsoft warned of AI generated deepfakes influencing elections, citing examples from other countries where this has already happened. Separately, AFP, citing disinformation researchers, reported that hundreds of fake media outlets have proliferated in recent months, “fueling an explosion of polarizing or false narratives” and inviting foreign powers to meddle in the November 5 election.
Not that there isn’t enough domestic mischief. Over the weekend, MAGA activists flooded social media with slowed down video clips of Kamala Harris speaking at public forums to allege she comes to events “drunk.” Democrat-leaning operatives too have not lagged behind in promoting deep fakes, including doctored photos to suggest the assassination attempt on Trump was a hoax.
On Sunday, both sides duked it over Kamala Harris stopping at a gas station during her bus tour of Pennsylvania to pick up a bag of Doritos, with Democrats citing it as a reflection of how she was a “regular” person and MAGA trolls alleging the whole episode was staged.
“That’s the emotional response of the leader of the free world is to binge eat Doritos? Can you imagine Putin chugging down a bag of Sour Patch Kids?” a pro-Trump talking head fumed. “I’ll take the candidate that eats Doritos, not the one who looks like he rolls around in them before he goes on camera,” clapped back a Harris supporter.
The vicious battle for perception has trivialized more germane policy issues, with profound differences distilled into alarmist epithets ranging from “socialist” to “traitor.” With Trump’s lead at the polls evaporating rapidly, his supporters are characterizing the DNC in Chicago as a gathering of communists and anarchists, their narrative based on pro-Palestine protests near the venue.
A celebrity line-up of impresarios and entertainers are expected to regale Democratic party faithful at the four-day fiesta of “fun and joy” between political speeches featuring Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton on Monday, Michelle and Barack Obama on Tuesday, Bill Clinton and Tim Walz on Wednesday, culminating with Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech on Thursday.
