Hi Intriguer. Forgive me this week for a short intro, but I’m currently en route to O’Hare airport in Chicago. Anyone who is familiar with this singularly chaotic airport will understand that focus and skill are required if one is to make their flight.

Kristen and I spent the week at the Democratic National Convention, and earlier today, we reflected on the speeches, the side events, and the unfortunate lack of foreign policy discussion from the Democratic Party. We also took a look at where the race for the White House goes from here. You can listen to our discussion here or read a summary below.

And, of course, if you’re not signed up for our flagship daily newsletter, International Intrigue, you can fix that here!

- John Fowler & Kristen Talman in Chicago

Harris makes big tent pitch in Chicago, emphasizing unity

We’re still reeling from the fact that Beyonce didn’t make a last-minute appearance, despite the wild rumors that ran riot on social networks and even got picked up by Politico. We had to settle for Vice President Kamala Harris making a historic address accepting her party’s nomination for president.

Will this week’s convention move the dial for the Democrats? It depends on who you ask. If elections are won by volunteers knocking on doors and convincing undecided voters one by one, it’s hard to imagine a more energized base of volunteers than the ones who fanned out to all corners of Chicago this week.

If a convention’s purpose is to directly convince those undecided voters via prime-time addresses and viral video clips, then the picture is a little murkier. Most political experts suggest conventions deliver a modest and temporary boost in the polls, at best.

Speaking of polling, let’s check in on the key battlegrounds courtesy of Real Clear Politics:

On that evidence, all the battleground states are within the margin of error and, therefore, effectively a tie.

Looking ahead, the next big date on the calendar is the ABC debate on 10 September, followed by the opening of early voting in Pennsylvania on 16 September.

Folks, this election is currently a dead heat, and anyone who confidently predicts otherwise is simply a very silly sausage. 

A summary of this week’s conversation:

1. Harris’s speech. Her acceptance speech came in at 38 minutes long which makes it one of the shortest in history (Biden’s 2020 was even shorter). It was likely designed to draw a contrast with Donald Trump’s 92-minute oration in Milwaukee. Instead of drilling on new policy considerations, Harris made a big tent pitch for voters across the Blue aisle, accepting the nomination on behalf of “every American regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks.” For many Americans, last night’s speech (and the clips circulating on social media today) will be the first time they’ve watched Harris give a high-stakes nationally broadcast address. There was a little bit more policy in her remarks than we saw during the rest of the DNC, but overall this was a week light on policy and heavy on ✨vibes✨.
   

2. Democrats continue to walk the line on Gaza. The most striking portion of Harris’ speech to us was when she addressed the war in Gaza. She began by forcefully reiterating Israel’s right to defend itself — “I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself” — America’s role in helping Israel to defend itself, and decried the horrific 7 October terrorist attack. While it was never likely, Harris effectively ended the hopes of those advocating for a US arms embargo for Israel. She then pivoted to call for an immediate return of the hostages and a ceasefire deal, interestingly using the word ‘self-determination’ when referring to the future of Palestine. That phrase will have been well noted in Tel Aviv. Pro-Palestine protestors will surely have hoped for a bigger impact this week, but calls for a Palestinian-American to be invited to address the convention were turned down which led to Uncommitted National Movement campaigners organizing a brief sit-in involving Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and outgoing Missouri Rep. Cori Bush (but if a sit in happens in a convention, but the media ignores it, did it even happen?). It’s too early to pronounce the uncommitted movement finished, but Harris and the Democrats appear to have navigated a safe path through what could have been rocky waters this week.
   

3. Despite Harris’ remarks, there was a distinct lack of foreign policy. The Trump-Vance ticket’s foreign policy argument is that the US needs to withdraw from being so involved abroad and focus on its domestic issues and its main foreign rival, China. From the conversations we had this week, the Democrat message seemed to be ‘more of the same’, which means it will be a committed partner with Europe against Russian aggression, it will remain just as engaged in the Middle East, and it will continue the Biden administrations hawkish approach to China. The Democrats released their policy platform (via a massive PDF document Sunday night) that looked like it was copy-and-pasted from 2020, with President Joe Biden's name often appearing where ‘Harris’ should be. That’s as good a sign as any the Democrats gave this week that Harris’s foreign policy will follow Biden’s.
   

4. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign visited the US-Mexico border on Thursday as part of his week-long tour of the swing states. Linking trade and immigration policy, Trump told reporters on Thursday that he would slap tariffs on countries that don’t accept deported immigrants, honing in on immigration as a defining issue for his campaign. Republican strategists say he can still win the election if he stays on message, hammering Harris on illegal immigration - it remains one of US voters’ biggest concerns. It also looks like a weakness for the Democratic side of politics and media - former White House press secretary Jen Psaki and journalist Rachel Maddow joked when seeing polls that showed Virginia voters cared about immigration, asking what the Virginians geographically had to be worried about. Republicans were quick to pounce on those comments as out of touch. Nevertheless, this was the Democrats’ week - they’ll enjoy a small and temporary boost in the polls over the next week or so if past experience is anything to go by. All the polls suggest that with 73 days to go until election day, it’s a dead heat.

Listen to the full conversation in your browser by using the audio player above, or by subscribing to our podcast feed below!

Where in the world is…

• President Joe Biden is vacationing in California where he received his daily briefing at 1pm and has no press hits lined up.

• Vice President Kamala Harris is starting her day in Chicago and will head to DC with her husband, Doug Emhoff, at 3.30pm.

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken has no public appointments but has dispatched Deputy Secretary Campbell to meet the New Zealand Ambassador at the Department of State building and Deputy Secretary Verma to the Indian Embassy in the evening as New Delhi’s Defence Secretary is in town.

• Republican nominee Donald Trump is holding a rally with Turning Point PAC in Glendale, Arizona.

Papers of the world

Harris’s Address to Chicago and the World

Newspapers around the world dispatched correspondents and editors to Chicago to cover the political blitz that is a party convention. We spotted Kurdish, Russian, French, and Japanese reporters, just to name a few. After Kamala Harris’ speech wrapped, they all got to typing, dispatching themes that matter to Beijing and the Middle East for their audiences.

This is how they reported Harris accepting her nomination -

🇷🇺 ‘Muslim Women for Harris’ disbands after DNC controversy- RT, Moscow, Russia

• Intrigue’s take: Slotted right at the top of the website, Russia’s RT noted that minority groups are starting to turn away from Harris, creating obstacles for securing key constituents.

🇨🇳 Harris accepts presidential nomination at Democratic National Convention - Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, China

• Intrigue’s take: While Xinhua’s editor in Chicago chose the least interesting fact as the headline, China’s newswire did highlight protesters and party in-fighting in the text’s body.

🇬🇧 Harris urges America to choose ‘freedom and fairness’ over Trump extremism - The Guardian, London, UK

• Intrigue’s take: There was so much talk of freedom, yet Beyonce was nowhere to be seen (TMZ has some questions to answer).

🇦🇪 Harris vows to end war in Gaza and support Israel in DNC speech - The National, Dubai, UAE

• Intrigue’s take: The million-dollar question going into Thursday night was if Harris would mention the Israel-Gaza war. The Vice President reiterated her support for Israel, no doubt disappointing the Uncommitted National Movement, which is pushing for an arms embargo.

CAMPAIGNER OF THE DAY

Former Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who served from November 2021 to October 2022 and currently heads the opposition party, has taken time off from her Midsommar festivities to campaign for Kamala Harris. Before heading to the DNC, where Andersson advocated for continued US aid for Ukraine, the Swedish politician was spotted talking to constituents in Wisconsin.

We can’t remember another example of a serving politician from a foreign country openly knocking on doors for a US presidential candidate… can you Intriguer?

What we’re reading

• U.S. Democrats' foreign policy platform pivots back to Europe

• Harris will have Israel’s back, former ambassador says

• Philip Gordon, the foreign policy pragmatist with Kamala Harris’s ear

• Harris, Walz understand the Canada-U.S. relationship, ambassador says

Poll