♪ ♪ >> Welcome to this week in South Carolina, I'm Gavin Jackson.

There has been an abundance of political news over the past two weeks, so much so, that we had to have a show this week.

That's why I invited USC political science professor Kirk Randazzo to come on.

Kirk, welcome back.

Kirk Randazzo> Thank you very much.

Appreciate the invitation.

Gavin> Like I said, Kirk, it's been a lot over the past two weeks.

We've had an assassination attempt.

We have the RNC and a running mate announced for the Republican ticket.

We have a president foregoing a run for a second term with a woman of color, now, set to be the nominee of a major party all about 100 days from election day.

So, let's start with that assassination attempt on July 13th, Kirk.

That was nearly two weeks ago.

Like we're saying, it's been a busy two weeks.

We've all seen that footage by now.

It was incredibly disturbing, a jarring event that kind of had the reminiscent of 9/11.

We're all glued to the TVs because it was just so disturbing.

But how did you see that event at the time changing this campaign?

And then maybe now, two weeks on, how do you see how it's playing out?

>> Well, I think initially, that event gave a lot of momentum to Donald Trump and his campaign, especially the iconic photo with him surrounded by the Secret Service with his fist in the air and the blood coming down the side of his face.

I mean, that very much is an image that plays into the entire persona he has tried to craft for himself as the person that will fight for others.

And, you know, his phrase now, "I've taken a bullet for democracy", that very much, I think, swung a tremendous amount of energy in his direction.

And I think the RNC convention the following week allowed him to build upon that.

And things were looking his way for a couple of days until the energy kind of swung in another direction.

Gavin> Yeah.

It's reminiscent.

We were on our last show, we were talking to folks at the RNC, specifically Robert Cahaly, who's a pollster for Republicans, and he was cautioning, don't be overconfident.

Everyone's saying let's not be overconfident.

Even Drew McKissick, the head of the GOP here, said, this is just half time.

And clearly, like you're saying, things have shifted.

So, you know, how do we how do you see that playing out right now when it comes to how the messaging needs to shift for the Trump campaign?

Kirk> Well, I think for the Trump campaign, it's somewhat remarkable that they've not been better prepared for this potential...scenario.

I think they were banking on the fact that they were going to run against Joe Biden until the end, and everything was geared towards Biden as the opponent, you know, the selection of J.D.

Vance further galvanizes the base, which he, Trump probably didn't need, but he picked Vance rather than other individuals that might have been more appealing to the moderates or the independents, again, thinking that Biden was going to be the opponent.

And now the Trump campaign has had to pivot, almost retool their message to go after Kamala Harris, and they're still trying to find their footing.

And so, you know, you have this this sort of awkward moment in the Trump campaign when they're trying to figure out what comes next.

And, you know, in a couple of weeks, we have the DNC convention, which I think is further going to put some momentum behind Harris' campaign.

Trump is going to need to figure this out pretty quickly.

Otherwise it's going to be a hard next couple of months.

Gavin>Yeah.

And I was going to say to that effect, Kirk, we did hear a slightly different Trump at that RNC for the first maybe 25 minutes of that, I think hour and 45 hour, hour 50 minute long speech, he's known for, but then it pivoted back to his typical rhetoric there and, you know, inaccuracies, and that in a sense, it seems like fully disappeared with his return to the campaign trail.

He was in Charlotte on Wednesday evening where he called Harris "lying Kamala Harris", and a radical liberal.

So it doesn't seem like he's reformed in that way that some folks thought he would be after that assassination attempt.

Instead, he's really kind of doubling down on that, Donald Trump, that people know very well.

Kirk> Yeah, I was... somewhat surprised that we even had a brief moment where there was an apparent reach toward unification, maybe reaching out to a broader segment of the country, but to see him move back to what he's been doing for the last several years, that does not come as much of a surprise.

It seems to me, from what I've observed since 2015, when he first announced his run, this is just who Donald Trump is, and I'm not sure that there's anyone in his inner circle that can convince him to change his tune.

You know, especially when he goes off the teleprompter.

Then it's sort of just, a giant stream of consciousness, and he goes back to the same talking points that he's been using over the last couple of years.

Unfortunately for his campaign, I think those are the talking points that are pushing people away.

And...that might have been okay when Biden was the opponent because Biden had his own weaknesses, age being the most prominent, the most, most vocal.

um... but I'm not sure that works now with Harris as the opponent.

Gavin> Kirk, you were just talking about J.D.

Vance, in his selection,, the Ohio Senator, the selection of him being the running mate for Donald Trump.

It doesn't seem like you were totally convinced on him maybe being the pick.

I know it doesn't really matter what you think, in a sense, because you're just analyzing this.

You're observing this.

We're not getting your personal politics here, but do you think that Vance was the right pick when you look at it maybe historically, or do you think maybe Tim Scott would have been a better pick?

You know, there was so much talk about him, and we're seeing Vance on the campaign trail now versus maybe that, more energetic Tim Scott.

Kirk> I actually think Tim Scott would have been a better pick and, and for a variety of reasons.

And you hit on a couple of those.

He is incredibly charismatic.

He, his message, is, is one of hope, of prosperity.

You know, he, he sort of epitomizes the American dream.

And I think there was a lot going for Tim Scott as the VP and going into this race, Tim Scott was actually the person I thought most likely to get the, to get the nod, to get the invitation to join Trump on the ticket.

J.D.

Vance, I... you know, he's he doesn't have a whole lot of experience.

His story isn't necessarily one that resonates with the average individual.

And so it's just not clear to me what Vance brings to the table that a Tim Scott or maybe a couple of other candidates did not.

Gavin> And we'll talk about, Kamala Harris and her potential running mates in a moment, But I want to stick with the Republicans because you have former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who, after the assassination attempt, said that we came within a hair's breadth of another civil war.

Ohio State Senator George Lang, at a rally in Ohio with Senator J.D.

Vance, opened by saying, "I believe wholeheartedly.

"Donald Trump and Butler County's, J.D.

Vance "are the last chance to save our country, "Politically, I'm afraid if we lose this one, "it's going to take a civil war "to save the country and it will be saved."

He later walked back those comments, but all this civil war talk, end of the country here, fighting the enemy there, it's all still very incredibly charged rhetoric, especially in light of January 20- January 6th, and then also that assassination attempt.

So what is your feeling when it comes to this heated rhetoric and where we are right now as a country?

Do we need to chill out with all Civil War talk?

Kirk> Yeah.

To me, that's the most concerning about all of this, and as you said, especially after January 6th, we've seen, how politically charged... people can become, what they can do when they're incited to take matters just one step further and so this talk of another civil war or a Second Amendment revolution, which, you know, that phrase is coming back more and more, all that does is further stoke the division within this country, and more concerning, the notion that the only way we can save this is through some kind of violent response.

That, to me is where everybody should step up, regardless of whether they're Democrat or Republican, and say, "Look, it's enough!"

We have to lower the temperature.

Dial down the rhetoric.

There is no cause for political violence in any shape or form.

And the people that are alluding to this in their language need to be held accountable.

Gavin> Yeah, definitely, definitely worrisome when you hear that kind of rhetoric.

But let's, pivot to, Kamala Harris' ascension here, with President Joe Biden in a letter on Sunday announcing that he will not run for a second term.

And then he shortly thereafter endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the nominee.

This comes after that disastrous debate against Trump and his subsequent attempts to kind of reassure folks that he was up to the challenge.

So if we're talking about rhetoric here, I'm going to use the term soft coup because some people are throwing that term around when it comes to how this is all played out.

But that's not necessarily the what happened.

I mean, it's still party politics.

This is not like January 6th where we did see some would say an attempted coup because that was physical, the people breaking into the, the Congress trying to stop, the peaceful transfer of power.

But we did see the Democratic Party quickly get behind Harris, the delegates.

Some people are suspicious of that.

Tell us about that process, Kirk, and where we are right now and how that is kind of how this works out in these situations.

Kirk> Sure.

Yeah.

It's...it's somewhat ironic that you ask that question because I literally put a post on my Facebook page this morning.

Gavin> I didn't see it.

Kirk> That was sort of a politics 101 talk about this.

And, you know, this notion that it's a soft coup or this is anti-democracy or something is just completely untrue.

Both parties, Republican and Democrat, have procedures in place to select their nominees for the presidency.

And, you know, historically, this involved conversations behind closed doors with party bosses in smoke filled rooms and all of that.

And more recently, both parties agreed to bring the people into the conversation and have these votes taken early.

But what people have either forgotten or maybe just never knew, is that we don't vote for candidates directly.

Our vote expresses a preference, but we select delegates, or the party selects delegates to represent a state that will cast a vote for that preference.

Now, when a candidate drops out, there are procedures in place for those delegates to reallocate their vote.

But it...but they have to be freed in order to do so.

So a great example is Nikki Haley this year.

When she bowed out in February, she had around 90 delegates that she had earned.

And after a little bit of time, she didn't release them right away, but after a little bit of time, she said, you know what, you can vote your conscience and go ahead and vote for Donald Trump.

So, she let the delegates free from their obligation, from their responsibility.

Same thing is happening here.

So Joe Biden says, I'm no longer going to accept the nomination.

And he released his delegates.

Now, they did not automatically go to Kamala Harris.

Now, Biden gave his endorsement.

But that's not saying my delegates are now hers.

It was just an encouragement for people to consider her as the replacement.

And Harris and her team had to work to, to secure those delegates.

And they worked very fast.

I mean, within a day, they had the 1900 that they needed.

Within like a day and a half, it was at 25 hundred.

And so now she is the presumptive nominee, when the Democrats get together in a couple weeks in Chicago.

But, but this is how the process works.

And, and what people need to recognize is that at this stage, the process is governed by the parties.

Gavin> Yeah.

Kirk> It's not like elections that are governed by state and federal law.

The parties are the ones that get to determine how they want to select their nominee.

And in Biden's case, the Democratic Party followed its procedures.

Gavin> And it seems like the Democratic Party is supporting that, too.

I mean, you're seeing this momentum that we have not seen this election cycle when we're talking about Harris's first rally this week in Milwaukee, which drew a crowd of some 3000 folks.

They need a bigger space because there's so many folks.

Voter registration sites reporting record traffic.

Harris raised an astounding $100 million in the first couple days.

It's a record.

She has fired up people in a way that Joe Biden hasn't.

How big of a game changer is this for the Democrats now, again, 100 some days out?

Kirk> I think this is huge.

And the momentum we're seeing now is very similar to the momentum we saw in 2008 around Barack Obama.

I think the question is, can Harris now build on that momentum?

And, you know, we need to remember that in the 2020 primary, she didn't come off that well.

Her campaign got off to a rocky start.

She bowed out relatively early and, and in the first year or so of Biden's administration, she also didn't perform all that well.

You know, he tapped her as the "border czar", which was probably a huge mistake on his part, and she had some difficulty finding her voice.

But in the last couple of years, I think really after the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs that overturned Roe v Wade, she has been outspoken, in terms of reproductive health, abortion rights.

She's now going to college campuses, talking to younger individuals.

And in the last two years, I think she has come into her own.

And this is now an incredible moment for her, a pivotal moment for her.

And if she can build on this momentum going into the DNC convention and then catapult from there, I think it's going to be very interesting to see if there's anything Donald Trump can do to stop that.

Now, the question will be, can she reintroduce herself to the country?

Can she frame the narrative in a way that plays to her strengths and combats the narrative that Conservatives and Republicans are going to put forward playing to her weaknesses?

And we'll see that play out in the next few months.

Gavin> Well, it seems like we're already seeing that, a little bit of that playing out with so much of the Internet culture and the memes and, you know, just really leaning into a lot of these supposed weaknesses, like laughing too much, some would say,...it seems like they're just kind of embracing that, both sides embracing the worst of each other in some ways.

But, when you talk about what needs to happen, too, we're talking about picking a running mate.

There's kind of this joke right now that she has to find the "Whitest guy" for the ticket just to balance it out.

Unfortunate to say, but we're- that's how sometimes politics works out.

But when we look at that shortlist, we're looking at North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.

What does she...who does she need to pick here Kirk?

What...is...what's at play here?

And how does she position herself on that ticket with that?

Kirk> So I think the two biggest questions that she's sort of answering right now about each of those, those potential picks is what do they bring to the table in terms of potential votes in November?

And what is the interpersonal dynamic that she has with the person as an individual?

And so you think of someone like Governor Shapiro.

You know, on the one hand, Pennsylvania is going to be a huge state.

And the... she really needs to win that state in order to have a hope that securing enough votes for the White House.

Having Shapiro on the ticket potentially delivers that state.

That said, not having Shapiro on the ticket, but having him campaign for her, along with Senator Fetterman.

I, I don't see Pennsylvania moving out of play.

and Shapiro is relatively new himself and so there are bit of uncertainties there that may preclude him from getting the ultimate...invitation.

Andy Beshear in Kentucky, same kind of thing.

I'm not sure that bringing Kentucky to the table A- I'm not sure he can deliver Kentucky, but B- I'm not sure that does a whole lot for her campaign.

I don't know the dynamic between the two of them.

And so that might have a bit of a sway.

Roy Cooper in North Carolina is a very interesting pick.

In so far, as the fact that it potentially puts North Carolina in play, which the Democrats have been trying to land for several years now.

And since Cooper is term limited, it's not like he's running for reelection or anything.

Plus, he and Kamala Harris have a very good personal relationship.

They were both attorney general at the same time.

And so I think he is probably one of the top two candidates.

That would be my guess.

And that brings us Mark Kelly.

He's the one that I think is probably at the top of the list right now.

I think having him on the ticket makes Arizona a very gettable state.

And we know Joe Biden won that by the slimmest of margins, last time.

I think keeping Arizona in the Democratic camp is a very attractive option for Harris.

And I think Mark Kelly's just got a great story.

I mean, he was an astronaut.

He's got the military experience.

His wife, Gabby Giffords, was shot in the head.

Survived that.

Has been an outspoken advocate for gun reform and regulation.

And so I would say that Kelly and Cooper are probably the top two candidates right now.

And as we've heard, Harris is hoping to make that selection in the next week because the DNC wants to get the nomination locked up prior to the convention.

>> Yeah, because of the Ohio ballot requirements there.

And, Kirk, we have gone over our time a little bit.

But I have one last question for you, because I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about this, but Biden gave an 11 minute long primetime speech from the Oval Office Wednesday evening.

that encapsulated him passing the torch to a younger generation, saying in part, "I revere this office, but I love my country more.

"Nothing, nothing can come in the way "of saving our democracy.

"That includes personal ambition."

And then he also went on to say, "that we have to decide, "do you still believe in honesty, honesty, decency, "respect, freedom and justice and democracy in this moment?"

You know, we can see all this into play here.

We saw Joe Biden really pouring his heart out there on TV as his, you know, big kind of just, Christianing moment there for the end of his political career, some 50 years there.

How monumental was this to see a leader step down like that, to pass the torch like that at the height of political power?

>> I think this was a remarkable speech.

And must have been really difficult for Biden to deliver.

I mean, you heard the comment, "I revere this office, but "I love my country more..." That's a hard thing to admit.

And if you put it in the context of the last month since that debate, Joe Biden has had some really difficult soul searching that he's had to do.

But, but I think, more importantly, that speech, when it's compared to what happened on January 6th with Donald Trump trying to keep office, that the comparison between those two is going to be a stark reminder that America is governed by the people.

We don't have kings.

We don't have dictators.

We...we are a rule of law country.

And if that's a message that Harris can continue to to put forward, I think that is going to resonate with a large portion of sort of the ideological middle.

And they're going to, it's going to remind people that Donald Trump will do everything he can to hold on to power, whereas Joe Biden walked, as you said, walked away at the height of his power, which is really remarkable.

Gavin>Yeah, a lot of contrasts.

A lot to watch in the next 100 days.

Kirk>A lot to watch.

Gavin> USC political science professor Kirk Randazzo, thank you.

We'll be in touch.

Thank you.

Kirk> Thank you so much.

Gavin> Joining me now to better understand the ramifications of Vice-President Kamala Harris being at the top of the ticket is Antjuan Seawright.

He's a Democratic strategist and he is the CEO of Blueprint Strategy.

Antjuan, welcome back.

Antjuan> It's good to be back with you.

Gavin> Antjuan, let's just start off.

What do you make of President Joe Biden's decision to step down?

Was that the right call?

>> It was certainly, the most consequential decision that I think Joe Biden has made in his entire career.

we all should be thankful for Joe Biden, no matter, party, a political party affiliation.

Joe Biden, a honorary native son of South Carolina because of his long term relationships in our state with Democrats and Republicans.

That's the beauty about South Carolina.

We embrace folks even when we may not always agree with them on every single matter.

And he's done more in terms of pure deliverables to our state than any other president, and perhaps in most of our lifetimes.

So we are thankful for his service.

But certainly thankful for what he has done to pass the torch to the next generation of leaders in our country.

Gavin> Yeah, it was quite something, Antjuan.

And you mentioned that, kind of alluding to what he said in his speech, his primetime speech in the Oval Office on Wednesday evening.

So with that being said, we did see him come right out of the gate endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the next nominee for the party.

how has this changed the game with some 100 days to election day?

Antjuan> Well, look, we all are feeling or seeing or observing the "Kamala-mentum" that's happening since that endorsement, since the passing of the torch.

And I think that says everything about who we are.

One is a part of who we are as a country.

The opportunities, forget about whether that happens or not, which I believe it will, but the opportunity to elect a Black woman with South Asian descent as the leader of the free world, shows tremendously, the progress we've made, but we also know that all progress is not permanent.

And so there's still a lot of work to be done, but 100 plus million dollars in 24 hours organizing like we never seen before.

She is certainly an expansion candidate and a "stretch the map" kind of candidate.

And whether you're Democrat or Republican or Independent, being...having the first African-American woman with South Asian descent to represent any major party in our nation's history is something that we all should be proud of.

Gavin> And, Antjuan with that being said, I mean, do you see her reversing a lot of that, a lot of those concerns that we heard at the beginning of the year, with Biden losing support from members of the Black community, obviously a huge part of the Democratic Party.

How does this change that and how does she bring folks together?

You're already talking about her raising $100 million?

We're seeing thousands of folks wanting to volunteer, wanting to work with this administration.

Talk about how that affects the Black community.

Antjuan> Well, you know, I've heard, comparisons to Barack Obama's 08' campaign, but I would push back, disagree.

She has brought more fire and attention and momentum to the conversation, "Kamala-mentum" to the conversation than Barack Obama has ever had.

Perhaps, and I believe, she can win with a larger margin than Barack Obama ever have.

Elections are about coalitions and constituencies.

It's a game of politics.

It's a game of addition and multiplication, not subtraction or division.

Her candidacy, her policy agenda, her record, including being the vice president, her qualifications, prosecutor, attorney general, United States senator, and now vice president, certainly positions her to be one of the most qualified to ever run for the office.

And I think the energy, you see is very reflective of that.

Gavin> Antjuan, I wish we had more time, but we have less than a minute left.

I want to ask you about her potential running mate.

Who do you see as filling that VP slot for Kamala Harris on the ticket?

Antjuan> We have a number of talented individuals who can step in to be the assistant head coach.

A few things are important.

One, they must be ready to lead on day one.

Two, they must be very complementary of her vision for the future, but also being able to articulate what hasn't been done before.

Geographics matter.

Demographics matter, but certainly someone who can, do a great job of arguing the contrast to what we're up against Donald Trump - J.D.

Vance, "Trumpism", as well as Trump Project 2025.

Those things are going to be critical elements to anyone she decides to pick.

Gavin> Gotcha!

That's some great insight there from Antjuan Seawright.

He's with Blueprint Strategy, and he's also a Democratic strategist.

Antjuan, thanks as always.

We got 100 days to election.

We'll be talking to you soon.

Antjuan> Thanks for having me.

Gavin> Great.

For South Carolina ETV, I'm Gavin Jackson.

Be well.

South Carolina.

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