Notable Quote of the Day

“The Constitution doesn’t give the vice president much to do and he or she rarely performs those constitutional assignments. Beginning with Richard M. Nixon (1953-61), vice presidents rarely preside over the Senate and although the successor role is important since nine vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency upon the death of eight presidents and the resignation of one, more than 80% of vice presidents don’t succeed to the presidency.

But vice presidents, especially since Walter F. Mondale (1977-81) held the office, have been busy and important. Mondale and Jimmy Carter recreated the job as an across-the-board, high-level presidential adviser and trouble-shooter and their successors have largely followed the patterns they created.

Of course, there has been some variation from administration to administration due to the different presidential leadership styles, presidential needs and vice presidential talents, and relationships between presidents and vice presidents. But ideally the modern vice president functions as part of the president’s inner circle, and usually they have. So in practice, if not constitutional design, the vice presidency has become an extremely important and busy position.”

– Joel Goldstein, St. Louis University law professor

Election Updates

• Joe Biden said he opposed the Pebble mine prospect in southwest Alaska on Saturday. “The Obama-Biden Administration reached that conclusion when we ran a rigorous, science-based process in 2014, and it is still true today,” he said.
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) met with Biden in Delaware on August 2, according to the Associated Press.
• Several Democratic operatives and activists in Texas launched Blue Texas PAC on Friday to support Biden’s presidential campaign in the state.
• Donald Trump attended two fundraisers in the Hamptons on Saturday that raised $15 million for the Trump Victory Fund.
• The Trump campaign is launching two national bus tours—one in Pennsylvania and one in Florida—that will travel across the country over the next three months.
• Trump signed four executive actions on Saturday for coronavirus economic relief: allow payment of $400 weekly of additional jobless benefits, funded from the Disaster Relief Fund and state governments; identify temporary financial assistance to renters and homeowners; defer the 6.2% Social Security tax on wages from September 1 through December 31; extend the moratorium on monthly student loan payments with zero interest.
• Jo Jorgensen canceled a campaign rally in Louisiana on Saturday to receive a rabies shot after being bitten by a bat.

What We’re Reading

• NPR: In 2020, A Female Running Mate Won’t Be A ‘Hail Mary’
• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Trump’s path to winning Pa. runs through small Rust Belt towns — like one near Biden’s hometown
• Politico Magazine: I Observed Joe Biden at Close Range for 20 Years. Here’s How He Wins—and Loses

Flashback: August 10, 2016

The Clinton campaign launched Together for America, a group focused on recruitment of and outreach to independents and Republicans.