The first GOP debate is here

Roll Call

The Story

The first GOP debate is here.

What can I expect?

Kickoff at 9pm ET on Fox News. Former President Trump — the Republican front-runner — is skipping out. Instead, he’ll air an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on X-slash-Twitter. Here are the other candidates to watch:

Ron DeSantis…the 44-year-old Florida governor polling second to Trump...by a long shot. DeSantis is known for the state’s skyrocketing economy, his fight with Disney over LGBTQIA+ issues, suggesting Black Americans benefited from slavery, being anti-lockdown, and signing a six-week abortion ban. Keep an eye out for whether moderators ask about his campaign shakeups — and whether anyone calls him by Trump’s nickname.

Nikki Haley…South Carolina’s first female governor and first governor of color. In 2015, she signed a law removing the Confederate flag from SC Capitol grounds. Haley also served as Trump’s UN ambassador but stepped down in 2018 and now can’t seem to decide how to talk about the former president.

Mike Pence…sans fly, he hopes. The former VP — and Trump’s rival after the Jan 6 insurrection — is going for his old boss’s job. He’s said Trump “should never” be president again. When it comes to abortion rights, Pence stands out as the only major candidate in support of a federal ban on abortion at six weeks.

Sen. Tim Scott (SC)...known for trying to build bridges. Scott is currently serving as the only Black Republican senator and views himself first as a biblical leader rather than a Republican or conservative. He’s addressed systemic racism, while also previously saying, “America is not a racist country.”

Vivek Ramaswamy…the former pharma exec and the GOP’s breakout candidate. The son of Indian immigrants, he supports restoring "merit for who gets to come into America” by “securing the border unapologetically.“ As the GOP’s own Andrew Yang (even according to Andrew Yang), expect the moderators to try and shake his extreme self-confidence.

And the others?

They are: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Expect Christie to bring the repartee. Expect moderators and Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum to bring up Trump’s indictments, abortion, and other talkers.

theSkimm

The Republican debate kicks off the 2024 election. Now, as nearly a dozen candidates join the crowded field, there’s only one who has the party’s full attention. But with Trump offstage, they’ll each be vying for the mic for a chance to catch up to his massive lead.

What's signed, sealed, delivered...

UPS contracts. Yesterday, employees voted in favor of a new and improved labor agreement. The shipping company and Teamsters — a union repping more than 340,000 UPS workers — reached a preliminary deal in July. Now, under the new contract, part-time and full-time employees will get around a $7 hourly pay bump. UPS workers will get an additional federal holiday off and no forced overtime on days off. The vote officially avoids a strike that could have disrupted package deliveries and the US economy. One expert expects UPS could offset the higher labor costs with price increases.

What has Wall Street's attention…

Nvidia. Today, the company will release its highly-anticipated quarterly earnings around 4pm ET. Nvidia is the world’s leading maker of chips that power AI systems (like ChatGPT). The company has been riding on the coattails of the AI boom and reached a $1 trillion market valuation in the spring. And just yesterday, the tech company’s stock hit a record high, indicating there's still investor interest in AI. Now, some experts and investors are expecting to cash in since many are predicting 110% growth in the last quarter.

What shouldn’t be a problem…

Mistreatment during maternity care. Yesterday, a CDC report found that found 1 in 5 women said they experienced mistreatment while giving birth. The experience is worse for Black and Hispanic mothers, with 40% reporting mistreatment. The women reported being shouted at by their doctors. Some said their healthcare providers threatened to withhold treatment. This data comes as the US has the worst maternal mortality rate among developed countries.

Why it’s Taylor’s Version and we’re all just living in it…

Scooter Braun. Celebrity after celebrity has been dropping the music industry mogul this week and everyone’s still waiting to learn why. The growing list reportedly includes Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and most recently: Idina Menzel. There were reports last week that Justin Bieber had dropped the longtime manager but his reps have denied it. The news has many wondering why there’s a sudden exodus from the manager known as Taylor Swift’s public enemy No. 1 — and the reason for her re-records. Braun hasn’t explained. But yesterday he tweeted “I’m no longer managing myself.”

Why it’s time to up the self care…

Mercury is in retrograde.

While Ms. Lauryn Hill is getting ready for back-to-school…

Serena Williams is introducing baby no. 2.