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Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesFor weeks, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. railed against the first presidential debate.CNN, the debate’s host, determined that Kennedy had not qualified for the ballot in enough states to appear on stage. As their party’s presumptive nominees, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will qualify for the ballot later this summer. Kennedy’s campaign filed an FEC complaint against CNN, and even threatened legal action against everyone at the company involved in debate planning.But Kennedy may have won the debate without even showing up.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Jaap Arriens/Getty ImagesWhen President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump debate Thursday night, Gen Z won’t exactly be huddled around their screens like it’s a Netflix premiere.The rematch is more like a rerun, and young people just aren’t into it. The share of the TV audience made up of young people fell during the 2020 debate and polling this month found that nearly half of Gen Z thinks neither of the 2024 candidates, who are older than many of their grandparents, understands their needs.Voters under 28 don’t want to watch the same old moderators grill the same tired candidates parked behind the same stuffy podiums.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Alex Wong/Getty ImagesRepublican mega-donor Miriam Adelson had been hanging back on investing in the 2024 election.Once part of a power couple with her husband Sheldon Adelson, who died in 2021, she has spent the months since the outbreak of war in Israel speaking out on behalf of the country where she grew up.In December, she and her son-in-law bought a controlling interest in the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Alex Wong/Getty ImagesRepublican mega-donor Miriam Adelson had been hanging back on investing in the 2024 election.Once part of a power couple with her husband Sheldon Adelson, who died in 2021, she has spent the months since the outbreak of war in Israel speaking out on behalf of the country where she grew up.In December, she and her son-in-law bought a controlling interest in the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Erika Goldring/Getty Images FOR ESSENCEOn Juneteenth, the federal holiday that marks the end of slavery in America, the head of the Democratic National Committee is hitting former President Donald Trump for making his most disparaging comments about predominantly Black cities.“Trump is a lot of things but he certainly isn’t subtle—all of the cities he denigrates have one important thing in common: they all have significant Black populations,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison wrote in a statement to The Daily Beast. “Whether it’s Milwaukee, Philly, Detroit, or Atlanta, Trump isn’t just insulting 97 square miles on a map, he’s insulting Black communities, Black history, and Black voices.”“He’s telling us exactly what he thinks of Black Americans, and we’re listening,” Harrison continued. “That’s why when we go to the polls on Nov. 5, we’re going to vote for someone who respects Black communities, who uplifts Black voices, and who commemorates Black history. We’re going to vote for President Joe Biden.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesMAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene appears to have recently skipped reporting any income from the book she published late last year, stepping into an ethical gray zone.The memoir, entitled MTG, details the congresswoman’s time in Washington and was published by Winning Team Publishing, a company founded by Donald Trump Jr. and Sergio Gor, who insiders know as “the Mayor of Mar-a-Lago.”The company hawks books by right-wing influencers like Charlie Kirk, Steve Bannon, and even former President Donald Trump. Winning Team is currently selling one bundle that includes Trump’s coffee-table book and other signed swag for $999 a pop.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesWhen Donald Trump spoke at the Libertarian convention last month, he was booed almost ceaselessly—with one major exception.Trump got a reprieve when he promised to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of dark web marketplace Silk Road, which facilitated the sale of narcotics. Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2015, is far from a household name. But in that room of cheering libertarians, some of whom had been distributing “Free Ross” signs, there appeared to be nothing the crowd wanted more.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Jeff Swensen/Getty ImagesLast time Republicans hoped to win a Senate seat in Pennsylvania, they suffered a devastating loss with a nominee, the TV doctor Mehmet Öz, who Democrats painted as an out-of-state mega-millionaire really from New Jersey. This time around, the GOP is hoping for a better outcome with Dave McCormick, a Gulf War veteran turned hedge fund CEO.There’s only one problem: McCormick also faces attacks for being an out-of-state mega-millionaire.For months, Democrats have hit McCormick over reports that he actually lives in an oceanside mansion in Westport, Connecticut.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images It was clear from the start that this year’s Libertarian convention would not be a staid affair.Going into the weekend, the Washington Hilton was stocked with shrink-wrapped packs of Blood of Tyrants’ Liquid Freedom Energy Tea. More than one attendee appeared to be smoking indoors. The drinks were flowing and the crowd was chanting, booing, and hollering through speeches left and right. Punches even flew. And that was all before former President Donald Trump took the stage in front of hundreds on Saturday.When that moment came, the former president was met with a sound he was not accustomed to: boos. They broke out as soon as he appeared, and never died down, marking one of the most negative receptions Trump has ever received.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/CSPANWhen your competition has spent several weeks in court on charges related to allegedly paying off a porn star, you can afford to let down your guard.That’s exactly what Vice President Kamala Harris did on Monday, speaking at the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies’ Legislative Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.Harris, who has been relentlessly targeted by Republicans, has at times been cautious in her response. But to an audience of about 150 largely-Asian American attendees, she was defiant.Read more at The Daily Beast.