I spoke to Reuters‘ James Oliphant about the post-convention picture and why the Trump campaign is leaning so heavily into the law and order message. The upshot? Because they desperately need to change the trajectory of the race, and while Kenosha not be the development that does it, they’re running out if time.

Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist in Virginia not affiliated with the Trump campaign, said the unrest this week in Kenosha, a small city in Wisconsin, may bolster Trump in ways other protests have not.

With the pandemic still raging and the economy struggling, “chaos and uncertainty are the best friend he has,” Donovan said.

Read the full piece here.

My snap take on Kenosha here:

The New York Times‘ David Leonhardt incorporated a tweet of mine into his wrap-up of Day 2 of the GOP Convention:

What political analysts are saying:

• “I found Night Two to be more tonally consistent and accessible for people [who] haven’t fully gulped the kool-aid. More creating a permission structure to support the ticket and less of the audience of one stuff,” tweeted Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist.

Read the full post here.

I spoke to CNN‘s Ryan Nobles about the selection of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s running mate, and the contrast it sets up with Vice President Pence.

“The optical contrasts are striking, but both are very good in this format,” said Liam Donovan, a former NRSC staffer who now works as a GOP lobbyist. “What strikes me most is that the undercard is going to be the crisp, textbook political debate you’d expect at the president level while the championship bout is going to be a war of rhetorical attrition.”

Read the full piece here.