US Attorney-General William Barr says Donald Trump would be a “better president” for the United States when compared to Kamala Harris. “His policies are clearly better for the United States; his economic policies, his national defence policies,” Mr Barr told Sky News host Andrew Bolt. “They like to say he’s a threat to democracy, actually I think ... the collectivist left is the greater threat to democracy and their attempt to rule through non-democratic institutions such as the court system. “Their agenda is fundamentally totalitarian in the sense that it tries to control what people think and say.”

Former White House staffer Barbara Heineback says Tim Walz will not give the Democratic Party “the pull that they had hoped for”. Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the upcoming United States election. “I really don’t believe he is going to be able to gain enough enthusiasm, particularly given his poor track record in the state of Minnesota,” Ms Heineback told Sky News Australia.

Sky News host Andrew Bolt slammed the “abusive” and “intolerant” Paris Mayor for her recent comments. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo launches an expletive-laden rant against the critics of the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony. “Here’s a Paris mayor that seems abusive, intolerant, anti-Christian and … has got a terrible mouth on her,” Mr Bolt said. “It doesn’t seem a great advertisement for French culture.”

Deakin University Chair of Global Islamic Politics Greg Barton discusses possible retaliation from Iran on Israel after the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. “In April, they launched 300 rockets and drones towards Israel; of course, they gave warning those rockets and drones were shot down with very little impact,” Mr Barton told Sky News Australia. “That sort of scale then, though, was symbolic; they were probably disappointed they didn’t get the impact they were hoping for. “Perhaps we will see something of that scale this time, perhaps with less warning so that there is more impact. “Or perhaps it will be split by a diversionary tactic using Hezbollah from the north and Hezbollah rockets as well as projectiles from Iran. “That’s what people are bracing themselves for.”

Former ASPI chair Stephen Loosley says polling from FiveThirtyEight reveals the Harris candidacy is “slightly ahead” of the Trump campaign in the race for the White House. This comes as Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the upcoming United States election. “What the governor (Walz) was able to do was to build a coalition that went well beyond the Democratic Party base in that state,” Mr Loosley said.

Former ASPI chair Stephen Loosley says Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is very familiar with the “rough and tumble” of mainstream American politics. Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the upcoming United States election. “There is a complementarity here and I think he is going to bring value ... to the Democratic ticket,” Mr Loosley said.

Former ASPI chair Stephen Loosley says Tim Walz has an “impressive track record” as governor of Minnesota. Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the upcoming United States election. “It’s going to be difficult for Donald Trump and JD Vance to paint Governor Walz as an extremist,” Mr Loosley said.

Former White House staffer Barbara Heineback says Kamala Harris is “insecure” and “intimidated” by anyone as sharp as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the upcoming United States election. “She did not want Josh Shapiro becoming front and center – pushing her to the side,” Ms Heineback told Sky News Australia.

George Washington University Assistant Professor Steven Hamilton says it’s “very difficult” for the Reserve Bank of Australia to justify holding rates again. Mr Hamilton’s remarks come after the RBA, on Tuesday, decided to hold the official cash rate at 4.35 per cent, which has dashed hopes of relief for struggling Australians. “It wouldn’t take a lot from here to get an increase,” Mr Hamilton told Sky News Australia.

Sky News host Rita Panahi warns the media protection racket will be in “full swing” for Tim Walz after Kamala Harris announced the Minnesota Governor as her vice-presidential running mate. She said the choice was “astonishing” and called out Ms Harris for not choosing Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. “It seems to be purely because of fears that picking a Jewish man who has been pro-Israel was going to cause all sorts of divisions within the Democrats,” Ms Panahi said.

Sky News contributor Kosha Gada says VP picks don’t “do that much” to the electoral outcome. “VP picks, while always big news in the campaign cycle, do not historically actually do that much to the electoral outcome,” Ms Gada told Sky News Australia. Ms Gada’s remarks come after Ms Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate in this year’s presidential election.

DPG Advisory Solutions’ David Gazard says teal independents are “as useful as a glass eye in a keyhole” because they have “no power at all”. “Their members (teals) are as useful as a glass eye in a keyhole,” Mr Gazard told Sky News Australia. “They have no power at all in the lower house.”

Fitzpatrick and Co Advisory’s Eamonn Fitzpatrick says there has been “no bigger champion” of a “staunchly independent” RBA than the Albanese government. This comes after Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock said on Tuesday that a rate cut before Christmas is not on the cards. The central bank has left rates on hold at 4.35 per cent for the sixth consecutive meeting. “There’s been no bigger champion of a staunchly independent Reserve Bank governor than this government,” Mr Fitzpatrick told Sky News Australia. “These are difficult times; we are not alone; there’s a whole bunch of people who were bracing yesterday for a rate hike.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has slammed Republican nominee Donald Trump for sowing “chaos and division” in the United States. “Donald Trump sees the world a little differently than us,” Mr Walz said at a rally in Pennsylvania. “Again and again and again, Trump weakens our economy to strengthen his own hand. “He mocks our laws; he sows chaos and division, and that’s to say nothing of his record as president.” His remarks come after US Vice President Kamala Harris named Mr Walz as her running mate for the 2024 US presidential election.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has spoken for the first time since being announced as US Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate for the 2024 US presidential election. Ms Harris this week named Mr Walz as her running mate for the 2024 US presidential election. “When the Vice President and I talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make your own healthcare decisions,” Mr Walz said at a rally in Pennsylvania. “Vice President Harris’ idea of freedom is a ticket for education to be that ticket to the middle class, not crippling debt; air that’s clean, water that’s pure, communities that are safe.”

Former Democratic National Committee CEO Jess O’Connell says Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is a guy who “knows how to win”. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm from all ranges of the Democratic Party,” she told Sky News Australia. “This is someone that’s going to speak to the middle of the country – it’s going to understand their needs, and he’s gotten a lot done.” Ms O’Connell’s remarks come after Mr Walz was chosen to run on the Democratic ticket with Kamala Harris.

US Vice President Kamala Harris has held her first joint rally with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz since announcing him as her running mate for the 2024 US presidential election. “To those who know him best, Tim is more than a governor,” Ms Harris said at a rally in Pennsylvania. “To his wife, Gwen, he is a husband; to his kids, Hope and Gus, he is a dad; to his fellow veterans, he is Sergeant Major Walz.”

US Vice President Kamala Harris says she is the “underdog” in the presidential election. “We are the underdogs in this race, but we have the momentum, and I know exactly what we are up against,” Ms Harris said at a rally in Pennsylvania. Her remarks come after Ms Harris named Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 US presidential election.

US Vice President Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. The announcement was made after she was officially named the Democratic presidential nominee. Ms Harris is kicking off a multi-state battleground tour with her new running mate ahead of the presidential election. Mr Walz isn’t well known outside the upper mid-west but Ms Harris plans to introduce him to voters at a rally in Philadelphia this week to kick off her tour.

The leader of Hezbollah has pledged a strong and effective response to the killing of its military commander by Israel last week. Hassan Nasrallah said the group and Iran were “obliged to respond” to Israel following the killings of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. It said it would act with its regional partners or go alone, vowing to respond to Israeli attacks “whatever the consequences”.