“Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) abruptly announced on Friday that he will not seek reelection, after initially planning to run for another term,” Politico reports.
The Trumpification of the Supreme Court
Adam Serwer: “Trump’s legal argument is a path to dictatorship. That is not an exaggeration: His legal theory is that presidents are entitled to absolute immunity for official acts. Under this theory, a sitting president could violate the law with impunity, whether that is serving unlimited terms or assassinating any potential political opponents, unless the Senate impeaches and convicts the president. Yet a legislature would be strongly disinclined to impeach, much less convict, a president who could murder all of them with total immunity because he did so as an official act. The same scenario applies to the Supreme Court, which would probably not rule against a chief executive who could assassinate them and get away with it.”
“The conservative justices have, over the years, seen harbingers of tyranny in union organizing, environmental regulations, civil-rights laws, and universal-health-care plans. When confronted with a legal theory that establishes actual tyranny, they were simply intrigued. As long as Donald Trump is the standard-bearer for the Republicans, every institution they control will contort itself in his image in an effort to protect him.”
Biden Tries to Get Under Trump’s Skin
“This week, one presidential candidate has called the other a loser, made fun of him for selling Bibles, and even poked fun at his hair,” the New York Times reports.
“That kind of taunting is generally more within the purview of former President Donald J. Trump, whose insults are so voluminous and so often absurd that they have been cataloged by the hundreds. But lately, the barbs have been coming from President Biden, who once would only refer to Mr. Trump as ‘the former guy.'”
“Gone are the days of calling Mr. Trump ‘my predecessor.'”
Trump’s Efforts to Overturn Election Came Close In Arizona
Following the indictment of Donald Trump’s allies over efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Arizona, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer told Margaret Hoover that those efforts came “quite close” to succeeding.
Said Richer: “I think we put ourselves in a pretty perilous situation.”
Biden Administration Drops Plan to Ban Menthol Cigarettes
“The Biden administration is reversing course on its plan to ban menthol cigarettes, after the White House weighed the potential public-health benefits of banning minty smokes against the political risk of angering Black voters in an election year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
2024 Gubernatorial Overview
Just for members: The latest edition of Inside Elections.
This issue includes a fresh look at all 11 of the races for governor happening around the country this cycle, including big races in North Carolina and New Hampshire.
The edition also includes a deep dive into one of the most evenly-divided districts in the country (Arizona’s 6th), a recap of the recent primary results in Pennsylvania and the latest state in the presidential battleground series (Georgia).
If you’re not a member, check out our membership options for instant access.
Trump Suggests Someone Is Making Him Cold
Donald Trump suggested someone is purposely keeping him a “freezing” courtroom for his hush money criminal trial.
Said Trump: “We have another day in court, in a freezing courthouse. It’s very cold in there, on purpose I believe.”
Charges Dropped Against All Arrested at Texas Protest
“All charges have been declined against the 57 people arrested in connection to the Wednesday pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas,” the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I want to start by wishing my wife Melania a very happy birthday. It would be nice to be with her, but I’m at a courthouse for a rigged trial.”
— Donald Trump, walking into the courthouse.
Maine Could Counter Nebraska Electoral Vote Change
“If Nebraska Republicans revise their state’s method of awarding presidential electors to help Donald Trump in November, Maine might match the change to boost President Joe Biden’s reelection prospects,” the Lewiston Sun Journal reports.
Said Maine state House Majority Leader Maureen Terry (D): “If Nebraska’s Republican Governor and Republican-controlled Legislature were to change their electoral system this late in the cycle in order to unfairly award Donald Trump an additional electoral vote, I think the Maine Legislature would be compelled to act in order to restore fairness to our country’s electoral system.”
Kristi Noem Defends Killing Her Dog
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) defended killing a 14-month old puppy, which she wrote about in her forthcoming book: “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm.”
Playbook: “But read the story, and it sure sounds more like animal cruelty…”
“We’re not sure who the heck advised Noem on this book. But whatever hell Mitt Romney endured as a presidential candidate in 2012 for driving with the family dog on the roof of his car, expect Noem to face even more outrage from the many Americans, across ideological and party lines, who will be left totally appalled by the killing of animals out of what seems to be little more than annoyance.”
Scott Perry Faces Tough Re-Election Fight
New York Times: “Among archconservative House members, only Perry must sell those same views to voters in a politically competitive district… Perry, a historically lackluster fund-raiser who has had to divert substantial donations to paying for legal fees relating to his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, finds himself increasingly at risk.”
Wisconsin Could Still Prosecute Trump’s Fake Electors
“After Arizona became the fourth state to bring charges against fake electors involved in the Trump campaign’s alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election Wednesday night, eyes turned to the three remaining states where the effort took place: New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,” the Arizona Republic reports.
“Officials in New Mexico and Pennsylvania have said they are unlikely to prosecute Trump allies who sent documents to then-Vice President Mike Pence purporting to certify Trump won the election in their state, because those fake electors placed certain limits on their claims. That leaves Wisconsin as the state most likely still to pursue charges.”
Donald Trump Jr. Urged to Take Over the NRA
“A key member of the National Rifle Association and ally of former President Donald Trump is pitching Donald Trump Jr. to take over for former NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre,” the Washington Examiner reports.
Eric Hovde Repeatedly Criticizes Young People
Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde (R) “has repeatedly accused young people of poor work ethic, drug use and crime, recordings from Hovde’s former speaking engagements show,” the Daily Cardinal reports.
In one talk, he labeled college students who protested as “so stupid” and said students cannot respectfully debate on college campuses anymore.
In another he said: “There’s something going on with our younger people not entering into the labor force, but they have in the past. I fear part of it could be the big chronic drug problem that our country has had with opiates. I think part of it is kids haven’t been taught the same work ethic that the Baby Boom generation has.”
RNC Ground Game Could Be Compromised After Shake Up
“The Republican National Committee was poised to open and staff 40 satellite campaign offices across key battlegrounds when former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive GOP nominee, abruptly replaced RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and her deputies with fresh leadership,” The Dispatch reports.
“Trump’s new RNC team, led by Chairman Michael Whatley, Co-Chair (and Trump’s daughter-in-law) Lara Trump, and senior campaign adviser Chris LaCivita, killed McDaniel’s 2024 blueprint. Roughly six weeks later, neither the committee nor the Trump campaign has much infrastructure or personnel in the swing states that will decide the November 5 election.”
“That means few if any regional and local campaign headquarters; little to no deployed field staff; and little to no traditional voter turnout activities, such as door-knocking, phone banking, or volunteer organizing. Even after the Trump-led RNC’s reimagined field program eventually emerges, their strategy is to concentrate almost exclusively on the half-dozen states that will determine Trump’s fate. Republicans elsewhere? They’re on their own.”
U.S. Says China Has Tried to Interfere in U.S. Election
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN the U.S. has seen evidence of Chinese attempts to “influence and arguably interfere” with the upcoming U.S. elections, despite an earlier commitment from leader Xi Jinping not to do so.
Pecker Fires Back at Trump’s Lawyer
“The lawyer for Donald Trump who on Friday led the cross-examination of David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer and first witness in the trial, used confrontational questioning to try to catch Mr. Pecker in contradictions,” the New York Times reports.
“But that strategy, which led to a tense exchange in the Lower Manhattan courtroom, did not seem to pay off. Mr. Pecker repeatedly rejected characterizations and questions posed by the lawyer, Emil Bove, and resisted the suggestion that he had not been forthright in earlier testimony.”
Politico: David Pecker gave prosecutors just what they were looking for in Trump hush money testimony.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 6940
- Next Page »