The Conversation -- January 22, 2024
Alex Seitz-Wald & Mike Memoli of NBC News: "The New Hampshire attorney general's office says it is investigating what appears to be an 'unlawful attempt' at voter suppression after NBC News reported on a robocall impersonating President Joe Biden telling recipients not to vote in Tuesday's presidential primary. 'Although the voice in the robocall sounds like the voice of President Biden, this message appears to be artificially generated based on initial indications,' the attorney generals office said in a statement. '... New Hampshire voters should disregard the content of this message entirely.' The investigation comes after a prominent New Hampshire Democrat, whose personal cell phone number showed up on the caller ID of those receiving the call, filed a complaint."
CNN has a liveblog covering E. Jean Carroll's defamation trial against Donald Trump, but the court adjourned for the day because of a sick juror. "Both Trump and Carroll were in the courtroom when the cancellation was announced.... Trump attorney Alina Habba told the judge that the former president plans to testify in the trial, but he cannot be in court on Tuesday because of the New Hampshire primary." MB: Nothing forces Trump to be in New Hampshire on primary day. ~~~
~~~ Update. Maria Cramer & Kate Christobek of the New York Times have the story here. Judge Lewis Kaplan had not yet decided as of Monday morning when the trial would continue but he told Trump lawyer Alina Habba, who requested the trial be delayed until Wednesday, "Circumstances may result in your getting what you ask for. And maybe not." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Chris Jansing of MSNBC said on-air that Donald Dirangio wrote 41 derogatory social media posts about E. Jean Carroll Monday morning. ~~~
~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump defended his confusing GOP primary rival Nikki Haley with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi in an interview with Fox News's Bret Baier, saying he recently aced a cognitive test.... [Bret Baier of Fox asked Trump in an interview,] '[Nikki Haley] said, are you mentally fit? That's basically what she said.... How do you respond to that?' 'Well, I did a cognitive test recently, and I aced it,' Trump replied. He then explained his previous gaffes, like when he appeared to confuse Obama for Biden, that it was all part of a bit[.]" MB: Hall doesn't say so, but Trump took the "recent" cognitive test he claims to have aced about four years ago. Update: I just heard a clip of Trump's saying he took the test "a few months ago." It is not impossible that a doctor readministered the test, but my own doctor told me doctors are not routinely giving these cognitive tests anymore. ~~~
~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: Donald Trump "made a series of flubs and missteps that serious minds should want to know more about. And yet, his stumbles are barely getting covered on cable news.... There also seems to be some reticence over the issue in light of [President] Biden's apparent decline." ~~~
~~~ E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post: "... don't mistake [Donald Trump] for a colossus leading a mighty band. This view ignores the opportunism behind many of the endorsements he is winning and the sharp split between Republicans who want to govern and those who don't.... Trump's apparent dominance distracts from what the behavior of elected GOP politicians in Washington teaches us day after day: The party is a mess."
Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "A Georgia judge unsealed a divorce case on Monday that has entangled the Atlanta district attorney prosecuting ... Donald J. Trump, but halted plans to force the testimony of the prosecutor, Fani T. Willis. One of the parties to the divorce, Nathan Wade, is the lawyer whom Ms. Willis hired to manage the election interference case against Mr. Trump and his allies.... The accusations do not change the underlying facts in the Trump prosecution.... But [they] complicate the case considerably.... The judge ... stayed Ms. Willis's deposition [demanded by a subpoena from Mr. Wade's wife, Joycelyn Wade], which had been planned for Tuesday, saying he wished to hear from Mr. Wade first."
Mark Walker of the New York Times: "The Federal Aviation Administration recommended late Sunday night that airlines begin visual inspections of door plugs installed on Boeing 737-900ER planes, the second Boeing model to come under scrutiny this month. The F.A.A. said the plane has the same door plug design as the 737 Max 9, which had 171 jets from its fleet grounded after a door panel was blown off one of the jets shortly after an Alaska Airlines flight left Portland, Ore., on Jan. 5., forcing an emergency landing. The door plugs are placed as a panel where an emergency door would otherwise be if a plane had more seats."
Kentucky. Roshan Abraham of Vice: "Republican politicians in Kentucky are rallying behind a new bill that would authorize the use of force -- and potentially deadly force -- against unhoused people who are found to be camping on private property. The bill would also criminalize unsanctioned homeless encampments and restrict cities and towns from preempting state laws. The bill, known as the 'Safer Kentucky Act,' or HB5, would target homelessness, drug possession and mental illness by drastically increasing criminal penalties for a range of offenses. Introduced last week by Republican state representative Jared Bauman, it already has 52 sponsors in Kentucky's House of Representatives. A vote is scheduled for this week.... The bill says the use of force is 'justifiable' if a defendant believes that criminal trespass, robbery or 'unlawful camping' is occurring on their property. In addition, it says that 'deadly physical force' is justifiable if a defendant believes that someone is trying to 'dispossess' them of their property or is attempting a robbery or committing arson, language that could also have ramifications for tenants overstaying their lease."
~~~~~~~~~~
Presidential Race
Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Wisconsin on Monday morning to host an event in support of abortion rights while President Biden brings together a task force on reproductive health care in Washington. Both events are designed to call attention to the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion, and to announce new steps that Mr. Biden's administration has taken to support abortion access since the court struck it down in 2022.... The administration's task force on reproductive rights announced on Monday what officials said were new steps to help Americans get contraceptives, including new guidance meant to clarify standards to insurers of federal employees. It also released a letter, issued by Xavier Becerra, the health and human services secretary, that will inform private insurers of their obligation to provide contraceptives to those they serve." ~~~
~~~ Edward Helmore of the Guardian: "The Biden re-election campaign rolled out a new campaign ad Sunday, signaling a shift in emphasis to reproductive rights that the White House hopes will carry and define Democrats through the 2024 election cycle. The campaign ad, titled Forced, is designed to tie Donald Trump directly to the abortion issue almost 18 months after his nominees to the supreme court helped to overturn a constitutional right to abortion enshrined in Roe v Wade, which would have turned 51 this week."
~~~Winnie the Poop
We will fight the woke in education, we will fight the woke in the corporations, we will fight the woke in the halls of Congress. -- Ron DeSantis, Iowa speech early in his campaign, June 2023
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. -- Winston Churchill, after the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." -- Winston Churchill." -- Ron DeSantis, in a post on X announcing the end of his campaign.
There is no record of the former British prime minister, who died in 1965, saying those words, according to the International Churchill Society. -- Angelo Fichera, New York Times ~~~
~~~ Law of Physics: An Empty Suit Will Implode. Nicholas Nehamas, et al., of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida suspended his campaign for president on Sunday and endorsed ... Donald J. Trump, marking a spectacular implosion for a candidate once seen as having the best chance to dethrone Mr. Trump as the Republican Party's nominee in 2024. His departure from the race just two days before the New Hampshire primary election leaves Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, as Mr. Trump's last rival standing.... Chaos punctuated the last days of [DeSantis's] campaign, just as it had the first, when he kicked off his campaign with a widely mocked and technically marred livestream event on Twitter.... After announcing his run for president in May with lofty expectations, Mr. DeSantis and his campaign proved a costly flop, spending tens of millions of dollars in concert with well-funded outside groups to little apparent effect.... At points, it felt as if Mr. DeSantis was careening from one embarrassment to the next, as his campaign dealt with setbacks like mass layoffs and the fallout from producing a social media video that featured a Nazi symbol." ~~~
~~~ The Thousand-Piece Puzzle. Matt Dixon & others at NBC News write their post-mortem of the DeSantis campaign's "total failure." ~~~
But Usually, the Problem is Not the Campaign. Michelle Cottle of the New York Times: "In a short video on Sunday, the Florida governor ... papered over his deeply imperfect campaign. He touted his own leadership and, perhaps with an eye toward running again in 2028, endorsed the Republican kingmaker, Donald Trump. It wasn't a terrible performance, especially under the circumstances. But watching DeSantis's now-famous awkward smile and listening to his unnatural cadence, it was hard not to think: Yeah. I can see why this guy's candidacy is deader than disco.... The more people saw him, the less they seemed to like him. On the presidential campaign trail, he was robotic and awkward, rude and arrogant, with the interpersonal skills of poorly designed A.I." She goes on. Emphasis original. Near the top of today's Comments, Akhilleus captures the essence of Rhonda. One whiff will do ya.
~~~ Marie: Ron DeSantis's dropping out of the presidential* race Sunday is the reason I have not knocked myself out for the past year cataloguing every development in the race. I'll admit I linked to some stories about the race, especially if these little episodes provided a window into the party of nihilists -- and I have spent a lot of effort following what Der Furor was up to. But if you woke up today and had never heard of, say, Doug Burgum or Vivek Ramaswamy, you would be okay. Anyhow, buh-bye, Rhonda. ~~~
~~~ So here are the New York Times presidential* race developments for Sunday, with terribly, terribly sad news (also linked yesterday):
"Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida suspended his campaign for president on Sunday and endorsed the race's front-runner, Donald J. Trump, as the primary race in New Hampshire enters its final 48 hours.... It marked a spectacular implosion for a candidate once seen as having the best chance to dethrone Mr. Trump as the Republican Party's nominee in 2024. His departure from the race leaves Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, as Mr. Trump's last rival standing.... Mr. DeSantis flew home to Tallahassee late Saturday after campaigning in South Carolina. He had been expected to appear at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon, but one person familiar with the matter said that was no longer the case."
If you're an elected Republican, you lie. If you're a supposedly ever-so-Christian elected Republican, you lie:
Chris Cameron: "Haley said that Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina ... had lied when he said earlier on CNN that he had texted Haley to inform her of his endorsement of Trump before it was publicly announced. 'He didn't call, he didn't text, he didn't tell me that he was going to do this,' Haley said. 'Am I disappointed? Yes. But that's his decision to live with.'"
The AP's report of the end of the DeSantis campaign is here.
Ted Johnson of Deadline: "Donald Trump's campaign refused to agree to let an NBC News correspondent travel with him on New Hampshire campaign stops [Sunday] as the designated pool reporter, leading to access being cut off for the day.... Correspondent Vaughn Hillyard was informed 'that if he was the designated pooler by NBC News that the pool would be cut off for the day.'... It's believed by sources at the network that the campaign refused to allow Hillyard in the pool because of his questions on Saturday to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a Trump surrogate.... 'Do you believe E. Jean Carroll?' Hillyard asked. Stefanik said, 'They are all witch hunts against Donald Trump and the reason is he is pulling ahead of Joe Biden.' She seemed to be irritated by the question and added, 'The media is so biased. This is just another example of the media being out of touch...' Hillyard [responded], 'It's not me. It';s not the media, it's a jury that found...'."
Marie: Joe & Kamala may be addressing actual problems of actual Americans in their campaign, but their No. 1 Opponent has other things on his mind: ~~~
~~~ Grandpa Ranty's Ahistorical Ignorance Tour, 2024 Edition.TM Rick Wilson Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: In a campaign speech Sunday night, Donald Trump said, "'We won world wars out of forts.... Fort Benning, Fort This, Fort That, many forts. They changed the name, we won wars out of these forts, they changed the name, they changed the name of the forts, a lot of people aren't too happy about that.... They changed the name of a lot of our forts, we won two world wars out of a lot of these forts and they changed the name,' he said. 'It's unbelievable.' Nine U.S. military installations named for Confederate generals have been renamed to honor people who haven't fought against the United States. The Fort Benning referenced by Trump was named for Henry L. Benning, who NPR noted was not just a Confederate general but a 'virulent white supremacist.' It was renamed Fort Moore last year in honor of Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife, Julia Compton Moore, who Military.com called 'one of the Army's most influential couples.'" Appropriate X responses follow. MB: I'm not sure who This & That are, but Forrest M. may know, as it turns out he was stationed at forts named in their honor.
Shayna Jacobs & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "At 79, after decades on the bench, [Judge Lewis Kaplan] is one of the most well-regarded legal minds in New York. And he has a unique history that makes Donald Trump's courtroom behavior over the past week potentially dangerous for the former president of the United States. Trump is on trial in a civil case as writer E. Jean Carroll seeks damages from Trump, who has been found liable for defaming her when he made disparaging remarks denying he sexually assaulted her decades ago in a department store. Trump has claimed that he intends to testify in the case on Monday -- which would probably produce a dramatic courtroom showdown. But it's unclear whether Trump will really show up.... If he does testify, legal experts said, his time on the witness stand could be something akin to a suicide mission."
Amy Gardner & Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "After nearly two weeks of salacious headlines [alleging a romantic relationship between Fulton County, Georgia DA Fani Willis & her lead prosecutor in the Trump RICO case], Willis has still not denied or directly addressed the accusations. Trump and other critics have willingly filled that vacuum and amplified the most sensational claims. Regardless of what Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the case, decides to do -- and regardless of whether the accusations are true -- Trump has found a new line of attack on the validity of the Georgia case and Willis's decision-making.... The allegations threaten to undermine public confidence in Willis's prosecution of Trump.... [Longtime Willis ally Norm] Eisen told reporters Saturday that while there is no legal basis to disqualify either prosecutor, [prosecutor Nathan] Wade should voluntarily step away from the case.
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he said were conditions proposed by Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, including the end of the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip, which would leave Hamas in place. He also reiterated his opposition to the two-state solution backed by the United States, putting him at odds with the Biden administration and other allies." ~~~
~~~ CNN's live updates for Monday are here.
Russia. Andrew Osborn & Maxim Rodionov of Reuters: "Russian energy company Novatek ... said on Sunday it had been forced to suspend some operations at a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal due to a fire started by what Ukrainian media said was a drone attack. The giant Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km (110 miles) west of St. Petersburg, is used to ship oil and gas products to international markets. It processes stable gas condensate - a type of light oil - into light and heavy naphtha, kerosene and diesel to be shipped by sea."