There are some pretty interesting national and international storylines playing out this weekend, but I have not spied any essential reading or must-knows – except for some items that pertain to who America will pick as president in 2024.
Here are your Biden, Trump, DeSantis, and The Rest updates for this Saturday.
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JOE BIDEN
Mr. Biden finished up his Irish romp and got back to Delaware in the middle of the night.
Along the way, in lieu of having a formal press conference on the trip, he stopped to chat up the traveling press.
Here is some of what he said:
Per the New York Times:
President Biden inched closer on Friday to formally announcing his re-election campaign, telling reporters that he would do so “relatively soon.”
“No, no, no, no,” he said during a trip to Ireland, when asked whether his “calculus” had changed in recent days on when to make his announcement. “I’ve already made that calculus. We’ll announce it relatively soon. But the trip here just reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done.”
Asked if that meant he had made a decision, he responded, with a hint of impatience, “I told you, my plan is to run again.”
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DONALD TRUMP
The man who dominated the NRA conference by all accounts (biggest ovation, most support, etc), and who did some interesting “policy” stuff on Friday, also has these new polls to tout:
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RON DESANTIS
Not a surprise: No mention of the restrictive abortion measure he signed into law on Thursday night at either his Liberty University speech or his New Hampshire Republican Party dinner address Friday.
Surprise: The Sunshine State topper worked the Granite State dinner crowd after his remarks for over an hour, going table to table, in what appeared to be a serviceable perf that got high marks.
DeSantis is also reportedly having political meetings Saturday morning in New Hampshire, which is probably the most likely of the first four voting states to potentially provide a W to the Floridian, at this point. So these sessions are key.
On abortion, it appears that the pro-DeSantis Super PAC is more willing to embrace the governor’s own law than the governor is, as of now, per the Associated Press:
“Unlike Trump, Gov. DeSantis doesn’t back down from defending the lives of innocent unborn babies,” said Erin Perrine, a spokesperson for DeSantis’ super PAC, when asked about Florida’s six-week ban.
And this from the essential reading Washington Post story:
“Abortion is not an issue that motivates him, I can tell you that,” said the person in DeSantis’s orbit with knowledge of the situation. “But it’s one of those … what choice do you have here?”
The governor’s office and representatives for his political team did not respond to requests for comment for this story. “We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in a written statement Thursday night noting he had signed the six-week ban.
DeSantis is embracing a strict new ban at a time when he and other Republicans appear eager to focus on other issues. Trump, who is running for president again, has backed off the issue of abortion despite his role reshaping the Supreme Court, and has told advisers it is a topic that does not help Republicans. Several Trump advisers said they were puzzled by DeSantis’s embrace of the bill.
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AND THE REST
* Mike Pence
Gets some significant boos at the NRA meeting and/but gives the Associated Press this framing:
Former Vice President Mike Pence ramped up his criticism of fellow Republicans at a GOP donor summit Friday night, trying to paint his would-be rivals as straying from party principles as he inches closer to an expected presidential run.
Speaking at a Republican National Committee donor summit in Nashville, Pence planned to criticize former President Donald Trump and others who have questioned the war in Ukraine and oppose entitlement reform and further curbs on abortion rights. He argued the party will be better served by candidates who espouse more traditional GOP views, according to excerpts shared by aides ahead of his remarks.
“It’s becoming clearer every day that the upcoming Republican primaries will not just be a contest of candidates but a conflict of visions,” Pence was expected to tell donors. “One vision grounded in traditional Republican principles, and another vision driven by the promise of winning at the expense of our highest ideals.”
* Tim Scott
Gets some significant love from the lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal, whose ed board likes the cut of his rhetorical jib.
* Mike Pompeo
Tells the world that he isn’t running in 2024.
* Glenn Youngkin
The New York Times tells the world he almost certainly isn’t running in 2024.
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Clarification: Contrary to what I suggested in Friday’s edition, President Biden’s four-day trip to Ireland has some pretty solid historical analogues:
I regret the misleading framing.