What's Happening All Over?
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THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. Politico on the SCOTUS decision:
Access to a widely used abortion pill will remain at current levels for the time being, the Supreme Court ruled Friday in a decision staving off sweeping restrictions ordered by lower courts.
The high court’s decision keeps the drug, mifepristone, available for now, but the legal battle over the drug, which has become the most common method of abortion nationwide, could drag on for months if not years to come.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the Supreme Court’s action, which prevents earlier rulings from a Texas-based judge and a federal appeals court from taking effect….
The Supreme Court’s unsigned order on Friday keeps those rulings blocked while litigation continues — first at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and then, perhaps, back at the Supreme Court. As a result, the status quo for access to mifepristone will likely remain in place through the fall and perhaps well into next year.
2. KTVU on the Newsom decision:
San Francisco has struggled to stem its fentanyl crisis, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to direct the state National Guard and California Highway Patrol to join the city's efforts to fight fentanyl trafficking.
"Two truths can co-exist at the same time: San Francisco’s violent crime rate is below comparably sized cities like Jacksonville and Fort Worth — and there is also more we must do to address public safety concerns, especially the fentanyl crisis," said Newsom on Friday.
3. Illustrating both the reality that no one knows how the debt ceiling showdown will end and the White House’s flying blind:
The administration’s attempts to enlist the support of business executives may also prove unsuccessful. White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients has personally asked top business leaders to advocate for a solution to the debt ceiling debate, according to two people familiar with the matter, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private remarks. But corporate America doesn’t have as much clout with the GOP as it did in Obama years, and it’s not clear such measures will be effective with the House conservatives who nearly derailed McCarthy’s leadership bid earlier this year….
“The two endpoints on the spectrum of outcomes — the full GOP policy wish-list on the one hand, or a catastrophic default on the other — are both totally unacceptable to them,” said one person in communication with senior White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to frankly describe private conversations. “But no progress has been made on making sure there’s a resolution that’s between those two options.”
* Politico:
[T]here’s doubt inside the West Wing about whether McCarthy is ready for a meeting. Some aides believe it will take mounting pressure from the business community for the speaker to relent and that, given the difficult politics within his own caucus, he may not be able to back down. In such a scenario, the White House hopes that the House might at the very least swallow a Senate-passed bill to avoid default, if some Republicans are willing to use a discharge petition to get such a bill to the floor.
But some in the administration are less confident about that scenario coming to fruition than the White House is at the moment about the current contours of the debate. Senate Republican Leader “Mitch McConnell as the backstop is scary,” the senior administration official said.
4. The three most significant and funny paragraphs from the New York Times story about Joe Biden’s paucity of press conferences and “serious” interviews:
In the past few months, Mr. Biden has sat for separate, lengthy interviews with the actors Jason Bateman and Drew Barrymore, the weatherman Al Roker, and Manny MUA, a beauty blogger on YouTube. Ms. Barrymore’s opening question during her interview was about whether Mr. Biden was a good gift giver to his wife, prompting a long conversation about the poems that he writes for the first lady every year….
Mr. Biden has especially shunned interviews with major newspapers. Since taking office, he has not done a single interview with reporters from a major newspaper.
Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, with one possible exception, has given interviews to the news side of The New York Times (historians could not locate one by Dwight D. Eisenhower, although they could not rule it out). Likewise, every president going back decades has spoken with The Washington Post.
5. CNN:
Lawyers for Hunter Biden are scheduled to meet next week with US attorney David Weiss and at least one senior career official from Justice Department headquarters to discuss the long-running investigation into the president’s son
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THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW: 2024
1. Mike DuHaime, this morning’s designated spokesperson for the Gang of 500, in an Associated Press story touting the prospects of the rise of the Third Man or Woman to intercede in the King Kong versus Godzilla dynamic:
Mike DuHaime, a Republican strategist and longtime Christie adviser, believes that Trump is the favorite but nonetheless beatable. He cautioned that races are complicated, with unexpected outcomes.
“I do think that DeSantis is right now firmly the alternative to Trump, but I don’t know if it stays that way. There’s still way too long to go,” he said, arguing that a debate moment or news story could change the trajectory.
“Somebody’s just got to get momentum,” he said. “It’s just so wide open even with Trump being the prohibitive favorite.”
2. Politico, rightly continuing to track the prospect that the Old Dominion topper will be the Third Man someday:
Days after withholding his financial backing for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, billionaire GOP donor Thomas Peterffy is opening his wallet for Glenn Youngkin, the Virginia governor some in the party still hope will run for president.
Peterffy on Thursday wired a $1 million check to Youngkin’s political action committee, Spirit of Virginia, according to a person familiar with the transaction. The move comes less than a week after Peterffy told the Financial Times that he had put his support for DeSantis “on hold” because of the governor’s controversial positions on abortion and book bans, which have alienated some of those in the donor community and the mainstream wing of the party….
Youngkin last Friday attended a lunch in Palm Beach, Fla., hosted by retired Smithfield Foods executive Joe Luter and his wife, Karin. That evening, he attended a reception at the Naples, Fla., residence of ex-GOP Rep. Francis Rooney, a former ambassador to the Holy See, which was attended by more than 50 people. On Thursday, Omni Hotels and Gold’s Gym owner Bob Rowling hosted an event for Youngkin in Dallas.
3. This is happening today:
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THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW: KING KONG VERSUS GODZILLA
1. This tweet from senior Trump adviser (and maker of mischief) Chris LaCivita could be nothing… or could be everything:
To be continued….full coverage at the Lauriol Plaza brunch tomorrow….
2. Rich Lowry gives a favorable review to the DeSantis Friday speech at the Heritage event in the DC area:
What caught my attention were the veiled critiques of Trump. There were three main points here, all of which are unassailable and unmistakably relevant to the anti-Trump case:
(1) There’s no substitute for winning elections. If you win, you get to effect change; if you lose, you get to complain from the sidelines.
(2) Politics is serious business, and it’s not just about burnishing your brand and increasing your following on social media.
(3) If a leader in Washington isn’t determined and disciplined, he’ll be eaten alive by the bureaucracy.
Presumably, once DeSantis is in the race, and as the primaries develop, he’ll be more explicit about how Trump fails by all these metrics.
Interestingly, DeSantis quoted Reagan three times, showing his roots in the traditional conservative movement, while some of his tactics and priorities (particularly, his willingness to fight against a corporate America co-opted by the Left) reflect the changed times.
DeSantis is not a natural showman but, evidently just working off notes, his delivery was smooth and direct. As he goes from governor to presidential candidate, his speeches ideally will have some more biography, more humor, and a little more music. But his appearance here has to be counted a success.
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3. Here is one way to think about the trouble that DeSantis is still in. Two stories that popped in this news cycle are symbolically very bad for him, but the worse news is that NO ONE IN THE COVEY OF 5,000 PEOPLE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO EVERY TWIST IN THE KING KONG VS GODZILLA BATTLE ARE THE LEAST BIT SURPRISED ABOUT (OR DOUBTING OF…) EITHER.
A. If you haven’t read this Politico account of a former Republican member of the House’s interactions with DeSantis, you need to:
B. Forget about this poll’s methodology or accuracy; the point is, the Covey of 5,000 no longer doubts Trump’s ceiling might be above 50% -- maybe well above:
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4. But here is arguably DeSantis’ biggest problem right now, embedded in the “traits” portion of the new Wall Street Journal poll:
If Trump really has leads like that in “cares about people like me” and “strong leader,” Godzilla is in major trouble. “Strong leader” is the Sunshine State topper’s calling card and, well, if you can’t beat Trump in “cares about people like me” you are never going to beat him in an election.
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5. The dueling food OTRs… who photo opped it better?
WINK:
Between the Music Walk, President Trump’s visit, and the surprise stop at Downtown House of Pizza, downtown Fort Myers was in a frenzy Friday night.
Many people are talking about the surprising unscheduled stop DHOP.
It was chaotic as people rushed to Downtown House of Pizza’s entrance once they noticed Trump’s escort of vehicles pulled up to the front.
Over 100 people pushed and shoved closer as the former president exited his vehicle. Everyone was crammed in, standing shoulder to shoulder with phones, ready to get one picture or a short video of the former President.
WINK News saw the former President shaking hands with people who were standing outside before he walked in the pizzeria. Trump was inside DHOP for roughly 15 minutes.
WINK News Anchor Chris Cifatte was at the register with President Trump. Meanwhile, Justin Kase tried getting a little closer but with Secret Service and FMPD there clearing the way for President Trump, resistance was futile.
However, after the former president left, WINK News spoke with people in DHOP to get their reaction. Many people said they shook his hand and briefly spoke with him.
6. If you think Team Trump is just sitting back to see how DeSantis does, think again.
Bloomberg correctly “breaks’ the news that the mavens of Mar-a-Lago are scheming to end the DeSantis campaign before it starts – that is an essential read.
And the Trump high command has launched an effort to turn the Florida Miracle into the Florida Mirage, as per the New York Post.
As in 2016, Trump is shameless, willing to run left, right, whatever to gain political edge over whatever and whoever stands in his way. The very slick oppo take on DeSantis’ Florida record reads in part like a DNC hit job.
How to explain the potency of this?
Let’s close by turning the floor over, again, to the bright light of Rich Lowry, whose understanding of Trump’s shape shifting super power is sky high:
If Trump were given a magic wand to move America in his direction policy-wise on his core commitments, and we had a secure border, more tariffs, fewer foreign entanglements, greater domestic energy production, the status-quo on entitlements and steps toward the center-right and away from what Trump calls the “radical-left lunatics” on most culture issues, no one would think he or she were living in a right-wing dystopia — at least not if they didn’t know who was wielding the wand.
It’s Trump’s unique contribution to take an issue mix that could have broad appeal and make it toxic by association with himself.
In the 2016 nomination fight, Trump’s approach — getting to the rest of the field’s right on some issues (immigration, China) and to its left on others (especially entitlements) — paved his path to the nomination.
That road didn’t run through self-described “very conservative” voters, but “somewhat” conservatives.
The crucial South Carolina primary illustrated the dynamic.
According to exit polls, Ted Cruz won very conservative voters, with 35% to Trump’s 29% and Rubio’s 19%.
Trump won somewhat conservatives, with 35% to Rubio’s 25% and Cruz’s 17%.
And Trump won moderates, with 34% to Rubio’s 23% and Kasich’s 21%.
In other words, Trump was competitive with the very conservatives while besting the other candidates with the other factions.
Now, Trump has reversed the poles of his support.
He’s most formidable with very conservatives, and DeSantis is strongest with somewhat conservatives.
The governor’s strategy of trying to peel off Trump supporters among the very conservative voters by getting to his right on substance, while appealing to the center-right with an electability argument, makes sense, although much depends on the execution.
If there is anyone who can devise a strategy for Godzilla to combat the cleverness of King Kong, it is Adam Laxalt.
And Jeff Roe…..
And Casey DeSantis….
Maybe….