Right-wing activist James O’Keefe resigned Monday morning from his position leading Project Veritas, the conservative group he founded, without striking a severance deal with his board, the Daily Beast reports.
Trump’s Accomplishments Aren’t So Easy to Sell
Politico: “Operation Warp Speed, the public-private partnership that developed a coronavirus vaccine in record time and which Trump once called a ‘miracle,’ has become vilified among a group of conservatives. And the toppling of Roe v. Wade by Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices has turned into a political Rorschach test for Republicans.”
“Navigating those twin achievements from his time in office could become tricky to handle over the course of a potential primary and general election run. Trump has begun taking steps to try and maneuver that political landscape.”
Ray Dalio Demanded Billions to Retire from Hedge Fund
New York Times: “In the end, Mr. Dalio, with an estimated net worth of $19 billion, agreed to surrender his control over all key decisions at Bridgewater only if the firm agreed to give him what could amount to billions of dollars in regular payouts over the coming years through a special class of stock.”
“These secret arrangements were described by a half dozen current and former Bridgewater employees who said they risked angering Mr. Dalio and could be sued by the firm if they spoke publicly. At an internal meeting last year during the heat of the exit negotiations, Mr. Dalio described the hedge fund as his ‘property rights,’ according to one employee, and indicated that he expected to be compensated accordingly.”
As Ukraine Stands, Democracy Stands
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Trump Dominates Presidents Day Poll
A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds Donald Trump tops both the lists of the “best” and “worst” presidents.
Not Like Other Presidential Trips to War Zones
Evan Coren: “President Biden’s trip to Ukraine has some similarity to recent American presidents’ visits to Afghanistan and Iraq, except the US and its allies do not have control over the airspace over Ukraine. This alone significantly reshapes the security concerns for such a trip.”
Big Tech Braces for the Supreme Court
Politico: “Tech companies are bracing for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear one of the most consequential cases facing the trillion-dollar industry to date — a ruling that could potentially make them liable for the recommendation of harmful content on their platforms.”
Greene Wants Biden Impeached Over Ukraine Trip
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was enraged by President Biden’s “incredibly insulting” trip to Ukraine and later called for his impeachment.
It’s as if she’s leading a fifth column.
Activist Pastor Seeks to Remake Wisconsin’s Top Court
Politico: “At one point, Judge Everett Mitchell was a functionally illiterate teen running from trouble at home. Now he’s running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in one of the nation’s most consequential elections — with major implications for 2024.”
Conservatives Worry How DeSantis Wields Power
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made freedom his calling card, but some conservatives have become skeptical of how liberally the Republican leader is using government power to impose his will,” CNN reports.
“Among GOP donors, leading conservative voices and even some supporters, there is a growing concern that DeSantis has overstepped in his fight against ‘wokeness’ as he seeks to shore up conservative support ahead of a highly anticipated 2024 campaign for president. Several potential rivals for the GOP nomination have seized on DeSantis’ brash approach and top-heavy governing style to draw sharp contrasts with the popular Republican.”
GOP Voters Look Beyond Trump
Washington Post: “Nearly all of the focus group participants had supported Donald Trump in 2020 and said they would vote for him again against President Biden in 2024. But things got complicated when the moderator asked for the one emotion they now felt when they saw Trump on television or computers screens.”
Said one: “The current Trump is not the Trump that I voted for. I feel like he has shown some things, qualities and non-qualities, whatever, that I don’t care for now.”
“Such hesitation and ambiguity dominated two recent focus groups of persuadable Republican primary voters from the key early nominating states of New Hampshire, Nevada, Iowa and South Carolina. In the sessions with 14 votes, conducted for The Washington Post by research firms Engagious and Schlesinger, most stood by their past support for the onetime undisputed Republican leader. The future was a different issue, with most saying they would vote for someone else in the GOP primary. Half of the group said they would vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.”
Biden Sent a Message to China Too
Daily Beast: “Biden’s trip sent an important reminder to Beijing just how high a priority Ukraine is for the U.S. and the West and presenting the war in the context of Russia’s violations of international law will emphasize to the Chinese that directly supporting Russia’s attack and serial war crimes would make China an accessory to those crimes.”
“The sanctions China would endure and the rift such a step would incur with the international community would be devastating for China, particularly given the fragility of its economy at the moment.”
Biden’s Secret Trip to Kyiv Took Guts
The National Review, a conservative publication very critical of President Biden, weighs in on the president’s surprise visit to Ukraine: “This trip took guts.”
Roald Dahl’s Novels Overhauled for a New Era
The Telegraph: “Augustus Gloop is no longer fat, Mrs Twit is no longer fearfully ugly, and the Oompa-Loompas have gone gender-neutral in new editions of Roald Dahl’s beloved stories.”
“The publisher, Puffin, has made hundreds of changes to the original text, removing many of Dahl’s colourful descriptions and making his characters less grotesque.”
Salman Rushdie: “Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship. Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed.”
U.S. Averts Diplomatic Crisis in the Middle East
“The Biden administration has averted a potential diplomatic crisis over Israeli settlements at the United Nations that had threatened to overshadow Western efforts for the world body to spotlight Russia’s war with Ukraine during the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion this week,” the AP reports.
“Multiple diplomats familiar with the situation said Sunday that the U.S. had successfully managed to forestall a contentious U.N. Security Council resolution pushed by the Palestinians and their supporters that would have condemned Israel for settlement expansion and demanded a halt to future activity.”
Trump and DeSantis Hold Dueling Palm Beach Events
Wall Street Journal: “Trump is scheduled to appear Thursday at a fundraiser for the super political-action committee supporting his White House bid, MAGA Inc. The location: the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.”
“The following day, Mr. DeSantis, Florida’s governor, will kick off a three-day retreat with donors and other supporters. The location: Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, an eight-minute drive from Mar-a-Lago.”
“The timing is coincidental, people familiar with the events say… Mr. DeSantis’s allies concede the location of his event is likely to irk Mr. Trump.”
Tucker Carlson Given Access to January 6 Video
“House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has given Fox News’ Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 riot,” Axios reports.
“Carlson TV producers were on Capitol Hill last week to begin digging through the trove, which includes multiple camera angles from all over Capitol grounds. Excerpts will begin airing in the coming weeks.”
Quote of the Day
“Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He’s counting on us not sticking together. He was counting on the inability to keep Nato united. He was counting on us not to be able to bring in others to the side of Ukraine. He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now.”
— President Biden, quoted by the BBC.
