Nikki Haley, the newly minted Republican presidential candidate, called on Wednesday for mandatory “mental competency tests” for politicians over the age of 75, an implied dig at President Biden and her one-time boss, former President Donald Trump, The Hill reports.
Democrats Have Won the Senate Popular Vote for Decades
Stephen Wolf: “Even though Democrats retained the Senate—and expanded their majority—in 2022, the results nonetheless marked the continuation of an unwelcome trend: Our new data shows that Senate Republicans last won more votes or represented more Americans than Democrats in 1998, but the GOP has controlled the upper chamber fully half the time since then nonetheless.”
Chris Christie Says Ron DeSantis Remains Unknown
Former Gov. Chris Christie (R) told The Dispatch that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) strong early polling numbers in a Republican presidential primary aren’t worth much.
Said Christie: “He’s done a good job as the governor of Florida. I don’t think anybody can argue with that, but that’s very different than running for president of the United States. None of us really know what he’ll be like on the national stage. If he decides to run, I’ll be interested to watch and compete with him.”
He added: “I’m still waiting for President Jeb Bush and President Scott Walker from ‘16 and none of that happened. I’m sure as heck not going to worry about what Ron DeSantis is going to do or not do, because none of us really know who he is outside of Tallahassee, Florida.”
Christie single-handedly derailed Marco Rubio’s bid in 2016, so it’s worth watching if he’ll jump into the race.
Berlesconi Aquitted in Trial Over ‘Bunga Bunga’ Parties
Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was found not guilty Wednesday of witness tampering, in a trial related to the sexually charged “bunga bunga” parties he held at his villa near Milan while he was in office, the AP reports.
Quote of the Day
“I’ve known him for 23 years, and so I’m not the least bit afraid of him. The presence of Donald Trump still makes a difference to a lot of people. He didn’t do what the normal one-term president does, which is go away in shame because they’ve lost. He has no shame.”
— Former Gov. Chris Christie (R), in an interview with The Dispatch.
Biden Says GOP Plans Will Explode the Federal Debt
“President Joe Biden plans to go on the offensive against Republicans, saying in effect that their policies would add $3 trillion to the national debt,” the AP reports.
From Biden’s prepared remarks: “If you add up all the proposals that my Republican friends in Congress have offered so far, they would add another $3 trillion to the debt over 10 years. You’ll see that my budget will invest in America, lower costs and protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, while cutting the deficit by $2 trillion over 10 years.”
Nikki Haley’s Best Path Might Be as Running Mate
Damon Linker: “Unless the Republican electorate through the past four election cycles has suddenly vanished and been replaced by the base imagined by the authors of the 2013 autopsy, I don’t see how. If Haley could snap her fingers and magically become the GOP nominee, she might do quite well in the general election (though her message would do much better against a more divisive Democrat than Joe Biden).”
“But of course, Haley can’t just snap her fingers and magically become the GOP nominee. She has to win the most delegates in the primary contest a year from now, and I can’t imagine she’ll come anywhere close to doing that. Republican voters aren’t interested in being told the candidates they love the most can’t win against halfway decent Democratic alternatives.”
“That leaves open the possibility of Haley’s campaign serving as an audition to be someone else’s VP. Unless she backpedals a lot from her launch video, I don’t see Trump agreeing to run with her. Would DeSantis would tap her? Maybe. But there will be an awful lot of competition.”
Soldier Secretary
Just published: Soldier Secretary: Warnings from the Battlefield & the Pentagon about America’s Most Dangerous Enemies by Christopher Miller.
Amanda Carpenter: “Reading this memoir makes it easy to see why President Trump appointed him. Miller is a pissed-off MAGA-friendly former Green Beret eager to give the finger to the establishment, which he does with remarkable candor and callousness. So much so that he remains, even now, unapologetically unbothered by the danger that elected officials were in on January 6th.”
Biden’s Plan to Limit ‘Junk Fees’ Has Big Support
Politico/Morning Consult poll: “The majority of U.S. adults (75%) support both of Biden’s proposals to reduce service fees for tickets purchased online for entertainment events and to eliminate fees charged by cell phone, cable TV and internet providers when consumers cancel their service.”
“Democrats (80%) are most likely to support both proposals, though clear majorities of independents (70%) and Republicans (72%) do as well.”
GOP Isn’t Just Thinking About Trump and DeSantis
Jonathan Bernstein: “While the presidential election is still 20 months away, the likelihood that multiple credentialed candidates will pursue the nomination also suggests that the Republican Party is open to change, whether in a more moderate direction or toward more conservative policy extremism.”
“Both Trump and DeSantis appear formidable, at least in public. They dominate the polls nationally and in the early states and have received the bulk of early endorsements from high-profile Republicans. There is no obvious political comparison to Trump in the modern era, but any former president is presumed to be a strong candidate. His polling numbers among Republican voters are still good, and he has far more support from the Republican Party than he did in his first run in 2016.”
“While Trump might wind up with the nomination, it’s significant that other contenders clearly aren’t frightened of publicly opposing him. It tells us that many Republicans believe that Trump will be in a worse position when voters in Iowa and New Hampshire make their choices early next year. And their hesitation is understandable for several reasons, not the least of which is that the former president is facing multiple investigations that could lead to criminal charges.”
Senate Republicans Warn House About Defense Cuts
“Senate Republicans are warning their House GOP counterparts to stay away from the Pentagon’s budget as part of any proposed spending cuts tied to upcoming debt-limit talks,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Republican senators are generally supportive of Speaker Kevin McCarthy in negotiations with President Joe Biden over cutting spending in exchange for raising the nation’s borrowing limit. But they say recent suggestions by top House Republicans that defense spending would be on the chopping block is unacceptable.”
“Defense spending has risen significantly in recent years despite efforts by some lawmakers in both parties to slow it down. China’s growing military might, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programs, are motivating Congress’ defense hawks to once again substantially boost, not slash, defense spending.”
Tesla Will Open Some Chargers to All Electric Vehicles
“Tesla will open some of its fast chargers, which had been exclusive to its customers, to all electric vehicles by the end of next year, the Biden administration said on Wednesday as it announced a broad effort to improve charging and encourage more people to buy battery-powered vehicles,” the New York Times reports.
George Santos Once Tried to Raise Big Money for Trump
“One of Rep. George Santos’ first-known forays into politics was an attempt to raise $20,000 for a pro-Trump rally in 2019 in Buffalo, N.Y. that never happened,” Politico reports.
“The five-figure fundraising goal drew questions from members of the small New York state-based group United for Trump. Santos — who was the group’s president at the time — claimed he needed $750 to hire an accountant, $2,500 to keep a lawyer on retainer and thousands more for a keynote speaker.”
Key Trump Ally Endorses Nikki Haley
“Nikki Haley has secured the endorsement of a top Trump ally, House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman, for her first South Carolina delegation show of support as she launches her 2024 run for president,” Fox News reports.
“Ralph Norman is the first South Carolina lawmaker to publicly back Haley’s bid for presidency. His support comes despite former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of his re-election the 2022 midterm elections and also after Norman did not vote to certify the 2020 election, in a nod to his loyalty to Trump.”
Trump Claims His January 6 Tweets Vindicate Him
Former president Donald Trump claimed that his tweets from the day of the Capitol Hill insurrection prove that he wanted peace but failed to mention his instructions to his supporters, asking them to “fight like hell,” the Independent reports.
Trump also said that day that the election was being “stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats.”
Club for Growth Endorses Rick Scott and Dings McConnell
“Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) has nabbed an early endorsement in his bid for reelection, with the conservative Club for Growth, one of the top-spending GOP super PACs, offering its support,” Politico reports.
“The Club’s endorsement of the Florida Republican also comes with a rebuke of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a further sign that the party’s fissures remain deep and unresolved as it enters the 2024 cycle.”
Not Mentioning Trump Proves Tricky for 2024 Republicans
New York Times: “Ms. Haley’s conundrum about how to approach Mr. Trump will surely apply to other potential competitors. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who shares Mr. Trump’s pugnacious instincts and is the only Republican within striking distance in early polls of the field, has nevertheless been reluctant to trade insult for insult with the former president. Like Ms. Haley, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence served in the Trump administration.”
“Overt critics of Mr. Trump, like Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Larry Hogan of Maryland, both former governors, risk not being taken seriously by Republican voters.”
“Ms. Haley has time to devise a strategy for challenging Mr. Trump, but moving on from the last Republican presidency will be tricky… Since leaving his administration in 2018 and making halting efforts to criticize him after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Ms. Haley has tacked back into his orbit.”
Jim Justice Strongest Against Joe Manchin
“Republicans are coming to an increasingly popular consensus: Gov. Jim Justice is by far the best candidate to take on Joe Manchin,” Politico reports.
“In fact, the two-term governor and Democrat-turned-Republican is the only potential challenger who would currently beat the centrist Democratic senator, according to a new GOP poll gaming out the race. While Justice leads Manchin handily, according to the survey, Manchin has big leads over Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) — the only Republican officially in the race — and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who ran against Manchin in 2018 and is mulling another bid.”
