“Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the National Rifle Association’s Annual Leadership Forum on Friday,” NPR reports.
“But audience members at the group’s annual meeting, being held this year in Houston, won’t be able to carry guns during his address.”
Related from The Hill: Beto O’Rourke called on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to cancel his NRA convention appearance.
“When a whistleblower sent a 34-page report to the Food and Drug Administration in October alleging a host of unsanitary conditions at an Abbott infant formula factory, the top official in charge of food safety didn’t see it,” the Washington Post reports.
“In fact, Frank Yiannas, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for food policy and response, didn’t learn about the complaint until four months later.”
“Former President Donald Trump’s stature as GOP kingmaker has been dented in the past week, as some candidates he backed in major Republican primaries—particularly for governor—lost their bids,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Republican voters and strategists said Mr. Trump’s involvement in races will be important going forward, but consultants say the traditional tenets of successful candidates such as likability, perceived electability, records and background have proved as important as ever.”
NBC News: Trump exposes the limits of his power with ill-fated endorsements.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds President Biden’s approval rate has fallen to 36% — the lowest of his presidency — with 59% disapproving.
Key takeaway: “In a sign of weakening enthusiasm among Democrats, Biden’s approval rating within his own party fell to 72% from 76% the prior week.”
Within hours of the school shooting in Uvalde, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “moved to clear the way to force votes in coming days on legislation that would strengthen background checks for gun purchasers, pushing to revive measures with broad appeal that Republicans have blocked in the past,” the New York Times reports.
“The pair of bills would expand criminal background checks to would-be gun buyers on the internet and at gun shows and lengthen the waiting period for gun buyers flagged by the instant background check system to allow more time for the F.B.I. to investigate.”
“The measures, passed by the House in 2019 and again last year, have languished in the Senate amid Republican opposition. Even as they publicly mourned the massacre that killed 19 children and two adults on Tuesday, Republican senators gave little indication that their positions had changed.”
After yesterday’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) spread a false and transphobic claim that the suspected shooter was a “transsexual leftist illegal alien,” Insider reports.
“Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are laying the groundwork for a probe into Hunter Biden’s finances, part of efforts to keep the president’s son in the spotlight ahead of midterm elections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker (R) claimed that he’s “never heard” Donald Trump say that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
In Texas’ 28th District, conservative Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) is running neck-and-neck with progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros (D) in one of the most scrutinized Democratic primaries of the night. As of shortly after midnight, Cuellar — one of the only Democrats in Congress who opposes abortion rights — led by fewer than 200 votes, Politico reports.
“The fact that the left couldn’t easily dislodge Cuellar following news about the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade in a state filled with Republicans eager to end abortion access could signal a problem for Democrats: Many are eager to run on abortion rights and fears about overturning Roe, but it’s unclear whether their own base is sufficiently motivated by this issue.”
“We may not win Tuesday, but I can damn guarantee you that we are not down 30 points.”
— Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue (R), to a reporter last week.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) immediately opposed any efforts on passing new gun restrictions even after a gunman killed 21 in a Texas school, CNN reports.
Said Cruz: “Inevitably, when there’s a murderer of this kind, you see politicians try to politicize it, you see Democrats and a lot of folks in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.”
He added: “That doesn’t work… It doesn’t prevent crime.”
A new Morning Consult poll finds 41% of voters believe it’s “very important” to pass new gun control measures, while 18% said it was “somewhat important.”
Just 13% said it was “not too important” and 19% said it was “not important at all,” while 9% had no opinion.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) suggested to Newsmax that we arm teachers after a gunman killed 21 in a school shooting in his state.
“Prime Minister Boris Johnson presided over an office in which there were widespread violations of coronavirus restrictions, according to a long-awaited government investigation released on Wednesday,” the New York Times reports.
“The report, by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, included multiple photographs of Mr. Johnson raising a glass at a birthday party held in his honor, which breached the rules and for which he paid a police fine. It noted that 83 people violated the rules at parties, at which some drank heavily and damaged property.”
The Guardian: Vomiting and partying until 4 a.m.
Insider: “Texas has made it easier to purchase guns in recent months — despite the state’s playing host to a series of mass shootings in recent memory, including the killing of a combined 30 people in El Paso and Odessa in 2019.”
“A new state law that came into force on September 1 allowed anyone aged over 21 to carry a handgun in most places without a permit or training. The bill was put forward by Texas Republicans.”
“Before the change, Texans had to pass a background check, take a safety course, and take a competency test to get a license.”
Bari Weiss: “There is a deep sickness in this country. It goes beyond our addiction to guns. It’s an anti-social, anti-human disease that has gripped our society and our politics.”
“A big part of that disease is how numb we have become to violence. The country has been experiencing the largest crime surge in decades. Armed robberies are up. Shoplifting is up. Road deaths are up. Car break-ins are so common in some cities that people leave notes on their windows to the thieves that nothing is inside.”
“But the most devastating rise has been in murders. Since the FBI started tracking the data, 2020 marked the highest single-year increase in homicides. In 2021, it went up again.”
“As of 2020, the leading cause of death among children in America is guns. Not cars. Not drugs. Guns. It was also the year that we had the highest rate of gun sales in American history.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.