“I would fully accept any debate, anywhere, anytime, anyplace.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by Fox News.
“I would fully accept any debate, anywhere, anytime, anyplace.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by Fox News.
Associated Press: “The presidential candidates have conflicting ideas about how much to reveal about their own finances and the best ways to boost the economy through tax policy.”
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“The Teamsters union’s political action committee is jumping into the Missouri Senate race, contributing $5,000 to Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) re-election campaign,” Axios reports.
“In the past, the PAC has given overwhelmingly to Democrats, but Hawley has made a point to align himself with the labor movement, joining picket lines with the Teamsters and the United Auto Workers.”
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) was interviewed on ABC News by George Stephanopoulos:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Just to sum up. You support Trump for president even if he’s convicted in the classified documents case. You support him for president even though you believe he contributed to an insurrection. You support him for president even though you believe he’s lying about the last election. You support him for president even if he’s convicted in the Manhattan case. I just want to say, the answer to that is yes, correct?
SUNUNU: Yeah. Me and 51% of America.
“As former President Donald Trump sifts through potential running mates, he has peppered some advisers and associates with a direct question: Which Republican could best help him raise money for the rest of the presidential campaign?,” the New York Times reports.
“That inquiry reflects the evolving calculations of Mr. Trump’s vice-presidential search — and how his scramble to keep up with President Biden’s colossal fund-raising totals may be weighing on his mind as he considers his options.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he met the requirements to appear on Iowa’s general election ballot in November following a “convention” he held in West Des Moines Saturday, the Des Moines Register reports.
Donald Trump “backed former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick on Saturday in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, after excoriating him two years earlier,” the Washington Post reports.
During the 2022 race, Trump blasted McCormick, calling him “the candidate of special interests and globalists and the Washington establishment.”
Associated Press: “McCormick — who splits his time in Connecticut, where he has a home — did not attend the rally.”
NPR: “One unprecedented oddity lost in the mix is that just a single conviction in any of the cases that Trump faces could put his ability to cast a general election ballot for himself at risk.”
“The cases will play no role in whether Trump can run for federal office, but there’s a real chance they affect whether he can vote in the 2024 race.”
New York Times/Siena Poll: “While the memories of Mr. Trump’s tumultuous and chaotic administration have not significantly faded, many voters now have a rosier picture of his handling of the economy, immigration and maintaining law and order. Ahead of the 2020 election, only 39 percent of voters said that the country was better off after Mr. Trump took office. Now, looking back, nearly half say that he improved things during his time as president.”
“The poll’s findings underscore the way in which a segment of voters have changed their minds about the Trump era, recalling those years as a time of economic prosperity and strong national security. The shift in views about his administration comes even as Mr. Trump faces dozens of felony counts and will appear in a New York courtroom on Monday for jury selection in one of his four criminal trials.”
The major broadcast and cable news networks, along with major wire, print and radio organizations, “have penned an open letter asking presidential candidates to publicly commit to taking part in televised debates ahead of the general election,” ABC News reports.
“While Donald Trump is in his hometown of New York this week for the start of his criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records, President Biden plans to campaign in his birthplace of Scranton in battleground Pennsylvania,” NBC News reports.
“Biden’s counterprogramming itinerary includes three days of economy-focused events in Scranton, Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia area, while his campaign keeps a spotlight on Trump’s position on abortion.”
“The result will be dueling visuals of the two candidates that Biden allies hope speak volumes to voters even as the president stays silent about his GOP rival’s legal troubles.”
Politico: If you thought a trial could force Trump off the campaign trail, you thought wrong.
Donald Trump endorsed a challenger to Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), calling the incumbent a “weak and pathetic RINO” in a social media post, The Hill reports.
“Newhouse was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He was reelected in 2022, despite Trump’s endorsement of another candidate.”
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ruled out a run as a Libertarian candidate to assist in his efforts to get on the ballots in all 50 states — a marked change from his prior posture, where he kept the door open,” ABC News reports.
Said Kennedy: “We’re not gonna have any problems getting on the ballot ourselves so we won’t be running libertarian.”
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) said a loving approach to discipline misbehaving children is to “beat them in a circle,” WUNC reports.
Said Robinson: “We have perverted the word love. We don’t understand the word love. We don’t understand what love really is. We think love is sunshine and rainbows, and put your arms around somebody saying ‘I love you, brother’ — certainly that’s a form of love.”
He added: “But how many of y’all know when you hold your young’un by one arm and beat them in a circle, because they were bad — how many of you know that’s love too?”
A recent Wall Street Journal poll of seven battleground states “found that 39% of suburban women cite abortion as a make-or-break issue for their vote — making it by far the most motivating issue for the group.”
“Nearly three-quarters of them say the procedure should be legal all or most of the time, and a majority thinks Trump’s policies are too restrictive.”
New York Times: Republican women are divided on abortion as Bans spread.
Politico: “For years, Harris’ abortion events have been from her official side. Friday’s appearance marked a shift to campaign events that allowed the vice president to attack Trump more directly, calling him ‘the architect of this health care crisis.’”
“At the heart of the shift: the campaign’s concern that Trump’s attempt to moderate his position is going to work.”
Nate Cohn: “So far, 16 national pollsters (of varying quality) have taken polls before and after the State of the Union. On average, Mr. Biden is running about 1.4 points better in the post-State of the Union polls than in earlier surveys by the same pollsters.”
“A 1.4-point shift in the polls wouldn’t usually merit much attention. It’s small enough that it may not last, even if it’s real. But it carries greater significance against the backdrop of the last six months — and the doubts among some Democrats about Mr. Biden’s candidacy.”
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.
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