Headlines for Wednesday, May 3, 2023
đ˝A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson
đ˝A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson
New York Times: Carlsonâs Text That Alarmed Fox Leaders: âItâs Not How White Men Fightâ: A text message sent by Tucker Carlson that set off a panic at the highest levels of Fox on the eve of its billion-dollar defamation trial showed its most popular host sharing his private, inflammatory views about violence and race. The discovery of the message contributed to a chain of events that ultimately led to Mr. Carlsonâs firing. In the message, sent to one of his producers in the hours after violent Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Mr. Carlson described how he had recently watched a video of a group of men â Trump supporters, he said â violently attacking âan Antifa kid.â It was âthree against one, at least,â he wrote. And then he expressed a sense of dismay that the attackers, like him, were white.
New York Times: Trump Likely to Sit Out One or Both of First Two G.O.P. Debates: The leading Republican candidate for president, Donald J. Trump, is likely to skip at least one of the first two debates of the 2024 Republican presidential nominating contest, according to five people who have discussed the matter with the former president. Last month, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, announced that Fox News would host the first G.O.P. primary debate in Milwaukee in August. The second debate will be held in Southern California at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. In private comments to aides and confidants in recent weeks, Mr. Trump has made it clear that he does not want to breathe life into his Republican challengers by sharing the stage with them. Mr. Trump has led his nearest rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, by around 30 percentage points in recent polls. All other contenders are polling in single digits.
CNN: Biden, Trump and Feinstein symbolize a generation loath to cede power: Old guard political leaders are defying one of Americaâs fabled political rites â the passing of a torch to a new generation. And some voters and those keen to assume power are frustrated. The questions of age and the extent to which voters should try to judge politiciansâ mental cognition â and whether it should disqualify someone from public office â are boiling up as the 2024 election season gets underway. Thereâs never been an election like it. Joe Biden, who is the oldest-ever president at 80, just launched a bid for reelection. Former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the Republican nominating race, would be 82 by the end of a non-consecutive second term. The advanced age of both men is doing nothing to quell their ambition and their mutual antipathy after 2020âs bitter campaign. But it also poses risks for both parties and has fueled calls that itâs time to move on from a pair born in the 1940s.
New York Times: Why Trump Wonât Let Go of His Dream of Domination: Throughout his life â in his overlapping business, TV and political careers â Donald Trump has attempted to portray himself as what is conventionally known as an âalpha male.â But now he has run into a buzz saw of criminal investigations and civil suits that threaten to reveal both the ludicrousness of his self-image and his failure to meet the traditional standards of leadership. This does not diminish the seriousness of the threat he poses to American democracy. As both a candidate and as president, Trump has repeatedly made grandiose claims. Perhaps the best recent example came during his speech at a March 25 campaign rally in Waco, Texas: âI am your warrior, I am your justice,â Trump told his supporters. âFor those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.â
Washington Post: There remains little value in broadcasting Trumpâs comments live: All politicians are salesmen, to some extent. The job is ostensibly focused on creating legislation but functionally dependent upon being able to convince people youâre the best person for the job â meaning that salespeople have an advantage over wonks in being in the room to craft policy. In recent years, the demonstrated balance between those two traits in those seeking office has increasingly tilted to the former: Candidates are often salespeople for culture war rhetoric who get to Washington and are indifferent about the intricacies of what theyâre voting on. Former North Carolina congressman Madison Cawthorn (R) infamously informed his colleagues upon his arrival that he had âbuilt my staff around comms rather than legislation.â
Daily Beast: Trump Makes at Least One Good Decision at His Rape Trial: At the end of proceedings Tuesday, Donald Trumpâs attorney informed the Court that the former president will not be testifying in his own defense. In a trial that has been going quite badly for Trump, he is not going to bother making a last-ditch effort to win over the jury by testifying that he did not rape E. Jean Carroll and then facing cross-examination. In essence, his defense now rests on his attorneysâ cross-examination of E. Jean Carroll, which was abysmal. Even though Trumpâs decision not to testify makes it much more likely that the jury will rule against him, I believe that he and his lawyers are making the wise decision. The former president is currently under indictment in New York for 37 counts of false statements. He also faces an open investigation in Fulton County, Georgia, where District Attorney Fani Willis has announced that she will disclose whether she plans to indict Trump by early summer.
Fox News: Trump kicks NBC reporter off plane, slams network as 'fake news:' 'Get him out of here': Former President Donald Trump reportedly grabbed an NBC reporter's phone and demanded he be removed from his plane after he was asked about the criminal probe by Manhattan DA Alvin Brag during an informal press gaggle, according to newly obtained audio. The heated exchange, which was first reported by Vanity Fair, occurred on March 25 following Trump's campaign rally in Waco, Texas. The leading 2024 Republican contender was speaking with a group of reporters aboard his plane when NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard suggested that he seemed "frustrated" by Braggâs investigation. The question seemingly hit a nerve for Trump, who told the reporter not to ask "any more questions."
Vice: Trumpâs Next Criminal Charge Is Practically on the Calendar: Former President Donald Trumpâs second criminal indictment looks all but certain to go down this summer. You could even mark it in your calendar: Sometime between July 11 and Sept. 1. Thatâs because Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has formally asked local officials to beef up security during that window, when she plans to announce charging decisions in her long-running investigation of Trumpâs attempt to reverse his 2020 election defeat in Georgia. She wouldnât need all that extra security if she werenât planning to go after Trump himself, former prosecutors and legal experts say.Â
Washington Post: DeSantis wants to âMake America Florida.â Hereâs what that looks like.: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to âmake America Florida.â As the Republican gears up for a likely presidential run, we created this guide to current legislative proposals in the Sunshine State that offer a lens into his vision for the country. The bills cover topics such as permitting gun owners to carry a concealed weapon without a license and eliminating funding for diversity and equity initiatives in state universities. The speed with which the state legislature has already passed several DeSantis-backed proposals shows how he has consolidated power in Floridaâs Capitol.
ABC News: Culture wars intensify as legislators face censures, expulsions: Censures and expulsions in some state legislatures have become a growing consequence of the intensifying culture wars across the country. In Montana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma â states with Republican supermajorities in the House â conservative legislators have led the charge in disciplining lawmakers on the other side of the aisle. Democratic legislators have been expelled from their legislative seat, barred from the House floor, or removed from their committees for a variety of reasons, including allegedly violating parliamentary procedures in the course of their dissent. âEvery time we read about one of these, we hear that it is historic in that state's context,â said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at University of California, San Diego in an interview with ABC News.
New York Times: Trump Agrees to Return to CNN, Ending a Long Boycott: After a long hiatus, former President Donald J. Trump will return to CNN. Mr. Trump, who has openly feuded with CNN hosts and executives over the years, has not appeared on the network since his 2016 presidential campaign. But next Wednesday, May 10, he will appear at a town hall-style forum the network is hosting in New Hampshire. CNN said that its morning show co-host, Kaitlan Collins, would moderate, and that the former president would take questions from Republicans and independents. Mr. Trumpâs decision to sit for questioning on a network he considers less than friendly represents a shift in his approach with the media. In his post-presidency, Mr. Trump has largely shunned mainstream networks like CNN, preferring to speak with conservative outlets and talk show hosts.
Politico: Trump vows to go after âradical Leftâ colleges, echoing DeSantis approach: Former President Donald Trump is calling for a drastic expansion of the federal governmentâs oversight of colleges and universities, vowing to âreclaimâ campuses that he asserts are âdominated by Marxist Maniacs and lunatics.â In a video released by his campaign on Tuesday, Trump outlined a plan to reshape higher education if he returns to the White House, echoing some of the policies that his possible Republican primary rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis, has pursued in Florida. âThe time has come to reclaim our once great educational institutions from the radical Left, and we will do that,â Trump said. âOur secret weapon will be the college accreditation system.â
Associated Press: Judge mulls whether voting machine case should go to trial: Critics of Georgiaâs voting machines say they are unconstitutional and should be scrapped in favor of hand-marked paper ballots. State election officials dismiss their concerns as unfounded and argue that the stateâs voting system is safe and secure. The arguments are at the center of a long-running lawsuit challenging the Dominion Voting Systems election equipment that has been used throughout Georgia since 2020. The activists who filed the lawsuit allege that the stateâs voting machines produce an unverifiable record of votes and have security vulnerabilities, amounting to an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg held a hearing Tuesday on motions filed by election officials, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and members of the State Election Board, asking the judge to rule in their favor based on the facts presented without going to trial. Lawyers for the activists argued there are disagreements on the facts in the case and that the merits of the arguments need to be fully explored at trial.
Washington Post: Hereâs how right-wing media shields Trump from his scandals: If you ask Republican primary voters â as CBS News did â why they donât plan to vote for Donald Trump, the most common reason is simply that they prefer other candidates. The next reason on the list for just over half of those who donât plan to vote for him is that Trump is too âcontroversial.â In third place, at 50 percent: âhow he deals with political opponents.â Itâs only when you get to the fourth-most cited reason, one chosen by about 2 in 5 Republicans who say they donât plan to vote for Trump â in other words, a fraction of a fraction of the party â is the swarm of legal issues that surround the primary front-runner. To an outside observer, this might be hard to fathom. Trump has already been indicted in Manhattan, is facing a defamation and battery trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who alleges he raped her, and may well face charges at both the federal level and in Fulton County, Ga., related to his post-2020 election machinations. But all of this is fourth on the list of reasons Trump-skeptical Republicans arenât interested in supporting him.
The Hill: Is Trumpâs post-indictment polling bump fizzling?: For the past month, Donald Trump has been on a roll. The indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has given him a major boost, with a new set of grievances he can complain about â and nobody better at being a victim than Trump. Conservatives rallied around the former president, and all his potential and current primary opponents condemned the indictment. And all that overwhelming support has helped Trump in the polls â by maybe 5 points. Given all the media hyperventilating, you would think Trump has the Republican nomination locked up and it is all smooth sailing. But the fact is, Trump continues to have a difficult time wrapping up GOP voters, even though he is still largely unopposed, and he benefits from a news media desperate for clicks (and Trump is great for business).
Politico: Trump wonât take the stand in lawsuit accusing him of rape: Donald Trump will not testify in the civil lawsuit accusing him of raping a woman in the mid-1990s, the former presidentâs lawyer said at trial in Manhattan federal court Tuesday. E. Jean Carroll, the woman who brought the lawsuit, alleges Trump raped her in a dressing room in the lingerie department of luxury Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman. She is suing him for battery and defamation. He has denied her claims, saying the alleged incident ânever happened.â Trumpâs testimony hadnât seemed likely. He hasnât attended any of the trial, which began a week ago, and the courthouse hasnât appeared to make any security changes to accommodate the presence of a former president who has Secret Service protection.
NBC News: Trump joins media coalition in opposing DA's proposal to limit public use of evidence in hush money case: Donald Trump has joined media organizations to argue against the Manhattan district attorney's effort to limit the public availability of evidence shared with the former president's attorneys in the lead-up to next year's hush money trial. A news coalition that includes NBC News sent a letter Monday arguing against a protective order proposed by District Attorney Alvin Bragg to restrict how evidence can be used before trial, including possibly sealing or redacting certain items. Trump signed on to the letter Tuesday, his attorneys said. Citing the letter, Trumpâs lawyers said they also opposed ârequiring the advance sealing or redaction of court filings or their exhibits in this case.â
NPR: Dueling narratives at the Senate hearing on the Supreme Court: At Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the Democrats' avowed purpose was to get the Supreme Court to write a code of conduct for itself, or in the absence of that, for Congress to write one. The Republicans avowed purpose was quite different. The impetus for the hearing was the fact that in recent weeks and months, there have been a series of news reports about Supreme Court ethics. One category has alleged outright violations of financial disclosure rules that apply to all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices. The other category of story has focused on the activities of various justices: activities that range from the completely appropriate--like four of the conservative justices teaching at George Mason University-- to activities that are arguably inappropriate under the judicial code of conduct.
New York Times: Judge Rejects Montana Lawmakerâs Effort to Return to House Floor: A judge ruled on Tuesday against a Montana legislator who had sought a court order allowing her to return to the House of Representatives after she was barred during an escalating standoff over her remarks on transgender issues. The lawmaker, Representative Zooey Zephyr, was ousted from the Republican-controlled chamber last week after making impassioned comments against a ban on hormone treatments and surgical care for transgender minors. The remarks led Republicans to silence her during debates on other legislation, prompting protests and arrests. Ms. Zephyr, a Democrat from Missoula who is transgender, filed the lawsuit on Monday arguing that her rights had been violated, along with those of her 11,000 constituents. âIâm determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard,â she posted on Twitter. A spokeswoman for the stateâs Republican attorney general called the legal action âpolitical activism masquerading as a lawsuit.â
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truth, when Hitler took over, the first step was to control the press - the same for Tito, Komani and others