March 31:
- On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis – who had skipped Good Friday events amid health concerns – delivered his Urbi et Orbi message calling for peace across the world, specifically in Ukraine and Gaza.
“May the risen Christ open a path of peace for the war-torn peoples of those regions,” he said, following it with a call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, increased humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages taken on Oct. 7.
“Let us not yield to the logic of weapons and rearming. Peace is never made with arms, but with outstretched hands and open hearts.”
*
- But, of course, we here in the US can’t even let Easter pass without at least one performative partisan political squabble over the holiday itself.
***
March 29:
Today marks one year since Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia. After dubious charges, there is no sign of when he may be freed or even come to trial. He is the first US journalist Russia has arrested and accused of espionage since the Cold War.
His paper has done a great job of keeping him in the news and today’s striking front page is no exception.
*
March 28:
- Today is Opening Day, so technically nothing else matters. But with a couple of rain-outs already, Baltimore – for now – looks set to be the first game of the day, unless the weather intervenes. Camden Yards will host the Angels in the first game of a season of hope and huge expectation, yet shrouded in the tragedy of Tuesday’s shocking bridge collapse. It’s sure to be an emotional afternoon. See you there, fingers crossed…
*
- Donald Trump’s lawyers are back in court in Fulton County, Georgia today, attempting to have the election interference racketeering charges brought by DA Fani Willis against the former President and his associates thrown out.
Trump himself is expected to be in New York at the funeral of a slain NYPD officer, as he attempts to score political points on the issue of crime.
- President Biden, meanwhile, will also be in the city later, for a huge Democratic party fundraiser, where he will appear alongside former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. The event is expected to raise some $25million, cementing Biden’s existing fundraising advantage.
The latest polling shows most Americans still unenthusiastic about this year’s Presidential match-up, but with different feelings about the possibility of each man’s victory.
- Former cryptocurrency guru Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding users of his FTX exchange.
***
March 27:
- The economic and human cost of the Baltimore bridge collapse is beginning to come into focus.
- Former Trump lawyer and Jan 6th plotter John Eastman should be disbarred, according to a judge in California.
- And the former President’s daughter-in-law Lara gave an interview to NBC – the network which yesterday fired her predecessor as RNC chair Ronna McDaniel – and the exchange indicated how the party has been transformed into Donald Trump’s personal vehicle. It emerged that after forcing RNC employees to re-apply for their existing jobs, they were asked whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen.
- Former Sen Joe Lieberman, who as Al Gore’s running mate in 2000 became the nation’s first Jewish vice-presidential candidate, died aged 82. He secured a fourth term in the Senate in 2006 as an Independent, becoming a cheerleader for Sen John McCain in his 2008 presidential bid, before retiring from the Senate in 2013. Most recently, Lieberman was founding co-chair of the third party group No Labels, which continues to have trouble finding a potential candidate.
***
March 26:
- As the sun rose in Baltimore today, rescuers were searching for anyone in the water after the Francis Scott Key Bridge across the Patapsco River was struck by a large cargo vessel and collapsed. The incident happened at around 1.30am. A group of construction workers was understood to be working on the bridge at the time, while rescuers were also exploring whether any vehicles may have fallen into the water.
Early reports said two people had been rescued, one of whom was in serious condition. By Tuesday evening, six construction workers were still unaccounted for. President Biden pledged that the federal government would pay “the entire cost of rebuilding” the bridge.
- The US Supreme Court was set to rule today on a Texas decision to restrict the use of the abortion medication Mifepristone, affecting the work of the Food and Drug Administration to make rules covering the prescribing of the drug. It is the first major legal ruling concerning reproductive rights since the Dobbs case overturned Roe v Wade last year.
- After yesterday’s appeal court ruling cutting his civil fraud bond in half, Donald Trump’s media company could – could – net him anything up to $3billion, but not straight away. The company’s valuation seems to “defy logic,” according to industry experts.
The former President was also hit with another gag order, this time restricting him from making statements about potential witnesses in his “hush money” trial. Jury selection is set to begin on April 15.
Trump, meanwhile, is apparently now selling bibles for $59.99. A true profit…
- Speaker Mike Johnson is under pressure as the GOP margin in the House will shrink to one with the departure of Wisconsin Rep Mike Gallagher next month. But Rep Marjorie Taylor-Greene’s chaotic threat to depose Johnson could yet backfire.
- Potential independent Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr announced his running mate today, despite possible ballot rules problems. Philanthropist lawyer Nicole Shanahan, 38, has pledged to ensure Kennedy appears on the ballot in every state. The latest swing state polls, which include likely independent candidates, again show the contest running even or with Donald Trump ahead.
And the ramifications of such a close contest are being felt publicly across the political and journalistic arena.
***
March 25:
- Yet another big legal day for Donald Trump, with the deadline for the former President to post the almost half-billion dollar bond in his New York civil fraud trial, with the possibility looming of the DA’s office moving to seize some of his assets.
Update: The New York Appeals Court decided, without explanation, to reduce Trump’s required bond from $454million to $175million, as well as giving him ten more days before he has to submit the bond.
And the presumptive Republican presidential candidate is in court in New York, where he could learn the start date for his “hush money” trial. Jury selection was originally scheduled to begin today but has been pushed to next month after the late release of documents.
But the weekend wasn’t all bad news…
- An appeals court in Texas could issue a ruling today on the state’s recent law on immigration policy, potentially deciding who has legal responsibility for enforcement between state and federal agencies.
- Israel has apparently agreed to a US-proposed Gaza deal which could see the release of more than 700 Palestinian prisoners, reportedly in exchange for 40 hostages held by Hamas. The terrorist group is expected to respond in coming days. There were more protests inside Israel and elsewhere last night calling for the immediate return of the hostages.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is in Washington today to meet with administration officials amid what are increasingly conflicting priorities. At the weekend, VP Harris said that any Israeli operation in Rafah would be a “huge mistake” which would lead to unspecified “consequences”.
The UN Security Council on Monday passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The US abstained, allowing the resolution to pass.
- As Russia displayed four men allegedly responsible for the weekend terror attack in Moscow, the row continues over intelligence warnings ahead of the incident and President Vladimir Putin’s response. Russian missiles again targeted Kyiv this morning.
- Fallout continues from NBC’s messy hire of Ronna McDaniel – Marc Jacob writes that NBC stands for “now boosting the coup – and more is to come, no doubt. As the ex-RNC chair made her network debut, former Meet The Press host Chuck Todd weighed in…
As did Michigan’s Secretary of State…
*
- The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is expected to address the media today amid an MLB investigation into his interpreter’s alleged gambling activities.
***
March 24:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to say that Ukraine was involved in Friday’s terror attack at a Moscow theatre, rejecting accounts that Western intelligence agencies had warned the Kremlin of an impending strike by an ISIS offshoot. Ukraine continues to deny Putin’s assertions.
- Meanwhile, a Russian long-range cruise missile targeting Ukraine passed through the airspace of Poland, a Nato member, overnight. The House of Representatives recessed on Friday for two weeks, without addressing further US aid for Ukraine.
- With former RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel set to make her debut for her new employer this morning, the hashtag #BoycottNBC is trending ahead of her appearance on Meet The Press. Although initial backlash over the hire led to assertions that McDaniel would not appear on MSNBC, the mothership network continued to maintain she “will be an important part of NBC’s 2024 election coverage.”
Steve Schmidt is among those not holding back this morning:
***
March 23:
- The death toll from last night’s terrorist attack on a Moscow theatre rose to at least 115, one of the worst such incidents in the nation’s history. A number of suspects have apparently been arrested. An offshoot of the terror group ISIS reportedly claimed responsibility, an assertion seen as credible by US counter-terrorism experts. There are signs, however, that Russia could seek to pin blame on Ukraine, which denies any involvement.
- Once again it appears that Congressional Republicans’ internal dysfunction is never more than a self-inflicted wound away from causing chaos for the legislative process and holding the efficient running of government to ransom.
In the early hours of this morning, the Senate passed the $1.2trillion spending bill which would avert a partial government shutdown. President Biden will sign it later today. Yet immediately after the bill had passed the House, Conservative hardliner Rep Marjorie Taylor-Greene moved a motion to vacate the chair, threatening the ouster of Speaker Mike Johnson and a re-run of the pantomime that accompanied the replacement of previous Speaker Kevin McCarthy. It would be funny if it wasn’t so predictable.
- Russia and China vetoed a US-backed resolution in the UN Security Council calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Although Russia and China have supported an unconditional ceasefire, their opposition yesterday was due to the US linking a cessation to a hostage deal and condemnation of Hamas.
*
- MLB has opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the firing of Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. As Ross Barkan writes at the New Yorker, this increasingly wild story seems to make less sense as each day passes.
- The former owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Peter Angelos, died aged 94. He had been ill for many years leading him to hand control of the team to his son John. The Angelos family recently agreed a deal to transfer ownership to a group led by Baltimore businessman David Rubenstein.
The Washington Post‘s obituary reads, in part:
“In the baseball world, Mr. Angelos was seen as a hands-on boss: controlling, feisty, demanding and prone to second-guessing the on-field decisions of his top lieutenants. He went through three managers in his first four years at the helm and once considered firing a manager because a player bunted in a game when Mr. Angelos thought he should have swung.”
***
March 22:
- The UN Security Council will vote today on a US-sponsored resolution calling for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” in Gaza tied to the release of hostages held by Hamas. It is the first time the US has backed calls for a ceasefire, having previously blocked such moves.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Benjamin Netanyahu as the US grows increasingly critical of the Israeli PM’s strategy, with an Israeli ground offensive into Rafah looming.
With recent polls indicating that continuing US support for Israel is hurting President Biden among Democrats in key swing states, Michael Hirsh writes in Politico how Biden has “had it” with his former friend:
“In recent weeks, after months of Netanyahu openly defying Biden’s calls for restraint in Gaza, the president launched an unprecedented and very public pressure campaign. He slapped sanctions on Israeli settlers and settlements. He invited Netanyahu’s chief rival, Benny Gantz, to the White House to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris. He issued a National Security Council memo suggesting that military aid to Israel should be conditioned on the delivery of humanitarian aid. And he told MSNBC that Netanyahu was “hurting Israel more than helping Israel,” all the while reportedly fuming in private about what an “asshole” Netanyahu had become.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, has said he intends to invite Netanyahu to address Congress.
- Johnson, perhaps, should be more pre-occupied with placating his GOP hardliners ahead of today’s deadline for preventing a government shutdown.
***
March 21:
- With a Monday deadline looming for the former President to come up with the $400-million-plus bond in his civil fraud case, the New York Attorney-General’s office has taken initial steps to seize specific assets in his property portfolio.
Trump and his team, unsurprisingly, called the move “unconstitutional”. Meanwhile, talking of property values, Jared Kushner apparently thinks there will be a big demand for waterfront locations in Gaza.
- And talking of deadlines, Congress has until Friday night to pass a spending deal and avert a partial government shutdown.
- And, surprise surprise, the US is apparently no longer one of the happiest nations in the world – particularly among young people.
*
- Baseball’s Seoul Series ended in a split after the Padres beat the Dodgers in an almost four-hour slugfest, chasing LA’s debutant starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto early. The 3 hour, 42 minute game saw the Padres score more runs against the Dodgers than ever before (15) and the most total runs in a Padres-Dodgers game (26).
***
March 20:
- There is confusion in Texas over the implementation of a new immigration law giving greater powers to state law enforcement for the arrest of illegal migrants – the most aggressive border proposal pushed by Gov Greg Abbott as Republicans see the issue as one President Biden will be vulnerable on during the campaign. The Supreme Court allowed the measure to take effect on Tuesday, before a Texas appeals court blocked enforcement hours later.
- On Capitol Hill, Lev Parnas, a former associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, humiliated the Republicans’ continuing efforts to pursue an impeachment inquiry against President Biden. Parnas testified to James Comer’s House Oversight Committee that the only information out of Ukraine against the Bidens was coming from “Russia and Russian agents”.
Parnas called out Republicans Sen Ron Johnson and Rep Pete Sessions – a member of the committee who was in the hearing room – as being involved in the flow of disinformation from Russia directly to Fox News.
- Today’s proceedings might make for a circus-type distraction were it not for the actual work Congress needs to be doing ahead of Friday’s potential deadline for a limited government shutdown. Despite a deal being agreed yesterday, time may simply run out as House Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to placate his hardliners.
*
The baseball season is officially underway, as the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the San Diego Padres in the first of a two-game ‘Seoul Series’, with the marketing hype obviously surrounding LA debutant Shoehei Ohtani (batting second, between Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman) who faces Yu Darvish for the first time. Tyler Glasnow starts for the Dodgers.
Tickets for the first-ever competitive MLB game in South Korea sold out in eight minutes; and the ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Chan Ho Park, MLB’s first Korean player, wearing a distinctive “Padgers” jersey.
Ahead of the game, police in Seoul had been investigating a bomb threat reportedly directed against Ohtani.
Update: The Dodgers won 5-2, with both Ohtani and Mookie Betts contributing two hits including run-scoring singles in the eighth inning. But the game turned on a bizarre moment when a potential double-play got through the webbing of the Padres’ Jake Cronenworth.
Talk about always seeing something you’ve never seen before?
And that was the case after the game too, when the Dodgers fired Ohtani’s longtime interpreter amid a wild story about allegations of “massive theft”.
The second game is Thursday at 10.05 ET.
***
March 19:
- Today sees some high-profile primary elections – in Kansas, Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio. The likely crucial swing state of Arizona’s contest comes amid chaos within the local GOP and continuing anxiety over voting integrity. In Ohio, the GOP senate primary to take on longtime incumbent Sen Sherrod Brown will be interesting. Donald Trump has endorsed Bernie Moreno, who’s facing off against Matt Dolan, whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians.
In California, there’s a special election to fill the seat vacated by former GOP speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Read the Q&A with former Phoenix resident and educator Yvonne Watterson here; and read about my less pleasant encounter with another likely Arizona voter here.
Read the most recent Q&A, looking at the state of politics in Ohio, with Cincinnati journalist David Holthaus here.
Read John Wesley Fountain’s latest Substack post on politics in Chicago here; and read his Q&A from last season here.
*
- Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro is due to report to federal prison in Miami today to begin serving a four-month sentence for defying a Congressional subpoena over his role in the Jan 6th 2021 insurrection.
- In Trump World, having a convicted felon on board with the campaign isn’t that unusual by now, but the timing of the former President possibly bringing back former campaign manager Paul Manafort, whom Trump pardoned, is really interesting, given Trump’s renewed and pressing need for money – and not really caring from whence it comes.
***
March 18:
- Despite a number of courageous polling station protests, Vladimir Putin secured another five-year term as Russian leader after claiming “victory” in this weekend’s election, with a remarkable 87.7% of the vote. Kremlin operatives are presumably investigating who the other 12.3% are and where they live.
In his first statement after the results were announced, Putin said he will prioritise his military operation in Ukraine and claimed he had been planning a prisoner swap for Alexei Navalny prior to the opposition leader’s death.
- Meanwhile, there are apparently conflicting interpretations of the former President’s claim at a rally filled with verbal gaffes that the US is headed for a “bloodbath” if he isn’t elected in November.
Not much confusion here, though…
- Lawyers for the former President apparently have been unable to raise the $454million bond to facilitate his appeal in New York AG Letitia James’s civil fraud trial. Trump’s filing today asks the court to forego the bond while he appeals; but if that is rejected, the AG’s office could begin a process to seize Trump assets on March 25.
***
March 16:
- US patience with Benjamin Netanyahu was already running out. The Israeli PM’s move last night to approve a ground operation in Rafah will again heighten tensions, with the US and other nations insisting on protections for civilians and greater humanitarian assistance.
***
March 15:
- Donald Trump caught another couple of legal breaks today; firstly when his NYC “hush money” case was delayed for at least thirty days and secondly, although Fulton County DA Fani Willis was left in place despite what the judge called an “appearance of impropriety”, the pressure on her is only set to intensify, possibly weakening her election interference racketeering case against Trump and a number of associates.
- Russia’s presidential election began today and will tighten Vladimir Putin’s grip on power for a further six years. Turnout in 2018 was 67 per cent, and the Kremlin will be “expecting” the number this time to be higher as it looks to project an image that the nation is united behind Putin and his war on Ukraine – particularly in the aftermath of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
- Calling for new elections in Israel, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer – the highest-ranking Jewish leader in the US – called PM Benjamin Netanyahu “an obstacle to peace,” and “too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza.”
- In an historic outcome, the father of a school shooter in Michigan was found guilty on multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors argued James Crumbley bore responsibility because he and his wife gave their son a gun and ignored warning signs of violence. His wife had been found guilty on similar charges earlier this year.
March 14:
- As Ukrainian forces launched a series of attacks inside Russia, US House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to blame the White House for delay in sending additional US military aid. But both Democrats and Republicans in the House are exploring legislative ways to bypass Johnson’s resistance.
- Donald Trump showed up at a courthouse in Florida today for a hearing in his Mar-a-Lago classified documents trial, where he has pleaded not guilty to 40 criminal charges related to alleged mishandling of classified documents, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and wilful retention of national defense information. It is likely the most significant – and potentially dangerous – trial he faces.
The Trump-appointed judge in the case, Aileen Cannon, wasted another full day in the pre-trial calendar before denying – at least for now – the Trump team’s move to throw out the case.
- In yet another legal delay, Trump’s “hush-money” case in New York hit a “surprise snag” after the late production of material by the prosecution. The case was originally scheduled to begin on March 25.
- After the judge in the Fulton County, Georgia racketeering and election interference trial rejected several charges against Trump and others, DA Fani Willis awaits his ruling on whether she should be removed from the case.
- Speculation is, er, rife – mostly in New York – that apparent presidential candidate RFK Jr is serious about adding active Jets quarterback and fellow conspiracy theorist Aaron Rodgers to his ticket. Kennedy’s other preferred potential candidate is said to be former wrestler and Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.
In all seriousness, though, if Rodgers was to join the ticket, it could have implications for Donald Trump’s vote in the key state of Wisconsin, where Rodgers is still “well-regarded” by some Green Bay Packers fans.
***
March 13:
- The Georgia racketeering case against Donald Trump and associates – already overshadowed by the investigation into DA Fani Willis – hit a procedural hurdle today that could affect the timing of any trial.
- The House voted this morning for a proposed ban on TikTok, which would see the app removed from US app stores. It’s unclear how such a measure might play in the Senate, but President Biden has said he will sign it if it passes Congress. The ‘leader’ of the Republican party meanwhile seems to be, shall we say, freshly unsure of his approach to the Chinese-owned platform.
- The Republicans’ House majority will shrink by one next week when Colorado Rep Ken Buck retires. Buck had previously said he would finish out his current term, but blamed Congress “going downhill” for his decision to leave early. His move has implications for another Colorado Rep, Lauren Boebert, and not in a good way.
***
March 12:
- Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump locked in their party nominations by clinching the required number of delegates in tonight’s primaries, setting up the first presidential rematch for 70 years and the longest presidential election campaign in US history.
- The latest Capitol Hill clown show, the Republicans’ investigation of President Biden’s handling of classified documents, led by Special Counsel Robert Hur, reached its performative conclusion. It did not go well for the GOP.
- Alongside the still-heightening humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Ramadan begins, and growing tensions between President Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as increasing desperation among Ukrainian forces with US military aid still stalled (although Biden did authorise a $300m stopgap measure), the last thing the White House probably needs right now is another foreign crisis – this time in the Caribbean, where Haiti is once again in chaos.
(Donald Trump apparently told Hungarian President Viktor Orban that there would be no further US funding for Ukraine if he were to win in November.)
***
March 11:
- Former Donald Trump aide Peter Navarro, one of the alleged architects of the “Green Bay Sweep” conspiracy, has been ordered to present to prison in Miami on March 19 to begin his four-month sentence for defying a Congressional subpoena. Navarro’s lawyers had been attempting to delay his sentence until after the election, in the hope of a pardon from Trump.
Navarro would become the first top Trump adviser to serve jail time related to the effort to subvert the 2020 election.
***
March 10:
- The new co-chair of the Republican National Committee, Lara Trump, has wasted no time in beginning the MAGA terraforming of the party.
According to another of the former President’s family members, “That Republican Party no longer exists. Taking over the RNC is the final blow. People have to understand MAGA is the new Republican Party. That is conservatism today.”
Democrats, meanwhile, seem pretty happy with how their opponents plan to use their campaign resources.
- The news cycle around Sen Katie Britt’s official Republican response to Thursday’s State of the Union rattled on after journalist Jonathan Katz appeared to catch Britt in a fabrication. After a fact-check, the Senator and her staff didn’t walk the allegation back, rather seeming to double-down; a strategy that could succeed in propelling her into the reckoning for the VP spot on the GOP ticket.
And of course, as everyone expected on this showbiz weekend, Saturday Night Live was all over it.
- Sunday was the 96th Oscars and as expected Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer largely won the night. There were some remarkable acceptance speeches, perhaps none more poignant than that by Mstyslav Chernov, director of the winning documentary film 20 Days in Mariupol.
And of course as the evening wrapped up, the show’s producers probably couldn’t believe their luck when the presumptive GOP presidential nominee couldn’t help but throw in his two cents…
Earlier in the day, of course, the man with the golden toilet had been shamelessly asking his supporters for something more than two cents.
***
March 8:
- Democrats’ undeniable fears that the President might stumble in likely his most important speech of this election year – giving his opponents a bigger age-related stick with which to beat him – appear to be swept away this morning after a “feisty” Joe Biden came out swinging in last night’s State of the Union address.
A forceful opening fifteen-to-twenty minutes, the period with the highest television audience (and apparently generating the best fundraising hours of the campaign so far) were exactly what his team wanted. Starting with an FDR 1941 reference, Biden linked the threat to democracy at home and abroad back to the Civil War and forward to a coming election in the shadow of Ukraine and January 6th.
The President didn’t mention Donald Trump by name but frequently attacked “my predecessor” in what was the first election-year SOTU where the incumbent knew who his upcoming opponent would be.
Biden touted his economic record, saying how America’s recovery has become the “greatest comeback story never told”. He confronted the Supreme Court on reproductive rights. He went back-and-forth with Republicans over border security and berated them for dumping their own bill at the behest of their presumptive nominee, who would rather use it as a campaign issue.
Mitch McConnell’s endorsement of Trump this week was maybe the most surprising part of how the Congressional GOP fell in line, and even then it wasn’t that surprising. Sure enough, despite appeals beforehand from Speaker Mike Johnson, there was some of the usual pantomime among the audience in the room. There were the expected boos, someone yelled something from the gallery and was thrown out, while Marjorie Taylor Greene showed again that for her, politics are primarily performative.
Afterwards, Republicans grasped for straws, calling the speech “too angry” “too loud” and – somehow – “too political”. (A reminder that at his last SOTU, Donald Trump gave Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom.)
The Truth Social ‘fact-check’ didn’t quite pan out, but still seemed to make more sense than Alabama Senator Katie Britt’s overwrought Republican response, which left many observers, even on her own side, confused.
And of course, there was the gift that keeps on giving…
You could be forgiven for thinking these are not serious people. But what is coming up is a serious election.
Deadly serious. And there’s a long way to go.
*
- The RNC is set to vote today on a leadership change that will see the Trump campaign take over control of the committee’s strategy and – more importantly – financial resources. Trump himself, meanwhile, will host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Mar-a-Lago.
***
March 7:
- The state of our union is… a) dysfunctional, b) polarized, c) precarious, d) all of the above…
According to the all-day breathless media coverage, President Biden delivers a “seriously high stakes” SOTU in a few hours – his third, and the last before the election – with no shortage of challenges, from “old man vibes” to somehow uniting a fractured country by defining the risks of electing his opponent.
An evening of hopes and fears, no doubt.
Brian Karem writes at Salon that: “Biden faces a unique and inescapable moment in history. His speech may well be the most scrutinized, most important of any president in my lifetime. That’s not hyperbole. What he says has the potential of changing history for the next several lifetimes – and perhaps longer.”
So no pressure.
Here’s background and prep – but no drinking game – from the New York Times.
And here’s some takes:
*
Beyond the performative partisanship, though, here’s a rundown of the leading legitimate voter concerns Biden is going to have to address, via Pew Research:
*
- The Oakland A’s unveiled renderings of their proposed new ballpark in Las Vegas, prompting comparisons with the Sydney Opera House, or a “spherical armadillo”.
…
March 6:
- Donald Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee for President this morning after Nikki Haley suspended her campaign, which had failed to reach its goal of a baseline average of forty per cent support in last night’s Super Tuesday contests.
- Even as Haley rang up a victory in Vermont’s Republican primary, Trump tightened his hold on the “race” with wins in every other contest. His campaign had expected to tie up the nomination – in delegate numbers – by 19 March, when there will be elections in Florida, Ohio, Arizona, Kansas and Illinois. Trump attacked Haley online, before inviting her supporters to join his campaign. That section of GOP voters could be lost to Trump, however, with President Biden also aiming to pick them off ahead of November.
- As Molly Jong-Fast writes, while Nikki Haley will not be the nominee, “her mere existence [was] a win for the restoration of democracy.”
“Trump may have “won” Super Tuesday, and he will win the GOP nomination, but this is a president who has never once had any interest in growing his base. He is a president for primary voters only.”
Perhaps only slightly surprisingly, Congressional Republicans soon lined up to endorse Trump.
- Trump remains likely to face-off against President Biden in a rematch of 2020, despite record low approval ratings for both candidates eight months out. Tomorrow night’s State of the Union address now takes on a new urgency for Biden.
- After what was described as California’s “most competitive Senate primary in a generation” Democrat Adam Schiff will go up against former Dodger infielder Steve Garvey for the seat vacated by Dianne Feinstein.
- In Alabama, a state Supreme Court Justice who was part of the majority that last week ruled that “embryos are children” won the Republican nomination to be Chief Justice.
- But hey, don’t panic…
***
March 5:
- It’s the busiest single day of the primary election campaign, yet if we’re honest it feels anything but “Super”. Millions of voters are set to turn out in 16 states across every time zone but if anything is sweeping the nation, it’s a profound sense of anti-climax. The most interesting storyline tonight on both sides will likely be turnout and enthusiasm.
Former President Donald Trump is expected to tighten his grip on the GOP nomination ahead of former SC Governor Nikki Haley, although he cannot numerically clinch today. Trump’s likely general election opponent, sitting President Joe Biden, has no serious challenger but continues to face a potentially damaging issue with the numbers of “uncommitted” Democrats.
There will, though, be some interesting down-ballot races, like the contest for the Senate seat previously held by Dianne Feinstein, with three top-tier Democrats going up against former Dodger infielder Steve Garvey.
- More details of the Trump campaign’s ‘fake electors’ scheme in 2020 came out in a lawsuit involving former lawyer and architect of the scheme Kenneth Cheseboro. In any normal political environment it would be jaw-dropping stuff if we didn’t already pretty much come to expect it by now.
- Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democrats to become an Independent in 2022 amid a delicately-balanced upper chamber, announced she would not continue her run for Senate in November. Her decision sets the stage for an expensive two-way contest between Democrat Ruben Gallego and Trump loyalist Republican Kari Lake, the defeated GOP candidate for Governor at the last election.
Read our Q&A with Yvonne Watterson, a former Phoenix-based writer and teacher who got to know Sinema well – ‘We May Lose Or We May Win, But We Will Never Be Here Again’
***
March 4:
- One day before the state primary in Colorado, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Donald Trump could not be excluded from the ballot under the 14th Amendment. The decision was largely expected, and the Court sidestepped any definitive statement that Trump was actually an “insurrectionist”.
But despite the appearance of unanimity, there was some controversy in a statement of “concurrence” by the three liberal justices – and, separately, Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett – about the extent of the Court’s protection of Trump. Justice Barrett urged the Court to “turn the national temperature down, not up.”
- Vice-President Kamala Harris met with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, amid renewed US pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Gantz’s visit to Washington was “not authorised” and “counterproductive”, emphasising the crisis of trust currently surrounding Netanyahu.
- France today became the first country to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution, in part a reaction to the rollback of reproductive rights in the US.
***
March 3:
VP Kamala Harris gave a speech in Selma, Alabama to mark the upcoming anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’ in 1965.
Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it holy…
***
March 2:
The US airdropped humanitarian aid into Gaza for the first time, amid a steadily worsening humanitarian situation.
States of Play 