memeorandum: Trump Promises to Continue Presidential Campaign if Indicted, Then Delivers a Snoozy CPAC Speech (Peter Wade/Rolling Stone)

3:26 AM ET, March 5, 2023

Top Items:

Laura Jedeed / New Republic:

The Sad, Desolate Scenes of CPAC 2023 — “It's so great to see everyone here, and it's so great to see a packed house, too!” — It is approximately 11:15 AM in Washington DC, and investigative reporter Sara Carter is lying. The house is never crowded this early on the first day of CPAC …

Discussion: The Guardian, The Hill, The Mahablog, Washington Times, ABC News and Mediaite

New York Times:

Trump Says He Would Stay in 2024 Race if Indicted — Donald Trump says he “wouldn't even think about” dropping out of the race for the White House if he's indicted. The former president has increasingly used his campaign as a cudgel against investigators.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Vanity Fair, IJR, Political Wire, Insider and Washington Post

New York Times:

Eyeing DeSantis, Trump Readies for a Long Primary Battle — Donald Trump will be basking in affection from activists at CPAC on Saturday. But his campaign is preparing for an ugly, protracted primary fight for the nomination. — OXON HILL, Md. — Inside the MAGA-clad corridors …

Discussion: Axios, NBC News, The Atlantic, Politico, Mediaite, Digby's Hullabaloo, Twitchy, Election Law Blog, Raw Story and PoliticusUSA

Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:

At CPAC, A Call For Trans People To Be ‘Eradicated’ Gets Big Cheers — The conservative movement's annual confab was creepily obsessed with trans kids and showcased the GOP's alarming and intensifying anti-trans rhetoric. — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Thousands of conservatives …

Discussion: Mother Jones, RedState, Advocate and Washington Examiner

Peter Wade / Rolling Stone:

Trump Promises to Continue Presidential Campaign if Indicted, Then Delivers a Snoozy CPAC Speech — “I wouldn't even think of leaving,” Trump said when asked whether he would drop out of the presidential race if he is charged criminally … “I wouldn't even think of leaving [the race],” Trump responded.

Discussion: Politico, Vox, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, The Guardian and Insider

S.V. Date / HuffPost:

Trump To His Followers: ‘I Am Your Retribution’ — OXON HILL, Md. — Donald Trump returned to a Conservative Political Action Conference recast in his image Saturday, capping a three-day agenda heavy with adoration for the coup-attempting former president but considerably less-well attended …

Discussion: The Hill, ABC News, Mediaite and The Guardian

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Trump easily wins CPAC straw poll

Discussion: Semafor, Fox News, CBS News, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, Washington Times, Night Light, Breitbart, Mediaite, Just The News, Washington Post, New York Post and Political Wire

Associated Press:
Trump says an indictment would not end presidential campaign

Nancy Cook / Bloomberg:
Between Rounds of Golf, Trump's Searching for the Perfect DeSantis Diss

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Digby's Hullabaloo, Florida Politics, Raw Story and HotAir

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Inside the Panic at Fox News After the 2020 Election — “If we hadn't called Arizona,” said Suzanne Scott, the network's chief executive, according to a recording reviewed by The New York Times, “our ratings would have been bigger.” — WASHINGTON — A little more than a week …

Discussion: Insider and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Francis Wilkinson / Bloomberg:

Fox News Is Trapped by Its Own Zealotry — The HBO drama “Succession” might be a fictional corollary to the machinations of Rupert Murdoch's Fox empire. But when it comes specifically to Fox News, “The Righteous Gemstones,” an HBO show about a family managing its skeevy, sprawling, megachurch business may be a more apt model.

Discussion: Oregonian, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, Fortune and Let's Fix This Country, more at Mediagazer »

WDTN-TV:

Residents told to shelter in place after Norfolk Southern train derails in Springfield — Editor's Note: The intersection of the road closed has been corrected. We apologize for the error. — SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WDTN) — A Norfolk Southern train derailed in Clark County on Saturday …

Discussion: CBS News, Fox News, Plain Dealer, NBC Chicago, The Gateway Pundit, WGN-TV, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and WKBN-TV

Jacob Solis / The Nevada Independent:

Monroe-Moreno elected NV Dems chair, ousts democratic socialist incumbent — Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Monroe (D-Las Vegas) was elected chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party Saturday, ousting incumbent chair Judith Whitmer in a vote of 314-99 — a rebuke of Whitmer's leadership ahead …

Discussion: The Hill

Natasha Korecki / NBC News:
Democratic socialists swept out of power in Nevada

Discussion: The Hill and The Daily Beast

Katie Hawkinson / The Daily Beast:

Michael Knowles Says Transgenderism Must Be ‘Eradicated’ at CPAC — The transphobic tirade at the Conservative Political Action Conference prompted horror from a variety of people, with many calling the comment ‘genocidal.’ — Michael Knowles—right-wing political commentator associated …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Peter Wade / Rolling Stone: CPAC Speaker Calls for Transgenderism to Be ‘Eradicated’

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Trump Asks Judge to Block Pence's Testimony to Grand Jury — The former president's lawyers cited executive privilege, a tactic they have used with other ex-Trump aides. — Former President Donald J. Trump has filed a motion asking a federal judge to prevent his former vice president …

Discussion: CNN and L.A.'s Newsletter

CNN:
Trump seeks to block Pence's grand jury testimony in 2020 election interference probe

Discussion: USA Today, Millennial Opinion, Mediaite, Raw Story, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner and Washington Post

Bar Peleg / Haaretz:

‘Good Evening, Anarchists and Terrorists’ | Record Number of Israelis Protest Against Netanyahu's Judicial Coup — Despite the force used by police against protesters on Wednesday, up to 150,000 people arrived to the central Tel Aviv demonstration ■ Police use water cannons against Tel Aviv protesters who blocked highway

Discussion: Al Jazeera, The Times of Israel and Reuters

Josh Breiner / Haaretz:
Israeli Pro-democracy Protests Enter Ninth Week as Police Ramp Up Forces in Tel Aviv

Discussion: The Times of Israel

Annie Karni / New York Times:

Former Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway and George Conway Are Planning to Divorce — The political odd couple had bewildered Washington when Ms. Conway was serving as an adviser to President Donald J. Trump and her husband was one of his fiercest critics. — WASHINGTON — Kellyanne Conway …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, The Guardian, Associated Press, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Insider, The Hill, Alexander COVID News …, The Sun, Mediaite, New York Daily News and Crooks and Liars

The Daily Beast:
Kellyanne Conway's Hubby Confirms Divorce After Spat With Trump

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Judy Heumann:

The World Mourns the Passing of Judy Heumann, Disability Rights Activist — Judith “Judy” Heumann (1947-2023) — Judith “Judy” Heumann—widely regarded as “the mother” of the disability rights movement—passed away in Washington, D.C. on the afternoon of March 4, 2023.

Discussion: NPR and The Hill

Steven Beschloss / America, America:

How Has Fox News Infected Your World? — You have a chat with a friend, a family member, a neighbor, a co-worker, maybe a guy sitting next to you at a bar. You hear their love for Donald Trump and their hatred for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. You learn they think Biden should be impeached …

Discussion: Breitbart, Raw Story and National Review

Erin Woo / The Information:

Musk Delayed Paying Twitter's Amazon Cloud Bill, Sparking Ad Threat — Elon Musk is running into an obstacle in his relentless drive to cut costs at Twitter: some of the same vendors that Twitter is squeezing to save money are also its advertising clients. — As recently as last month …

Discussion: Ghosts of Plum Run, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Wall Street Journal and Politico

Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert / Insider:

Florida courts could take ‘emergency’ custody of kids with trans parents or siblings — even if they live in another state — Florida Senate Bill 254 would grant courts emergency custody of kids who receive gender-affirming care. — The bill, introduced Friday, would also allow …

Nicky Robertson / CNN:

Texas GOP censures Republican congressman for ‘lack of fidelity’ to party principles and priorities — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas was censured Saturday by the state GOP for “for lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities,” the party announced.

Discussion: Republican Party of Texas, Axios, The Texas Tribune, NBC News, Associated Press, Fox News, Washington Examiner, UPI, Vanity Fair and The Hill

Hayden Vernon / The Guardian:

Russian minister's claim Ukraine war ‘launched against us’ met with laughter — Sergei Lavrov says Moscow ‘trying to stop’ war in remarks at India's Raisina Dialogue conference — Comments by Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, were met with laughter at an international conference in India …

Discussion: NPR, Washington Examiner, Insider and Washington Post

Katelyn Burns / Xtra Magazine:

The obsession cis people have with trans people's genitals is out of control … Content warning: this article discusses the topics of sexual assault and violence. — Have you ever been in a social situation where you're pretty sure someone nearby is speculating about what your genitals are like?

Discussion: Rolling Stone