memeorandum: Trump's G.O.P. Rivals, Shielding Him, Reveal Their 2024 Predicament (New York Times)

5:55 PM ET, April 1, 2023

Top Items:

Andrew Romano / Yahoo News:

Post-indictment poll: Trump surges to largest-ever lead over DeSantis — But the latest Yahoo News/YouGov survey also shows that most Americans don't think Trump should be allowed to serve as president again if convicted. — Read full article — President of the United States from 2017 to 2021

Discussion: Forbes, RedState, NOQ Report, The Gateway Pundit, Florida Politics, The Post Millennial, Althouse and NBC News

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Trump and Fox News, Twin Titans of Politics, Hit With Back-to-Back Rebukes — Donald Trump's criminal indictment and Fox News's civil trial have nothing in common, but, combined, they delivered a rare reckoning for two forces that have transformed politics.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast and CNN, more at Mediagazer »

Ankush Khardori / New York Times:

Trump's Prosecution Has Set a Dangerous Precedent — You were probably not alone if the news of Donald Trump's indictment seemed slightly strange: How could something so big — the first criminal indictment of an American president — seem so small? — Mr. Trump was not indicted for his efforts …

Discussion: El País, Bipartisan Report, New Republic, Semafor and Wall Street Journal

Erik Larson / Bloomberg:

Trump Weighs Asking to Move NY Criminal Case to Staten Island — Former President Donald Trump's legal team is considering asking to move his criminal case from Manhattan to the more conservative New York borough of Staten Island out of concern that he won't be able to get a fair trial, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Insider, Washington Examiner, Political Wire, KNSD-TV, NBC News and Chicago Tribune

James Gordon / Daily Mail:

Bill Barr says Trump indictment is ‘held together by chicken wire,’ clams its legal theory as ‘pathetically weak’ and a clearly political move that will ‘not end well’ for the country — Former Attorney General Bill Barr called Trump's indictment ‘an abomination’ and ‘the epitome of the abuse of prosecutorial power’

Discussion: Fox News, BizPac Review, Just The News, RedState, The Mahablog, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and The Hill

New York Times:

Trump's G.O.P. Rivals, Shielding Him, Reveal Their 2024 Predicament — Many of Donald Trump's potential opponents snapped into line behind him, showing just how hard it may be to persuade Republican voters to choose an alternative. — Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida took a measured dig …

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story, The Hill, Mediaite, New York Magazine, LGBTQ Nation, NBC New York, Florida Politics and The Daily Beast

Washington Post:

Shocked and defiant: How Trump is responding to unprecedented indictment — Since a grand jury issued charges related to hush money to an adult film star, the former president has cycled through a range of emotions and postures. — Hours after a Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday afternoon …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jared Gans / The Hill:

Jeb Bush questions Trump indictment, says jury should be ‘the voters’ — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who ran for president in 2016, questioned the indictment that the Manhattan grand jury issued against former President Trump on Thursday, saying the jury in deciding the case should be “the voters.”

Discussion: Washington Times, Florida Politics, PrawfsBlawg, PIX11, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller and The Economist

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:

Why The World Looks at the Trump Case and...Yawns — It is hard to find a major country as reluctant to require its leaders to face the legal music as we have been. … In the eyes of the world's media, the indictment of Donald Trump was not the big freaking deal many Americans might expect.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Hill and Los Angeles Times

Politico:
‘Delay, delay, delay’: How Trump could push his trial into the heart of campaign season

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Mediaite, Political Wire and Forbes

Insider:
Trump surges to a 26-point lead over Ron DeSantis in the 2024 GOP presidential primary post-indictment: poll

Discussion: Florida Politics and Political Wire

New York Times:
How Alvin Bragg Resurrected the Case Against Donald Trump

Discussion: CNN, The Dispatch, Breitbart, Washington Times, Associated Press, Forbes, The Federalist and NewsNation

David French / New York Times:
The Rule of Law Now Depends on Republicans

Discussion: The Bulwark, Townhall, Florida Phoenix, New Republic and HotAir

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
Trump's Legal Problems Are Putting the GOP in a Vise

Discussion: New York Times, Erick Erickson's Show Notes and Bloomberg

Washington Post:
The unhinged GOP defense of Trump is the real ‘test’ for our democracy

Discussion: jihadwatch.org, HuffPost, New York Post, Newsbusters, New York Times, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, JONATHAN TURLEY, Breitbart and Senator Vance

Associated Press:
Trump Faces At Least 1 Felony Charge In Manhattan Case: Report

Discussion: Associated Press, Insider, USA Today, Voice of America, Spectrum News NY1, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, New York Daily News, NewsNation, Bangor Daily News, Political Wire, Wisconsin Law Journal, Joe.My.God. and Washington Post

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
Trump ‘finally won the popular vote’: The View gloats after former president's indictment

Discussion: Fox News, New York Magazine, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Insider, IJR and The Daily Beast

Brad Reed / Raw Story:
Former Trump employees secretly cheering ‘wonderful news’ of his indictment: Maggie Haberman

Discussion: Insider, Mediaite, Alternet.org, HuffPost, Mock Paper Scissors, Boston Herald, CBS News, NPR, Crooks and Liars, The Moderate Voice, Mother Jones and Washington Post

Jason Willick / Washington Post:
How ‘no one is above the law’ became anti-Trump sloganeering

Discussion: Colorado Public Radio, Issues & Insights and CBS News

CNN:

Judge orders books removed from Texas public libraries due to LGBTQ and racial content must be returned within 24 hours — A federal judge in Texas ruled that at least 12 books removed from public libraries by Llano County officials, many because of their LGBTQ and racial content …

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation, New York Daily News, KXAN-TV and The Texas Tribune

Wall Street Journal:

How Disney Dodged Ron DeSantis and Kept Control of Its Florida Land — 'Disney didn't do anything secret' in securing key approvals before governor's new board gained oversight — Disney's Special Tax District, Explained — Disney's Special Tax District, Explained

Discussion: Slate, Fox News, BizPac Review, LGBTQ Nation, Washington Examiner, New York Post and Law & Crime

Tami Luhby / CNN:

These 5 states will be the first to kick residents off Medicaid starting in April — Millions of Americans are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage in coming months, but residents in Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire and South Dakota will be the first to bear the brunt of the terminations.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Alternet.org, NBC 6 South Florida, NewsNation, Chicago Tribune, CBS News and Los Angeles Times

Tony Diver / Telegraph:

Joe Biden will not attend King's Coronation — US president will not join world leaders but may send first lady in show of support for Charles III — Joe Biden will not attend the King's Coronation next month, The Telegraph understands. — The US president is “not expected” …

Discussion: TMZ.com, New York Post, BizPac Review, Mother Jones, Breitbart, Joe.My.God., Just The News, Deadline and The Sun

Victor Swezey / The Daily Beast:

WATCH: One Trump Lawyer Shades Another on Live TV — FRIENDLY FIRE — Facing an array of legal challenges from New York to Washington and Georgia, the least former President Donald Trump could ask for is to have his own defense lawyers on the same page. That clearly wasn't the case on Saturday …

Discussion: Raw Story, Politico, Mediaite, The Hill, NewsNation, NPR, CBS News, TODAY.com, BizPac Review, Axios, USA Today, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Peoria | WMBD AM & FM, Insider, Fox News, IJR, Washington Times and New Republic

Renee DiResta / Renee's Substack:

Fiction vs Reality: My Texts with Michael Shellenberger — For several months earlier this year, I'd been chatting with Michael Shellenberger about the Twitter Files. He'd reached out to me in a Twitter DM on December 30th, telling me he wanted to better understand social media content moderation and transparency policy.

Discussion: RedState

Daniel De / The Hill:

One in four college applicants avoids entire states for political reasons — A new survey, drawing notice in academia, shows that 1 in 4 applicants decided against applying to a college this year solely because of the politics in its state. — The finding, long rumored in college admissions circles …

Washington Post:

He was released from prison. Florida wants him sent back for life. — For Crosley Green, freedom has been about things big and small: Getting to soak up time with his now-grown children and their children. Being able to eat his favorite ice cream — strawberry — whenever he wants.

Alan Feuer / New York Times:

Inside the F.B.I.'s Jan. 6 Investigation of the Proud Boys — A log of messages shows how agents scrambled after evidence and sought to recruit members of the group all while trying to squeeze in workouts and cope with the bureau's obsolete technology. — In March 2021, two months …

Jonathan Freedland / The Guardian:

Netanyahu is leading a coup against his own country. But the threat is not only to Israel — As one door slid open for Northern Ireland 25 years ago, another was sliding shut for Israel and Palestine - and disaster followed — ven before the freshly acquitted Gwyneth Paltrow gave us …

Discussion: Fox News

David Weigel / Semafor:

How Wisconsin Democrats learned to play hardball in the country's biggest judicial election — MADISON, Wis. - Daniel Kelly described the crimes in grisly detail. One man had violated his cousin “in the most personal, intimate way.” Another filmed the rape of a 13-year old girl for Facebook.