memeorandum: The GOP Is in an Abusive Relationship with Trump (Sarah Longwell/Bulwark+)

10:40 AM ET, May 22, 2023

Top Items:

Hugo Lowell / The Guardian:

Trump was warned about retaining classified documents, notes reveal — Exclusive: Unreported warning contained in notes taken by lawyer Evan Corcoran that prosecutors have viewed in recent months — Federal prosecutors have evidence Donald Trump was put on notice that he could not retain …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Alternet.org

Washington Post:

Concerns about Biden's reelection swamped by fear of Trump in swing voter focus groups — “Whatever the step above panicked is, that is what I feel about Trump,” said one of the voters, who picked Trump in 2016 then Biden in 2020 — Nearly all of the 15 gathered swing state voters described …

Discussion: Raw Story and Plain Dealer

Politico:

Key Republican recruits hesitate to jump in if Trump is the nominee — Potential Republican candidates in swing states and districts are reluctant to throw hats into ring. — Less than a month after the midterms, Republican recruiters were already plotting how to persuade …

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, New York Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer

Sarah Longwell / Bulwark+:

The GOP Is in an Abusive Relationship with Trump — WHEN A JURY FOUND Donald Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll, it drove home one of the grosser features of our political era: No amount of contemptible behavior from Donald Trump toward women creates political problems for him with GOP primary voters.

Discussion: Washington Post, Alternet.org and Raw Story

Dennis Aftergut / The Bulwark:
Why Trump Wants U.S. to Default on Debt

Discussion: Morning Shots and The Daily Beast

Mary Margaret Olohan / The Daily Signal:

EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Policy Exposes Fox News Stances on Woke Ideology — FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Fox News employees are allowed to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity, rather than their biological sex, and permitted to dress in alignment with their preferred gender.

Joseph Zeballos-Roig / Semafor:

The central question for Monday's debt ceiling talks — President Biden says he's ready to cut spending in a debt ceiling deal. But how far is he willing to go? — That's one of the questions as he prepares to sit down with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for another critical meeting …

Discussion: Fox News, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, CNN, Washington Post, New York Daily News, The Hill, Bloomberg, USA Today, CNBC, Associated Press and Breitbart

Ezra Klein / New York Times:
Liberals Are Persuading Themselves of a Debt Ceiling Plan That Won't Work

Discussion: National Review, RedState, Associated Press, Alternet.org, DOMEocracy, Robert Reich, Daily Kos and Politico

Reuters:
Biden and McCarthy to meet on Monday as debt ceiling talks resume

Ben Smith / Semafor:

Ron DeSantis shut out the media. That's changing. — The presidential campaign-in-waiting and super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are trying to warm up the governor's cold war with the journalists who cover him. — DeSantis had taken apparent pride in a combative operation …

Discussion: NBC News, Financial Times, Political Wire and WFLA-TV

Associated Press:

Biden gets low ratings on economy, guns, immigration in AP-NORC Poll — As President Joe Biden embarks on his reelection campaign, just 33% of American adults say they approve of his handling of the economy and only 24% say national economic conditions are in good shape …

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, AP-NORC, Breitbart, BizPac Review, JONATHAN TURLEY, CNN, Political Wire and Las Vegas Review-Journal

Politico: Playbook: The case for Tim Scott

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Thune, No. 2 Senate Republican, set to endorse Tim Scott's presidential bid

Discussion: New York Times, HotAir, Vox, Washington Times, CNN, Washington Post, The Messenger, The Hill and Breitbart

Jeffrey Clark / Fox News:

Fetterman wearing ‘hoodies and gym shorts’ in Senate shows ‘robust recovery,’ AP report claims — Fetterman reportedly ‘votes from the doorway’ or a ‘side entrance’ to get around the Senate's strict dress code rules — Sources “close” to Sen. John Fetterman, D.-Penn., are claiming that his trademark …

Discussion: Twitchy

Associated Press:
Back in hoodies and gym shorts, Fetterman tackles Senate life after depression treatment

Discussion: National Review, Louder With Crowder, Twitchy, BizPac Review, Newsbusters, Outside the Beltway and Breitbart

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:

Imagine if the Press Covered the Supreme Court Like Congress — This is a part of Disorder in the Court, a weeklong series on the legal press and the most explosive Supreme Court in generations: how we cover it, how we've failed, and how we can do better. — You can only write …

Discussion: Eschaton

New York Times:

Spying in Mexico Strikes a New Victim: the President's Ally — While looking into abuses by the armed forces, the country's top human rights official was targeted with Pegasus, the world's most notorious spyware, The Times found. — Natalie Kitroeff reported from Mexico City and Ronen Bergman from Tel Aviv.

more at Techmeme »

Bill Whitaker / CBS News:

Weapons contractors hitting Department of Defense with inflated prices for planes, submarines, missiles — With the U.S. supplying billions-of-dollars of munitions to Ukraine and growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, some Pentagon generals are sounding alarms about the dwindling supply of U.S. weapons …

Discussion: Alternet.org

Reuters:

Exclusive: Texts tie DeSantis closely to Trump insider Lev Parnas in 2018 race — Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas and his business partner were arrested in 2019, accused by the U.S. government of funneling a Russian oligarch's money into American political campaigns.

Discussion: The Messenger and Joe.My.God.

Scott Horsley / NPR:

These are some of the people who'll be impacted if the U.S. defaults on its debts — Veterans, seniors and government employees: These are just some of the people who stand to be impacted if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling. — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns …

Public Notice:

The Democratic upset in Jacksonville is a product of the GOP's war on cities — Republican big city mayors are a highly endangered species. That's not a fluke. — ∙ Paid … Last week, Democrat Donna Deegan won an upset mayoral election victory in Jacksonville, Florida …

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Why was this massive Trump scandal hiding in plain sight for 28 months? — It's remarkable, in hindsight, that Donald Trump even showed up for work during the last week of his twisted 45th presidency in January 2021. After all, his fantasies that some sort of coup could overturn …

Discussion: Axios

Washington Post:

As hold on Bakhmut slips, Ukrainian forces push to encircle city — KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces have been reduced to small footholds in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which despite its limited strategic importance has emerged as the war's bloodiest battlefield.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Why Evolution Is True, Bloomberg, Raw Story, NewsNation and NBC News

Wall Street Journal:
Brutal Battle for Bakhmut Leaves Russia With an Uncertain Victory

Discussion: USA Today, NBC News, Institute for the Study of War, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Guardian, The Messenger, Financial Times and Politico

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

When a ‘travel advisory’ is partisan politics — WHEN A ‘TRAVEL ADVISORY’ IS PARTISAN POLITICS. Recently, the NAACP issued what it calls a “formal travel advisory” to warn black people against visiting Florida. “Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” the group said.

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:

First on Fox: Trump ally Sen JD Vance endorses in Ohio's 2024 GOP Senate primary, backing Bernie Moreno — Moreno 1 of 2 major GOP candidates in Ohio Senate primary along with state Sen Matt Dolan — EXCLUSIVE - First-term Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio is weighing in on his state's burgeoning 2024 Senate primary.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Plain Dealer and The Messenger

Sarah McCammon / NPR:

More women sue Texas saying the state's anti-abortion laws harmed them — Eight more women are joining a lawsuit against the state of Texas, saying the state's abortion bans put their health or lives at risk while facing pregnancy-related medical emergencies.

Kellen Browning / New York Times:

Uber's Diversity Chief Put on Leave After Complaints of Insensitivity — The executive hosted sessions about race and being a white woman that were titled “Don't Call Me Karen,” prompting an employee uproar. — Uber has placed its longtime head of diversity, equity and inclusion on leave …

Discussion: Fox News, Gizmodo, Fortune and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »

Julia Mueller / The Hill:

South Carolina Democrats demand apology from GOP governor for ‘hunt them with dogs’ comment — South Carolina Democrats are demanding an apology from the state's Republican Gov. Henry McMaster for comments he made at a South Carolina GOP convention. — According to a Tweet …

Discussion: WCIV