memeorandum: DeSantis Takes Clear Aim at Trump in Nevada, an Important Early State (Neil Vigdor/New York Times)

12:10 PM ET, June 18, 2023

Top Items:

Chip Muir / The Hill:

Nine reasons Biden should pardon Trump — Conventional thinking suggests that under no circumstances would President Joe Biden consider, let alone offer, former President Trump a pardon for the charges in his June 9 indictment. No one has made the suggestion.

Discussion: Breitbart and Power Line

Zolan Kanno-Youngs / New York Times:

As Trump Battles Charges, Biden Focuses on the Business of Governing — The past week appears to provide a blueprint for the way the White House wants to handle the politically touchy subject of former President Donald J. Trump's legal troubles. — Reporting from Philadelphia

Discussion: Washington Examiner, NPR, Al Jazeera, Political Wire, Power Line, UPI, Florida Politics, The Hill and NBC10 Philadelphia

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

Trump's indictment plus candidacy could endanger democracy and the rule of law — The collision of former president Donald Trump's criminal indictment with the presidential campaign could further undermine confidence in democratic principles and institutions of government, experts say

Discussion: CBS News, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and New York Post

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Biden kicks off reelection bid with union rally in Philadelphia

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, Hartford Courant, CNBC, The Hill, Associated Press, RedState, Washington Times, ABC News, CBS News, Washington Examiner, The Messenger, New York Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Axios and Political Wire

Neil Vigdor / New York Times:

DeSantis Takes Clear Aim at Trump in Nevada, an Important Early State — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida avoided mentioning Donald Trump at a G.O.P. fund-raiser in Nevada, but he took clear aim at the former president. — Reporting from Gardnerville, Nev. — In black boots …

Discussion: New York Post, The Nevada Independent, Associated Press, NBC News, The Messenger, The Hill, Florida Politics, Raw Story and Insider

New York Times:

Ron DeSantis Is Young, Has Little Kids and Wants America to Know It — At 44, he is more than three decades younger than Donald Trump and Joe Biden. He is subtly playing up that age gap, even if his right-wing views leave him out of step with many younger voters.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Jonathan Landay / Reuters:

Trump lacked power to declassify secret nuclear arms document, experts say — Even when he was president, Donald Trump lacked the legal authority to declassify a U.S. nuclear weapons-related document that he is charged with illegally possessing, security experts said, contrary to the former U.S. president's claim.

Discussion: Political Wire

The Guardian:

‘They enjoyed this’: Ukrainian woman recounts five-month nightmare of torture and imprisonment — Russian occupiers have unleashed a reign of terror in the city of Enerhodar, detailed here by one survivor of the secret police — Dan Sabbagh and Artem Mazhulin in Zaporizhzhia

Peter Wehner / The Atlantic:

Morality Is for Trump What Colors Are to the Color-Blind — The majority of his enablers, though, still know right from wrong. — Earlier this week, Donald Trump was arraigned in Miami on charges that he willfully retained documents containing some of the nation's most sensitive secrets …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Niall Stanage / The Hill:
The Memo: Trump's legal defenses draw derision — even from some conservatives

Discussion: Orange County Register and ABC News

Ian Austen / New York Times:

Deadnaming Children Would Be Allowed Under School Policy — The leader of New Brunswick, Canada, is pushing his province to roll back a rule that required teachers to use a child's preferred name and pronouns. — For almost two years, the province of New Brunswick has had a policy …

Elizabeth Elkind / Fox News:

Joni Ernst says she knows what Iowans want in a 2024 GOP nominee — Voters want someone who can ‘pull together’ a divided country, Ernst said — Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa says voters want a presidential candidate who can “pull together” a divided country as GOP 2024 hopefuls …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

USA Today:

Exclusive: Support for legal abortion rises a year after Roe v. Wade overturned-Poll — Susan Page Rachel Looker Miles J. HerszenhornUSA TODAY — In what was surely a case of unintended consequences, the landmark Supreme Court decision one year ago overturning Roe v. Wade …

Discussion: Breitbart and Political Wire

Frederick Clarkson / Salon:

“Unfriending” America: The Christian right is coming for the enemies of God — like you and me — Rising far-right Christian movement linked to GOP calls for “kingdom revolution” led by an “army of believers” — “You've got a friend in Pennsylvania!” was the theme of the state's ad campaign to promote tourism in the 1980s.

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Diane Ravitch's blog and Raw Story

Fabiola Cineas / Vox:

The “anti-intellectual attack” on higher ed will take years to undo — Here's what's really behind the right-wing campaign on academic freedom. — Republican lawmakers around the country are moving quickly to remake higher education in their conservative vision.

Discussion: Washington Examiner

New York Times:

Biden Administration Engages in Long-Shot Attempt for Saudi-Israel Deal — The president and his aides are pressing an aggressive diplomatic effort as Riyadh makes significant demands in exchange for normalization, including a nuclear deal and a robust U.S. security pact.

Discussion: Financial Times, Informed Comment, The Times of Israel and Reuters