memeorandum: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests covid was designed to spare Jews, Chinese people (Ruby Cramer/Washington Post)

2:55 PM ET, July 16, 2023

Top Items:

Playbook: DeSantis in disarray? — Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — NEW J-MART FROM ATLANTIC CITY — “No-Show Republicans Shun NGA”: “There are 26 Republican governors. Three of them showed up here this week at the annual summer meeting of the National Governors Association.

Politico:

Here's who won, and lost, and face-planted in the presidential money race last quarter — Nearly every candidate's fundraising came with a caveat. — Ron DeSantis has money problems. — Tim Scott is on a bit of a spending binge. — Rich candidates are parting with their money, while also-rans are struggling to break through.

Discussion: The Messenger, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, Washington Post, NBC News, Florida Politics, CNN, RedState, Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Daily Caller and New York Post

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

DeSantis campaign sheds staff amid cash crunch — Fewer than 10 staffers were let go Thursday, according to a person familiar with the campaign. — Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign is shedding staff as it navigates a cash crunch. — Fewer than 10 staffers were let go by the Florida …

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Beast, Insider, National Review, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, ABC News, Just The News, Mediaite, Florida Politics, The National Pulse+, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Sacramento Bee and Bloomberg

NBC News:

Ron DeSantis' campaign finances have some flashing warning signs — Most of DeSantis' money came from donors who “maxed out” and can't give again, as small donations have been a struggle for Trump's GOP challengers. — WASHINGTON — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped out top donors …

Discussion: Insider, Bloomberg, The Hill, Mother Jones, Washington Post, New York Post, Rolling Stone and Political Wire

NBC News:

Ron DeSantis fires roughly a dozen staffers in a campaign shake-up — The Florida governor has struggled to break into Trump's lead and his campaign has been burning through money. — Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign has fired roughly a dozen staffers — and more are expected …

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Post, Mother Jones, Rolling Stone, Crooks and Liars, Deadline, Florida Politics, USA Today, The Gateway Pundit, The Messenger, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Political Wire and HotAir

CNN:

Early alarm bells for DeSantis as Pence falls behind: Takeaways from new campaign finance reports — The first full financial look at the 2024 presidential race came into focus over the weekend as candidates filed campaign finance reports with federal regulators.

Discussion: USA Today, Florida Politics, Politico and Associated Press

CNN:
Ron DeSantis to sit down with CNN's Jake Tapper for an exclusive interview Tuesday

Discussion: Florida Politics, PoliticusUSA and Sun-Sentinel

Ruby Cramer / Washington Post:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests covid was designed to spare Jews, Chinese people — Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advanced a dangerous conspiracy theory this week that the coronavirus could have been a bioweapon “deliberately targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews …

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN, The Atlantic, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Victory Girls Blog, Mediaite, Raw Story, Public, Digby's Hullabaloo, Balloon Juice, Politico, The Hill, NBC News, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and National Review

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Covid Remarks Raise Questions of Antisemitism — The long-shot candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination has a history of embracing conspiracy theories. His latest comments claimed the virus spared certain ethnic and religious groups.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Post, Althouse, Twitchy, RedState, The Messenger, TMZ.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Gateway Pundit and Mother Jones

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:

Trump's outbursts met with silence so far by prosecutor, judge — Other defendants might get in trouble for publicly calling the prosecutor a deranged drug user. Not Donald Trump. — Since his indictment last month on charges of withholding classified documents, former president Donald Trump …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Western Journal and The Messenger

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Trump praises judge overseeing his classified documents case, saying she ‘loves our country’ — Former President Trump praised the judge overseeing his classified documents case as his legal team seeks a postponement of his trial in Florida. — Trump's motion for a continuance of the trial …

Discussion: The Messenger and Washington Times

ABC News:

7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes near Alaska Peninsula, prompting tsunami advisory — A tsunami advisory was in effect in some coastal areas, NWS officials said. — A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck near the Alaska Peninsula late Saturday. — The quake prompted the National Weather Service …

Discussion: KTUU, Associated Press, UPI, ZeroHedge News, Metro.co.uk, Fox News, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, KRON4, Reuters and TASS

Brad Brooks / Reuters:

US heatwave: high temperatures forecast, northeast braces for rain — Nearly a quarter of the population in the U.S. is under warnings for extreme heat on Sunday, while an already rain-soaked New England braces for more downpours, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

Benjamin Lindsay / The Wrap:

Democratic Lobby Group Airs Steamy Sex Scene Takedown of GOP: ‘Keep Republicans Out of Your Bedroom’ (Video) — The political ad comes from Progress Action Fund and asks Ohioans to vote no on the controversial State Issue 1 — In what might be the subjectively raciest political ad ever …

Discussion: HotAir

Dharna Noor / The Guardian:

Big oil quietly walks back on climate pledges as global heat records tumble — Energy firms have made record profits by increasing production of oil and gas, far from their promises of rolling back emissions — It was probably the Earth's hottest week in history earlier this month …

Discussion: Cafe Hayek, The Hill and The Daily Caller