memeorandum: Titanic Trump: Co-defendants flee sinking MAGA ship (The Hill)

4:00 PM ET, October 25, 2023

Top Items:

Live updates House expected to vote on Republican Mike Johnson as speaker — The House is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to install Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as its speaker. Late Tuesday, Johnson became the fourth Republican pick for the post since the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) three weeks ago.

Washington Post:

5 things to know about Mike Johnson, the GOP's latest House speaker nominee — Republicans in the House of Representatives picked Rep. Mike Johnson (La.), who serves as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, as their fourth nominee for the speakership.

Bethany Irvine / Politico:

Playbook PM: The first MAGA speaker? — Here's one you probably didn't have on your 2023 bingo card: House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON. — After 22 days of speakerless chaos and division (as opposed to the normal chaos and division, which happens with a speaker), Johnson (R-La.) …

Discussion: The Messenger, Fox News, Mother Jones, New York Daily News, Semafor, Florida Politics, Raw Story, Mediaite, Political Wire and Daily Kos

NBC News:

Who is Mike Johnson? Five things to know about the Republican nominee for speaker — The little-known Louisiana Republican says he's optimistic he'll win on the first ballot. — WASHINGTON — The newest Republican nominee for speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., is slated for a vote Wednesday in the full House.

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Post, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Semafor, NBC4 Washington, The Messenger, Mock Paper Scissors, Rolling Stone, Washington Examiner, Political Wire, Florida Politics, The Gateway Pundit and WFLA-TV

Summer Concepcion / NBC News:

GOP speaker nominee Mike Johnson played a key role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election — Johnson, the latest Republican nominee for House speaker, led an amicus brief in support of a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 victory in four battleground states.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Mediaite, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, The Messenger, ABC News, HuffPost, Patterico's Pontifications and Associated Press

Charlie Sykes / The Bulwark:

A Coup on His Resume — A note for historians (and psychologists): … The Bulwark is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. — Trump reminded the GOP that he remains the apex predator in the party.

Discussion: Bloomberg, NBC News and The Dispatch

Punchbowl News:

10/25/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM — We have a new GOP speaker nominee. The fourth in three weeks. And the second in just one day. But this time may be different. — Late Tuesday night, the House Republican Conference tapped Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as its speaker designate.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Semafor, Axios, RedState, The Messenger, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, USA Today, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, The Hill, BizPac Review, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Mock Paper Scissors, The Daily Beast and Political Wire

CNN:

Who is Rep. Mike Johnson, the House GOP's latest speaker nominee? — Rep. Mike Johnson, Republicans' latest nominee to be the next speaker of the House, has been a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and was a key congressional figure in the failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

New York Times:
Johnson Played Leading Role in Effort to Overturn 2020 Election

Discussion: The Messenger, Bloomberg, Raw Story, Florida Politics, New Republic and IJR

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump backs Johnson for House speaker, urges Republicans to vote for him and ‘get it done fast!’

Rachel Schilke / Washington Examiner:
Gaetz backs Johnson as House scrambles to clean up chaos following McCarthy firing

Discussion: Politico, Daily Kos, The Hill, Crooks and Liars, New York Post, The Messenger and Political Wire

Rachael Bade / Politico:
Take four: Can Mike Johnson get 217?

Discussion: emptywheel, Forbes, Sean Hannity, Semafor, Washington Post, The Guardian, CBS News, KRON4, NewsNation, The Messenger, Roll Call and Political Wire

Brent D. Griffiths / Insider:
Republicans shouted down a reporter and told her ‘shut up’ for asking their potential next House speaker about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election

Discussion: New York Times, Iowa Starting Line, LGBTQ Nation, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, New Republic, KSN-TV, Newsweek, The Guardian, Progress Pond, Raw Story and CNN

Washington Post:
Democrats should help elect a credible Republican speaker

Discussion: Vox, Roll Call, New York Times, HotAir, Daily Kos, Los Angeles Times, National Review and PoliticusUSA

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Trump rages as former acolytes turn against him under legal heat — Donald Trump's wealth, power and fame acted like a magnet for new associates keen to enter his orbit. But now, key figures who sought a share of his reflected glory are turning against him to save themselves.

The Hill:

Titanic Trump: Co-defendants flee sinking MAGA ship — The Titanic, then the world's largest ship, was considered unsinkable when it began its maiden voyage in 1912 — until it hit an iceberg and sank. Donald Trump's presidential campaign is considered unstoppable by many today …

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press and Media Matters for America

Jacob Shamsian / Insider:

Sidney Powell pushes claims that 2020 election was rigged and prosecutors ‘extorted’ her after she pleaded guilty to election interference — Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to election interference in Georgia's criminal case last week. — She's still pushing claims that the 2020 election …

Discussion: Raw Story and Media Matters for America

David French / New York Times:
Trump's Lawyers Are Going Down. Is He? — On Tuesday morning, Jenna Ellis became …

Discussion: Bloomberg, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, Reason, New York Daily News, Vanity Fair, Semafor, JONATHAN TURLEY, Blaze Media, One America News Network, CBS News and The Hill

Wall Street Journal:

Israel Agrees to Delay Invasion of Gaza So U.S. Can Rush Missile Defenses to Region — Israel has agreed, for now, to a request from the U.S. to get its air defenses in place to protect U.S. troops in the region ahead of an expected ground invasion of Gaza, U.S. and Israeli officials said.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, HotAir, The Times of Israel, Reuters, inews.co.uk, TASS, BizPac Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, NewsNation, israelhayom.com and Las Vegas Review-Journal

Wall Street Journal:
Israel-Hamas War Updates: Israel Agrees to Delay Gaza Invasion for U.S. Military to Prepare Defenses

Discussion: Reuters, Sean Hannity, The Messenger, National Review and Politico

USA Today:
Biden warns Iran not to attack American troops as Israel-Hamas war continues

Discussion: The Messenger, Associated Press, Washington Examiner and ScheerPost.com

Politico:
Biden is worried about wider war in the Middle East. Here's how it could happen.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Axios, Semafor, Breitbart and Washington Post

Phil Williams / WTVF-TV:

Voters soundly reject Gabrielle Hanson, other MAGA candidates in historic Franklin, Tennessee election — FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — In perhaps the most bizarre race that this picturesque Middle Tennessee community has ever experienced, Franklin voters resoundingly rejected a candidate for mayor …

Discussion: Associated Press, LGBTQ Nation, The Messenger, Raw Story and The Daily Beast

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

It's the culture war, stupid: How Republicans view the presidency — One of the central refrains of Donald Trump's campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — a refrain focused, justifiably, on a general election rematch against President Biden — is that the economy was more robust during his tenure in the White House.

PRRI:
Threats to American Democracy Ahead of an Unprecedented Presidential Election

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, Mock Paper Scissors, The Hill, Breitbart and WITF

Adam Klasfeld / The Messenger:

Trump Hit With $10,000 Fine for Gag Order Violation After Judge Puts Ex-President on Witness Stand and Finds Him ‘Not Credible’ — The former president claimed under oath that he had been referring to his former fixer Michael Cohen, who was on the witness stand throughout the day and the focal point …

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, CBS News, NBC News, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Insider, UPI, Deadline, CNBC, The Guardian and Political Wire

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:

Trump made crude Oval Office remark about fate of Kurds in Syria, book says — Ex-president interrupted briefing to ask why he should ‘give a fuck’ about Kurds amid US troop withdrawal, Adam Kinzinger writes — Donald Trump surprised his own national security adviser and a group …

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Politico:

Republicans pray for an early voting reversal in Virginia — The Republican Party under President Donald Trump has abandoned the practice. Glenn Youngkin is betting Virginia Republicans can be convinced otherwise. — GLEN ALLEN, Va. — Gov. Glenn Youngkin is trying to get Republican voters …

Discussion: National Review, The Hill, Washington Examiner and The Messenger

Washington Post:
Youngkin bets 15-week abortion limit is winner in Virginia and beyond

Discussion: Rolling Stone and Fox News

Adam Shaw / Fox News:

GOP senator demands Biden admin brief Congress on terror watchlist border encounters: ‘There is an invasion’ — ‘There is an invasion at our southern border,’ Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas said — FIRST ON FOX: Legislation being introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Exposing the role …, The American Spectator and The Federalist