memeorandum: You Are Helping Trump — THE PRE-PRIMARY YEAR is winding down and clarity is coming to the Republican presidential race. (Mike Murphy/The Bulwark)

1:30 PM ET, October 30, 2023

Top Items:

How Trump's Verbal Slips Could Weaken His Attacks on Biden's Age — Donald Trump, 77, has relentlessly attacked President Biden, 80, as too old for office. But the former president himself has had a series of gaffes that go beyond his usual freewheeling style.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, The Bulwark, The Signorile Report, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, Breitbart and New York Post

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Trump maintains commanding lead in Iowa poll — Nikki Haley is tied with Ron DeSantis for second place in the NBC/Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey as Trump's backers remain the most committed. — Former President Donald Trump now leads his nearest Republican rivals by nearly 30 points in Iowa …

Discussion: Fox News, Des Moines Register, Washington Examiner, Reuters, Politico, The Guardian, The Hill, One America News Network, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Associated Press, The Messenger, New Jersey Globe and Political Wire

Brianne Pfannenstiel / Des Moines Register:

Donald Trump builds on big lead as Nikki Haley pulls even with Ron DeSantis in Iowa Poll — A Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows 43% of likely Republican caucusgoers pick Trump as their first choice for president, with DeSantis and Haley tied for second at 16%

Discussion: New York Magazine, Mediaite, Washington Post, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, The Dispatch, The Post Millennial, New York Times, PJ Media, The Daily Caller, Florida Politics, The Messenger and Political Wire

Mike Murphy / The Bulwark:

You Are Helping Trump — THE PRE-PRIMARY YEAR is winding down and clarity is coming to the Republican presidential race. While it is true that New Hampshire's and Iowa's primary voters only start to focus in the ten weeks before their January contests, it is also true that the holiday season must …

Discussion: Raw Story

Maggie Astor / New York Times:

Colorado Trial Will Consider Whether the 14th Amendment Disqualifies Trump — While some prominent constitutional experts argue that a clause in the amendment applies to former President Donald J. Trump after Jan. 6, that view is far from universal among legal scholars.

Discussion: Vox, Civil Discourse …, USA Today, The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Roll Call, Associated Press, Raw Story, Colorado Public Radio, The Colorado Sun, Political Wire and The Guardian

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News: DOJ seeks 10 years for Trump appointee who assaulted officers on Jan. 6

Summer Concepcion / NBC News:
Trial begins on whether Trump should be kept off the 2024 ballot in Colorado

Discussion: Associated Press, Denver Post, Forbes and The Guardian

Hannah Knowles / Washington Post:
Spurned by moderates and MAGA: How DeSantis's coalition has deflated

Discussion: Mediaite and The Messenger

Ella Lee / The Hill:
Rep. Eric Swalwell to testify in Trump 14th Amendment disqualification trial

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Trump flubs Iowa city for South Dakota city in campaign misstep

Discussion: Newsweek, Politico, Washington Examiner and The Messenger

New York Times:
Trump's Children Are Set to Take the Stand at His Fraud Trial This Week

Discussion: Mother Jones

Katherine Faulders / ABC News:
Judge reinstates Trump gag order in Jan. 6 case

Discussion: Reuters, Rolling Stone, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Messenger, BizPac Review, UPI, The Guardian, The Hill, CNN and Insider

Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Federal Judge Reinstates Gag Order on Trump in Election Case

Discussion: NPR, Vanity Fair, Washington Times, New Republic, The Hill, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Political Wire and The Messenger

The Daily Beast:
Trump Forgets Which City He Is in During Iowa Campaign Speech

Discussion: Associated Press, National Review, The Messenger, HuffPost, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, The Hill, The Post Millennial, Washington Examiner, Breitbart and Crooks and Liars

Darren Samuelsohn / The Messenger:
Trump's Gag Order Reinstated in D.C.

Discussion: CNN, PoliticusUSA, Politico, One America News Network, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Mediaite, Forbes, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Raw Story, NBC News, Bloomberg, Political Wire and Breitbart

Josephine Harvey / HuffPost:

‘Chilling’: Dem Lawmaker Says She Had Election-Denying Exchange With Mike Johnson — Rep. Madeleine Dean said Johnson managed to become House speaker because “very few people knew him or knew what he stands for.” — LOADING — Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) described new House Speaker Mike Johnson …

Discussion: The Weekly Sift, Raw Story, Political Wire, The Colorado Sun and Boston Herald

Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:

The Christofascism of Mike Johnson — The new House speaker is an opposition researcher's goldmine. … It took Mike Johnson just a couple days last week to rise from a relatively obscure Louisiana congressman to House speaker. Suffice it to say his background and policy positions …

Discussion: New York Times and Fox News

Burgess Everett / Politico:

McConnell goes all out as Ukraine fight fractures GOP — His intense lobbying effort puts the Senate GOP leader at odds with his new House counterpart, Speaker Mike Johnson. — Mitch McConnell is abandoning his typically cautious style when it comes to aiding Ukraine …

Discussion: Punchbowl News, The Hill, The Messenger, CNN, Raw Story, Political Wire, PoliticusUSA, USA Today and Washington Times

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:

Kevin McCarthy gets MAGA primary challenger — Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is getting a primary challenger in his reelection race for his House seat representing the state's 20th congressional district. — David Giglio, who previously lost a congressional bid for the state's 13th district …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Political Wire

Brent D. Griffiths / Insider:

Kelly Johnson, who is married to House Speaker Mike Johnson, practices an ancient form of Christian counseling that classifies people into ‘choleric’, ‘phlegmatic,’ and other personality types purportedly ordained by God — Kelly Johnson, the wife of House Speaker Mike Johnson, was a Christian therapist.

Discussion: PinkNews

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Speaker Mike Johnson's corporate backers — Last Wednesday, Republicans selected Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the next Speaker of the House. Johnson is the most radical member ever selected as Speaker, championing a host of far-right causes. Some experts describe Johnson's views …

Discussion: Deseret News, Raw Story, Financial Times, Politico and Fox News

University Statements:

Antisemitic threats to our community — Dear members of the Cornell community, — Earlier today, a series of horrendous, antisemitic messages threatening violence to our Jewish community and specifically naming 104 West — the home of the Center for Jewish Living — was posted on a website unaffiliated with Cornell.

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Post, NBC News, HotAir, The Cornell Daily Sun, BizPac Review, New York Post, Exposing the role …, The Times of Israel, New York Daily News, WSVN 7News, Twitchy, The Cornell Review, Reason, IJR, Althouse, The Messenger and WIVT

Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:

Attorney General Ken Paxton's securities fraud trial set for April 15 — The charges stem from accusations that in 2011 Paxton tried to solicit investors in a McKinney technology company without disclosing that it was paying him to promote its stock. The attorney general has pleaded not guilty.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Messenger, Associated Press, KXAN-TV, KHOU-TV and Political Wire

Laura Vozzella / Washington Post:

Youngkin ‘purge’ removed nearly 3,400 legal Virginia voters from rolls — RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin's elections team has admitted in the run-up to pivotal General Assembly elections that it removed nearly 3,400 qualified voters from the state's rolls, far higher than the administration's previous estimate of 270.

Discussion: Political Wire and PolitiFact

CBS News:

Hundreds storm airport in Russia in antisemitic riot over arrival of plane from Israel — Hundreds of people stormed into the main airport in Russia's Dagestan region and onto the landing field Sunday, chanting antisemitic slogans and seeking passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv …

Discussion: RedState, New York Daily News, Human Events, The Times of Israel, TMZ.com, NPR, Politico, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, TASS, Reuters, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Fox News, Mediaite, The Messenger, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Algemeiner.com

Jerusalem Post:
Russians storm airport in attempt to attack passengers of Israeli flight

Washington Post:

Mike Johnson's first big test — Good morning, Early Birds. How many Barbies did you see at Halloween parties over the weekend? We're okay with it. Tips: earlytips@washpost.com. Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here. Thanks for waking up with us.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CBS News, Big League Politics and Political Wire