memeorandum: 'America doesn't want' retribution from Trump, McCarthy says (Kelly Garrity/Politico)

7:30 PM ET, December 10, 2023

Top Items:

Kelly Garrity / Politico:

Trump the ‘human gumball machine’ will ‘impose his will’ on the nation if elected, Romney says — “A thought or a notion comes in and it comes out of his mouth. There's not a lot of filter that goes on,” he said of Trump. — Some Republicans have read former President Donald Trump's comment …

Discussion: The Hill, NBC News, RedState, Associated Press, The Guardian, Axios, Washington Times and Breitbart

Kelly Garrity / Politico:

'America doesn't want' retribution from Trump, McCarthy says — “What President Trump needs to do in this campaign, it needs to be about rebuilding, restoring, renewing America. It can't be about revenge,” McCarthy said. — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has officially pledged …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, New York Post, The Guardian, Raw Story, Business Insider, RedState, The Messenger, USA Today and Associated Press

Robert Costa / CBS News:

Kevin McCarthy on Trump: America doesn't want “retribution” — California Republican Kevin McCarthy holds a place in history as the first-ever Speaker of the House to be voted out of that position. Historic, but looking at how his tenure began, hardly a shock.

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Mercury News, Raw Story and Mediaite

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:
Liz Cheney's plea: ‘Our focus has got to be on defeating Donald Trump’ in 2024

Discussion: Washington Post, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Axios, Breitbart and HuffPost

Eva Surovell / The Messenger:
Mitt Romney Says Joe Manchin Is the 'Joe I'd Like to Vote For' in 2024

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, NBC News and Political Wire

Jason Beeferman / Politico:

Trump defends dictator comments amid NYC soiree filled with MAGA diehards — At an event with key figures within the MAGA movement, the former president repeated comments that he wants to be a dictator on “day one.” — NEW YORK — The chairman of an Austrian political party founded by ex-Nazis …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Hill and New York Times

Politico:

Playbook: Trump doubles down on ‘dictator’ desire — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — At an event last night sponsored by the New York Young Republican Club, DONALD TRUMP unsurprisingly defended his comments at a Fox News town hall …

Discussion: The Messenger, NBC News and Rolling Stone

The Guardian:

Republicans to meet allies of Hungary's Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid — Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán's transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia's war — Allies of Hungary's far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán will hold a closed-door meeting …

Discussion: The Messenger, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Kyiv Independent, Saywhat Politics and Political Wire

George Packer / The Atlantic:
‘We Only Need Some Metal Things’

Discussion: TASS and The Hill

NBC News:

In a reversal, Donald Trump says he will not testify in his own defense in New York fraud trial — Trump was scheduled to take the stand Monday as the months-long $250 million civil fraud trial against him and his company enters its final week. — In an 11th hour reversal …

The Hill:

‘Morally, this is obscene’: GOP divided over stripping compensation for radiation victims from NDAA — The exclusion of a measure to extend compensation for people exposed to radiation from U.S. nuclear testing from the annual defense bill this week marked yet another fracture in the Republican conference.

Discussion: Business Insider

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:

As Fury Erupts Over Campus Antisemitism, Conservatives Seize the Moment — Republicans have been attacking elite universities for years. After a tense congressional hearing last week, many on the left are joining them. — For years, conservatives have struggled to persuade American voters …

Discussion: Why Evolution Is True, Twitchy, Politico, Mother Jones, New York Daily News and The Times of Israel

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Giuliani spread lies about Georgia election workers. A jury will decide what he owes them. — A damages trial begins Monday in a case in which a judge has already ruled that Rudy Giuliani is liable for defamation. — When Rudy Giuliani steps into federal court on Monday …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, emptywheel, The Guardian, New York Times and USA Today

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Jack Smith reveals sweeping scope of bid to debunk Trump election machine claims — In a new filing, his team described interviewing more than a dozen of the top intelligence officials in Trump's administration. — Special counsel Jack Smith on Saturday sharply rejected Donald Trump's contention …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Examiner and Raw Story

Mike McIntire / New York Times:

The Guns Were Said to Be Destroyed. Instead, They Were Reborn. — Communities across the U.S. are fueling a secondary arms market by giving seized and surrendered guns to disposal services that destroy one part and resell the rest. — When Flint, Mich., announced in September …

Discussion: KTVU-TV

Sanjana Karanth / HuffPost:

Antony Blinken Defends Lone U.S. Veto On UN Cease-Fire Resolution For Gaza — The secretary of state also claimed the U.S. cares about protecting Palestinian civilians, but just bypassed Congress to approve more arms sales to Israel. — LOADING — Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, RedState, Associated Press, USA Today, New York Times, UPI, The Hill, NBC News and Al Jazeera

Ry Rivard / Politico:

I Covered Joe Manchin for Years. He Might Not Care If He Sinks Joe Biden. — The senator's brand of centrism helped him survive West Virginia's rapid transformation from blue to red. But it also helped sow the seeds of the Democratic Party's demise back home.

Discussion: Associated Press and The Messenger