memeorandum: McCarthy foes face blowback as primary threats grow and GOP donors shut their wallets (CNN)

1:10 PM ET, February 11, 2024

Top Items:

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:

Trump Encourages Putin to Attack NATO Members — At a rally on Saturday, the former president announced he would tell the Russians “to do whatever the hell they want” to states delinquent in their bills. — Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States and the presumptive Republican nominee …

Discussion: NPR, BBC, The Hill, NBC News, MeidasTouch, Al Jazeera, Axios, PoliticusUSA, Outside the Beltway, Reuters and Raw Story

Kelly Garrity / Politico:

‘Enough to make Reagan ill’: Trump's NATO remarks under fire — “Honestly this seems kinda important,” said Sen. Brian Schatz. — Democrats and some Republicans were quick to condemn Donald Trump after the former president said Saturday night he would “encourage” Russia to attack …

Discussion: Politico, Forbes, Diane Ravitch's blog, Associated Press and Radio Free Europe/Radio …

Edward Helmore / The Guardian:

Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack Nato allies who pay too little — Republican senator Marco Rubio seeks to downplay meaning of remarks as White House describes them as ‘unhinged’ — A Republican senator has sought to calm rising European security anxieties created by Donald Trump …

Discussion: Althouse and Talking Points Memo

Michael Gold / New York Times:

Trump Says He Gave NATO Allies Warning: Pay In or He'd Urge Russian Aggression — Speaking in Conway, S.C., Donald J. Trump said as president he'd told NATO allies that he would urge Russian aggression against countries that owed the military alliance money.

Discussion: The Hill, Vanity Fair, Balloon Juice, Bloomberg, Press Herald, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Gateway Pundit and Political Wire

Kate Sullivan / CNN:

Trump says he would encourage Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want’ to any NATO country that doesn't pay enough — Former President Donald Trump on Saturday said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn't meet spending guidelines …

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, Benzinga, The Hill and Raw Story

Frank Gardner / BBC:

Nato says Trump comments ‘undermine all of our security’ — And so it begins. Nine months still to go before the next US presidential election and already the Republican party favourite and former President Donald Trump is sending eyebrows and blood pressure skywards in Nato capitals with his provocative statements.

Sara Boboltz / HuffPost:

Trump Says He Might ‘Encourage’ Russia To Attack NATO Allies — “You gotta pay your bills,” said the former president notorious for not paying his own bills. — LOADING — Former President Donald Trump delivered an alarming message to U.S. allies during a Saturday rally where he outlined …

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, Newsmax, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Digby's Hullabaloo, Business Insider, New York Times, Republicans … and Sometimes you close your eyes

David Cohen / Politico:

Rubio declines to criticize Trump over comments on Haley's husband — “It's just part of these campaign cycles,” he said. — Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday declined to condemn former President Donald Trump for his rhetoric Saturday about the husband of Republican rival Nikki Haley, a National Guard officer now deployed overseas.

Discussion: The Hill, MeidasTouch, CNN, Raw Story, CBS News, The Daily Beast, Business Insider, Mediaite, RedState, Associated Press, USA Today, KSNG-TV, PoliticusUSA and NewsNation

David Jackson / USA Today:
Donald Trump threatens NATO, says he would ‘encourage’ Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want’

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, NBC News, CNN, UPROXX, The Guardian, Reuters and PoliticusUSA

Andrea Vacchiano / Fox News:
Trump mocks Haley by asking where her deployed husband is: 'Where is he? He's gone'

Discussion: Raw Story, Associated Press and Washington Examiner

Wall Street Journal:
Trump Is Strongest GOP Leader Standing as Johnson, McConnell Take Flak

Discussion: Reuters and HuffPost

NBC News:
Trump asks about whereabouts of Haley's husband, who's serving overseas

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, The Times of Israel, Mediaite, RedState, New York Post and The Gateway Pundit

Shamim Adam / Bloomberg:
NATO Joins White House in Rejecting Trump's Remarks on Alliance

Discussion: Fox News

Marianne LeVine / Washington Post:
Trump suggests he'd disregard NATO treaty, urge Russian attacks on allies

Discussion: Letters from an American, Chicago Tribune and Mock Paper Scissors

CNN:
Trump attacks Haley for absence of her husband, who is deployed

Discussion: Salon, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, The Hill, CBS News, Raw Story, Florida Politics, PoliticusUSA, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Mediaite, Breitbart, Daily Kos, Press Herald, Fox News and Politico

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump Says He'd Encourage Russia to Attack NATO Allies Who Don't Pay

Discussion: New York Times and The Hill

Ron Filipkowski / MeidasTouch: Trump Says He Will Refuse to Honor NATO Treaty

Meredith Deliso / ABC News:

Overwhelming majority of Americans think Biden is too old for another term: POLL — A majority also think Trump is too old for a second term. — President Joe Biden delivers remarks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, 2024.

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, Politico, Washington Times, Associated Press and Political Wire

Politico:

Playbook: ‘Wild’ and ‘dangerous’ Trump upstages ‘elderly’ Biden — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — Yesterday, we laid out the case many prominent Democrats and JOE BIDEN-supporting editorialists are making for the president to exit his …

Just Security:
The Real “Robert Hur Report” (Versus What You Read in the News)

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News and The Bulwark

Josh Meyer / USA Today:
Did special counsel cross the line in bashing Biden's memory? Even some Republicans think so

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Hill, Letters from an American, Raw Story and Politico

Jonathan Alter / OLD GOATS with Jonathan Alter:
Surviving Biden's Brain Freezes

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HotAir, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, The Guardian and New York Times

Rebecca Davis O'Brien / New York Times:
Why the Age Issue Is Hurting Biden So Much More Than Trump

Discussion: Benzinga, Washington Examiner and nationalinterest.org

Axios:
Inside the White House's fight to defend Biden's fitness

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, CNN, Twitchy, The Hill, The Daily Caller, JONATHAN TURLEY, Bloomberg, Benzinga, New York Times, The American Spectator and NBC News

Washington Post:

Biden moving closer to a breach with Netanyahu over war in Gaza — Some of Biden's aides are urging him to publicly criticize the Israeli prime minister as casualties mount — President Biden and his top aides are closer to a breach with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …

Discussion: Reuters, The White House, Raw Story, Benzinga and New York Times

CNN:

McCarthy foes face blowback as primary threats grow and GOP donors shut their wallets — Watch CNN's coverage of the eight House Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy on “Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju” at 11 a.m. ET. — CNN — Donors no longer want to contribute to their campaigns.

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Examiner

Lori Rozsa / Washington Post:

How anarchists in North Carolina rescued books banned in Florida — A bookshop in left-leaning Asheville is now sending children's books back to the Sunshine State — ASHEVILLE, N.C. — When the managers of a small bookstore in this Appalachian mountain town received a call …

Slate:

A State Supreme Court Just Issued Another Devastating Rebuke of the U.S. Supreme Court — The Hawaii Supreme Court handed down a unanimous opinion on Wednesday declaring that its state constitution grants individuals absolutely no right to keep and bear arms outside the context of military service.