memeorandum: Biden campaign dispatching two ex-Capitol police officers to Arizona to warn about Trump (Dan Nowicki/USA Today)

1:00 PM ET, May 28, 2024

Top Items:

Dems in full-blown ‘freakout’ over Biden — One adviser to major Democratic donors keeps a running list of reasons Biden could lose. — A pervasive sense of fear has settled in at the highest levels of the Democratic Party over President Joe Biden's reelection prospects …

Discussion: CNBC, Washington Examiner, RedState, Breitbart, New York Post, The Daily Caller, KSNG-TV, New Jersey Online, Mediaite, IJR, Fox News and Wall Street Journal

New York Times:

Eyeing Trump, but on the Fence: How Tuned-Out Voters Could Decide 2024 — Politically disengaged Americans are increasingly Trump-curious, but President Biden has a shot at winning some of them back. Reaching them in a changed media environment will be his challenge.

Discussion: Business Insider

Politico:

Trump trial ends, Biden alarm accelerates — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — FULL-BLOWN ‘FREAKOUT’ — Chris Cadelago, Sally Goldenberg and Elena Schneider take the pulse of top Democratic strategists and elected officials and report that …

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway and Sun-Sentinel

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
The first Biden-Trump debate of 2024 features new fights between old rivals

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

EXCLUSIVE: Florida educators trained to teach students Christian nationalism — Training materials produced by the Florida Department of Education direct middle and high school teachers to indoctrinate students in the tenets of Christian nationalism, a right-wing effort to merge Christian and American identities.

Discussion: 24sight News, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:

Live Updates: Defense Urges Jurors Not to Believe ‘Lies’ in Trump's Criminal Trial — Closing arguments have begun in the trial of Donald J. Trump, who faces 34 felony counts in connection with a hush-money payment to a porn star before the 2016 election. The jury could have the case by Wednesday.

Discussion: Gizmodo, The Bulwark, CBS News, Forbes, Axios, NBC News, The Mahablog and Political Wire

Harry Davies / The Guardian:

Revealed: Israeli spy chief ‘threatened’ ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry — Mossad director Yossi Cohen personally involved in secret plot to pressure Fatou Bensouda to drop Palestine investigation, sources say — The former head of the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency …

Discussion: Al Jazeera, The Times of Israel, Mediaite, The New Arab and Middle East Monitor

Frank LaRose / Wall Street Journal:

Don't Blame Me for Biden's Ballot Problem — It's my duty as Ohio's chief elections officer to uphold the law. — In Ohio we say that if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes. The same can be said lately of our politics. — The Democratic Party's antics after its failure …

Discussion: The Hill, Ohio Capital Journal, Washington Examiner and IJR

Karen Townsend / HotAir:

Theatre Apologizes for Actor Richard Dreyfuss Exercising His First Amendment Rights — A theatre in Massachusetts apologized for doing an event with actor Richard Dreyfuss on Saturday night. The nattering nabobs on social media are trying to cancel Dreyfuss so The Cabot Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts issued an apology.

Discussion: The Guardian, CBS News, Page Six, New York Post, World of Reel, Mediaite, New York Daily News, The Hollywood Reporter, RedState, Breitbart, Deadline, Variety, The Daily Beast and TMZ.com

Robert Downen / The Texas Tribune:

At Texas GOP convention, Republicans call for spiritual warfare — At the three-day convention, delegates moved the needle further to the right, preaching Christian nationalism and approving rules that would give them unprecedented control of elections. — SAN ANTONIO — From his booth …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and NewsNation

Dan Nowicki / USA Today:

Biden campaign dispatching two ex-Capitol police officers to Arizona to warn about Trump — Two former police officers who came under attack from a pro-Trump mob in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot are coming to Arizona to warn about the possible political violence that might follow former …

Discussion: CNN, NBC News, HuffPost, CBS News, ABC News, Washington Examiner and New Jersey Online

Brittany Gibson / Politico:

Republicans irked that Herschel Walker is sitting on millions in unspent campaign funds — They say his money could go a long way to help the GOP. — Few are clamoring for Herschel Walker's return to politics since he flamed out in his Georgia Senate bid nearly two years ago.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and IJR

Hannah Rabinowitz / CNN:

Judge Cannon rejects request for gag order against Donald Trump in classified docs case — Federal Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday rejected special counsel Jack Smith's request for a gag order against Donald Trump in the classified documents case, saying that prosecutors' efforts to confer …

Discussion: USA Today, Axios, Washington Examiner, Fox News, PoliticusUSA, emptywheel and Raw Story

New York Times:

Trump Leans Into an Outlaw Image as His Criminal Trial Concludes — Preparing for a potential verdict in Manhattan, the former president has increasingly aligned himself with fellow defendants and people convicted of crimes. — Over the past week, Donald J. Trump rallied alongside …

Discussion: Raw Story, Slate and Punchbowl News

Nidal Al-Mughrabi / Reuters:

Israeli tanks advance into Rafah's centre despite global outcry — Israeli tanks advanced to the centre of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, witnesses said, three weeks into a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city that has stirred global condemnation for its continued civilian toll.