memeorandum: Trump Contorts Himself on Abortion in Search of Political Gain (New York Times)

3:00 PM ET, August 31, 2024

Top Items:

Jason Wilson / The Guardian:

‘Dangerous and un-American’: new recording of JD Vance's dark vision of women and immigration — Trump's running mate rants against feminism, immigrants and Ilhan Omar in a newly unearthed podcast from 2021 — Donald Trump's running mate, JD Vance, said that professional women …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mock Paper Scissors, Power Line and Political Wire

Marc A. Caputo / The Bulwark:

Cleanup on Aisle MAGA: Trump Bends to Conservative Abortion Critics — IN THE END, DONALD TRUMP, a master of evasion, could only obfuscate for so long. — After hemming, hawing, avoiding, and rambling, the ex-president finally admitted Friday night that he opposes his home state's abortion-rights ballot initiative.

Discussion: CBS News, The Dispatch, The Japan Times, LifeNews.com, USA Today, ABC7, New York Times and NBC News

New York Times:

Trump Contorts Himself on Abortion in Search of Political Gain — The former president is willing to make as many rhetorical and policy shifts as he deems necessary to win in November, vexing some social conservatives. — At the age of 53, in a 1999 interview on NBC's “Meet the Press,” …

Discussion: OutsideTheBeltway, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Deseret News, Raw Story, Washington Times and The Japan Times

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump says he'll vote no on Florida abortion-rights measure

Michael C. Bender / New York Times:

JD Vance's Combative Style Confounds Democrats but Pleases Trump — Over dozens of events and more than 70 interviews, Mr. Vance's performances as Donald Trump's attack dog have endeared him to his boss, even if America broadly is less enthusiastic. — Donald J. Trump knew that JD Vance could take a punch.

Discussion: Alternet.org

Washington Post:

Loyalty to Trump helped Corey Lewandowski survive harassment scandal — In 2021, allegations of unwanted sexual advances dogged Trump's former campaign manager. Now Lewandowski is back. — Days after a Republican donor accused Corey Lewandowski, a longtime Donald Trump adviser …

Discussion: Raw Story

Annie Karni / New York Times:
Cheney, on the Sidelines as Harris Courts Her Endorsement, Plans to Weigh In Soon

Discussion: The Hill and al.com

Associated Press:

Police use Taser to subdue man who stormed media area of Trump rally in Pennsylvania — JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man at Donald Trump's rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, stormed into the press area as the former president spoke Friday but was surrounded by police and sheriff's deputies and was eventually subdued with a Taser.

Discussion: Alternet.org, Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Associated Press, The Wrap, Mediaite, ABC News, The Hill and The Gateway Pundit

Abbie Cheeseman / Washington Post:

Trump speaks at Heritage-sponsored event after disavowing Project 2025 — Trump spoke at the Moms for Liberty summit, an event hosted by the parental rights group that counts the Heritage Foundation among its key sponsors. — Former president Donald Trump headlined an event sponsored …

Associated Press:
Trump questions acceptance of transgender people as he courts his base at Moms for Liberty gathering

Discussion: USA Today, Democrats, RedState, Raw Story, New York Post, CNN, New Hampshire Bulletin, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Semafor, Twin Cities, DNyuz, Alternet.org, NewsNation, New York Times, NBC News and Axios

Zac Anderson / USA Today:

‘Disrespected sacred ground’: Harris slams Trump over Arlington National Cemetery incident — Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in Saturday on the altercation between GOP rival Donald Trump's staff and an official at Arlington National Cemetery, saying Trump “disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt.”

Discussion: NBC News, Digby's Hullabaloo, Los Angeles Times, Military.com, Diane Ravitch's blog, Rolling Stone and Daily Kos

Daniel Hampton / Raw Story:

Top Oversight Committee Dem seeks ‘full account’ from Army secretary on Arlington incident — Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, demanded Friday a “full account” of a reported incident between Donald Trump and his campaign …

Discussion: The Daily Beast

emptywheel:

Trump Wants to Hide His Attempt to Assassinate Mike Pence from Voters — In 2016, Donald Trump bragged, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?” — This election, Trump wants to hide from voters details of how he almost killed …

Vox:

California's governor has the chance to make AI history — Gavin Newsom could decide the future of AI safety. But will he cave to billionaire pressure? … Advocates say it is a modest law setting “clear, predictable, common-sense safety standards” for artificial intelligence.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Mercury News and NPR

Sofia Ferreira Santos / BBC:

Musk's X banned in Brazil after disinformation row — X, formerly Twitter, has been banned in Brazil after failing to meet a deadline set by a Supreme Court judge to name a new legal representative in the country. — Alexandre de Moraes ordered the “immediate and complete suspension” …

Discussion: spiked, CBS News, New York Times, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, DNyuz, The Gateway Pundit, Eschaton, The Daily Caller, Reuters, The Verge and KUSA-TV, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Brazil Blocks X After Musk Ignores Court Orders

Wall Street Journal:

Why Pennsylvania and Georgia Are Must-Win States in November — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are pouring time and money into a pair of battlegrounds that are crucial to their paths to victory.

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story, Washington Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Spencer Lindquist / The Daily Wire:

Tim Walz Says He Got Into Politics Because His Students Were Kicked Out of a Bush Rally. That Doesn't Seem to Be The Case. — Tim Walz claims that he was first inspired to seek public office after being denied entry to a rally for former president George W. Bush in 2004.

Gabe Kaminsky / Washington Examiner:
Tim Walz's political origin story does not add up

Discussion: Twitchy, HotAir, The Daily Caller, Power Line, New York Post and RedState

Washington Post:

Mass polio vaccination to begin in Gaza after the deadly disease reemerges — Polio's reemergence poses a threat to the war-torn territory and adjacent regions. A baby, Gaza's first polio case in 25 years, can no longer move his limbs. — The World Health Organization and its partners plan …