memeorandum: Newspaper front pages ignore Trump's former chief-of-staff saying the former president is a fascist who praised Hitler (Courtney Hagle/Media Matters for America)

11:55 AM ET, October 23, 2024

Top Items:

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator — John Kelly, the Trump White House's longest-serving chief of staff, said that he believed that Donald Trump met the definition of a fascist. — Few top officials spent more time behind closed doors in the White House …

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:

Trump: ‘I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had’ — To support The Atlantic's journalism, please consider subscribing today. — In April 2020, Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old Army private, was bludgeoned to death by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood, in Texas.

The Bulwark:

Reich Track, Wrong Track — As Trump lusts for dictatorial authority, John Kelly speaks out in a way that could matter. — Kamala Harris may be facing headwinds among Arab voters, but she just got a shot in the arm among another key Michigan constituency: the Juggalos.

Discussion: NME

Courtney Hagle / Media Matters for America:

Newspaper front pages ignore Trump's former chief-of-staff saying the former president is a fascist who praised Hitler — John Kelly went on the record calling Trump “the general definition of fascist” and saying he praised Hitler, wanted to use the military against Americans, and denigrated injured soldiers

Discussion: Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The Hill, New Republic, CBS News and Politico

Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:

Trump Raged at Slain Soldier's Funeral Bill: ‘$60K to Bury a F***ing Mexican’ — ANOTHER BILL UNPAID — When Donald Trump got the bill for Vanessa Guillén's funeral in 2020, he reportedly raged, “It doesn't cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f—ing Mexican!”

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

CNN:
Trump's former chief of staff says he fits ‘fascist’ definition and prefers ‘dictator approach’

Discussion: HuffPost, Alternet.org, Mediaite, Louder With Crowder, CBS News and The Independent

ABC News:
Judge who tossed Trump's classified docs case on list of proposed candidates for attorney general

Discussion: New Republic and Raw Story

Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:
Trump Was Enraged by Funeral Cost for ‘F-king Mexican’ U.S. Soldier: Report

Discussion: The Hill, Newsbusters, The Independent, Raw Story, HuffPost, Mediaite and Breitbart

Kipp Jones / Mediaite:
In New Audio, John Kelly Says Trump Believes Fascism ‘Would Work Better’ Than American Democracy

Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story

Nate Silver / New York Times:

Here's What My Gut Says About the Election. But Don't Trust Anyone's Gut, Even Mine. — In an election where the seven battleground states are all polling within a percentage point or two, 50-50 is the only responsible forecast. Since the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump …

Discussion: Telegraph, Silver Bulletin, The Hill, Daily Mail, New York Post, The Message Box, New Jersey Online, IJR, Digby's Hullabaloo, Mediaite and Althouse

James Carville / New York Times:

Three Reasons I'm Certain Kamala Harris Will Win — There is a palpable anxiety wailing on the winds of American life right now. More than in any other election in my lifetime, I've been consistently asked by people of all stripes and creeds: “Can Kamala Harris win this thing? Are we going to be OK?”

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, New Jersey Online and Meidas+

Stephen Robinson / Public Notice:

How the hell is this even close? — 🇺🇸This special, five-edition week of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. If you aren't one already, please sign up to support our independent journalism.🇺🇸 — 📊 Subscribe to Public Notice 📊

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Democrats fear race may be slipping away from Harris — There is growing fear in Democratic circles that the presidential race could be slipping further away from Vice President Harris. — To be sure, Democrats still think Harris can defeat former President Trump.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Alternet.org, lonestarlive.com, The Independent and New York Post

Associated Press:
Trump hurls a string of insults at Harris including ‘lazy,’ a racist trope against Black people

Discussion: RedState, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Raw Story, NBC News, Politico, Washington Post, One America News Network, The Hill, Twitchy, New York Post and Associated Press

Sophia Cai / Axios:
Trump's closing strategy: Make a splash and attack

Discussion: The Independent

Journal Sentinel:
Barack Obama fires up Wisconsin liberal base in Madison on first day of early voting

Discussion: Wisconsin Examiner, NBC News, New York Times, Daily Mail, The Guardian, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, The Hill, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Althouse and Associated Press

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Harris says ‘of course’ her team is prepared if Trump declares victory before votes are counted

Discussion: HuffPost, The Independent, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, Washington Times, Daily Mail, The Hill, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Fox News and Twitchy

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
The Improbable Coalition That Is Harris's Best Hope

Discussion: CNN, New Republic and Colorado Newsline

Joey Cappelletti / Associated Press:
Rapper Eminem and Obama rally voters for Kamala Harris in Detroit

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Donald Trump campaign manager shared posts in 2021 saying Trump's lies caused the violence on January 6 — In the immediate aftermath of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, a number of conservatives and Republicans broke ranks with then-President Donald Trump and blamed him for the violence that day.

Discussion: Alternet.org, New Jersey Online, Raw Story and The Guardian

Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:

October 2024 Texas Poll: Trump 53%, Harris 46% — Home Polls October 2024 Texas Poll: Trump 53%, Harris 46% — U.S. Senate: Cruz (R) 48%, Allred (D) 47% — A new Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey of Texas voters finds 53% of voters support former President Donald Trump for president in 2024 …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, San Antonio Current, New Jersey Online and The Texas Tribune

Jared Gans / The Hill: Cruz, Allred in virtual dead heat in Texas Senate race: Poll

Julia Mueller / The Hill:
Alsobrooks holds wide lead over Hogan in Maryland Senate race: Poll

Discussion: Emerson Polling, Washington Examiner and Jewish Insider

Joseph Cox / 404 Media:

Inside the U.S. Government-Bought Tool That Can Track Phones at Abortion Clinics — This article was produced with support from the Capitol Forum. — On a computer screen a map shows the movements of smartphones around the globe. Zooming into an abortion clinic in the south of the United States …

Discussion: The Atlantic, more at Techmeme »

Byron Tau / NOTUS:

It's Possible to Track Someone's Personal Phone to an Abortion Clinic. And It's Legal Too. — A company got access to a mobile phone-tracking tool used by law enforcement and U.S. government agencies across the country. They found significant privacy vulnerabilities. — Copy

CNN:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says North Korea has deployed troops to Russia — Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said North Korea has deployed troops to Russia, the first senior US official to confirm the development on the record, as North Korea and Russia have forged increasingly friendly ties since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CBS News, USA Today, Politico, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, One America News Network, The Kyiv Independent, Reuters and Agence France-Presse

New York Times:
U.S. Says North Korean Troops Are in Russia to Aid Fight Against Ukraine

Discussion: Axios, Bloomberg, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Euromaidan Press, UPI, Semafor, Associated Press, Breitbart, The War Zone, HotAir, WHDH-TV and Politico

Mark Niesse / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Georgia audit finds 20 noncitizens registered to vote — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger canceled their registrations and referred cases to law enforcement — An audit uncovered 20 noncitizens out of 8.2 million registered voters in Georgia, according to findings announced by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday.

Discussion: The Texas Tribune, San Antonio Current and Fox News

New Republic:

“Red Wave” Redux: Are GOP Polls Rigging the Averages in Trump's Favor? — Last month, a GOP-friendly polling firm presented itself, and its data, in a highly unusual way. Rather than maintain a nominally neutral public-facing profile, this pollster acted more like a cavalry brigade for Donald Trump's campaign.

Discussion: Hopium Chronicles, Raw Story, Alternet.org and WAGA-TV

Wall Street Journal:

The Secretive Billionaire Network Funding ‘Stop the Steal’ 2.0 — GOP donors have given more than $140 million to nearly 50 groups working on election integrity; ‘another crusade of ours’ — When Donald Trump refused to concede the 2020 election, he and his allies led a chaotic effort …

Politico:

Trump's transition chief under fire for ‘totally sketchy’ conflicts of interest — Howard Lutnick is accused of mixing his Trump work with his personal business interests. — Howard Lutnick, the Wall Street CEO heading up Donald Trump's transition operation, is facing accusations …

Discussion: Alternet.org and Raw Story

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Texas library committee suspended, decision to reclassify Indigenous history book as “fiction” reversed — Last week, Popular Information reported that Montgomery County, Texas had mandated public libraries move a well-regarded children's book documenting the mistreatment of Native Americans …

Discussion: The Guardian, MSNBC, lonestarlive.com, Austin American-Statesman, Houston Public Media and Chicago Sun Times

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:

America Is Playing With Fire — With just under two weeks to go to Election Day, here is how Trump, in his own words, defines his agenda. — On Oct. 13, Trump promised, to prioritize the prosecution of U.S. citizens — “domestic threats more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries” …

Discussion: Raw Story

The Hill:

House Republicans brace for leadership scramble — House Republicans are bracing for potential leadership shake-ups in the coming weeks, a post-election scramble that will heavily depend on who wins control of the lower chamber and White House in November. — The biggest wildcard is what Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will do.