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Kyrsten Sinema won’t run for reelection in Arizona
BY CAROLINE VAKIL 03/05/24 2:28 PM ET
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) is opting against running for reelection, providing Democrats a sigh of relief and avoiding what would have been a messy three-way race with an independent incumbent, a Democrat, and a Republican.
Sinema made the announcement in a video on social media, arguing that voters aren’t interested in electing members focused on compromise.
“Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year,” she said.
The move by Sinema, who changed her party affiliation from Democrat to independent in 2022, means the Arizona Senate race has largely been solidified as a matchup between Democrat Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake.
Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb is also running on the GOP side, but Lake is seen as the heavy favorite in the Republican primary.
Polls had shown a close race, and if Sinema ran it would have left Senate Democrats in a bind over whether to back Sinema, who is no longer a Democrat but still caucuses with the party, or to back the Democrat in the race, Gallego.
The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates Sinema’s seat as “toss up.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reacted to the news that broke during the daily briefing, noting that the White House has worked “closely” with Sinema on “key, important bills,” including the border security deal out of the Senate.
“She’s been a partner with us on many critical issues that matter to the American people and we think that’s important,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.
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Nikki Haley suspends 2024 presidential campaign
BY STEVE PEOPLES AND MEG KINNARD
Updated 12:48 PM EST, March 6, 2024
NEW YORK (AP)—Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign on Wednesday after being soundly defeated across the country on Super Tuesday, leaving Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination.
Haley didn’t endorse the former president in a speech in Charleston, South Carolina. Instead, she challenged him to win the support of the moderate Republicans and independent voters who supported her.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that,” she said. “At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people.”
Haley, a former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, was Trump’s first significant rival when she jumped into the race in February 2023. She spent the final phase of her campaign aggressively warning the GOP against embracing Trump, whom she argued was too consumed by chaos and personal grievance to defeat President Joe Biden in the general election.
Her departure clears Trump to focus solely on his likely rematch in November with Biden. The former president is on track to reach the necessary 1,215 delegates to clinch the Republican nomination later this month.
Haley’s defeat marks a painful, if predictable, blow to those voters, donors, and Republican Party officials who opposed Trump and his fiery brand of “Make America Great Again” politics. She was especially popular among moderates and college-educated voters, constituencies that will likely play a pivotal role in the general election. It’s unclear whether Trump, who recently declared that Haley donors would be permanently banned from his movement, can ultimately unify a deeply divided party.
Haley planned to address donors on a Zoom meeting Wednesday afternoon, according to two people familiar with the plans.
Trump on Tuesday night declared that the GOP was united behind him, but in a statement shortly afterward, Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said, “Unity is not achieved by simply claiming, ‘We’re united.’”
“Today, in state after state, there remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump,” Perez-Cubas said. “That is not the unity our party needs for success. Addressing those voters’ concerns will make the Republican Party and America better.”
Haley has made clear she doesn’t want to serve as Trump’s vice president or run on a third-party ticket arranged by the group No Labels. She leaves the race with an elevated national profile that could help her in a future presidential run.
Swiftly following her speech Wednesday, Trump’s campaign in a fundraising email falsely claimed that Haley had endorsed his candidacy and did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the message. Earlier this week, Haley said she no longer feels bound by a pledge that required all GOP contenders to support the party’s eventual nominee in order to participate in the primary debates.
In a social media post, Trump continued to mock his former rival, while at the same time extending an invitation to “all of the Haley supporters to join the greatest movement in the history of our Nation. BIDEN IS THE ENEMY, HE IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY,” he wrote. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
On Wednesday, Biden welcomed any voters who had backed Haley, acknowledging Trump’s previous rejection of her supporters.
“Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign,” Biden said in a statement. “I know there is a lot we won’t agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO, and standing up to America’s adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground.”
A group that had targeted independents and Democrats to vote for Haley over Trump in Republican primaries is now pushing those voters to back Biden in November. On Wednesday, Primary Pivot said it was “pivoting” again with a new initiative—Haley Voters for Biden—which might ultimately amount to basically encouraging Democrats to revert back to supporting their party’s likely eventual nominee.
By staying in the campaign until now, Haley drew enough support from suburbanites and college-educated voters to highlight Trump’s apparent weaknesses with those groups.
In AP VoteCast surveys conducted among Republican primary and caucus voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, between 61% and 76% of Haley’s supporters said they would be so dissatisfied if Trump became the GOP nominee that they wouldn’t vote for him in the November general election. Voters in the early Republican head-to-head contests who said they wouldn’t vote for Trump in the fall represented a small but significant segment of the electorate: 2 in 10 Iowa voters, one-third of New Hampshire voters, and one-quarter of South Carolina voters.
Haley leaves the 2024 presidential contest having made history as the first woman to win a Republican primary contest. She beat Trump in the District of Columbia on Sunday and in Vermont on Tuesday.
She had insisted she would stay in the race through Super Tuesday and crossed the country campaigning in states holding Republican contests. Ultimately, she was unable to knock Trump off his glide path to a third straight nomination.
Haley’s allies note that she exceeded most of the political world’s expectations by making it as far as she did.
She had initially ruled out running against Trump in 2024. But she changed her mind and ended up launching her bid three months after he did, citing among other things the country’s economic troubles and the need for “generational change.” Haley, 52, later called for competency tests for politicians over the age of 75—a knock on both Trump, who is 77, and Biden, who is 81.
Her candidacy was slow to attract donors and support, but she ultimately outlasted all of her other GOP rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott, her fellow South Carolinian whom she appointed to the Senate in 2012. And the money flowed in until the very end. Her campaign said it raised more than $12 million in February alone.
She gained popularity with many Republican donors, independent voters, and the “Never Trump” crowd, even though she criticized the criminal cases against him as politically motivated and pledged that, if president, she would pardon him if he were convicted in federal court.
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Biden goes after Trump in strikingly political State of the Union address
BY BRETT SAMUELS AND ALEX GANGITANO 03/07/24 11:11 PM ET
President Biden drew a sharp contrast with former President Trump and Republican lawmakers in Thursday’s State of the Union address, using the bully pulpit to harp on issues that will shape the general election campaign and sell voters on his first three years in office.
Biden’s remarks, which lasted just more than an hour, could at times be mistaken for a campaign address. The president did not refer to Trump by name at any point, but he said “my predecessor” 13 times throughout his speech, according to prepared remarks provided by the White House.
Just minutes into the speech, he referred to Trump’s suggestion that he would let Russian President Vladimir Putin “do whatever the hell he wants” if NATO allies had not spent enough on defense, calling those remarks “dangerous and unacceptable.”
In short order, Biden spoke about threats to democracy, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which drew eye rolls from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), and threats to abortion access and reproductive health care, all of which are key pillars of his reelection bid.
“My purpose tonight is to wake up the Congress and alert the American people this is no ordinary moment,” Biden said. “Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today. What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas at the very same time.”
Biden again blamed Trump for tanking a bipartisan border security bill in the Senate for political reasons and called on congressional Republicans to pass the legislation. He touted provisions in the bill, which was negotiated by senators and endorsed by the White House, with lead GOP negotiator Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who sat in the chamber, nodding his head and saying, “that’s true.”
Some GOP lawmakers wore pins to raise awareness for Laken Riley, a University of Georgia student who was killed last month by a Venezuelan migrant, according to police. When Biden was entering the chamber, he came across Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) who showed him her pin and told the president “say her name.”
During his address when Biden spoke about the border, Greene yelled out from her seat in the audience: “It’s about Laken Riley.” Others shouted, “say her name.” Biden, in response, held up a Laken Riley pin he was given and said her name.
“Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” he said, speaking off the cuff. “To her parents I say my heart goes out to you having lost children myself. I understand,” he said looking up at the gallery in the chamber.
The president also introduced the sister of a student killed in the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting and contrasted his focus on gun violence with Trump’s connections to the National Rifle Association.
Biden touted the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, saying “it’s still a pretty big deal,” harkening back to when he was famously caught on a hot mic in 2010 telling then-President Obama that the landmark health care legislation was a “big fucking deal.”
“Over 100 million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of preexisting conditions,” he said. “But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take that protection away by repealing the Affordable Care Act. I’m not going to let that happen.”
Thursday’s speech offered Biden a critical opportunity as he seeks reelection to quell some of the concerns voters have and remind them of his achievements of the past three years. Polls show him trailing Trump in key swing states in a likely general election match-up, and a New York Times/Siena College poll found 73 percent of registered voters said they either strongly or somewhat agree that Biden is too old to be an effective president.
Millions of Americans watch the speech each year, and the Biden campaign is expected to use the address as a springboard into ramped up travel and messaging as it gears up for a lengthy general election campaign against Trump.
“You can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back,” Biden said. “To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future of what America can and should be. Tonight you’ve heard mine.”
While Biden periodically stumbled over his words, he had no major hiccups during the speech and appeared energized as he mingled with lawmakers on the aisle going in and out of the chamber. He stopped and took selfies with members of Congress.
The president’s speech was sprinkled with off-the-cuff moments, including when he sparred with Greene, chided Republicans for pushing a tax cut for the wealthy, and quipped once he arrived at the rostrum: “If I were smart, I’d go home now.”
Biden, 81, referenced his age, which polling has indicated is a major concern for voters, to close his remarks and as a final poke at Trump.
“I know it may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while. When you get to my age certain things become clearer than ever,” he said. “My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values that have defined America. Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality.”
“Now some other people my age see a different story. An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me,” he added.
In addressing the Israel-Hamas war, Biden called for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, saying the country “must also do its part” amid increasing backlash from progressives and activists toward Biden because of his pro-Israel stance and handling of the war. Protesters flocked to Washington, D.C., on Thursday and held a large demonstration near the Capitol ahead of and during his speech.
The president also addressed the remaining hostages taken by Hamas, saying he “will not” rest until they are brought home. It was one of the few times Johnson stood up to applaud.
In keeping with campaign themes Democrats believe will help them secure victory in 2024, Biden laid out plans to codify Roe v. Wade, at one point directly referencing the Supreme Court justices who were in the chamber.
“Women are not without … electoral or political power,” Biden said.
“No kidding. Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America. They found out though when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again, in 2024,” Biden said.
The speech also laid out proposals for the future, such as raising the corporate minimum tax to at least 21 percent, restoring the child tax credit, and banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
He vowed again to stop any proposals that cut Social Security or raise the retirement age. He offered a nod back to his 2023 address, when he spared back-and-forth with Republicans over Social Security cuts.
When he received shouts of “liar and lies” from the crowd when he accused the GOP of trying to cut Social Security, he replied, “that’s good to hear.”
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Marcia Fudge, Biden’s housing secretary, is stepping down
The announcement comes just days after the White House chief of staff said there would be no more Cabinet departures this year.
by JENNIFER HABERKORN and KATY O’DONNELL
POLITICO
03/11/2024 12:24 PM EDT
Updated: 03/11/2024 01:09 PM EDTHousing Secretary Marcia Fudge is stepping down next week, according to an email she wrote to staff on Monday.
Serving as HUD secretary “was the ideal opportunity to culminate a career focused on doing the most good for the most people, including those who have often been left behind or left out,” Fudge wrote. “With mixed emotions, I am announcing my retirement and resignation from the position of Secretary of HUD, effective March 22, 2024.”
Fudge’s retirement represents a surprising departure from President Joe Biden’s otherwise stable Cabinet just eight months before the election. It also comes just days after White House chief of staff Jeff Zients told POLITICO Playbook that the Cabinet has “people who are committed to this president.”
“So,” Zients added, “yes, we have the team in place.”
Biden’s Cabinet has been remarkably stable. Fudge’s departure would mark only the second in the administration, following former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh leaving his post last year.
Eric Lander, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a post that was recently elevated to Cabinet status, stepped down in 2022 amid reports of bullying staff.
In a statement, Biden praised Fudge’s “transformational leadership.”
“We have worked hard to lower housing costs and increase supply. We’ve proposed the largest investment in affordable housing in U.S. history. We’ve taken steps to aggressively combat racial discrimination in housing by ensuring home appraisals are more fair and by strengthening programs to redress the negative impacts of redlining,” he wrote. “Thanks to Secretary Fudge, we’ve helped first-time homebuyers, and we are working to cut the cost of renting. And there are more housing units under construction right now than at any time in the last 50 years.”
Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman will serve as acting secretary, according to the White House.
White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton said “certainly” the president will nominate a replacement.
The struggle to confirm a successor to Walsh in the closely divided Senate could serve as a warning for the Biden administration. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su has been serving indefinitely in her acting capacity since it became clear she couldn’t get support from all Senate Democrats and the independents who caucus with them.
Fudge told USA Today, which first reported the news, that she plans to retire from public office.
“Don’t look for me to ever be on another ballot or another appointee or anything like that,’’ she said. “I really do look forward to being a private citizen.”
Housing advocates praised Fudge’s tenure.
“Secretary Fudge consistently—and rightfully—says housing is a human right, and her actions at HUD have utilized all administrative levers to make it so,” said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
“Her signature initiatives at HUD have been addressing homelessness, engaging with and supporting tenant leaders, and reducing the racial wealth gap in homeownership,” Yentel added. “On each initiative, she has left an indelible mark, moving our nation closer to achieving housing justice.”
The news of Fudge’s departure came as the White House released a budget request Monday full of housing funding, amid a historic shortage of affordable options.
The budget calls for an expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which facilitates the construction of affordable housing, and the establishment of a new Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit to spur the construction and preservation of affordable housing in distressed neighborhoods.
The White House is also proposing new tax credits to boost homeownership. A $10,000 mortgage relief credit for middle-class, first-time homebuyers, taken over two years, would help more than 3.5 million middle-class families purchase their first homes, according to the White House.
Fudge—who represented Ohio in Congress from 2008 until 2021, serving as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus for two of those years—took over a housing department hollowed out by years of cuts.
Before running for Congress in 2008 to fill the seat of her former boss and mentor, the late Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Fudge was mayor of Warrensville Heights, an Ohio city of about 13,000 people, for eight years.
Fudge had initially wanted to lead the Department of Agriculture. She lamented to POLITICO shortly after Biden’s election in 2020 that Black policymakers have traditionally been relegated to just a handful of Cabinet positions, including HUD secretary.
“As this country becomes more and more diverse, we’re going to have to stop looking at only certain agencies as those that people like me fit in. You know, it’s always, ‘we want to put the Black person in Labor or HUD,’” she said then.
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Trump-backed Moreno wins Ohio Senate primary
Bernie Moreno won a brutal three-way contest to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
by ALLY MUTNICK and ZACH MONTELLARO
POLITICO
03/19/2024 08:44 PM EDT
Updated: 03/19/2024 11:01 PM EDTWESTLAKE, Ohio—Bernie Moreno, a former car dealer endorsed by Donald Trump, won a three-way GOP primary Tuesday for the right to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio.
Moreno handily beat out Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan, who was endorsed by popular figures in the state’s Republican establishment. But for months polling indicated it was essentially a two-person race between Dolan and Moreno.
Moreno’s victory is a relief for the former president, who traveled to the state to rally on Saturday as the polls tightened. Ousting Brown is crucial to the GOP’s hopes of winning back a majority—he is one of only two Democratic senators seeking reelection in a state that Trump won in 2020. With a near-certain pickup of retiring Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s West Virginia seat, Republicans need to flip only one more seat to guarantee control of the chamber.
“I want to thank President Trump, for all he did for me, for this campaign, for his unwavering support, for his love of this country,” Moreno said in his victory speech to supporters gathered in the ballroom of a DoubleTree hotel. Moreno said he had spoken to both Trump and Dolan, who called him to concede.
The Associated Press called the race for Moreno shortly after 8:30 p.m., when the candidate himself was not in the room yet. Moreno staffers rushed to pass out signs—“Stop Biden. Stop Sherrod.”—before Moreno walked out, joined by his wife and three of his children. The Twisted Sister song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” played as he took the stage. Moreno declared the GOP “fully united party” and took aim at Brown, yoking him to liberal policy proposals like the Green New Deal and chiding him as someone who “has been in office since Richard Nixon was president.”
The primary turned into a brawl between Ohio’s GOP old guard and the MAGA movement that has swept through the state. Ohio has become redder and Trumpier since twice electing former President Barack Obama, and the race became a referendum of sorts on the future of the Republican Party in the state.
And the results Tuesday were clear: MAGA won.
Moreno was backed by Sen. J.D. Vance and other Trump-aligned figures, while Dolan had the support of former Sen. Rob Portman, whom Vance replaced in 2022, and Gov. Mike DeWine. Dolan was the only one of the three candidates not to seek Trump’s support.
The final weeks of the campaign saw the three-way race turn into a triangular firing squad, with the candidates attacking each other on the campaign trail and in ads. The race was further roiled after The Associated Press reported last week that Moreno’s old company email had been used in 2008 to create an account seeking “young guys to have fun with” on an adult website. Moreno has forcefully denied the story and said an intern made the account as a prank. His lawyer said in a statement that that the email address was a public-facing one managed by staff, not Moreno’s personal one.
Moreno sought to move quickly past the report, dismissing it as “a sick, last-minute attack by desperate people” while continuing with planned campaign stops at which he did not mention the article. A super PAC supporting Dolan quickly produced ads quoting the story.
As the race grew heated in the final stretch—and with polls showing a toss-up between Moreno and Dolan—allies of both men rushed to shore up support.
Portman and DeWine endorsed Dolan in the final two weeks of the race and held a series of campaign stops with him, emphasizing the issue of electability and saying Dolan would be best-positioned to take out Brown, a prolific fundraiser and battle-tested campaigner.
Trump flew into the state on Saturday to headline a late rally for Moreno. In a 90-minute speech outside Dayton, he railed against Dolan, casting him as an ally of Mitt Romney. The rally included a who’s who of MAGA favorites, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). On Sunday, Moreno was joined by Vance and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake at a St. Patrick’s Day event.
Both Dolan and Moreno are wealthy and pumped their own money into their campaigns. Every candidate had at least one super PAC on his behalf. LaRose, who struggled to fundraise, relied heavily on his and did not run a single TV ad on his own.
LaRose, the state’s chief election official, finished a distant third in the primary. He had also sought Trump’s endorsement—the former president backed his secretary of state bid in the midterms—and ultimately ended up remaining a clear tier below Moreno and Dolan for the end of the race.
While the contest bitterly divided Republicans in the state, those in Washington stayed neutral. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has forcefully waded into primaries this cycle to help their preferred candidates prevail. And the chair, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), has often sought Trump’s help to do so.
In Ohio, the NRSC remained neutral through the primary but Daines quickly offered Moreno his “full endorsement” in a statement on Tuesday after the race was called.
But party strategists were not pleased at how deeply vicious the primary had turned in the closing weeks. Some worried that the ultimate beneficiary of all the infighting will be Brown, who could benefit from facing off against a primary-battered Moreno.
Brown is the last remaining elected statewide Democrat in Ohio, which voted twice for Trump by about 8 points. That’s made him a top target for Republicans, who see him and Montana Sen. Jon Tester as their best shots to defeat incumbents in their quest for the majority.
If Moreno beats Brown in the fall, Trump will have handpicked both of Ohio’s GOP senators, lifting them out of heated primaries and helping cement the state GOP’s MAGA turn. Ohio has become significantly more Republican-leaning in recent years, but it has a relatively moderate governor in DeWine and, at least for now, a Democratic senator in Brown.
A deeply skilled retail politician, Brown was first elected to the Senate in 2006, when he ousted DeWine. He’s defeated two Republican challengers since. And Brown is an impressive fundraiser who had $13.5 million in the bank at the end of February.
Ohioans “know that Bernie Moreno always looks out for himself,” Brown said in an interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell Tuesday night.
He alluded to Moreno’s deep pockets, saying “we’ll be outspent, but we’ll out-organize.”
A super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had signaled Moreno was Democrats’ preferred pick for Brown to take on when it dropped some $3 million in the race to boost Moreno.
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Apple faces landmark antitrust suit
BY REBECCA KLAR AND JULIA SHAPERO 03/21/24 5:23 PM ET
The Justice Department sued Apple on Thursday, alleging the company illegally maintained a monopoly over smartphones in a wide-ranging lawsuit.
The DOJ was joined by 16 bipartisan state attorneys general in the lawsuit filed in New Jersey, which alleges that Apple limits competition and hurts consumers, developers, and small businesses through its operation of the company’s App Store, limiting the functions of third-party smart watches and hurting the quality of cross-platform messaging.
“For years, Apple responded to competitive threats by imposing a series of ‘Whac-A-Mole’ contractual rules and restrictions that have allowed Apple to extract higher prices from consumers, impose higher fees on developers and creators, and to throttle competitive alternatives from rival technologies,” Jonathan Kanter, DOJ assistant attorney general of the antitrust division, said in a statement.
“Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Apple accountable and ensure it cannot deploy the same, unlawful playbook in other vital markets,” Kanter added.
Apple defended itself against the allegations and said the lawsuit “threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets.”
“If successful, [this lawsuit] would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple—where hardware, software, and services intersect. It would also set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology. We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it,” Apple said in a statement.
The complaint alleges that Apple built a “dominant iPhone platform and ecosystem” and “rather than respond to competitive threats by offering lower smartphone prices to consumers or better monetization for developers” Apple imposed a “series of shapeshifting rules and restrictions” in its App Store, it alleged.
“It has deployed this playbook across many technologies, products, and services, including super apps, text messaging, smartwatches, and digital wallets, among many others,” the complaint states.
The complaint alleges Apple has used anticompetitive measures to keep users buying iPhones by limiting interoperability with devices and services by other companies.
For example, the government alleges Apple makes “third-party messaging apps on the iPhone worse generally and relatively” to Apple’s own default messaging app.
The complaint alleges Apple “undermines the quality of rival smartphones,” because if an iPhone user messages a non-iPhone user in Apple’s default messaging app, the text appears as a green bubble and has limited functionality, including displaying pixelated and grainy photos and keeping users from editing messages.
Similarly, the lawsuit accuses Apple of anticompetitive behavior by making its Apple smartwatch only compatible with an iPhone. It also accuses Apple of limiting third party digital wallets by preventing third-party apps from offering tap-to-pay functionality and not allowing the creating of cross-platform third-party digital wallets.
It also accuses Apple of limiting third-party digital wallets by preventing third-party apps from offering tap-to-pay functionality and not allowing the creation of cross-platform third-party digital wallets.
Part of the complaint centers on allegations of how Apple has blocked innovative “super apps,” defined as apps that can serve a platform for smaller or “mini” programs.
The complaint alleges Apple has “arbitrarily imposed exclusionary requirements” that restrict mini programs and super apps since at least 2017, and “selectively enforced its contractual rules with developers to prevent developers from monetizing mini programs,” hurting both users and developers.
The complaint also alleges Apple has suppressed cloud-streaming game apps, which harms users by “denying them the ability to play high-compute games” and harms developers by preventing them from selling them to users.
The lawsuit is the latest the government has launched against a tech giant in recent years. The DOJ has two ongoing lawsuits against Google, and the Federal Trade Commission sued Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
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NY attorney general takes step toward seizing Trump assets
BY ELLA LEE 03/21/24 1:52 PM ET
The New York attorney general’s office has filed judgments in Westchester County, where former President Trump’s golf resort and private estate known as Seven Springs is located—a first step toward seizing the asset.
The judgments were filed with the Westchester County clerk’s office March 6, public records show. Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the sweeping civil fraud trial against Trump and his business, formally entered his multimillion-dollar judgment just a over week earlier.
Engoron ruled that Trump, the Trump Organization and top executives, including two of Trump’s sons—Eric and Donald Jr.—were liable for fraud after conspiring to alter the former president’s net worth for tax and insurance benefits. He ordered them to pay $464 million, plus interest, in total.
Trump has just four days to find the cash to post a surety bond for his portion of the judgment—a whopping $454 million, plus interest—before New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) can begin seizing his assets. If Trump posts the bond, the judgment would be automatically paused while the former president appeals Engoron’s ruling.
James has said that if Trump does not have the funds to pay off the judgment, her office intends to seek “judgment enforcement mechanisms in court.”
Entering a judgment in the counties where Trump owns properties is the first step toward attempting to recover them.
In New York City, where Trump’s trial took place, a judgment has already been entered. The former president’s famous 40 Wall Street and Trump Tower properties are located there.
Trump’s lawyers admitted Monday that he could not secure a full appeals bond due to lack of cash on hand—despite the former president’s “diligent efforts.” He asked the court to accept a $100 million bond, instead.
An insurance broker they consulted, Gary Giulietti, wrote in an affidavit that a company like the Trump Organization has most of its assets invested in real estate, making obtaining an appeal bond in the judgment’s full amount “a practical impossibility.”
But James’s office pushed back on that contention Wednesday, telling a state appeals court that there is no rule limiting Trump to a single bond from a single surety for the full judgment amount to limit “any individual surety’s risk.” The state also noted that Engoron found Giulietti lacked credibility due to an “ongoing personal and professional relationship with Donald Trump.”
The filing was first reported by CNN.
Trump’s deadline to pay the bond is Monday, the same day his first criminal trial was scheduled to get underway before a last-minute document dump delayed the proceeding.
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Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez declines reelection as Democrat, may run as independent
Menendez’s announcement comes days before New Jersey’s Democratic filing deadline on March 25.
by MIA MCCARTHY
POLITICO
03/21/2024 05:50 PM EDT
Updated: 03/21/2024 06:15 PM EDTIndicted Sen. Bob Menendez will not run for reelection as a Democrat this year but is keeping the door open to an independent run, he said Thursday.
New Jersey’s senior senator, who is under indictment for a second time in a decade, said he is hopeful that “my exoneration will take place this summer,” allowing him to run in November’s general election.
“Unfortunately, the present accusations I am facing—of which I am innocent and will prove so—will not allow me to have that type of dialogue and debate with political opponents that have already made it the cornerstone of their campaign,” Menendez said in a video. “New Jerseyans deserve better than that.”
Menendez’s announcement comes days before New Jersey’s Democratic filing deadline on March 25. Had Menendez run for reelection as a Democrat, he would be jumping into an already contentious primary between Rep. Andy Kim and first lady Tammy Murphy—not to mention having single-digit support, according to public polls.
Menendez is scheduled to go on trial in early May. The independent filing deadline is June 4, and the senator is keeping that option on the table to see if his legal troubles clear up.
It’s happened before. Menendez faced corruption charges last time he was up for reelection, but a mistrial in 2017 allowed him to maintain support from the state’s party establishment in 2018.
This time he’s hoping to do the same in a tighter timeframe and an environment in which virtually every statewide Democrat of influence has abandoned him.
A Menendez independent run could potentially raise problems for Democrats. New Jersey hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate in 50 years, but the Democratic primary has shown deep divisions between the party’s establishment and its progressive wing. And there are more independent voters than registered Republicans, so the caustic primary fight between Kim and Murphy could ripple into the general election with the presidency and the closely divided Senate on the line.
“I will win in November even if I have to beat Menendez and a Republican simultaneously,” Kim said on X, formerly Twitter. “The balance of the Senate is on the line and we need the strongest candidate possible to keep this seat blue and the Senate in Democratic control.”
Republicans see an opportunity.
Christine Serrano Glassner, the mayor of Mendham Borough with a connection to Trump, has taken to labeling Menendez, in Trumpian fashion, “Gold Bar Bob” because of the allegations against him. She said she welcomes him staying in the race.
“As I’ve said from the beginning, Menendez should have to face the voters and the people of New Jersey should have the opportunity to repudiate him—and the corruption and cronyism of the Democratic Party as a whole—at the ballot box,” she said in a statement.
Curtis Bashaw said he’s running because of “Menendez’s never-ending corruption scandal,” suggesting that could be a feature of a fall campaign with him in it.
“It’s Senator Menendez’s prerogative to run for re-election as an Independent,” Bashaw said in a statement, “but I’m confident New Jersey voters are ready to make a change from the corruption and machine politics that have defined New Jersey Democrat politics for far too long.”
And Alex Zdan, a former television news reporter, put the race in a broader perspective, saying that “Democrats like Phil and Tammy Murphy protected Menendez until there was an opportunity to advance their own ambition” and that “I will prosecute the corruption of the state Democratic party on the campaign trail and on the debate stage this fall.”
The son of Cuban immigrants, Menendez entered politics in 1974, getting elected to the school board in Union City, a small but dense and diverse city in the shadow of Manhattan. But he made his name testifying against his mentor, then-Union City Mayor and state Sen. William Musto, who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison. Menendez then became mayor of Union City in 1986, and the following year was soon elected to the state Legislature. He won a House seat in 1992, rising in the three decades since to become one of New Jersey’s most powerful and beloved elected officials.
His past year in Congress was defined by allegations of corruption and bribery, all of which he has repeatedly denied. The first news of the indictment broke in September, when court documents accused Menendez and his wife of accepting bribes in forms of cash, a car, and gold bars to help aid the Egyptian government.
The allegations only got deeper as the session in Congress went on. He was accused of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Egypt in October. In January, legal documents alleged he spoke positively about Qatar in exchange for bribes. And just a few weeks ago, federal prosecutors indicted the embattled senator and his wife once more for allegedly lying about bribe money.
Throughout it all, Menendez has maintained his innocence. Despite calls from within his own party and state to resign, Menendez stayed in office, saying he was being falsely attacked as a Cuban-American. And Menendez has reaffirmed that “of course” he could win reelection.
“I know many of you are hurt and disappointed in me with the accusations I am facing. Believe me, I am disappointed at the false accusations as well,” Menendez said. “All I can ask of you is to withhold judgment until justice takes place.”
Kim was the first House member from New Jersey to call on Menendez to resign and announced a bid for Senate immediately after. He has cited the alleged corruption as inspiration for his bid.
Murphy joined the race in November with the support from influential Democrats in the state, some of whom have connections to her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy.
“Senator Menendez continues to place himself ahead of what’s best for New Jerseyans and the Democratic Party as a whole. He shouldn’t have the privilege of serving in the Senate in any capacity,” Murphy said on X.
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Kate Middleton Reveals Cancer Diagnosis in Emotional Video: “It Has Been an Incredibly Tough Couple of Months”
by K.J. Yossman, Ellise Shafer
Mar. 22, 2024 11:01 a.m. PT
VARIETY
Amid questions about her whereabouts, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, has confirmed she has undergone treatment for cancer in a health update Friday.
In an emotional video, Middleton said that while her condition was originally thought to be non-cancerous, cancer was found in her system following abdominal surgery and she is now in the “early stages” of preventative chemotherapy. She did not confirm the type of cancer.
“It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful,” she said in the video, which was reportedly recorded in Windsor on Wednesday.
Middleton is married to Prince William, the heir to the British throne. King Charles III, William’s father, is also currently undergoing cancer treatment after he was diagnosed earlier this year.
Rumors have been swirling about Middleton’s absence since January, when it was announced that she had been admitted to the hospital for a “planned abdominal surgery.” Palace officials declined to disclose the reason for the surgery, but said Middleton would be staying in the hospital for two weeks and was unlikely to return to her public duties until after Easter.
In her video update, Middleton did not confirm when she would return to public duties, although Easter is now looking increasingly unlikely. “My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery,” she said.
On the same day as Middleton’s surgery was revealed, it was separately announced that King Charles was undergoing a medical exam for an “enlarged prostate.” Just a few weeks later, Buckingham Palace revealed that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer.
As March began, the public started to grow curious as to Middleton’s whereabouts. Though the first paparazzi photo of her post-op was leaked on March 4, it was grainy and did little to quash conspiracies. Then, on March 10—Mother’s Day in the U.K.—a photo was posted to Middleton and Prince William’s official social media accounts of Middleton with their three children. Internet sleuths were quick to point out that the photo appeared to be doctored—and sure enough, four of the world’s biggest news agencies eventually issued kill notices for the photo citing “digital manipulation.”
The next day, Middleton issued an apology for the photo controversy, admitting that “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.” However, this did little to convince the public that all was well, and theories on Middleton’s whereabouts have continued to rage ever since.
Read the princess’s statement below:
“I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery.
It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.
In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.
This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.
As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK.
As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body, and spirits. Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too. As is the love, support, and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both.
We hope that you will understand that as a family we now need some time, space, and privacy while I complete my treatment. My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery.
At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.”
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Joe Lieberman, first Jewish vice-presidential nominee of a major party, dies at 82
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON 03/27/24 6:27 PM ET
Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.), who became the first Jewish vice-presidential candidate of a major party when Al Gore selected him as his running mate in the 2000 election, has died at age 82.
His family said he died Wednesday in New York City surrounded by family, including his wife Hadassah, after suffering complications from a fall.
His funeral will be held at the Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, Conn., his hometown.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who took over Lieberman’s seat after he retired from the Senate, expressed shock over his sudden death.
“In an era of political carbon copies, Joe Lieberman was a singularity. One of one. He fought and won for what he believed was right and for the state he adored. My thoughts are with Hadassah and the entire family,” he said.
Lieberman was one of the most conservative members of the Senate Democratic caucus and burst into the national spotlight in 1998 by scolding then-President Clinton on the Senate floor over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, calling his conduct “disgraceful” and disappointing.
His independent streak factored into Gore’s decision to select him as a running mate, which enabled the then-vice president to put some distance between himself and the scandals of the Clinton administration.
The Connecticut senator was known as a champion of the defense industry, which has a heavy presence in his home state, and extolled muscular national security policy.
His strong support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq later derailed his own bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and eventually led to a major falling out with liberals in his party.
He lost the 2006 Senate Democratic primary to Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont but won reelection to a fourth term by running as an “Independent Democrat.”
He campaigned for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) against Barack Obama in the 2008 election. McCain even strongly considered picking Lieberman as his running mate before choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin instead.
After the 2008 election, when Senate Democrats controlled 59 seats and then 60 seats during Obama’s first two years in the White House, Lieberman proved to be a tough vote to corral for Obama’s agenda.
He worked with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and late-Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) in 2009 to slim down Obama’s requested economic stimulus package to $789 billion.
And he was a key player in the negotiations over Obama’s Affordable Care Act, forcing Democrats to drop a proposal to set up a public option to allow the government to compete directly with insurance companies.
Despite his differences with fellow Democrats, Lieberman was highly respected within the Senate for his high integrity and pragmatism.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the highest-ranking Jewish congressional leader in American history, said he was “devastated” to hear of Lieberman’s passing.
“My heart is with his beloved wife Hadassah and his family, and I am praying for all who knew and loved him,” Schumer said.
Collins, a fellow centrist, praised him as a “dear friend, a wonderful senator and a true patriot.”
“He not only was one of the best legislators I have ever known, but also one of the best human beings. We worked so closely together on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, passing numerous bipartisan bills. I am heartbroken to learn of his passing.”
Lieberman rejected the tribalism of modern American politics and sought to promote his brand of pragmatic centrism by co-founding No Labels, a group that is seeking to recruit a prominent candidate to wage a third-party bid for president this year.
He came under heavy criticism from fellow Democrats for trying to form a “unity ticket” as an alternative to President Biden and former-President Trump but didn’t back down from his quest.
In December, he deflected the attacks by questioning whether Biden, who turned 81 in November, could beat Trump, given voters’ concerns about his age.
“Right now, looking at the polling, it’s not No Labels that’s going to re-elect Donald Trump,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “Right now, it looks like it’s Joe Biden who’s going to re-elect Donald Trump.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who was unsuccessfully recruited by No Labels to run for president this year, said in a statement that he always had “the deepest admiration and respect” for his former colleague.
“Sen. Lieberman always put our country first by working across the aisle to enact sensible, bipartisan solutions, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security,” he said, noting Lieberman’s role in negotiating the legislation that combined multiple federal agencies under a new department after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
In an August 2002 letter to colleagues, Lieberman argued that the nation needed to consolidate “dozens of disparate federal agencies and offices responsible for homeland defense into a single department with a unified chain of command.”
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Baltimore bridge collapse puts spotlight on rising stars Moore, Buttigieg
BY ALEX GANGITANO AND JULIA MANCHESTER 03/29/24 3:22 PM ET
Two of the Democratic Party’s rising stars have been thrust into the national spotlight this week after the bridge collapse in Baltimore.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, 45, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, 42—both of whom considered likely candidates for higher office in the future—face a key test with their handling of the aftermath of the disaster, which took six lives and will require a bridge reconstruction and port reopening.
“It is a bright reflection of the talent we have within the Democratic Party and their ability to lead in times of crisis,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist. “Sometimes it’s a crisis that forces leaders to rise to the top and answer the call. I think this unfortunate tragedy has done just that.”
The two young politicians have found themselves center stage nationally after a cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Interstate 695 in Baltimore on Tuesday. In addition to the lives lost, the tragedy has also opened up concerns about supply chain issues, commuting impacts and funding for rebuilding.
Buttigieg, for his part, is no stranger to the national spotlight, having run for president in 2020 when he was serving as the mayor of South Bend, Ind.
Moore, on the other hand, is newer to national politics. Before he was elected governor of Maryland in 2022, he worked as a nonprofit executive and author.
“This is just another layer of exposure for [Moore],” Seawright said. “I think he’s always demonstrated the ability to not only lead but lead in the light, and I think the world is seeing what a lot of people already know about Wes Moore.”
Buttigieg’s rise—from management consultant to Navy reservist in Afghanistan to Indiana mayor to Cabinet official—came after he outperformed many establishment Democrats in the primary in 2020 and instantly gained named recognition on the national level.
“He ran a very credible primary back in 2020,” said Jon Reinish, a Democratic strategist. “This is a popular guy who has always been looked at as a rising star, one to watch, and one to follow.”
“There is a reason why Biden chose him for this job,” he continued. “He is good at this.”
When Biden named Buttigieg as Transportation secretary, after the two ran against each other in the primary, it was considered an ideal opportunity for him to prove his chops amid questions about his future political prospects. The secretary has also been a surrogate for Biden’s reelection campaign and is known by politics-watchers for his ease with TV interviews and willingness to push back on Republican criticism against the administration.
Now, Buttigieg and Moore will be judged by how they handle the aftermath of the bridge collapse.
“Gov. Moore and Sec Buttigieg are essential parts of the future of the Democratic Party. The situation in Baltimore is tragic, and having both of them leading the response is an opportunity for them to show what excellence is under pressure. It’s an opportunity for them to shine at a time of need,” said Ivan Zapien, a former official for the Democratic National Committee.
Moore and Buttigieg are among several Democratic hopefuls that have been floated for 2028, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D). All of the candidates have executive experience on the state or local level, including Buttigieg.
Strategists say this is not by chance.
“Voters are pretty fed up with Washington,” Reinish said. “I think that voters are craving executive experience.”
The response to the bridge has led to images of Buttigieg in the Oval Office with President Biden and images of Moore day after day at the bridge site. Buttigieg joined the White House press briefing Wednesday, and Moore has been fielding questions from reporters in press conferences all week.
Both men are military veterans and represent key constituencies within the Democratic Party. Moore is not just Maryland’s first Black governor, but also the only Black governor currently serving in the U.S. Buttigieg was the first openly LGBTQ executive in Indiana and the first openly LGBTQ person confirmed to the U.S. Cabinet.
Buttigieg has faced this kind of pressure before. He has been spearheading the federal government’s response to Boeing after incidents with the company’s planes and has previously handled situations like the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and stranded holiday travelers.
Rachel Palermo, who served on Buttigieg’s presidential campaign and is the former deputy communications director and associate counsel to Vice President Harris, said the secretary shines under pressure.
“Secretary Buttigieg is one of best examples of a leader who thoughtfully responds to crises and demonstrates grace under pressure, and that’s why he’s such a critical part of the Biden-Harris Administration,” she said. “Leaders like Secretary Buttigieg and Vice President Harris make me optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party—they embody bold and forward-thinking leadership, and improving the lives of everyday Americans is at the center of everything they do.”
For Moore, the tragedy is the first time many Americans outside of Maryland have been introduced to him. Moore has also served as a strong surrogate for Biden’s reelection bid, with a focus especially on Black voter outreach.
“So far in the near term, he is doing everything right,” said Len Foxwell, a Maryland-based Democratic strategist. “He has provided comfort and reassurance to the families of the victims. He has provided reassurance and strength to the people of Maryland who are shaken by this tragedy and he has made it abundantly clear that we are going to rebuild and we are going to rebuild better.”
“The next test is over the long term, how quickly and how efficiently is he going to be coordinating the rebuilding process,” Foxwell added.
While Buttigieg and Moore have received praise for their responses, the event has also led to partisan criticism.
“It’s clearly in no way based on fact, but social media, right-wing media, un-fact checked media, unhinged media on the right,” Reinish said. “It’s just been so immediate today and that’s what’s been so striking.”
Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D), who is also Black, have faced an additional layer of racist criticism online. Scott responded to the online criticism on MSNBC earlier this week, saying that the attacks are rooted in racism.
“I know, and we know, and you know very well, that Black men, and young Black men in particular, have been the bogeyman for those who are racist and think that only straight, wealthy white men should have a say in anything,” Scott told host Joy Reid, adding that those who are playing a role in recovery are ignoring the conspiracy theories and working together.
Seawright said Moore, Buttigieg, Scott, and others leading the recovery efforts are showing that the process is not about politics.
“There are always bad actors who are looking to spread division, and I think you see this playing out in real time,” he said. “These leaders are demonstrating that this is not about a political party, this is not about future political office potentials, this is about making sure in this moment that the country knows that their leaders are willing to put every other thing aside to do what’s in the best interest of the American people.”
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OPINION: Why Hasn’t Biden Called Chris Christie?
The man who never misses a funeral seems to have lost his personal touch when it comes to Republicans he needs—badly—in the fall.
by JONATHAN MARTIN
POLITICO
03/29/2024 05:00 AM EDTJonathan Martin is POLITICO’s senior political columnist and politics bureau chief. He’s covered elections in every corner of America and co-authored a best-selling book about Donald Trump and Joe Biden. His reported column chronicles the inside conversations and major trends shaping U.S. politics.
Chris Christie’s extended flirtation with No Labels should be a wake-up call—for President Joe Biden.
Christie seriously considered whether to run for president as an independent, according to people who spoke to him, and was being actively courted by No Labels. The group shared extensive polling and modeling data with the former New Jersey governor to make their pitch and even presented Christie with a list of potential Democratic running mates to fill out a unity ticket.
For his part, the former New Jersey governor commissioned polling of his own and drafted a potential budget, as first reported by The Washington Post.
That Christie decided not to run is a result of No Labels’ well-documented shortcomings, the structural challenges for any independent presidential candidate and the legacy-defining consequences of being the person who enabled Donald Trump to reclaim the White House.
That Christie considered a third-party bid at all is in part an indictment of Biden.
It has been well over two months since Christie dropped out of the Republican presidential primary. How has Biden not called Christie, whom he’s known since the former governor was in student government as a University of Delaware undergraduate, to ask for his support? Or, if he thought that too soon or too direct, he could at least have asked Christie to get together. But that ask has not been made.
Christie has made it abundantly clear he will not support Trump. And last month, in a conversation on Pod Save America, he even held open the possibility of voting for Biden, while noting: “I’m not there yet.” Why wouldn’t Biden want to enlist one of the most talented public speakers in either party, somebody who ran for the GOP nomination in no small part to be a rhetorical battering ram against Trump? A Caribbean, or even Mediterranean, ambassadorship would be a small price to pay for campaign services rendered.
It’s political malpractice. And Christie isn’t the only anti-Trump Republican or independent waiting for their phone to ring.
Prominent former GOP officeholders, from George W. Bush to Mike Pence to Paul Ryan, also haven’t been contacted.
The same goes for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who, like Christie, flirted with a No Labels run. Asked in January if Biden ever contacted him, perhaps about an ambassadorship, Hogan said no. As if to drive home the point, Hogan, whose wife is Korean American, happened to mention that he has a nickname in South Korea that translates to “son-in-law.” About two months later, Hogan announced his candidacy, as a Republican, for the Senate.
I reached out to every current Republican lawmaker who has refused to commit to Trump in the general election. Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Mitt Romney (Utah), Todd Young (Indiana), Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) all said the same: they’ve not heard from Biden.
“It is surprising,” Collins told me. “It’s especially surprising because President Biden does understand the Senate, he has personal relationships with some of us.”And that’s what makes the lack of any overtures so remarkable.
You, dear reader, may be screaming at your phone or computer by now (or before now). I can hear it: these politicians should grasp the stakes in this election and not require any personal touch from the otherwise busy leader of the free world.
But you know who understands the value of a politician receiving a personal touch, perhaps more than anybody else on the planet? Hint: It’s the man who rarely misses a funeral, happily calls the parents of lawmakers on their cell phones and quelled any hint of an uprising against his renomination in part because he’s so kind to, and well-liked by, his fellow officeholders.
This same person—you guessed it, Joe Biden—was also the one who as vice president did so much of the outreach to members of Congress, governors, and mayors. And, if we’re being honest, Biden was the person who was frustrated that the detached president he served wasn’t more willing to use the power of the office to woo their fellow officeholders.
If you don’t think the personal matters in politics, well, you ought to talk to more politicians. Or pick up the published memoirs, letters, or diaries of them. They tend to record slights. And solids. Both shape their actions.
So how could the Joe Biden whose long-serving advisers’ wince when he tells the story about learning from Jesse Helms—no prize in today’s Democratic primary!—to never question a senator’s motives be so maladroit when it comes to courting anti-Trump Republicans?
Well, yes, he has been busy, what with a war in Ukraine and another in Gaza. To say nothing of bridges collapsing at home.
It’s also that Biden has been focused on protecting his left flank. He’s wisely maintained a close relationship with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as a candidate and president.
The president’s staff, who some Republicans grumble are not letting Biden (truly) be Biden, have been particularly consumed with trying to mollify progressives. Biden, too, has come to recognize the grave political risk posed by, speaking of, that war in Gaza.
Yet just as revealing as those “uncommitted” votes that keep popping up in Democratic primaries are the remarkable number of votes Nikki Haley is still garnering in her political afterlife. These Trump-skeptical Republican primary voters are like the dog that simply will not swallow the pill, no matter how deep you bury it in the Alpo.
Surely Biden, who was in Arizona last week, knows that Haley won 20 percent of the vote (and Ron DeSantis another two percent) in Phoenix’s Maricopa County.
That’s 22 percent for somebody besides Trump in a race that’s long over. These are voters up for grabs in the fall. And voters whose ultimate decision could be shaped by leaders with credibility on the pre-Trump right.
To Biden’s credit, he did issue a statement praising Haley the day she dropped out. Which is more than Trump has done to appeal to his former rival.
Haley, of course, is highly unlikely to support Biden. Wanting a future in the GOP, she’ll likely come around to Trump.
Yet as Haley’s ongoing silence demonstrates, Trump has made that more difficult by doing nothing to win her over.
The same principle applies to Biden. By not reaching out to Republicans uneasy with their own nominee, the president is making it easier for them to criticize him.
Look, as the president would say, many of these Republicans will never publicly support Biden. They have real concerns about his administration (and some want to win future primaries).
As Romney told me by way of trying to explain why Biden has not called, the president’s policies give him pause.
“Biden has not asked for my support,” said Romney. “I’m pretty critical of his mess at the border—that should have cooled his jets!”
The point, though, isn’t for Biden to turn all these figures into his campaign surrogates. Perhaps some will do that, former Rep. Liz Cheney being the most likely prospect to embrace that sort of Stop Trump mission. But the more realistic goal, certainly with GOP senators, is to soften their criticism of him and make them feel more comfortable denouncing Trump.
Would figures such as Romney or Collins still be uneasy with Biden’s immigration policy if the president had them and their spouses to Camp David or a private White House dinner? Of course. Yet would the senators be somewhat more restrained in their public judgment of Biden? Well, it’s a people business.
At the heart of Biden’s challenge this year is that, unlike in 2020 when he was largely a vehicle to end Covid-19 and defeat Trump, he’s a fully defined candidate in his own right, having made decisions that appealed to some voters and alienated others.
“He’s the incumbent so he has weaknesses he didn’t have in 2020,” as Bill Kristol, the anti-Trump commentator and one-time vice-presidential chief of staff, said. “He needs to be more active and aggressive in getting as broad an anti-Trump coalition as possible.”
It is, Kristol said, “mystifying” that Biden has not done more to win over major Republican figures who are opposed to Trump: “He ought to have Chris Christie to lunch.”
Immediately after dropping out of the GOP presidential primary in January, Christie told people he was highly unlikely to run as a third-party candidate under the No Labels banner. There was only a 10 percent chance he would do so, he said at the time.
Yet earlier this month, he was sounding a lot more like a candidate. Republicans who saw him at the annual American Enterprise Institute conference in Sea Island, Georgia, told me Christie sure didn’t seem like somebody who was ready to return to punditry.
And last week, when Christie spoke on David Axelrod’s podcast, the former governor was all but signaling his campaign message. “I will do whatever I can to try to make sure that the country doesn’t go through what I think will be the misery of a second Trump term,” Christie said.
He resisted the temptation in part because he found No Labels’ infrastructure and finances wanting. Their handing him a list of potential running mates that included (in some cases lapsed) Democrats such as congresswoman-turned-Fox News personality Tulsi Gabbard, disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and even Maryland’s Doug Gansler also didn’t help.
However, that Christie nearly mounted an independent campaign that would’ve given the center-right voters Biden needs another place to go should not only alarm the president. It should rouse him to the challenge. This is not 2020.
“I talk to a lot of Republicans, Democrats and Independents,” said Collins. “I gotta tell you, it’s really rare that I find anyone who’s happy with their choices.”
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O.J. Simpson dies of cancer at age 76
Simpson’s family confirmed his death in a statement released Thursday.
April 11, 2024, 11:09 AM EDT
by Clarissa-Jan Lim
MSNBCO.J. Simpson, the former NFL player who was infamously acquitted for the gruesome murders of his ex-wife and her friend, has died, his family said on Thursday. He was 76.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement posted on X. “He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.”
According to NBC News:
Reports circulated in February that Simpson had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was in hospice care as he underwent chemotherapy. Simpson denied that he was in hospice in a video posted to X, but did not address whether he or not he’d been diagnosed with cancer.
Simpson was a star running back for the Buffalo Bills in the 1970s, and he pursued a broadcasting career after his retirement from professional football. But he became an internationally notorious figure after the brutal killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994, and his arrest and subsequent trial on murder charges, sparked a media circus.
Around 95 million people tuned in to watch Simpson lead the police on a 90-minute car chase in a white Ford Bronco before he finally surrendered to police. His monthslong criminal trial, which culminated in his shocking acquittal, received wall-to-wall coverage in the media and paved the way for the 24-hour cable news cycle.
The verdict also highlighted a racial divide over views of the criminal justice system. Many Black Americans regarded Simpson as a victim of the broken policing system and celebrated his acquittal, which left many white Americans outraged.
Simpson was found liable for Brown’s and Goldman’s deaths in 1997 after their families filed a civil suit against him. He was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages but ultimately paid off little of it.
He did eventually serve time, though: In 2008, he was convicted on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping, and he served nine years in prison before being granted parole in 2017.
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U.S. issues travel warning for Israel with Iran attack believed to be imminent and fear Gaza war could spread
Source: cbsnews
Do you see Iran attacking Israel in the next few days?
Yes, it’s happened now.
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/13/1244641489/iran-israel-drone-attack-middle-east-gaza
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Alvin Bragg’s about to become the most famous prosecutor in America (but no questions, please)
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is cutting a different path than other Donald Trump adversaries, declining to discuss his case outside of the courtroom.by JEFF COLTIN
POLITICO
04/13/2024 07:00 AM EDT
NEW YORK—Five days before his criminal trial against former President Donald Trump, the top prosecutor in Manhattan sat across from the liberal Rev. Al Sharpton in a hotel conference room packed with fellow Democrats.
For 12 minutes, they talked—about growing up in Harlem, about teaching Sunday school and about fighting gun violence. But not once did District Attorney Alvin Bragg mention Trump to the MSNBC host. Not once did he bring up the biggest case he’s ever tried. And Sharpton had agreed not to ask.
“I only talk about that matter in court filings and in the court. That’s what we do,” Bragg said in a brief interview Wednesday as he left Sharpton’s National Action Network convention.
On Monday, Bragg will become the first prosecutor to put an American president on trial. He will be one of the biggest characters of the 2024 election and a hero to many Democrats, regardless of the outcome. Yet he appears to be a reluctant participant in his own narrative, avoiding interviews and declining to discuss the case in public settings.
It’s a sharp contrast to the approach of New York’s top litigator, Democratic state Attorney General Tish James, who has relished her role in securing a massive civil judgment against Trump—even getting standing ovations from similar audiences in recent months. In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is also leaning into her prominent role trying Trump on election interference charges, even after a romantic relationship with her top prosecutor almost forced her off the case.
Unlike the others, Bragg faced incredible political pressure from his Democratic base to indict Trump. And now that the case is going to trial, the first-term DA is shying away from owning the prosecution. Bragg isn’t even planning on being in the courtroom every day, according to a person familiar with his thinking who was granted anonymity to discuss his plans.
At a time when the idea of an independent judiciary is under fire across the country—by those on both the left and right—Bragg is hoping to dull the criticism that he’s unfairly prosecuting Trump to hurt the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
“I’ve been an officer of the court going on more than 20 years, and the way we comport ourselves is important,” Bragg said. “In the courtroom first and foremost, [but] obviously, there’s a public dimension. So we are guided by the rules of the court and fair play.”
His approach is more reminiscent of U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has avoided saying much about his investigation into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
That sort of avoidance is sound legal strategy, said Eliza Orlins, a Manhattan public defender who ran against Bragg in 2021.
“If he really were out there flaunting it, it would be pretty inappropriate,” Orlins said. Trump’s legal team has already tried to delay the trial every which way, with limited success. “It would taint the potential jury pool if the district attorney were out there saying things, slam dunking.”
It’s also Bragg’s temperament, according to people close to him—understated, not fiery.
“He’s been in the crosshairs of the MAGA crowd since the day he took office, for sure,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, a Democrat who is a friend and ally of Bragg. “And the number of death threats incoming prove it.” But Bragg hasn’t been knocked off course, he added. “Emotionally, he’s still extremely solid because he’s a resilient, strong person. He knows why he’s doing this.”
Bragg indicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records—charges that could lead to prison time, if he’s convicted. The case argues that Trump hid the politically damaging information of an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels from voters by filing false checks and business records to obscure the hush money payments.
Trump has attacked Bragg personally, calling him “a degenerate psychopath that truely hates the USA!” and an “animal.” Bragg is Black.
But even as an elected official in Manhattan, where the overwhelming majority of the population opposes Trump, Bragg hasn’t fought back. James, by contrast, has quipped that Trump inflating his net worth wasn’t “The Art of the Deal” like his book, but “the art of the steal.”
When Bragg was asked about his case on public radio station WNYC in December, the furthest he went was a technical clarification of the question.
“The core is not money for sex,” Bragg said. “We would say it’s about conspiring to corrupt a presidential election and then lying in New York business records to cover it up.”
But his relative silence on the eve of the Trump trial—declining to be interviewed for a New York Times profile, avoiding the Sunday show circuit—is also a clear component of Bragg’s communications strategy, a quiet response to the incessant complaints of Trump, and his supporters, that the case wouldn’t be brought if Trump were not Trump.
It wasn’t always this way for Bragg. He won a competitive open primary for the seat three years ago in part by arguing his previous job working in the state Attorney General’s office put him in the best position to take up the Trump investigation, which had wallowed in the Manhattan DA’s office for years.
“Again and again, he’s shown a readiness to stand up to powerful people and interests in the fight for justice,” former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara wrote in a fundraising email from Bragg’s campaign, “whether it’s launching the investigation into the Trump Foundation or cracking down on abusive landlords.”
But once he got into office, Bragg faced backlash for not charging Trump immediately. The lead prosecutors who had been handling the case in his office resigned in dramatic fashion, while Bragg’s liberal supporters grew restless with the lack of an indictment for more than a year.
“I bring hard cases when they are ready,” Bragg said at a press conference early last year, defending his deliberation.
Just like Trump, Bragg’s own political future could be tied to the result of the case.
Crime rates in Manhattan are trending down over his tenure, but are still above pre-pandemic levels. Like other progressive prosecutors, he’s faced intense pushback to his focus on offering alternatives to incarceration. He’s been tagged on Fox News and in the conservative New York Post as a primary example of progressive policing policies gone wrong.
Bragg is up for reelection in 2025, and the Trump case is somewhat of an electoral gamble for him.
“The political tradeoff is, if he wins the case, then Trump will reelect him,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a moderate Democratic political consultant. “If he loses, he can be beaten by the sense that things are out of control on the streets.”
So even as the Trump trial swirls around him, Bragg is keeping a busy schedule with other things.
After the interview with Sharpton, Bragg said he was going to a cybersecurity conference to talk about how his office is prosecuting people who finance terrorism with cryptocurrency. Then to internal meetings with his street crime prosecution team.
“We have a lot that is important to everyday New Yorkers,” he said. “I’m continuing to be focused on really, really important things.”
Moments later, a Fox News reporter and two camera operators bound down a staircase to catch Bragg on his way out of the building. “Why not focus on crime? Instead of Trump?” the reporter shouted to him. Bragg’s security guard got in between them and rushed the district attorney out a side door.
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