2024 campaign

Numbers are mysterious things. According to orthodox Roman Catholicism, there are instances in which 3 = 1. You might get by with that formula in your theology seminar. Don’t try it in your arithmetic class. Unraveling the reason why both might be right would take me far afield. But since numbers are in the air tonight — the night of the Big Deal Iowa Caucus Race — I thought I would remind you that numbers, and the reality behind them, can be mysterious. In the run up to the Caucus, lots of pundits put on their best owlish eyeglasses and explained that even though Iowa had only forty delegates to send to the Republican National Convention, it was nevertheless important because it was the first contest in the primary season.

It was former New Jersey governor Chris Christie who ended up getting smoked. His share of the Republican primary vote had dwindled to the single digits. His fusillades at Donald Trump proved as ineffective as the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia. He could only skedaddle... but not before delivering a lengthy departing address bewailing the manifold sins of Donald Trump, expressing his regret at conniving to advance Trump’s political fortunes and pledging, “I will make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again.” Christie was an enabler in 2016, when, to the surprise of the Republican establishment, he broke ranks to endorse Trump, hoping to secure the vice presidential nod, or at least a cabinet position.

Reality TV heavyweight "Judge Judy" Sheindlin endorsed Nikki Haley for president on Tuesday. "I'm proud to endorse Nikki Haley because she is whip smart, has executive credentials and was a superb governor," Sheindlin said. "She has international gravitas as ambassador to the United Nations. She is principled, measured and has that elusive quality of real common sense. I truly think she can restore America and believe she is the future of this great nation." Haley is undoubtedly excited to have the support of her own reality-TV star to leverage against Donald Trump’s Apprentice fame. "Judge Judy is a no-nonsense lady who has earned the respect of millions of Americans from her courtroom by being thoughtful, fair and honest,” Haley said in a press release.

I’m old enough to remember when Joe Scarborough spent most of his show kissing Donald Trump’s ass. Those were the days. Cast your mind back to 2015. Mika and Joe were still just “co-workers” and they would constantly yuck it up with then candidate Donald J. Trump. Don’t take my word for it — even the Washington Post wrote about their love affair with the Donald, describing the theme of these interviews as “bonhomie.” Erik Wemple explained, “Trump is often on the phone; some decent, journalistic questions get lobbed at Trump, often by Willie Geist; Trump makes more claims than the crew can possibly fact-check; and there’s a great deal of talk about polls.” When Willie Geist is asking the hard-hitting questions, you know you are in friendly territory.

Since she began speaking out against trans athletes competing in women’s sports, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines has received her share of threats from the mob. Just this year, she was allegedly punched by a transgender protester in California. Now she finds herself in the sights of one of Trumpworld's most rabid advocates. Laura Loomer, a self-described investigative journalist and Trump supporter, accused the athlete of shilling for Ron DeSantis and posted her address to X, sparking a cat fight between the two women.   In the post, which has since been deleted, Loomer claimed that Gaines had been bought off by DeSantis. “In June 2023, Riley announced that she was endorsing DeSantis over Trump,” the post read.

Donald Trump’s ninety-one felony charges can’t keep him down, nor the thunderous applause of his fans. The former president and well-known mixed martial arts fan was given the celebrity treatment at UFC 295 at New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, complete with his own walkout song.   Kid Rock’s “American Badass” blared as UFC announcers turned their undivided attention to Trump’s arrival. The 20,000-person stadium erupted in cheers as Trump made his way to his ringside seats flanked by his entourage — UFC president Dana White, Kid Rock, Tucker Carlson and Don Jr.  https://twitter.com/ufcontnt/status/1723536824843243833?

Joe Manchin’s decision to retire from the US Senate is not surprising. The tea leaves have been there for a long time. But what is surprising is how immediately and explicitly he made clear that he is entertaining the possibility of entering the 2024 presidential contest. It is a decision that could prove monumentally important to the 2024 outcome — and unlike most third party candidates, Manchin has a real shot at being more than a protest vote. For the last true independent-minded moderate in the Democratic Party, it should be an easy choice: he has every reason to run. The Republicans and Democrats are both headed toward nominating two of the most unpopular politicians in America. The challenges they face are unique and unavoidable.

It looks like the Republican National Committee will partner with just about anyone to put on a presidential debate. In a press release released Thursday morning, NewsNation, an upstart cable news network with less than 65,000 nightly viewers as of last year, announced that they will be hosting the fourth GOP debate in December.  It will take place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. “All of us at NewsNation are incredibly honored to be hosting a presidential primary debate and to be part of what will be another historic election season,” said Sean Compton, president of Nexstar Networks which owns NewsNation.

Do you believe in coincidences? I used to. But like Macbeth I have just “supped full with horror.” That is, I have been flipping back and forth between the glitzy but pointless Republican debate in Miami and Donald Trump’s rally in nearby Hialeah, Florida.  And here’s Exhibit One in my brief against coincidences: my office reading group is just now, as I write, reading Dante’s Inferno. Yes, could there be any more apposite reading?  I am going to take a page here from that priest W. H. Auden talked about who advised the people who came to him for confession to “be brief, be blunt, and be gone.” An admirable imperative which I intend to obey.

Iowa governor Kim Reynolds endorsed Florida governor Ron DeSantis yesterday. While endorsements don’t typically matter, this one could be the exception — both because of what it says about the Republican Party, and what it says about Donald Trump. When DeSantis decided to take the plunge into the presidential race, Team Trump has tried to depict him primarily as one of two things. First, they framed him as a fraud — a faux conservative establishment type, a Jeb Bush acolyte beloved by the donor class, a secret neocon with zero charisma.

Former vice president Mike Pence is suspending his bid to be the 2024 GOP nominee for president of the United States, following months of financial troubles and lagging polls.   Pence made the surprise announcement at the end of a speech given before the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon.    “After much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today,” Pence said. “We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets.”   Pence launched his bid in early June but had struggled to raise money from the start. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, his campaign was $620,000 in debt entering October and had just $1.