Donald trrump

What does Mike Pence, a family man, a devout Christian, occupant of the top spot on Donald Trump’s enemies list ever since January 6, 2021, and rival of his old boss in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination, think of the fact that the former president has been found by a jury to be “civilly liable” for the sexual abuse of E. Jean Carroll?  Asked by NBC for his reaction, he sidestepped: “I really can’t comment on a judgment in a civil case,” he said. “It’s just one more story focusing on my former running mate that I know is a great fascination to members of the national media, but I just don’t think it’s where the American people are focused.”  Vivek Ramaswamy cried foul play.

The mixed verdict delivered by the jury in the Donald Trump civil rape case will be interpreted differently by those who support and oppose the former president.   On the main count that Trump raped E. Jean Carroll, the nine-person jury unanimously found that he did not. The plaintiff could not even satisfy its low burden of proof, namely proof beyond a preponderance of the evidence. In so finding, the jury apparently disbelieved at least part of the plaintiff’s testimony. She was very specific about being raped, not merely sexually abused or molested, as the jury did find.   It’s a strange verdict.

Those in the White House masochistic enough to have read the results of the ABC/Washington Post poll published yesterday will surely have had an uneasy start to the week.  The poll reveals plenty of problems for Biden and those whose job it is to persuade the American people to give him another four years: the fact that it shows him losing by six points to Donald Trump, widely panned as a busted flush with no appeal beyond the MAGA hardcore; the solid majority of voters who do not think the Biden has the mental sharpness (63 percent) or the physical health (62 percent) to serve as president; and the new record low approval rating in the survey (36 percent).

Asa Hutchinson says we need a “course correction” in the Republican Party. There are many Republicans who agree with him. But with weak name recognition and some viewpoints that are out of step with the Republican base, is there a lane for the seventy-two-year-old former governor of Arkansas, who formally launched his campaign Wednesday? At the moment, he’s the only declared candidate who is explicitly attacking Trump — albeit in his folksy, gentlemanly way. So, even if there’s no lane for him to win the GOP nomination, can he damage Trump’s chances, potentially assisting DeSantis — or will he and other long-shot candidates simply splinter the anti-Trump vote and help to ensure the former president’s nomination? Hutchinson is at 0.

Joe Biden’s campaign officially launched with a video released in the early morning hours featuring a message bizarrely limited in its focus to a single threat: the return of Donald Trump. https://youtu.be/ChjibtX0UzU Of course Trump is the odds-on favorite to be the next Republican nominee, but Biden’s announcement ad had none of the optimism you typically see from incumbent campaigns proud of what they've achieved. If the economy is doing as well as the White House regularly claims, you'd think that would be at the center of his launch and appeal for re-election. Instead, the mood of this ad was dark and foreboding — fear the Donnie from over the sea and his dark and terrible return! Biden’s team is doubling down on their 2022 strategy with this approach.

This past weekend Tucker Carlson gave the keynote address at the Heritage Foundation’s Fiftieth Anniversary Summit and Gala. His speech wasn’t about his show on Fox, or the media or the industry itself. It was steeped in the political and cultural themes the country is headed for ahead of the 2024 election.   Carlson aptly set the table of topics for politicians to pick up, from the current debate around gender and Critical Race Theory. He highlighted key issues where conservative leaders should be responding, such as Greg Abbott recently in Texas as he works to pardon Daniel Perry for his role in the shooting of a BLM protester.   Tucker has served as a sort of kingmaker for American conservatives and Republican politicians in recent years.

Joe Biden is considering making his re-election announcement as early as Tuesday.  After months of teasing his inevitable run with awkward comments like telling Al Roker he will be pushing out Easter eggs, it would seem the moment is upon us.   So what does this mean for 2024?   Well, there’s still a long way to go. And as 2016 showed us, primaries make for plenty of surprises. Still, even with the unknowns, there’s a good chance that we end up with a 2020 re-rerun: former president Donald J. Trump versus President Joseph R. Biden. Because that worked out so well for everybody last time!  There are plenty of problems currently plaguing the country, from inflation to train derailments.

Regular readers may recall how fond I am of a mot from the British diplomat, author and art collector Edgar Vincent, the first (and, as it happened, the last) Viscount d’Abernon: “An Englishman’s mind works best when it is almost too late.” When I first encountered Lord D’Abernon’s saying, I was impressed by its slightly disabused cheerfulness. “Whew,” I thought. “As usual, some impending disaster was neatly avoided at the last moment by the wit and pluck of the doughty Brits.” The drama of the near-escape added to the sweetness of relief. Surely we Yankees — most of whom, until recently, were basically displaced Brits — could also be counted on to display the requisite derring-do at the critical moment. Could we though? “Almost too late.