A new NBC News poll finds voters continue to rank Joe Biden’s age and Donald Trump’s criminality as the most compelling reasons to oppose them in November.
“For Biden, the idea that he ‘may not have the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term’ was the most compelling reason for 23% of registered voters. Another 17% of registered voters said their top gripe with Biden was that ‘millions of immigrants have crossed our border illegally’ during his presidency, and 16% chose the message about inflation hitting a ’40-year high, making it hard for take home pay to match rising prices.’ Another 15% said ‘all of these’ were most convincing.”
“For Trump, 20% of registered voters said the most convincing reason to oppose him was that he’s ‘facing four different criminal and civil trials for alleged wrongdoing, including multiple felony charges related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election.’”
“If Nebraska Republicans revise their state’s method of awarding presidential electors to help Donald Trump in November, Maine might match the change to boost President Joe Biden’s reelection prospects,” the Lewiston Sun Journal reports.
Said Maine state House Majority Leader Maureen Terry (D): “If Nebraska’s Republican Governor and Republican-controlled Legislature were to change their electoral system this late in the cycle in order to unfairly award Donald Trump an additional electoral vote, I think the Maine Legislature would be compelled to act in order to restore fairness to our country’s electoral system.”
Michigan’s independent redistricting commission has voted to withdraw its appeal of a ruling by a federal district court that had blocked the use of the state’s legislative maps after concluding that commissioners improperly relied on race when drawing districts in the Detroit area.
The case had been appealed to the Supreme Court, which had previously refused to stay the district court decision pending appeal. The commission subsequently passed a new state House map that the lower court approved last month for use in this year’s elections. Commissioners have begun drawing a new state Senate map as well, though it won’t take effect until 2026 since elections for the upper chamber are held only in midterm years.
“The Republican National Committee and its lawyers are going state to state seeking to influence what laws and procedures will govern the November election,” USA Today reports.
“The RNC, which has been overhauled with loyalists to former President Donald Trump, is reviving failed legal arguments from 2020 as it seeks to get involved in dozens of state and federal lawsuits. The cases are in all the major battleground states for 2024, but also in deep-red and deep-blue states.”
“Some of the biggest ongoing cases target how absentee ballots are processed and who should be removed from voter rolls. If the cases are successful, fewer people will be allowed to vote in November, and fewer absentee ballots will be counted.”
“Donald Trump is now going all-out against Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., amid polls that indicate the independent candidate would take more votes than Trump than incumbent President Joe Biden,” USA Today reports.
“RFK Jr. is a Democrat ‘Plant,’ a Radical Left Liberal,” Trump said in a three-part post on his Truth Social website late Friday.
“Fresh off some historic wins for the labor movement, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain could be the man who makes the biggest difference for President Biden in key Midwestern swing states in the fall,” the Washington Post reports.
“The union leader has soared to prominence over the past year by leading the UAW to some of its most significant gains in decades. He’s a captivating speaker who commands the attention and trust of many workers at a time when Biden is struggling to connect with voters because of higher prices and Israel’s destructive war in Gaza.”
“Fain’s star power, along with the endorsement and the union’s long-standing voter turnout efforts for Democrats, will be crucial in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and other industrial states that could hinge on a few thousand votes.”
“Donald Trump says he wants to hold a major campaign event at New York’s Madison Square Garden featuring Black hip-hop artists and athletes. His aides speak of making appearances in Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta with leaders of color and realigning American politics by flipping Democratic constituencies,” the AP reports.
“But five months before the first general election votes are cast, the former president’s campaign has little apparent organization to show for its ambitious plans.”
“The Trump campaign removed its point person for coalitions and hasn’t announced a replacement. The Republican Party’s minority outreach offices across the country have been shuttered and replaced by businesses that include a check-cashing store, an ice cream shop and a sex-toy store. And campaign officials concede they are weeks away from rolling out any targeted programs.”
New York Times: “In no small part, Mr. Vance owes his quick ascent into the Trump orbit to his unlikely friendship and ideological kinship with the former president’s oldest son. They text or talk nearly daily and try to meet up if they are in the same city, according to people who know them both. They are a social-media tag team, often reposting each other’s messages.”
“The friendship is among the MAGA movement’s more unusual pairings.”
Former Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) is dropping his bid for Michigan’s open Senate seat, CNN reports.
Said Meijer: “The hard reality is the fundamentals of the race have changed since we launched this campaign. After prayerful consideration, today I withdrew my name from the primary ballot. Without a strong pathway to victory, continuing this campaign only increases the likelihood of a divisive primary that would distract from the essential goal – conservative victories in November.”
“The Republican Party sent a letter to the Secret Service on Friday urging the police agency to keep protesters farther away from the venue for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July,” the New York Times reports.
“The three-page letter, signed by Todd R. Steggerda, counsel to the Republican National Committee, objected to the placement of an area where protesters would be allowed to demonstrate. Mr. Steggerda argued that convention attendees would be forced to pass by the protesters on their way into the venue, raising the potential for confrontations.”
“President Biden’s reelection campaign unveiled a digital ad ahead of Thursday night’s NFL draft, calling out former President Trump for saying football is boring,” The Hill reports.
“The 20-second video opens with Trump saying at a rally that ‘football is boring as hell’ and a photograph of Biden with Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce during a visit to the White House after winning the Super Bowl last year.”
“President Biden said on Friday that he would participate in a general-election debate with former President Donald Trump, a striking shift after months in which he and his campaign declined to commit to appearing onstage with his Republican rival,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Biden’s announcement, made in response to a question from the radio host Howard Stern, comes after pressure from television networks and Mr. Trump’s campaign for the president to agree to participate in debates.”
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