Fitch Ratings placed U.S. credit on a negative watch Wednesday, in case the White House and Republican lawmakers fail to reach a deal on the debt ceiling, The Hill reports.

Become a citizen pundit and help us advance our quest for civil discussion over real news stories. Hit the Comment section below, or in the right column if more appropriate for your politics or email us at editors@thehustings.news.

Among debate issues; 

 Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), a close ally of President Biden (who was senior senator from Delaware when his first term began in 2001) has announced he will not seek a fifth term next year. Carper is the fourth incumbent Democratic senator choosing not to run in 2024, after Diane Feinstein of California, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Ben Cardin of Maryland.

Will debt-ceiling discussions put the kibosh on President Biden’s agenda, and on his legacy as well?

Should Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) resign early and potentially hand the 2024 Democratic primary for her seat to Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)?

The Consumer Price Index was up 4.9% in April, still too high for the Federal Reserve, but reflecting a slow and continuing improvement over last year. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported a week earlier that the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, higher than most economists had predicted. This comes after the Fed indicated its latest quarter-point interest rate hike might be its last for a while. All these high numbers could be fond memories of our 2023 economy if Congress fails to pass a debt ceiling increase in coming weeks.

A Manhattan court awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million in her sexual abuse and defamation case against Donald J. Trump, who of course, will appeal.

_____

THURSDAY 5/25/23

By Todd Lassa

A bunch of tech bros – female as well as male, but mostly male – enter a Twitter space called Twitter Spaces and fumble with the technology for 20 minutes. Until minute 21, the man of the hour is nowhere to be heard (it’s audio-only).

Preparation?

Elon Musk sycophants being the type of sycophants that give Trump sycophants a run for their money, the tech bros stumble over each other trying to explain how this sh*t show is a sh*t show only because Musk has too many followers (no mention of how many might be the bots the new owner promised to root out when he dropped $44 billion on the company) clogging the system.

Anyone familiar with Musk’s Tesla quarterly earnings calls with analysts would recognize his performance Wednesday night.

One tech bro – the female in the crowd – compares Twitter Spaces’ technical issues with Musk’s SpaceX “intentionally” blowing up the biggest-ever space rocket on purpose. There’s the beta test.

“Ron DeSantis just crashed Twitter,” one tech bro exclaims. “Imagine what he’s going to do to Donald Trump.”

Jake Tapper had 568,000 viewers on CNN the previous night, another tech bro says. Musk already was up to 728,000. Tech bros just love big numbers.

These are tech bros rationalizing the sh*t show behind Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis long-awaited declaration he is running against former President Trump for the GOP presidential nomination.

DeSantis tells all the listener-“viewers” he is declaring his candidacy “ to lead our great American comeback.”

Issues?

The mess at our southern border. Drugs coming in through the southern border. Crime in our cities. A president who takes his cues from the woke mob.

“We must restore sanity to our nation.”

“Woke” will become a drinking game for DeSantis stump speeches.

Embracing energy independence; the DeSantis version of “drill, baby, drill.”

“We must reject attacks on our law enforcement,” DeSantis declares, using a talking point that could cut both ways, against the January 6th insurrection as well as “defund the police.” The governor promises to actually build a border wall. as an “energetic executive who will take on the issues” as well as “reconstitutionalize the executive branch.” 

DeSantis touts his lax COVID lockdown and how Disneyworld was open when Disneyland was not. By the time “journalist questions,” including one about the Second Amendment by ex-Brietbart News/ex-NRA flak Dana Loesch concludes the Musk sh*t show incumbent presidential candidate Joe Biden has trolled DeSantis with the tweet, “this link works,” to his campaign website. Several pundits from the other side say Twitter Spaces had much lower viewership – as low as 139,000 – than the tech bros had claimed. The Daily Mail runs a Trumpian front page headline: “Ron’s Desaster.”

Still, Loesch proclaimes she will vote for the Florida governor in her primary (leaving open the likelihood she will vote for Trump in the general). Musk’s free-speech open forum is full of hard-right pundits, asking the same sort of fawning softballs that New Hampshire citizens lobbed at Trump during his CNN Town Hall.

_____
COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

The debt ceiling standoff is “not my fault,” Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told reporters Wednesday, as he sent negotiators back to the White House. He said more time was needed to reach a deal (The Boston Globe).

You can join the political conversation and become a citizen pundit with your Comments in the section on this page (or on the left page, if more appropriate), or email editors@thehustings.news

Civil comments are welcome from never-Trumpers and pro-MAGAs alike. 

There’s plenty of issues on which to weight in, including the shaky start to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential run, and Republicans’ refusal to expel Rep. George Santos (R-NY) from the House of Representatives. 

Also up for discussion:

Nice guy Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) beat Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by a few days in declaring his presidential campaign earlier this week. 

The Consumer Price Index was up 4.9% in April, still too high for the Federal Reserve, but reflecting a slow and continuing improvement over last year. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported a week earlier that the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, higher than most economists had predicted. This comes after the Fed indicated its latest quarter-point interest rate hike might be its last for a while. All these high numbers could be fond memories of our 2023 economy if Congress fails to pass a debt ceiling increase in coming weeks.

A Manhattan court awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million in her sexual abuse and defamation case against Donald J. Trump, who of course, will appeal.

______

Democratic Delaware Sen. Tom Carper announced he will not run for a fifth term in 2024, The Hill reports. 

“After a good deal of prayer and introspection and more than a few heart-to-heart conversations, we decided I should do neither,” Carper, 76, said in his announcement in which he referred to having considered running for re-election and then riding off into the sunset. 

“Hands-on favorite” to replace him is Delaware’s Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who served as an aide to Carper when he was the state’s House member-at-large and told Politico earlier this year she would consider a Senate run if her former boss retired. 

Before he was elected junior senator to Joe Biden in 2000, Carper had served two terms as governor of Delaware after his tenure in the House. Carper becomes the fourth Democratic senator to announce retirement after the 2024 elections, after California's Diane Feinstein, Michigan's Debbie Stabenow and Maryland's Ben Cardin.

•••

Become a citizen pundit and help us advance our quest for civil discussion over real news stories. Hit the Comment section below, or in the right column if more appropriate for your politics or email us at editors@thehustings.news.

Among debate issues; Will debt-ceiling discussions put the kibosh on President Biden’s agenda, and on his legacy as well?

Should Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) resign early and potentially hand the 2024 Democratic primary for her seat to Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)?

Also up for discussion:

The Consumer Price Index was up 4.9% in April, still too high for the Federal Reserve, but reflecting a slow and continuing improvement over last year. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported a week earlier that the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, higher than most economists had predicted. This comes after the Fed indicated its latest quarter-point interest rate hike might be its last for a while. All these high numbers could be fond memories of our 2023 economy if Congress fails to pass a debt ceiling increase in coming weeks.

A Manhattan court awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million in her sexual abuse and defamation case against Donald J. Trump, who of course, will appeal.

Democratic Delaware Sen. Tom Carper announced he will not run for a fifth term in 2024, The Hill reports.  “After […]

WEDNESDAY 5/24/23

We’re ‘Nowhere Close,’ but ‘Don’t Worry’ – That’s the message from Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (above) after talks with the White House broke down again Tuesday on the debt ceiling issue nine days ahead of potential economic pandemonium. 

“Well look. There are certain things that divide us and we know what that is,” McCarthy told reporters (The Washington Post). “You cannot spend more money next year than we did this year, clear as day. We’ve got to help people get back to work with work requirements. You have to cut this red tape where people can build again in America. You know there’s a lot of avenues out there that they’ve got to find. You’ve got to come to agreement there.”

Line in the sand: McCarthy emphasized that Democrats want to “spend more money next year than they did this year. 

“That’s the red line. Not gonna happen.”

And so it goes.

•••

Primary Season – Trial Season – Manhattan judge Juan Merchan has scheduled the criminal trial against Donald J. Trump in the case of alleged hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to begin March 25, 2024, smack-dab in the middle of GOP presidential primary season. The judge advised the ex-president to cancel all obligations for the duration, which could last months, according to The Guardian. Trump sat in on the proceedings via video, from his Mar-a-Lago home. 

Merchan also barred Trump’s attorneys from disseminating evidence to third parties or posting it on social media, and he required some sensitive material to be kept only by those attorneys. 

Trump boilerplate reaction: The former prez took to his own site, Truth Social, to claim “First Amendment rights,” saying his “freedom of speech” had been violated by scheduling the trial “right in the middle of primary season.”

Meanwhile: Fresh off a $10 million verdict against Trump related to sexual abuse and defamation, writer and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll filed “very substantial” additional charges after the former president’s appearance at a CNN Town Hall last week. Carroll alleges Trump made “disparaging remarks” against her in the CNN appearance.

--TL

_______________________________________________

(President Biden cut short his Indo-Asian tour last week to work with Speaker McCarthy on a debt ceiling deal by June 1. Biden met as part of the G7 in Hiroshima, Japan, last week.)

Nine Days to Economic Collapse – A reminder that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the government will have to stop making some payments after June 1 if Congress does not raise the debt limit. The good news is that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) says that while there’s no deal with the White House yet, a debt limit meeting Monday was “productive.”

A key negotiator for McCarthy, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) said negotiators were able to “better explain” to each other the policies over which they were fighting for or against, Roll Call reports.

“I think the tone tonight was better than any other time we had discussions,” McCarthy said. “I felt it was productive … I think we were able to really focus on the areas of difference.”

Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), said whatever doesn’t get approved in the debt limit negotiations regarding energy infrastructure permitting (his area of expertise) could be moved separately after Congress approves a deal. 

Meanwhile, tax increases in the Biden agenda are not part of the discussion. 

“We’re not looking at revenue,” McCarthy said.

Speaker McCarthy said he and Biden will be talking every day now, with the goal of reaching a deal by the end of this week so that both chambers can vote for it next week.

--TL

_______________________________________________

Meanwhile This Week

Will the Debt Ceiling Crush Us? – Fresh off his return from the Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima, Japan (above), President Biden has agreed to re-open talks with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on the debt ceiling. About 11 days remain until almost certain economic calamity, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who called June 1 a “hard deadline,” NBC News reports.

“My assumption is that if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, there will be hard choices to make about what bills go unpaid,” Yellen said on Meet the Press.

Negotiations have been on-again, off-again between a White House that does not want to cede its hard-fought attempt to reverse 40 years of trickle-down Reaganomics and a GOP that refuses to let Biden’s Neo New Deal happen. They ended abruptly late last Friday to leave all those concerned feeling a bit like Adam West’s character in the mid-‘60s Batman TV show, thrown into a trick death room, by the villain of the week, with the ceiling closing in on the floor. Holy crushed agenda, Batman. 

Negotiators for the White House and the Speaker – led by Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) – ran for about two-and-a-half hours Sunday night, with the “crux of the talks” centering on the extent and duration of federal spending, The Washington Postreports. 

Going to XIV?In a press conference at the G7 Summit, Biden said he believes he has the authority to invoke the 14thAmendment to raise the debt ceiling. Sunday’s negotiations were set after a phone call between Biden and McCarthy during the president’s flight home, and in a Capitol Hill press conference following, McCarthy told reporters; “My discussion with the president, I think, was pretty productive. I think we can solve some of the problems if he understands what we are looking at.”

Yep, that’s as positive as it gets.

•••

What’s Left of Bahkmut? -- Nothing – it “now lives only in our hearts,” Volodymyr Zelniskyy said in his appearance at the G7 summit (WaPo), though the Ukrainian president disputed Vladimir Putin’s claim that Russia has full occupation and control of the devastated city. Zelenskyy compared Russia’s destruction to that of the G7’s host city, Hiroshima, Japan, which was destroyed by the first use of a nuclear bomb, by the U.S., in 1945. 

•••

Up on the Hill – Aside from this little effort to raise the debt ceiling in a few days to avoid crashing the economy, the full House of Representatives is in session Monday through Thursday, while the Senate remains on break. The full Senate is then in session Tuesday and Wednesday of the following week, after Memorial Day, Monday. That’s how much time is left to stick with a commitment to pay our bills.

---Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

______
COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk told The Wall Street Journal’s London CEO Council Summit in a virtual broadcast that he had a “major announcement” coming – Musk will interview Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Twitter Spaces Wednesday at 6 p.m. Eastern time. NBC News scooped DeSantis’ plans to announce ahead of Musk’s virtual appearance at the CEO Council Summit.

DeSantis also is expected to make his run formal by filing with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday, the WSJ says. It’s all part of DeSantis’ multi-day rollout.

Did we bury the lede? Depends on whether you consider DeSantis’ drawn-out announcement he will run for the GOP nomination for president next year more or less newsworthy compared with anything Twitter-owner Musk does. For his part, Musk says he would make no endorsements for the ’24 presidential race, but rather he wants to establish Twitter Spaces as a public town square (as opposed, we presume, to a “private” town square).

_______________________________________________

Scott Files to Run in '24

Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, has filed paperwork to become the second GOP candidate for president from South Carolina, after its former Gov. Nikki Haley, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. Scott’s upbeat, optimistic attitude is considered a counterpoint to the party’s current frontrunner in the ’24 presidential race, ex-President Trump.

Meanwhile, Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has announced he will challenge centrist Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) expected re-election bid in 2024, according to Morning Edition. In 2016, Manchin endorsed Justice – a coal industry magnate that Forbes once called a billionaire – for his first bid for the state’s governor. 

•••

Join the political conversation and become a citizen pundit with your Comments in the section on this page (or on the left page, if more appropriate), or email editors@thehustings.news

Civil comments are welcome from never-Trumpers and pro-MAGAs alike. 

There’s plenty of issues on which to weight in, including the shaky start to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential run, and Republicans’ refusal to expel Rep. George Santos (R-NY) from the House of Representatives. 

Also up for discussion:

The Consumer Price Index was up 4.9% in April, still too high for the Federal Reserve, but reflecting a slow and continuing improvement over last year. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported a week earlier that the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, higher than most economists had predicted. This comes after the Fed indicated its latest quarter-point interest rate hike might be its last for a while. All these high numbers could be fond memories of our 2023 economy if Congress fails to pass a debt ceiling increase in coming weeks.

A Manhattan court awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million in her sexual abuse and defamation case against Donald J. Trump, who of course, will appeal.

______

Contributing pundit Ken Zino comments on last week’s CNN Town Hall with lead Republican candidate for president in 2024, Donald J. Trump in “A Starving Rat Emerges from His Overfilled Swamp.”

What do you think? Should CNN have even invited the ex-president who still insists he won the 2020 election, to air his familiar grievances and pitch his MAGA positions before an adoring, credulous New Hampshire audience?

Hit the Comment section below, or in the right column if that’s how you lean, or email comments to editors@thehustings.news.

Also up for discussion, from the center column:

The Consumer Price Index was up 4.9% in April, still too high for the Federal Reserve, but reflecting a slow, continuing improvement over last year. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported a week earlier that the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, higher than most economists had predicted. This comes after the Fed indicated its latest quarter-point interest rate hike might be its last for a while. All these high numbers could become fond memories of our economy if Congress fails to pass a debt ceiling increase in coming weeks.

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) pleaded not guilty last week to federal fraud charges. The judge in the case set bail at $500,000 and confiscated his passport. Santos will be able to cast House votes, though he will not hold any committee memberships. He plans to run for re-election in 2024.

A Manhattan court awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million in her sexual abuse and defamation case against Donald J. Trump, who of course, will appeal.

_____

FRIDAY 5/19/23

Haley Welcomes DeSantis – From Des Moines, where Decision ’24 already is heating up, former North Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley grabbed a bit of spotlight from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (above), who is expected to announce his presidential candidacy next week.

“Welcome to the race. We’ve been waiting,” Haley said in an exclusive interview with The Hill. “I’m glad that he’s going to be out there because I want the American public to see who they’re choosing from.”

Haley was the second GOP candidate to announce, after Donald J. Trump, in February.

Meanwhile, back in FloridaDisney has cancelled plans for a $900 million Florida campus in Orlando’s Lake Nona and will close one of its most expensive attractions, the “Star Wars” adventure hotel, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Lake Nona, where more than 2,000 new employees were to work, is dead, Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division said.

“Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward.”

Though “changing conditions” include Disney’s “significant” job and budget cuts, they also include a governor, DeSantis, who is not acting a Republican when it comes to his treatment of big business.

•••

Feinstein Resists Early Retirement – “Early” for the 89-year-old senator from California means before her current term is up in January 2025. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) already has announced she will not run again, and Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter each have announced their intention to fill her shoes. 

Feinstein appeared “shockingly diminished” upon her return to the Senate last week after she was out more than two months for complications from shingles. Key among them was the revelation of a previously unreported case of encephalitis, The New York Times reports. The shingles also spread to Feinstein’s face and neck, resulting in Ramsey Hunt syndrome. 

While the drumbeats for her early retirement continue and she continues to resist, Feinstein only needs to remain in office to the March 5, 2024 primary, when Democratic voters in the state will choose from Lee, Porter and Schiff. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has stated his intention of choosing California’s first female senator, which could set up Lee as the catbird seat candidate for next year.

--TL

_______________________________________________

THURSDAY 5/18/23

Santosland Diaries -- House Republicans defeated a symbolic House Democrat resolution to expel truth-challenged Rep. George Santos by referring the resolution to the Ethics Committee, by a 221-204 party line vote. Democrats on the Ethics Committee voted “present” to avoid conflict of interest, according to NPR. The unsuccessful expulsion resolution was introduced by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA).

Garcia raised the question of privilege, which allows members to force a vote on certain resolutions without support of House leadership. House leaders then have two days to bring the resolution to the floor.

Santos was indicted last week on federal criminal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to the House.

Doing the math: It takes two-thirds majority to expel a congress member for what would be only the fourth time in U.S. history, Roll Call reports. If successful, it would reduce Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s four-vote majority to just three. McCarthy said the Justice Department’s investigation of Santos should proceed as the congress member continues to participate in floor votes. 

On MSNBC’s All in With Chris Hayes, Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) said other House Republicans “cheer” Santos’ vote as he helps them make laws. 

“They are certainly interested in protecting him,” Balint said. 

--TL

______________________________________________

WEDNESDAY 5/17/23

Deal or No Deal? – Anyone who ever has been involved in labor negotiations from either side will recognize the pattern of the dance between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over raising the debt ceiling in time to avoid economic disaster. For weeks, months even, each side stands firm while blaming the other for not negotiating in good faith. 

Biden will not give up hard-fought programs like the Inflation Reduction Act to assure the federal government will pay its debts incurred over the last fiscal year. McCarthy and his thin House majority will not pay those debts unless the White House cuts back on its spending. The two sides get closer, closer, closer, though they never seem to be close to a deal until the last possible minute. Then suddenly, a breakthrough. Or not, though Congress and the president have always come through in the past. 

With barely two weeks to go until a very likely economic meltdown as early as June 1, if the government doesn’t pay its bills, we’re in that amorphous period where the union is determined not to strike and the employer truly does not want the down-time, but progress is not obvious.

Tuesday, Biden said he would cut short a diplomatic trip to Asia, which begins with a G7 summit in Hiroshima. But Biden has cancelled a planned trip afterward to Australia, next week in order to concentrate on the debt ceiling. Both Biden and McCarthy “showed signs of optimism” after an hour-long meeting in the Oval Office Tuesday afternoon (labor negotiations are never that short), The New York Times reports.

“We just finished another good, productive meeting with congressional leadership about a path forward to make sure America does not default on its debt,” Biden said.

McCarthy told reporters that he could see a deal reached “by the end of the week.”

Apparently the White House sees the Republican light on calling back unspent COVID relief bills.

We predict a spoiled Memorial Day weekend for one or both of the chambers.

--TL

_______________________________________________

TUESDAY 5/16/23

Durham Reports on Trump Investigation – John Durham, a special counsel appointed in 2019 by then-Attorney Gen. William Barr to investigate the investigators in alleged Russian tampering into the 2016 Trump campaign, released more than 300 pages of criticism for the way the FBI handled the probe, The Washington Post reports. 

According to Durham’s report, the FBI’s investigation of Trump’s first presidential campaign – codenamed ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ was based on “raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence.” 

Conversely, the FBI “proceeded cautiously” on alleged influence by a foreign actor in the 2016 Clinton campaign, WaPo says. The FBI’s conduct in Crossfire Hurricane previously came under fire in a 2019 report by the Justice Department’s inspector general, which did not find “documentary or testimonial evidence of intentional misconduct” on the part of the Trump campaign. 

Democrats have denounced the Durham report, which comes after an investigation from which no one was sent to jail.

Trump, who predicted four years ago the special counsel would uncover the “crime of the century” on Monday claimed victory, writing in social medial; “the American Public was scammed, just as it is being scammed right now by those who don’t want to see GREATNESS for AMERICA!”

--TL

_______________________________________________

Meanwhile This Week

MONDAY MAY 15, 2023

More UK Arms to Ukraine – The United Kingdom will send “hundreds” more missiles and attack drones to the Ukraine, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in a meeting with President Volodomyr Zelinskyy in England, Monday, Time reports. Sunak told Zelinskyy, who landed at Sunak’s Chequers country retreat; “your leadership, your country’s bravery and fortitude are an inspiration to us all.”

On Sunday for the third stop on a whirlwind European tour that also included Paris and Rome, Zelinskyy told reporters in Berlin he is not interested in negotiating a peace deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom he called “insane.” 

“It’s a joke for him. He does not understand what is happening. He is an insane human,” Zelinskyy said, according to a Ukrainian government readout of a press conference following his talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as reported by Newsweek

“Putin started the war. Russia took lives. The war is on our land. …

“We have not proposed an artificial plan,” Zelinskyy continued. “We have proposed how to get out of this situation, to end the war, according to the law, respecting the UN Charter, international law, people, values.” Ukraine’s Peace Formula is a 10-point plan that outlines Kyiv’s conditions for peace, and Zelinskyy says he is “not interested” in meeting with Putin for peace talks.

•••

Erdogan Beats Earthquake – Incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdo¨gan pulled out an upset, but not quite a victory, against Republican People’s Party (CHP) challenger Kiliçda Ro¨glu in Turkey’s presidential election Sunday. Erdogan received 49.51% of the vote, not enough to avoid a runoff, but well ahead of Ro¨glu’s 44.88%, a “bitter disappointment” for the challenger who had led in many polls. 

Third-party candidate Sinan Og¨an took 5.17% of the vote, indicating the potential to flip Sunday’s vote in the runoff.

Erdo¨gan, Turkey’s president for 20 years, took his hit in the polls over a slow government response February’s earthquake, which claimed 50,000 lives, and his low interest rates to revive the economy that resulted in 85% inflation, according to The Guardian.

The bigger picture: Though his nation is a NATO member, Erdo¨gan has cozied up to Vladimir Putin, in part by refusing to enforce Western sanctions against Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and buying heavily discounted Russian oil, The New York Times reports. Erdo¨gan opposes Sweden’s application for NATO membership unless Stockholm first hands over Kurdish refugees, particularly those from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Erdo¨gan during his tenure also has jailed dissidents and suppressed independent media.

Though Western officials assiduously avoid being accused of interfering in Turkish politics, “it is an open secret that European leaders, not to speak of the Biden administration, would be delighted if Erdo¨gan were to lose,” the NYT says.

•••

More Debt-Ceiling Tuesday – President Biden is scheduled to resume talks with Congressional leaders over the debt ceiling Tuesday, NBC News and Bloomberg News reported Sunday, after a weekend of talks between Congressional and White House staffers. Biden was quoted from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Sunday as being “optimistic” over reaching a deal by a potential June 1 deadline for the federal government running out of money to pay its bills. 

“I think they’re moving along, hard to tell,” Biden said. “We have not reached the crunch point yet.”

•••

Up On The Hill – Both chambers are in session Monday through Thursday. The Senate only is in session Friday.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

_____
COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Pundit-at-large emeritus Stephen Macaulay hardly has kinder things to say about former President Trump’s appearance in a CNN Town Hall last week than left-column contributor Ken Zino, in his right-column commentary, “That’s Entertainment.” The column reflects a never-Trumper conservative viewpoint. 

Whatever your viewpoint, including pro-Trump, we want to hear from you. Hit the Comment section on this page or the one on the left, if that’s how you lean, or email us at editors@thehustings.news and indicate whether you are right or left in the subject line.

Also up for discussion, from the center column:

The Consumer Price Index was up 4.9% in April, still too high for the Federal Reserve, but reflecting a slow and continuing improvement over last year. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported a week earlier that the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, higher than most economists had predicted. This comes after the Fed indicated its latest quarter-point interest rate hike might be its last for a while. All these high numbers could be fond memories of our 2023 economy if Congress fails to pass a debt ceiling increase in coming weeks.

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) pleaded not guilty last week to federal fraud charges. The judge in the case set bail at $500,000 and confiscated his passport. Santos will be able to cast House votes, though he will not hold any committee memberships. He plans to run for re-election in 2024.

A Manhattan court awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million in her sexual abuse and defamation case against Donald J. Trump, who of course, will appeal.

_____

By Ken Zino

I agree with ex-President Trump that the U.S. has a big mental health problem. It was on full display Wednesday night on CNN. Worse, in seven months it could be extended for four more years, 18 months from now if the seditionist in chief gets re-elected.

Starving from his lack of political power, the loser once again -- in front of an adoring audience -- served up the same conspiracy fantasies, outright lies, racist and sexual attacks, economic nonsense -- that made him a political force. 

Trump bit voraciously coming out of the political swamp he over-filled even as he promised to “drain” it. He started with rigged election lies. He wouldn't commit to honoring the results of the next election if it were “rigged.” 

Along the way he called the female moderator Kaitlin Collins "a nasty person" for repeatedly trying to get answers to questions he consistently ducked as he kept talking over her, a form of broadcast sexual assault. He also attacked yet again the woman whose lawsuit resulted in a New York civil jury finding him liable of sexual abuse and defamation this week.

Trump claimed the war in Ukraine would not have happened if he were president, ignoring his previous stance that the invasion showed Putin was a genius. If reelected, he would end the war in 24 hours? He once again attacked our European NATO allies, saying they are getting a free ride as the US supports democracy in Ukraine. He refused to say if he wants Ukraine to win the war against the Russian attack.

He took credit for the Roe v. Wade upset, while disparaging the U.S. justice system and its juries. He ducked a federal abortion ban question, saying that pro-life people now have something to negotiate with. He would decide based on his so-called judgment of what's right for those concerned, slipping in that he thinks the Reagan exceptions might have a place. 

Trump called a Black police officer a thug. He will pardon the January 6 insurrectionists, praising violent criminals. On his former vice president, Mike Pence, pursued by a lynch mob after Trump falsely said Pence had the power to overturn the election results; “I don’t feel he was in any danger; Pence was the one who did something wrong.” Still no apology to Pence. 

The Chinese people in Washington D.C.’s Chinatown don't speak English. Immigrants are carrying diseases and flocking here. He did build the wall. His separation of families worked, implying he would bring it back.

Yes, we should default on our loans. To hell with Hamilton and that full faith and credit nonsense. Default now because it will be easier now than later? 

Yes, the U.S. has a big mental health problem. Trump hasn't changed. He is unfit to lead a constitutional republic. The Republican party-sons need therapy. Our mental health problem grows. 

The rest isn't silence, there are more acts to stage. Chaos created by a starving rat feasting on falsehoods continues. Criminal investigations are still ongoing in Washington and Georgia over classified documents and false electors and obstruction of justice. This tragedy needs to close without a sequel. 

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By Todd Lassa

If not for CNN “nasty person” Kaitlin Collins’ assiduous calling out of the former president’s lies, big and small, Donald J. Trump’s Manchester, New Hampshire Town Hall appearance on one of the not-Fox News cable channels Wednesday would much resemble one of his rallies, replete with adoring fans, this time held indoors.

“We’ve become in many ways a third-world country,” Trump said. He recited such falsities as recordings of “millions of votes” illegally cast, “People going into 28 different voting booths, voting seven times…” 

He blamed the January 6th Capitol insurrection on “crazy” Nancy Pelosi and on Washington, D.C’s unnamed mayor (it’s Muriel Bowser). When Collins noted that more than 140 police officers were injured at the riot, Trump parried with “And Ashli Babbitt was killed.”

Trump claimed that when he called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to ask him to “find” 11,780 votes, the then-lame duck president was simply asking for votes he felt he had deserved – he ignored Collins’ objection that there is a real recording of the call that tells a very different story. 

Asked by a supporter (this was a Town Hall, after all) whether Trump would pardon the many convicted for crimes, including seditious conspiracy, in the January 6th insurrection, the former president said; “I’m inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say all of them because they got out of control.”

“Many people” were killed in Black Lives Matter protests, Trump said, once again trying to obfuscate the issue. 

On a New York (where Trump can’t get a “fair trial”) jury that found for E. Jean Carroll in her defamation suit, he said he had never met her, and that he took a picture with her and her husband once. “She’s a wack-job.”

Asked how he would “fix” the so-called economic mess of the Biden administration, Trump’s solution is Palinesque; “Drill baby, drill.”

Trump says he will have Russia’s war against Ukraine “settled within 24 hours” by relying, apparently, on the Art of Negotiation. He refused to comment on Collins’ question of whether Vladimir Putin is a war criminal. 

And so it goes. 

We assume Trump agreed to appear on CNN because he thought it might help him gains independent voters for his 2024 presidential bid. What he accomplished was to hear more and more cheers from his adoring, hardcore MAGA supporters. That’s somewhere around 30% of American voters.

Where will Trump find another 21%? Through repeated claims of “voter fraud,” we presume.

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By Stephen Macaulay

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and if you’re Chris Licht, head of CNN, you probably spend your 3 a.m. sleeplessness wishing that things were like they were when people couldn’t take their eyes away from Wolf Blitzer’s reporting.

Let’s consider the demographic numbers in the highly valued 25-54 age group for those watching cable news (and one has to assume that those who are watching linear news on classic television are a diminishing cohort).

TVNewser reports that on May 8, the day before the CNN clown show, CNN shows were hammered by Fox News.

  • 4 pm:          Cavuto: 166           Tapper: 152
  • 5 pm:           Five: 298               Tapper: 159
  • 6 pm:          Baier: 214             Blitzer: 178
  • 7 pm:          Watters: 191          Burnett: 175
  • 8 pm:          FN Tonight: 144     Cooper: 165
  • 9 pm:          Hannity: 200         Primetime: 114
  • 10 pm:         Ingraham: 187       Tonight: 123
  • 11 pm:         Gutfeld: 241          Tonight: 116

Although high fives must be being thrown regarding Anderson Cooper’s performance, let’s not kid ourselves: The absence of Tucker Carlson undoubtedly has more to do with that than the earnestness with which Cooper poses his questions.

And if we throw the MSNBC numbers into the mix, CNN is not the powerhouse that it once was, not by a long shot. Wallace beats Tapper; Melber beats Blitzer; Wagner beats Primetime; and O’Donnell beats Tonight. (Joy Reid ought to be updating her resume because her number is subpar.)

Thing is, the Trump Town Hall was simply a desperate hope on behalf of CNN that it could gain viewership.

There was, of course, the beating of the breast and the claim that this was something necessary: Trump is the front-runner and so he deserves coverage. CNN is simply upholding its mantle as a leading news organization.

But why the town hall format packed with people who were either identified as supporters or could-be supporters?

Why not a one-on-one between Kaitlan Collins and the man who is something of a mashup of Rodney Dangerfield and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog?

The answer to that is simple: like Godzilla when getting tangled in high-power electrical lines, Trump feeds off the energy of the adoring crowd. He gets more brazen with his smarminess and outright lies.

What if this was a one-on-one, audience-free Q&A, more of a serious setting?

Licht certainly didn’t want to have a situation like the one where Trump walked off the set of an interview with Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes.

He wanted ratings.

Yes, Trump proved himself to be the disingenuous public figure he’s always been. There was no news made. He kept to the tired script he’s been flogging for years.

Yet the audience ate it up.

And Licht probably had a good night’s sleep last night. 

He probably got some numbers. Veracity be damned.

________________________________________________

Calling Citizen Pundits

What are your thoughts about ex-President Donald J. Trump’s appearance on the CNN Town Hall Wednesday? Whether right or left, always- or never-Trumper, we want your civilly stated thoughts. 

Go to the Comment section in this column or the one on the right, or email editors@thehustings.news and indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

_____

Should the White House evoke Amendment XIV if House Republicans continue to demand negotiations on future federal spending for a debt-limit increase? 

Leave a comment in this column – or in the right column if you lean conservative. Or email editors@thehustings.news and describe your political leanings in the subject line. We will post in the left and right columns, comments civilly expressed.

Also up for discussion …

 The Federal Reserve raises interest rates another quarter-point but indicates it may be the last for the time being. Meanwhile, 253,000 new jobs in April, as measured by the Labor Department,  is substantially higher than economists’ expectations – could/should/will this alter the Fed’s plans for future interest rate increases?

 A North Carolina court rules in favor of the GOP on a gerrymandering case, giving Republicans a huge advantage in the state’s next elections.

 Your thoughts on the veracity of the alleged foiled drone attack on the Kremlin, allegedly targeting Russian leader Vladimir Putin?

 What should the Democratic Party do about Sen. Diane Feinstein, of California, as President Biden’s judicial nominees go unconfirmed?

_____

The Consumer Price Index rose 4.9% in April, on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That’s slightly better than March’s 5.0% CPI.

Santos Arrested – Controversial freshman Rep. George Santos (R-NY) pleaded not guilty to federal fraud charges Wednesday, NPR’s All Things Considered reports. Federal prosecutors allege he “devised and executed a scheme” to defraud donors to his 2022 campaign.

A federal judge ordered $500,000 bail and had his passport confiscated. Santos is prohibited from traveling much beyond journeys between New York and Washington, D.C., for his job. He will continue to serve Congress and says he expects to cast votes later this week. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he will not ask Santos to step down, though House rules will prohibit him from committee assignments.

Familiar offensive defense: Santos, who is running for re-election next year, called the case against him a “witch hunt.”

--TL

_______________________________________________

WEDNESDAY 5/10/23

Federal Debt Still on Edge – Tuesday’s White House meeting on the impending federal debt cliff between President Biden and the four GOP and Democratic leaders ended with no apparent budges. But Biden has agreed to meet again on Friday with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Politico reports. 

“The progress made is: We were actually able to meet,” McCarthy told reporters afterward.

“I’m hoping that the next two weeks are different. You can’t be so extreme in your view that you’re not going to negotiate.”

This goes to XIV: Meanwhile, Biden says he is "considering" invoking the 14th Amendment to circumvent the debt-ceiling abyss, but admitted it "would have to be litigated and in the meantime without an extension it would still end up in the same place." He said he would look at the possibility months down the road (Politico).

McCarthy's comments are a shot at Biden’s repeated refusal to negotiate over holding hostage the bill payments of a budget already approved. In any case, those coming two weeks are just about all the time the federal government has left to raise the debt ceiling and prevent certain economic catastrophe. 

Meanwhile, Santos: Rep. George Santos (R-NY), one of the 217 votes McCarthy needed last week to pass a debt ceiling bill with severe cuts to Biden’s budget agenda, has been charged by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York following a months-long investigation into the many lies he told during and after his 2022 campaign, CNN reports. Specific charges are unclear, but Santos, 34, could have a court appearance scheduled as early as Wednesday.

•••

Tucker to Twitter – If there was any question about what Elon Musk considered “news” after he purchased Twitter about a year ago, look no further than Twitter’s new host, Tucker Carlson. You’ll remember that just last month Carlson was fired from Fox News after – though hard to say whether it was because of – “highly offensive” texts about the January 6 Capitol attacks. 

Rupert Murdoch was shocked – shocked! – to find a Putin apologist in his building, and after all, Fox News had just lost a judgment in favor of Dominion Voting Systems to the tune of $787.5 million. 

•••

Speaking of Civil Suits – A New York jury awarded former magazine writer and columnist E. Jean Carroll $5 million in damages for sexual abuse and defamation Tuesday in her civil case against former President Trump. Carroll had alleged that Trump raped her in a dressing room of upscale retailer Bergdorf Goodman, then defamed her with his denials (per The New York Times and many others). 

The jury of six men and three women did not find that Trump raped Carroll. 

More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct over the years – he even casually mentioned it himself in the infamous Access Hollywood tape aired just before the 2016 presidential election, but Carroll’s is the only one to come to trial. 

Trump conjured up his favorite adjective, calling the verdict “disgusting.” His attorney, Joseph Tacopina, called the court “highly prejudicial” and promised an appeal. 

Tune in for moreThis should make Trump’s scheduled appearance Wednesday, 8 p.m. Eastern, on a CNN Town Hall even more interesting. Trump has been missing from the cable news outlet for quite some time, but now he has to attract independent voters ahead of his 2024 presidential campaign. 

Ought to get (relatively) good ratings, especially against Carlson-less Fox News. 

--TL

_______________________________________________

TUESDAY 5/9/23

It’s Debt-Ceiling Day … at the White House, where House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) meets with President Biden as we approach June 1, when the federal government could breach its debt limit. There seems to be little confidence among the punditocracy that the two sides will reach a deal in-time – at least it won’t happen without plenty of 11th Hour drama.

Biden can’t count on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who says he will support McCarthy’s efforts in extracting spending cuts before paying last year’s bills. Last week, 43 Republican senators sent a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) saying they won’t support raising the ceiling without “substantive” spending cuts. And 43 is enough to torpedo it. As The Hill has noted (see “This Week, Meanwhile” below) Biden is more than a little reluctant to override the crisis with the 14th Amendment.

This won’t help the White House: Biden’s approval rating slipped to 36%, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll Monday, lowest-ever for a first-term president one-and-a-half years away from his next election.

Meanwhile, McConnell is short on confidence: McConnell told CNN’s Manu Raju he doesn’t think the GOP can retake the Senate in the November 2024 elections. 

“No, no – I’m not confident,” even though 24 Democratic seats and just 11 Republican seats are up in the coming cycle. Is he sandbagging?

As for Sen. Krysten Sinema (I-AZ), who left the Democratic Party at the beginning of the year, McConnell said he “would love to have her.” … “I think that decision was made when she ended up continuing to caucus with the Democrats.”

•••

Britain ‘Prepares’ to Send Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine – Great Britain has taken the lead in preparing to send long-range missiles to Ukraine in order to push the United States to do the same, according to The Washington Post. This, even though the UK’s defense minister has made no official decision yet. The missiles would be capable of a strike up to 180 miles into Russia, WaPo says.

•••

DOJ Seeks 25 Years for Rhodes – The Justice Department seeks a 25-year sentence for Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes, USA Today reports, recently convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6th Capitol attack. 

--TL

______________________________________________

This Week, Meanwhile

MONDAY 5/8/23

Will the XIV Amendment Save Us? – President Biden told MSNBC on Friday that he has not taken evoking the 14thAmendment off the table if the House refuses to raise the debt ceiling. The amendment “chiefly extended the Bill of Rights liberties to formerly enslaved people,” The Hill notes. 

But Section 4 says this: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing the insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss of emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.”

Where’s Yellen now?: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tried to tamp down this potential White House Hail Mary Sunday, a week after she warned the federal government could default as early as June 1. As of Monday, there are eight days left before that early default date estimate in which the full House and Senate are scheduled to be in session.  

“There is no way to protect our financial system in the economy, other than Congress doing its job and raising the debt ceiling and enabling us to pay our bills and we should not get to the point where the president can go on issuing debt. This would be a constitutional crisis,” Yellen told ABC News This Week

Senate GOP backs House GOP: Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) visits the White House Tuesday to negotiate with Biden over the debt ceiling. Meanwhile, 43 GOP senators sent a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Saturday saying they won’t back a debt limit increase without “substantive spending and budget cuts.” 

One of those Republican senators, James Lankford of Oklahoma, told George Stephanopoulos on This Week Sunday; “We have $31 trillion in debt. That is happening as a nation. It’s continuing to accelerate. We are continuing to see high inflation. We have all the risks of a recession that’s out there based on what’s happening on government spending and such.”

What could go wrong?: Conventional Wisdom has it that even if Republicans take a hit for allowing a default, it’s Biden’s economy. It has huge implications for Biden’s re-election prospects next year. When the nation was on the brink of a “fiscal cliff” during the Obama-Biden administration in 2011, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States’ A+ credit rating. A default could, at least, give the Federal Reserve the inflation cut it has wanted after 10 interest rate hikes.

•••

Up on the Hill this week – The full Senate is in session Tuesday through Friday. The full House of Representatives is in session Tuesday through Thursday.

--Edited and compiled by Todd Lassa

_____
COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Do you think Republicans on the Hill should refuse to increase the debt limit if the White House refuses to negotiate on future spending? Will they?

Leave a comment in this column – or in the left column if you lean liberal. Or email editors@thehustings.news and describe your political leanings in the subject line. We will post in the right and left columns, comments civilly expressed.

Also up for discussion …

 The Federal Reserve raises interest rates another quarter-point but indicates it may be the last for now. Meanwhile, 253,000 jobs recorded for April is substantially higher than economists’ expectations – could/should/will this alter the Fed’s plans for future interest rate increases?

 A North Carolina court rules in favor of the GOP on a gerrymandering case, giving Republicans a huge advantage in the state’s next elections.

 Your thoughts on the veracity of the alleged foiled drone attack on the Kremlin, allegedly targeting Russian leader Vladimir Putin?

 Should the Supreme Court reform its ethics policy? Is Justice Clarence Thomas being unfairly singled out for travel and other gifts from GOP megadoner Harlan Crow?

_____