Arizona Trips Up Trump; Top Dem Rips Biden
Author: Greg Valliere
April 10, 2024
CONGRESS IS BACK and the fireworks have resumed. What looked like a clever compromise by Donald Trump on abortion blew up in Arizona, Joe Biden’s former chief of staff blasted the president, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, the radical House firebrand, threatened again to oust Mike Johnson as House Speaker. Just another day in Washington.
OUR INITIAL REACTION TO TRUMP’S SPEECH ON ABORTION was that it was clever — allowing states to make final decisions, and infuriating anti-abortion activists, putting distance between them and Trump.
THEN CAME A RULING from Arizona’s very conservative Supreme Court that resurrected a 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions, except to save the life of the mother. The law also imposes penalties on abortion providers.
THIS IMMEDIATELY IGNITED STRONG PROTESTS from abortion rights activists, who are likely to get a referendum on the ballot in the state this fall to overturn the court ruling.
The COURT RULING only heightens the significance of the issue for the rest of the campaign year. Adding to the controversy, the Arizona attorney general in charge of overseeing abortion laws, Democrat Kris Mayes, has vowed not to enforce any bans.
BY LAST EVENING, the Republicans were fighting with each other. Former vice president Mike Pence, a fierce opponent of abortion, said Trump’s compromise was a “slap in the face to millions of pro-life Americans” and a “retreat on the right to life.” Sen. Lindsey Graham weighed in, opposing Trump, who fired back at Graham.
BOTTOM LINE: It’s increasingly likely that abortion will be a dominant issue in the election. In every state where strict abortion restrictions have been on the ballot, the pro-choice forces have won. This is a serious challenge to Trump’s re-election.
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TOP DEM RIPS INTO JOE BIDEN: Insiders were shocked yesterday when a transcript of a speech from former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain was leaked to the press. Klain said in a private speech that Biden is too focused on long-term infrastructure projects and not enough on immediate economic needs as he runs for re-election.
“I THINK THE PRESIDENT is out there too much talking about bridges,” Klain said, according to audio obtained by POLITICO. “He does two or three events a day . . . I tell you, if you go into the grocery store, you know, eggs and milk are expensive.”
BIDEN LOVES RIBBON CUTTING at infrastructure projects, Klain said, “but he’s not a congressman. He’s not running for Congress.
LIKE MANY DEMOCRATS in this town, Klain is exasperated by the inability of Biden and his economic team to get a handle on inflation. The public senses that the economy has improved, but inflation is still a major albatross for the Democrats.
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THERE WERE MORE FIREWORKS YESTERDAY, but we’ll leave the House brawl for tomorrow morning. Safe to say that publicity addict Marjorie Taylor Greene is itching to oust Speaker Johnson.
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