“Amid concerns about the fragility of democracy both at home and abroad,” they reported Sunday, the delegation “highlighted the resounding defeat of candidates in battleground states who backed Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”
“‘It’s really important for the United States to be able to model the aspects of democracy that we’re talking to other countries about,’ said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who led the delegation here, in an interview. ‘So many of those people who were the most extreme were defeated. That was a good sign. It was a good sign for democracy.’”
And it wasn’t just Democrats. Many Republicans are tired of former president Donald Trump’s false claims of having been cheated out of a second term in 2020, Andrew and Connor reported.
“‘It just was a lesson that the American people are smarter than that and they don’t appreciate it if people try to simply gloss over that,’ said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who had his own dust-up with Trump earlier this year after he rejected the former president’s continued insistence — without evidence — that there was widespread fraud.”
It’s getting hot in Arizona
It’s true that a large number of what we’ve opted to call “election deniers” lost this month, including arguably the most prominent among them, many of them costing the GOP a shot in competitive races. A bipartisan sigh of relief is understandable under those conditions.
But “things could have been much worse” isn’t the same thing as “we’re out of the woods.” America looks to be in for tough sledding heading into the next two years.
- For one thing, the midterm elections aren’t quite over. There’s the Georgia runoff, of course, but take a look at the intraparty explosion at the GOP in Arizona, where Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has refused to concede.
Things got bad enough that Maricopa County police had to move Bill Gates, the Republican chairman of the county’s governing board, to an undisclosed location because of threats, my colleagues Isaac Stanley-Becker and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reported over the weekend.
- Meanwhile, the country’s leading election denier — Trump — has announced he’ll seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024. That all but ensures his discredited and debunked claims about the 2020 election will stay in the national political bloodstream.
From the Republican Jewish Coalition meeting in Las Vegas, my colleagues Isaac Arnsdorf and Hannah Knowles assessed the prevailing Republican winds when it comes to whether to embrace the former president or try to push past him personally while sticking with some form of Trumpism.
Read the whole thing, as they say. But The Daily 202 felt the mood came through in their introduction and a paragraph quite a ways down:
- “Open defiance of Donald Trump, a surefire form of political suicide for Republican politicians for much of the past six years, has suddenly become a reliable applause line.”
- “They also showed a range of theories on how to run against Trump in 2024, underscoring an increasingly public debate in the GOP about how Trump can be beat. Republicans are divided about the wisdom of attacking Trump directly, even as they take up similar messages about electability. Potential candidates and donors are already discussing the importance of coalescing around one person to prevent a repeat of 2016, when Trump prevailed in a crowded field.”
If, like me, you grew up on nature specials, the 2016 GOP debate stage was like footage of wildebeests drinking at the watering hole and studiously ignoring how, just a few yards away, one of their number made a meal for a gorging lion.
Speaking of the former president, my colleagues Faiz Siddiqui, Drew Harwell and Isaac Arnsdorf reported how self-described “Chief Twit” Elon Musk restored Trump’s account this weekend, “a pivotal move that could help the platform’s once loudest, bluntest force regain online attention just as a new presidential election begins.”
“Trump had more than 88 million followers before Twitter suspended him after Jan. 6, 2021, citing fears of violent incitement in the days after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in riots that left five dead and hundreds injured,” they reported.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Trump would actually return to Twitter. He has signaled he’d rather stay on his “Truth Social” Twitter-like social network.
Whatever relief the midterms brought from electoral chaos and threats to democracy may be fleeting.
Rail union rejects contract as strike threatens U.S. economy before holidays
“One of the largest railroad unions narrowly voted to reject a contract deal brokered by the White House, bringing the country once again closer to a rail strike that could paralyze much of the economy ahead of the holidays, union officials announced on Monday,” Lauren Kaori Gurley reports.
- “A national rail strike, which could happen as early as Dec. 5, could threaten the nation’s coal shipments, its supply of drinking water, and shut down passenger rail. The U.S. economy could lose $2 billion a day if railroad workers strike, according to the Association of American Railroads.”
More than 160 killed in Indonesian earthquake in West Java, officials say
“At least 162 people have been killed following a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that hit Indonesia’s West Java province on Monday at 1:21 p.m. local time, according to local officials,” Aisyah Llewellyn reports.
Officials probe whether Colorado Springs shooting was a hate crime
“Officials said Monday morning that they are not yet able to determine the shooting was a hate crime but are investigating. Club Q described the violence, on the eve of Sunday’s Transgender Day of Remembrance, as a ‘hate attack,’” Bryan Pietsch, Leo Sands, Jennifer Hassan and Marisa Iati report.
Lunchtime reads from The Post
Sandy Hook families sued Alex Jones. Then he started moving money around.
“As the potential for damages mounted, Jones began moving millions of dollars out of his company, Free Speech Systems, and into companies controlled by himself, friends or relatives, according to a Washington Post review of financial statements, depositions and other court records. The transfers potentially put those funds out of reach of the Sandy Hook plaintiffs,” Jonathan O’Connell reports.
Club Q shooting follows year of bomb threats, drag protests, anti-trans bills
“In the hours after the shooting, investigators did not say what led someone to open fire Saturday night in a Colorado gay bar, killing at least five people and injuring 25 others. But LGBTQ advocates across the country believe a surge of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and laws is at least partially to blame,” Casey Parks reports.
“When politicians and pundits keep perpetuating tropes, insults, and misinformation about the trans and LGBTQ+ community, this is a result,” Colorado Rep. Brianna Titone (D) tweeted Sunday.
Anti-transgender legislation resonates on Day of Remembrance
“Statehouse victories for Republicans around the country in this month’s midterm elections are resonating for trans people as they mark Sunday’s Transgender Day of Remembrance, an international observance honoring victims of anti-transgender violence and raising awareness of the threats trans people face,” the Associated Press’s Hannah Schoenbaum reports.
Audits — hidden until now — reveal millions in Medicare Advantage overcharges
“Newly released federal audits reveal widespread overcharges and other errors in payments to Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors, with some plans overbilling the government more than $1,000 per patient a year on average,” Fred Schulte and Holly Hacker report for Kaiser Health News.
“The government’s audits uncovered about $12 million in net overpayments for the care of 18,090 patients sampled, though the actual losses to taxpayers are likely much higher.”
RSV, covid and flu push hospitals to the brink — and it may get worse
“Hospitals across the United States are overwhelmed. The combination of a swarm of respiratory illnesses (RSV, coronavirus, flu), staffing shortages and nursing home closures has sparked the state of distress visited upon the already overburdened health-care system. And experts believe the problem will deteriorate further in coming months,” Sabrina Malhi reports.
As Biden turns 80, some Democrats see age as issue for potential 2024 bid
“President Biden turned 80 on Sunday, becoming the first octogenarian to hold the office, as he mulls a re-election bid and faces fresh concerns about his age among voters and some Democratic officials,” the Wall Street Journal’s Tarini Parti and Natalie Andrews report.
“Mr. Biden, who had plans to celebrate with a family brunch, was the oldest president to assume office and, if re-elected, would be nearly a decade older than the oldest second-term president, Ronald Reagan, who was 73 years old at his 1985 swearing-in. Mr. Biden’s recent verbal miscues have added to concerns from some in his party about his age, and polls show many voters also have doubts.”
Democrats confront bleak odds for immigration deal before 2023
“As the GOP prepares to take the House, top Senate Democrats are desperately proclaiming that the post-election session is the best — and perhaps only — chance for Congress to act in the near term on deportation protections for the immigrants known as ‘Dreamers.’ And with good reason: After the Senate passed a comprehensive bill in 2013, the Republican-controlled House never took it up,” Politico’s Marianne Levine and Burgess Everett report.
Progressives, once skeptical of Biden, rally around his chief of staff
“Energized by the White House’s actions on key priorities such as climate, student debt and marijuana, progressives are openly rooting for Ron Klain to stay on as Biden’s top aide. And they view better-than-expected midterms as vindication of the president’s decision to pursue an expansive agenda,” Politico’s Adam Cancryn reports.
When presidential candidates announce, visualized
“Almost two years before voters will cast their ballots, former president Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced that he is again seeking that office. Recent presidential candidates have tended to announce their campaigns about a year and a half before Election Day, according to data from Smart Politics,” Kati Perry reports.
The grotesque, wonderful Respect for Marriage Act
“The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA), which Congress is on the verge of passing after the Senate moved forward on it last week, takes a grotesquely roundabout approach to the problem it addresses. It is also a great moral achievement,” Andrew Koppelman writes for the American Prospect.
“The statute, instead of simply requiring states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, compels them to recognize such marriages performed in other states … It is an awkward way to protect their marriages. But it is not nearly as bad as having the law treat one’s family as if they were strangers to one another.”
GOP 2024 hopefuls chart paths to run against or around Trump
“Their pitches at the RJC event — an unofficial kickoff of the presidential primary season — made clear that Republicans are not running scared of Trump and are even eager for the contest, as disappointing midterm results have set off a cascade of hand-wringing and finger-pointing in the party,” Isaac Arnsdorf and Hannah Knowles report.
“They also showed a range of theories on how to run against Trump in 2024, underscoring an increasingly public debate in the GOP about how Trump can be beat. Republicans are divided about the wisdom of attacking Trump directly, even as they take up similar messages about electability.”
At 4 p.m., the Bidens will leave the White House for Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N.C.
The Bidens will participate in a “Friendsgiving” dinner at the base at 6 p.m.
The Bidens will leave for Andrews at 8:20 p.m. They will arrive at the White House at 9:50 p.m.
Eager for more details about Naomi Biden’s wedding? Work your sources.
“How do you tell the story of a wedding you weren’t invited to attend — one hosted in what may be the most public-yet-exclusive place in America to say ‘I do?’” Maura Judkis, Tyler Pager and Jada Yuan write.
“You get creative. You stand outside the White House on a crispy cold Saturday morning with the rest of the excluded media, using binoculars to get a glimpse of Naomi Biden’s wedding dress. (Long sleeves, high neckline, lace! Which, when the close-up photos materialized, turned out to be Ralph Lauren.) You comb through social media looking for details slipped by friends, wedding guests, the hired help. You wait for guests to leave the secure perimeter, and politely accost them for all the details. You follow the bride’s aesthetician on Instagram.”
Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.
