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Day 1101: "The nominee."
Today in one sentence: Trump threatened anyone who donates to Nikki Haley "will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp"; Mitch McConnell privately told Republicans that Trump has complicated an emerging bipartisan border deal; Trump accused Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of trying to "foment racial bias" in an effort disqualify her from prosecuting him and his allies; and Peter Navarro – who claimed credit for the plan to overturn the 2020 election – was sentenced to four months in jail and ordered to pay a $9,500 fine for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee.
1/ Trump threatened anyone who donates to Nikki Haley “will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp.” The super political action committee backing Haley raised $50.1 million in the last six months of 2023 – about $5 million more than Trump’s super PAC. The Republican National Committee, meanwhile, is considering a move to declare Trump the “presumptive 2024 nominee” for the party’s presidential nomination, even though Haley has vowed to continue her campaign. While Trump would still need to reach the delegate requirements necessary to win the nomination, he would gain access to the RNC’s data operation, fundraising, and other committee ground operations. Trump needs to secure 1,215 delegates to officially become the party’s nominee. He currently has 32 delegates while Haley has 17. (Axios / The Dispatch / Bloomberg / CNN / NBC News / CNBC)
2/ Mitch McConnell privately told Republicans that Trump has complicated an emerging bipartisan border deal, which explicitly ties strict border policy changes to funding for Israel and Ukraine. McConnell, referring to Trump only as “the nominee,” said the politics “have changed,” and “we don’t want to do anything to undermine him.” Trump doesn’t want Congress to pass a border deal so he can use the issue in the presidential campaign. He’s encouraged Republicans to reject any border deal “unless we get EVERYTHING” the party has demanded, adding he would only accept a “PERFECT” deal. “We’re in a quandary,” McConnell said. (Punchbowl News / Washington Post / New York Times / NPR / CNN / Associated Press / Bloomberg / NBC News / Politico)
3/ Trump accused Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of trying to “foment racial bias” in an effort disqualify her from prosecuting him and his allies. In addition to Willis’ disqualification, Trump wants the 13 counts against him, including violations of Georgia’s racketeering law, to be dismissed. The motion comes more than two weeks after Trump’s co-defendant Mike Roman alleged that Willis appointed Nathan Wade to serve as lead prosecutor in the case while engaging in a romantic relationship with him. Willis said the accusations were racist because they are Black, which Trump’s lawyers called an “attempt to foment racial animus.” The motion to dismiss charges was originally filed by Roman. (Axios / NBC News / Atlanta Journal-Constitution / Washington Post)
4/ Peter Navarro – who claimed credit for the plan to overturn the 2020 election – was sentenced to four months in jail and ordered to pay a $9,500 fine for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee. Navarro refused to testify and provide documents related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election. “You are not a victim. You are not the object of a political prosecution. You are not,” Judge Amit Mehta told Navarro. “You have received every process you are due. Every process.” The former Trump White House adviser is the second senior Trump aide to be sentenced for stonewalling the Jan. 6 investigation. Stephen Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison on a similar contempt conviction in Oct. 2022. (Politico / NPR / USA Today / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / ABC News)
A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
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