Haley wants a debate. Trump does not. Here is The Post: The Republican National Committee will not anoint former president Donald Trump as the GOP’s “presumptive nominee” this week in Las Vegas after all. The Trump campaign wanted that formal designation bestowed […]
2024 presidential election
Two quick thoughts on Joe Biden campaigning in South Carolina over the weekend
Two quick thoughts this morning: Yes, Biden is old. But he does not lack energy: Churches are sacred spaces. They are places where the Gospel–the Good News–is proclaimed. Keep politics and political candidates out of the pulpit:
Civil War and Reconstruction historians: The 14th Amendment should bar Trump from the ballot in Colorado
Here is Martin Pengelly at The Guardian: Twenty-five historians of the civil war and Reconstruction filed a US supreme court brief in support of the attempt by Colorado to remove Donald Trump from the ballot under the 14th amendment, which bars insurrectionists […]
Nikki Haley should “go for broke” and “gently smack that gum” out of Trump’s mouth
Yesterday I suggested that Nikki Haley should, to use the words of writer Michael Wood, give Trump the “full Liz Cheney.” Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal seems to agree. Here is a taste of her column “Nikki Haley […]
It’s time for Nikki Haley to go “full Liz Cheney” on Trump
I am watching Sara Longwell, the publisher of The Bulwark, on CNN right now. She is calling on Nikki Haley to “go down swinging” in South Carolina. She wants the former South Carolina governor to give Trump the “full Liz […]
“Americans do not just disagree with each other, they live in different realities”
According to writer Peter Baker, the 2024 general election matchup that “seems likely between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump is about fundamentally disparate visions of America.” This seems like the understatement of the year, but Baker’s New […]
Jon Stewart is coming back to “The Daily Show”
This morning we suggested that Taylor Swift has the power to decide the 2024 presidential election. Now we learn that Jon Stewart will try to bring his unique brand of political comedy back to the airwaves. This does not bode […]
How might the New Hampshire primary results look different if we think of Trump as an incumbent?
Today at CNN, morning host John Berman offered a really interesting take on the New Hampshire primary. Here is part of the transcript from his exchange with Pete Seat, vice president of the Bose Public Affairs Group: BERMAN: And then, […]
We now live in a world where a narcissistic sociopath wants to be president again and only a global pop superstar can stop him!
Donald Trump looks like he will be the GOP nominee for president again and only Taylor Swift can stop him from winning in November. OK–that’s a bit dramatic, but we should not underestimate Swift’s potential political power. A recent piece […]
Nikki Haley’s Dixville Notch lead doesn’t hold up
She took an early 6-0 lead, but couldn’t sustain it. More coming tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Will we see a DeSantis vengeance tour?
A lot of Ron DeSantis loyalists turned on him during his presidential election bid and threw support behind Donald Trump. Now that DeSantis is out the race, and still has three more years left as governor of Florida, will he […]
Nancy Mace’s endorsement of Trump is “more hypocritical than it seems”
Last night we called your attention to South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace’s endorsement of Donald Trump. Over at The New Republic, Tori Otten writes, “You won’t believe the grossest part of Nancy Mace’s Trump endorsement.” Here is a taste: Republican […]
Nikki Haley takes an early lead in New Hampshire primary
She is leading 6-0, thanks to Dixville Notch. Here is the Associated Press: The six registered voters of tiny Dixville Notch in New Hampshire all cast their ballots for Nikki Haley at midnight on Tuesday, giving her a clean sweep over former […]
Nancy Mace: Trump must be “held accountable” for January 6, 2021. Oh, and by the way, I endorse him.
When South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace is not talking about her sex life at a prayer breakfast, she is endorsing Donald Trump. Here is Mace shortly after January 6, 2021: Here is ABC News: Donald Trump has picked up another […]
Polls: Trump still leads in New Hampshire GOP primary race
Washington Post-Monmouth University poll: Trump: 52%. Haley 34%, DeSantis 8%. CNN poll: Trump 50%. Haley 39%. DeSantis 6%. DeSantis dropped out of the race yesterday, after these polls were conducted. Politicos are saying that most of DeSantis’s votes will go […]
GOP: The “party of malice”
Here is Peter Wehner at The Atlantic: As soon as former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley emerged as the main threat to Donald Trump in the battle for the Republican nomination, it became inevitable that she would be targeted by […]
And then there were two. Ron DeSantis is out. He endorses Trump.
Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump were running neck and neck in the polls. In a few polls, DeSantis was leading. Then DeSantis started his campaign for president and it’s been downhill ever since. Today, the Florida governor dropped out of […]
It is pretty common now for evangelical politicians to endorse Trump, but Tim Scott’s interview on CNN this morning was still hard to watch
I just watched CNN’s Dana Bash interview South Carolina U.S. senator and former presidential candidate Tim Scott about his recent endorsement of Donald Trump for president. It was really hard to watch. Here are some clips: Scott, an evangelical Christian, […]
What Nikki Haley gets right and what she gets wrong about slavery and race in America
My message to Nikki Haley’s staff: Please hire a historian. First there was this: Just to be clear, the Civil War was about slavery. We addressed this here. Then there was this: And then there was last night’s CNN town […]
Mitt Romney: Some Trump voters are “are out of touch with reality”
Earlier this week I received a query from a journalist who covers the United States for a conservative Protestant daily newspaper in the Netherlands affiliated with the Calvinist Reformed Political Party. (Follow the links to the paper and its party. […]

















