If it’s THURSDAY… Donald Trump appears in federal court at 4:00 pm ET to face charges over 2020 election… NBC’s Daniel Barnes reports that barriers have been placed around the D.C. courthouse where Trump will be arraigned… Mike Pence finds himself in a new spotlight after the indictment… VP Harris heads to Milwaukee to discuss manufacturing and high-speed internet infrastructure… And two formerly expelled Tennessee Democrats run in special elections to win back their seats.
But FIRST… Ask yourself this question: Which recent topic has created the bigger pile-on in the Republican presidential race?
Topic A: The latest indictment of former President Donald Trump — over his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election?
Or Topic B: Florida’s new educational standards about how slavery is taught in the state’s schools?
The easy answer is B, with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and a key Trump surrogate (Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.) all knocking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the state’s language that slaves developed skills that could have personally benefitted them.
That’s compared with how Scott, Haley and DeSantis have reacted to Trump’s latest indictment so far (either criticizing the Justice Department or not commenting at all), while former Vice President Mike Pence (more on him below), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have criticized Trump.
Also ask yourself: How is the latest indictment playing out on conservative media?
Well, here are some snippets watching Fox News’ primetime coverage last night:
“It’s not a crime to have a novel legal theory,” host Laura Ingraham said when interviewing an attorney for John Eastman, one of the alleged Trump co-conspirators in the indictment.
“This is about criminalizing a man who represents about half the nation,” said host Jesse Watters.
“If Trump wins after he pardons himself, welcome to the ‘Revenge Tour,’” Watters added. “Everything is fair game after this.”
And host Sean Hannity decried the “ultra-partisan and weaponized DOJ,” even as he later interviewed DeSantis, who accepted a challenge to debate California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
If Trump’s top-tier rivals aren’t going to attack him over being indicted (again), and if conservative media hosts are going to defend his actions (and even root for a “Revenge Tour”), it’s hard to see how the indictment will hurt him among Republican primary voters.
With less than six months before the Iowa caucuses.
Chart of the day
Data Download: The number of the day is … 2
That’s the number of Tennessee Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who are running Thursday in special elections to win back their seats after they were expelled earlier this year over gun-violence protests.
While both men were reinstated to fill their seats on an interim basis in the weeks after they were expelled, they have to win a special election Thursday in order to serve out the rest of the term. Pearson faces no Republican challenger, only an independent candidate, while Jones faces a Republican (both are running in districts Democrats typically win easily).
Other numbers to know
2.1%: The amount that the Nasdaq dropped on Wednesday, its second-worst day of the year, a day after Fitch downgraded the nation’s credit rating.
$31 trillion: The value of the U.S. national debt, which Congress and the Biden administration may have to address again before the 2024 election, the Washington Post reports.
51%: The share of Americans who believe the U.S. economy is still in a downturn and is getting worse, despite indicators suggesting a stronger economy, according to a CNN poll.
11: The number of people killed at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, a crime for which the shooter was sentenced to death on Wednesday.
40,000: The tons of grain that were destroyed after Russia struck a port in Ukraine that many farmers had been using as an alternative to other major ports Russia has targeted. Last month, Russia abandoned an agreement allowing the safe flow of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, the New York Times reports.
3: The number of members of the all-Republican Board of Supervisors in Mohave County, Arizona who voted against hand-counting ballots in 2024, beating two others who voted to forgo voting machines.
More than 80%: The portion of the world’s population that experienced heat that likely would not have occurred without human-caused climate change, a new report found.
94%: The portion of individuals filing taxes that the IRS estimates will no longer need to send mail to the agency as they move to do more of their tax return process digitally, the Washington Post reports.
Note: Yesterday’s version of First Read included a typo in the above two items. We regret the errors; the correct information is above.
Eyes on 2024: Pence in the spotlight after Trump’s indictment
Former Vice President Mike Pence hit the campaign trail Wednesday with a different kind of spotlight on him than the rest of the presidential field — as a central figure in Trump’s third indictment.
Pence or the vice presidency were mentioned more than 100 times in the indictment detailing Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, per a count from the Washington Post. And on Wednesday, Pence tried to balance defending his actions with a desire to move on as he tries to appeal to a GOP base that is largely loyal to Trump.
“I can’t assess whether or not the government has the evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what they assert in the indictment. And the president is entitled to a presumption of innocence,” Pence told reporters at the Indiana State Fair, per NBC News’ Sarah Dean. “But for my part, I want people to know that I had no right to overturn the election.”
Pence’s break with Trump over the 2020 election has put him at odds with many GOP primary voters, and the former vice president has struggled to garner enough donors so far to qualify for the first primary debate this month.
Pence’s campaign did stress to donors in a Wednesday Zoom call that he has been steadily building his donor base, and the campaign expects to reach the 40,000-donor threshold by the end of next week.
Even if Pence makes the debate stage, it’s possible he won’t come face-to-face with Trump, who has signaled he isn’t likely to participate. But Pence and Trump could clash again in the courtroom.
Asked Wednesday if he would testify in Trump’s criminal trial, Pence said, “Well, I testified under a subpoena before the grand jury. I’m someone that believes in the rule of law. But look — I have nothing to hide.”
In other campaign news…
Telling responses: Republican presidential candidates’ responses to Trump’s indictment “are sending a pretty clear message: Trump’s actions were more just than those of the justice system,” NBC News’ Jonathan Allen writes.
Shaking it off: NBC News’ Matt Dixon, Katherine Doyle, Allan Smith and Henry J. Gomez report on how Trump World “remained calm” amid the new indictment “in large part because they knew it was coming.”
Obama’s warning: During a private lunch in late June, former President Barack Obama pledged to help Biden’s re-election and expressed concerns about Trump’s “political strengths,” per the Washington Post.
Biden’s decision: NBC News’ Peter Nicholas, Carol E. Lee, Monica Alba and Mike Memoli delve into the backstory behind Biden’s decision to publicly acknowledge his seventh grandchild.
Bringing in the cavalry: Biden has tapped new finance co-directors and a grassroots fundraising director for his re-election bid, Politico reports.
DeSantis vs. Disney continues: A board controlled by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees that oversees Disney World’s governing district eliminated its diversity, equity and inclusion programs on Tuesday.
Switching teams? The Orlando Magic donated $50,000 to Never Back Down, a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid, CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports. The Magic is partially owned by members of the DeVos family and Betsy DeVos served as Trump’s Education Secretary, but a spokesperson for the team confirmed that the donation, dated days before DeSantis launched his presidential bid, “was given as a Florida business in support of a Florida governor for the continued prosperity of Central Florida.”
Red state vs. blue state: DeSantis joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity live Wednesday night, where he agreed to a live, televised debate between himself and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The debate was framed by Hannity as a “policy-based debate, you know, red vs. blue,” and a spokesman for Newsom confirmed they were committed, even having gone so far as to send a letter with proposed debate rules to DeSantis.
Ramaswamy and the 9/11 Commission: Tech entrepreneur and GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy said this week during an interview “Do I believe the 9/11 Commission? Absolutely not,” Politico reports. After the interview, he tweeted that “we have never fully addressed who knew what in the Saudi government about [the 9/11 attacks].”
Party’s over? Republican state parties across the country “have become shells of their former machines amid infighting and a lack of organization,” Politico reports.
Reeves hits back: Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is out with a new TV ad responding to recent attacks from his Democratic opponent, Brandon Presley, calling it “100% false” and arguing “Reeves had nothing to do with the [state’s welfare] scandal.”
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world:
Capitol Police evacuated a Senate office building Wednesday after they received word of an active shooter, but law enforcement believes it may have been “a bogus call.”
North Korea acknowledged the United Nations’ message about the American soldier who ran into the country last month, a Pentagon spokesperson said, but there hasn’t been any “substantial progress.”
