Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. Olivier was so distraught about errantly locating the White Salmon resort in Oregon instead of the state of Washington in Friday’s column that he was out sick for three days. He apologizes and thanks readers who pointed out the error. (Covid. It was Covid. He had Covid.)
The big idea
The Most Important Line in John Kelly’s statement
No one served longer as Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff than retired general John Kelly. So when he confirmed to CNN this week that the former president had made all manner of wildly disparaging comments about military members and veterans, he made waves.
But tucked away in Kelly’s wide-ranging yet sharp denunciation of his former boss — not an afterthought, surely, but not the headline-grabber — was a stark warning about Trump’s public attacks on anyone he thinks has crossed him personally, professionally, or politically.
When the former president accused the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, of treason and suggested he should have been put to death, he did so “in expectation that someone will take action,” Kelly told CNN’s Jake Tapper in a written statement.
An invitation to violence?
It’s arguably the most important line in Kelly’s remarkable statement, as Trump has escalated his enraged rants against judges, prosecutors and even court staff, as well as President Biden and other Democrats. He’s not just riffing, Kelly seems to say, he’s aware there will be threats … or worse.
Mike Pence has said that Trump firing up his supporters with false claims the former vice president could overturn Biden’s victory “endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol” on Jan. 6, 2021. Pence did not directly address Trump’s intent. (The former president did take specific aim at his vice president that day, though.)
But now Kelly has accused Trump of exactly that: Vilifying individuals or groups in the knowledge that, among his millions of supporters, some may take matters into their own hands.
(Tapper quoted a Trump campaign statement according to which Kelly “has totally clowned himself with these debunked stories he’s made up because he didn’t serve his president well while working as chief of staff.”)
The history
Trump endorsing or excusing violence (implicitly or explicitly) isn’t really new.
Just a sample:
- In 2016, he said he might pay the legal fees for a man who allegedly sucker-punched a protester at one of his campaign rallies.
- In 2017, he told police “don’t be too nice” to the people they’re arresting.
- Throughout his presidency, he pardoned U.S. troops and contractors convicted of atrocities, including war crimes.
- In 2018, he praised Rep. Greg Gianforte (now governor of Montana) for body-slamming a reporter when running for Congress in 2017. “Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type!” Trump declared. (Gianforte pleaded guilty.)
- In 2020, he threatened military action against protesters angry at the police killing of George Floyd, saying “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” (Trump denied being aware of the phrase’s racist origins among police and politicians opposed to the civil rights movement.)
The danger
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) a regular foil — and critic — of Trump’s, reportedly started paying $5,000 per day for private security for his family after Jan. 6.
Anthony S. Fauci, a frequent target of right-wing Republican rage (and wild conspiracy theories) over pandemic vaccine mandates and lockdowns, has needed security outside his house for the first time in a half-century career in public health. (In late 2020, Trump called Fauci a “disaster” and an “idiot.”)
Since FBI agents carried out a court-authorized search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August 2022, threats against the agency’s personnel and facilities have soared 300%, a U.S. official told the New York Times late last month.
Trump, meanwhile, has been promising supporters on the campaign trail: “I am your retribution.”
In recent news
Over the past few months, Trump has called prosecutors pursuing cases against him “racist” or “deranged.” He has mocked Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, the victim of a brutal assault at their home a year ago. He has called for police to shoot shoplifters.
Trump also delivered a vague threat on his Truth Social site: “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”
Judge Tanya Chutkan, who oversees the federal criminal case against Trump on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election, allegedly received death threats a day later from a woman who said “If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you,” according to a criminal complaint.
He also posted a false claim about a staffer for Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing a civil trial over alleged business fraud by Trump. It included a photograph of that person. The judge responded with a gag order forbidding the former president from making public comments about court staff.
Kelly’s big omission
So what was missing from Kelly’s remarkable statement?
- Whether, after confirming Trump’s expressions of contempt for Americans who served, or were wounded or killed in service, he would still vote for the former president in 2024?
He would hardly be the first to denounce Trump’s actions but still support him should the former president win the GOP nomination. Most of Trump’s rivals have promised to vote for him even if he is convicted of crimes. That includes Pence.
The Daily 202 reached Kelly. He declined to comment for the record.
Politics-but-not
What’s happening now
As House GOP flails, government shutdown fears reemerge
“Kevin McCarthy’s ouster from the House speakership Tuesday appears to have increased the risk that the U.S. government will shut down next month, as the far-right lawmakers who toppled him demand that the GOP extract impossibly large concessions from the White House and Democratic-controlled Senate,” Jeff Stein and Jacob Bogage report.
White House seeks a path forward on Ukraine amid House turmoil
“White House officials are urgently strategizing on the best way to salvage U.S. aid to Ukraine, debating whether to push for a larger funding package or seek a smaller one that may have a better chance of passing now that support for Kyiv in Congress has been thrown into doubt by House Republicans’ ouster of their leader this week,” Yasmeen Abutaleb, John Hudson and Michael Birnbaum report.
Youngkin takes $2M from TikTok investor despite app ban, China warnings
“Gov. Glenn Youngkin accepted a $2 million political contribution this week from a donor with a multibillion-dollar stake in TikTok, a Chinese-owned app that the Republican governor banned from state devices late last year amid his broader campaign against Chinese influence in Virginia,” Laura Vozzella reports.
Lunchtime reads from The Post
Coordinated ‘swatting’ effort may be behind hundreds of school shooting hoaxes
“Over the past year, more than 500 schools in the United States have been subjected to a coordinated campaign of fear that exploits the all-too-real American danger of school shootings, according to a review of media reports and dozens of public records requests. The Washington Post examined police reports, emergency call recordings, body-camera footage or call logs in connection with incidents in 24 states,” Joanna Slater reports.
- “The calls are being investigated by the FBI and have generated an aggressive response by local law enforcement — particularly after officers in Uvalde, Tex., came under criticism for waiting more than an hour to confront the gunman during the May 2022 elementary school massacre.”
Arizona recount law could delay certifying 2024 election, officials say
“If the 2024 presidential election is close in Arizona, a newly enacted state law will mandate a ballot recount that will probably cause the state to miss crucial deadlines for certifying the vote, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post and interviews with elections officials,” Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reports.
… and beyond
Rising interest rates mean deficits finally matter
“The U.S. isn’t about to default or fail to sell enough bonds at its next auction. But the scale and upward trajectory of U.S. borrowing and absence of any political corrective now threaten markets and the economy in ways they haven’t for at least a generation,” the Wall Street Journal’s Greg Ip reports.
From a Capitol Hill basement, Bannon stokes the Republican Party meltdown
“From this cavelike studio not far from where Congress meets, Mr. Bannon, the former Trump adviser, has been stoking the chaos now gripping the Republican Party, capitalizing on the spectacle to build his own following and using his popular podcast to prop up and egg on the G.O.P. rebels,” the NYT’s Annie Karni reports.
- “Mr. Bannon has spent years promoting the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald J. Trump, railing against coronavirus mandates and what he refers to as a ‘criminal invasion of the southern border.’ His obsession of late was toppling Mr. McCarthy and taking out what he describes as ‘uniparty’ Republicans who have become indistinguishable from Democrats.”
The Biden agenda
Biden touts $9B more in student loan forgiveness, progress in debt relief
“The debt cancellation announced Wednesday affects 125,000 borrowers benefiting from three existing federal relief programs. It comes as millions of people with federal student loans are resuming payments on their debt this month after a three-year pause because of the coronavirus pandemic,” Danielle Douglas-Gabriel reports.
Biden administration waives 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in South Texas
“The Biden administration announced it waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction on Wednesday, marking the administration’s first use of a sweeping executive power employed often during the Trump presidency,” the Associated Press’s Valerie Gonzalez reports.
- “The Department of Homeland Security posted the announcement on the U.S. Federal Registry with few details outlining the construction in Starr County, Texas, which is part of a busy Border Patrol sector seeing ‘high illegal entry.’ According to government data, about 245,000 illegal entries have been recorded so far this fiscal year in the Rio Grande Valley Sector which contains 21 counties.”
How September shattered global heat records, visualized
“Early analyses show global warmth surged far above previous records in September — even further than what scientists said seemed like astonishing increases in July and August,” Scott Dance reports.
- “The planet’s average temperature shattered the previous September record by more than half a degree Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit), which is the largest monthly margin ever observed.”
Hot on the left
New UAW chief has a nonnegotiable demand: Eat the rich
“‘Billionaires in my opinion don’t have a right to exist,’ says Shawn Fain, who is leading the United Automobile Workers in a multifront labor battle against the Big Three carmakers that has little precedent and is making a lot of noise,” the NYT’s David Streitfeld reports.
- “In interviews, in speeches and on social media, Mr. Fain hammers the wealthy again and again, making the cause of the union’s 150,000 autoworkers at General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis something much broader.”
Hot on the right
Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as House speaker could cost the GOP its best fundraiser heading into 2024
“Kevin McCarthy spent years raising mountains of Republican campaign cash, flying around the country to recruit top candidates in key districts and painstakingly building political relationships as he worked his way toward becoming speaker of the House,” the AP’s Will Weissert and Brian Slodysko report.
- “Now that he’s been ousted from the post after less than nine months, some in the GOP are wondering if anyone can take his place as a fundraising dynamo and party builder.”
Today in Washington
At noon, Biden will get briefed on the situation in Ukraine.
In closing
I find documents officials want to keep hidden. Here’s how.
“Today, as The Post’s first Freedom of Information Act director, I work to ensure that our entire newsroom receives as many of those envelopes and email attachments as possible. Those documents have helped us publish stories that have exposed government waste and wrongdoing, and led to congressional hearings and new laws. Successful requests take strategy, creativity and a tenacity for overcoming bureaucratic resistance. Now, I’m writing a periodic column about how I do it,” Nate Jones writes.
Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.
