Trump dodges on Florida abortion question

Harris and Trump to debate September 10 after all

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for August 9, 2024:

• A Jan. 6 courtroom visit.

• Lawmakers meet with Zelenskyy amid Ukraine push.

• Harris chit chats OTR with reporters.

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DEBATES. After making a really big public fuss last weekend - as he pulled out of a scheduled September 10 debate on ABC and demanded an earlier debate with a live audience on Fox News - former President Donald Trump changed course on Thursday and agreed to show up at that exact same September 10 debate. “I look forward to the debates,” said Trump.

• HARRIS. Ignoring Trump’s verbal barbs, the Vice President Kamala Harris quickly said she would be there. “I look forward to it,” Harris said, not trying to figure out why Trump had backed out, proposed other dates, and then reversed himself. “I am beyond trying to speculate about how he thinks,” she told reporters.

• MORE. Trump also suggested two other debate dates in September - plus an earlier one on Fox News - but it was unclear whether those were indeed on the table between the two campaigns - or just Trump talk.

• GAMBIT. What was obvious is that Trump’s debate cancellation gambit from last Saturday had failed. Harris wasn’t drawn into any back and forth. Democrats didn’t panic, and Trump ultimately had to return to the status quo ante.

STRATEGY. In a wide-ranging news conference that lasted just over an hour, Trump defended his limited campaign schedule - as he goes today to Montana for his only rally of the week. He was angered by a question about his strategy. “What a stupid question,” Trump said. “I’m leading by a lot.” (New polling might beg to differ.)

• GEORGIA. Trump also couldn't resist taking another public swipe at Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, whom he attacked last Saturday. "I got him elected - without me, he wouldn't be Governor," Trump said. "When you get somebody elected, they're supposed to like you."

• CROWDS. Trump also spent a good chunk of time at his news conference complaining about the size estimates of his campaign crowds. At one point, he bizarrely suggested that his crowd on Jan. 6 was larger than the crowd which heard Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963. No. No, it was not.

• HARRIS. Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Trump repeatedly insulted Vice President Kamala Harris, belittling her as the “First Loser,” and ‘barely competent.’ “She's not smart enough to do a news conference,” Trump said.

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VPOTUS POOL. Amid growing gripes from the news media - and the Trump campaign - that she hasn't taken questions or sat down for an extended interview since President Biden stepped aside in the 2024 race, Vice President Harris met with reporters on Thursday in Michigan. You can watch it at this link.

• DUPREE RULE OF THUMB. No one is going to ask for my advice, but it is so easy to have the candidate do one of those quick Q&A’s once a day when they are on the road. After a while, reporters get bored of it, and it doesn’t make that much news.

• REPORTERS. While there have been a lot of media complaints about Harris not taking questions or doing interviews - that doesn’t mean the Vice President has been ignoring reporters. Quite the contrary.

• POOL. Reading through the pool reports about Harris in recent days, she’s clearly been chatting with reporters on board Air Force Two - but it’s all been off-the-record (OTR). Here are some notes:

  • “VP Harris had a roughly 4-minute off-the-record conversation with reporters.”

  • “VP came back to the press cabin for a five-minute OTR.”

  • “VP Harris came back to the press cabin for about a five-minute OTR.”

  • “VPOTUS came to the back of the cabin to speak to reporters off the record.”

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GRILLOS. We saw it at the Republican National Convention. We're seeing it from many GOP lawmakers in Congress. And we saw it at a news conference on Thursday from former President Donald Trump. The issue of abortion has all but disappeared from the GOP radar scope - while Democrats fight to make it a focus for the 2024 elections.

• FLORIDA. After not mentioning abortion at the GOP convention last month, Trump had no answer yesterday on whether he supports or opposes a ballot question which would allow for abortion rights in Florida. "I'm going to have a press conference on that at some point in the near future," Trump said, in a familiar hedge.

• ABORTION. In what had to be a bit of a surprise for abortion opponents in the Republican Party, Trump all but predicted that pro-choice forces will win a vote in November in his home state. "Florida does have a vote coming up on that, and I think probably the vote will go in a little more liberal way than people thought."

• ROE V. WADE. Since the Supreme Court decision that overturned the Roe v. Wade decision generated election trouble for Republicans, Trump has tried to finesse the issue by saying abortion laws are all left to the states. "I don’t think it’s a big factor anymore," Trump said, downplaying its national impact.

• MIFEPRISTONE. Trump was also asked about restricting the abortion drug mifepristone, which already survived a challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. His answer didn’t make much sense.

  • Q: There are other things the federal government could do (on abortion) - not just a ban. Would you direct your FDA to revoke access to Mifepristone?

TRUMP: "Sure, you can do things that would supplement, absolutely - and those things are pretty open and humane. But you have to be able to have a vote. All I do is want to give everybody a vote. And the votes are taking place right now as we speak. There are many things on a humane basis that you can do outside of that, but you also have to give a vote and the people are going to have to decide.

ROEVEMBER. Abortion is on the ballot specifically in Florida and five other states, as Democrats see the issue as a great way to motivate voters. "Over 20 states in our country have a Trump abortion ban," Vice President Harris told a rally this week. "We all know if he wins, he would sign a national abortion ban."

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SQUAD. In Congress, a second member of the progressive 'Squad' lost this week in a Democratic primary. While much of it had to do with views about Israel for both Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), some of it was just boilerplate work for a member of Congress. More in my column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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JANUARY 6. During his news conference yesterday, Trump again expressed his support for those who rioted and attacked the Capitol in a bid to keep him in power. "I think the people on January 6 were treated very poorly," Trump told reporters, as he again oddly said, "Nobody was killed on January 6." (Ashley Babbitt might disagree.)

• COURTROOM. On Thursday morning, I walked over to the federal courthouse to watch the sentencing of a Texas man who pleaded guilty to various Jan. 6 charges. David Arredondo repeatedly fought with police and forced his way into the Capitol, pinning officers behind the giant Rotunda doors.

• PRISON. Addressing the court, Arredondo acknowledged his mistakes. "I made a costly error," he said. Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Arredondo to 33 months in prison, and then delivered a lecture about January 6, highlighted by the current election campaign.

• JUDGE. "I honestly don't know where this is going to end up,” Judge Lamberth said in a somewhat exasperated tone. “The public doesn't know where this is going to end up. But I know where I think it should end up. We can't let people - even in a protest - assault the police."

• DARK DAY. Listening to the judge's warning was one officer assaulted by Arredondo. As we walked back to the Capitol in the rain, you could tell the events of Jan. 6 still weighed heavily on his mind. You get the same feeling talking to other officers, who know how dangerous that day was.

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UKRAINE. If you haven't checked the news over the past few days, the War in Ukraine is also now the War in Russia - as Ukrainian forces have seized a chunk of Russian territory near Kursk, opposite the northeastern border of Ukraine. Those military moves came as three House members met in Kyiv with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

• ZELENSKYY. "We talked about defending our country and our values from Russian terror," Zelenskyy said, after the sit down with Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT). "I am grateful for the support of everyone in America who values freedom and independence," Zelenskyy added.

• RUSSIA. If U.S. officials were angered by Ukraine's surprise attack on Russian territory, it's not being said publicly - or even hinted at. "Obviously, we strongly support Ukraine’s effort to defend against Russia’s aggression," said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. "We have supported Ukraine from the very beginning," added Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

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TULSI. A group of GOP lawmakers in Congress have asked the Transportation Security Administration whether ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is being targeted for strict airport security checks - and if she's been put on a super-secret watch list. "What on earth is TSA doing," said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), who asked for a meeting with the TSA chief.

• GABBARD. Gabbard claims that she has been recently subjected to extra security precautions when taking commercial airline flights. She said on Fox News last night that whistleblowers inside the TSA have told her she has been put on a special terrorist watch list - for what reason, she doesn't know.

• GABBARD. "I experienced a significant change in my travel when all of this began on July 23," Gabbard said in an interview with Sean Hannity last night on Fox News. "No American deserves this. No American deserves to live in fear of our own government."

• TSA. Asked about Gabbard's claim, the feds said nothing. "TSA does not confirm or deny whether any individual has matched to a risk-based rule," a TSA spokesperson said Thursday. What's this all about? I don't know. I do know the story was enthusiastically picked up by a Russian propaganda site.

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TAX CREDITS. I told you yesterday about the 18 House Republicans who don't want to repeal certain energy tax breaks which were originally made law in the Inflation Reduction Act. They made their case in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson. I have to circle back to this story, because of the details.

• VOTES. "In April 2023, every GOP Rep. that signed this letter voted to repeal the IRA's climate subsidies," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), accurately pointing out what happened. Let's spell it out:

  • Republicans voted against the Inflation Reduction Act.

  • Republicans later voted to repeal the energy tax breaks in that law.

  • Now these 18 Republicans want to keep those energy tax breaks.

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RAP SHEET. A Pennsylvania man has been arrested and charged with assaulting police on Jan. 6. Daniel Collins joined other rioters in attacking a group of officers, grabbing one around the neck and trying to tackle him. He also pushed police as they tried to clear the Rotunda. That night, Collins was caught on film. "I think I'm going to jail soon," he said.

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  August 9, 1935.  On this date, the Senate on this date gave final approval to the bill creating the Social Security retirement system.  There was little controversy, as the final plan passed on a voice vote in both the House and Senate.  "It is good news," President Roosevelt told reporters when informed during a White House news conference.  FDR signed it into law five days later.

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on September 9.

The Senate returns on September 9.

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Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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