Welcome to the online version of From the policy deskevening bulletin that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill from the NBC News Politics team.
In today’s edition, top national political reporters Matt Dixon and Jonathan Allen report on Donald Trump’s plans to use his time in the courtroom for political gain. Plus, senior Washington reporter Hallie Jackson previews the moments when key questions about the 2024 campaign will be answered.
How Trump plans to use the court is to his advantage
By Matt Dixon and Jonathan Allen
Donald Trump’s campaign is planning to “make lemonade out of lemons” as his political calendar is full of court appearances.
That reality was on display with Trump on Thursday spends his day in a Florida courtroom when his lawyers argued that a federal criminal case related to his handling of classified documents should be dismissed, a judge denied the motion.
Going forward, the former president’s advisers tell NBC News that their strategy will try to portray President Joe Biden as trying to “arrest” his political opponents, muddying the waters between Trump and Biden’s legal challenges, creating and ultimately pushing politically-focused counterprogramming events. postpone trials as much as possible.
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The first criminal case related to Trump’s payment of hush money to an adult film star was scheduled to begin on March 25. But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Thursday After Trump’s request for a 90-day delay, he was willing to delay the start of the trial by 30 days.
In addition to the obvious legal pitfalls, the trial will keep Trump in courtrooms almost all day, at least four days a week for more than eight weeks. This means that Trump will sometimes be running for president on a functionally part-time basis.
In the weekends between the test days, Trump is expected to take more policy-driven action, drawing contrasts between his proposals and Biden’s record. On Wednesdays — a non-court day — Trump is expected to focus on fundraising.
Trump’s team also plans to deploy more senior campaign surrogates and increase attacks on Biden on issues such as immigration, his mental health, crime and the economy.
Trump’s legal woes — dozens of separate indictments on four separate charges — served as political rocket fuel during the GOP primaries. As we head into the general election, the politics of Trump’s legal problems are getting darker and darker.
Advisers believe that if they ramp up their attacks on Biden to equate Trump’s legal challenges with Biden’s, they can effectively muddy the waters with voters and in the process make the legal challenges, including those related to election interference, less important. problem.
“We don’t even have to win the argument. We just have to neutralize it,” Trump’s adviser said. “If we do that, the decision-making calculations favor us.”
The main unanswered questions of the Biden-Trump rematch
Analysis by Hallie Jackson
It’s officially the start of one of the longest general elections in probably a generation: Trump vs. Biden 2024. They’ve each hit their magic number, they’re shooting at each other, and plenty of reporters are camping out for keywords. swing states for vibe checks.
Are you shocked? Probably not, given that this is the alignment that politicians have been predicting for months. But as our colleague Savannah Guthrie likes to say, it might be a rematch, but it’s not a rematch. The polling looks different, the economic landscape looks different, and while we know a lot about Biden and Trump, there are still some major questions unanswered about the 2024 race.
As noted above, Trump’s unresolved legal issues remain a major general election question mark. Mark your calendar for April 25: The Supreme Court will be on that day listen to oral arguments On whether Trump is immune from criminal charges in the federal election meddling case.
Before long, we’ll be moving on to conventions. The Republican confab begins on July 15 in Milwaukee, and the Democrats will hold it in Chicago on August 19. considering running mate options.
Then the debates are usually held in the fall. After refusing to participate in the GOP primary debates and attacking the commission that organizes the general election debates, Trump is now saying wants to go toe to toe With Biden. However, the president has not yet committed to discussing Trump.
Those in Biden’s orbit have often told me that they don’t expect Americans to really start paying attention en masse after Labor Day — we’ll see. And those close to Trump note how his legal problems have helped him for months — we’ll see. For now, at least until it’s gone, it’s still Trump/Biden deja vu.
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- 🧍Mr Independence: Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., has not announced he will seek re-election because he faces multiple federal charges, but one option he is considering is running as an independent candidate. More →
- 🎶 Tik tok for TikTok: Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin wants to assemble a group to buy TikTok after the House of Representatives passed a bill that could ban the app in the United States unless its China-based parent company renounces it. More →
- 🏠 This old house: Politico reports that Biden has “repeatedly pressed his senior staff for new ways to make housing more affordable and accessible” as he seeks to promote some form of relief from rising prices. More →
- 🚗 Pedal to shuffle: Democrats are at it again, wading into Ohio’s crowded GOP Senate race to lift Trump-endorsed Bernie Moreno ahead of next week’s primary. More →
- 1️⃣ First: Kamala Harris toured a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota on Thursday, becoming what is believed to be the first president or vice president to visit a clinic that provides abortion services. More →
- 3️⃣ Third party wars started: Democrats are gearing up for a broad campaign against third-party and independent presidential candidates in the fall amid concerns Biden could hurt his chances. More →
- 🗓️ Senate Fridays: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is pushing a bill to reduce the work week from five days to four without losing pay. More →
For now, that’s it from The Politics Desk. If you have feedback – like it or not – email us politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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