WASHINGTON- If it’s Monday… President Biden brands he anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, Ala. … New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu on «Meet the Press,» declares that Trump will not be a Republican candidate. …Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announces will not run in the 2024 Republican presidential race. … Nevada Democrats decline a democratic socialist leadership. …And the Texas Republican Party censorship Rep. Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas, for voting in favor of the bipartisan gun law passed after the Uvalde shooting.
But first: Last weekend featured two very different speeches from the co-leaders in the early 2024 Republican presidential race.
At CPAC outside DC on Saturday, Donald Trump introduced himself as the outsider of the party, despite having been the nation’s president for four years. “We will never go back to the Paul Ryan, Karl Rove and Jeb Bush party,” he said, according to NBC’s Henry J. Gomez and Natasha Korecki.
Trump promised to serve as «retribution» for Republicans who have been «wronged» by Democrats and the political establishment. «If you return me to the White House, his reign is over,» he said. “In 2016, I declared: ‘I am your voice.’ Today, I add, I am your warrior. I am your justice. And to those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.»
And he made a not-so-subtle hint to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who voted to restructure welfare programs while in Congress.
“We will not go back to the people who want to destroy our great Social Security system,” Trump said in his speech. «Even some in our own party.»
He added: «I wonder who it could be.»
Meanwhile, DeSantis, speaking Sunday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, pointed in liberal states and their governments.
“If you look at the last four years, we’ve seen a huge American exodus from states run by leftist politicians who push a leftist ideology and get poor results. And he’s seen massive gains in states like Florida that are governing according to the tried-and-true principles that President Reagan held dear.»
And DeSantis, who has yet to officially announce his 2024 plans, took his own not-so-subtle shot at Trump, as NBC’s Hallie Jackson observed on «today» this morning.
“You didn’t see our administration leaking like a sieve. You didn’t see much drama or palace intrigue. What you saw was an execution of surgical precision day after day after day.»
We wonder who it could be.
headline of the day
Data download: The number of the day is… 57
That’s how many members of the Texas State Republican Executive Committee voted to censure Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales over the weekend, with only five opposing the resolution, according to NBC News’ Mirna Alsharif. The blackout was part of a state party rule that allows the party to convict elected officials «who violate the principles and priorities of the Texas Republican Party.»
Members of the party’s state committee rebuked Gonzales for his vote for bipartisan gun control legislation following the tragic shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, which is in Gonzales’ House district. Republicans also took issue with Gonzales’s votes to protect same-sex marriage and opposed the House rules package.
Other numbers to know:
28: The number of cars on a Norfolk Southern train that derailed near Springfield, Ohio, over the weekend. The train was not carrying dangerous chemicals.
62%: the part that former president donald trump he won in the CPAC presidential opinion poll last weekend.
2: The number of Ukrainian pilots who traveled to the US for evaluations to determine how long it would take to train them to fly attack aircraft, NBC News’ Courtney Kube and Carol E. Lee report.
7.2%: China’s planned increase in defense spending this year as tensions with Taiwan rise.
3: The number of people convicted of assaulting Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone on January 6, 2021, when a third rioter pleaded guilty on Friday.
$250 million: The amount of sanctions former President Donald Trump faces as part of a civil lawsuit against him. Trump is trying to delay the lawsuit, filed last year, by months in a new court filing.
$3.15 million: The amount for which Paul Manafort plans to settle with the Justice Department in a civil lawsuit over their offshore bank accounts, the Washington Post reports.
300%: The amount that food prices in elementary and middle schools increased in January from a year earlier, NBC News’ Sara Ruberg reports.
Eyes on 2024: The story of two anti-Trump governors
As the Republican presidential field continues to take shape, two governors parted ways over the weekend as they weighed their own White House bids.
Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, has announced that he will not seek the Republican presidential nomination, arguing that his candidacy could contribute to a Trump primary victory.
“In order to be a successful ruling party again, we need to put Donald Trump behind us,” Hogan said. in a sentence. “There are a number of competent Republican leaders who have the potential to step up and lead. But the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another pileup that could help Trump win back the nomination.
Another Trump critic, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, is still mulling a run for president. He told “Meet the Press” on Sunday that “there will be plenty of time” to make his decision, stressing that Trump “is not going to be the nominee; That’s just not going to happen.» But he did say that he would support the candidate, whoever he is.
«Thank you for your service. We are moving forward,» Sununu said of Trump. «I just don’t think the Republican Party is going to say that the best leadership for America tomorrow is the leadership of yesterday.»
In other campaign news:
A bridge to a second term? NBC News’ Peter Nicholas and Scott Wong report on how President Joe Biden appears to be confident that his administration’s infrastructure push will help him at the polls next year.
Biden gives Democrats a clear signal on crime: And another story from NBC News’ Alex Seitz-Wald and Carol E. Lee discusses how Biden’s decision to allow Congress to block Washington, DC’s city council’s attempts to change the city’s penal code is a clear message. about how he thinks his party should handle crime. .
Backup plan: While the Democratic Governor of Illinois. JB Pritzker told CBS News that no “serious” Democrats will run against Biden in the primary, the New York Times has published a new profile on how “the Democrats’ SOS candidate keeps his options open.”
Taking the means of production of the party: Nevada Democrats rejected his Democratic Socialist leadership over the weekend, including vexing State Speaker Judith Whitmer in exchange for State Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno.
he is legislating: Politico reports how DeSantis and the Florida legislature are positioning themselves ahead of a pivotal legislative session where Republicans are expected to hand their governor even more legislative victories as he prepares a potential presidential bid.
She is running: Author Marianne Williamson announced Saturday that she is running again for the Democratic presidential nomination.
He is sending messages: When asked by CNN On his timeline for deciding whether to run for president, former Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that «March is a month of messages» while «April is a time of decision.»
He is in: Shawn Wilson, former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, became the first high-profile Democrat to jump into the gubernatorial race on Monday.
He is trying to win the Senate: The Washington Post reports on the careful tightrope Montana Republican Steve Daines, chairman of the Republican Party’s Senate campaign arm, walks as he seeks to channel his party’s united energy into swinging the Senate majority.
ICYMI: What else is happening in the world?
Top congressional leaders were “gave an idea” of what was in the classified documents found at the properties of Biden, Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., told “Meet the Press”.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro told NBC News over the weekend that he plans to return to Brazil later this month.
Tens of thousands of Israelis protested in the streets Saturday against Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s reform plan aimed at limiting the judiciary.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged to CNN that some criticism of his management from East Palestine, Ohio, a train derailment was just right.