Auditions for the 2024 Republican nomination have begun — and several big names are trying out for the role of the future Donald Trump. There’s one problem, however. The former president may not be ready to cede the stage to an understudy. Trump will give the keynote speech Sunday afternoon at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which this year is being held in Orlando, Fla. The conference began in earnest on Friday. ADVERTISEMENT Trump’s speech will be his most high-profile public engagement since leaving office after having been impeached for a second time following the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. He is widely expected to win a straw poll conducted among CPAC attendees earlier Sunday. Trump has said nothing definite about running again. But even his detractors acknowledge he would be the strong favorite for the GOP nomination — even as those skeptics are also adamant he would lose a general election. “Trump will be the nominee if he decides … [Read more...] about The Memo: CPAC fires starting gun on 2024
Media and public relations
West’s ‘wokeness’ helped Russia to redefine a ‘prisoner of conscience’
By forcing the standards of “wokeness” on a Western institution like Amnesty International, the Kremlin has weakened Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny as he begins his almost three years in a Siberian labor camp. Everyone understands he is a political prisoner, isolated from Russian political life. That is the definition of “prisoner of conscience,” which Amnesty International has chosen to withdraw from his name . Navalny, the major opposition figure to Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin For better or worse: Which way will US-Saudi relations go under Biden? How to rethink Russia sanctions Tucker Carlson bashes CNN, claims it's 'more destructive' than QAnon MORE , was a public relations challenge for the Kremlin even before his run for Moscow mayor in 2013. Through his Fund for the Battle Against Corruption (FBK), he has exposed the corruption and criminality of the Kremlin leadership. He barely survived the poisoning carried out , allegedly, by … [Read more...] about West’s ‘wokeness’ helped Russia to redefine a ‘prisoner of conscience’
Partisan headwinds threaten Capitol riot commission
Plans for a 9/11-style commission to probe the Jan. 6 attack are running into partisan stumbling blocks in Congress. House Democrats are hoping to vote on legislation establishing the investigative panel before they leave town in mid-March, giving them a matter of days to try to reach a deal with Republicans. But clashes among congressional leaders over both the structure and scope of the panel are threatening to derail the commission before it even gets underway. ADVERTISEMENT “I think a commission is a good idea but it can’t be a partisan commission,” said Sen. John Cornyn John Cornyn Biden pledges support for Texas amid recovery from winter storm Partisan headwinds threaten Capitol riot commission Biden turns focus to winter storm with Texas trip MORE (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and an adviser to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Trump at CPAC foments 2022 GOP primary … [Read more...] about Partisan headwinds threaten Capitol riot commission