memeorandum: Trumpworld braces for ‘a couple of ugly nights’ in May (David Siders/Politico)

9:45 AM ET, May 2, 2022

Top Items:

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: Esper says Trump wanted to shoot protesters — Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper charges in a memoir out May 10 that former President Trump said when demonstrators were filling the streets around the White House following the death of George Floyd: “Can't you just shoot them?

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, Insider, The Moderate Voice and Washington Times

New York Times:

Russian Tycoon Criticized Putin's War. Retribution Was Swift. — Oleg Y. Tinkov was worth more than $9 billion in November, renowned as one of Russia's few self-made business tycoons after building his fortune outside the energy and minerals industries that were the playgrounds of Russian kleptocracy.

Discussion: Forbes, New York Post, Today's Edition Newsletter, Washington Post, UPI, Vanity Fair, The Hill, Townhall, Associated Press, Washington Examiner and Breitbart

Reuters:

Lavrov Compares Ukraine's Zelenskyy to Hitler, Who Also ‘Had Jewish Blood’ — Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview on Italian television on Sunday that the fact Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish does not negate the Nazi elements in his country.

Discussion: Politico, The Times of Israel, The Times of Israel, Associated Press, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Insider, Al Jazeera, Mother Jones, ABC News and NBC New York

BBC:

Israel outrage at Sergei Lavrov's claim that Hitler was part Jewish — Israel has reacted with fury after Russia's foreign minister claimed that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood”. — Sergei Lavrov made the comments to try to justify Russia's portrayal of Ukraine as “Nazi” despite the fact that its president is Jewish.

Discussion: HotAir, Associated Press, The Times of Israel, Forbes, New York Post, The Guardian, Breitbart, UPI, Washington Post, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Reuters and Fox News

New York Times:

Russia's top officer visited the front line to change the offensive's course, U.S. and Ukraine officials say. — ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — The chief of the general staff of the Russian military, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the country's highest ranking uniformed officer, made a visit …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantean Glimpse, The Most Revolutionary Act, Washington Times, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, CNN, Mercury News, Politico and Reuters

Joseph Menn / Washington Post:
Hacking Russia was off-limits. The Ukraine war made it a free-for-all.

Discussion: Bob's Newsletter and UPI, more at Techmeme »

Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:
Russia's Occupation of Southern Ukraine Hardens, With Rubles, Russian Schools and Lenin Statues

Discussion: Breitbart, Forbes, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Scott Dworkin / Newsweek:

There's No Choice in the Midterms. The Democrats Are the Only Side Defending Democracy — , EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DEMOCRATIC COALITION — As we get closer and closer to November's midterm elections, doomsday predictions about a bloodbath for Democrats have come to dominate the news.

Discussion: Salon

New York Times:

What Democrats Don't Understand About Rural America — Ms. Maxmin, 29, is the youngest female state senator in Maine's history. Mr. Woodward ran her two campaigns. They are the authors of the forthcoming book “Dirt Road Revival,” from which this essay is adapted.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Federalist and The Hill

Jonathan Lemire / Politico:

Bidenworld wants to make the midterms more about Trump and hopes Elon Musk helps — President Joe Biden and fellow Democrats have struggled to overcome historical headwinds and worrisome economic trends in the lead-up to the midterms. — So aides are scheming up something else …

David Siders / Politico:

Trumpworld braces for ‘a couple of ugly nights’ in May — The first big test of former President Donald Trump's clout comes Tuesday in Ohio's bitterly fought Senate primary, where J.D. Vance surged into the lead after winning Trump's endorsement. — A Vance victory would remind his party that Trump is still king.

Discussion: The Hill, Punchbowl News, Fox News, Breitbart, NPR, Raw Story, No Tribe and Associated Press

Adam Wren / Politico: The GOP senator who faulted Trump for Jan. 6 — and lived to tell about it

Jordain Carney / The Hill: McConnell silent about sour Trump relationship

CNN:

Georgia official frantically texted Mark Meadows as Trump badgered secretary of state to ‘find’ votes — (CNN)As Donald Trump badgered Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on an hour-long call to “find” the votes necessary to flip the battleground state to Trump's column after the 2020 election …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, New York Times, Raw Story and Peach State Politics …

Trafalgar Group:

OH Sen GOP April 29 - May 1, 2022 — See Report Here — Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CNN:

Russians plunder $5M farm vehicles from Ukraine — to find they've been remotely disabled — (CNN)Russian troops in the occupied city of Melitopol have stolen all the equipment from a farm equipment dealership — and shipped it to Chechnya, according to a Ukrainian businessman in the area.

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ

Washington Free Beacon:

The Nurse Ratched of Disinformation — LOL. — When we first heard Alejandro Mayorkas announce a Department of Homeland Security “Disinformation Governance Board,” we thought he was trolling. Then he said Nina Jankowicz, best known as TikTok's “Mary Poppins of Disinformation,” would head it.

Discussion: The Bulwark, Townhall and The Daily Caller

Marc Caputo / NBC News:

DeSantis eyes big Florida win in November as a White House springboard — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won't say whether he'll run for president, but he's starting to acknowledge that his road to the White House might hinge on a big re-election win this year. — For months, Florida Capitol insiders …

Wall Street Journal: Disney's Clash With Florida Has CEOs on Alert

Axios:

Dems punch back against GOP's “culture war” attacks — Democrats are starting to fight back against the bludgeoning they've taken since the Republicans seized on socially charged issues to help win this fall's midterms. … They want to make 2022 a referendum on MAGA nation and its agenda.

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, American Greatness and RedState

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Opinion Can Democrats knock Republicans off their two-faced midterm strategy?

Discussion: Vox, The Hill, CNN, FiveThirtyEight, WKBN-TV, Townhall, Responsible Statecraft, Supercreator, Fox News and Washington Times

David Remnick / New Yorker:
A Role Model for the Midterms

Discussion: Political Currents

The Daily Beast:

Trump Organization Accused of Hiding Witness Who Knew if Trump Lied — There's a new witness in a civil case against the Trump Organization. And this witness could help show that Trump was lying. — Of all Donald Trump's legal problems, the lawsuit over the way his company's security guards beat …

Discussion: Raw Story

Sharyn Alfonsi / CBS News:

Parodying conspiracy theories with the Birds Aren't Real movement — There have always been conspiracy theories: the moon landings were fake, Elvis is alive, Paul is dead. But as disinformation has sprouted across the internet, more malicious conspiracy theories have entered our homes, workplaces and even the halls of Congress.

Discussion: Freddie deBoer

Joel Achenbach / Washington Post:

Virus mutations aren't slowing down. New omicron subvariant proves it. — During those terrifying early days of the pandemic, scientists offered one piece of reassuring news about the novel coronavirus: It mutated slowly. The earliest mutations did not appear to be consequential.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Washington Post:

Big majority of Americans back sanctions on Russia, aid to Ukraine, poll finds — A Washington Post-ABC News poll also finds strong opposition to any direct military conflict with Moscow — Two months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Americans are stalwart in their support …

Discussion: The Hill and ABC News

Joseph Lee / Grist:

Indigenous Taíno of Puerto Rico take their fight for visibility and rights to the UN — Without US representation, the Taíno advocate for environmental justice and cultural preservation internationally. — This story is published as part of the Global Indigenous Affairs Desk …