memeorandum: DeSantis Visits New York on Tour Meant to Show He Is Tough on Crime (Emma G. Fitzsimmons/New York Times)

6:45 PM ET, February 20, 2023

Top Items:

Eliot A. Cohen / The Atlantic:

Biden Just Destroyed Putin's Last Hope — The president's visit to Ukraine was a gut punch to the Russian leader. — The long-range missiles matter. So do the super-accurate artillery shells, the surface-to-air missiles, and the winter weather gear; the training in the English countryside …

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, Discourse.net, Reuters, Fox News and CBS News

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:

Biden's Trip to Kyiv is the Ultimate Humiliation for Putin—and Trump — Biden joined a great history of American presidents standing up to Russian aggression, and significantly broke from the shameful actions of his predecessor. — Kennedy and then Reagan in Berlin. Now Biden in Kyiv.

Discussion: The White House, Washington Post, The Kyiv Independent, Fox News, Balloon Juice and CBS News

New York Times:

Biden Visits Kyiv, Ukraine's Embattled Capital, as Air-Raid Siren Sounds — President Biden took a nearly 10-hour train ride from the border of Poland to show his administration's “unwavering support” a year into Russia's invasion of Ukraine. — KYIV, Ukraine — President Biden …

Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:

Biden Went to Kyiv Because There's No Going Back — The president's surprise visit sent a message to Moscow—and to European leaders. — An American AWACS began patrolling the skies west of Ukraine last night; Kyiv was locked down this morning. Motorcades crisscrossed the city and rumors began to spread.

Discussion: Politico, Wall Street Journal, PJ Media, Sputnik News, Just The News and The Sun

Andrea Mitchell / MSNBC:

Rep. Crow: ‘Not even worth my brain space’ to respond to Republicans criticizing Biden Ukraine trip — Intelligence Committee member Representative Jason Crow (D-CO) joins Andrea Mitchell to weigh in on President Biden's trip to Kyiv, as one of the House members who signed …

Discussion: NBC News, Al Jazeera, RedState, Breitbart, Washington Times and Raw Story

Associated Press:

Sneaking a president from DC to Kyiv without anyone noticing — Read full article — APTOPIX Biden US Ukraine — President Joe Biden's motorcade slipped out of the White House around 3:30 a.m. Sunday. No big, flashy Air Force One for this trip — the president vanished into the darkness …

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, WHNT-TV, USA Today, Snapshot and Washington Post

Mark Antonio Wright / National Review:
Biden's Secret Trip to Kyiv Took Guts

Discussion: The Post Millennial, Washington Examiner, IJR and CBS News

Washington Post:
On surprise trip to Kyiv, Biden vows enduring support for Ukraine

NBC News:
Photos: President Biden makes historic visit to war-torn Ukraine

Discussion: Fox News and Washington Examiner

Mike Memoli / NBC News:
How Biden's wartime visit to Kyiv came together

Discussion: New York Post, The Hill and Politico

Alexander Ward / Politico:
What Chris Coons tells world leaders about Biden

Discussion: TASS

The Guardian:
US informed Russia of Joe Biden's Kyiv visit hours before departure

Discussion: HotAir, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Metro.co.uk, Politico, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Insider, Twitchy, Armageddon Prose, Fox News and The Post Millennial

Associated Press:
Biden declares ‘Kyiv stands’ in surprise visit to Ukraine

New York Times:

James O'Keefe Is Removed as Project Veritas' Leader — Mr. O'Keefe had been the face of the group since he founded Project Veritas in his father's garage in suburban New York in 2010. — James O'Keefe, the embattled leader of the conservative group Project Veritas, has been removed …

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press, Fox News, The Hill, The Post Millennial, RedState, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

James O'Keefe Resigns From Project Veritas After Employee Complaints — The founder of the right-wing nonprofit resigned without striking a severance deal, The Daily Beast has learned. … Right-wing activist James O'Keefe resigned Monday morning from his position leading Project Veritas …

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

Despite her role, Marjorie Taylor Greene backs ‘national divorce’ — As Marjorie Taylor Greene endorses the dissolution of the United States, the question is whether House GOP leaders will bother to care. — In late 2021, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene briefly referenced “a National Divorce scenario” …

Discussion: Insider, The Hill, The Mahablog, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, The Wrap, Digby's Hullabaloo, The New Civil Rights Movement, Mediaite, New Republic, The Post Millennial, The Western Journal, Fox News and The Daily Caller

Shannon Pettypiece / NBC News:

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for a ‘national divorce’ between liberal and conservative states — WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called for the U.S. to be separated by red and blue states and for a shrinking of the federal government in a tweet on President's Day …

Discussion: Washington Times, Raw Story, Peach State Politics …, IJR, Mediaite, The Hill and Just The News

Julia Jacobs / New York Times:

‘Rust’ Prosecutors Downgrade Alec Baldwin's Manslaughter Charges — The actor's lawyers had argued that a firearm law included by the prosecutors was not in effect at the time of the fatal shooting. It would have carried a mandatory five-year sentence. — Prosecutors have downgraded …

Jack Mirkinson / The Nation:

“The New York Times” Is Repeating One of Its Most Notorious Mistakes — The paper's anti-trans coverage parallels its failings over gay rights and AIDS. But the Times appears determined not to learn from its own history. — On March 11, 1998, New York Times copy editor Donna Cartwright posted …

Discussion: Outspoken, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: McCarthy gives Tucker Carlson access to trove of Jan. 6 riot tape — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has given Fox News' Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 riot, McCarthy sources tell me. — Carlson TV producers …

Richard Winton / Los Angeles Times:

Man arrested in killing of L.A. Bishop David O'Connell as new details emerge, sources say — Authorities investigating the killing of — bishop Saturday have made an arrest in the case, law enforcement sources — . — say — Auxiliary Bishop David G. O'Connell, 69 …

David Folkenflik / NPR:

The ‘wackadoodle’ foundation of Fox News' election-fraud claims — A woman who says the wind talks to her and put forth claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential race that she admitted were “pretty wackadoodle” turns out to be a key source of allegations that Fox News presented …

Discussion: PennLive, Mediaite and The Nation

Charles Kaiser / The Guardian:
How Dominion Voting Systems filing proves Fox News was ‘deliberately lying’

Discussion: Puck, Raw Story, Mediaite, Insider and Digital Culture and Beyond

Emma G. Fitzsimmons / New York Times:

DeSantis Visits New York on Tour Meant to Show He Is Tough on Crime — Speaking on Staten Island, the Florida governor appeared to position himself as the law-and-order candidate in a presidential campaign he has not announced. — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida traveled to New York City on Monday …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, abc7NY, Florida Politics, Fox News, New York Post, New York Daily News, National Review, ABC News, Twitchy and Political Wire

Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post:

Supreme Court hears a case that could transform the internet — Oral arguments begin in Gonzalez v. Google, a landmark case tackling whether tech companies should be liable for harmful content their algorithms surface — In November 2015, three rifle-wielding ISIS gunmen opened fire …

Discussion: PBS NewsHour, Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Rebecca Kern / Politico:
Big Tech is about to have an epic week in the Supreme Court

Discussion: Forbes, Axios, jihadwatch.org, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, Slate, Lawfare, Conservative Brief, ABC News, New York Times, Reason and Sputnik News, more at Mediagazer »

Jill Lawrence / USA Today:

Medicaid expansion is a compassion test many 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls fail — There is no excuse for leaving people vulnerable to illness, death and financial ruin. We should all care, even if it costs money. — As governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley was a firebrand …

New York Times:
Chris Sununu Eyes the G.O.P.'s ‘Normal’ Lane in 2024. Does It Exist?

Discussion: The Hill

Jennifer Hassan / Washington Post:

Salman Rushdie calls revisions to Roald Dahl books ‘absurd censorship’ — LONDON — A decision to change hundreds of words in Roald Dahl's children's books has drawn condemnation from author Salman Rushdie, who called it “absurd censorship.” — His is the latest prominent voice …

Washington Post:

Feeling ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘fatigue,’ some GOP voters look beyond Trump — In recent focus groups of persuadable Republican primary voters from key early states, most stood by their past support for Trump, but the future was a different issue — Nearly all of the focus group participants …

Discussion: Raw Story

Lingling Wei / Wall Street Journal:

In China, Worries About a Weakened Russia Prompt a Rethink — Concern that a Russian setback in Ukraine would cripple China's partner against the West helps drive Beijing's push for an end to the war — China's leadership is growing worried that increased Western military support for Ukraine …

Discussion: NBC News, Al Jazeera, Fox News, The Hill and Associated Press

Melissa Block / NPR:

Parents raise concerns as Florida bans gender-affirming care for trans kids — When 13-year-old Liz Bostock thinks back, she remembers feeling in-between genders as early as preschool. — Assigned male at birth, she identified as nonbinary by fifth grade and decided to use they/them pronouns.

Discussion: Erin In The Morning, Digby's Hullabaloo and Twitchy