memeorandum: The Guns Were Said to Be Destroyed. Instead, They Were Reborn. (Mike McIntire/New York Times)

8:55 PM ET, December 10, 2023

Top Items:

Kelly Garrity / Politico:

Trump the ‘human gumball machine’ will ‘impose his will’ on the nation if elected, Romney says — “A thought or a notion comes in and it comes out of his mouth. There's not a lot of filter that goes on,” he said of Trump. — Some Republicans have read former President Donald Trump's comment …

Discussion: The Hill, NBC News, RedState, Associated Press, The Guardian, Axios, Washington Times and Breitbart

Kelly Garrity / Politico:

'America doesn't want' retribution from Trump, McCarthy says — “What President Trump needs to do in this campaign, it needs to be about rebuilding, restoring, renewing America. It can't be about revenge,” McCarthy said. — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has officially pledged …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, New York Post, The Guardian, Breitbart, Raw Story, Business Insider, RedState, The Messenger, USA Today and Associated Press

Robert Costa / CBS News:

Kevin McCarthy on Trump: America doesn't want “retribution” — California Republican Kevin McCarthy holds a place in history as the first-ever Speaker of the House to be voted out of that position. Historic, but looking at how his tenure began, hardly a shock.

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Mercury News, Raw Story and Mediaite

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:
Liz Cheney's plea: ‘Our focus has got to be on defeating Donald Trump’ in 2024

Discussion: Washington Post, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, USA Today, Axios, Breitbart and HuffPost

Eva Surovell / The Messenger:
Mitt Romney Says Joe Manchin Is the 'Joe I'd Like to Vote For' in 2024

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, NBC News and Political Wire

Jason Beeferman / Politico:

Trump defends dictator comments amid NYC soiree filled with MAGA diehards — At an event with key figures within the MAGA movement, the former president repeated comments that he wants to be a dictator on “day one.” — NEW YORK — The chairman of an Austrian political party founded by ex-Nazis …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Hill and New York Times

Politico:

Playbook: Trump doubles down on ‘dictator’ desire — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — At an event last night sponsored by the New York Young Republican Club, DONALD TRUMP unsurprisingly defended his comments at a Fox News town hall …

Discussion: The Messenger, NBC News and Rolling Stone

The Guardian:

Republicans to meet allies of Hungary's Viktor Orbán on ending Ukraine aid — Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán's transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia's war — Allies of Hungary's far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán will hold a closed-door meeting …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Messenger, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Kyiv Independent, Saywhat Politics and Political Wire

George Packer / The Atlantic:
‘We Only Need Some Metal Things’

Discussion: TASS and The Hill

NBC News:

In a reversal, Donald Trump says he will not testify in his own defense in New York fraud trial — Trump was scheduled to take the stand Monday as the months-long $250 million civil fraud trial against him and his company enters its final week. — In an 11th hour reversal …

The Hill:

‘Morally, this is obscene’: GOP divided over stripping compensation for radiation victims from NDAA — The exclusion of a measure to extend compensation for people exposed to radiation from U.S. nuclear testing from the annual defense bill this week marked yet another fracture in the Republican conference.

Discussion: Business Insider

Mike McIntire / New York Times:

The Guns Were Said to Be Destroyed. Instead, They Were Reborn. — Communities across the U.S. are fueling a secondary arms market by giving seized and surrendered guns to disposal services that destroy one part and resell the rest. — When Flint, Mich., announced in September …

Discussion: KTVU-TV

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:

As Fury Erupts Over Campus Antisemitism, Conservatives Seize the Moment — Republicans have been attacking elite universities for years. After a tense congressional hearing last week, many on the left are joining them. — For years, conservatives have struggled to persuade American voters …

Discussion: Why Evolution Is True, Twitchy, Politico, Mother Jones, New York Daily News and The Times of Israel

Washington Post:

Less appetite — and opportunity — to serve as fake Trump electors in 2024 — Amid a growing number of criminal investigations into the 2020 election, some who once cast electoral college votes for the former president say they would not do it again — Republican Party activist Ken Carroll thought …

Discussion: Political Wire, Business Insider and The Nation

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Jack Smith reveals sweeping scope of bid to debunk Trump election machine claims — In a new filing, his team described interviewing more than a dozen of the top intelligence officials in Trump's administration. — Special counsel Jack Smith on Saturday sharply rejected Donald Trump's contention …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Examiner and Raw Story

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Giuliani spread lies about Georgia election workers. A jury will decide what he owes them. — A damages trial begins Monday in a case in which a judge has already ruled that Rudy Giuliani is liable for defamation. — When Rudy Giuliani steps into federal court on Monday …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, The Guardian, emptywheel, New York Times and USA Today

Sanjana Karanth / HuffPost:

Antony Blinken Defends Lone U.S. Veto On UN Cease-Fire Resolution For Gaza — The secretary of state also claimed the U.S. cares about protecting Palestinian civilians, but just bypassed Congress to approve more arms sales to Israel. — LOADING — Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended …