memeorandum: Talk of a Trump Dictatorship Charges the American Political Debate (Peter Baker/New York Times)

3:25 PM ET, December 10, 2023

Top Items:

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: Wall Street Journal

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: NBC News and Rolling Stone

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Talk of a Trump Dictatorship Charges the American Political Debate

Discussion: The Hill, The Messenger and New York Post

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, The Guardian, Axios, NBC News, Washington Times and Breitbart

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

Liz Cheney's plea: ‘Our focus has got to be on defeating Donald Trump’ in 2024 — She sat down with “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl to discuss her new book. — “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl interviews former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney. — Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney …

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

Eva Surovell / The Messenger:

Mitt Romney Says Joe Manchin Is the 'Joe I'd Like to Vote For' in 2024 — The Utah senator, a vocal Trump critic, did not rule out voting for President Joe Biden — Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Sunday said he would prefer to vote for Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., come 2024.

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

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: Washington Examiner and Raw Story

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: The Kyiv Independent, Saywhat Politics and Political Wire

George Packer / The Atlantic:

‘We Only Need Some Metal Things’ — Will America abandon Ukraine? — In the summer of 1940, when Great Britain was fighting Nazi Germany alone, Winston Churchill asked to borrow a few dozen aging American destroyers to defend the English coast from imminent invasion.

Discussion: The Hill

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 Guardian, New York Times and USA Today

Washington Post:

Biden's primary challenger steps up attacks, prompting Trump comparisons — Long-shot Dean Phillips has called Biden a threat to democracy. It is exasperating to some Democrats who are rebuking similar criticisms from Trump, who has tried to deflect from his own embrace of authoritarian stances.

Discussion: Business Insider, CNN and Fox News

Ry Rivard / Politico:

I Covered Joe Manchin for Years. He Might Not Care If He Sinks Joe Biden. — The senator's brand of centrism helped him survive West Virginia's rapid transformation from blue to red. But it also helped sow the seeds of the Democratic Party's demise back home.

Discussion: Associated Press and The Messenger

NBC News:

She's with him: Hillary Clinton steps out as a key player in Biden's re-election effort — Clinton hosted a $1 million fundraiser at her Georgetown home. — WASHINGTON — On the final Monday in November, in a Washington home stately enough to have a name — Whitehaven …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Politico and HotAir

Daniel Arkin / NBC News:

University of Pennsylvania president steps down amid criticism of antisemitism testimony — The chair of the Penn Board of Trustees announced that Liz Magill has voluntarily stepped down as president of the Ivy League school. — University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned …

New York Times:
Penn's President Resigns After Her Responses About Antisemitism

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Raw Story, The Forward, Bloomberg, Why Evolution Is True, New York Daily News, Mother Jones, UPROXX, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, HotAir, Blaze Media, The Times of Israel, Washington Post, Axios and The Daily Caller

Dan Primack / Axios:
Exclusive: Wharton board tries to increase pressure on Penn president Liz Magill

Discussion: NewsNation, Business Insider, Fox News and ABC News

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: Business Insider, The Nation and New York Times

Andrew Zhang / Politico:

Sheila Jackson Lee loses Houston mayor's race to tough-on-crime state senator — The showdown illuminates the faultlines within the Democratic Party over how to deal with crime on a local level. — Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire defeated Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee …