Politics

NBC News has the transcript: CHUCK TODD: You have been asked a few times whether you would pardon the former president if he’s convicted and if you were to be president. Would you? FMR. VICE PRES. MIKE PENCE: Well, I just think the question is, is premature. I mean, honestly, Chuck, I’ve pardoned people who were found guilty of a …

The Guardian reports: Barack Obama has criticized two Republican presidential hopefuls, the South Carolina senator Tim Scott and the former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, over their stances on race relations in America. In a podcast interview, Obama, who became the first Black US president when he was elected in 2008, said that while presenting a hopeful message on race relations …

The Daytona Beach News reports: A requested $2 million slate of funding for the Brevard Zoo was vetoed this week by Governor Ron DeSantis, likely as a result of a political dispute between the zoo and a Republican legislator. The zoo was hoping to use the funds to help create a new aquarium facility in Port Canaveral. The dispute arose …

The Washington Post reports: Always be polite, the trainees are told by Joe Williams, who runs the sessions for Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting the governor. Body language matters. Passion counts. Never accept water or go inside. Mention DeSantis’s wife, Casey, her cancer diagnosis and his military service. If a journalist answers or the voter targets say they …

Dead Pat Robertson’s CBN reports: Ron DeSantis credits his Catholic faith for keeping him grounded in truth. While he doesn’t publicly tout his faith, he and his wife Casey attend church regularly and make it a family priority. “Our household is a Christ-centered household,” DeSantis told CBN News. “My son, he was four for Christmas this year, he wanted a …

The Messenger reports: Former President Donald Trump continues to maintain a commanding lead in the race for the Republican nomination, despite being the first former president charged twice in criminal cases and facing the prospect of even more legal trouble, according to an exclusive new Messenger/Harris poll conducted by HarrisX. Among Republican primary voters, Trump garners a whopping 53 percent …

Florida Politics reports: With a sweep of the Governor’s veto pen, more than $3 million in funding for water handling in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties went down the drain. The $3.14 million in reductions — all having to do with flood control and drainage — were among the half-billion that Gov. Ron DeSantis excised from the 2023-24 budget …

MSNBC reports: The field now has enough contenders to field a baseball team, along with some relief pitchers, and it might yet get even larger: Among the other Republicans who’ve expressed some public interest in the race are familiar names such as Glenn Youngkin, John Bolton, Rick Perry, Mike Rogers, Kristi Noem, Will Hurd, and maybe even Liz Cheney. In …

The Associated Press reports: Ending a walkout that held up key bills for six weeks, Republicans showed up for work in the Oregon Senate on Thursday. The longest walkout in the Oregon Legislature’s history happened despite voters passing a ballot measure in 2022 that disqualifies lawmakers with 10 or more unexcused absences from reelection. “A whole bunch of legislators aren’t …

Mediaite reports: The official rapid response account for the Ron DeSantis presidential campaign released a new advertisement on Thursday suggesting that President Joe Biden is creepy with children. The video is a montage of Biden swearing in members of Congress during his years as vice president interacting with the friends and families of newly elected Senators. The DeSantis War Room …

The budget passed by lawmakers isn’t even for programing: Gov. Ron DeSantis yet again vetoed a tranche of funding designed to remedy safety issues at Florida’s public broadcasting stations. A total of $6,435,609 made the budget to “correct health and safety issues, correct building deficiencies, and complete renovations at public broadcasting stations.” The Miami station will not get $19,855 to …

The New Republic reports: The Republican Study Committee (of which some three-quarters of House Republicans are members) on Wednesday released its desired 2024 budget, in which the party boldly declares its priority to eliminate the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, from the School Lunch Program. Why? Because “CEP allows certain schools to provide free school lunches regardless of the individual …

The Detroit Free Press reports: After three hours of public comment and months of intense debate, the Hamtramck City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to ban LGBTQ+ Pride flags from being displayed on all city properties. Introduced by Mayor Pro Tem Mohammed Hassan, the resolution also prohibited the display and flying of flags with racist and political views. Hassan and …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation (HB 1375) that would classify strangulation as assault that merits felony charges. The Florida law makes even nonfatal strangulation a felony. Rep. Jessica Baker’s legislation makes the penalty for the act a third-degree felony, which could lead to five years in state prison for those convicted, as long as the act …

The New York Times reports: Glenda Jackson, the two-time Oscar winner who renounced a successful film and stage career in her 50s to become a member of the British Parliament, then returned to the stage at 80 as the title character in “King Lear,” died on Thursday at her home in Blackheath, London. She was 87. She won her first …

Florida Politics reports: A super PAC supporting Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s imminent run at the White House is running a new, multistate ad positioning him as a “tough-on-crime” alternative to President Joe Biden. The two-minute video will run in New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada, according to a press note from SOS America PAC, which will spend “six figures” on ad …

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez filed paperwork Wednesday to launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, jumping into the crowded race just a day after GOP front-runner Donald Trump appeared in court on federal charges in Suarez’s city. The 45-year-old mayor, the only Hispanic candidate in the race, declared his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. …

Philadelphia’s Fox affiliate reports: On Wednesday, Governor Josh Shapiro announced the demolition of the southbound lanes, which were found to be unsafe after the collapse of the northbound lanes, will be completed by Thursday. He says the first step after demolition will be to backfill the area and pave it to allow motorists to return to the roadway with three …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas’ highest criminal court ruled Wednesday that the securities fraud case against now-suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s should remain in Houston, settling a key issue in the 8-year-old case as Paxton faces an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate this summer. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in a 6-3 ruling, overturned lower-court decisions that said …

Politico reports: Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he would not vote for Donald Trump should he end up the Republican nominee and be convicted in a criminal trial. The declaration is one of the strongest rebukes of Trump since he was indicted. It also underscores the difficult position in which the Republican party now finds itself: with the party’s …