Campaign Report
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Campaign Report
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Former President Trump is set to participate in a CNN town hall tomorrow, marking the first interview he’s done with a major non-Fox News network since 2020.
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© AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File
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The details: CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins will moderate the town hall starting at 8 p.m. Eastern, from Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.
Trump promoted the CNN town hall on his Truth Social platform while suggesting that CNN was doing the large-scale interview event for ratings.
“I’ll be doing CNN tomorrow night, LIVE from the Great State of New Hampshire, because they are rightfully desperate to get those fantastic (TRUMP!) ratings once again. They made me a deal I couldn’t refuse!!! Could be the beginning of a New & Vibrant CNN, with no more Fake News, or it could turn into a disaster for all, including me. Let’s see what happens? Wednesday Night at 8:00!!!” he wrote on Truth Social.
The backstory: Trump has at times had a frosty relationship with the news network, including suing CNN for defamation last year.
But as The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Dominick Mastrangelo reported last week, the Trump campaign is looking to rebuild the former president’s relationships with other media outlets beyond those that Trump has regularly been on, such as Fox News, Newsmax and OAN.
“Going outside the traditional Republican ‘comfort zone’ was a key to President Trump’s success in 2016,” a Trump adviser told Brett and Dominick. “Some other candidates are too afraid to take this step in their quest to defeat Joe Biden, and are afraid to do anything other than Fox News.”
The town hall also comes as Fox News recently settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion and later announced that Tucker Carlson had parted ways with the network. Its parent company, Fox Corp., reported a $50 million net loss for the first quarter of this year on Tuesday.
Recent polls show the former president dominating the presumptive 2024 White House field.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, I’m Caroline Vakil. Each week we track the key stories you need to know to stay ahead of the 2024 election and who will set the agenda in Washington.
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Key election stories and other recent campaign coverage:
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Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) has endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, becoming the fourth House Republican to do so. The Never Back Down PAC, a super PAC launched to encourage DeSantis to run, announced Good’s endorsement in a release on Tuesday. Good said in the release that DeSantis has demonstrated as governor that he can face challenges and deliver “effective results …
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Small business owner Liz Gereghty, the sister of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), announced on Tuesday she’s launching a bid to take Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-N.Y.) seat. “Now I’m running for Congress because when reproductive rights are getting rolled back in state after state, and schools have to take money from books and spend it on bulletproof glass because Congress refuses to do anything on gun violence,” …
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A Maryland county executive announced her bid Tuesday to run for the newly open Senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who announced his decision to not seek reelection earlier this month. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) launched her campaign Tuesday, making her the latest candidate to join the open race for Cardin’s seat. Maryland Rep. David Trone (D) also announced last …
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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- 157 days until Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary
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184 days until Kentucky’s and Mississippi’s gubernatorial generals
- 548 days until the 2024 general election
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McConnell crafts strategy to flip the Senate
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is offering insight into how Republicans plan to win back the Senate in 2024, telling CNN in an interview published on Monday that Republicans will be heavily focusing on Pennsylvania, Ohio, Montana and West Virginia.
“I didn’t mention Wisconsin; I think clearly you’d have to have an outstanding candidate. And I think there are some other places where with the right candidate, we might be able to compete – in Nevada, Arizona,” McConnell told CNN’s Manu Raju. “But as of right now the day that you and I are talking, I think we know that we are going to compete in four places heavily, and that would be, Montana, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.”
McConnell’s remarks offer some of the first glimpses into how the GOP is looking to flip the upper chamber after the Senate GOP leader blamed candidate quality for why some of their recruits in battleground states were unable to prevail in the November midterms.
While the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm did not get involved in the primaries last cycle, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), the chairman this cycle, has shown the group is taking a different approach ahead of 2024.
“We do have the possibility of screwing this up and that gets back to candidate recruitment. I think that we lost Georgia, Arizona and New Hampshire because we didn’t have competitive candidates (last cycle). And Steve Daines and I are in exactly the same place – that starts with candidate quality,” McConnell told Raju.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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Former first lady Melania Trump said Tuesday that she supports her husband’s bid for reelection in 2024, adding that it would be “a privilege” to serve as first lady again. “My husband achieved tremendous success in his first administration, and he can lead us toward greatness and prosperity once again,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “He has my support, and we look forward to restoring …
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Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) has launched a campaign ad in New Hampshire warning 2024 voters against backing former President Trump. “Donald Trump has proven he is unfit for office. Donald Trump is a risk America can never take again,” Cheney says in a voiceover atop clips of Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Cheney, who was on the House select committee that probed Jan. 6, knocked Trump for his …
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Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:
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The 2024 RNC is coming to Milwaukee. Here’s what you should know about the woman leading the big event. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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Coalition launches effort to get abortion amendment on Florida’s 2024 ballot (Miami Herald)
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Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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No, you’re not going crazy. Vivek Ramaswamy is everywhere. (Politico)
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Senate bid an ‘absolute tossup’ for Raskin (Axios)
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Key stories on The Hill right now:
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Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday shot down the idea of moving a short-term debt ceiling hike to prevent a government default. Just hours before McCarthy is scheduled to meet with President Biden on the issue, the Speaker said the sides should come together to negotiate a compromise — combining a debt ceiling increase with … Read more
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Harlan Crow rebuffed a request from the Senate Finance Committee to turn over a list of gifts he gave to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, according to a letter obtained by The Hill. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) demanded the information after a ProPublica investigation … Read more
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Opinions related to campaigns and elections submitted to The Hill:
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You’re all caught up. See you next time!
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