Crooked Media - Commander-in-beef

We’re suddenly weeks away from the earliest presidential debate in U.S. history. If that seems unusual, you’re right — in more ways than one.

• It's starting to feel like everything is beef these days. The mega-rap-star-showdown between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has already inspired one Biden-Harris ad, using Lamar’s diss track, “Euphoria.” On Wednesday, President Biden dared disgraced former President Trump to debate with a schoolyard taunt: “Make my day, pal.” Now the old boys are set for June 27, three months earlier than usual. Biden’s tight timeline leaves him all summer to recover if he flops, before round two on September 10. But it also feels like this rumble is coming on faster than anyone was ready for. So what’s with the rush, fellas? 

• Just like the Drake-Kendrick beef, there’s plenty of speculation about each side’s motivations. Biden’s bravado may actually be a sign of concern. Recent New York Times polling shows him behind in five-out-of-six key swing states. He needs a way to shake up this race. Trump, equally excited to throw down, may be eager to redo his disastrous performance in 2020, when he yelled out of turn, interrupted the moderator, and shredded decorum to the point of incoherence. He may also be looking for a way to change the subject if a Manhattan jury finds him guilty in a few weeks.

• Biden jeers, Trump sneers. Are we doomed to suffer the tabloidization of politics? These guys are vying to be President of the United States, not climb the Billboard charts. Sure, lots of people find beef entertaining. But there are real stakes here. Reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and voting rights are being stripped away. Two major international wars have claimed tens of thousands of lives. One candidate stands accused of serious federal felonies. It would be downright refreshing to have a big-boy discussion about actual policies and issues that impact American lives. 

Let’s just hope the Biden campaign doesn’t have him walk out on stage to Kendrick’s “Not Like Us,” please.

The Department of Justice vowed to crack down on threats to election officials, the kind that made the 2020 election so fraught and could make 2024 dicey as well. Trump’s stolen 2020 election narrative helped prompt hundreds of such threats. Four-in-10 local election officials say they have experienced threats, harassment, or abuse just for doing their jobs.

But the DOJ’s efforts may not measure up to the sheer size of the problem, according to the latest episode of this newsletter’s sister show, the What A Day podcast. Garland’s Election Threats Task Force has only brought 13 convictions since its inception in 2021. It’s far from clear how the DOJ will trace each threat back to its source. And this time, they’ll need to grapple with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, which could supercharge both the spread of misinformation and the reach of the worst people.

Nearly a dozen MAGA faithful including Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and  Matt Gaetz (R-FL) took more time away from working for their constituents to appear in Trump’s courtroom. The internet dunked on Boebert for attending Trump’s criminal trial, but not her son Tyler’s recent court date. Apparently blood is not thicker than that sweet, sweet MAGA juice.

Judge Juan Merchan is reportedly growing annoyed with the sideshow. The prosecution asked him to stop the entourage from entering court in the middle of questioning. We will all be very glad when this spectacle is finally over… which it will be. Hopefully. One Day. We think. 

The House Judiciary Committee advanced an effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress Thursday after the White House refused to give up an audio recording of President Biden’s interview with the special counsel about his handling of classified documents. The White House seems to think Republicans want to take the audio, chop it up, and distort it for political gain. And, of course, they do. But voting to hold Garland in contempt effectively means asking Garland to arrest himself. Good luck with that one, fellas! 

The North Carolina Senate voted to ban anyone from wearing masks in public for health reasons… as if the state isn’t still reporting hundreds of respiratory virus cases weekly including COVID-19! Republicans want to crack down on protesters in masks, accusing them of abusing pandemic protection to hide their identities. We know this is really just part of the GOP’s freaky little crusade against masks that is now entering its fourth year. 

Cardi B is doubling down on revoking her support of President Biden in a new Rolling Stone interview, and to our disappointment, making a public stance that she is not voting for either candidate this year! Never thought we would see the day we disagreed with the iconic rap star but she has to “Be Careful” with her words and her influence. Sorry Cardi, we don’t like it like that.

A far-right Missouri secretary of state candidate might end up getting sued by rapper Lupe Fiasco for using his music in a diabolical ad featuring homophobic slurs. The ad shows candidate Valentina Gomez randomly running with an armored vest on before she blurts out: “In America, you can be anything you want. So don’t be weak and gay. Stay hard.” She even adds an F-bomb in there for good measure. Not sure what wearing a bulletproof vest for no reason and calling people gay has to do with being Secretary of State but hey, we’re not the *freedom* experts. 

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) said he will pardon a former Army sergeant convicted of fatally shooting a Black Lives Matter protester, citing the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law. A review board recommended Daniel Perry’s release after he was originally sentenced to 25 years in prison last year. Court records revealed Perry regularly shared racist memes and threatening content on social media, and now he will be back out on the streets thanks to Abbott. Perry’s firearm rights were also restored. Another winning day in Texas government!

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The Justice Department is moving ahead with its plans to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Reclassification wouldn’t legalize weed outright, but would federally recognize its medical use and take it out of the category with drugs like heroin and LSD. High five to that?

The Biden administration announced it will end coal leasing on federal lands in the Powder River Basin, which produces nearly half of the country’s coal in a region spanning 13 million acres across Montana and Wyoming. It’s a huge win for climate advocates pushing to restore an Obama-era moratorium on coal mining on federal lands.