Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In a competitive California congressional district, Aditya Pai announced a Democratic campaign. Then he reversed course and said he was suspending his candidacy, citing a “lack of joy.” Eight hours after saying his “heart is not quite in it,” Pai then reversed the reversal, insisting his campaign is moving forward, and blaming the confusion on a message sent by “a now-former aide.”
* Apparently feeling a bit rattled, Donald Trump went after his Democratic successor online yesterday, publishing an item to his social media platform that said President Joe Biden “can’t string two sentences together,” and has “THE MIND, IDEAS, AND I.Q. OF A FIRST GRADER.” Ten minutes later, the former president added that the incumbent “is not only dumb and incompetent, I believe he has gone MAD, a stark raving Lunatic.”
* In related news, Trump also continues to lash out at his own former vice president, insisting yesterday that Mike Pence lied about the pressure he received in the runup to Jan. 6.
* NBC News reported on newly released police bodycam video that shows Boris Epshteyn getting arrested in 2021 over allegations that he groped two women at an Arizona bar. Epshteyn is a lawyer and top adviser on Team Trump. “Three sexual misconduct charges were later dropped, and Epshteyn pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge two months after the incident in Scottsdale,” the report added. “The conviction was set aside after Epshteyn completed his sentence of probation.”
* The White House is preparing to hold a major celebration next week marking the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who helped write and name the law, is reportedly going to skip the event — the latest evidence of the Conservative Democrat putting distance between himself and his current party. * Several Republican presidential hopefuls will not qualify for the party’s upcoming debate, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has some advice for them: It’s time to quit. “It’s time to go. It’s that simple,” he said on Fox News. “That’s the first winnowing process.” * In Utah, state House Speaker Brad Wilson hasn’t announced whether he’ll run for the U.S. Senate next year, but the Republican released endorsements this week from a group of 60 state legislators. That likely got the attention of incumbent Sen. Mitt Romney, who currently holds the seat, and who hasn’t yet announced his 2024 plans.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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