If it’s TUESDAY… Ukraine accuses Russia of blowing up major dam… President Biden meets with his cabinet at 2:15 pm ET… Chris Christie announces presidential bid in New Hampshire… Mike Pence files paperwork to run for president (and makes his official announcement in Iowa on Wednesday)… And Donald Trump’s lawyers meet with special counsel Jack Smith.
But FIRST… A former Republican governor (Chris Christie of New Jersey) believes the best way to stop Donald Trump from being president again is running against him.
“What I can tell you for sure is that if I get into the race, I’ll make it interesting,” Christie said at a Semafor event in April.
A current Republican governor (Chris Sununu of New Hampshire) decided NOT to run for president to prevent Trump from being the party’s nominee.
“The stakes are too high for a crowded field to hand the nomination to a candidate who earns just 35 percent of the vote, and I will help ensure this does not happen,” Sununu wrote in the Washington Post, referring to Trump’s winning percentage in New Hampshire’s 2016 GOP presidential primary.
It all underscores how — seven years after he won the GOP presidential nomination and the White House — Trump’s Republican critics still haven’t settled on the best way to defeat him.
And it comes a time when polls show Trump the overwhelming early frontrunner, but also as the former president faces legal challenges on multiple fronts.
“This week’s expansion of the Republican presidential primary field will yield two of the most direct internal challenges to date to Donald Trump’s leadership in the White House,” NBC’s Allan Smith writes, referring to the bids by Christie and Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence.
“It also could further solidify Trump’s chances of winning yet another contested GOP presidential contest.”
Strikingly, in his Washington Post op-ed, Sununu also suggested he isn’t a fan of DeSantis — without mentioning the Florida governor’s name.
“But we must abandon the issues that are solely made for social media headlines, such as banning books or issuing curriculum fiats to local school districts hundreds of miles away from state capitals... Instead of pushing deeply unpopular and restrictive nationwide abortion bans, Republicans should recognize that every time they open their mouths to talk about banning abortion, an independent voter joins the Democrats.”
More Sununu: “We need to expand beyond the culture wars that alienate independents, young voters and suburban moms.”
So how do you defeat Trump? By running against him? Not running? By supporting chief rival DeSantis? With someone else?
Or is it with the Justice Department?
Data Download: The number of the day is … 47%
That was former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s unfavorable rating among registered Republican voters and those who lean toward Republicans in a Monmouth University poll taken late last month. It was the highest unfavorable rating of any of the 10 potential Republican candidates polled. Christie’s favorability rating stood at just 21%, while 24% say they have no opinion of Christie and 8% say they haven’t heard enough about him.
That’s the backdrop for Christie’s expected presidential announcement today, as he looks to attack that vulnerability by going right at the man far-and-away at the top of the GOP primary polls: former President Donald Trump.
Other numbers to know
59%: The year-over-year decrease in ad revenue at Twitter from the start of April through the first week in May, according to internal documents obtained by the New York Times.
79: The age of Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent who was convicted for spying for the Soviet Union, when he died in prison Monday.
$3,499: The price of the Apple Vision Pro, a new virtual reality headset.
6.7 million: The number of acres that have burned from wildfires in 2023 in Canada, as air pollution from wildfires wafts down into the Midwestern United States.
24: The number of states that have passed laws restricting the use of PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”
30: The number of years that acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tae Johnson has served at the agency. He announced his retirement Monday.
13: The number of charges that the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed against the giant crypto-exchange Binance and its founder.
24%: The portion of stops conducted under New York City’s new stop, frisk and search policy analyzed by a court monitor that were deemed unconstitutional, according to the New York Times.
Headline of the day
Eyes on 2024: Trump indictment watch continues
Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys were spotted at the Justice Department on Monday, when they met with special counsel Jack Smith amid the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents, NBC News’ Ken Dilanian and Ryan J. Reilly report.
For his part, Trump pre-butted a potential indictment in the case, writing on his Truth Social platform in all caps, “How can DOJ possibly charge me, who did nothing wrong, when no other president’s were charged.”
It’s not clear how a potential indictment could affect his race for the GOP presidential nomination, but past scandals have not significantly impacted Trump’s overall poll numbers.
Trump is already facing charges of falsifying business records as part of an alleged hush-money scheme during his 2016 campaign (he has pleaded not guilty). After Trump was indicted in that case, most of his current and potential GOP rivals rallied around him, criticizing the indictment as politically motivated.
On top of the classified documents and hush money cases, Trump is also facing a federal and a state investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The Washington Post reports that federal investigators and state investigators in Georgia are focusing on the Trump campaign’s decision to commission studies of potential voter fraud in 2020.
In other campaign news…
Pence papers: Former Vice President Mike Pence filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for president ahead of his expected announcement on Wednesday.
West is in: Cornel West, an activist and philosopher, announced Monday that he is running for president and will seek the People’s Party nomination. (Getting ballot access will be a major challenge for West and his party.)
DeSantis’ pitch: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis focused on immigration during his first week as a presidential contender, using the issue to draw a contrast with Trump, NBC News’ Gabe Gutierrez and Bianca Seward report.
Ad-ing up: Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee are teaming up on a “six-figure ad campaign” to tout the bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling, per Politico.
Migrant flight drama: The Miami Herald reports that the Bexar County sheriff in Texas has recommended “both felony and misdemeanor charges” be filed related to DeSantis’ decision to fly migrants out of Texas and ultimately to Martha’s Vineyard. The decision on charging is up to the district attorney. And California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared to threaten DeSantis with kidnapping charges after South American migrants were sent from Florida to Sacramento, per Axios.
Not-so-near-neighbor lends a hand: DeSantis tweeted Monday night that at Iowa’s “request,” he’s sending Florida emergency and transportation personnel to assist in the recovery efforts around the devastating building collapse in Davenport, Iowa.
Never Back Down stands up: Axios reports that the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC is about to launch a $5 million ad buy, and that internal polling shows Trump ahead of DeSantis in a multi-candidate field in Iowa at 39% to 29%, a narrower gap than in mid-May.
Haley doubles down on transgender criticism: Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley reiterated her claim that transgender students playing in high school sports has led to suicidal ideation in teenage girls.
Scott stops by The View: NBC News’ Ali Vitali reports that South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott pushed back on the idea of systemic racism Monday during an appearance on ABC’s The View, arguing that it’s a “dangerous, offensive, and disgusting message to send to our young people today” that they can only be successful as “exceptions” to the rule.
Roughrider State governor gears up for a tough ride: North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum teased what’s expected to be a presidential announcement later this week with a new biographical video on social media.
Breonna Taylor’s mother opposes Cameron: The mother of Breonna Taylor, the woman who was killed by police during a raid on her home in 2020, is supporting an effort to defeat Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron for governor. Cameron brought the case involving her death to a grand jury, which charged one officer with endangerment who was later acquitted.
Call it a comeback: Former Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., is readying another run for Congress, which would pit him in a competitive Democratic primary in the hopes of winning the nomination to take on Republican Rep. Michael Lawler, Politico is reporting.
A powerful ally: The Arizona Republic reports that Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is endorsing former state Rep. Raquel Terán’s House bid to replace Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for Senate.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world:
Fighter pilots who worked to intercept a private plane that flew over the nation’s capital and later crashed in Virginia saw that the pilot was slumped over.
Mississippi Republicans, including the state’s two GOP senators, are calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to remove a temporary Pride flag from a national cemetery in the state.
