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On Tuesday night, Fox News host Sean Hannity teed up Donald Trump to respond to recent media reports about another Trump presidency and his calls for retribution, asking the former president, “Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?”
“Except for Day One,” Trump responded, later adding, “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
“I love this guy,” Trump said of Hannity. “He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no. Other than Day One.’ We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.”
Biden’s campaign responded with a statement saying “Americans should believe Trump” when he says he will be a dictator. Trump’s comments also underscored Biden’s earlier remarks at a Boston campaign event, where Biden said he wasn’t sure he would be running without Trump in the race, noting he cannot let Trump win.
Trump, meanwhile, is expected to be back in court Thursday as part of his civil fraud trial in New York.
In other campaign news …
Governors’ abortion advice: Some Democratic governors cautioned that Biden might not be the party’s best messenger on abortion as Democrats look to leverage the issue in 2024.
Ramaswamy on the trail: Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has increasingly focused on the issue of “carbon capture,” or building pipelines to move carbon dioxide in the Midwest, as he has campaigned in Iowa, per NBC’s Jillian Frankel and Alex Tabet.
Cash dash: Wall Street executives gathered Monday to support Haley, raising more than $500,000 for the presidential hopeful, CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports. And the pro-Haley super PAC got a boost from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a prominent Democratic donor, per The New York Times.
Ballot drama: A federal judge in Arizona rejected an effort to bar Trump from the state’s ballot due to his actions Jan. 6, 2021, per NBC’s Megan Lebowitz.
Thinking about it: Most of Iowa’s congressional delegation is staying neutral in the GOP primary, but Rep. Randy Feenstra, who represents the most Republican district in the state, is still thinking about endorsing in the race. He told NBC News he is interviewing candidates this weekend.
Heading for the exit: Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who briefly served as the temporary speaker, announced Tuesday that he is not running for re-election.
Kissing the ring: A special election to replace former New York GOP Rep. George Santos has been set for Feb. 13. The Times reports that the congressman who represented the district before Santos — Democrat Tom Suozzi — visited Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday to seek her support, apologize for mounting his bitter primary challenge against her last year and to promise that he’ll support abortion rights if elected.
He’s running: Westchester County Executive George Latimer will launch a primary against Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the New York City suburbs, highlighting the divide between the Latimer’s staunchly pro-Israel views and Bowman’s pro-Palestine stances, Politico reports.
A split between voters and members of Congress: A new survey finds a remarkable split between what former GOP members of Congress believe and what the GOP electorate believes, per NBC’s Chuck Todd.
