The '24 Seven - 2/22/24
The top seven stories shaping the race for the White House
Hello, and welcome to The ‘24 Seven - a daily roundup of the top seven stories shaping the 2024 race for the White House. If you see something I missed or have suggestions, drop me a note - 24sight@substack.com.
Abortion is the top issue back at the center of the race … did it ever leave?
1 IVF
The Alabama high court delivered a landmark ruling, asserting that the destruction of embryos falls within the scope of the state's 'wrongful death of a minor' law, elevating fertilized eggs and embryos to the same legal status as children.
In response to this, The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system—the eighth-largest hospital system in the nation—took swift action out of fear of prosecution and promptly announced an indefinite halt to their in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. This decision, fueled by concerns over lawsuits stemming from the common practice of the disposition of unused frozen embryos, casts a shadow over the future of fertility treatments in the state.
2 Running mates
We here at 24sight issued our rankings of the potential Trump running mates, built on interviews with more than two dozen top Republicans, Trumpworld figures and even some open source intel from Trump himself. Former HUD Secretary Ben Carson tops the list, a whole bunch of Floridians land as wildcards (12th Amendment) … and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley comes in dead last as a hard “No” for the ticket. She’s still in, says she doesn’t want it, and Trump doesn’t seem very keen on either.
In case you didn’t catch me yesterday on SiriusXM 124’s The Julie Mason Show, here’s the clip - we ran down the list with only the occasional aside.
Eyes out this weekend at CPAC for performances from possible running mates.
3 CPAC
The long running conservative action conference turned Trump festival is up and running in suburban Washington this weekend. Inside the National Harbor convention center it’s a Trump lovefest on the first full day (more coming from 24sight’s
who is on the ground here.)Roger Sollenberger has an absolutely stunning read in The Daily Beast that posted late yesterday detailing some big developments in the sexual assault lawsuit against CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp (Schlapp and his team have denied any wrongdoing.)
Here’s our scoop a few days ago on the Schlapp lawsuit depositions for Sean Hannity, Tim Miller and Ian Walters.
24sight will have coverage of both events — keep it tuned here.
4 Biden Labels Putin a 'Crazy SOB,' Kremlin Expresses Disapproval
President Joe Biden dubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin a “crazy SOB” in comments at a California fundraiser Wednesday. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he was disappointed with the comment.
Biden’s off-the-cuff hit comes after the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, which U.S. officials have blamed Putin for, news that Russia is developing a space-based nuclear weapon, revelations that a key source at the center of efforts to impeach Biden was passing along Russian disinformation and as Russia’s war against Ukraine enters its second year.
5 IBT - RNC
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters donated $45,000 to the Republican National Committee — hardly a massive amount, but stunning for the fact that one of the biggest labor unions donated to the GOP after decades of the GOP cracking down on unions. Trump and his team have been trying to make inroads with organized labor, but have struggled, in part because of a Michigan rally that featured attendees posing as union members staged at a non-union auto parts maker last fall. Trump met with Teamsters’ president Sean O’Brien last month.
The United Auto Workers endorsed President Joe Biden a few months after he joined the picket line in Michigan.
6 RFK Jr. Courts Black Voters
Third-party presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a roundtable campaign event with Black leaders in Atlanta, aiming to secure their support and potentially posing a challenge for Biden's reelection campaign. In the past, RFK Jr. has defended his father’s wiretapping of MLK and has faced criticism for spreading conspiratorial vaccine misinformation in the Black community.
7 POD
We’re launching our podcast soon! Keep it tuned here, first guest will be very timely indeed.