The Zingers, The Snoozers, Who Came Out on Top, and Who Missed The Mark

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Good morning,

Late night. Lots of news.

Before we get to the first GOP debate, some news overseas.

Russian officials say that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner mercenary group, was on board a plane that mysteriously crashed northwest of Moscow on Wednesday. All ten people on board, including Prigozhin, have reportedly been killed.

There are reports that the plane might have been shot down by Russian forces. Video of the downing was posted on social media.

It comes exactly two months after Prigozhin launched a failed mutiny against Russia’s military leadership. The revolt was called off, and Prigozhin made an initial deal with Vladimir Putin that required he relocate to Belarus. But many analysts thought Prigozhin was a “dead man walking;” Putin is not one to let things go.

Mosheh, Jill, & Courtney

🎙The Mo News Podcast: A school bus driver shortage is creating a “transportation crisis” for kids across the country; President Biden has a new student loan plan; and Fyre Festival II is apparently happening.

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🗞 GOP DEBATE TAKEAWAYS

The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle kicked off in Milwaukee last night on Fox News, with the candidates clashing on abortion, Ukraine, the border and the spending, as they vied to be the party’s alternative to former President Trump.

THE EIGHT GOP CANDIDATES WHO TOOK THE STAGE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

“THE ELEPHANT ‘NOT’ IN THE ROOM”— That is how Fox News referred to Trump, who is overwhelming frontrunner and skipped the debate in favor of doing a sit-down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. (More on that later.)

📝 THE BIG TAKEAWAYS FROM DEBATE:

▶︎ Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38-year old tech entrepreneur who has said his agenda is “America First 2.0,” was at the center of the most contentious exchanges of the night. He has been gaining in the polls, as he has cast himself as a more youthful, competent Trump. Ramaswamy was attacked from all sides by Pence, Christie and Haley as naive, inexperienced and expressing unrealistic ideas like eliminating the FBI. Below is one of his exchanges with Haley after he said he would end aid to Ukraine and reestablish ties with Russia.

▶︎ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s (a far) second in the polls behind Trump, seemed to play second fiddle to Ramaswamy. He had a slow start, but took several moments to express his harder lines on the border (he would send US Special Forces into Mexico to fight cartels) and on abortion (he defended signing his state’s 6-week abortion ban).

▶︎ Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the only woman on the stage, came out swinging and had several breakout moments. She called out members of her own party including DeSantis, Scott and Pence for voting on legislation that raised the national debt. Haley even took aim at former President Trump for adding a trillion dollars to the national debt. While she appeared to appeal to more moderate and independent voters with her views, the big question is can she win over enough GOP primary voters—who typically swing much more conservative—with her performance.

When the other candidates were bickering, Haley interrupted with: “This is exactly why Margaret Thatcher said if you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”

▶︎ On Trump: Baier asked who on stage would still support Trump as the GOP nominee, even if he was convicted on any one of the indictments going to trial. Everyone except Christie and Hutchinson raised their hands.

Asa Hutchinson said even conservative legal scholars think that Trump could be disqualified under the 14th amendment, if convicted.
Christie said Mike Pence deserves thanks for putting the Constitution above politics on January 6th.

▶︎ Should there be a federal ban on abortion? Most of the candidates seemed to say it should be left up to the states. Except for Tim Scott and Mike Pence, who says they support a 15-week federal abortion ban— an appeal to Evangelical voters who make up a big chunk of Iowa caucus voters.

Haley said, as the only woman on stage, “we need to stop demonizing this issue. We aren’t going to put a woman in jail ... if she has an abortion.”

▶︎ On Climate Change: Ramaswamy said: “I’m the only candidate on stage who isn’t bought and paid for, so I can say this… Climate change is a hoax…The reality is more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate change.” He was booed by the live audience.

▶︎ On Ukraine: The party divide on Ukraine was on full display with Ramaswamy and DeSantis saying they would cut off funding to Ukraine, while the others defended US aid to the country.

▶︎ Zingers: Chris Christie said of Vivek Ramaswamy: “I’ve had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT standing up here… “And the last person in one of these debates…who stood in the middle of the stage and said, ‘What’s a skinny guy with an odd last name doing up here?’ was Barack Obama.” (He was referring to Ramaswamy’s self-introduction made earlier in the debate.)

Here are some of the other spiciest moments.

📱DONALD TRUMP’S COUNTER PROGRAMMING
The former president decided to skip the debate. Not to be outdone, he pre-taped a 46-minute interview with recently-fired Fox host Tucker Carlson. It was released on X (formerly Twitter) at 8:55pm, five minutes before the debate.

See pic below of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene watching the interview while sitting in the debate hall.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM TRUMP’S INTERVIEW:

Trump complained about mail-in voting, and said the the 2020 election was rigged.
Asked if he thinks protesters and his political opponents could try to assassinate him: Trump sidestepped the question. He said they’re “savage animals… really sick”— but there are good people that are Democrats too.
Carlson asked Trump if he thought Jeffrey Epstein really killed himself. Trump said he thinks Epstein “probably” committed suicide but “many people (including Carlson) think he was killed.”

✔︎ Mo News Reality Check: We will get preliminary numbers later today on how many people watched live, but most American voters will consume the debate via online clips pushed out by candidates and the media.

Given Trump continues to dominate in early state polls, the question is whether any of the 8 alternatives did enough to convince GOP primary voters that they should switch their allegiances?

The former president remained pretty unscathed and none of the candidates, except Christie, really made a case as to voters as to why they should stop supporting for Trump. And Christie was booed! (Video of moment)

Both Ramaswamy and Haley look poised to get some momentum from Wednesday night from the respective wings of the party. But it still appears that Trump will remain in the driver’s seat. And, all the media attention will quickly be back on him today as he formally surrenders to authorities in Georgia, where he was most recently indicted.

⏳ SPEED READ

📌 India’s becomes first country to successfully land on the moon’s south pole (NPR)

🚨NATION

📌 South Carolina Supreme Court upholds 6-week abortion ban (CNN)

📌 Rudy Giuliani surrenders in Georgia to face election interference charges. Trump expected to turn himself in today. (NPR)

All the Mug Shots of Donald Trump and His Alleged Co-Conspirators (CNBC)

📌 3 men charged in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Whitmer wanted to start civil war, prosecutor says. (USA TODAY)

📌 Grand Canyon flooding prompts over 100 evacuations from hotels and homes near South Rim (NBC NEWS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Japan begins releasing Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific Ocean (NBC NEWS)

📌 Canada’s wildfires bring skyrocketing carbon emissions (AXIOS)

📌 Russia fires ‘General Armageddon’ in Wagner crackdown; Sergei Surovikin, who was close to the militia’s leader, dismissed as head of military’s aerospace forces (FINANCIAL TIMES)

📌 Xi, Putin and other leaders locked in discussions over an expansion of the BRICS economic bloc (AP)

📱BUSINESS & TECH

📌 Abercrombie & Fitch shares soar 23% as retailer blows past earnings estimates, raises guidance. (CNBC)

📌 Film and TV studios post AI jobs with salaries up to $1 million as workers strike. (NBC NEWS)

📌 Nvidia revenue doubles on demand for A.I. chips, and could go higher. (NY TIMES)

📌 Sorry, But LinkedIn Is Cool Now: The professional network is benefiting from upheavals elsewhere in the social media landscape. (BLOOMBERG)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 ‘Barbie’ sets Imax release with new post-credits footage (VARIETY)

📌 ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ singer Oliver Anthony earning $40K per day from viral hit (NY POST)

📌 NY Yankees boss calls season ‘a disaster’ amid team’s longest losing streak since 1982 (YAHOO)

📌 American Sha’Carri Richardson is now the fastest woman in the world, two years after positive drug test dashed her hopes in Tokyo (NBC)

🗓 ON THIS DAY: AUGUST 24

1932: American aviator Amelia Earhart took off from Los Angeles, and, when she landed in Newark, New Jersey, the following day, she became the first woman to complete a solo nonstop flight across the United States.
1979: Prince released his song 'I Wanna Be Your Lover'
1995: Microsoft released Windows 95, Microsoft’s first operating system

2006: Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet after the International Astronomical Union approved a reclassification of the solar system.

2011: Amid health issues, Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple, and he died less than two months later.