We begin today’s roundup with Michelle Cottle at The New York Times and her take on Nikki Haley’s book and her call for administration officials (current and former) to publicly speak the truth:
Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations, has been causing quite a stir with her new memoir, in which she recounts how, during her time in the Trump administration, other top officials lobbied her to help them undermine the president.[...]
Rather than being upset that top aides were conspiring to undermine Mr. Trump, she really should be more concerned that we have a president whom top aides saw as a threat to the country. [...]
If members of the Trump administration need a role model in courage, they don’t need to listen to Ms. Haley. They can look to the administration officials stepping forward to testify before Congress in the impeachment investigation. People like Bill Taylor and Alexander Vindman have put their reputations, careers and personal safety on the line to bring Mr. Trump’s misbehavior out of the shadows.
They are precisely the kind of truth tellers that Ms. Haley should be praising.
Jeet Heer explains that Haley’s actions recognize that Trumpism is the center of the Republican Party at the moment:
Now, she has become one of his cagiest defenders, all the more effective because she occasionally peppers her advocacy with provisos admitting to Trump’s faults. Haley, widely viewed as a politician with a big future in the Republican Party, is a harbinger. Her trajectory mirrors larger changes in the party. She’s clearly decided that fastening herself to Trump is the best way to secure success going forward.
Joel Mathis at The Week:
Nikki Haley wants you to know two things: First, she is very loyal to President Trump. Second, she feels kind of bad about the things he does. If that sounds incoherent, well, too bad. Those contradictions — on display in her new memoir, With All Due Respect — contain her road map for becoming president.
And here’s John Cassidy’s analysis
During an interview with the Post, Haley was asked about her own Presidential aspirations. “I’m not even thinking that way,” Haley insisted. “I’m thinking more of, we need to do all we can to get the President reelected. And then, from there, deciding how I will use the power of my voice. . . . I know that I need and want to be involved in some way that’s helpful.” For Haley, helping Trump is helping herself.
Switching topics, at The New York Times, Jamelle Bouie takes on the billionaires who are speaking out — and running against — Elizabeth Warren:
Warren’s wealthy critics are right to be nervous. And they have a right to speak out against her. But Bloomberg’s potential entry into the race — and Tom Steyer’s ongoing presence — shows that they’re not just giving an opinion. They want assurance that the Democratic nominee won’t be too disruptive. They want a restoration of the pre-Trump status quo, not a revolution. They want a veto of sorts, a formal way to say that Democrats can only go so far with their plans and policies.
The only response worth making to this idea is to laugh. Despite voter suppression, unlimited political spending and the president’s attempt to solicit foreign interference on his behalf, this is still a democracy. The final say still rests with voters, with ordinary Americans who retain the power to shape our government. And if those voters decide to nominate Warren or Sanders instead of a traditional moderate — and if either of those candidates beats Trump, as is very possible — then the billionaires will have to learn to live with the people’s will.
And don’t miss Sam Brodey, Jackie Kucinich, and Betsy Swan’s preview of the public impeachment hearings:
When the impeachment of President Trump finally goes public on Wednesday, two men will be thrust into the national spotlight as each party’s lead inquisitor. One of them is a career congressional staffer who’s rarely been in the public eye but has been in the background for a decade of Capitol Hill investigations. The other is a trial lawyer turned cable news pundit who spent a decade prosecuting mobsters in a high-profile Manhattan federal court.