Abbreviated Pundit Roundup is a long-running series published every morning that collects essential political discussion and analysis around the internet.
The New York Times:
Trump Says Some Migrants Are ‘Not People’ and Predicts a ‘Blood Bath’ if He Loses
In a caustic and discursive speech in Ohio, former President Donald J. Trump once again doubled down on a doomsday vision of the United States.
With his general-election matchup against President Biden in clear view, Mr. Trump once more doubled down on the doomsday vision of the country that has animated his third presidential campaign and energized his base during the Republican primary.
The dark view resurfaced throughout his speech. While discussing the U.S. economy and its auto industry, Mr. Trump promised to place tariffs on cars manufactured abroad if he won in November. He added: “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a blood bath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a blood bath for the country.”
The Washington Post:
Trump says some undocumented immigrants are ‘not people’
The former president also warned of “a bloodbath” if he does not defeat Joe Biden in November
Later in the rally, Trump warned it will be a “bloodbath for the country” if he is not elected. The comment came as he was promising to hike tariffs on foreign-made cars, and it was not clear exactly what Trump was referring to with his admonition.
“Now we’re going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across [the] line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those guys — if I get elected,” he said. “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole. That’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”
George Conway on X via Threadreader:
John Stoehr/The Editorial Board:
The anti-Catholic hatred hidden inside ‘Christian nationalism’
Speak up before it’s too late.
The outcome of the presidential election does not depend on making conservative Roman Catholics like Laura Ingraham (or for that matter, conservative Jews like Steven Miller) see the dangers they are in. As Rev. Dan Schultz wrote recently, “Christian nationalists” are a marginal bunch. There’s just not enough of them. Their views are unpopular.
But as long as she and others won’t understand, or won’t stop denying, how much they are hated by their allies, they will continue to give “Christian nationalism” a dangerous credibility it doesn’t deserve and will only abuse. It claims to speak for all Christians but its vision of America excludes, or has the promise to exclude, a vast majority of Christianities. Maybe it’s too late for Laura Ingraham. But Roman Catholics who cherish religious freedom should speak for themselves.
Jonathan Cohn/HuffPost:
Don't Know What To Make Of Trump's 2024 Promises? Just Look At What He's Actually Done.
Donald Trump's just as vague about his policy proposals as he was in 2016, but this time he has a governing record too.
Even loose talk of touching Medicare and Social Security can be politically toxic in America, especially for Republicans, who have a long record of seeking to privatize the beloved programs or reduce their benefits. Almost immediately ― and in response to attacks from President Joe Biden ― Trump’s campaign put out the word that he simply meant he’d cut down on waste and inefficiency.
A day later, Trump was on the defensive during an interview with Breitbart News. “I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” he said.
With most politicians, you could try to parse these statements, hoping to divine some insights about their true intentions and values. But Trump is not a normal politician. He rarely talks about policy and, in instances like these when he does, his statements are so hazy and full of malapropisms that they could mean almost anything.
It’s great material for “Saturday Night Live.” But if you’re a voter trying to figure out what matters to Trump or what decisions he’d make in office, you’re basically out of luck. And although an inability to speak cogently about important issues might seem like a political liability, for Trump it may actually be an asset, because it obscures his more unpopular positions.
Simon Rosenberg/”The Hopium Chronicles” on Substack:
I'd Much Rather Be Us Than Them, New Laborers' Ad, The GOP Is Splintering/MAGA Is A Failed Politics
New Laborers’ Union Ad for Biden - One of the things I’m really looking forward to this year is all the work for Biden that going’s get done outside the campaign itself. Like us, here at Hopium, folks aren’t waiting around, asking for permission to go win this thing. They are just going out there and doing the work.
In that spirit check out this new ad for Biden from the Laborers Union. Its called “Everything Is BOOMIN’” and is now running in MI, PA, WI:
As I have been saying I think something broke inside the Republican Party when Dobbs happened. It was just too much, too far, too dangerous even for many Republican voters. Trumpy candidates failed to bring their coalition together throughout the battlegrounds in 2022, and we are already seeing Trump and other MAGAs really struggle to bring their coalition together in 2024. Trump has repeatedly underperformed public polling in the early states. A big chunk of the GOP - 20%-30% - has deep reservations about backing Trump and MAGA; a remarkable number have said they are even open to voting for Biden.
Cliff Schecter on Brian Karem’s show about Democrats fighting back:
