Abbreviated Pundit Roundup is a long-running series published every morning that collects essential political discussion and analysis around the internet.
First, some compelling headlines.
Associated Press: Biden calls out hecklers and rallies base in fiery speech
POLITICO: Biden chooses a hammer over an olive branch
The Washington Post: Biden delivers State of the Union with fiery political tone
Brian Beutler/”Off Message” on Substack:
The First Part Of Joe Biden’s Speech Was SO Important
...and other thoughts on the State of the Union address
At the top of the speech, when viewership is highest and reporters form first impressions, he delivered a damning recitation of Trump’s record, the Republican agenda, their joint assault on reproductive rights, and their ongoing effort to sabotage the U.S. and the world order.
The contemporaneous X posts were even more telling:
And, of course, we have other news while we wait for the pundits to write their columns.
Dan Froomkin/Press Watch:
Why is New York Times campaign coverage so bad? Because that’s what the publisher wants.
It’s an increasingly common critique of the New York Times: The largest, most influential news organization in the nation is not warning sufficiently of the threat to democracy — while at the same time bashing President Joe Biden at every opportunity.
And it’s been a bit of a mystery. Why would a newsroom full of talented and mostly liberal reporters be engaging in such damaging behavior?
Well, mystery solved.
It’s because that’s what the publisher wants.
This is an awesome video.
John Hendrickson/The Atlantic:
The Fallout of Trump’s Colorado Victory
Secretary of State Jena Griswold believes the state’s elections are safe and secure under her watch—even if she, herself, is now at risk.
Griswold is in the last two years of her second and final term (her position is term-limited). Secretary of state is the first public office she ever sought, and she refused to say whether she’d run for a different position in 2026. Griswold, who was a relatively unknown Democrat in a purple state, was elected when she was just 33. She has been outspoken in her belief that Trump is a danger to democracy, but her job, by design, has a certain neutrality to it. At least, it once did.
Yair Rosenberg/The Atlantic:
Biden’s New Doomsday Option Against Israeli Settlers
How an executive order takes aim at Netanyahu’s coalition
On February 1, Joe Biden took the biggest step any U.S. president has ever taken against Israel’s settler movement. He issued an executive order “imposing certain sanctions on persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank” and used this new authority to punish four Israeli settlers for violence against Palestinians and Israeli peace activists. But because the president’s directive dealt with the West Bank and not the war in Gaza, and was initially applied to only a handful of people, it was largely overlooked—or cast by critics as a symbolic sop to disaffected Arab and Muslim voters in places like Michigan.
A careful reading of the order and conversations with officials both inside and outside the U.S. government, however, reveal that the move was no PR exercise. It was a warning shot—part of a deliberate strategy to splinter Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and to advance the cause of the two-state solution. In time, it could even upend the U.S.-Israeli relationship.
From Haaretz, a different pressure point: an official inquiry into the 2021 Mount Meron disaster, where 45 people were crushed to death by a crowd at a poorly managed religious observance. The point this editorial makes is that Netanyahu’s excuses won’t work for Oct. 7, either.
One Fiasco After Another: Meron Disaster Report Also Finds Netanyahu Guilty for October 7
The commission's members were not impressed by Netanyahu's argument that 'you cannot be responsible for what you don't know.' Once the October 7 massacre, forewarned for years, undergoes investigation, he won't be able to rely on this defense
"If they had grabbed by my coat lapels and said, 'Look, there's going to be a terrible disaster,' I promise you that I would have handled it," declared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the State Commission of Inquiry into the Meron Disaster.
Earlier, he was presented with letters, reports by the state comptroller and other warnings he had received over the years before the events at the site. Time after time, the prime minister tried to evade responsibility for the failure that resulted in the deaths of scores of people. His stepping stones to escape were, "I didn't know," "I didn't investigate deeply," "I don't recall," "I don't know," "I didn't receive it," "I didn't deal with that," "The person responsible should do his job," "The prime minister's name is on thousands of requests," "The prime minister doesn't deal with that," "I can only be responsible for a thing that I see," and, "You cannot be responsible for what you don't know."…
The sharply-worded commission report makes it clear that its members didn't fall into Netanyahu's trap. "On the basis of all the material and evidence presented to us and our direct impression of them, we conclude that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that Netanyahu knew that the site of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's grave was improperly dealt with for years, and that it was liable to be a danger to the masses that visit the site, especially on Lag Ba'Omer," they wrote. "Even if, for the sake of caution, we assume Netanyahu didn't have concrete knowledge of the matter, under the circumstances of the matter, he should have known… Netanyahu's claim that 'he wasn't grabbed by his coat lapel' cannot be accepted."
The above material, along with the state visit from opposition leader Benny Gantz (over Netanyahu’s objection) puts Biden’s proposed plan for an offshore Gaza port for humanitarian relief into some perspective. He apparently is trying to get around Netanyahu any way he can.
Four years ago in March, COVID-19 hit the United States—hard.
Steve Benen/MSNBC:
There's plenty about Trump that voters still don't know (yet)
Team Trump believes there's nothing Democrats can say about the former president that "voters don't already know." The latest polling suggests otherwise.
The Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty spoke to one of Donald Trump’s campaign strategists this week, who raised a point about the 2024 race that likely gives Republicans hope. “There’s nothing they can say about Trump that voters don’t already know,”
the strategist said.
At first blush, the assertion makes sense. Trump was fairly well known before he launched his political career, but in the nearly nine years since, the Republican has become one of the most scrutinized figures in the world. The former president’s campaign team very likely assumes — with cause — that attitudes about the presumptive GOP nominee are locked in. Everyone knows him; everyone has an opinion on him; and after years of revelations and granular coverage, it’s going to be nearly impossible to persuade voters to change their minds about him.
At least, that’s one way of looking at the political landscape.
The other way is to appreciate the degree to which the Trump strategist has this entire political dynamic backwards.
Steven Monacelli/The Daily Dot:
A new social network built on a vision of Christian supremacy in America gains traction with GOP politicians
Some of the app's users won Super Tuesday victories.
Candidates on an obscure social media platform that props up a fringe movement of far-right Christians took home primary victories—and could end up in Congress.
It’s the technological arm of a once-fringe but increasingly mainstream Christian movement that aims to take over every branch of society, and it’s gaining significant foothold with Republican politicians running in 2024.
Three candidates for Congress, a candidate for lieutenant governor, three state House candidates, a county commissioner, a school board trustee, and a handful of former candidates for elected office are all members of the Nexus Mountain Network, a social media platform created by proponents of the Seven Mountains Mandate.
Cliff Schecter on Trump’s gaffes: