Tag Archives: heads of government

US

Minnesota governor signs bill codifying ‘fundamental right’ to abortion into law

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CNN
 — 

Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill into law Tuesday that enshrines the “fundamental right” to access abortion in the state.

Abortion is already legal in Minnesota, but in the aftermath of the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the Protect Reproductive Options Act goes a step further by outlining that every person has the fundamental right to make “autonomous decisions” about their own reproductive health as well as the right to refuse reproductive health care.

“This is very simple, very right to the point,” Walz said Tuesday on “CNN Tonight.” “We trust women in Minnesota, and that’s not what came out of the [Supreme Court’s] decision, so I think it’s critically important that we build a fire wall.”

With the passage of the bill, Minnesota is now the first state to codify abortion via legislative action since Roe v. Wade was reversed, the office of the bill’s lead author in Minnesota’s state Senate, told CNN.

“Last November, Minnesotans spoke loud and clear: They want their reproductive rights protected – not stripped away,” Walz said in a news release. “Today, we are delivering on our promise to put up a firewall against efforts to reverse reproductive freedom. No matter who sits on the Minnesota Supreme Court, this legislation will ensure Minnesotans have access to reproductive health care for generations to come. Here in Minnesota, your access to reproductive health care and your freedom to make your own health care decisions are preserved and protected.”

The bill states that local government cannot restrict a person’s ability to exercise the “fundamental right” to reproductive freedom. It also clarifies that this right extends to accessing contraception, sterilization, family planning, fertility services and counseling regarding reproductive health care.

“The Pro Act also goes beyond just granting those rights to abortion, it really says all reproductive healthcare decisions aren’t our business, including access to contraception, including access to really anything that is related to personal and private decisions about your reproductive life,” Megan Peterson, the executive director of pro-abortion rights campaign UnRestrict Minnesota, told CNN following Walz’s signing of the bill.

In a letter to Walz ahead of the signing, Republican legislature leaders argued that the bill went too far and urged the governor to veto what they called “an extreme law.”

“As the PRO Act was being rushed through the legislature, Republicans offered reasonable amendments with guardrails to protect women and children,” state Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson and House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth wrote, “Sadly, each of these amendments were struck down by a Democrat majority.”

In 1995, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in Doe v. Gomez that abortion was a fundamental right protected under the state’s constitution. The Protect Reproductive Options Act ensures that even in the event of a new state Supreme Court reversing the ruling, the right to abortion will be protected under state law.

“By passing this law, Minnesotans will have a second layer of protection for their existing reproductive rights. A future Minnesota Supreme Court could overturn Doe v. Gomez, but with the PRO Act now in State law, Minnesotans will still have a right to Reproductive healthcare,” Luke Bishop, a spokesperson for Democratic State Sen. Jennifer McEwen, the bill’s author in the Senate, told CNN over email.

Following the governor’s signature of the bill, the White House applauded Minnesota’s efforts, pointing to the popular support for women’s rights to make their own health care decisions.

“Americans overwhelmingly support a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, as so clearly demonstrated last fall when voters turned out to defend access to abortion – including for ballot initiatives in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, and Vermont,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“While Congressional Republicans continue their support for extreme policies including a national abortion ban, the President and Vice President are calling on Congress to restore the protections of Roe in federal law,” she wrote. “Until then, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue its work to protect access to abortion and support state leaders in defending women’s reproductive rights.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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World

Brovary, Ukraine: Helicopter crash kills 16, including Ukrainian interior minister

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CNN
 — 

A helicopter crash near a kindergarten in the Kyiv region has killed at least 16 people, including the leadership team of Ukraine’s interior ministry who were traveling on the aircraft and three children on the ground, according to officials.

At least 30 others, including 12 children, are in the hospital following the incident in the city of Brovary on Wednesday, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration.

Tymoshenko has revised down the number of people killed in the crash on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital – the previous death toll was 18.

Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, First Deputy Minister Yevheniy Yenin and State Secretary Yuriy Lubkovychis died, Anton Geraschenko, a ministry adviser, confirmed on social media.

All nine people onboard the helicopter (six ministry officials and three crew members) were killed, leaving another seven dead on the ground, including three children, Tymoshenko said. A search and rescue operation is continuing, he added.

The Ukrainian Security Services, the SBU, has launched an investigation into the crash, and posted on Facebook that “several versions of the tragedy are being considered.”

They include: “violation of flight rule, technical malfunction of the helicopter (and) deliberate actions to destroy the helicopter.”

There has been no suggestion from any other Ukrainian officials about Russian involvement in this crash. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the incident as a “tragedy.”

A CNN team on the ground in the Kyiv region noted gray skies and very low visibility.

The helicopter that crashed was a Eurocopter EC225 “Super Puma,” the CNN crew confirmed after seeing remnants of flight manuals among the debris.

The State Emergency Services of Ukraine (SES) said that this helicopter “was repeatedly involved in the transportation of personnel to emergency sites.”

An SES statement posted on Facebook added: “The crew of the aircraft was trained to perform tasks in difficult conditions and had the required number of hours of flying time.”

It landed near a kindergarten and a residential building, Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said earlier.

“At the time of the tragedy, there were children and the staff in the kindergarten. At the moment, everyone was evacuated,” he wrote on Telegram.

Paramedics, the police and firefighters are responding at the scene, Kuleba added.

In a written statement, President Zelensky called the crash “a terrible tragedy,” adding that he has ordered the Ukrainian Security Services to “to find out all the circumstances.”

Zelensky ended his statement by saying the interior ministry officials were “true patriots of Ukraine. May they rest in peace! May all those whose lives were taken this black morning rest in peace!”

The officials are thought to be the most senior government figures to have died since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.

Monastyrsky, 42, was a lawyer by training. According to a biography published on the ministry’s website, he spent some years teaching law and management at a university in his home town of Khmelnytskyi, before deciding to turn “from theory to practice” and become involved in politics.

He worked on reforming Ukrainian law enforcement following the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, rose through the ranks and was appointed interior minister in July 2021.

Last year, Monastyrsky accompanied a CNN crew on a visit to abandoned Russian military positions in Chernobyl.

News of Monastyrsky’s death sparked a wave of reactions from many of his counterparts and other foreign leaders.

“Saddened by the tragic death of the Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky. Thoughts for all the victims of this terrible event that occurred near a kindergarten, for the children and the families,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described Monastyrsky as “a true friend of the UK.”

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, also paid tribute to Monastyrsky as “a great friend of the EU.” Michel tweeted that the European Union joins Ukraine “in grief following the tragic helicopter accident in Brovary.”

Yenin, also 42, served as Ukraine’s deputy prosecutor general and deputy minister of foreign affairs before becoming Monastyrsky’s first deputy in September 2021, according to the ministry’s website.

Lubkovychis was 33 and, like the other two men, was also appointed to the ministry in 2021.

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Karen Bass sworn in as first female mayor of Los Angeles by Kamala Harris

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CNN
 — 

Karen Bass was sworn in as the first female mayor of Los Angeles on Sunday, marking another historic achievement in her career.

Kamala Harris – the first woman and first woman of color to become vice president – administered the oath of office at Los Angeles City Hall.

Bass focused her remarks Sunday on her plans to solve the city’s housing crisis, with some 40,000 people living on the streets.

“Today, too many Angelenos have no choice but to crowd multiple families into one home, and to work multiple jobs just to barely pay rent,” Bass said.

“Tragically, our city has earned the shameful crown as being home to the most crowded neighborhoods in the nation – Pico Union, South L.A., East L.A., the East Valley,” she added. “And Angelenos, we know our mission – we must build housing in every neighborhood.”

She said her first act as mayor will be to declare a state of emergency on homelessness.

Though billions of dollars in state, city and county money are being directed toward interim and permanent housing units, construction has moved slowly. The latest count measured a 1.7% rise in homelessness from the last count in 2020.

Bass’ plan calls for housing 15,000 people by the end of one year and ending tent encampments using existing funding. She has said the city would put more resources into trained “neighborhood service teams” to connect people with housing and mental health services.

The six-term congresswoman has argued that her longtime relationships with state and national lawmakers would result in increased funding to Los Angeles to address the city’s housing crisis.

Bass has also promised to use her connections within the Biden administration to troubleshoot problems like the need for more federal housing vouchers. As mayor, she has said she would also pursue federal waivers to allow the creation of mental health and substance abuse facilities with a greater number of beds.

Bass, whose home was burglarized earlier this year during the campaign, has also promised to address concerns about crime, noting her proposal to bring police staffing back up at a time when the city has struggled to recruit new officers. She has proposed moving at least 250 police officers back onto patrol from administrative work and has said she would hire more civilian employees to free up more officers to get back on the beat.

Bass overcame a fierce challenge from real estate magnate Rick Caruso, who spent more than $104 million to defeat her in November. She’s succeeding term-limited Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Elected to the California state Assembly in 2004, Bass made history some four years later as the first Black woman to serve as speaker of any state legislature.

When Bass takes office, the four largest cities in the US will all have Black mayors – that includes Eric Adams of New York City, Lori Lightfoot of Chicago and Sylvester Turner of Houston.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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World

Syed Asim Munir: Pakistan names former spy chief as new head of army

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Islamabad, Pakistan
CNN
 — 

Pakistan on Thursday named former spy chief Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir as chief of the South Asian country’s army, ending weeks of speculation over an appointment that comes amid intense debate around the military’s influence on public life.

Munir, the country’s most senior general and a former head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, will take over from Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, who will retire on November 29 after six years in what is normally a three-year post.

His promotion, ratified by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and approved by President Arif Alvi Thursday, means Munir will now oversee Pakistan’s nuclear weapons operations.

The Pakistani military is often accused of meddling in the politics of a country that has experienced numerous coups and been ruled by generals for extended periods since its formation in 1947, so the appointment of new army chiefs is often a highly politicized issue.

Munir’s appointment may prove controversial with supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was ousted from office in April after losing the backing of key political allies and the military amid accusations he had mismanaged the economy.

Pakistan’s Election Commission last month disqualified Khan from holding political office for five years for being involved in “corrupt practices.”

Munir was removed from his office at the ISI during Khan’s term and the former prime minister has previously claimed – without evidence – that the Pakistani military and Sharif conspired with the United States to remove him from power. After Khan was wounded in a gun attack at a political rally in early November, he also accused a senior military intelligence officer – without evidence – of planning his assassination.

Both the Pakistani military and US officials have denied Khan’s claims.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party congratulated Munir on his appointment in a statement Thursday that also accused the military of having an outsized role in the democratic process.

“The people of Pakistan expect that their armed forces, while dealing with an array of external threats would stay out of the politics of domestic affairs and that the rights of the political parties will not be infringed,” the statement said.

The statement also reiterated the PTI’s demand for early elections. Khan is due to hold a rally Saturday in the city of Rawalpindi to repeat that call in what would be his first public appearance since being shot.

Khan aside, the new army chief will have plenty on his plate, entering office at a time when – in addition to a burgeoning economic crisis – Pakistan faces the aftermath of the worst floods in its history. He will also have to navigate the country’s notoriously rocky relationship with its neighbor India.

On Wednesday, outgoing army chief Bajwa said the army was often criticized despite being busy “in serving the nation.” He said a major reason for this was the army’s historic “interference” in Pakistani politics, which he called “unconstitutional.”

He said that in February this year, the military establishment had “decided to not interfere in politics” and was “adamant” in sticking to this position.

Pakistan, a nation of 220 million, has been ruled by four different military rulers and seen three military coups since it was formed. No prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term under the present constitution of 1973.

Uzair Younus, director of the Pakistan Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said the military institution “has lost so much of its reputation,” and the new chief had plenty of battles ahead.

“In historical terms an army chief needs three months to settle into his role, the new chief might not have that privilege,” Younus said. “With ongoing political polarization there might be the temptation to intervene politically again.”

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US

While DeSantis excites crowds on stage, he’s avoiding the gladhanding that wins over donors

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CNN
 — 

Gov. Ron DeSantis has gotten a rock star’s reception at Republican Party functions since winning reelection this month, solidifying himself as a top-tier possible presidential contender. But the Florida Republican has left some influential members of the party wanting more.

He electrified the crowd at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s conference in Las Vegas last weekend, but arrived just before his speech and spent little time glad-handing with donors. Days earlier at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Orlando, DeSantis received a raucous standing ovation, yet he skipped a reception beforehand and the rest of the RGA’s events – despite the fact that, as the home state governor, he was the meeting’s unofficial host.

“When DeSantis came on, all of the young kids came up. It was like a celebrity showed up,” said one person at the RJC’s conference. “But he didn’t stick around to schmooze.”

The events could have been opportune moments for DeSantis. For big donors and operatives, the RGA meeting and the RJC conference were chances to scout out this potential rival to Donald Trump, just days after his resounding reelection win as governor made him the talk of the party. Instead, some were left wondering how DeSantis might compete at the national level, where so much depends on chatting up donors and fostering friendships among fellow Republicans.

“Does he need the RGA for funding? No. Does he need it to spread acceptability for him on a national scale? Yes,” one donor told CNN last week.

“I do think it matters,” said one GOP operative with ties to another potential presidential candidate. “Politics is a people business.”

From his early days in politics, DeSantis has intentionally kept his party at arm’s distance, choosing to align with outsider movements over establishment forces. He rode into Congress during the Tea Party era, joined the House Freedom Caucus and then allied with the Trump wing of the GOP amid his ascent to the Florida governorship. Now, as some Republicans search for a new face who can usher them into a post-Trump period, they are embracing someone who has never embraced them – and who has often gone it alone.

There are signs DeSantis is looking to break from his reputation as a loner. The governor, who avoided helping Republicans outside Florida during most of his first term, crisscrossed the country in the months before the midterms for GOP candidates in tough battlegrounds and cut endorsement messages for a handful of others.

DeSantis also held a summit this summer for his top donors and favored conservative media influencers to hobnob with some Republican governors and select candidates in Fort Lauderdale. Among the attendees were Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who’s now the governor-elect of Arkansas, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, former Maine Gov. Paul LePage and Nevada Senate candidate Adam Laxalt.

One RGA donor, Bobbie Kilberg, acknowledged that DeSantis had not always presented himself as a team player but told CNN that his speech in Orlando at the RGA meeting last week struck a much more “inclusive” tone that acknowledged the work of other parts of the party apparatus.

“I think that is a change to his prior approach to his relationship with other governors, where it’s mostly been ‘I’m the center of attention,’” Kilberg told CNN the day after his remarks. “I think last night was a welcome departure from that, and I think the governors took notice.”

And DeSantis allies dismissed the idea that GOP donors are unsure about the governor.

“He is all work, all the time, he is about getting things done and not glad-handing donors. But donors have flocked to him anyway, checkbooks open, just because of what he has done as governor,” said Nick Iarossi, a DeSantis fundraiser who attended the RGA conference. “No one seems to care whether he wants to stay at a reception and shake hands. They care more about what he does as governor to improve their lives on a day to day basis.”

But other would-be allies have instead noticed how DeSantis did little to stick up for some of his fellow Republican governors in their own reelection fights this year, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp – who had a primary challenger backed by Trump – and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

“He doesn’t have great relationships with the other governors,” said a second GOP operative.

Multiple strategists point to his lack of participation with the RGA, a donor-driven organization that helps elect Republican chief executives across the country. Last week’s RGA meeting is just the second DeSantis has attended since being elected governor, after making a brief appearance at the 2019 meeting in Boca Raton, Florida.

“He came in for one speech and left,” said the first Republican operative. “Didn’t mingle, didn’t glad-hand, and a lot of people hadn’t met him at that point.”

Nor does he have particularly strong friendships with the GOP governors, an otherwise chummy bunch. During a panel in Orlando to discuss the party’s future, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu gloated about the collaboration between Republican governors and how they share policy ideas and expertise. But in a conversation later with CNN, Sununu acknowledged he didn’t have that kind of relationship with DeSantis.

Asked about DeSantis’ lack of participation at RGA functions, Sununu responded: “Everyone engages at their own level, in their own way.”

And former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who remains a fixture at RGA events, told the Ruthless podcast earlier this year that he does not know DeSantis well.

“I don’t think Ron hangs out with anybody, from what I can tell. You know, like, when I’m at the RGA meetings, Ron’s pretty much to himself with his entourage,” said Christie, who is also a potential 2024 presidential candidate. “I don’t see him hanging with the other governors.”

Former colleagues of DeSantis in the House of Representatives said the 44-year-old was never much for camaraderie.

“He kept to himself a bit in the House,” said Ryan Costello, the former Pennsylvania congressman who served alongside DeSantis. “He had friends, he had allies, but he was not the gregarious back-slapper that some politicians are always characterized as being.”

A decade ago, in a crowded Republican primary for a Jacksonville-area US House seat, DeSantis ran as a candidate offering “bold conservative colors, not pale establishment pastels.”

“Too many of them have been really co-opted by the establishment system in Washington,” DeSantis said of Republicans in an interview with a local television station. “I think I’m somebody who’s coming as an outsider. I’m looking to change the system.”

Once inside, DeSantis earned a reputation as “a bit of an odd duck,” said former Rep. David Jolly, an ex-Republican who served alongside DeSantis in the Florida delegation. DeSantis helped found the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservatives who led the shutdown of the federal government over the funding of Obamacare and helped push House Speaker John Boehner into retirement.

In 2018, DeSantis took on the establishment favorite, then-state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, for the Republican nomination for governor. DeSantis characterized Putnam as a creature of the Tallahassee swamp and an “errand boy” for special interests. Boosted by a Trump endorsement, DeSantis easily vanquished Putnam and went on to win the general election.

Throughout his first term, DeSantis tried to strike a balance between competent administration of government in Florida and engaging in conservative culture war skirmishes that endeared him to base voters nationally. On issues ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic response to school curriculum to illegal immigration, DeSantis took on liberal pieties, carefully casting himself as a Trump-like culture warrior, only smarter and more effective.

Aided by a close relationship with Fox News, DeSantis began to assume the mantle of Trump successor in the wake of the president’s reelection defeat in 2020. Notably, DeSantis helped campaign for many of the troubled candidates selected by Trump in 2022 – Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Senate nominee Blake Masters, Pennsylvania gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano and Ohio Senate nominee J.D. Vance – but not incumbent Republican governors like DeWine, Kemp and Sununu, all of whom found themselves crosswise with Trump at some point.

At a March gathering of 2020 election skeptics in Orlando, DeSantis bemoaned that “so many of these Republicans would not stand up and actually do anything” during the Obama administration. At a rally in Kansas this fall, he called out Republican governors who “have caved to corporate pressure.”

“Even some weak Republicans attacked me” during the pandemic, DeSantis told his supporters on the eve of his reelection.

But after DeSantis won reelection by 19 points, establishment Republicans began to signal their acceptance of him as a leading party figure who could depose Trump. Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who lost to Trump in the 2016 primary, tweeted his congratulations to DeSantis, adding that he has “done a very fine job as Governor of the state I love.”

And former House Speaker Paul Ryan, speaking to a Wisconsin TV station following the election, made sure to name check DeSantis as he called for the party to move on from Trump.

“Ron got reelected,” Ryan said. “I’m very happy to see that.”

But if the GOP establishment seems to be warming up to DeSantis, it remains to be seen whether the Florida governor will need to reciprocate if he runs for president.

“I don’t think DeSantis has ever shown that he can be influenced,” Jolly said. “Part of his schtick is he does it his own way.”

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Republican Jewish Coalition: GOP elites weigh Trump — and the alternatives — at high-profile Vegas gathering

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CNN
 — 

Former President Donald Trump is set to address the influential Republican Jewish Coalition on Saturday, days after becoming the first declared GOP candidate of the 2024 presidential campaign.

But the chandeliered ballroom at the opulent Venetian resort hotel in Las Vegas will teem with his rivals – including potential chief nemesis Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – as some of the party’s most influential donors weigh alternatives to the divisive former president.

Trump still retains a “following” within the party, Mel Sembler, a Florida real-estate developer and GOP donor who sits on the coalition’s board, told CNN this week. But, he said, “I think people are getting tired of his controversies all the time.”

“What concerns me is if he wins the primary and loses the general,” added Sembler, who has not endorsed a 2024 candidate.

The annual leadership conference of prominent Jewish conservatives marks the first major gathering of GOP establishment forces since this month’s midterm letdown for the party, which saw Democrats retain their hold on the Senate and make inroads in state governments around the country.

Republicans did flip the House but will hold a slim majority in January after the “red wave” their party envisioned all year failed to materialize.

Leading Republican figures in Washington and elsewhere are casting blame on Trump for his role in boosting far-right Senate candidates who faltered in the general election – and for continuing to publicly nurse his own grievances about the 2020 election and his ongoing legal troubles. During his campaign kickoff Tuesday, he called himself a “victim” of a federal law enforcement system that he has spent years politicizing.

Trump’s legal difficulties appeared to deepen Friday when Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigations into the retention of national defense information at his Mar-a-Lago resort and parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

Rather than seeing the party unify behind his third presidential bid, Trump faced immediate blowback. Minutes after his announcement, daughter and former senior White House adviser Ivanka Trump distanced herself from her father’s campaign, saying she does “not plan to be involved in politics.”

His announcement also overlapped with a high-profile book tour by his own former vice president – and potential 2024 rival – Mike Pence, who has spent the past several days reminding Americans of Trump’s role in the violent US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

Perhaps the biggest blow to Trump’s campaign infrastructure was the swift and public defection of several billionaire GOP donors – including a close ally, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman – who said the country needed leaders “rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday.”

Others are hedging their bets.

Among those playing the field is Miriam Adelson, the billionaire widow of Las Vegas casino magnate and RJC benefactor Sheldon Adelson. The Adelsons have donated nearly a half-billion dollars to Republican groups and candidates in the last four election cycles – including tens of millions to boost Trump’s presidential ambitions, federal records show.

Trump in 2018 bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest civilian honor – on Miriam Adelson, citing her philanthropy.

Despite that relationship, Adelson intends to remain neutral in the GOP presidential primaries, an aide confirmed to CNN this week. Adelson, whose political contributions have slowed some since her husband’s death in January 2021, has indicated that she will financially support the eventual GOP nominee, whether that be Trump or someone else.

RJC executive director Matt Brooks said Trump has won plaudits from coalition members for his stalwart support of Israel during his presidency and unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Still, Brooks said, “people are window-shopping right now. There are people who are asking if we need a new direction and a new face.”

Even as Trump prepares to make his pitch to the RJC, his allies and aides have sought to position him as the outsider in the 2024 contest, despite his recent White House occupancy.

“President Trump is running a campaign that represents everyday Americans who love their country,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to CNN. “There are others who will answer to the political establishment, be beholden to corporations, and drag the United States into more unnecessary wars.”

And his allies note that Trump’s fundraising operation largely relies on a small-dollar donor base, reducing his reliance on the party’s elite and giving him a potential edge over opponents who do not boast the same small-donation game.

He enters the 2024 campaign with more than $100 million in cash reserves across a sprawling network of political committees – although federal law could constrain his ability to fully tap those funds for his campaign.

“He has proven he can raise a lot of money on his own,” Michael Caputo, a former Trump administration official who remains close to the former president, recently told CNN.

Trump is not making the trek to Las Vegas but is scheduled to address the gathering live via satellite Saturday as part of a morning lineup that will feature several other potential rivals for the GOP nomination, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, newly reelected New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Trump’s remote appearance was announced on Thursday, after it became clear that several of his potential 2024 rivals were scheduled to deliver their own remarks.

DeSantis – fresh off the momentum of his double-digit reelection victory in Florida – is slated to address the group Saturday night during its gala dinner.

Trump recently has stepped up attacks on DeSantis, and another potential 2024 challenger, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Two sources familiar with Trump’s thinking said part of the reason he has lashed out is because he believes both governors are actively soliciting support from “his donors.” Trump has told aides and allies that DeSantis especially is trying to pitch himself to deep-pocketed Republicans who helped bankroll Trump’s reelection campaign.

A Republican fundraiser in Florida with knowledge of DeSantis’ political operation said, “Of course he’s talking to those people. They’re fair game and every Republican is going to go after those donors because that’s the smart thing to do, it’s not with the mindset, ‘Let’s screw Trump.’”

The conservative Club for Growth, one of the biggest outside spenders in politics, already has broken with Trump and earlier this week circulated internal polling that suggested DeSantis could mount a serious challenge to the former president in early voting states and Florida, where both reside. The group plowed $2 million into DeSantis’ reelection efforts this election cycle, according to Florida campaign filings.

David McIntosh, the former Indiana congressman who runs the group, declined a CNN interview request through a spokesman.

This week, as the contours of the new GOP majority in the House became clear – DeSantis won praise from national Republicans for injecting himself into congressional map-making this year. In a rare move for a governor, DeSantis pushed state lawmakers to adopt his map, which controversially eliminated two districts represented by Black Democrats and gave the GOP the advantage in as many as 20 of 28 districts.

“That map created four new Republican wins,” said a GOP consultant who has been close to Trump and asked not to be named to speak candidly about the 2024 race. “That’s the practical reality of a conservative governor standing up to his own party and saying. ‘We’re not going to cut deals and do things the old way.’”

DeSantis this week sought to sidestep questions about the growing rivalry with Trump, urging people “to chill out a little bit” – even as he touted his 19-point margin of victory in his reelection. CNN has previously reported that those close to DeSantis believe he does not intend to announce his plans before May.

“The smartest thing DeSantis could do is stay out of the fray for as long as possible,” said the Republican consultant. “Don’t stick your face in the frying pan too early.”

Many of Trump’s potential 2024 rivals spoke at the conference in Las Vegas, offering post-midterm assessments and making their pitch for how the party should move forward.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, an early ally of Trump, issued a long and passionate indictment of the former president on Saturday, casting Trump as a cancer on the Republican Party and the sole responsible figure for its recent election losses.

“We keep losing and losing and losing,” Christie said. “The reason we’re losing is because Donald Trump has put himself before everybody else.”

Christie slammed Trump for recruiting candidates under the singular qualification that they deny the results of the 2020 election.

“That’s not what this party stands for,” the former governor said. “It’s not what it should stand for in the future, and we’ve got to stop it now.”

Christie pointed to midterm GOP defeats in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, and warned that without a resurgence in those states – especially in the suburbs – Republicans held no hope of winning back the White House in 2024.

Echoing those fears, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said that “candidate quality matters,” while adding, “I got a great policy for the Republican Party: Let’s stop supporting crazy, unelectable candidates in our primaries and start getting behind winners that can close the deal in November.”

Sununu was initially courted to run for US Senate, but ultimately decided to run for reelection. The GOP nominee, retired Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, who has pushed falsehoods about the 2020 election, went on to lose to Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who headed the Senate GOP’s campaign arm this election cycle, said Republicans’ midterm hopes for a “red wave” did not materialize because the party focused too much on “how bad the Democrats are” and did not offer voters its own policy vision.

“The current strategy of most Republicans in Washington is to only be against the crazy Democrats – and they’re crazy – and never outline any plan what we are for and what we will do. That is a mistake,” the senator said.

Scott’s comments come days after his failed bid to oust Mitch McConnell as the party’s Senate leader.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who unsuccessfully ran for president against Trump in 2016, urged the GOP to try to broaden its appeal outside the party’s base.

“We spend far too much time preaching to the choir; talking to the same 2.6 million people watching Fox News every night,” Cruz said.

Cruz also said he had spoken at Senate Republicans’ leadership election this week to urge the party to take a harder line against Democratic policies.

“Republicans in the Senate don’t fight,” he said Saturday.

Cruz said he urged GOP leaders to “pick two or three or four things that matter and say, ‘We believe in it.’”

Outgoing Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan took a hard stance against the former president Friday night, saying in Las Vegas that the Republican Party was “desperately in need of a course correction.”

“Trump was saying that we’d be winning so much we get tired of winning. Well, I’m sick and tired of our party losing. And after this election last week, I’m even more sick and tired than I was before,” Hogan said.

“Look, this is the third election in a row that we lost and should have won. I say three strikes and you’re out. If you repeatedly lose to a really bad team, it’s time for new leadership,” he added.

This story has been updated with more information.

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World

Istanbul blast that killed 6 and injured 81 is considered a terrorist attack, Turkish vice president says

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Istanbul
CNN
 — 

An explosion that killed at least six people and injured at least 81 others in Istantbul on Sunday has been deemed a terrorist attack, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said, according to state news agency Anadolu.

“We consider it to be a terrorist act as a result of an attacker, whom we consider to be a woman, detonating the bomb,” Oktay told reporters Sunday.

The blast happened on Istiklal Street in Beyoglu Square, in the heart of Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said.

“We wish God’s mercy on those who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to the injured,” Yerlikaya tweeted.

Earlier Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the explosion might be terror-related, but he was not yet certain.

“It may be wrong if we say this is definitely terror, but according to preliminary findings, what my governors told us, that there is a smell of terror here,” Erdogan said at a news conference.

He said authorities were reviewing CCTV footage.

“All the responsible figures will be identified and punished,” the president said.

Erdogan said he and his delegation would continue plans to attend the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation, with five public prosecutors assigned, the country’s official Anadolu news agency reported.

The city’s criminal court issued a broadcast ban on all visual and audio news, as well on social media sites, related to the explosion, Anadolu added.

Local media reports and images from the area showed a large number of emergency vehicles in the aftermath of the blast. Some people could be seen fleeing the scene, and the area was being cordoned off by security services.

One witness, journalist Tariq Keblaoui, told CNN he was in a store on Istiklal Street when the explosion occurred about 10 meters ahead of him.

He said several people could be seen lying on the ground following the blast.

The extent of the injuries of those he saw was not clear, but several people were bleeding from their legs and arms, Keblaoui said.

He said Istiklal Street, a popular tourist area, was heavily crowded on Sunday. Istiklal Street is one of the main streets leading to Taksim Square.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu called for assistance for police and health worker teams as they respond to the explosion.

“It is essential to assist our police and health teams regarding the explosion on Istiklal Street, and to avoid posts that may cause fear and panic. All relevant teams are in the region, we will provide healthy information,” he tweeted.

News of the explosion was met with dismay internationally.

“Horrific news from Istanbul tonight. Condolences to the victims of the explosion at Istiqlal,” European Council President Charles Michel said. “All our thoughts are with those currently responding and the people of Türkiye at this very distressing time.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted his “deepest condolences” to the Turkish people, adding that NATO “stands in solidarity with our ally” Turkey.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen expressed his “sincere condolences to the people of Turkey and the citizens of Istanbul,” adding: “In view of the horrific explosion this afternoon in the heart of Beyoğlu my thoughts are with the families of the victims. Wishing a speedy recovery to all injured.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said: “Italy expresses its closeness to the Turkish government and people and its heartfelt condolences for the innocent victims. Our crisis unit is monitoring the situation and contacting our compatriots.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted of his “deep sadness” at the news of the blast. “I offer my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” Zelensky said. “The pain of the friendly Turkish people is our pain.”



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US

Georgia runoff election highlights GOP worries about Trump — and excitement surrounding DeSantis

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CNN
 — 

Herschel Walker’s success in his upcoming runoff against incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock could depend on GOP luminaries flocking to Georgia between now and December 6, several Republicans say.

Many are torn over whether that should include former President Donald Trump, whose status as the anchor of the party is under renewed scrutiny amid an underwhelming midterm outcome for Republicans.

“Since Tuesday night, the No. 1 question I’ve been getting is, ‘Is Trump going to screw this up?’” said Erick Erickson, a prominent Georgia-based conservative radio host who backed Trump’s 2020 reelection bid.

Though the former president helped recruit Walker, a Georgia football legend and longtime Trump family friend, into the Senate contest last year, he was ultimately advised to campaign elsewhere during the general election, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. Some Republicans are still haunted by Trump’s appearances in Georgia leading up to a pair of 2021 runoffs that ended with Democrats winning both seats and gaining control of the Senate. At the time, then-President Trump littered his campaign speeches with false claims that voter fraud was rampant in Georgia and that Republican officials had worked against him.

Walker allies feared that a Trump appearance ahead of the midterms would turn off independents and suburban women, critical voting blocs in the battleground state. Those concerns remain as Walker now enters the runoff period after neither he nor Warnock took more than 50% of the vote on Tuesday.

Some Georgia Republicans said Trump’s decision to proceed with an anticipated 2024 campaign launch next week will distract from what should be paramount for every Republican at the moment – helping the party secure a Senate majority. Trump aides sent out invitations late Thursday for a November 15 event at Mar-a-Lago, which the former president hopes will blunt the momentum behind Ron DeSantis, the popular Florida governor and potential presidential primary rival who glided to reelection this week.

In fact, while a debate unfolds over whether Trump should campaign for Walker in the coming days, several Republicans said they would eagerly welcome an appearance by DeSantis.

“We need every Republican surrogate we can get into the state to put their arm around Herschel. I think that [Virginia Gov. Glenn] Youngkin or DeSantis is a better fit for soft Republicans or independents in the suburbs that we need to turn out,” said Ralph Reed, president of the Faith & Freedom Coalition.

Reed later noted that he believes Trump could also be helpful in driving turnout among rural Georgia voters, though he cautioned that he was “not speaking for the [Walker] campaign.”

“I’ll let them work that out,” he said.

Walker campaign manager Scott Paradise did not return a request for comment.

A person close to the Walker campaign said DeSantis would be “a huge draw if we could get him,” noting that the Florida governor did not campaign for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp despite being just over the border and recently stumping for candidates in New York, Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Kemp won his own reelection bid on Tuesday, defeating Democrat Stacey Abrams for the second time. And the Georgia governor has told allies he wants to help Walker any way he can, including by hitting the campaign trail for him, according to a person briefed on those conversations.

“DeSantis would be helpful. Youngkin would be helpful. Kemp will be helpful. I think those are the biggest draws in Georgia,” said Erickson.

A Republican with knowledge of DeSantis’ political operation said DeSantis’ interest in campaigning for Walker “depends on what happens with the remaining two races” for Senate in Arizona and Nevada. Both contests remain too close to call but if Republicans win one of the races, control of the upper chamber will come down to Georgia.

“It becomes the center of the political universe at that point,” this person said.

A spokesman for DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment about his future travel plans. Though DeSantis endorsed Republicans in tough battlegrounds and campaigned for controversial candidates like Arizona’s Kari Lake and Pennsylvania’s Doug Mastriano, he made no such effort during the midterms to aid Walker amid a flurry of headlines about the former Heisman Trophy winner’s tumultuous past and personal troubles.

DeSantis – whose Tallahassee executive residence is 20 miles from the Florida-Georgia border – also did not join the GOP fight in the Peach State two years ago for a pair of Senate runoffs Republicans ultimately lost.

But a Republican fundraiser close to DeSantis said the Florida governor would likely make the trip across the border if he believes he can help Walker. “He’s a Republican leader and wants Republicans to take the Senate,” the fundraiser said.

But if DeSantis shows up in Georgia, Trump allies said it would be exponentially harder to convince the former president to stay out of the state himself. Much to the frustration of those who want a distraction-free environment for Walker, Trump has continued to hurl insults at DeSantis in recent days, snapping at the Florida governor in a statement Thursday that referred to him as “an average Republican governor” who lacked “loyalty and class” for refusing to rule out a White House bid of his own.

If the Florida Republican goes to campaign for Walker, those attacks would likely intensify, said a person close to Trump.

“Imagine [Trump] seeing Ron campaign for Herschel while he is being told, ‘Please stay away.’ He would go ballistic,” this person said.

One Trump aide, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said one idea being floated is to have the former president help Walker financially with a generous check. Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC gave $16.4 million to candidates in the closing weeks of the 2022 cycle and he was sitting on more than $100 million across his fundraising committees at the end of September, according to federal election data.

“He is looking at how he can salvage this moment and one of the ways for him to do that is to help Walker win,” said a Trump adviser, referring to Tuesday’s underwhelming outcome for Republicans and the stinging defeat of Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, whom Trump had endorsed in the Republican Senate primary.

“But I think there’s no way he can announce a campaign for president and not go campaign for Walker,” the person added, claiming that Trump’s absence from Georgia as the presumptive frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination would suggest he is a liability for vulnerable Republicans – a toxic message to be sending at the outset of a presidential campaign.

Michael Caputo, a 2016 Trump campaign aide who remains close to the former president, said Trump should do as much as possible to raise money for Walker because a presidential announcement will likely cause a surge in Democratic contributions to Warnock.

“You have to offset that on the Walker side. From my perspective, the best thing Trump can do is donate and raise a ton of money for Herschel because he can,” Caputo said.

Trump’s political team has held discussions about how he can best help Walker since it became clear the Georgia Senate race would advance to a runoff, according to two sources familiar, both of whom said nothing has been firmly decided.

“President Trump is 220-16 in races that have been called, and with the support of President Trump, Herschel Walker, after forcing a run-off, is well-positioned to win,” Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said in a statement to CNN.

Much of the sensitivity around a Trump visit to Georgia stems from his campaign appearances for former GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler two years ago, when both Republicans were fighting for survival in their own runoff contests.

On the eve of those runoffs in 2021, Trump tore into statewide Republican officials for refusing to challenge the 2020 election results in Georgia, falsely claiming that he had won the state and promising to return when Kemp was up for reelection to campaign against the GOP incumbent, which Trump later fulfilled by recruiting Perdue to challenge Kemp in a primary.

Republicans back in Washington watched the rally in horror at the time, deeply concerned that Trump’s intense focus on election fraud and various attacks on statewide Republican officials would depress voter turnout among his core supporters the following day. In the end, both Loeffler and Perdue lost their runoffs, catapulting Warnock and Jon Ossof into the Senate and handing Democrats a narrow majority.

The episode has come back to haunt Trump as Republicans face a potentially identical scenario to 2021, with control of the Senate riding on Georgia if Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly wins reelection in Arizona and Republican Adam Laxalt unseats incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada. Laxalt currently has a razor-thin lead while Kelly is more than 100,000 votes ahead of his Republican challenger, according to the vote counts as of Friday morning. Less concerned that he would deliver a message that depresses turnout, Republicans are primarily worried this time around that Trump would ultimately be a drag on Walker in a once deep-red state that is now trending purple and where the polarizing former president might alienate the exact voters Walker needs to prevail.

“Herschel needs to do better among Kemp voters and independents in the suburbs,” said Reed. “About 5% of the voters that went to Kemp didn’t go to Herschel and he needs to get a minimum of 1 out of every 4 of them.”

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US

Ron DeSantis: Momentum — and planning — for 2024 bid takes off after resounding Florida win

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Tampa, Florida
CNN
 — 

Amid growing chatter about his political future and in the face of recent outbursts directed his way from an increasingly agitated Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rarely engaged in the speculation or mudslinging. He insisted a statement victory in his bid for a second term needed to precede any discussion of 2024.

On Tuesday night, that statement came in the form of a 19-point landslide win over Democrat Charlie Crist – the most lopsided victory by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in Florida history and a gap that dwarfed Trump’s own Sunshine State win in 2020. Within minutes of the polls closing, DeSantis’ Tampa election night party burst into euphoria as the totality and breadth of his resounding performance began to crystalize. DeSantis had turned once-solidly blue counties red, won over a majority of Latino voters and carried on his coattails Republican candidates up and down the ballot and in every corner of the state.

“We not only won election, we have rewritten the political map,” DeSantis declared to his supporters before confetti rained down on him and his family. Some in the crowd urged him to consider a White House bid by chanting, “Two more years!”

The outcome in Florida was a bright spot for Republicans, who otherwise waited for a red wave that never arrived and watched Trump-backed candidates flounder in key battlegrounds. And the reaction within the GOP has only further fueled momentum for DeSantis to run for president and take on Trump head-on next year.

“DeFuture,” read Wednesday’s front page of the New York Post, owned by conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Republicans are particularly encouraged by the result in Latino-majority Miami-Dade County, where DeSantis won 55 percent of the vote, because of what it might suggest about the governor’s ability to engage with and message to Latino communities around the country. A GOP gubernatorial candidate hadn’t won the county in two decades. A CNN exit poll showed DeSantis with an 18-point lead over Crist among Florida Latino voters, a reversal from his first campaign for governor four years ago.

Within Florida, DeSantis allies are already huddling about what comes next. Even before Election Day, there was a strong sense among those in his orbit that DeSantis would likely launch a presidential campaign regardless of whether Trump did the same. Multiple sources told CNN that DeSantis in recent months has privately suggested to donors that Trump’s divisiveness is a hindrance to enacting conservative priorities, a marked shift in how the governor has discussed his former ally.

After Tuesday, more Republicans have gone public in suggesting that the former president’s influence is dragging down the GOP. One source close to DeSantis’ political operation told CNN that he expected the governor to make a decision “soon after inauguration” in January, though he may not publicize it.

DeSantis, the source added, “must take action” and capitalize on Trump’s midterms setback.

“There’s no way to deny Donald Trump got fired Tuesday night,” Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican who has been critical of Trump, told “CNN This Morning” on Thursday. “The search committee has brought a few names to the top of the list and Ron DeSantis is one of them. I think Ron DeSantis is being rewarded for a new thought process with Republicans and that solid leadership.”

Still, the timing of a 2024 campaign launch, if it happens, remains up in the air. When reports first emerged that Trump intended to kickstart his presidential campaign in mid-November, those in DeSantis’ circle braced for the possibility of a quick turnaround from the midterm to a presidential primary showdown. Now, several consultants in Florida say DeSantis likely won’t formally jump into the presidential field until after state lawmakers meet for their annual legislative session. That would put DeSantis on a timeline of a May or June announcement.

“Build anticipation,” one longtime Republican fundraiser with knowledge of DeSantis’ operation said. “I think DeSantis controls the time frame. As much as everyone anticipates things and you want to move quickly, he calls the shots now.”

Even those with access to DeSantis caution that he has not come to a final decision about his future and they say he has maintained a tight circle as he weighs his options. The governor’s brain trust is notoriously small. It consists of himself and his wife, Casey. But sources said the DeSantises also are hyper aware that he has a window to make a 2024 move, and though it widened after Tuesday, it might not stay open forever.

“You have a moment,” one GOP pollster told CNN before Election Day. “Something could come up in a second term that knocks him down.”

The intrigue surrounding a potential Trump-DeSantis showdown reached the White House on Wednesday. Asked which of the two Republican rivals would be the tougher 2024 competitor, President Joe Biden remarked, “It’d be fun watching them take on each other.”

Multiple sources told CNN that DeSantis will orchestrate a legislative session full of conservative priorities that he can carry into a GOP presidential primary. Republicans won a super majority in both chambers of the Florida legislature Tuesday, allowing DeSantis to make good on promises to further restrict abortion and make it easier to carry a firearm in public.

The legislative session will be “as red meat as you can possibly imagine,” a GOP consultant said. “Whatever he proposes, they will pass it, and it will become law.”

The Republican fundraiser said that “anything ‘woke’ they can find to kill within their path, they’re going to do that” and predicted that financial institutions, in particular, would be a DeSantis target this spring.

In the meantime, DeSantis will continue to build out a political operation that has already proved it can raise money at an impressive clip. His reelection effort brought in more $200 million between his two political committees, according to state campaign finance reports, pulling money in from deep-pocketed donors and grassroots Republicans alike to shatter national fundraising records for a gubernatorial campaign. As of November 3, those committees had $66 million in unspent cash. CNN previously reported that DeSantis’ political team has explored how to transfer the unused money into a federal committee that could support a presidential campaign. That remains the plan, sources confirmed.

He is also expected to continue political travel outside the state to raise money and grow his brand. After avoiding public events outside Florida for most of his first term, DeSantis in August took the calculated gamble to hold rallies in support of Republican candidates in some of the country’s most contested races for governor and US Senate. He continued to travel up until 10 days before the election.

However, DeSantis stuck largely to midterm battlegrounds and avoided early nominating states where appearances can set off presidential buzz. Stephen Stepanek, the chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, said DeSantis’ political operation turned down multiple requests to address voters there and the state GOP has had “virtually no contact with the governor.” Despite the hype around DeSantis, Stepanek predicted it will be difficult for the Florida governor to overcome Trump in the nation’s first primary in New Hampshire. Trump’s victory in the 2016 New Hampshire primary served as the launching point to him winning the GOP nomination.

“People not only still have their 2020 signs out, but they have 2024 signs,” Stepanek said. “It’s still Trump country here in New Hampshire.”

Despite the tailwinds from Tuesday, DeSantis nevertheless faces an uphill climb to win over GOP primary voters whose loyalty to Trump has not wavered.

At home, Republicans are divided but seem to favor DeSantis. While 33% of Florida voters want to see Trump run again in 2024, 45% said DeSantis should take the plunge, according to the preliminary results of the Florida exit poll conducted for CNN and other news networks by Edison Research.

JC Martin, the chairman of the Polk County Republican Party, said it would be a waste for DeSantis to go up against Trump because he “still has plenty of work to do in Florida and he’s a shoo-in for 2028.”

“I’m not looking for an all-out party war in this next primary,” Martin said.

But Shawn Foster, a Republican state committeeman for Pasco County, said the GOP “needs a new face” and he hopes it is DeSantis.

“I think the party needs it, and I think independents would look more for that,” Foster said.

Nationally, DeSantis must avoid the perception that he is peaking too soon, a pitfall for countless GOP stars who came before him.

“When people bring up DeSantis today, I bring up Scott Walker,” Bob Vander Plaats, an influential conservative leader in the early nominating state of Iowa, told CNN earlier this year, drawing comparisons to the former Wisconsin governor who was an early favorite in 2016 before his campaign stalled.

Like Walker, DeSantis’ agenda has won over conservative editorial boards and Beltway think tanks. He relishes confrontations with reporters, flaunting a brash style similar to the one that endeared New Jersey’s Chris Christie to many GOP voters. He has built a fundraising machine that rivals Florida’s Jeb Bush.

Those past governors all acted on presidential ambitions; Trump crushed their dreams.

“If in fact you go into a presidential primary with Donald Trump and think you’re going to kick his ass, you got another thing coming,” one Republican consultant in Florida told CNN.

Trump publicly lashed out at DeSantis in the final days of the midterm cycle while privately stewing over the perceived disloyalty from a former political disciple. He nicknamed DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious” at an event Saturday in Pennsylvania and held a rally in Miami two days before the election without inviting the home-state governor.

DeSantis declined to engage and instead held competing rallies on Florida’s opposite coast.

In an interview before Election Day, Trump warned against a challenge from DeSantis.

“I don’t know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I think he would be making a mistake. I think the base would not like it – I don’t think it would be good for the party…I would tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering.”

Trump later downplayed Tuesday’s election results, noting he received “more votes” than DeSantis in Florida in 2020. Presidential races usually have much higher turnout than midterms and Trump’s margin of victory over Biden was about 3 points.

It will only grow more difficult for DeSantis to avoid talk of Trump and 2024 in the weeks ahead, though he may still try. On Wednesday morning, DeSantis, his voice hoarse from a demanding closing campaign schedule and election night celebrations, held a news conference to brief Floridians on Tropical Storm Nicole.

DeSantis didn’t mention the election results. And he left without taking questions.

This story has been updated with additional reaction.

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World

Russian troops slam generals over ‘incomprehensible battle’ that reportedly killed 300 in Donetsk

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CNN
 — 

Russian troops have denounced an “incomprehensible battle” in Donetsk after apparently sustaining heavy losses during a week of intense fighting in the key eastern region of Ukraine.

Moscow has been trying to break through Kyiv’s defenses around the town of Pavlivka for at least the past seven days, but it seems to have made little progress with as many as 300 men killed in action, according to an open letter published on a prominent Russian military blog on Monday.

The men of the 155th Brigade of the Russian Pacific Fleet Marines launched stinging criticism against a senior Russian official in a rare display of defiance, accusing authorities of “hiding” the number of casualties “for fear of being held accountable.”

The letter, purportedly sent from the front lines to a regional Russian governor, came amid Moscow’s shaky offensive in a region President Vladimir Putin claimed to have illegally annexed just over a month ago.

“Once again we were thrown into an incomprehensible battle by General Muradov and his brother-in-law, his countryman Akhmedov, so that Muradov could earn bonuses to make him look good in the eyes of Gerasimov (Russia’s Chief of the General Staff),” the men said in the memo, sent to the governor of Primorsky Krai.

“As a result of the ‘carefully’ planned offensive by the ‘great commanders’ we lost about 300 men, dead and wounded, with some MIA over the past four days.

“We lost 50% of our equipment. That’s our brigade alone. The district command together with Akhmedov are hiding these facts and skewing the official casualty statistics for fear of being held accountable.”

They implored Governor Oleg Kozhemyako: “For how long will such mediocrities as Muradov and Akhmedov be allowed to continue to plan the military actions just to keep up appearances and gain awards at the cost of so many people’s lives?”

Russian military commentators have also criticized the army’s approach in Donetsk.

“The situation in Pavlivka has been discussed at the highest level for several days, and the blood keeps spilling,” Aleksandr Sladkov, a Russian military journalist working for All-Russian State Television and Radio, said on Telegram.

“Troops say that there is a dilemma now: exhausted units cannot be withdrawn without fresh ones being brought in. There are no fresh units and no possibility of withdrawal and replacement due the constant firing,” Russian military journalist Alexey Sukonkin, also posted on Telegram.

“Why did we retreat from Pavlivka and have to recapture it now?” Aleksander Khodakovsky, a Russian-backed commander from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, said in criticism of Moscow’s tactical approach to the region.

Khodakovsky said Russian troops had been using basements as defensive positions, which meant they had not seen a flanking movement by the Ukrainians.

“That’s why quite a few Marines, including company commanders, were taken prisoner then. Not because they were weak in spirit, but because they were held hostage by their organization of defenses,” Khodakovsky said, adding that Ukrainian reconnaissance troops had used high-rise buildings in nearby Vuhledar and cameras fixed to the top of mine shafts to guide artillery strikes.

“The defenders of Pavlivka will again be taken hostage. Supplies and rotations will be difficult, it will be impossible to move through Pavlivka,” he said.

CNN cannot verify how many soldiers signed the letter nor their ranks, but Governor Kozhemyako confirmed he had received a letter from the unit.

“We contacted our Marine commanders on the front lines. These are guys who have been in combat since the beginning of the operation,” the governor said on Telegram.

Kozhemyako added the combat commander had emphasized that the deaths of the (Primorsky) troops were considerably exaggerated.

“I also know at first hand that our fighters showed at Pavlivka, as well as during the whole special military operation, true heroism and unprecedented courage. We inflicted serious damage on the enemy.”

Kozhemyako said the complaint made by the soldiers had been sent to the military prosecutor’s office.

Russia’s defense ministry issued a rare public response to criticism of the military operation in Donetsk, denying that its forces suffered “high, pointless losses in people and equipment.”

Russia’s losses in the area of Vuhledar and Pavlivka in the Donetsk region “do not exceed 1% of the combat strength and 7% of the wounded, a significant part of whom have already returned to duty,” the ministry claimed Monday, Russian state media agency TASS reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fierce battle for Donetsk “remains the epicenter of the biggest madness of the occupiers” and refuted Kozhemyako’s claims that Moscow’s losses were “not that big.”

“They are dying in hundreds every day,” Zelensky added. “The ground in front of the Ukrainian positions is literally littered with the bodies of the occupiers.”

Noting that the governor was some 9,000 kilometers (around 5,500 miles) from the frontlines, Zelensky said: “The governor probably can see better from there how many military men and in what way are being sent for slaughter from his region. Or he was simply ordered to lie.”

Social media and drone videos in the past few days show numerous Russian tanks and other armored vehicles being struck around Pavlivka, which is about 50 kilometers southwest of Donetsk and has been on the front lines for several months.

The Ukrainian military released footage showing two Russian T-72B tanks and three BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles struck by Ukrainian artillery and anti-tank systems, with senior officials referencing repelled attacks of intense shelling in the area.

“The enemy is losing the opportunity to implement their plans,” Oleksii Hromov, deputy head of Ukraine’s Operations Directorate of the General Staff, said Thursday.

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