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Here’s what we’re talking about:
- Why Trump’s allies think his Twitter ban actually helps him for 2024 and beyond
- Almost half of Americans in new poll say they are feeling inflation
- Here’s what a body-language expert said about Kamala Harris’ and Pete Buttigieg’s joint trip
Win McNamee/Getty Images
1. TRUMP’S TWITTER EXILE: Some Republicans say former President Donald Trump should be glad his Twitter account went the way of the dodo. For years, many hoped he would tweet less. Then Twitter yanked his prized possession in the wake of the Capitol riot. Now, even some Trump allies see a silver lining.
Here’s why even some Republicans aren’t mourning the loss of @realDonaldTrump:
“Every day was just overwhelming,” a former Trump campaign aide told my colleague: “In the long run, it’s probably good for the president, because nobody wants to hear this grievance shit that the election was stolen.”
- That doesn’t mean Trump has been silent: Trump is still fixated on the idea that the 2020 election was stolen from him despite the lack of any evidence of widespread election fraud. His political arm regularly releases statements that read just as his tweets did. But it hasn’t struck the same chord.
His critics say the forced silence won’t fool people: “I guess he can cover up his crazy some, but people don’t forget,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican who voted to impeach Trump over the Capitol insurrection. Kinzinger said it’s “better for the country” that Trump no longer had his social-media megaphone.
2. Congress voted to avoid a shutdown after all: Both the House and the Senate passed a stopgap bill to keep the federal government open through mid-February. Kinzinger was the only House Republican who crossed party lines to support the measure. The Senate passed the measure on a much more bipartisan basis, 69-28, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other additional Republicans voting in favor of it. A shutdown seemed possible after Sen. Mike Lee and other conservative lawmakers insisted on defunding the enforcement of President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates. But in the end, conservatives accepted a deal to vote on an amendment that ultimately failed to pass. More on how party leaders were able to strike a deal.
3. Early study suggests Omicron is more likely to cause reinfection than Delta: A preliminary study of coronavirus cases in South Africa found the Omicron variant was far more likely to cause reinfection than previous variants such as Beta and Delta, The Washington Post reports. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed. Juliet Pulliam, an epidemiologist in South Africa who was one of the study’s authors, told The Post that vaccines were likely to offer the best protection against severe illness and death, though the study researchers didn’t have access to vaccination data. Here’s what else we’re learning about Omicron.
- Biden orders health insurers to pay for at-home coronavirus tests: Biden said insurers must pay for at-home coronavirus testing beginning next year and the government would make free tests available for those not covered by private insurance. More on the White House’s Omicron-influenced winter COVID-19 plan.
Logan Cyrus /AFP via Getty Image
4. A body-language expert details what Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg aren’t saying: Scott Rouse, a body-language expert in Nashville, Tennessee, broke down Harris’ and Buttigieg’s stop touting Biden’s infrastructure plan in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here’s what the expert says is really going on based on the placement of Buttigieg’s feet and a somewhat awkward hug.
5. A Michigan high school drew national attention for its mental-health program before this week’s deadly shooting: Four years before an Oxford High School student was charged in a mass shooting, the high school was in the spotlight for the way it handled the release of the controversial Netflix show “13 Reasons Why.” More on the story.
6. Almost half of Americans in poll said they’re feeling inflation: A Gallup poll conducted in the first half of November found 45% of Americans said they saw financial hardship for their households because of recent price increases. For lower-income families, it’s especially tough to get by right now. The survey also didn’t find much of a difference between political parties for those who said they were facing severe financial hardships. Read the rest of the findings here.
7. Dozens of Democrats want Rep. Lauren Boebert to lose her committee assignments: Five top Democratic leaders are calling for Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, to lose her assignments after making Islamophobic comments about Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar. Boebert later apologized on Twitter to the Muslim community, but a call she had with Omar ended up only further inflaming tensions. Democrats have increasingly punished Republican lawmakers for conduct they say has no place in Congress.
8. DOJ is investigating harassment allegations against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo: A representative for Cuomo told Insider yesterday that the Justice Department in August opened a civil inquiry into Cuomo’s conduct. Cuomo has been beset by scandals including a state report that concluded he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women. He and his lawyers have strenuously denied those claims. More on Cuomo’s continuing problems.
9. Sidney Powell and other “Kraken” lawyers have to pay more than $175,000: A federal judge ordered Powell, Lin Wood, and seven other attorneys to pay thousands of dollars in attorneys fees to Michigan officials and the city of Detroit as a result of the lawyers’ attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state. The attorneys also have to attend at least 12 hours of continuing legal training on topics like election law. They could also face professional discipline. More on the ruling.
10. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema apparently wants to be in the room where it happens: Sinema’s cryptic approach often leads people to question what she stands for. But it’s the senator’s ringtone that has people looking around now. The Arizona Democrat’s phone went off before an interview with CNN in which she refused to commit to voting for Biden’s roughly $1.9 trillion social-spending plan. Her ringtone is a clip from “Hamilton” in which Thomas Jefferson and James Madison boast that Alexander Hamilton’s financial plan is DOA because “you don’t have the votes.” But Sinema’s office says there’s no dual meaning here and she has had the same ringtone for years. Now, can we get back to politics?
Today’s trivia question: Sticking with the musical, where did Lin-Manuel Miranda first publicly perform what became “Hamilton”? Email your answer and a suggested question to me at bgriffiths@insider.com.
- Yesterday’s answer: The Kentucky Republican Jim Bunning remains the only person ever elected to both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the US Senate.
That’s all for now! Have a great weekend.
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