Day: July 30, 2023

Trump Has Spent $40 Million on Lawyers This Year

Buck Banks

$40 million

“Donald Trump’s political group spent more than $40 million on legal costs in the first half of 2023 to defend Trump, his advisers and others, according to people familiar with the matter, financing legal work that has drawn scrutiny from prosecutors about potential conflicts of interest between Trump and witnesses,” the Washington Post reports.

Puck Reporter Coins New Term for DeSantis Campaign: ‘DeSantasy’

Buck Banks

“It’s been a long, harrowing fortnight for Ron DeSantis, the former putative political wunderkind who I’ve been reporting for months was more of a Republican donor’s fantasy of a candidate than an actual voter’s. But after watching DeSantis shed 38 staffers, and after assessing days of leaked memos and background quotes promising a great reset, those heavily invested in the DeSantasy are now wondering if it’s time to jump ship, and to whom.”

— Tara Palmeri

U.S. Economic Growth Accelerates

Buck Banks

2.4%

“The U.S. economy grew solidly last quarter and remained well clear of a recession despite the Federal Reserve pushing interest rates higher,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Gross domestic product grew at a seasonally and inflation adjusted annual rate of 2.4% in the second quarter, picking up slightly from 2% growth in the first three months of the year.”

Life in the American Gerontocracy

Buck Banks

“Pardon the morbidity, but I really have to say what everybody is (or should be) saying about what happened with Mitch McConnell yesterday. … Imagine if that had happened to Donald Trump. Or Joe Biden. … Our politics would be upended in the blink of an eye. The margin is that thin. … But this is what living in a gerontocracy is like.”

— Charlie Sykes