Your GOP Primary Debates Two-Weeks Notice!

It's your very prepared Sunday show rundown!

With the first Republican presidential primary debate happening on August 23 — yes, of this year! — in Milwaukee, it seems like a good time to analyze what can be expected, who’s met the donor and polling thresholds to enter the debate, and those who likely won’t be there.

MAGA ‘Hero’ Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared on NBC’s “Meet The Press” to brag about his courage on January 6th. (He’s not wrong!) It’s a late (after years trying to downplay his role standing athwart Trump’s coup whispering nope) version of Rudy Giuliani’s “a noun, a verb and 9/11,” which Joe Biden mocked to destroy Rudy’s presidential dreams.

But any actual belief that Pence’s “courage” was long lasting was quickly undone by his answers to Chuck Todd.

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When asked about the appointment of David Weiss as special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, Pence tried to act like appointing a special counsel is a cover-up attempt despite 34 Republican senators asking for this very appointment on a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland last September.

The signature page is a who’s who of GOP Senate leadership and obstructionist asshats.

Todd also asked about a bit of an inconsistency in Pence’s re-telling of his brave little toaster moment in January 2021.

TODD: […] earlier this month, you told a colleague of mine here that you didn't know a lot about the efforts to secure fake electors until after the fact. But it was interesting, in your book, you brought up the fake slate of electors in a meeting with the Senate parliamentarian on January 3rd. In your book, you said this, "I asked her a direct question," referring to the Senate parliamentarian. "'Are there any alternate electors from any state?' She told me there were not. I mentioned that I had heard that some alternate electors had been sent from several of the disputed states." So, this was on January 3rd. What can you tell us about what you knew about this elector scheme on January 3rd that prompted you to ask this question?

Mike Pence, caught off-guard by someone who ACTUALLY read his book, decided to try to blame the media for his own contradiction.

PENCE: I just heard what was being talked about in the press at the time, Chuck, but I thought it was important.

Shortly after, Todd decided to ask a question that would make Pence unable to detangle himself from his former boss by showing the hollowness of his bravery.

TODD: Do you consider yourself a MAGA Republican?

PENCE: I’m — I'm incredibly proud of what we did in the Trump-Pence administration for four years, and you'd better believe it. […] With the support of MAGA Americans, we literally did make America great again —

TODD: Do you feel like you're a MAGA Republican or not?

PENCE: Look, look, I'm a Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order. I've always said that. […]

Even when given a shot to actually fight for the job he wants or double down on the one moment of bravery he actually had, Pence can’t help showing his belly to the very voters who wanted to test the tensile strength of rope on him.

How much of an empty suit politician is Mike Pence? That last line quoted from Mike Pence has been used so many times, we’re honestly shocked there isn’t a compilation.

It’s like Pence’s Lynyrd Skynyrd playing “Free Bird.”

Chris Christie: Unlikely Voice Of Reason

On ABC’s “This Week,” Jonathan Karl interviewed former New Jersey Governor and former ABC News political contributor (what a coinkydink?!) Chris Christie.

After playing a clip of Christie destroying Marco Rubio for using his own Pence-like canned lines, Christie reflected on the mistake he and the other Republican candidates made in the 2016 primaries … and now.

KARL: Looking back at all that has happened since then, do you ever wish that you had taken that swing at Donald Trump and not at Marco Rubio?

CHRISTIE: I wish that I had taken swings at both of them, Jon, looking back on it. I think we all made a mistake in 2016 — myself, Marco, Jeb Bush, John Kasich — in not going after Donald Trump. I think we all were under the illusion that somehow what was obvious to us at the moment, that there were better candidates on the stage than him, would be obvious to the public. It wasn't, and I think it should inform everybody's approach to the race this time. It certainly is informing mine.

Christie was also asked about the Republican National Committee’s insistence on another toothless pledge to be able to participate in the primary debates.

CHRISTIE: I've made that clear to the RNC as well, way back, even before I entered the race, that I thought the pledge was a bad idea, and Donald Trump is now playing that game. But that's what he does. You know this, Jon. He plays misdirection all the time. […]

Karl then reminded everyone how empty this pledge is, even for people who have more honor than Trump.

KARL: It's interesting that 2016 pledge, very similar to this one, was violated by two of the candidates in the debates. John Kasich and Jeb Bush both signed the pledge and didn't support Donald Trump. […]

Right! Because once a politician has gotten what they want or lost their chance to win, there is zero incentive to respect a non-legally binding “pledge.”

It’s the purity/abstinence pledge of politics and with similar results.

Oh, Will Hurd Is Also Here?

Former Texas Congressman Will Hurd was on CNN’s “State of The Union” making his pitch as to why he thinks Donald Trump won’t be the nominee and some sassy retort from host Jake Tapper.

HURD: […] the American people recognizes the extent of his baggage, they're getting sick and tired of it.

TAPPER: Well, do polls indicate that Republicans are, though?

Yeah, it’s evident when you see the FiveThirtyEight/ABC News poll in chart form that Will Hurd is very wrong:

That’s a lot of candidates settled in the bottom like the sludge, despite some claims of “unambiguous third place” or polling in Connor Roy numbers.

Have a week.

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