The Full Belmonte, 3/6/2024
Nikki Haley to Exit Republican Presidential Race
“Nikki Haley will suspend her presidential campaign Wednesday morning and won't immediately endorse Donald Trump.”
Nikki Haley, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
Donald Trump and Joe Biden pick up victories from coast to coast
Donald Trump stands before supporters at a Super Tuesday watch party at Mar-a Lago on March 5, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida.
Greg Lovett, The Palm Beach Post / USA TODAY Network
“Voters across the country made their voices heard on Super Tuesday, when Americans in 15 states and one U.S. territory cast votes in presidential primaries, congressional contests and a tight gubernatorial race in North Carolina.
Donald Trump's near-sweep of GOP contests in 15 states and one territory − with the exception of Vermont − put him within striking distance of enough Republican National Convention delegates to clinch the nomination, whether or not former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley continues to run against him.
•President Joe Biden fended off his Democratic challengers and built momentum as he seeks a second term in office. The president only faced one loss to entrepreneur Jason Palmer in American Samoa.
•Haley's presidential campaign didn't address the former South Carolina governor's future in the GOP race in a statement released Tuesday night. However, Haley continued to expose the former president's weaknesses with moderate voters and in swing states.
•Are we headed for a 2020 rematch? Trump v. Biden might sound familiar enough, but a 2024 rematch between these two candidates is not simply a re-run of the original version four years ago. Changes in the candidates and the world are defining a different political landscape and creating new challenges, especially for Biden.” [USA Today]
Screenshot: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema via X
“Sen. Kyrsten Sinema will not run for re-election, setting up a race between Republican Kari Lake and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego that could determine control of the Senate.” [Axios]
“TUESDAY’S DOWN-BALLOT RACES were less definitive than the presidential primary contests.
In Texas, Rep. Colin Allred (D) won the Democratic primary, setting him up for a one-on-one matchup with incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in November. Allred beat out a crowded field of nine Democrats to take on Cruz, who is a top target for Democrats this year as they are largely on defense as they fight to hold on to the Senate (The Hill and NBC News).
California is also shaping up to be a crucial state for Democrats this cycle, as they vie to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D) seat and look to notch some crucial wins to flip the House in November. Rep. Adam Schiff (D) won the Golden State’s nonpartisan so-called ‘jungle primary,’ beating out fellow Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, as well as Republican baseball great Steve Garvey.
In California’s system, Schiff and Garvey, the top two vote-getters, will move on to the general election in November. Schiff’s allies had worked to elevate Garvey, the Republican, in hopes of an easier red-blue match-up in the general, rather than a battle between Democrats (The Hill).
Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), who voted for Trump’s impeachment,survived his primary in the 22nd District, garnering 34 percent of the votes. He’ll face off against Democrat Rudy Salas, who placed second with 30 percent.
n the battleground state of North Carolina, Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein won their parties’ respective primaries for governor. Robinson is a conservative culture warrior who's made a litany of controversial comments and has Trump’s endorsement, while Stein had the backing of the state's Democratic elites. The race is expected to be one of the closest gubernatorial contests in the country this year, with most other governor’s races not very competitive (The Hill).” [The Hill]
“A new federal indictment charged Senator Bob Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat, and his wife with obstruction of justice. He denied the accusation.” [New York Times]
D.C. reverses progressive reforms
Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Getty Images
“D.C. is reversing progressive reforms with a sweeping public safety bill that raises penalties for theft and gun crimes, Axios D.C.' Cuneyt Dil writes.
Why it matters: The D.C. Council approved the measure last night after the city hit a 25-year high in homicides.
Progressive lawmakers broke with activists who warned of a return to failed tough-on-crime policies. The bill:
Creates a new crime for organized retail theft.
Revives drug-free zones, a 1990s-era anti-loitering law.
Revises the definition of an officer chokehold, a change sought by the police union.
Gives cops permission to view body-cam footage before writing incident reports.” [Axios]
U.N.-Israel Tensions Flare
Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Middle East in New York City on Jan. 23.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“Israel accused United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday of failing to adequately respond to a new U.N. report that found evidence of sexual violence committed during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The report, released Monday, found ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe that sexual violence occurred in at least three locations on Oct. 7: the Nova music festival site and its surrounding area, Route 232 highway, and Kibbutz Reim. Although the report noted that Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack, it did not attribute the sexual violence to any specific armed group, stating that the U.N. team behind the report had not been tasked with an investigative mission and that ‘[s]uch attribution would require a fully-fledged investigative process.’ The report also detailed ‘clear and convincing information’ that now-freed hostages experienced sexual violence, including rape, while in Hamas captivity in Gaza.
In addition, the report cited information that the U.N. team received from Palestinian authorities, civil society organizations, and direct interviews about sexual violence committed against Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli security forces and settlers. However, the team did not endeavor to gather evidence about or verify these allegations ‘in order not to duplicate the ongoing work of other UN entities’ operating in the West Bank. The team did not visit Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz condemned Guterres for not immediately convening the U.N. Security Council to discuss the report’s findings and designate Hamas as a terrorist organization; however, according to U.N. bylaws, the secretary-general does not have the authority to convene the Security Council. Israel also recalled its ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, for consultations in protest of what Katz alleged was a concerted effort by Guterres to ‘forget the report and avoid making the necessary decisions.’
U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric rejected Israel’s accusations against Guterres, stating that ‘in no way, shape, or form did the secretary-general do anything to keep the report ‘quiet.’ Dujarric added that Israel’s ‘announcement accusing the secretary-general of trying to bury a report was made literally an hour, two hours, before a press conference presenting the report.’
The dispute between Israel and the U.N. secretary-general came one day after Israel accused the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) of employing 450 people who are ‘military operatives in terror groups in Gaza.’ Israel did not provide names or evidence for its claims. Around 13,000 people work for the UNRWA in Gaza; the agency is the biggest provider of aid to the region, where roughly a quarter of the population is starving.
In response, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said Israel detained several agency staff members and forced them via torture and ill treatment into giving false confessions on alleged UNRWA ties to Hamas. This is part of a ‘deliberate and concerted campaign to undermine’ UNRWA operations, he said at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, adding that ‘attacks against UNRWA seek to eliminate its role in protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees and acting as a witness to their plight.’
In January, Israel accused 12 UNRWA staffers of participating in the Oct. 7 attack. Israel said seven individuals stormed Israeli territory, with one aiding a kidnapping and another helping to steal an Israeli soldier’s body. The U.N. fired nine of the suspects on Jan. 26 and launched an internal investigation on Jan. 29. Two of the accused are dead, and one is still in the process of being identified.
Following the January accusations, more than a dozen countries, including the United States, withdrew funding for the UNRWA. Around $450 million (or roughly half of the agency’s budget for the year) was suspended. Amnesty International condemned the international community’s response, arguing that “the alleged actions of a few individuals must not be used as a pretext for cutting off life-saving assistance in what could amount to collective punishment.” [Foreign Policy]
“Maritime clashes. Chinese vessels blocked and then collided with Philippine coast guard ships off the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on Tuesday, injuring four Philippine crew members. The Philippines accused China of trying to ‘illegally impede or obstruct a routine resupply and rotation mission.’ It demanded China leave the maritime territory immediately and summoned a top Chinese diplomat to Manila, the Philippine capital, to protest Beijing’s ‘aggressive’ actions. China accused the Philippines’ ships of illegally intruding into Chinese waters.
Both China and the Philippines lay claim to the Second Thomas Shoal. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that Beijing’s territorial assertions in the shoal have no legal basis, a decision that China rejects. Since then, Beijing has repeatedly sought to demonstrate its presence around the Second Thomas Shoal as well as another contested shoal, heightening geopolitical tensions and making “global manufacturers nervous about friendshoring in the Philippines,” FP columnist Elisabeth Braw argued late last year.” [Foreign Policy]
“Black Sea drone strike. Ukrainian officials announced on Tuesday that Kyiv had sunk a Russian warship near the Kerch Strait in an overnight sea drone strike. The Sergey Kotov patrol ship, located in the Black Sea, could reportedly carry cruise missiles and a roughly 60-person crew. Regional experts said the attack demonstrates Ukraine’s continued ability to strike behind Russian lines as the war enters its third year. Last month, Kyiv said it struck two Russian vessels in separate operations off the Crimean Peninsula’s coastline. Russia did not confirm any of these maritime attacks.
Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed new efforts on Tuesday to boost the continent’s arms industry in response to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. It unveiled a plan to inject $1.63 billion into a joint defense program between 2025 and 2027 to incentivize member countries to buy from European firms and thereby shift Europe into ‘war economy mode,’ Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said. The European Union hopes the plan will help companies raise their capacity and develop new technology to become less reliant on the United States.” [Foreign Policy]
At a training ground in eastern Ukraine. Lynsey Addario for The New York Times
“Chaos in Haiti. Armed gangs tried to take control of Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Monday during a coordinated attack on interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s rule. Henry traveled to Nairobi last week to sign off on a Kenyan-led multinational police force to tackle rising violence in the Caribbean nation. Henry’s current whereabouts are unknown, but he is believed to be somewhere abroad. The caretaker leader took power in July 2021 after then-President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination and has repeatedly delayed national elections.
Ex-coup leader Guy Philippe, who was sentenced to nine years in a U.S. prison for money-laundering, announced plans to install himself as the leader of a new transitional government, a Haitian newspaper published on Tuesday. Gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier has also asserted power in recent days, leading a planned assault over the weekend that freed around 3,700 inmates at two major Haitian prisons and forced Henry to declare a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday.” [Foreign Policy]
Miami Beach is trying to break up with spring break
“After three consecutive years of spring break violence, Miami Beach officials are implementing monthlong security measures aimed at curbing the chaos, including parking restrictions for non-residents and closing sidewalk cafes on busy weekends. Read more.
Why this matters:
The city has warned visitors to expect curfews, bag searches, early beach closures, DUI checkpoints and arrests for violence, while Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that state law enforcement officers will be deployed to bolster city police. Many of the city’s restrictions aren’t new, but they were previously instituted as emergency measures — not measures put in place ahead of time.
Civil rights advocates say the restrictions are an overreaction to large Black crowds. South Beach became popular among Black tourists about two decades ago as promoters organized Urban Beach Week during Memorial Day weekend. Miami Beach’s mayor rejected the notion that the city’s actions have anything to do with race.” [AP News]
Dartmouth men’s basketball team votes to form first union in college sports
“The Dartmouth men’s basketball team voted to unionize Tuesday in an unprecedented step toward forming the first labor union for college athletes, and another blow to the NCAA’s deteriorating amateur business model. Read more.
Why this matters:
Dartmouth had told students that unionizing could get the team kicked out of the Ivy League, or even the NCAA. The school has also appealed to the National Labor Relations Board, seeking to overturn last month’s decision declaring the Dartmouth players are employees and thus entitled to unionize.
College sports has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry that richly rewards coaches and schools while the players remained unpaid amateurs. Recent court decisions have chipped away at that framework, with players now allowed to profit off their name, image and likeness.” [AP News]