A decent man is running against a convicted felon

Abbreviated Pundit Roundup is a long-running series published every morning that collects essential political discussion and analysis around the internet.

POLITICO:

Biden in Normandy delivers a wake-up call address to Americans

Thousands of miles away, the president’s audience was very much back home.

“Democracy begins with each of us, begins when one person decides there’s something more important than themselves … when they decide the mission matters more than their life, when they decide that their country matters more than they do,” Biden said, just steps from the site’s granite memorial. “That’s what the rangers at Pointe-du-Hoc did. That’s what they decided.” Delivered thousands of miles away from Washington, Biden’s remarks were, to a large degree, geared not just towards a broad American audience but toward specific segments of it — those Republicans enamored by former President Donald Trump’s isolationism, skittish Democrats and even traditional independents for whom his outward patriotism and traditional world view might strike a chord.

He did not mention Trump by name. Nor did he reference how the former president had skipped a wreath laying at the Aisne-Marne World War I cemetery outside Paris on his 2018 trip to France. But the thrust of the speech was meant as a contrast with the man who he is running against once more.

New York Times:

U.S. Hiring Rises Strongly

The pace of hiring was unexpectedly robust in May, showing a gain of 272,000 jobs, but it wasn’t all good news: The unemployment rate ticked up, to 4 percent.

The unexpectedly strong hiring shows that employers remain undaunted, despite pressure from high interest rates and slowing consumer spending. But there were some mixed signals in the report, with results from a survey of households painting a weaker picture than a survey of businesses.

Navigator Research:

Nearly Two in Three Americans Think Trump Committed a Crime Following His Felony Convictions in New York

By a 27-point margin, 59 percent of Americans believe Trump is guilty of these crimes compared to just 32 percent who believe he is innocent. Groups with significantly higher shares believing Trump is guilty include Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (net +64; 80 percent guilty – 16 percent innocent), Black Americans (net +61; 76 percent guilty – 15 percent innocent), and college-educated women (net +48; 70 percent guilty – 22 percent innocent).

  • Independents believe Trump is guilty of these crimes by a 35-point margin (58 percent guilty – 23 percent innocent) and those who are unfavorable to both and Trump and President Biden think Trump is guilty of these crimes by an even larger 61-point margin (76 percent guilty – 15 percent innocent).

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David Folkenflik/NPR:

‘Washington Post’ CEO tried to kill a story about himself. It wasn’t the first time

The Washington Post has written twice this spring about allegations that have cropped up in British court proceedings involving its new publisher and CEO, Will Lewis. In both instances Lewis pushed his newsroom chief hard not to run the story.

According to several people at the newspaper, then-Executive Editor Sally Buzbee emerged rattled from both discussions in March and in May. Lewis’ efforts were first reported by the New York Times. The second Post article in May, which was thorough and detailed, ran just days before Lewis announced his priorities for the paper, which is financially troubled.

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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch:

Will Lewis must go. The Washington Post publisher’s actions cast doubt on his newsroom’s credibility.

Washington Post publisher Will Lewis pressured former top editor Sally Buzbee not to run a story about his involvement in a decade-old British phone-hacking scandal, and forced her out after she defied him.

Doing what he did violates a core doctrine of American journalism: that editors and publishers are not supposed to interfere with their own newsrooms’ coverage of issues in which they have a personal conflict of interest.

It’s really about as basic as it gets.

And having crossed that line, Lewis should hand in his resignation. Or Post owner Jeff Bezos should fire him.

Lewis reportedly said Buzbee’s decision to run the story over his objections was a “lapse in judgement.” But the lapse was all his.

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Aaron Rupar/Public Notice:

David Roberts on why this campaign is driving him crazy

“We’re in a situation where we have this lying, abusive, obviously nutbag figure, and we can’t acknowledge to ourselves what’s happening

If you’re anything like me, trying to make sense of the 2024 presidential election can make you feel like you’re losing it. How is it possible that a twice-impeached insurrectionist and convicted felon who failed his biggest test in office is running neck and neck with the guy who cleaned up his wreckage and skillfully navigated the country out of the pandemic?

A particularly memorable expression of this sense of unreality came courtesy of David Roberts, my former colleague at Vox, who in a recent twitter thread compared the election to an “elaborate practical joke” in which pundits and journalists feel compelled not only to take seriously the proposition that “a pile of shit laced with broken glass” is preferable to a normal president, but also grapple with the reality that the dung pile might ultimately be the choice of voters.

The Guardian:

Colorado Republican party chair told to ‘step down’ after ‘God Hates Pride’ email

Dave Williams faces swift backlash from own party after email sent Monday and tweet calling for flags to be burned

The chair of Colorado’s Republican party is facing calls to resign from members of his own group after the state organization sent out an email criticizing Pride month – and later calling for rainbow-colored Pride flags to be burned.

Dave Williams, who is also a representative in Colorado’s legislature, has faced swift backlash from his fellow Republicans in the wake of the controversial email sent

Much of the criticism aimed at Williams by other Republicans focused on the potential for his remarks to hurt the chances for members of their party to be elected.

Cliff Schecter highlights Reps. Moskowitz and Raskin: