MAGA Republicans stooped to new lows this week with their extremism, hypocrisy, chaos, and — as President Biden would call it — malarkey. In case you missed it: Donald Trump saw flashing red warning signs in his Super Tuesday performance and is uninterested in winning over Nikki Haley supporters; congressional Republicans failed to explain their support for a law threatening IVF access; Mitch McConnell endorsed Trump despite having previously railed against his actions leading up to January 6; and Trump’s hand-picked candidate for the North Carolina governor’s race said he wants to go back to a time when women couldn’t vote.

Meanwhile, Trump’s MAGA allies are threatening to block President Biden’s actions to slash junk fees; yet another Trump veepstakes contender refused to commit to certifying election results if he was vice president; and Ronna McDaniel’s time at the RNC came to a close after poor fundraising and back to back losses at the ballot box.

All Donald Trump can see after his Super Tuesday performance are red flags – and he has no interest in fixing them.

CNN: “Trump faces a fractured party, legal troubles and financial headwinds after securing GOP nomination” 

“As he emerges victorious from the Republican primary race, Trump faces considerable challenges both inside and outside the political arena. … But chief among his priorities as a candidate over the next eight months will be rallying disenchanted Republicans around his third White House bid. Trump’s team is keenly aware of how polarizing their candidate is, and that every vote will count in what is expected to be a highly competitive general election rematch.” 

“Additionally, Trump’s political operation is trailing the Biden campaign significantly in the money game, entering February with roughly $30 million in cash reserves compared to nearly $56 million in Biden’s equivalent account.

“The Democratic National Committee has similarly trounced the Republican National Committee in fundraising.”

Washington Examiner: “Trump dominates Super Tuesday but faces warning signs in battle against Biden” 

“Trump did little to help the narrative that he can appeal to independents, centrist Republicans, and Democrats unwilling to support Biden after Haley’s exit from the 2024 race.”

Washington Post: “In addition to warning signs from Haley voters and independents that they aren’t eager to back him, Trump is staring down over half a billion dollars in legal judgments coming due within weeks and trying to push back four criminal trials until after the election. … In preliminary exit polls Tuesday in Virginia and North Carolina — potentially competitive states in November’s general election — most voters who supported Haley said they are not committed to supporting the Republican nominee.” 

Trump is bizarrely uninterested in winning over the support of Nikki Haley voters, whom he has called “RINOs,” “never Trumpers,” and “communists” who are “barred from the MAGA camp.”

Trump: “Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to [Haley], from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them.”

Trump: Haley supporters are “RINOs,” “never Trumpers,” and “communists.”

Trump: “I’m not sure we need too many [Haley supporters].”

Trump: “Nikki Haley has made an unholy alliance with RINOs, Never Trumpers, Americans for No Prosperity. Did you ever hear of Americans for No Prosperity? Globalists and radical left communists trying to get liberals and Biden supporters to vote for her in the Republican primary.”

Michael Gold, New York Times: “Donald Trump reacts to Haley suspending her campaign by mocking her, criticizing her supporters for being insufficiently MAGA, and then inviting them to unite behind her.”

MAGA Republicans failed at their attempt at a tightrope act of hypocrisy, unable to explain their support for extreme legislation that would threaten access to IVF nationwide.

Daily Beast: “Republicans Struggle to Explain Away Their Hypocrisy on IVF”

“If you ask these Republicans how they square their newfound public support for IVF with their support for a measure that would undermine IVF, you’ll get some tortured—though, at times, candid—answers.

“‘With difficulty,’ is how Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) responded last week.”

“If these GOP lawmakers are relying on medical science to guide their opinions, it’s clear many haven’t done much research.”

Associated Press: “Republicans block Senate bill to protect nationwide access to IVF treatments”

Business Insider: “This Congress, 125 House Republicans — including Speaker Mike Johnson — have cosponsored the ‘Life at Conception Act,’ which states that the term ‘human being’ includes ‘all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.’”

Mitch McConnell endorsed Trump, a man he has called “practically and morally responsible” for January 6 as well as “diminished,” “nuts,” and someone who “doesn’t know a lot about the issues” that matter to the American people.

C-SPAN: “Minority Leader McConnell Says President Trump ‘Practically and Morally Responsible’ for January 6 Attack on Capitol”

Politico: “McConnell chides Trump for saying immigration is ‘poisoning the blood’ of US”

NBC News: “McConnell says Trump fueled ‘candidate quality’ problems in the midterms”

USA Today: “A rising number of Republicans, including Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, are denouncing Donald Trump for hosting a dinner with white nationalist and antisemitic guests – but few if any expect the former president to apologize. ‘There is no room in the Republican Party for antisemitism or white supremacy,’ said McConnell, R-Ky., a frequent antagonist of Trump. ‘And anyone meeting with people advocating that point of view, in my judgment, is highly unlikely to ever be elected president of the United States.’”

Andrew Desiderio, Punchbowl News: “[McConnell] said this of the former president’s NATO comments over the weekend: ‘I totally disagree with him. And it was extremely unhelpful.’”

North Carolina GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson – who Trump thinks is “Martin Luther King on steroids” – is running on an extreme record of supporting cruel abortion bans, threatening our democracy, and talking about returning to a time when women couldn’t vote.

Trump on Robinson: “This is Martin Luther King on steroids.”

HuffPost: “Mark Robinson’s Bizarre Ramble: ‘I Absolutely Want To Go Back To The America Where Women Couldn’t Vote’”

“On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson won the GOP primary to become his party’s nominee for North Carolina governor, presumably with the help of female voters.

“But just four years ago, Robinson invoked a bizarre hypothetical in which he said he’d ‘absolutely’ like to return to the days when the 19th Amendment didn’t exist ― when women didn’t have the right to vote.

“‘I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn’t vote,’ Robinson said in a newly resurfaced video of his remarks at a March 2020 event hosted by the Republican Women of Pitt County.”

NOTUS: “Mark Robinson, currently the state’s lieutenant governor, has referred to feminists as ‘Fem-Nazis,’ claimed there is a ‘transgender movement’ that is ‘demonic’ and a ‘mass delusion,’ called LGBTQ people ‘filth,’ continues to deny  the 2020 election results, and has supported a no-exceptions abortion ban. Robinson has since denied ever supporting an abortion ban and avoids talking about the subject altogether, stating he prefers to promote a ‘culture of life.’”

Trump’s allies put their big money backers ahead of the American people as they rallied against cutting junk fees, despite the legislation being popular across party lines. 

CNN: “Credit card late fees capped at $8 as part of Biden crackdown on junk fees”

Bloomberg: “Trump Ally Tim Scott Seeks to Block Biden Credit Card Late Fee Cap”

“A key Donald Trump ally is seeking a Senate vote to block a new Biden administration rule capping credit card late fees, targeting a high-profile initiative in the president’s campaign to crack down on unpopular ‘junk fees.’ Senator Tim Scott, a potential Trump vice presidential pick and the top Republican on the Banking Committee, said Tuesday he would push the Senate to take action to block the new regulation, to be announced Tuesday at a meeting of the White House Competition Council.”

“House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina also opposed the new rule in a statement … ‘The Biden Administration continues to weaponize financial regulators to play politics in an election year,’ McHenry said.”

Byron Donalds became the latest Trump veepstakes contender to embrace election denialism, refusing to commit to certifying election results.

Axios: “Byron Donalds wouldn’t commit to certifying election results as Trump’s VP”

“Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) suggested Thursday at an Axios event that he would be willing to decline to certify the 2028 election results if he was vice president.”

“Donalds also did not clarify if he would have certified the 2020 election results, during an interview with Axios’ Sophia Cai.”

“The big picture: Trump and his allies will want a VP pick that is more willing to comply with the former president’s wishes, which former Vice President Pence rejected by certifying the 2020 results.”

“Donalds said ‘I already know’ states did not follow election laws in 2020.”

Ronna McDaniel’s tenure as RNC chair is coming to a close, as Trump prepares an extreme MAGA takeover of the RNC, which has posted disastrous fundraising numbers.

Associated Press: “RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel will leave her post on March 8 as Trump moves to install new loyalists”

Associated Press: “Donald Trump wants a leadership change at the Republican National Committee in an attempt to install a new slate of loyalists — including his daughter-in-law — atop the GOP’s political machine even before the former president formally secures the party’s next presidential nomination.”

Fox News: “Democrats hold vast fundraising advantage as Republicans face cash problems, disarray in crucial swing states”

“According to year-end reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) this week, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) holds nearly three times the cash on hand reported by the Republican National Committee (RNC), and brought in nearly three times as much fundraising in the final month of 2023.

“The RNC reported its worst fundraising year since 2013 raising just $87.2 million in 2023, and starting 2024 with just over $8 million in cash on hand. If adjusted for inflation, the RNC’s fundraising was last this low in 1993 — before the 2002 McCain Feingold Act restricted political committee fundraising from corporations and capped donations from individuals.”

Washington Post: “The Republican National Committee continued to show signs of financial strain when compared with the war chest of the Democratic National Committee, reporting just $8.7 million in cash on hand to the DNC’s $24 million.”

Axios: “The Democratic National Committee also maintained its cash advantage over its Republican counterpart. The DNC raised $17.4 million in January and ended the month with $24 million in cash on hand. The Republican National Committee raised $11.6 million and closed the month with $8.7 million in cash on hand.”
Axios: “The RNC reported this week that it had its worst fundraising year in almost a decade last year — entering 2024 with just $8 million in cash. Trump’s comments are a sign of him flexing muscle as the de facto head of the GOP, even though the soonest he could clinch the nomination is March.”