Prosecution Primary?

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Ron DeSantis’ first experience with the Iowa State Fair has been anything but “midwestern nice.”

For the second day in a row, the Florida governor was the only Republican at the event, which is hallowed political territory for any presidential candidate, interrupted by protestors imploring him to return to the Sunshine State.

DeSantis' latest clash with the small group of demonstrators — who say they were there to protest his policies on a range of issues including abortion and education — was on Saturday morning during his one-on-one interview with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The protesters used cowbell and whistles to disrupt DeSantis, who has a close relationship with Reynolds and said he would consider her as a running mate. Two of DeSantis' rivals for the GOP nomination, Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, were also interviewed by Reynolds, ahead of DeSantis, and neither faced any vocal opposition from the audience.

“Hey, you know what, you know what? We’re in Iowa,” Reynolds told the protesters. “And in Iowa, we’re Iowa nice. So, let’s give everybody the opportunity to hear our candidates.”

After the incident, DeSantis called the protesters "radical leftists." "Well, look, I think when the left comes out that’s a sign of strength because like, they know that we will beat [Joe] Biden and they know we will be able to turn this country around and they do not want that," he told reporters.

It was the second day in a row DeSantis was heckled by the apparent left-leaning group. On Friday, they greeted DeSantis at the fair using a megaphone through which they chanted “Ron DeFacist” and “pudding fingers,” in reference to a Daily Beast story that reported DeSantis ate a cup of pudding with his bare hands.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were the only GOP presidential candidates besides Trump to weigh in on the former president's latest indictment.

"Regardless of the specifics of the Georgia indictment, I expect voters will make the ultimate decision on the future of our democracy," Hutchinson said in a statement, adding that Trump’s actions had “disqualified him from ever serving as President again.”

Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor, said he would make additional remarks once he has reviewed the indictment in full.

Meanwhile, Ramaswamy reacted to the indictment on News Nation just moments after the news broke.

"The reality is these are politicized persecutions through prosecution," he said.

Ramaswamy noted he had not yet read the document, but added that people should consider this indictment in the context of the preceding three and see that America is becoming a "banana republic."

Prosecuting a criminal for committing crimes does not a banana republic make.

You'd think a government would become unstable if it's elected officials were above the law and didn't face consequences for their illegal actions. Wtf.

On that note, if anyone in the current administration is guilty of crimes, charge them, too. Same same with our scandal plagued Prime Minister. etc. The country carries on Because officials are held accountable for their misdeeds.

Mike Pence, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, addressed former President Donald Trump’s fourth indictment for the first time on Wednesday.

Speaking at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Legislative Summit in Indianapolis, Pence condemned Trump’s conduct amid his refusal to concede the 2020 election in the last days of his administration.

“I’ve said many times I had hoped that judgment about those days would be left to the American people and to history. Such is not the case,” he said.

Pence said he believes “it’s important that we hew to the first principles and that we tell the truth to the American people,” which is: “No one is above the law.”

The former vice president then stressed that although Trump “and all those implicated are entitled to the presumption of innocence that every American enjoy,” there was no election fraud in the battleground state and that he did not have the authority to overturn the results.

“Despite what the former president and his allies have said for now more than two and a half years, and continue to insist to this very hour, the Georgia election was not stolen and I had no right to overturn the election on January 6,” he said. “It’s a hard truth.”

Pence also commended Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, for standing by his refusal to go along with Trump’s false claims of election fraud in Georgia. In a tweet Tuesday, Kemp wrote: “The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen.”

Allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis outlined a strategy for next week's GOP presidential primary debate in a memo encouraging him to defend former President Donald Trump from attacks by rival Chris Christie and call upstart contender Vivek Ramaswamy "fake."

The two-page memo, written by leaders of the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down, was published to the website of Axiom Strategies and dated Aug. 15. Axiom founder Jeff Roe also leads the pro-DeSantis' super PAC.

“Defend Trump when Chris Christie attacks him,” the memo reads, adding a potential line for DeSantis to use on stage in Milwaukee against the former governor of New Jersey: “Trump isn’t here so let’s just leave him alone. He’s too weak to defend himself here. We’re all running against him. I don’t think we want to join forces with someone on this stage who’s auditioning for a show on MSNBC.”

On Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old businessman whose long-shot campaign has seen upward movement in the polls in recent weeks, the DeSantis allies write that the Florida governor needs to “take a sledge-hammer” to him, calling him “Fake Vivek” or “Vivek the Fake.”

The New York Times was first to report on the memo. Never Back Down did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Twitter, Ramaswamy called the attack plan "boring" and hit "Robot Ron" for "taking lame, pre-programmed attack lines against me for next week’s debate." His spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin added in a statement, "If DeSantis struggles to use a spoon, I can’t imagine he is particularly agile with a sledgehammer."

Meanwhile, the pro-Christie Tell It Like It Is PAC responded with its own one-sentence debate strategy memo, which read: "Be yourself, and Tell It Like It Is."

The document offers an insider's perspective into what DeSantis' boosters believe he needs to accomplish onstage next Wednesday, listing his defense of Trump and attack on Ramaswamy among “four basic must dos.”

The memo lists two additional overarching goals for DeSantis: Blast President Joe Biden and the media at least three to five times and give a positive vision for the country at least two or three times.

It also lists two approaches for when candidates onstage invoke DeSantis' name and he is given a chance to respond, referring to the governor as "GRD."

"1. When there is a core attack on GRD’s central candidacy (calling GRD a liberal, hitting veteran record, hitting conservative record), GRD should take the time, correct the record, and highlight the positive/dismiss the attacker if it’s a tier one candidate," it read. "GRD can also pivot to hitting Joe Biden when possible."

"2. If it’s not a core attack but GRD’s name is invoked, GRD should take the response opportunity to pivot and take up time," the memo continued. "GRD should ignore the weak attack, not even address it, and instead pivot to message and vision and name check Iowa, New Hampshire, etc. voters directly. 'Iowans/Americans, I’m talking directly to you now….'"

While the memo calls on DeSantis to defend Trump from Christie's attacks, it also urges DeSantis to convey himself as the leader best positioned to carry "the torch" of Trumpism forward.

"'He was a breath of fresh air and the first president to tell the elite where to shove it," the memo reads, suggesting a potential line for the governor. "'But he was attacked all the time, provoked attacks all the time, and it was non-stop. The drama affected families. Trump’s drama pitted brother against brother, friend against friend. He’s got so many distractions that it’s almost impossible for him to focus on moving the country forward. This election is too important."

Interestingly, the memo also implores DeSantis to make mention of a "personal anecdote" or "story about his family, children" and/or his wife, Casey DeSantis, while "showing emotion."

Former President Donald Trump has made up his mind not to attend the first GOP debate next week, according to two sources familiar with his thinking, and is seeking a sit-down interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson as a means of counter-programming the event.

A source close to Carlson says the host is currently en route to Europe, where he has interviews and events lined up all next week. The source said Carlson is “always in discussions” with all the candidates, and nothing is firmly set with Trump and Carlson.

Asked about the former president’s plans for next week, a Trump campaign spokesman told NBC News, “We haven’t confirmed anything on our end.”

Carlson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The New York Times first reported on Trump's plans to skip the debate for an interview with Carlson.

The former president indicated during a Newsmax interview this month that he wouldn't sign the required loyalty pledge committing to support the eventual GOP nominee, which is required to secure a spot on the debate stage.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, dodged repeatedly when he was asked Sunday for his position on former President Donald Trump's four indictments in an interview on "Meet the Press."

Asked by NBC News' Chuck Todd to say whether he thinks Trump tried to overturn the election results in 2020, Burgum said: "I do trust the voters. ... They want presidential elections to be about the future, a vision for the future.

"We have to offer that. If I’m just one more pundit, you know, criticizing everything that’s gone on in 2020, no one’s going to see that there’s leadership there,” he said.

Todd pressed Burgum to weigh in on the charges against his 2024 rival: "It's been interesting to me in a couple of interviews, plus the one we've just had now, you've been quite comfortable bringing up Hunter Biden on Joe Biden. But it's remarkable to me how uncomfortable you — and you're not alone here — you are bringing up the legal problems and the charges against Donald Trump. And I get it — it's fear of alienating a majority of where the party is.

"But it's sort of odd, wouldn't somebody being charged with 91 criminal counts be somebody that you'd want to see drop out of the race? I mean, should they even be running for office?" he asked.

Burgum reiterated that "voters get to decide who runs for office in America," adding that "if we're going to live in a democracy at some point, we've got to trust the voters."

Todd responded: "I hear you on that, but it is interesting that you don't want to share your opinion on this. I think some voters will be frustrated by that."

Burgum appeared to signal that he would be more willing to talk about Trump's indictments if he had more name recognition: "Well, Chuck, again, everybody's at a different place. If I had 100%, national name recognition, if I'd run for president before, if I was living in a major media market and everybody in the country knew me, that'd be a different spot."

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said Sunday that he thinks Donald Trump should drop out of the 2024 presidential election as the former president faces criminal charges from four indictments.

“I think so,” Cassidy said, when asked if he thinks Trump should drop out of the race in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.

“But, obviously, that’s up to him. I mean, you’re just asking me my opinion,” he added. “But he will lose to Joe Biden, if you look at the current polls. I’m a Republican. I think any Republican on that stage in Milwaukee will do a better job than Joe Biden.”

Asked whether he would vote for Biden if Trump ultimately wins the Republican nomination, Cassidy said: “I’m going to vote for a Republican.”

“But my threshold issue for any person who wants to be the leader of our country is, will you take care of the issues before us?” he added. “Both Biden and Trump both have the same policy in Social Security, for example, which is to do nothing.”

Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cassidy's remarks.

Cassidy went on to say that out of the numerous criminal charges Trump faces, he thinks the case involving the former president’s mishandling of classified documents is “almost a slam dunk.”

“They have a tape recording of him speaking of it. If that is proven, then we may have a candidate for president who has been convicted of a crime,” he said, in reference to a recording obtained by special counsel Jack Smith's office of Trump discussing a classified planning document that he had taken from his time at the White House.

“I think Joe Biden needs to be replaced, but I don’t think Americans will vote for someone who’s been convicted,” he added. “So, I’m just very sorry about how all this is playing out.”

Cassidy, an outspoken Trump critic, was one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial on a charge of incitement of insurrection after the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

Eight presidential hopefuls officially qualified for Wednesday's GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee, the Republican National Committee confirmed Monday night.

While former President Donald Trump appeared to have met the party's polling and fundraising thresholds, he won't be on the stage, as he has refused to sign the RNC's pledge to support the eventual nominee and announced he would skip the debate.

The candidates who qualified and opted to participate are:

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, businessmen Perry Johnson and radio host Larry Elder were left out.

The Hurd campaign appeared to take issue with the RNC’s requirement that qualifying polls survey “likely” Republican voters.

Several of Donald Trump’s top allies intend to attend the GOP’s first presidential primary debate Wednesday in Milwaukee, even though the former president intends to skip the event.

Fox News, which is hosting the debate, sent the Republican campaigns a memo Monday, which was obtained by NBC News. It said the organization will provide automatic credentials for the post-debate “spin room” only to surrogates for candidates who are participating in the debate.

In other words, Trump — who qualified for the debate but has chosen to sit it out — and candidates who did not meet the criteria to be onstage will not get automatic access to the media area.

The Fox News memo — which was first reported by Axios — does not, however, expressly prohibit Trump’s allies from the debate or the spin room. It says people may attend as guests of other news organizations.

Donald Trump Jr. indicated Monday that he will travel to Milwaukee for the debate, and a senior adviser to Kari Lake, the former Arizona candidate for governor who is a notable Trump ally, said Lake will also still attend even though Fox News did not provide the Trump campaign with its own batch of spin room credentials.

“Kari Lake looks forward to attending the debate. And if Fox thinks otherwise, they’re welcome to call her,” the senior adviser, Caroline Wren, told NBC News.

At least three of Trump’s staunchest Republican allies in Congress also plan to be in Milwaukee for Wednesday’s debate: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Reps. Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds of Florida.

Trump intends to be at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Wednesday night. He has already recorded an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which he intends to use as debate-night counterprogramming.

More than half of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers say they believe former President Donald Trump’s claims that he won the 2020 presidential election, despite no evidence of widespread election fraud, a new poll from NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom shows.

Fifty-one percent of respondents say they believe Trump, while 41% say they don’t, and 8% aren’t sure. The poll includes both Republican and independent voters who say they're likely to participate in the caucus.

Majorities of self-identified Republicans (60%), those making less than $70,000 a year (69%), evangelicals (62%) and those without college degrees (59%) all believe Trump’s election claims. Out of those who say Trump is their first-choice candidate, 83% say they believe he won the 2020 election.

The finding underscores the main takeaways from the poll, which are that Trump is the clear favorite among the Iowa GOP electorate less than five months before the state’s pivotal Jan. 15 caucus and that an even more Republicans are open to supporting him or defending him on his claims about the 2020 election after his multiple indictments.

The finding underscores the main takeaways from the poll, which are that Trump is the clear favorite among the Iowa GOP electorate less than five months before the state’s pivotal Jan. 15 caucus and that an even more Republicans are open to supporting him or defending him on his claims about the 2020 election after his multiple indictments.

The NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll was conducted Aug. 13-17 of 406 likely Republican caucusgoers who said they will definitely or probably attend the 2024 caucuses. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has come under fire this week for suggesting in a newly published interview that federal agents may have been on planes involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

A feature story about the 2024 contender published Monday in The Atlantic said Ramaswamy began talking about the 2001 attacks after discussing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection during an interview.

“I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Maybe the answer is zero. It probably is zero for all I know, right? I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero. But if we’re doing a comprehensive assessment of what happened on 9/11, we have a 9/11 commission, absolutely that should be an answer the public knows the answer to,” Ramaswamy said to the reporter, John Hendrickson.

Ramaswamy was then asked if he was confused about who was behind the 9/11 attacks.

“I mean, I would take the truth about 9/11,” Ramaswamy said. “I am not questioning what we—this is not something I’m staking anything out on. But I want the truth about 9/11.”

The Atlantic said it later asked for clarification and Ramaswamy’s spokesperson cited a lengthy tweet from the candidate that implied that the U.S. covered up involvement by Saudi intelligence officials in planning the attacks.

On Monday night, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins grilled Ramaswamy about his comments on 9/11, and the GOP candidate repeatedly said that the quote in The Atlantic was “wrong.”

But when pressed further about his remark questioning how many federal agents were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers, he said, “The truth is there are lies the government has told about 9/11. But it’s not the ones that somebody put in my mouth. It’s the one that I articulated, which is that Saudi Arabia, absolutely, their intelligence was involved in 9/11. And that’s a difficult thing you’re not supposed to say. The facts back that up.

On Tuesday, The Atlantic published the audio of that part of the conversation, along with a transcript, showing that he was quoted accurately in Monday's article.

When reached for comment on Tuesday, Ramaswamy's campaign spokesperson said, "The audio clearly demonstrates that Vivek was taken badly out of context and even this small snippet proves that. We continue to encourage The Atlantic to release more of the recording, rather than their carefully selected snippet, so that full context and reality is exposed. We encourage everyone to listen to it."

The spokesperson added: "He was posing a question and comparison between the Jan 6 commission vs. 9/11 commission. He obviously doesn’t think there were federal agents on either flight."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday defended his remark over the weekend urging Republicans against being “listless vessels” who support former President Donald Trump.

In a Florida Standard interview last week, DeSantis, who is running a distant second to Trump in polls for the GOP presidential nomination, said the conservative movement shouldn’t be centered around loyalty to Trump. “[I]f you’re not rooted in principle, if all we are is listless vessels that are just supposed to follow whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning, that’s not going to be a durable movement,” he said.

DeSantis’ comments drew swift criticism from the Trump campaign, with senior adviser Jason Miller comparing it to a comment then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made during the 2016 race, when she said half of Trump's supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables.”

“Looks like Ron DeSanctimonious just had his ‘Basket of Deplorables’ moment. Not good!” Miller wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

DeSantis responded to the backlash in an interview on Fox News on Monday, saying that he thinks one of the “big problems” with the Republican Party is candidates not “following through” on their promises.

DeSantis said his remark referred to people in Congress who have accused him of being a “RINO,” or “Republican In Name Only.”

“And I think what you’ve had, the people in Congress that I was referring to that have attacked me and tried to say somehow that I was a RINO, they’re putting entertainment and personality over principle," he said. "Our voters want us to stand on principle and fight for them.”

DeSantis’ comments echoed the defense his spokesperson, Bryan Griffin, issued in the wake of criticism from the Trump campaign and the former president’s allies.

“The dishonest media refuses to report the facts — Donald Trump and some congressional endorsers are ‘listless vessels.’ Why? Because Trump and DC insiders feel he is entitled to your vote,” Griffin wrote on in a post to X. “[Ron DeSantis] believes your trust should be earned and has the vision, plan, and record to beat Joe Biden and reverse the decline of our country. That’s why Ron DeSantis will be showing up on Wednesday night to debate, and Donald Trump will not.”

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will participate in the first Republican presidential debate despite injuring his Achilles' tendon while playing basketball Tuesday.

"I'm in," Burgum tweeted Wednesday afternoon, hours before the debate's start time, alongside a photo of him using crutches and wearing a walking boot.

Burgum, 67, was evaluated by a sports physician and injury specialist who confirmed the Achilles' injury and requested additional tests Thursday, according to the governor's team. Sources close to Burgum said earlier Wednesday that he suffered a high-grade tear during a pick-up basketball game with campaign staff here Tuesday and was admitted to a local emergency room.

"Doug feels very strongly that his voice is necessary on the stage this evening, and has said he will fight through the pain and challenge standing in order to make that happen," the campaign said in a statement confirming that he will participate.

I’ve played lots of pick-up games in my day! This isn’t the first time one has sent me to the ER," Burgum posted earlier Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, along with a photo of him as a young man playing basketball. "Appreciate all the well-wishes!"

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Friday called Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley and author Ibram Kendi "modern grand wizards of the modern KKK" at a campaign appearance in Iowa.

It came in response to a voter question asking Ramaswamy, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from India, if critics would blame him for white supremacy or call him part of white supremacy.

Ramaswamy responded by saying, "Ayanna Pressley, she's in the Congress today. She's a member of 'the squad.' Her words, not mine: 'We don't want any more black faces that don't want to be a black voice. We don't want any more brown faces that don't want to be a brown voice.'"

Pressley, of Massachusetts, is a prominent progressive voice among House Democrats and the first Black woman elected to Congress from her state.

Ramaswamy then quoted bestselling author Kendi from his book "How To Be Anti-Racist."

"Here's what it says," said Ramaswamy. "Opening lines: 'The remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination."

"These are the words of the modern grand wizards of the modern KKK," said Ramaswamy.

The passage of Kendi's book is surrounded by descriptions of anti-racist discrimination as “temporarily assisting an underrepresented racial group into relative wealth and power until equity is reached.”

Talking to reporters after the town hall, Ramaswamy doubled down on his comments.

"The fact that we're taught to see each other on the basis of our genetic attributes is something that would make the old wizards of the KKK proud," said Ramaswamy.

When pressed by NBC News on whether he was calling Pressley and Kendi "grand wizards of the KKK," Ramaswamy said what "the whole movement represented" is what would make "the grand wizards of the KKK proud."

Vivek Ramaswamy is one of the highest-profile candidates seeking the GOP presidential nomination, but he has not voted in a Republican primary recently enough to be affiliated with the party in his home state's voting records.

Ramaswamy, 38, is listed as an "unaffiliated" voter in Franklin County, Ohio, where he's been registered to vote since November 2021, after he moved to Columbus.

The biotech multimillionaire has described himself as being a “libertarian freestyler” in college.

He's said he voted for a Libertarian in the 2004 presidential election, but did not vote in 2008, 2012 or 2016, according to Reuters, and has contributed to both Republican and Democratic candidates. He brushed past a question about his sparse voting history during Wednesday's GOP presidential debate.

Ramaswamy said he went on to become a "hardcore" Trump supporter and voted for him in 2020.

In order to be listed as affiliated with a party in Ohio, a voter has to request that party's ballot during primaries.

According to voting records first posted by an account called Ohio Legislative Watch on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, Ramaswamy did not vote in the Ohio state primaries last year. The records, which NBC News has independently reviewed, also show "no history recorded" in the primary held this past May.

Ramaswamy did vote in the Aug. 8 special election for a Republican-backed ballot measure that would have made it harder to change the state's constitution ahead of an effort later this year to enshrine abortion rights. He also voted in the 2021 and 2022 general elections, records show.