12:30 Report

The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Trump snubs Elon; Turkeys strut through White House

by Cate Martel - 11/21/22 12:30 PM ET

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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.*

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

IN THE WHITE HOUSE

The turkeys waltz into the White House with the confidence of a lawmaker who just won reelection:

The annual White House turkey pardoning happened on Monday morning.

The guests of honor: Chocolate and Chip. Photos of the two studs

Photo of the birds staying in their luxury accommodations last night

I wouldn’t want to be the one to clean this car out after

The Bidens’ dog watched from the balcony: Photo from Reuters’ Jeff Mason

WATCH THE TURKEY PARDONING:

Here’s the livestream

THROWBACK:

C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman tweeted a little tidbit from the turkey pardoning in 2018.

Quote from former President Trump: “happy to have Wyoming Congresswoman – friend of mine – Liz Cheney here with us. She just had a big victory also. Thank you. That was a great victory. They know what they’re doing in Congress Liz.” Watch the clip

It’s Monday — three days until Thanksgiving! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

🎢 News this morning

Shake it up, shake it up:

Bob Iger, who stepped down as Disney CEO in 2020, is returning as chief executive of the company.

Meaning: Bob Chapek will step down as the current Disney chief.

Was this announcement a surprise?: Yes!

Back story and context from CNN Business’s Frank Pallotta

Keep in mind about Chapek’s tenure: “Since Chapek took over as Disney CEO in late February 2020, Disney shares are down about 19%; the S&P 500 is up around 34% over that same period.” More from Yahoo Finance

🐘 In the GOP

The gist of the Trump investigations: there does appear to be enough evidence for charges:

The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch writes that “two reports analyzing two different criminal investigations into Donald Trump have reached a singular conclusion: there is enough evidence to bring charges against the former president.”

Which two probes?: “One in Georgia examining Trump’s actions in the state leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, the other led by the Justice Department as it explores the mishandling of sensitive government documents at Mar-a-Lago.”

A brief analysis of the federal crimes that Trump may have committed

KEEP IN MIND:

On Friday afternoon, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor Jack Smith as the special counsel to oversee the two investigations. What we know about Smith and the implications of his appointment

SPEAKING OF PRESIDENT TRUMP:

Twitter’s new chief Elon Musk reinstated former President Trump’s Twitter account after letting Twitter users decide in a poll.

Trump said ‘naaaaaah I’m good, bro’: Trump said he doesn’t plan to return to Twitter.

Trump said during remarks at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting: “I don’t see any reason for it, they have a lot of problems at Twitter, you see what’s going on. It may make it, it may not make it.”

Only one Senate Republican immediately endorsed Trump:

Former President Trump may be headed into an uphill battle for the Republican presidential nomination.

An early sign: Just one Republican senator — Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) — has publicly supported Trump’s bid.

What about Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump’s biggest allies?: Graham praised Trump’s speech but hasn’t endorsed him.

Some murmurs from a GOP meeting last night: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), an outspoken critic of Trump, said the vast majority of the Republican conference did not want Trump to announce his bid last week.

From Romney: “One senator in a meeting we had this week said, ‘How many in this room want to see President Trump announce he’s running for president today?’ Not one hand up.”

More of the rumblings from GOP senators, via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton

TIDBIT:

Trump endorsed 21 gubernatorial candidates, and roughly half of those candidates won. Breakdown

🙏 In Colorado

Keep Colorado Springs in your thoughts:

At least five people were killed and dozens were injured when a gunman opened fire at an LGBTQ bar over the weekend. What we know about the shooting

Is there a suspect?: 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich was taken into custody after the shooting. A motive has not yet been determined. What we know about the suspect

REACTIONS:

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), who became the country’s first openly gay governor in 2018, told CNN: “This was just a place of safety for people … It was a place where people could, in a conservative community, often get the acceptance that too many of them might not have had it at home or in their other circles and to see this occur is really just put us all in a state of shock here in Colorado and across the country.”

From the mayor of Colorado Springs: “It has all the trappings of a hate crime, but we need to look at social media, we need to look at all kinds of other information that we’re gathering from people that knew the individual before we make any definitive conclusions about a motivation,” Colorado Springs, Colo., Mayor John Suthers (R) told NBC’s “Today.” “But it certainly as I say has the trappings of a hate crime.”

From state Rep. Brianna Titone (D), Colorado’s first out transgender lawmaker: “The LGBTQ+ community woke up this morning to yet another horrific event of murder. When politicians and pundits keep perpetuating tropes, insults, and misinformation about the trans and LTBGQ community, this is a result. I’m angry & my heart breaks for those who lost their lives.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) upped security for at-risk communities in New York.

“ ‘BULLETS WERE FLYING’: WITNESSES TELL OF CHAOS DURING COLORADO SPRINGS ATTACK”:

Full story from The New York Times

🦠 The COVID-19 numbers

Cases to date: 98.1 million

Death toll: 1,073,115

Current hospitalizations: 21,432

Shots administered: 650 million

Fully vaccinated: 68.7 percent of Americans

CDC data here.

🎉 Notable tweets

Party at 1600 Penn.:

President Biden’s granddaughter Naomi got married at the White House over the weekend.

Photo of Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s wedding attire

Photo of the couple

If you want to see more photos and details of the wedding: Here’s what we know about the nuptial, via The Washington Post’s Maura Judkis, Tyler Pager and Jada Yuan

⏱On tap

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington, D.C., and is attending an event in North Carolina this evening. Vice President Harris is in the Philippines.

Today: Harris met with President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio of the Philippines. She also participated in a discussion on empowering women and girls.
9 a.m.: Biden received his daily briefing.
4 p.m.: Biden and first lady Jill Biden leave for North Carolina.
9:50 p.m.: The Bidens return to the White House.
Dec. 1: Former President Obama campaigns with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) in Georgia. Details

All times Eastern.

📺What to watch

11:15 a.m.: Biden pardoned the National Thanksgiving Turkey. Livestream
3 p.m.: First lady Jill Biden welcomes the official 2022 White House Christmas Tree. Livestream
4:45 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gaggles with reporters aboard Air Force One. Livestream
6 p.m.: The Bidens attend a Friendsgiving dinner with service members and military families as part of the first lady’s Joining Forces Initiative. Livestream