DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Donald Trump’s Second-Term Agenda
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

My colleagues Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman and Charlie Savage are writing a continuing series on what Donald Trump plans to do during a second term as president. David: One question that some people have is whether Trump would govern as radically in a second term as his rhetoric suggests. He didn’t withdraw from Afghanistan. What’s your view about whether to assume he will really do what he says in a second term? Jonathan: I would challenge the statement that Trump didn’t do a lot of what he promised in his first term.

Persons: Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman, Charlie Savage, Donald Trump, Trump, didn’t, Hillary Clinton, Jonathan Organizations: Republican Locations: Afghanistan

Donald J. Trump’s campaign couldn’t have scripted the results in Iowa any better. Standing backstage at his victory party in downtown Des Moines, Mr. Trump appeared almost giddy with disbelief as television screens blared the news of an outcome so lopsided it was called while the voting was still underway. Mr. DeSantis edged just ahead of Ms. Haley, enough to stall her momentum but not enough to save his candidacy. “Did you think it was going to be like this?” Mr. Trump remarked to an adviser, according to two people who witnessed the interaction. That night, the former president and his usual coterie of top aides were joined by about a dozen Iowa staffers headed for New York, boarding the plane his campaign calls Trump Force One.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, DeSantis, Haley, “ Organizations: Trump Force Locations: Iowa, Des Moines, New York

The much-fabled power of New Hampshire’s fiercely independent voters wasn’t enough to break the spell Donald J. Trump has cast over the Republican Party. His winning margin of 11 percentage points in moderate New Hampshire demonstrated his ironclad control of the party’s hard-right base and set him on what could very well be a short march to the nomination. For Ms. Haley, the former South Carolina governor, it was a disappointing finish in a state she had poured considerable resources into carrying. Her efforts to cobble together a coalition of independents and anti-Trump Republicans, with support from the state’s popular governor, were no match for Mr. Trump’s legions of loyalists. Even though Ms. Haley is vowing to fight on, the difficult terrain ahead in South Carolina means that this first-in-the-nation primary could turn out to be the last.

Persons: Hampshire’s, Donald J, Trump, Nikki Haley, steamrolled, Ron DeSantis, Haley, Trump’s Organizations: Republican Party, Republican, White House, South, Trump Republicans Locations: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina

But his stance toward Ms. Haley, whom he appointed as his ambassador to the United Nations, has hardened as the New Hampshire primary approaches. Though Mr. Trump holds a wide lead over Ms. Haley in polls, she has narrowed the gap here in recent months. The Trump campaign is eyeing a decisive win in New Hampshire that could severely curtail her chances at winning the Republican nomination. Mr. Scott, whose endorsement was reported hours before the event, came onstage 25 minutes into Mr. Trump’s speech. We need a president who sees Americans as one American family.”“That’s why,” Mr. Scott concluded, he had decided to endorse Mr. Trump.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Sen, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Mr, ” Mr, Ms, Haley, ”, Nikki, Trump’s, Tim Scott of, Scott, Donald Trump, doesn’t, “, Scott’s, Elise Stefanik, Stefanik —, —, Stefanik, “ Elise, Maggie Haberman Organizations: United Nations, New, Republican, Black Republican, Penn, Harvard Locations: Concord, N.H, New Hampshire, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Iowa, New York, Manchester

Mr. Trump’s overwhelming victory again demonstrated his enduring command of the Republican Party. Ron DeSantis of Florida narrowly pulled ahead of Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor. Their close finish gave both a rationale for continuing their campaigns, which is likely to help Mr. Trump. After so many months of attacks between her and Mr. DeSantis, the old political trope held true: In 2024, there are three “tickets” out of Iowa. But Mr. Trump rides away on a bullet train.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Haley, DeSantis Organizations: Republican Party, Gov, South Locations: Iowa, Florida, South Carolina, New Hampshire

☆ DeSantis’s Iowa Letdown: A Distant Second Place Behind Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Nicholas Nehamas | Jonathan Swan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ron DeSantis of Florida may have done just enough in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night to argue that he still belongs in the race to defeat Donald J. Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. But his distant second-place finish had all the feelings of a disaster, given how much time and money he invested in the state, and it calls into question his ability to stay in the nominating contest, with his campaign cash running low and tough tests ahead in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Mr. DeSantis, who entered the field as one of its most compelling contenders, just barely managed to hold off a late surge from Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor. Mr. Trump defeated both candidates so soundly on Monday night that the race was called in his favor by The Associated Press just 31 minutes after the caucuses got underway. The early call — while some Iowans were still caucusing — gave Mr. DeSantis’s team a lifeline to blame the news media for a disappointing performance.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Donald J, Trump, DeSantis, Nikki Haley, —, DeSantis’s Organizations: Republican, South, Associated Press Locations: Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina

☆ Campaigns Battle Cold and Complacency in Final Turnout Push in Iowa
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jonathan Swan | Charles Homans | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nikki Haley’s team predicts Iowans will brave brutal weather to caucus for her. Aides to Ron DeSantis say the subzero temperatures give their candidate an edge because he has the biggest team knocking on doors. And the Trump team says they don’t worry about the cold — former President Donald J. Trump’s supporters will “walk through glass” to caucus for him. An already unpredictable and quirky process is even more so this year, thanks to dangerously cold weather and an unusually uncompetitive contest. The National Weather Service forecast subzero temperatures in Des Moines, with wind chills dropping to as low as minus 30 degrees on Monday.

Persons: Nikki Haley’s, Iowans, Ron DeSantis, Trump, Donald J, Trump’s Organizations: Trump, National Weather Service Locations: Des Moines

Mr. Trump is the first former president in the modern era who has sought to return to the White House. Regardless of what comes next, Mr. Trump’s Iowa victory amounts to a remarkable resurrection of a political career that had once appeared in tatters. Image Mr. Trump greeted supporters after a Fox News town hall in Des Moines. If Mr. Trump does become the nominee, the 2024 campaign will have few modern parallels. A different case making its way through the federal courts will test Mr. Trump’s claim that he should be immune from prosecution.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, DeSantis, Haley, Biden, “, ” Mr, Vivek Ramaswamy, Maansi Srivastava, Mr, “ We’ve, Haley’s, —, Hilary Swift, ”, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Chris Christie, Doug Burgum, Ramaswamy, Long, Haiyun Jiang, Jack Smith Organizations: The Associated Press, Republican, United Nations, Capitol, Senate, clapped, Horizon, New York Times, American, Republicans, PAC, National Weather Service, Mr, Trump, The New York Times, Service, Gov, Fox News, Des Moines . Credit, Justice Department, Biden, “ Locations: Clive , Iowa, Iowa, Florida, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Trump’s Iowa, tatters, “ Iowa, New Hampshire , Nevada, state’s, New York, North Dakota, Des Moines, Georgia, “ America

Former President Donald J. Trump attacked Vivek Ramaswamy, who is most closely aligned with him in the race for the Republican nomination, accusing the wealthy entrepreneur of engaging in “deceitful campaign tricks.”"A vote for Vivek is a vote for the ‘other side’ — don’t get duped by this,” Mr. Trump said on social media, adding that “Vivek is not MAGA.”An hour earlier, a senior adviser for Mr. Trump, Chris LaCivita, also attacked Mr. Ramaswamy on social media as a “fraud” in response to a photo showing supporters of Mr. Ramaswamy wearing shirts displaying Mr. Trump’s mug shot that said “Save Trump, vote Vivek.”The attacks from Mr. Trump and one of his top aides in quick succession suggest that the Trump campaign has deliberately shifted toward attacking Mr. Ramaswamy in the final days before Monday’s Iowa caucuses.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, Vivek, don’t, Mr, MAGA, ”, Chris LaCivita, Ramaswamy, Trump’s Organizations: Republican, Mr, Trump Locations: Iowa

For 74 years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been America’s most important military alliance. Presidents of both parties have seen NATO as a force multiplier enhancing the influence of the United States by uniting countries on both sides of the Atlantic in a vow to defend one another. Donald J. Trump has made it clear that he sees NATO as a drain on American resources by freeloaders. In his 2000 book, “The America We Deserve,” Mr. Trump wrote that “pulling back from Europe would save this country millions of dollars annually.” As president, he repeatedly threatened a United States withdrawal from the alliance. Yet as he runs to regain the White House, Mr. Trump has said precious little about his intentions.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Mr, “ Organizations: Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, freeloaders, White Locations: United States, Europe

A Radical AgendaTo be sure, some of what Mr. Trump and his allies are planning is in line with what any standard-issue Republican president would most likely do. For example, Mr. Trump would very likely roll back many of President Biden’s policies to curb carbon emissions and hasten the transition to electric cars. He has said he would fundamentally re-evaluate “NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission” in a second term. After some demonstrations against police violence in 2020 became riots, Mr. Trump had an order drafted to use troops to crack down on protesters in Washington, D.C., but didn’t sign it. “You look at any Democrat-run state, and it’s just not the same — it doesn’t work,” Mr. Trump told the crowd, calling cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco crime dens.

Persons: Trump, Biden’s, it’s, ” Mr, I’m, ” Organizations: U.S, NATO, Washington , D.C, Democratic Locations: United States, Mexico, Washington ,, Iowa, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco

The main super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign has been rocked by another significant departure, as Adam Laxalt, a friend and former roommate of the Florida governor, has stepped down as chairman of the group. Mr. Laxalt, who unsuccessfully ran to become a Republican senator in Nevada in 2022, lived with Mr. DeSantis when he was training as a naval officer. He said in the note that he was still committed to Mr. DeSantis’s becoming president. The departure represents the second major departure from Never Back Down in the last two weeks. In a statement put out by the group after the resignation, Mr. Jankowski said that his differences at the group went “well beyond” strategic arguments, without explaining more.

Persons: Ron DeSantis’s, Adam Laxalt, Laxalt, DeSantis, “, ” Mr, DeSantis’s, Chris Jankowski, Jankowski Organizations: Republican, The New York Times Locations: Florida, Nevada

The political network founded by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch has endorsed Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential nominating contest, giving her organizational muscle and financial heft as she battles Gov. The commitment by the network, Americans for Prosperity Action, bolsters Ms. Haley as the campaign enters the final seven weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Since the first Republican primary debate, Ms. Haley has steadily climbed in polls, even as Mr. DeSantis has slipped. Mr. Trump remains the dominant front-runner in the race. Nikki Haley is that leader.”

Persons: Charles, David Koch, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Donald J, Trump, Ms, Haley, DeSantis, Donald Trump, ”, Emily Seidel Organizations: Prosperity Locations: Florida, Iowa

☆ Maggie Haberman is writing another book about Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman is writing another book about Trump, according to Axios. She'll be joined by Times reporter Jonathan Swan, whose 2020 interview with Trump went viral. AdvertisementNew York Times senior political correspondent Maggie Haberman has already written a best-selling book about former President Donald Trump. Haberman's "Confidence Man," which was released in 2022 and chronicled Trump's rise to the Oval Office, was a New York Times bestseller. Swan, a former political correspondent at Axios, won an Emmy for his 2020 interview with Trump at the White House.

Persons: Maggie Haberman, She'll, Jonathan Swan, Trump, —, Donald Trump, Simon, Simon & Schuster, Swan Organizations: New York Times, Trump, Times, Service, Simon &, Axios, White

Prosecutors felt they needed an industry insider to flip on others in the business, explain the intricacies of lending agreements and serve as a narrator on the witness stand. In Mr. Braun, who had made clear he was desperate to get out of prison, they thought they had an ideal candidate. They were still going back and forth with his lawyer about a deal that would have freed him from prison when Mr. Trump commuted his sentence. Prosecutors instantly lost their leverage over Mr. Braun. The investigation into the industry, and Mr. Braun’s conduct, remains open but is hampered by the lack of help from an insider.

Persons: Braun, Trump, Prosecutors, Braun’s, — Organizations: Department, U.S, Prosecutors, Justice, Trump Locations: Manhattan

Even amid the uproar over President Donald J. Trump’s freewheeling use of his pardon powers at the end of his term, one commutation stood out. Jonathan Braun of New York had served just two and a half years of a decade-long sentence for running a massive marijuana ring, when Mr. Trump, at 12:51 a.m. on his last day in office, announced he would be freed. Mr. Braun was, to say the least, an unusual candidate for clemency. A Staten Islander with a history of violent threats, Mr. Braun had told a rabbi who owed him money: “I am going to make you bleed.” Mr. Braun’s family had told confidants they were willing to spend millions of dollars to get him out of prison. At the time, Mr. Trump’s own Justice Department and federal regulators, as well as New York state authorities, were still after him for his role in an entirely separate matter: his work as a predatory lender, making what judges later found were fraudulent and usurious loans to cash-strapped small businesses.

Persons: Donald J, Jonathan Braun, Trump, Braun, “, Mr, Braun’s, confidants, Trump’s Organizations: New, Justice Department Locations: New York, Staten

Two top officials on former President Donald J. Trump’s 2024 campaign on Monday sought to distance his campaign team from news reports about plans for what he would do if voters return him to the White House. Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, who are effectively Mr. Trump’s campaign managers, issued a joint statement after a spate of articles, many in The New York Times, about plans for 2025 developed by the campaign itself, and trumpeted on the trail by Mr. Trump, as well as efforts by outside groups led by former senior Trump administration officials who remain in direct contact with him. Ms. Wiles and Mr. LaCivita focused their frustration on outside groups, which they did not name, that have devoted considerable resources to preparing lists of personnel and developing policies to serve the next right-wing administration. “The efforts by various nonprofit groups are certainly appreciated and can be enormously helpful. However, none of these groups or individuals speak for President Trump or his campaign,” they wrote, calling reports about their personnel and policy intentions “purely speculative and theoretical” and “merely suggestions.”

Persons: Donald J, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, Trump, Wiles, LaCivita, ” Organizations: The New York Times, Trump Locations: The

In a second Trump presidency, the visas of foreign students who participated in anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian protests would be canceled. People who were granted temporary protected status because they are from certain countries deemed unsafe, allowing them to lawfully live and work in the United States, would have that status revoked. That policy’s legal legitimacy, like nearly all of Mr. Trump’s plans, would be virtually certain to end up before the Supreme Court. In interviews with The New York Times, several Trump advisers gave the most expansive and detailed description yet of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda in a potential second term. In particular, Mr. Trump’s campaign referred questions for this article to Stephen Miller, an architect of Mr. Trump’s first-term immigration policies who remains close to him and is expected to serve in a senior role in a second administration.

Persons: Trump, Trump’s, Stephen Miller, Miller Organizations: Trump, Social, New York Times Locations: Israel, United States, U.S

It was the undercard that underwhelmed. The third straight Republican presidential debate that former President Donald J. Trump has skipped — choosing instead to rally with supporters a few miles away — represented a critical and shrinking chance for his rivals to close his chasm of a polling advantage. And with only five candidates on the stage for the first time — Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott — they all had far more time to speak. Yet they had precious little to say about Mr. Trump, even when given the chance just over two months before the Iowa caucuses. They sparred in a substantive debate that dissected disagreements over aid to Ukraine, Social Security, confronting China, banning TikTok and how to approach abortion less than 24 hours after Republicans suffered their latest electoral setbacks driven by the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, —, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott —, Roe, Wade Organizations: Social Security, Republicans Locations: Iowa, Ukraine, China

The polls found that, for the most part, Mr. Trump is politically surviving the criminal charges against him before voting in the G.O.P. He leads Mr. Biden by between 4 and 10 percentage points in five of the six battleground states surveyed. A majority of voters say Mr. Trump’s policies helped them personally. Voters trust Mr. Trump more than Mr. Biden to manage the economy by a margin of 22 percentage points. On the economy, Mr. Trump is more trusted across every age group, among white and Hispanic voters and across the educational spectrum.

Persons: Trump, Mr, Biden, they’ve, — Organizations: White Locations: Wisconsin

The Times/Siena College battleground polls released on Sunday and Monday were conducted over the past week in six swing states that are likely to decide the election: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Five of the states were won by Donald J. Trump in 2016 and then flipped by Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020. Nevada, which has always been a close state, came down to less than one percentage point in the 2022 U.S. Senate election. These states also contain some of the coalitions that will be crucial next fall: younger, more diverse voters in states like Arizona, Georgia and Nevada; and white working-class voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin who helped swing the election to Trump in 2016, and were central to Mr. Biden’s 2020 victory. They also provide some geographic diversity.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Joseph R, Biden, Biden’s Organizations: Trump Locations: Siena, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, . Nevada, Nevada, Michigan , Pennsylvania

Close allies of Donald J. Trump are preparing to populate a new administration with a more aggressive breed of right-wing lawyer, dispensing with traditional conservatives who they believe stymied his agenda in his first term. The allies have been drawing up lists of lawyers they view as ideologically and temperamentally suited to serve in a second Trump administration. Now, as Trump allies grow more confident in an election victory next fall, several outside groups, staffed by former Trump officials who are expected to serve in senior roles if he wins, have begun parallel personnel efforts. But in a striking shift, Trump allies are building new recruiting pipelines separate from the Federalist Society. In addition, The New York Times interviewed former senior lawyers in the Trump administration and other allies who have remained close to the president and are likely to serve in a second term.

Persons: Donald J, Trump Organizations: Justice Department, Trump, Federalist Society, The New York Times

Election Day is a year away, but key allies of former President Donald J. Trump are already thinking about staffing a potential administration, including by filling White House and agency legal positions with aggressive and ideologically like-minded lawyers. Trump allies are preparing to populate a new administration with a different breed of lawyer — a departure from the type that stymied part of his first-term agenda and that despite their mainstream conservative credentials are seen as too cautious by people close to the former president. They are seeking lawyers in federal agencies and in the White House committed to his “America First” ideology and willing to use edgy theories to advance his cause. It is too early to say with any certainty whom Mr. Trump would select were he to win a second term starting in 2025. But several conservative nonprofits, staffed by people who are likely to take on senior White House positions if there is a second Trump administration, have been putting together lists of prospects.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, — Organizations: White

The 2020 presidential campaign was underway, and Anthony Pratt was doubling down on Donald J. Trump. Mr. Pratt, the chairman of a multinational paper and packaging company and one of Australia’s richest men, had already paid to join Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. He had also spent top dollar to ring in the new year there while rubbing elbows with the president. And, eager to behold a Trump re-election celebration at the club, he had offered to reach into his pocket once again as Election Day approached. But their relationship — forged over Mr. Trump’s chaotic four years in office — was indeed beneficial for both men and their businesses, new interviews and documents reviewed by The Times show.

Persons: Anthony Pratt, Donald J, Trump, Pratt, Trump’s, Mr, ” Mr, — Organizations: The New York Times, White, The Times Locations: Lago, Florida

The push into Iowa highlights the state’s make-or-break status for Mr. DeSantis’s long-shot effort to defeat former President Donald J. Trump. Mr. DeSantis hopes a surprise victory in Iowa’s caucuses, the first voting state of the Republican nominating contest, will make enough voters see that Mr. Trump is beatable — motivating them to quickly rally around Mr. DeSantis as the only candidate able to stop him. About a third of Mr. DeSantis’s campaign staff, including senior political and communications advisers, were informed on Wednesday morning that they would be expected to move into short-term housing in Iowa and work from offices in the state. His campaign now employs 56 people, including four Iowa staff members — a number that will soon grow to nearly two dozen, making Iowa a de facto second headquarters. The relocation completes a monthslong retooling of Mr. DeSantis’s campaign, which was in dire financial straits this summer — with delayed bills and unpaid invoices piling up — and had to do two rounds of mass firings in order to remain solvent.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, redeploying, DeSantis’s, Donald J, Trump, DeSantis, — Organizations: Iowa, Republican, Mr Locations: Florida, Tallahassee, Des Moines, Iowa’s, Iowa

Search resuls for: "Jonathan Swan"

25 mentions found