I spoke to Catie Edmondson for her New York Times piece on the similarities and striking differences between the House GOP bargaining position during the 2011 debt limit standoff and today.

In 2011, House Republican leaders were so resolute in their demand that President Barack Obama accept deep spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling that they put a clean debt limit increase on the House floor just to unanimously vote it down. Few Republicans now would relish taking that vote.

“Part of the reason they’ve softened some of the edges — is it’s a different time, it’s a different moment,” said Liam Donovan, a veteran Republican strategist. “There was an acknowledgment coming out of 2010 that Obama was going to have to yield, that there was a referendum toward curbing spending. That is not only not present here, but if anything, there is disagreement even within Republican ranks as to whether that’s prudent.”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Maggie Haberman for her New York Times piece on the generous curve Republican voters grade Donald Trump on, and the double standard that applies to conventional politicians, most recently Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“He has never adhered to the unwritten rules of electoral politics, and he has cemented his MAGA brand by openly flouting them,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist. “In 2016, Trump was exempt from the punitive standards we hold conventional politicians to, and what’s remarkable is that seven years and a presidential term later, that still holds true.”

Voters, Mr. Donovan said, see Mr. Trump “differently, and make exceptions, consciously or otherwise, for his statements and his behavior.”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Semafor staff for Steve Clemons’ Principals Newsletter in the wake of news of the Trump indictment:

Conservative pundits were near-unanimous in declaring the news a political boost for Trump — at least in the primary election — whose opponents are now finding themselves forced to rally around him as he battles what Republicans voters widely view as a politically motivated prosecution.

“This development helps address two of Trump’s biggest comeback deficiencies: inability to dominate the news cycle, and lack of a good political foil. Now he’s back in his sweet spot — the center of attention, stewing in grievance,” Liam Donovan, a Republican lobbyist, told Semafor.

Read the full item here.