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.

I spoke to Alex Leary of the Wall Street Journal for his piece on the looming indictment of former President Donald Trump and its impact on the 2024 election.

Mr. Trump has long sought to turn controversy to his benefit, and the latest one puts Mr. Trump squarely back where he craves to be—in the spotlight. 

“Any development that stands to render the primary a referendum on the former president is bad news for anyone seeking to turn the page,” said GOP strategist Liam Donovan.

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to the New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman for an item that ultimately ran in David Leonhardt’s The Morning newsletter wherein they examined the political impact of the rumored legal proceedings that could be forthcoming against the former President as soon as this week.

In the short term, an indictment seems likely to help Trump politically. It will draw attention to him, and he often performs best when he has a foil.

As our colleague Maggie Haberman told us: “I do think an indictment, if it happens, will galvanize his supporters. He will describe the case as trivial, a point some Democrats have argued, and he will insist it’s all part of a broader Democratic Party conspiracy against him to help President Biden in his re-election effort. He’s already fund-raising off it, and he will make selling this to his supporters as another instance of him being victimized central to his campaign.”

…

When Maggie asked Liam Donovan, a veteran Republican strategist, for his view, he made a different but related point: An indictment may help Trump in the primary and hurt him in a campaign against Biden. “Legal escalation would be a significant blow in a general election where he needs to broaden his support, but any event that polarizes the primary in terms of pro- or anti-Trump sentiment only serves to harden his core support,” Donovan said.

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Semafor‘s Joseph Zeballos-Roig for his piece on the brewing fight over the debt ceiling and why it will be a while before we see much action:

Congress typically doesn’t check an item off its to-do list without the pressure of a deadline and it’s still not clear when the X-date for default lands on the calendar. Like many college students, lawmakers have a tendency to procrastinate — and only scramble to turn in their assignments at the very last minute.

“There’s just not much to talk about until the X-date is close enough to budge people from their current postures and Republicans demonstrate what they can produce the votes for,” Liam Donovan, a former Republican aide, told Semafor. “Until then, Biden and Democrats are content to wait.”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Maggie Haberman for her New York Times piece with Michael Bender on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ conspicuous decision not to engage or respond to Donald Trump’s recent spate of personal attacks, and when and whether his containment strategy might shift to direct confrontation.

Some deep-pocketed Republican donors have privately expressed concern about how Mr. DeSantis will perform when forced to directly engage with an opponent as combative and unbothered by traditional rules of decorum as Mr. Trump.

“No Republican has ever emerged from an exchange with Donald Trump looking stronger, so the natural tendency is to deflect his attacks and avoid confrontation,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist.

“That’s easy to do, and maybe even wise when his barbs are confined to Truth Social,” Mr. Donovan added, referring to Mr. Trump’s social media site, where he has fired off many of his attacks. “The question is what happens when DeSantis finds himself on a debate stage opposite Trump, and G.O.P. voters want to see whether they are getting what they were promised.”

Read the full piece here.