Several developments in Washington and New York dominated the political week ending May 11, 2024, from the war in Gaza to a failed challenge to the House speaker and a warning from the judge in Donald Trump's criminal trial. NPR's Ron Elving reviewed them in a conversation with host Scott Simon.
President Biden said in an interview on CNN that he might withhold some weapons from Israel if it proceeds with a ground invasion of Rafah. Elving said presidents dealing with foreign problems must balance American interests against their own political interests, but he described the Middle East as a uniquely difficult case. In his assessment, Biden is "damned if he aids Israel and damned if he doesn't." He added that even a cease-fire appears out of reach, though it must remain the goal.
In Congress, Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a motion to vacate the chair, a move aimed at removing House Speaker Mike Johnson that she had threatened for weeks. Elving said the surprise was that she was booed by her own party, and he noted visible distress on her face as she looked toward the Republican side of the chamber.
The motion was quickly tabled by a margin of more than 8 to 1. Only 10 Republicans backed Greene, while nearly 200 voted the other way. Elving said it is hard to recall the Republican Party rebuking one of its own so starkly. He offered a contrarian observation: Greene had produced the most bipartisan moment of consensus seen in this Congress, which he called a kind of contribution.
In New York, the week of Trump's trial included vivid testimony from Stormy Daniels and a rejected request for a mistrial. Elving said the proceedings veered into soap opera, with salacious details that are nonetheless essential to the charges of serial business fraud tied to covering a hush-money payment.
The more consequential moment, in his view, was a warning from trial judge Juan Merchan, who has been trying to restrain Trump's public statements about the trial and its participants. This week the judge made clear he would be willing to send Trump to jail if violations of the gag order continue. Elving noted some people argue Trump may actually want a brief sentence for contempt, for the sympathy it could generate and as a rallying point for supporters. The matter may become clearer next week, when Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney, is expected to appear as the key witness against him.
Elving also addressed independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who spoke about a medical incident more than a dozen years ago in which he contracted a worm that reached his brain and caused what he has called cognitive difficulties. Elving noted that the topic follows the previous week's discussion of Kennedy and shooting puppies, which he said was something no national candidate would want to discuss.
The disclosure capped a week of stories about Kennedy's difficulties with petition signatures in New York and sudden announcements about his position on abortion. Even so, Elving said both the Trump and Biden campaigns are taking Kennedy's candidacy seriously, because he is a "total wild card" and the election is expected to be close.
