A 2024 calendar with love 💗

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.

PBS NewsHour needs YOU now! Give by 12/31 and have your gift MATCHED!

NO CATS OR RAINBOWS. BUT A 2024 CALENDAR WITH LOVE
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent

Happy holidays, everyone!

We are grateful for you, and hope you have had some joy and light this season. Those are feelings we may need to hang onto as 2024 looms.

We face an election with two unpopular frontrunners, the current president and a former president.

Sure, a commanders-in-chief rematch has happened before. But that was 132 years ago. The United States has six times as many people now as it did then. And one of those people is Donald Trump. He is a figure with no historical parallel. That includes his legal troubles.

At the same time, Congress may be even more difficult to predict. and lawmakers face major deadlines almost immediately.

It is looking to be a busy and dramatic year.

As a New Year’s gift to all of us, we have put together a basic three-month calendar of the big political dates ahead, sprinkled with some non-political moments to allow for sanity breaks.

Let’s go.

JANUARY

Jan. 2: Court. Written filings are due to the Court of Appeals that is determining whether Trump is immune from prosecution for actions taken while president.
Jan. 8: Congress. Lawmakers return. The Senate hopes to have a Ukraine aid and border deal ready for votes.
Jan. 10: Campaign. Iowa Republican presidential debate.
Jan. 13: Court. Closing arguments in Trump New York state civil fraud case.

📅 It is also National Rubber Ducky Day.

Jan. 15: Election. Both parties. The Iowa caucuses.
Jan. 16: Court. E. Jean Carroll defamation civil trial against Trump begins in New York. (Trump is asking for a delay.)
Jan. 19: Congress. Circle this date in red ink: Government funding deadline for some large agencies.
Jan. 21: Campaign. New Hampshire Republican presidential debate.
Jan. 23: Election. Both parties. The New Hampshire primaries.
Jan. 24: 😂 It is Global Belly Laugh Day. Apparently celebrated at 1:24 p.m. local.
Jan. 31: Court. Possible time frame for decision in Trump NY civil fraud case.

FEBRUARY
Feb. 2: Congress. Another big one. The next government funding deadline.

😋 It is also National Tater Tot Day. If you live in Phoenix, this restaurant is offering a great deal! cc: Stephanie Sy and NewsHour West.

Feb. 3: Election. Democrats. South Carolina primary.
Feb. 6: Election. Democrats. Nevada primary.
Feb. 8: Election. GOP. Nevada caucus.
Feb. 11: 🏈 The Super Bowl. Expect campaign ads.
Feb. 13: Election. Special congressional election to fill Rep. George Santos’ seat in New York.
Feb. 17: 😇 It is National Random Acts of Kindness Day.
Feb. 24: Election. GOP. South Carolina primary.
Feb. 27: Election. Democrats. Michigan primary.

MARCH

March 2: Election. Idaho, Michigan and Missouri Republican caucuses.
March 4: Court. Original trial date in federal case charging Trump with attempting to overturn the 202 election. This may be postponed due to related action by other courts, which have temporarily frozen this case. (See Jan. 2 above.)

📚 It is also National Grammar Day. For those who would like to celebrate — and we know there are many among our readership — here are some very tangible ideas.

March 5: Election. Super Tuesday. 15 states vote, plus American Samoa.
March 12: Election. Primaries in Georgia, Mississippi, Washington state. And GOP caucus in Hawaii.
March 19: Election. GOP primaries in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio.
March 23: Election. Primaries in Louisiana for both parties. Democratic primary in Missouri.

🐶 It is also National Puppy Day.

March 25: Court. New York criminal case charging Trump with business record fraud scheduled to begin trial.

One more thing to keep in mind: With the polling leads that President Joe Biden and former President Trump have now, it is possible that sometime in March we have two presidential candidates who have clinched a majority of delegates for each party’s nomination.

As we say, the start of next year could move very fast.

More on politics from our coverage:

Watch: Michigan recording further reveals Trump’s efforts to overturn 2020 election.
One Big Question: With only a few weeks until the first votes of the 2024 presidential campaign, where does the GOP race stand? NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter weigh in.
A Closer Look: How a ‘perfect storm’ of issues is causing a sharp rise in homelessness.
Perspectives: New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart on the political pressure of the overwhelmed immigration system.

How has PBS NewsHour coverage been useful in your life or work?
Please tell us your stories here.

COMBATING POLITICAL EXTREMISM IN THE CHURCH

Watch the clip in the player above.

By Sam Lane, @lanesam
Producer

Evangelical Christian leaders have been sounding the alarm in recent years about growing polarization and radicalization within their own churches.

Religious leaders in places like Tarrant County, Texas, have seen increased division and even anti-government and conspiratorial beliefs among their congregations.

Pastor Bob Roberts Jr., who’s led an evangelical church for more than 30 years, sought to help clergy across the country to combat some of the same issues he was seeing in his own community. He co-founded the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, based in Tarrant County, which worked with researchers to craft the Peacemaker’s Toolkit to help chip away at his problem.

“I'm sorry to say, as evangelicals, we don't talk about peacemaking near as much as we should. You can't read the Bible and not see that peacemaking is not there,” the pastor told the NewsHour’s Laura Barron-Lopez. “So, [the toolkit] first of all deals with a theological basis. What is the basis for peacemaking?”

#POLITICSTRIVIA

A line of people wait outside the White House to attend the 1922 New Year’s Day reception, hosted by President Warren Harding. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

By Ali Schmitz, @SchmitzMedia
Politics Producer

For more than a century, public New Year's Day receptions were held at the White House, which attracted thousands of well-wishers every year. The annual event began in 1801 with John Adams, the first president to occupy the White House.

Our question: Who was the last president to hold the reception at the White House?

Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: Who was the last federal official — not president — to be both convicted by the Senate and removed from office following an impeachment trial?

The answer: G. Thomas Porteous, Jr. The House of Representatives voted unanimously to impeach the federal judge in 2010. The Senate later convicted Porteous of all four articles of impeachment, effectively removing him from office.

Congratulations to our winners: Beverley Chang and Robert Schmid!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.

Want more news and analysis in your inbox?
Explore all of the PBS NewsHour's newsletters.