Abbreviated Pundit Roundup is a long-running series published every morning that collects essential political discussion and analysis around the internet.

Trump makes sweeping promises to donors on audacious fundraising tour
By tying donation requests to pledges of tax cuts and other policies, Trump is testing the boundaries of federal campaign finance laws.

As he closed his pitch at the Pierre Hotel, Trump explained to the group why it was in their interest to cut large checks. If he was not put back in office, taxes would go up for them under President Biden, who vows to let Trump-era tax cuts on the wealthy and corporations expire at the end of 2025. [...] Seconds after promising the tax cuts, Trump made his pitch explicit. “So whatever you guys can do, I appreciate it,” he said.

The remarks are just one example of a series of audacious requests by Trump for big-money contributions in recent months, according to 11 donors, advisers and others close to the former president, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe his fundraising. The pleas for millions in donations come as the presumptive Republican nominee seeks to close a cash gap with Biden and to pay for costly legal bills in his four criminal indictments.
Steinglass pokes hole in defense's argument around National Enquirer
Steinglass makes a very good point about the Dino Sajuddin story and corresponding payment.

Sajuddin is the former Trump Tower doorman who claims Trump fathered a child out of wedlock, a claim the former president has denied.

Given that everyone believed Sajuddin's claim to be false, purchasing the story was not something David Pecker did because of his fiduciary duty to shareholders; there was no reason to do it other than to benefit the 2016 Trump campaign.
Trump Makes Horrifying Pledge to Cut Access to Contraception
It was never just about abortion.

During an interview with KDKA News in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Donald Trump praised himself for overturning Roe v. Wade and suggested abortion isn’t the only thing on the chopping block.

Asked whether he’d outlaw birth control or Plan B, Trump responded, “We’re looking at that” and said his campaign plans to release his full policy proposal in a week. “I think it’s something you’ll find interesting.… You will find it, I think, smart. I think it’s a smart decision.
Abortion is Healthcare! Make sure everyone knows with this t-shirt
First Polls Since Sunak Called UK Election Show No Clear Change
The first opinion polls since Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the UK general election last week show no clear change to the electoral picture after the opening days of campaigning.

A poll by JL Partners found a slight narrowing in the lead held by Keir Starmer’s opposition Labour Party over Sunak’s Conservatives, to 12 points from 15 points earlier this month. The pollster highlighted a shift among older voters and those considering the right-wing Reform UK party, with more backing the Tories after Sunak announced a series of policies aimed at shoring up their core vote.

But a survey published by Survation saw Labour’s lead at 23 points, up four percentage points compared with just a week ago. “The Conservatives have not received the bounce they were hoping for since calling the election,” it said.
Juliet Jeske on Fox News brain
"They enjoy sitting in their homes and being angry at the world.

Are you terrified of migrants squatting in your home or randomly punching you in the face while you walk down the street? Maybe you find yourself thinking a lot about Hunter Biden or gas prices and how they were lower four years ago? Then, dear reader, you probably have Fox News brain.

Juliet Jeske, author of the highly recommended Decoding Fox News newsletter, is one of the world’s foremost experts on that condition.

“Propaganda is a very difficult thing to erase from somebody's brain,” she told me. “Some people just want to be in that Fox News rage spiral. They’re riding a rollercoaster of fear, paranoia, and hate. And people enjoy that. They enjoy sitting in their homes and being angry at the world. I don't understand that mentality at all. But that's what Fox provides them.”
The Republican Nominee to Lead Oregon Elections Wants to Stop All Mail Voting
Dennis Linthicum spread unfounded claims about the 2020 election and sued to force Oregonians to vote in person. He’ll face Democrat Tobias Read in November to be secretary of state.

“No detective will ever find a body in the backyard if he doesn’t look,” said Linthicum, who is currently a state senator representing a district in south central Oregon. “So, at some point, the public is the best lookers we have. They’re out there, they’re investigating. You’ve got people doing the math. You’ve got people chasing ballots and understanding how ballot harvesting has been harming the public.”

At no point in the forum did Linthicum provide evidence of widespread voter fraud in Oregon—there isn’t any—but that has never stopped him. He is part of a nationwide network of conservative officials and cultural influencers who have stoked election-related conspiracies for years now. Three years ago, he joined lawmakers from around the country in calling for an audit of the 2020 presidential election in all 50 states based on unspecified “fraud and irregularities.”
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