Happening this Friday: President Biden visits East Palestine, Ohio more than a year after train derailment there… VP Harris speaks from Munich Security Conference… Special counsel charges FBI informant of lying about Biden and son Hunter… GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale exits MT-SEN race… And Donald Trump stumps in Michigan on Saturday.
But FIRST… This is the final edition of First Read.
Dating back to 2003, our newsletter/blog/dispatch/note has been around for more than 20 years, produced some daily 5,000 editions (!!!), covered four presidencies, six presidential elections, five midterm cycles — as well as war, the Great Recession, Supreme Court fights, impeachments, a pandemic, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and so much more.
Our intention was always to make sense of the day’s political news, share the best of NBC News’ reporting and make you think about politics in a different way or with a different perspective.
We often got it right. We sometimes got it wrong. But we always tried our best-faith effort to inform you about our political world — as crazy and as complicated as it can be.
It was quite a run.
We want to thank everyone who contributed to First Read over the years, including Elizabeth Wilner (who helped found First Read), Chuck Todd (who guided us for 16 years), Vaughn Ververs (whom we still miss dearly), Carrie Dann, Domenico Montanaro, Huma Zaidi, Andrew Rafferty, Melissa Holzberg, Benjy Sarlin, Ed Demaria, and so many more.
And here are some of their voices.
“I’m glad to have had a hand in launching two 20-year institutions at NBC: its Political Unit and First Read. All credit — and congratulations — to the entire First Read team through the years for what it became!” said Wilner, NBC’s political director from 2003-2007.
“I was always proud of the fact that we kept our readers focused on what mattered and did our best to avoid obsessing over things that we knew would disappear as fast as they were tweeted,” said NBC’s Chuck Todd. “But my favorite issues were when we did what very few others ever do in this space — provide some historical perspective and context.”
“If you were a close reader of First Read, it made you smarter, and no one can take that away. I’m sad to see it go. I still rely on it every day to check how I’m thinking about what’s happening,” said Montanaro, who now covers politics at NPR.
“As an FR diehard and alum, I’m going to miss everything about it — except maybe those early morning alarm bells after long election and debate nights!” added Dann, who still works at NBC News as a senior producer.
But here’s the good news: We’re not exactly going away. Beginning on Tuesday, the NBC News politics team is starting an afternoon/evening newsletter with a new name (“From the Politics Desk”), but with the same kind of news, analysis and context that you’ve come to expect from us.
Be on the lookout for it on Tuesday. If you’re already signed up for First Read, you’ll automatically receive the new newsletter.
Now on to today’s political news...
Headline of the day
The number of the day is … 378
That’s the number of days it’s been since the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, where President Joe Biden is visiting Friday.
The derailment led to chemical spills, and more broadly shined a spotlight on both train derailments and the environmental disasters they can cause, leading to a bipartisan attempt to bolster railway safety law that’s so far sputtered out in Congress.
Biden’s visit is coming more than a year after the disaster, after other politicians including former President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveled there.
NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez, Bianca Seward and Zoë Richards have more from East Palestine about the president’s visit, the criticism he’s faced for not going earlier, what the administration has done in the wake of the disaster and what local residents think.
Eyes on November: The courtroom campaign
Former President Donald Trump’s first criminal trial is set to begin on March 25, in the case involving alleged hush money paid to an adult film actress during his 2016 campaign, per NBC’s Adam Reiss and Dareh Gregorian.
Trump slammed the trial as a “disgraceful situation,” telling reporters after the judge rejected Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case, “I’ll be here during the day and campaigning during the night.”
The trial in Trump’s federal election interference case had been set to begin March 4, the day before Super Tuesday, but that trial is in flux as the Supreme Court considers whether Trump is protected by presidential immunity, Reiss and Gregorian report.
It’s worth remembering that by the time the trial starts on March 25, the vast majority of GOP delegates — 71% — will have already been awarded.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley seized on Trump’s presence in the courtroom on Thursday, writing on X that “this chaos will only lead to more losses for Republicans up and down the ticket.”
Trump’s legal woes have only strengthened his standing among GOP primary voters and boosted his fundraising. But possible felony convictions could create problems for him in the general election.
The latest national NBC News poll finds Trump leading President Joe Biden by 5 points among registered voters. But when asked how they would vote if Trump is convicted and found guilty, Biden edges out Trump by 2 points.
In other campaign news …
Primetime Trump: Trump and his allies are discussing whether he should give the GOP’s State of the Union response, NBC’s Kristen Welker, Jonathan Allen, Carol E. Lee and Matt Dixon report, but two sources tell them Trump is leaning against it.
Bracing for more: NBC’s Monica Alba reports that Biden’s aides are bracing for political fallout if the transcript of the president’s five-hour interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur is released.
Ambitious agenda: NBC’s Jake Traylor examines the “aggressive and ambitious policy agenda” Trump has been laying out in speeches previewing a potential second term as president.
Secret Service protection: A congressional advisory committee has approved Haley’s Secret Service request, NBC’s Ali Vitali reports, leaving the final decision up to the Department of Homeland Security.
Manchin is mulling: Amid speculation that Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is weighing a third-party bid for president, he floated Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and former GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio as potential running mates, NBC’s Henry Gomez reports.
Badger State battle: NBC’s Adam Edelman reports that Madison businessman Eric Hovde, the first serious GOP contender to challenge Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s re-election bid, is planning to launch a campaign for Senate next week.
Rethinking it: Montana GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale on Thursday ended his Senate campaign, less than one week after he launched it, NBC’s Henry Gomez reports, amid Trump endorsing his GOP primary opponent.
New York, New York: The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission approved a new congressional map on Thursday, making slight changes to the state’s current lines, per Politico. The map now heads to the Dem-controlled state legislature for approval.
Madness in Michigan: As internal conflict roils the Michigan Republican Party, the group has to organize statewide GOP caucuses in just a few weeks, NBC’s Jillian Frankel reports.
Flying blind: A new study found that it’s not easy to reliably predict what type of campaign ads will most influence voters, Politico reports.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world
The U.S. recently launched a cyber attack against a suspected Iranian spy ship in the Red Sea, NBC’s Courtney Kube and Carol E. Lee report.
A group of centrist House lawmakers plan to unveil their own bipartisan plan to tackle border security and aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, NBC’s Scott Wong and Sahil Kapur report.
In a contentious hearing on Thursday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defended herself against allegations that she financially benefited from her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
