Trump gives Van Drew a kiss – Politico
Good morning! Hutchins here helping Matt out in the aftermath of the wild Wildwood Trump rally. I won’t bury the lede: No, the president did not pronounce Joe Pennacchio’s name correctly. His New Jersey co-chair will, from this day forward, we known as Joe Penoochio.
The president did, however, get Jeff Van Drew’s name right — and had plenty to say about the Democratic defector from New Jersey’s 2nd District. He called Van Drew up to the stage inside the 7,000-capacity Wildwoods Convention Center just 10 minutes into his speech, typically prime time for Trump to wax poetic about the burdens of the day. Instead, he declared the newly-minted Republican a “courageous leader who left the Democrat Party because he has had enough of their extremism, enough of their socialism and enough of their vile hoaxes and scams.”
“I have to tell you, a few weeks ago, Jeff was one of the few brave and principled Democrat lawmakers — in all fairness, we’ve been after him for a long time — who stood up to the House Democrats and the outrageous abuse of power you see going on right now,” Trump said, referring to the impeachment vote. “And Jeff had the guts to defy the left-wing fanatics in his own party and to stand tall in defense of our Constitution, our freedom and democracy itself.”
The president, who met with Van Drew in the Oval Office after the party switcheroo, said he had gotten to know the South Jersey congressman “really well over the last couple of weeks.” “He’s a great guy, he’s a brave guy. He shares our values. He supports lower taxes. Not bad,” Trump said. “They want to raise your taxes — how did that work, Jeff? How did you get elected with that one?”
Van Drew, brought up to the podium, called it a “great day” to have the president in New Jersey, then encouraged a louder cheer from the crowd. “Now, when I was in the White House with the president, he asked how he could help me,” he recalled. “I asked him if he would come down to South Jersey and have a rally. Without even hesitating, he said ‘yes,’ and he is here — a man who kept his word to ensure that the eyes of the world are on South Jersey and all of us.”
Then Van Drew argued that Trump’s re-election was required to ensure that the United States remains “the greatest nation that civilization has ever known.” He called 2020 “a flashpoint election” and asked, “are we going to allow ourselves to be like any other nation in the world, or are we going to keep America great?”
REMINDER: Two months ago, Van Drew was telling people he’d never back the president. “I haven’t voted for him, I didn’t support him, I will not vote for him,” he said in a November voicemail to a voter that was published last week by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
SPOTTED AT THE RALLY: Chris Christie arrived on Air Force One and got a shoutout from POTUS, but no speaking spot. Bill Stepien was there. So was Kellyanne Conway, who did get a brief moment at the podium. Doug Steinhardt and state Sen. Michael Testa, Trump’s other Jersey co-chair, spoke ahead of the president’s arrival and got shoutouts when he did. Jack Ciattarelli and Tom Kean Jr. were also there — as were other state lawmakers. Via Brent Johnson: “Sens. Chris A. Brown, R-Atlantic; … Samuel Thompson, R-Middlesex; as well as Assemblyman Robert Auth, R-Bergen and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso, R-Monmouth.”
PLEASE READ our main rally dispatch from Matt Friedman and Matthew Choi. Also, Katherine Landergan took a look at the Van Drew hoopla — including the counterprogramming from Democrats. We have more coverage below.
TIPS: mfriedman@politico.com
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You don’t have too many cows in Wildwood, but if you do, they’re gone.” —Trump on the Green New Deal
DAYS MURPHY HAS SPENT OUT OF STATE SINCE BECOMING DGA CHAIR: 12
WHERE’S MURPHY? — Making an announcement in Jersey City at 11 a.m. with former Rep. Gabby Giffords; participating in a ribbon cutting in Allendate at 1:30 p.m.; holding a briefing with health officials about the Coronavirus outbreak at 3 p.m. in Newark; and holding a town hall at 7 p.m. in Maplewood.
MORE FROM THE RALLY…
THE RESPONSE: Some of the Democrats vying to challenge Van Drew in November some used Tuesday’s rally as an opportunity to campaign. Amy Kenned dispatched several mobile trucks in Wildwood that flashed messages like: “while Jeff Van Drew is working for Trump I’ll be working for you” and “Jeff Van Drew, fake Republican.” Kennedy and other candidates challenging Van Drew spoke before hundreds of counter-protesters outside.
And then was David Richter, who until Monday was running against Van Drew in the 2nd District Republican primary and called him a “weasel” after the party switch. He praised Van Drew in the convention center two hours before Trump took the stage. “Jeff is going to win in November because he knows how to deliver for South Jersey. He’s tough. He gets the job done. And it doesn’t matter which liberal or even socialist Democrat they put up in front of him,” Richter said.
Trump opened his speech by declaring, “I love New Jersey and I’m thrilled to be right here back in the Garden State. The Garden State.” He also claimed responsibility for the success of New Jersey’s economy. “The New Jersey employment rate has reached the lowest of all time,” he said. (Phil Murphy this month: “In 2019, we set, and then reset, record lows for unemployment since the state began keeping records in 1976.”)
A BOY CAN DREAM: Trump thinks he can take New Jersey in November. “I think we’ll play for this state,” he said. “They all say Republicans can’t win — tell me why?”
THIS MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY why Trump feels that way, despite the fact that there are nearly one million more Democrats than Republicans in the state — POLITICO (and WSJ Trenton) alum @jdawsey1, arriving in the protective press pool, captured this: “Huge, raucous reception for POTUS tonight coming into Wildwood, NJ. Hundreds of people lined every block — block after block after block — to greet his motorcade. Not an area the president regularly visits but an area where he is very popular.”
SANCTUARY STATE: Days after the Justice Department got involved in a legal fight over sanctuary policies in New Jersey, the president railed against such efforts. He claimed law enforcement in New Jersey had allowed “dangerous predators” to be “set free right into your community.” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal quickly fired back on Twitter , saying the president was lying.
Trump said that in Cumberland County, “they released an illegal alien criminal with multiple charges for sexual assault of a child. He is now at large, free to search for another innocent victim. They didn’t want to give him to ICE.” NJ Advance Media says this is “true and false.” While it’s true that someone was released from the jail meeting the general description, the county said ICE submitted incomplete paperwork.
Then the president said that “right here another criminal alien was arrested for a violent assault in New Jersey. The sanctuary jurisdiction of Middlesex County defied the ICE request to detain him. Local athorities released him and he went on to commit a gruesome triple murder,” he said.
If that actually happened, it’s news to us. @spsullivan: “So either the President of the United States is referencing a case nobody has reported on yet, or he falsely told the people of New Jersey that an accused child sexual predator is at large when in fact he has been in ICE custody for some time.”
—More fact checks: “Here’s what Trump said at the Wildwood rally. We fact-check the president.”
OTHER RALLY COVERAGE:
—Philly Inquirer’s @amysrosenberg: “Wildwood’s newly elected Democratic Mayor says he’s been told by Van Drew that he’s not welcome at rally because he is seeking reimbursement.”
—NYT: “Trump’s N.J. Rally: Sold Out Hotels, Long Lines and Subpoena-Coladas”
—NJ Advance Media: “‘Lock him up’ protestors chant outside Trump rally in Wildwood“
RICHTER VS. GIBBS: Three New Jersey GOP county chairs — none from the 3rd Congressional District — on Tuesday criticized unnamed “party leaders” for David Richter’s switch from running in the GOP primary against Jeff Van Drew in the 2nd District to against Kate Gibbs in the 3rd District. “For a party that preaches the need to support younger female candidate, what are we thinking with this boneheaded play?” Morris County GOP Chair Laura Ali, Hunterdon GOP Chair Pat Torpey and Camden County GOP Chair Rich Ambrosino wrote. Read the whole release here (Torpey corrected it after sending it to me, noting Atlantic County was mistakenly included in the 3rd District.) Meanwhile, Richter — not Gibbs — had a speaking role at Trump’s rally yesterday. “President Trump needs allies in Congress. Allies who will help him pass his legislative agenda,” Richter said. “Allies who will step Democrats from constantly trying to overturn the 2016 election, undermining our great democracy. That’s why I’m running for congress.”
N.J. DEMOCRATS TO RESPOND BY PROTESTING MORE POLITICALLY CONVENIENT DETENTION CENTER IN ELIZABETH — “ICE detainees In Newark allege poor medical care and mistreatment,” by WNYC’s Matt Katz: “Detainees at the largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in the New York/New Jersey area and their advocates say they are receiving substandard medical care, with Pepto-Bismol prescribed for prolonged stomach ailments and Bengay for a broken rib, in addition to delays in treatment, lack of access to specialized care, and disparaging comments by doctors and nurses. The complaints came from more than a dozen of the approximately 600 immigrants who are held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark while they await adjudication of their deportation cases … Essex County officials and medical staff at the jail deny the immigrants’ allegations, and said that detainees are likely to get better care at the jail than on the outside, without medical insurance or ready access to doctors. They also said that immigrants have an incentive to cry mistreatment because medical hardship could help their cases or get them bonded out.”
SCARY TIMES — “Gun permit applications jump in NJ as Jews seek protection amid rising anti-Semitic attacks,” by The Record’s Deena Yellin: “It used to be that when Yali Elkin told Orthodox Jewish friends in Teaneck that he owned a gun, they thought he was crazy. Not anymore. After a spate of violent anti-Semitic attacks around the tri-state region — including a deadly shooting at a kosher grocery store in Jersey City and an attack by a machete-wielding assailant in Monsey, New York — some are reconsidering their aversion to firearms. ‘Since the attack in Monsey, I’ve been contacted by at least 30 people from Lakewood, Monsey and Teaneck who wanted my advice about getting a gun,’ Elkin said, referring to three sizable Orthodox communities in New York and New Jersey. The prevailing notion is that ‘anyone who identifies as Jewish is a target these days.’”
—”Malinowski offers advice for Kean at Trump rally”
—”Sanders won’t compete at NJ mock presidential caucus“
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS — “CDC announces screening for coronavirus at Newark Airport“
—”NJ patient does not have coronavirus from China, state says“
SHOULD HAVE CLOSED HIS MOUTH — “Judges recommend removal of ‘close your legs’ Judge Russo for ‘severe misconduct’,” by Asbury Park Press’ Kathleen Hopkins: “A panel of judges Tuesday recommended to the state Supreme Court that Superior Court Judge John F. Russo Jr. of Toms River be removed from office for ‘severe misconduct’’ that included asking a rape victim if she kept her legs closed. The state’s high court, the only body that has the power to remove or discipline a judge, responded by scheduling oral arguments on the matter for March 30 and March 31.”
JENNY MCCARTHYISM — “Robert Kennedy Jr. headlines Holley fundraiser,” by New Jersey Globe’s Nikita Biryukov: “Prominent anti-vaccination activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a fundraiser for Assemblyman Jamel Holley at da Benito in Union Township Tuesday morning. Holley said the event, which comes weeks after Holley lobbied against a bill eliminating a religious exemption for vaccination, raised roughly $100,000 dollars.”
—“Are higher water bills part of NJ plan to fix lead pipes? Lawmakers work on cleanup bills”
—“Garden State’s no rose garden to grow old in, advocates tell lawmakers”
BIRD ON A WIRE — “GOP lawmakers criticize Energy Master Plan for including what enviros say it lacks,” by POLITICO’s Samantha Maldonado: “Republican lawmakers are criticizing the final Energy Master Plan that Gov. Phil Murphy released on Monday for including some of the very things many environmentalists say it lacks. While the lawmakers condemned phasing out natural gas and fossil fuel infrastructure and high costs of an energy transition, environmentalists want the state to halt approvals on new natural gas and fossil fuel infrastructure, move toward a future powered only by renewables and account for social, health and environmental benefits in a cost analysis.”
HOSPITALS: THE NEW BANKS — “Lawsuit: CarePoint founders used Hoboken University to loan $30M to affiliates,” by POLITICO’s Sam Sutton: “The founders of CarePoint Health took more than $30 million from Hoboken University Medical Center to prop up a pair of the for-profit health system’s affiliated businesses, according to new counterclaims filed against CarePoint in its ongoing legal battle against Avery Eisenreich and Medical Properties Trust. CarePoint’s founders allegedly used the hospital’s balance sheet to loan the money to two management services companies — Jersey Health Alliance and Quality Care Associates, which operated across all three of the health system’s hospitals in Hudson County — without notifying Hoboken‘s minority owner, Medical Properties Trust, according to counterclaims filed Tuesday by MPT in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
BAIL FAIL — “N.Y. please read this. Your bail reform is in trouble because you’re making 2 big mistakes,” by Christopher Porrino and Elie Honig for The Star-Ledger: “New Jersey’s bail reform program was implemented in 2017 after years of careful study and bipartisan negotiation. Already enormously successful … Two systemic flaws hamper New York’s reform effort. First, the new system in New York entirely eliminates judicial discretion and has erased mandatory bail evaluations for shockingly broad categories of criminal offenses — second-degree manslaughter, stalking, assault as a hate crime, grand larceny, and aggravated assault on a child under 11 years old, to name a few. Second, the New York system perpetuates a 1970’s-era rule that only permits prosecutors to argue and judges to consider whether an individual poses a risk of flight, but not whether that person presents a danger to the community. The reason for this restriction was grounded in the wholly legitimate concern that “danger” was going to be a proxy for racial bias to overwhelmingly impose bail on non-white defendants. But with an overhaul of this magnitude to the criminal justice system, New York had an opportunity to dig deeper and do better.”
BAGGING THE BAG BANS — “Have Jersey Shore town plastic bans made a difference? Nine towns have issued no fines,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Dan Radel: “Following the failure of the state to pass one of the nation’s most stringent sets of regulations on the retail use of plastic earlier this month, the Press looked into the effect that bans have had at Shore towns. One of the things the Press found was that few if any summonses have been issued for violations. The Press requested records from a dozen Shore towns that have bans on all or some of the following items: single-use plastic bags, straws and gas-filled balloons. Nine towns responded — Asbury Park, Beach Haven, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Township, Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Point Pleasant Beach — and none of them have issued a summons. But that doesn’t mean the towns aren’t enforcing their measures. Point Pleasant Beach mayor Paul Kanitra, who was a councilman when the town voted to ban single-use plastic bags in 2018, said the town could have ‘cracked down’ on businesses, but that ‘would have lost the goodwill’ the measure hopes to accomplish”
OFF THE WALL — “Wall to pay $500K to former cop in sex tape, discrimination settlement,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Mike Davis: “A former police officer whose lawsuit alleged that his supervisor forced him to make a sex tape has reached a half-million dollar settlement with the township. The township committee has unanimously approved the settlement with Suresh Madhavan, who sued the town after he was fired in July 2016 … Madhavan, an Indian American, accused the department of rampant discrimination and a host of wrongful conduct … But the crux of the lawsuit hinged on the allegation that a sergeant, one of his superiors, showed up to Madhavan’s home while drunk and demanded he film a sexual encounter between the sergeant and the sergeant’s mistress.”
—“Raritan Township municipal staffer cleared in revenge scheme against ex-lover”
EDUCATION — “Freehold Regional may end busing for 3,000 students; ‘gutting’ programs, jobs comes next,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Joe Strupp: “Freehold Regional High School District is considering drastic spending reductions that could mean ending busing for 3,000 students, new fees for team sports and yet another ballot measure to raise revenue. ‘Everything is on the table,’ Superintendent Charles Sampson said in an interview in which he also predicted larger class sizes and more job cuts. … The reductions stem from up to $30 million in state aid cuts that began last year and will continue in the future due to a new state funding realignment.”
—”Civil Service says it didn’t receive notice of Jersey City recreation reorg”
—“Holmdel committeeman OK’d nearly $10K check to his own firm; blames ‘political vendetta’”
—“NJ municipalities are cracking down on recycling rules to keep up with a changing market’
—“Perth Amboy teachers call for end to pay freeze”
IT’S ALMOST OPPOSITE 2010 CENSUS POPULATION TRENDS — “These N.J. towns gained or lost the most people since 2010. See how your town fared,” by NJ Advance Media’s Disha Raychaudhuri: “New Jersey’s urban centers — especially ones closer to New York City — kept the state growing in the past few years. Hudson, Bergen and Middlesex had the most people move into their towns, according to Census data. These counties have seen an exponential increase in residential construction that could accommodate the shift back toward the state’s urban core. Harrison in Hudson County issued over 1,000 permits for new home construction in 2017. From 2009 to 2011 — at the height of the housing crisis — the same town issued only 26 permits. In a stark contrast, Camden, Sussex and Atlantic counties lost the most people. The shrinking counties, immensely popular in the 1980s and 1990s, had one thing in common — they all existed far away from the metropolitan hubs. This is a reversal of how these regions grew from 1950 to 2000, when suburban areas experienced massive growth and urban counties languished.”
YES — “Want to work in a pot dispensary? This N.J. college will train you,” by NJ Advance Media’s Amanda Hoover: “A 15-hour certificate training to become a dispensary technician will be held at Raritan Valley Community College’s Branchburg campus beginning May 9. Sarah Trent, an attorney and chief executive of cannabis company Valley Wellness, will lead the course. ‘Knowledge of the legalities, the state’s guidelines, and the medical implications of medical cannabis are key to working in a medical dispensary,’ Trent said.”
—”One of the Turnpike’s busiest toll plazas is getting express lanes“
