schedule
Happy Friday! If you’re from New Jersey, you know that commuting delays can often inspire some colorful language. Yesterday, however, the hold ups at Newark Penn Station were—and we do not mean to exaggerate—literal bull.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- President Joe Biden urged the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday to reduce civilian casualties while continuing its military operations against Hamas in Gaza. “I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives, not stop going after Hamas,” Biden said. His comments come just two days after he described Israel’s bombing campaign as indiscriminate at a fundraiser, though White House spokesman John Kirby on Wednesday told reporters he believes the Israelis are “doing everything they can to reduce civilian casualties.” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu and his war cabinet in Tel Aviv on Thursday and reportedly pushed Netanyahu to end Israel’s “high intensity” fighting in Gaza and transition to smaller-scale operations. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Sullivan that the IDF’s campaign to rid the enclave of Hamas is not yet over. “It will last more than several months,” he said. “But we will win and we will destroy them.”
- Authorities in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands said Thursday that seven people in their countries had been arrested as suspects in terror plots targeting Jews in Europe—four of the people arrested (three in Germany and one in the Netherlands) are Hamas members, according to German officials. It’s unclear whether the three individuals arrested in Denmark were also members of Hamas, though Danish authorities signaled that Jewish institutions were “a special focus” of concern. The Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, said that the people arrested in Denmark were “acting on behalf of the terrorist organization Hamas.”
- The European Union (EU) officially opened accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Thursday. While it will likely take years before either country becomes an official member of the European bloc, the start of talks marks a big win for Ukraine, which has sought membership for years. “This is a victory for Ukraine,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens.” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had opposed opening talks and boycotted the vote yesterday, continuing to block a $52 billion EU aid package to Ukraine.
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that the Senate will remain in session next week in the hopes of reaching a deal with Republicans regarding funding to Ukraine, saying he would hold a vote on an aid package next week regardless. The prospect of such an agreement grew more likely earlier this week when the White House signaled its openness to compromising on border policies in order to secure a deal. “It is going in the right direction, we believe, because those conversations continue and that’s what matters as we talk about the border and border security and moving forward with making sure we get the supplemental done,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday.
- The Commerce Department reported Thursday that retail sales—including spending on food and fuel—increased 0.3 percent month-over-month in November after declining 0.2 percent in October. Consumers spent more than expected on bars and restaurants, sporting goods stores, and online retailers as the holiday shopping season heated up.
- An Associated Press-NORC poll released Thursday showed that many Americans are unsatisfied with the increasingly likely rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in next November’s general election. According to the poll, more than half of the country is unhappy with their current options: 56 percent of respondents said they’d be somewhat or very dissatisfied if Biden becomes the Democratic nominee, and 58 percent said the same if Trump becomes the GOP nominee. The results come as a growing chorus of polls spell potential trouble for Biden’s reelection bid. A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll published Thursday found that if the election were held today, Trump would beat Biden in seven swing states. The former president’s projected victories in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are within the margin of error in the poll, but greater in Georgia and North Carolina.
- Republican Rep. Drew Ferguson of Georgia announced Thursday that he would not seek reelection to his seat next year, adding another name to the wave of congressional retirements over the last two months. Ferguson said he and his wife “look[ed] forward to spending more time with our children and grandchildren,” but the Georgian and his family reported receiving death threats after he voted against Rep. Jim Jordan’s short-lived House speakership bid in October. Democratic Rep. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina also announced he wouldn’t run for reelection, after Republican-led redistricting reshaped his district in October. Nickel said he would instead explore a Senate run in 2026.
Back in the U.S.A
Russia fired ballistic missiles targeting Kyiv early Wednesday morning, injuring more than 50 people. The attacks came just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with leaders in Washington to plead his case for more aid—and left empty handed.
The overnight attack on the war-torn nation’s capital was a stark reminder that the war in Ukraine rages on as President Joe Biden and Congress continue to negotiate a deal to reform border policy in exchange for more support to Ukraine. Biden and congressional Democrats echo Zelensky’s concerns that aid is imminently needed to resupply ammunition and stave off a particularly dangerous Russian onslaught this winter. Many Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, agree with these concerns, but argue any foreign aid must be part of a larger legislative package, including border and immigration policy changes. Zelensky’s trip marked his third to the U.S. since the war began, and included perhaps his most urgent plea for help to date—though with the House of Representatives already adjourned until the new year, there’s a very real chance he doesn’t ...
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. Our full 1,330-word story on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Washington, D.C., is available in the members-only version of TMD.
Worth Your Time
- In a 16,000-word essay for The Economist, James Bennet—the former editorial page editor at the New York Times who was fired for running an op-ed in the summer of 2020 by Sen. Tom Cotton that advocated for the deployment of the National Guard to quell increasingly violent protests—criticized the higher-ups of the Gray Lady for caving to various pressures. “One of the glories of embracing illiberalism is that, like Trump, you are always right about everything, and so you are justified in shouting disagreement down,” Bennet wrote. “In the face of this, leaders of many workplaces and boardrooms across America find that it is so much easier to compromise than to confront—to give a little ground today in the belief you can ultimately bring people around. This is how reasonable Republican leaders lost control of their party to Trump and how liberal-minded college presidents lost control of their campuses. And it is why the leadership of the New York Times is losing control of its principles.” The Times has lost its way, Bennet argued. “Since Adolph Ochs bought the paper in 1896, one of the most inspiring things the Times has said about itself is that it does its work ‘without fear or favour,’” he wrote. “That is not true of the institution today—it cannot be, not when its journalists are afraid to trust readers with a mainstream conservative argument such as Cotton’s, and its leaders are afraid to say otherwise. As preoccupied as it is with the question of why so many Americans have lost trust in it, the Times is failing to face up to one crucial reason: that it has lost faith in Americans, too. For now, to assert that the Times plays by the same rules it always has is to commit a hypocrisy that is transparent to conservatives, dangerous to liberals and bad for the country as a whole. It makes the Times too easy for conservatives to dismiss and too easy for progressives to believe. The reality is that the Times is becoming the publication through which America’s progressive elite talks to itself about an America that does not really exist.”
Presented Without Comment
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, delivering his farewell address on the House floor: “If you come across that question of whether you should do what’s right out of fear of losing your job, do it anyways. Because it’s the right thing to do, and this is what the nation requires.”
Also Presented Without Comment
The Wall Street Journal: Hong Kong Issues Bounties for More Exiled Dissidents
Another Great Dispatch Event
Thank you to the hundreds of Dispatch members who came from near and far to join Jonah and Kevin last night in Bellevue, Washington. We hope you had a blast!
Toeing the Company Line
- In the newsletters: Nick outlined (🔒) what he thinks will happen after a Trump primary landslide.
- On the podcasts: In his Dispatch Podcast debut, John McCormack is joined by Sarah, Steve, and Mike to discuss the Biden impeachment inquiry, the Texas abortion controversy, and proper karaoke etiquette.
- On the site: Drucker reports on No Labels’ recent stumbles and Kevin breaks down Argentina’s push to dollarize.
James Scimecca is the editorial partnerships manager at The Dispatch, and is based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the company in 2023, he served as the director of communications at the Empire Center for Public Policy. When James is not busy generating shareholder revenue, he can usually be found running along the Potomac River, cooking up a new recipe, or scoping out a new karaoke bar.
Grayson Logue is a staff writer for The Dispatch and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the company in 2023, he worked in political risk consulting, helping advise Fortune 50 companies. He was also an assistant editor at Providence Magazine and is a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh, pursuing a Master’s degree in history. When Grayson is not writing pieces for the website, he is probably working hard to reduce the number of balls he loses on the golf course.
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