WASHINGTON – Donald Trump paid little or no political price for the sex scandals, investigations and legal risks that have always surrounded him – at least until the end, when his party lost the White House and control of the United States Senate.
But does this apply to other Republican politicians?
We are about to find out from ex-Missouri Governor Eric Greitens’ announcement that he is running for the Senate seat for Senator Roy Blunt’s retirement, R-Mo.
Greitens resigned as governor in 2018 amid sexual misconduct and campaign funding allegations, writes NBC’s Ben Kamisar.
More from Kamisar: “A woman with whom Greitens later admitted to having an extramarital affair accused him of taking a nude picture of her without her consent and told state investigators in the Chamber that he assaulted her. Prosecutors initially accused him of an invasion of privacy related to the episode, but the charge was dropped. “
On Fox News, announcing his candidacy for the Senate, Greitens said he was exonerated after dropping the charges and after a state ethics committee concluded that his campaign – but not Greitens himself – committed campaign funding violations.
Greitens told Fox that he resigned from the job because of his family, because “it was what I needed to do for the people I love most”.
Still, the Greens’ candidacy for the Senate is a risky business for a Republican Party seeking to win back the Senate with a challenging map and – so far – five Republican Senate pensions announced.
If he is the nominee, Republicans will have to decide whether to embrace someone with that kind of background.
(US representatives. Ann Wagner, Vicky Hartzler and Billy Long are other potential Republican candidates to run for Blunt.)
We remember when Roy Moore lost a Senate seat in Alabama (a state Trump won by 25 points in 2020), and when Kris Kobach lost the race for governor in Kansas (a state Trump won by 15 points).
Candidates are important.
Donald Trump, as the saying goes, could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it.
But what about Eric Greitens?
Discover the potential of the Republican Party – and infused by Trump – 2022 Senate class
Greitens was not the only Republican to announce a Senate nomination on Monday.
So did Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala. – for the seat being vacated by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
Brooks, of course, spoke at that January 6 rally, saying, “Today is the day when American patriots begin to write down names and detonate.” (Brooks later said that the context for his comments was in the 2022 and 2024 elections, not about the violence that would later occur on Capitol Hill.)
Brooks. Greitens. Josh Mandel or Jane Timken in Ohio. Get to know the potential of the Republican Party – and infused by Trump – the 2022 Senate class.
Tweet of the day
Data download: the numbers you need to know today
51 percent: The proportion of Republicans who now claim to support gay and lesbian couples who marry legally in a new PRRI poll, the first time the poll found support from the majority of Republicans.
67 percent: The proportion of Americans in general who support same-sex marriage.
$ 3 trillion: The price informed for President Biden’s great infrastructure / climate proposal.
More than 200,000: The number of people who used a special registration period to sign up for Obamacare.
At least 30: The number of countries that have not yet vaccinated a single person.
29,998,618: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, according to the latest data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 55,033 more than yesterday morning.)
545,506: The number of deaths caused by the virus in the United States so far, according to the latest data from NBC News. (There are 658 more than yesterday morning.)
126,509,736: Number of vaccine doses administered in the USA
12.8 percent: The proportion of Americans who are fully vaccinated.
37: The number of days left for Biden to reach his 100-day vaccination goal.
Senate confirms Biden’s choice for Labor Secretary
By a 68-29 vote on Monday, the Senate confirmed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as President Biden’s Secretary of Labor, according to NBC’s Frank Thorp.
Biden Cabinet Watch
State: Tony Blinken (confirmed)
Treasury: Janet Yellen (confirmed)
Defense: Ret. General Lloyd Austin (confirmed)
Attorney General: Merrick Garland (confirmed)
Internal security: Alejandro Mayorkas (confirmed)
HHS: Xavier Becerra (confirmed)
Agriculture: Tom Vilsack (confirmed)
Transport: Pete Buttigieg (confirmed)
Energy: Jennifer Granholm (confirmed)
Inside: Deb Haaland (confirmed)
Education: Miguel Cardona (confirmed)
Business: Gina Raimondo (confirmed)
Job: Marty Walsh (confirmed)
HUD: Marcia Fudge (confirmed)
Veterans Affairs: Denis McDonough (confirmed)
UN Ambassador: Linda Thomas-Greenfield (confirmed)
Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines (confirmed)
EPA: Michael Regan (confirmed)
SBA: Isabel Guzman
And the week number is … 3,143
Get ready for a deep dive into some county numbers at The Chuck Toddcast.
ICYMI: What else is happening in the world
Here is the latest news on how some Democrats are concerned about their own party’s efforts to overturn a dispute in the Iowa House.
A SEAL veteran of the Navy is challenging Raphael Warnock in Georgia.
First Lady Jill Biden was expected to be involved in the effort to reunite migrant children with their parents. So far, this is not happening.