In 2024, Will Republicans Run on Abortion or Run Away From It?

Plus, Falwell’s Downfall: The Pool Boy’s Story

Nov 18, 2022

CHARLIE SYKES: Is The Twitterpocalypse Nigh?
JVL: She Was Worth the Trouble 🔐
SONNY BUNCH: ‘The Menu’ Review
ADAM FLEMING PETTY: Rage Against the Machine and the Narrow ’90s.
SECRET POD: The World Is Changed. 🔐
ATMA: What Should the Kids Be Reading?🔐

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WILLIAM SALETAN: In 2024, Will Republicans Run on Abortion or Run Away From It?

Why did Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, do so well in the midterms?
One reason, some pundits speculate, is that DeSantis found the sweet spot in the abortion debate. In April, two months before the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, DeSantis signed a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. By steering clear of the first trimester, he allowed more than 90 percent of pregnancy terminations to remain legal.

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Steve Bannon knows he’s lying, irrational exuberance took over Kari Lake HQ, and Mar-a-Lago is in a bubble. Tim Miller joins Charlie Sykes for the weekend pod.

Bret Stephens joins the group to share reflections on Trump’s prospects, lessons for both parties from the midterms, and changing your mind in public.

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CALUM BEST: Falwell’s Downfall: The Pool Boy’s Story.

In 2018, a real estate–related lawsuit in Miami attracted the attention of a Buzzfeed News reporter, who was intrigued to find then–Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. sharing his previously-reported ownership of a local hostel with a pool attendant named Giancarlo Granda. That story marked the beginning of a yearslong scandal that culminated in Falwell—a major Donald Trump ally whose endorsement helped move the needle among evangelicals for the former president’s 2016 campaign—outed as a cuckold, a secret alcoholic, and a cynic about his professed Christian faith. Falwell resigned from Liberty University under pressure in August 2020, embarrassing the school’s board, who had offered Falwell a free reign and their unqualified support for more than a decade.

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