Cross-Examination

• Inflation is rising: The December consumer price index numbers are in, and — surprise! — they show that inflation is going back up again. Overall, December’s annualized inflation rate came in at 3.4%, 0.2 percentage points higher than the widely anticipated 3.2%. While the biggest driver for rising inflation was increasing sheltering costs, the fact is that across the board nothing got cheaper. Furthermore, while wages have risen 0.8% from a year ago, they are still far from keeping up with inflation. According to a recent Wall Street Journal poll, “53% say they have been hurt by the president’s agenda,” and a USA Today/Suffolk University Poll found that just “29% say the economy is in recovery.” Meanwhile, in the face of this bad economy, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre continues to plug the message, “Bidenomics — it’s working.” The trouble for Joe Biden and Democrats, as the polls show, is that people aren’t buying it, and for good reason, because what they are experiencing is the exact opposite. The economy isn’t great.

• DeSantis-Haley debate/Trump town hall: Will Donald Trump engage in an official debate at all over the course of the 2024 presidential campaign? So far his answer has been a resounding “No.” And as political strategies go, it’s hard to blame him based on current polling numbers. But a debate did happen last evening hosted by CNN between Trump’s two nearest opponents, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. DeSantis arguably came out on top, as he was solid on his positions and effective in calling out Haley as being too much a part of the Washington establishment. Haley got her shots in but was the more flustered of the two. Meanwhile, across town, Fox News held a town hall event that was clearly less challenging, where Trump fielded questions from the audience. He criticized Joe Biden for bringing “chaos” to the country, citing the border crisis and woke ideology permeating the country and the military. He contrasted Biden’s chaos with his record, noting: “I had no wars. I’m the only president in 72 years — I didn’t have any wars.” He also stated that he had already picked his running mate. With the Iowa caucuses next week, the place of each of the candidates in the race for the Republican nomination will start coming into focus.

• Christie finally drops out: It took him long enough, but Chris Christie, the narcissistic Trump-deranged darling of the Democrats who kept taking the stage at Republican debates despite polling in the low single digits, finally said something that he and Donald Trump agree on: that Nikki Haley isn’t up to the job. Having dutifully denounced Trump, the guy he proudly endorsed in 2016, Christie said what everyone already knew the very moment he announced his candidacy — “there isn’t a path for me to win the nomination.” But being the blowhard that he is, Christie got caught on a hot mic and, referring to Haley, said: “She’s gonna get smoked. And you and I both know it. She’s not up to this.” As Trump said at an Iowa town hall last night: “I know her very well, and I happen to believe that Chris Christie is right. That’s one of the few things he’s been right about actually.” Christie refused to endorse anyone, which seems a bit odd, especially given the tightness of the race in New Hampshire, where Trump’s average polling lead over Haley is 14 points and Christie’s 12% could upend things. In any case, Christie’s departure won’t change the race in Iowa, where he’s polling at around 3% to Trump’s 53%. But the race in New Hampshire is worth watching because it’s an open primary — meaning that Massachusetts liberals who moved across the border can make mischief in the New Hampshire primary.

• Shocker: Hunter knew who was buying his “art”: So much for the “ethical” arrangement that the Biden White House told us back in 2021 would ensure the anonymity of the, ahem, art lovers who have so far ponied up at least $1.3 million for Hunter Biden’s creations. According to the New York Post, “Hunter Biden’s Manhattan art dealer said Tuesday that he never worked with the White House on an ethics pact to ensure buyers would remain anonymous — and added that the top purchasers were known to the first son, contrary to prior claims from President Biden’s aides.” Who, then, were these buyers? Not surprisingly, Hollywood lawyer and Biden buddy Kevin Morris, who met Hunter at a political fundraiser in December 2019 and who has supplied him with luxurious living arrangements in California, was his top patron, buying $875,000 worth of the, er, art. “The vast majority of Hunter Biden’s art,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, “has been purchased by Democrat donors, one of whom was appointed by President Biden to a prestigious commission after she purchased Hunter Biden’s art for tens of thousands of dollars shortly after Joe Biden’s inauguration.” Comer called the younger Biden’s art business “an ethical nightmare,” adding, “The White House has a lot of explaining to do about misleading the American people.” Indeed it does, but we ought not expect any real accountability for this sleazy scam.

• Fani Willis’s boyfriend jeopardizes GA case: Fani Willis, the hard-left Democrat DA who brought a massive corruption case against Trump and 18 other defendants, has some serious ‘splaining to do on her own behalf. In fact, one of those codefendants, Michael Roman, has turned the tables on Willis by filing a motion to dismiss the charges against him. As Byron York reports, “Roman alleges that Willis abused her authority by appointing her boyfriend, Nathan Wade, to be the special prosecutor in the Trump case, then paid Wade an excessive amount, and then Wade used some of that money to pay for vacations and other high living together with Willis.” It’s hard to imagine that Roman would make such charges without any merit, and we’ll likely get some additional transparency shortly, as Wills has been subpoenaed to testify in Wade’s divorce proceeding in neighboring Cobb County. York continues: “Wade has done very well financially working on his alleged girlfriend’s case against Trump. 'As of December 2023, Wade has been paid a total of $653,881, which does not include all of his billing to date and does not include the amounts paid to his law firm through his partners,’ the motion says.” Court records indicate Wade met with the Biden White House “on the same day Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to probe similar federal charges against Mr. Trump.” Collusion? Nah.

• Good news: Election integrity holds up in Ohio: Republicans have their work cut out for them in 2024, as Democrats have made permanent the electoral conditions that made the 2020 election such a sloppy and fraud-friendly mess. In Ohio, which enjoys strong Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, lawmakers passed an election integrity law last year requiring residents to present a form of ID when casting their ballots. As The Federalist reports, the law “requires Ohioans to provide a valid ‘Ohio driver’s license, state identification card, or interim identification form issued by the registrar of motor vehicles or a deputy registrar,’” which would seem entirely reasonable to anyone interested in honest elections. After Democrats had filed suit that the law was unconstitutional, a federal court ruled this week that there was no evidence of the new law placing an undue burden on the state’s voters. Not only that, but Judge Donald Nugent, who issued the ruling for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, is a Clinton appointee. Perhaps even sensible Democrats are coming to realize what a mess we’ve made of our electoral system.

• NYC students booted for illegals: On Tuesday, as stormy weather descended on New York City, Mayor Eric Adams decided to boot students out of a Brooklyn high school and use the facility to shelter some 2,000 illegal aliens. Outraged parents fear that the city is setting a precedent for future responses to migrants whenever the weather gets bad. As state Assemblyman Michael Novakhov said standing outside of James Madison High School, where the episode took place: “We never know what’s going to happen with the weather. … If the weather is bad again, are migrants supposed to be moved to this school again? Because schools are not the place for migrants — as simple as that.” A mother of a student at the school observed: “The writing was on the wall the minute the city started being inundated with migrants. It’s disgusting. It should not be put on us taxpayers.” Of course, the blame for this migrant crisis falls squarely on Joe Biden thanks to his de facto open-border policies and state Democrat lawmakers who invited these migrants when they made New York a “sanctuary state.”

• Abortion is Biden’s priority: The top issues for voters according to the polls are the economy and the border crisis, both of which just happen to be losing issues for Joe Biden. This explains Biden’s decision to make abortion rights his top campaign issue — well, other than “saving democracy.” According to Biden’s deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks: “The president has been adamant that we need to restore Roe. It is unfathomable that women today wake up in a country with less [sic] rights than their ancestors had years ago.” Politico seems to agree, as the Leftmedia outlet argued, “When abortion rights are on the ballot, they win with voters across the political spectrum — though they don’t always boost Democratic candidates on ballots advocating for them.” That is an interesting take — abortion is a winning issue even if the Democrat candidate promoting it doesn’t win.

Headlines

• Hunter Biden storms out of House hearing after showing up unexpectedly in chaotic Capitol Hill scene (New York Post) | House Judiciary, Oversight pass Hunter Biden contempt resolutions after surprise appearance (National Review)

• Trump can’t deliver closing argument in New York civil fraud trial, judge rules (CBS News)

• Ohio House overrides governor in next step to outlaw trans child mutilation (The Federalist)

• Biden renominates Julie Su for labor secretary after Senate declined to confirm her for 10 months (AP)

• Anthony Fauci finally coughs up to COVID failures (Daily Mail) | Fauci refused to explain rationale for COVID social-distancing guidelines during congressional testimony (National Review)

• Judge rules that Wisconsin absentee voting van used in 2022 was illegal (AP)

• Global shipping rates set to jump as carriers avoid the Red Sea amid Houthi attacks (CNBC)

• Taiwan gripped by election fever as new president, legislature to be voted in Saturday (Washington Times)

• Policy: The $10 trillion cost of a Taiwan war (National Review)

• Humor: Boeing CEO assures nervous fliers that all 737 aircraft are built to the highest diversity standards (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.