Who would win in a Trump-Biden smackdown? Herbert signals willingness for some gun control efforts. Hatch votes for, other Utahns against spending bill.
Happy Friday. The president of the United States threatened to beat up the former vice president of the United States. Is this where we are as a country? Yes. Yes it is. To be fair, former veep Joe Biden started it with comments last year and again recently, but this is how far politics has devolved in the current era. [Politico]
Topping the news: Gov. Gary Herbert outlined a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment, detailed possible measures for preventing school shootings and encouraged Republicans to discontinue fighting over the signature-gathering process for candidates. [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4] [KSL]
-> With the exception of Sen. Orrin Hatch, Utah’s congressional representatives all oppose the newly passed government spending bill. [Trib]
-> The Davis County Republican Party used a Facebook post to accuse Mitt Romney of illegally obtaining a list of state delegates before his competitors. [Trib] [KUTV]
Tweets of the day: From @benshapiro: “There is no way America is worse off if we have a Biden-Trump fight.”
-> From @JeffFlake: “With so many fights on Capitol Hill, @CoryBooker and I are going literal: Snowball duel. East lawn Capitol Hill. In 5 minutes. Loser buys other staff pizza.”
Behind the Headlines: Tribune reporters Jessica Miller, Sean P. Means and Brian Maffly as well as editorial page editor George Pyle join KCPW’s Roger McDonough to talk about the week’s top stories, including sexual harassment allegations against a former Provo police chief and Utahns unfriending Facebook. Each Friday at 9 a.m., stream “Behind the Headlines” online at kcpw.org or tune in to KCPW 88.3 FM or Utah Public Radio for the broadcast.
In other news: Gov. Herbert signed an additional 44 bills into law, including one that would grant a $1.7M fee break for Energy Solutions and another that would allow Tesla to own and operate dealerships in Utah. [Trib]
-> In 2016, Salt Lake County jailers thought an inmate was suffering from withdrawals and did not offer her help even though she was also suffering the excruciating effects of Crohn’s disease. [Trib]
-> Utah caucus-goers are reporting turnouts that are only a third of what they were in 2016. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley depicts the new Plasticene Era. [Trib]
-> Robert Gehrke argues Congress needs to pass meaningful immigration reform before more families are torn apart. [Trib]
Nationally: President Donald Trump announced via Tweet that hard-liner John R. Bolton will replace Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as national security adviser. [NYTimes]
-> Trump’s lead attorney, John Dowd, resigned on Thursday following the president’s shake-up of his legal team in response to the special counsel’s investigation. [WaPost]
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— Thomas Burr and Eric Baker
