Trump demands immunity ahead of New Hampshire primary blitz: Latest today

On Thursday, shortly after 9.30am, Trump lawyer Alina Habba took to the lectern to finish her cross-examination of E Jean Carroll in the second defamation trial of the former president brought by the woman he was found liable for defaming and sexually abusing in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.

Almost immediately, Ms Habba’s questioning resulted in a sidebar and sustained objections. That pattern continued most of the morning, as Ariana Baio reports:

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is appealing a ruling by the Maine Superior Court to delay any decision on whether to disqualify former president Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot.

The court said it wants to wait until the US Supreme Court weighs in on the matter as raised by the Colorado Supreme Court.

Ms Bellows determined that Mr Trump was disqualified from the ballot under the 14th Amendment as an insurrectionist for his role in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

In a statement, Ms Bellows said: “Like many Americans, I welcome a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Colorado case that provides guidance as to the important Fourteenth Amendment questions in this case.

“In the interim, Maine law provides the opportunity to seek review from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court — which I requested today. I know both the constitutional and state authority questions are of grave concern to many. This appeal ensures that Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.”

The 74-year-old was found guilty of two charges of contempt in September last year after he refused to testify or hand over documents after receiving a House subpoena in February 2022.

Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough, who served in the US House as a Florida Republican between 1995 and 2001, said on MSNBC on Friday morning that “Donald Trump is not well, we know this”.

“He really does think that Barack Obama is still president of the United States,” he added.

Gustaf Kilander has the story:

Here’s more on the candidate’s CNN town hall last night, where she attacked both her Republican rival and the president over their advancing years.

Andrew Yang, the 2020 Democratic presidential contender, appeared in Hanover, New Hampshire, to stump for long-shot Biden challenger and Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips yesterday, warning that backing the president again this year would only result in a second Trump administration.

Yang rebuked Democratic leaders who did not step forward and run against Biden “despite the fact that Joe is down by eight points in Georgia, down by eight points in Michigan — states he won — down by nine points in North Carolina, which is like a swing state.

“Like, Joe Biden, who I supported last time, in my view, is going to deliver us to Trump the sequel.”

He continued: “Dean Phillips saw this and said, ‘You know what? I am going to do something about it.’

“And Dean Phillips is the only one with the courage, the character and conviction to go against the grain, to go against the legion of followers in Washington, D.C., who would put their careers above their country and said, ‘You know what? America deserves a choice. America deserves a choice in its leaders.’”

His suggestion that Marianne Williamson drop out, however, drew this angry reaction from the candidate herself.

Nikki Haley has hit back at Donald Trump for his lies about her and the New Hampshire primary.

The former president posted on Truth Social:

Governor Chris Sununu, the now failing Governor of New Hampshire, where I am beating his endorsed candidate, Nimbra, by big numbers, and DeSanctimonious by even bigger numbers, should spend more time keeping Democrats from voting in the Republican Primary – How ridiculous is that? Anyway, it doesn’t matter, because Nimbra doesn’t have what it takes. She’s weak on China, Russia, Borders, and Crime, but never saw a war she didn’t like. I defeated ISIS, Rebuilt our Military, and brought our soldiers back home. I hope Sununu’s endorsement of Nimbra has more strength than Kim Reynolds’ Iowa endorsement of DeSanctus! How did that work out? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Ignoring Mr Trump’s racist and misogynistic attacks against her by calling her “Nimbra” — and in other posts “Nimrata”, her birth name — to focus on her Indian heritage in light of sharing a birther conspiracy about her, Ms Haley hit back on X.

The former UN Ambassador and ex-South Carolina governor wrote: “Another reason we need to move on from Trump: too many lies.

“Democrats can’t vote in the NH primary. They haven’t been able to change their registration for months.”

“I was tougher on China and Russia than Trump ever was. He praised Xi a dozen times after China gave the world COVID,” she continued. “I passed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country as governor. I did more to protect South Carolinians than he did to protect Americans.”

Ms Haley concluded: “But we all know that’s why he won’t debate me. Have a great day!”

House speaker Mike Johnson’s tenure could end up being no longer than that of his predecessor Kevin McCarthy if the reaction to last’s night’s stop gap spending deal to avert a government shutdown is anything to go by.

“Nancy Pelosi would be proud of this reckless, bloated spending bill that ensures federal spending remains at the levels she set during her reign as speaker,” fumed Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert in a statement.

Her Georgia counterpart Marjorie Taylor Greene was even crosser.

Here’s Graig Graziosi on what she had to tell us.

Well, Donald Trump certainly has his reasons.

Here’s Julia Reinstein to explain.