Atlanta, GA
Trump’s 2024 GOP rivals converge on Atlanta just days after his latest indictment
ATLANTA (AP) — Several Republican White House hopefuls are set to greet a conservative conference with hopes of making up ground against Donald Trump. But his shadow may be especially difficult to escape in the city where he was most recently indicted.
Trump won’t speak at The Gathering, an Atlanta event by syndicated radio host Erick Erickson taking place Friday and Saturday about 10 miles from the jail where the former president has to surrender before next Friday on a racketeering indictment related to the 2020 election. Six of his 2024 rivals, meanwhile, are scheduled for onstage interviews with Erickson, an influential conservative who has been critical of the former president.
The timing sets up one more example of the struggle Trump’s GOP opponents face: He dominates the primary polls and media attention — especially on cable news and talk radio — even as he faces multiple criminal indictments for alleged actions before, during and after his presidency. While they carry immense legal jeopardy, the four indictments seem to have hardened Trump’s support among core GOP voters, even as a majority of Americans disapprove of him. And many party loyalists who say they are open to alternatives still don’t want to hear criticisms of Trump.
“It’s hard for anybody to get any oxygen in the room with President Trump,” said Terry Lathan, a former Alabama Republican Party chairwoman who has previously backed Trump but now supports Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the 2024 nomination.
“Donald Trump can be exhausting,” Lathan said. “But people will walk on broken glass to vote for the guy.”
DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley are set to appear Friday in the Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead, a Republican-leaning enclave in an otherwise Democratic-dominated city. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will speak Saturday.
Each candidate will join Erickson for a Q&A, with the host promising a focus on their goals and issues, including artificial intelligence, Christian nationalism in America, and dealing with China as a global U.S. rival. Erickson said attendees come from 47 states. In his previews, Erickson has not mentioned Trump, though his chosen theme for the conference — “Forward: Which Way” — nods at how he wants to define the moment for Republicans.
Of the candidates appearing with Erickson, though, only Christie has consistently blasted Trump for alleged acts contained in the indictments. The rest typically echo in some fashion Trump’s counterassaults against a “witch hunt,” while avoiding details of the cases.
Addressing reporters in the early primary state of New Hampshire, DeSantis said he had not “had a chance to read” the Georgia indictment, a sweeping 98-page case in which District Attorney Fani Willis invoked state racketeering laws used to prosecute organized criminal networks. DeSantis instead attacked Atlanta itself and, implicitly, the Black prosecutor Trump has labeled as “racist.”
“I will tell you,” DeSantis said, “Atlanta has huge problems with crime right now, and there has been an approach to crime which has been less than exacting.”
He offered no supporting evidence for that deflection, which was reminiscent of Trump lashing out at civil rights icon John Lewis in 2017. The late Atlanta congressman had declared Trump was “not a legitimate president” and refused to attend his inauguration. Trump answered that Lewis’ district, which still includes downtown Atlanta and Buckhead, was “falling apart (and) crime infested.”
Leading Republicans say GOP candidates have few practical options other than to campaign on Trump’s terms — or at least sidestep him whenever possible.
Whit Ayres, a national pollster based in Virginia, handicapped the GOP electorate as 10-15% “Never Trumpers” — those who might gravitate to Christie for his attacks on Trump — and 35% or so “die-hard MAGA Trump supporters,” referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
The rest, half or a slim majority of the party, “have doubts about his electability” in a general election but are still “reliable Republicans who voted for him twice,” Ayres said. Trump’s rivals cannot win over that remaining faction by “going after him frontally,” the pollster argued.
As a Republican, “you can’t call him unfit for office,” Ayres said. “That’s basically requiring half the party to admit they screwed up and put someone unfit for office into the Oval Office. That’s just a psychological step too far for most people.”
Erickson this week tacitly acknowledged the dynamics. He spent significant time on his radio show dissecting Trump’s legal peril and pushed back at some Trump supporters’ reactions, albeit gingerly. A former practicing attorney, Erickson rebutted online memes and conservative social media conversations that have dismissed the indictment because it includes defendants’ actions that appear to be routine political activity.
“Trump supporters believe the 2020 election was stolen from him. The district attorney in Georgia says actually it was Donald Trump who was trying to steal the election,” Erickson said. “Whether you believe it or not, whether you believe it’s political or not, that’s what the indictment is about.”
Perhaps the best Trump’s rivals can do — in Atlanta, the first primary debate next week and going forward — is maintain a foothold in the quiet hopes that one of the pending trials takes place and damages the former president before he secures another GOP nomination.
“This race may appear frozen,” Ayres said. “The surface of the ocean looks calm, but there are all kinds of currents underneath that could disrupt the surface.”
Yet a former Trump ally like Lathan demonstrates the challenge for his opponents.
She said she is alarmed by the Florida indictment on allegations that Trump wrongly kept classified material at his Mar-a-Lago residence. But the other cases, she added, are evidence of “Democrats and the Biden administration” targeting him.
And if Trump wins the nomination, she said: “I’m there. Game on.”
Trump has “taken more arrows than anyone who has ever held that office,” Lathan argued. “There are a lot of Republicans who will break back to him because of this. I mean, do all these ‘get Trump’ people not realize they’re just making him stronger?”
Atlanta, GA
Falcons Regain NFC South Lead, Control Playoff Destiny as Bucs Lose to Cowboys
ATLANTA — As if the Atlanta Falcons’ Sunday couldn’t get any better, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Daron Bland gave Atlanta an early Christmas present.
But only after stealing one from Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White.
Leading 26-24 inside of two minutes to play, the Cowboys’ defense needed a stand Sunday night — and Bland stripped the ball from White’s grasp, forcing a game-sealing turnover.
Tampa Bay entered Sunday leading the NFC South by one game over Atlanta, but the Falcons (8-7) dominated the Giants (2-13), taking a 34-7 victory Sunday afternoon inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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Coupled with the Buccaneers’ loss, Atlanta and Tampa Bay now share the same 8-7 record — but since the Falcons swept the season series, they own the tiebreaker. Thus, Atlanta leads the NFC South through 16 weeks.
The Falcons controlled the division for much of the early part of the season before losing control in Week 14, when they reached the end of their four-game losing streak while Tampa Bay had won three consecutive games.
Atlanta, which led the NFC South by two games in mid-November and held the division lead entering December, now merely has to win out to secure its first NFC South title since 2016 and its first playoff trip since 2017.
The Falcons close the season with a Sunday Night Football road game against the Washington Commanders (10-5) on Dec. 29 before hosting the Carolina Panthers (4-11) in the finale Jan. 5.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, hosts the Panthers and New Orleans Saints (5-9, pending Monday night game) to finish the campaign.
The Buccaneers have a 52% chance to win the NFC South compared to the Falcons’ 48% chance, according to The Athletic‘s playoff projections model.
But ultimately, the only number that matters to Atlanta is two — the Falcons’ magic number, as any combination of their own wins or Buccaneers losses that equates to two sends Atlanta to the postseason.
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Atlanta, GA
Michael Penix Jr. shines in Atlanta Falcons’ debut victory over New York Giants | NFL on FOX Pod
Video Details
Dave Helman sits down to recap the Atlanta Falcons’ victory over the New York Giants! Within the conversation, Helman reacts to Michael Penix Jr.’s debut and explains why he had an impressive performance for the Falcons!
1 HOUR AGO・the nfl on fox podcast・6:13
Atlanta, GA
Falcons Risers, Fallers: Buy Stock in Michael Penix Jr. After Win vs. Giants
ATLANTA — After falling behind by a touchdown early in the second quarter, the Atlanta Falcons (8-7) scored 34 unanswered points to close out Sunday’s 34-7 victory over the New York Giants (2-13) inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta has eclipsed seven wins for the first time since 2017, and it now enters the final two games of the regular season with a shot at the postseason — and with a jolt of energy from rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Here’s who’s rising and falling after the Falcons’ victory …
QB Michael Penix Jr.
The consensus from Atlanta’s side postgame on Penix: He played well.
Rookie quarterbacks can go either way in their debut. Penix was solid, completing 18-of-27 passes for 202 yards, no touchdowns and an interception that bounced out of tight end Kyle Pitts’ hands and into the arms of Giants cornerback Cor’Dale Flott.
Consider Sunday a success for Penix, who provided no reason to stop dreaming.
OLB Matt Judon
Judon’s season overall hasn’t been what many expected when Atlanta sent a third-round pick to the New England Patriots for his services in August, but he’s turned a corner lately — and played his best game of the season Sunday.
The 32-year-old Judon collected one sack, two quarterback hits, a pass deflection and returned an interception 27 yards to the endzone for his first career touchdown.
Judon wore plenty of blame when he was struggling. He deserves similarly strong credit when he plays at the level he did Sunday.
ILB Kaden Elliss
Elliss is the only player in the NFL with a sack in each of the last four consecutive weeks, according to the Falcons’ communication staff. He was excellent Sunday, logging a team-high seven tackles and two quarterback hits.
The 6’2″, 238-pound Elliss notched one sack — a forced fumble that was recovered by outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie and gave Atlanta’s offense the ball in plus-territory.
Since inserting Elliss into the pass rushing plan more frequently, the Falcons’ pass rush — and defense as a whole — has made considerable strides.
TE Kyle Pitts
Pitts was targeted only twice — one went for seven yards, and the other led to Penix’s interception on a pass that hit his hands.
After a four-catch game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15, Pitts failed to carry that production back home. He now has one or fewer receptions in four of the Falcons’ last five games and five of their last seven.
Evidently, Pitts’ minimal production since the calendar flipped to November wasn’t solely due to quarterback Kirk Cousins.
There really isn’t much to complain about regarding Atlanta’s performance. Perhaps a slow start? A missed field goal from kicker Riley Patterson, who responded by making his other two field goals and all four extra points?
For the first time this season, there’s only one faller.
The Falcons return to action at 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29, against the Washington Commanders inside Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
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