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Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said on Sunday that a reelection bid by former President TrumpDonald TrumpHillicon Valley Biden's misinformation warning On The Money Biden's plea: Don't count out Build Back Better Biden mulling student loan freeze extension MORE would be "bad" for the GOP and the nation.

"Fox News Sunday" host Bret Baier asked Hogan if he believed that the Republican Party could win in 2024 with Trump as its nominee.

"I think that'd be bad for the party and bad for President Trump and bad for the country. So I don't think he's gonna run, and I would my advice be that he did not," Hogan said.

Hogan, who is currently serving his second term as governor and is barred from running for a third, was asked if he would consider running for the presidency regardless of whether Trumpruns again.

"I'm gonna be governor until Jan. 23 [2023], and then I'm going to take a look at what the options are after that," he replied.

During his interview, Hogan also touched on issues his state is dealing with, including the omicron variant of COVID-19. The Maryland governor predicted that the new variant of concernwillsoon become the dominant strain in his state.

"I would say in the next couple of days omicronis going to be the dominant variant in our state, and we are anticipating over the next three to five weeks probably the worst surge we've seen in our hospitals throughout the entire crisis," said Hogan. "But we don't expect it to last for long. We're hoping it starts to taper off fairly quickly, but we're facing a pretty rough time."

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Republican governor says Trump reelection bid would be 'bad' for GOP and US | TheHill - The Hill

There is no doubt: Madison Cawthorn is a polarizing figure. No more so than within his own party.

"If Madison Cawthorn is the Republican on the ballot in the 13th (District), I'm not voting for Madison Cawthorn. I will vote for the Democrat," said former state Rep. Charles Jeter, who served in the North Carolina General Assembly from 2012 to 2016.

That is no small statement, considering it came from a Mecklenburg County Republican. Jeter resides in the newly drawn 13th Congressional District, the one Cawthorn has decided to run for next year.

"People will say 'Well, you're going to put Pelosi in charge,'" Jeter said, acknowledging the wrath he is likely to endure from fellow Republicans for speaking out against another party member, especially one so closely aligned with former President Donald Trump.

"Well, you know what? I'd rather have a grown up in the room," Jeter said.

Cawthorn's move to the 13th is a bold one for a 26-year-old freshman congressman, according to Meredith College Political Science Professor David McLennan.

"It's highly unusual for someone to move to a district outside of the one they're serving," McLennan said. "I mean, you don't see incumbents running in different districts very often."

Cawthorn's decision came after the North Carolina General Assembly's Republican majority completed new district maps for the decade. Those maps face legal challenges and are set for trial in state court early next month.

But for now, Cawthorn has filed to run in the 13th, a district that includes part of Mecklenburg County, a major media market, and then, moving west, Gaston, Rutherford, Polk, Burke, McDowell, and most notably, Cleveland County.

Catawba College Political Science Professor Michael Bitzer said Cawthorn's maneuvering was all the more shocking because it seemed to alter the trajectory of state Rep. Tim Moore, the Speaker of the House. Many political observers believed the new 13th District was specially tailored for a congressional run by Moore, a Cleveland County Republican.

But last month, Moore bowed out immediately after Cawthorn announced his bid for the 13th in a video posted on social media.

"We were first in flight, first in freedom and together we will put America first for generations to come," Cawthorn said in his recorded statement.

In that same video, Cawthorn also stated he was switching to the 13th because he was "afraid that another establishment, go-along-to-get-along Republican would prevail there."

That comment did not sit well with Dennis Bailey, a former Cleveland County GOP chairman, who, like many people, saw the slight as aimed at Tim Moore.

"Anybody that thinks he's a 'go-along-to-get-along' doesn't know Tim Moore." Bailey said, in an interview outside a downtown Shelby restaurant where the Cleveland County GOP was holding its Christmas Party.

Bailey said he thinks Cawthorn could be seen as an outsider in a 13th District Republican primary. Cawthorn is from Henderson County, part of what has been redrawn as the 14th Congressional District.

"Carpet baggers don't tend to do well, in my mind," Bailey said. "I don't think you can represent a district that you're not in and from."

Danny Lee Blanton, another attendee of the Cleveland County GOP Christmas Party that night, said he shares Bailey's view.

"If I'm going to vote for him, I want him to live here," Blanton, a Cleveland County School Board member, said of Cawthorn.

There is no requirement that members of congress live in the district they represent, though they typically do. And the new 13th District does include some counties that are in the western North Carolina district Cawthorn currently represents.

Catawba College Political Scientist Michael Bitzer says the "go-along-to-get-along" label couldn't be more inaccurate as applied to Moore. The longtime House Speaker has championed lower corporate and personal income taxes and opposed the expansion of Medicaid coverage.

"He has adhered to the Republican ideological orthodoxy of social conservatism, economic conservatism," Bitzer said of Moore.

Cawthorn has said he wasn't speaking about any particular politician when he used the "go-along-to-get-along" phrase.

But policy is beside the point when it comes to Cawthorn, according to Western North Carolina University Political Science Prof. Chris Cooper.

"This is a rhetorical and tactical difference when we talk about 'establishment wing of the party' versus the 'Madison Cawthorn, Mark Robinson, Donald Trump wing of the party,'" Cooper said. "It's not about ideology; it's about style."

And it is about fulfilling a mission to spread the gospel of Trump.

"Cawthorn has got a strategy, and he has been quite explicit about saying, he wants to get more pro-Trump Republicans in congress," said Meredith College Political Science Prof. and Poll Director David McLennan.

That strategy was on full display a couple of weeks ago when Cawthorn and some other Republicans met with Trump at the ex-President's Mar-a-Lago resort, in Florida. According to widespread news reports, Cawthorn presented his own plan dictating which candidates should run for which North Carolina Congressional districts.

That plan included Republican Mark Walker switching from a U.S. Senate run to a Congressional race, paving the way for Trump endorsee Ted Budd to challenge former Gov. Pat McCrory in a GOP senate primary.

In an email exchange with WUNC, Cawthorn's campaign spokesman declined to provide details about the Mar-a-Lago meeting.

Cawthorn's brash style clearly resonates with Republican voters like Ronnie Grigg. Grigg is a candidate for the Cleveland County School Board and was also attending the local GOP's Christmas Party.

"Well I just think he stands firm on his beliefs and I think that's what we need," Grigg said. "We need somebody that's strong a strong conservative."

Nannette Leonhart, another Cleveland County resident and Republican Party member, also said she likes what she has seen of Cawthorn online.

"He's a go-getter. He's not going to back down from the issues," Leonhart said.

One of those issues is questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. A conversation with Leonhart made clear she subscribes to the baseless claim that the election was stolen from ex-President Trump even though extensive post-election audits, thorough ballot counting and frivolous lawsuits have shown the claim to be a lie.

None of that seems to make a difference to Cleveland County GOP voter Linda Robinson either, who said about Trump: "He still is our president. It was stolen, admit it."

And Robinson indicated she was impressed that Cawthorn joined the ex-President at the Jan. 6 rally after which pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a violent coup attempt.

Barring any court-ordered redraw of the Congressional district map and without any Tim Moore-caliber Republicans to challenge him in a primary, there is very little standing in Cawthorn's way to victory in the 13th, a district drawn to heavily favor a GOP candidate.

There are other Republicans who have declared their intention to run for the GOP nomination in the 13th. They include Karen Bentley, a former Mecklenburg County Commissioner, and former Huntersville Mayor John Aneralla.

Neither Bentley nor Aneralla got to file before the North Carolina Supreme Court suspended 2022 candidate filing and postponed the primaries until May pending litigation over state Legislative and Congressional District maps.

But Aneralla, who also has served as the Mecklenburg County GOP Chairman, while touting what he saw as his geographic advantage in a primary, implicitly acknowledged that even a Republican like him with a record of civic and political leadership faces a daunting task in taking on someone with the public profile of Cawthorn.

"All things being equal, 52% of the vote is in Gaston County and Mecklenburg County," Aneralla said. "That's where the bulk of the vote will come from. However, you know, having big-name I.D., good or bad, will help in the primary."

For former state Representative and Mecklenburg County Republican Charles Jeter, the stakes in a 13th District GOP primary are high.

"To me, I don't want to get too melodramatic," Jeter said. "But I really do believe it's the soul of Republican Party."

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Is Madison Cawthorn on a crusade for the 'soul' of the Republican Party? - WUNC

For the first two years of Trumps presidency, Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate. They werent very interested in looking into wrongdoing by Trump or other members of his administration, even when there were numerous indications that it was taking place. One area where some members readily used their oversight powers, however, was to go after the Russia investigation and those who had set it into motion. Most of these actions took place through the House Intelligence Committee; its then-chairman, Devin Nunes, is retiring from Congress after this term to join Trumps new media operation.

Its doubtful that Republicans would take a similarly laissez-faire approach to executive branch oversight if they win next November. To the contrary, they have expressed interest in a wide range of issues already. Some arent completely without merit: Lawmakers from both parties have demanded answers about the chaotic nature of the Afghanistan withdrawal over the summer. But others have a more partisan sheen. In September, a group of GOP members of the House Oversight Committee requested documents from an art gallery owner about his role in the sale of Hunter Bidens paintings.

The younger Biden is no stranger to bad-faith GOP inquiries. Trumps first impeachment, in 2019, came after Congress learned he had pressured the Ukrainian government to smear the elder Biden with corruption allegations related to his son, a Ukrainian energy company that Hunter had worked for while his father was vice president, and Joe Bidens own role in pressuring Ukraine on an investigation into that company. The Burisma allegations never made much sense because Biden was pressuring a Ukrainian prosecutor to go harder, not easier, on the company. Even the GOP-led Senate Homeland Security Committee failed to turn up any evidence of wrongdoing on Bidens part when it released a report on the matter last September.

So it would be unsurprising that the GOP might want to take another whack at the presidents troubled son after 2022, or go after any high-ranking Biden administration officials, or even try to target prominent people in the Democratic orbit. Top Republican lawmakers havent exactly hidden their ambitions to use congressional investigations to inflict political damage on their Democratic opponents. After four Americans died in a terrorist attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya in 2012, GOP lawmakers spent the next four years holding hearings and launching probes into the attack. Congress couldnt be faulted for launching inquiries into an incident in which a U.S. ambassador died, of course, but it soon became obvious that its real target was thenSecretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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Republicans Warn of Reprisals if They Win Back the House in 2022 - The New Republic

By Robert Wilson

Jackson Preps Tim Wise coached college basketball for 14 years at Millsaps College, but he has seen few performances like he saw about his Prep Patriots last week.

Clinton Christian Academys 5-foot-7 junior point guard KJ Sykes was one assist short of a triple double a rare accomplishment in high school in a 63-58 victory over Prep. Sykes had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists to lead the MAIS defending Class 4A state champions over Class 6A Prep.

Sykes averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists in three games last week.

For his outstanding performance last week, Sykes has been named the Priority One Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Boys Basketball Player of the Week.

KJ put us on our heels from the outset, said Wise, whose team lost only its second game this season against CCA. His ability to stop, start and change direction in an explosive manner puts Sykes in an elite class of guards. He was one assist from a triple double and to do that in 32 minutes explains the type of game he had. And his points came off 2-point field goals and free throws, no 3-pointers made, which makes the night even more special.

KJ is our best player and the hardest working kid on the team, said CCA coach Josh Zeitz, who doubles as the girls coach and was named the Priority One Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Coach of the Year last season. He is an Honor Society student that leads on and off the court. He has had some great games at CCA, but his performance against Jackson Prep stands out. Every time Prep made a run, KJ either hit a big shot or set his teammates up for a great shot.

Sykes also had 24 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in three quarters in a 67-46 victory over Class 5A Brookhaven Academy and 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in a 60-43 loss to Class 6A Parklane Academy and 6-10 junior forward and Ole Miss commitment Jacob Gazzo.

Sykes is averaging 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals for 8-9 CCA this season. He scored a career-high 40 points against St. Aloysius.

He averaged 18 points, 3.2 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals and led CCA to the 31-7 record and the 3A state title and Overall Tournament semifinals. CCA hasnt lost to a 4A team or smaller in two years and plays its home games at Sunnybrook in Ridgeland. CCAs new gym is scheduled to be ready Jan. 15.

CCAs next game is at Hillcrest tonight.

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PriorityOne Bank Basketball Player of the Week - 12-16 - Mississippi Scoreboard

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Agenda Aaj Tak. (Image credits: Rajwant Rawat)

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee government, levelling a series of charges against the Trinamool Congress regime at Agenda Aaj Tak on Friday. He said the situation in Bengal was such that it resembles a gas chamber for democracy.

Dhankhar said, Bengal has become a gas chamber for democracy. People are so scared that they cant talk about that fear.

He said Bengal saw excessive violence after the assembly poll results were announced in May this year. He said, A retired judge of the Calcutta High Court who heads the state human rights commission told me, My human rights commission is in ICU. This is the state of affairs in Bengal.

He said the Constitution was not being followed in Bengal. As Governor of Bengal, I addressed the Bengal Assembly twice. It was blacked out both times, he said.

Over a dozen vice-chancellors were appointed without my knowledge. The governor is the VC of universities in a state but this happened without my knowledge, said Dhankhar, claiming that the Mamata Banerjee government was not allowing him to function as the governor of the state.

Dhankhar said CM Mamata Banerjee did not provide the information sought by him over the matters of the state in two years. He said the governor enjoyed the power to seek a response from the chief minister, but in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee refused to provide any answer.

READ MORE: Bring MSP law, public will bless you in polls: Rakesh Tikait to Centre | Agenda Aaj Tak

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Bengal a gas chamber for democracy: Governor Dhankhar ...