Today’s notice: Theorizing about conspiracies. What Steve Scalise felt on Saturday night. Hill Democrats ponder Kamala-mentum. The king of England meets the First Pollinators. And: NOTUS talks to candidates self-funding their campaigns.

THE LATEST

Rhetoric and response: The White House insisted yesterday that Democrats and their heated rhetoric about Donald Trump led to Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Democrats brushed it off. “I don’t give a damn about your criticism,” Hakeem Jeffries said yesterday, noting that his “maximum warfare” quote that set Republicans off originally came from the White House.

This is a familiar back-and-forth by now. But more and more Democratic allies are stepping over the line from antagonism to outright conspiracies. Popular progressive influencers, like the TikTok-famous lawyer and podcaster Michael Foote, posted winking claims that what some people experienced in that hotel ballroom, and others watched live on TV, actually did not happen — at least not as it appeared. (Foote did not respond to a request for comment.)

Party voices shut this kind of stuff down in 2024 after the reporter Kadia Goba (now of NOTUS) exposed prominent Democratic fundraiser and strategist Dmitri Mehlhorn for boosting the baseless theory that the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a false flag. Mehlhorn apologized and, for the most part, faded from prominence.

To be sure, this is not a Democrat problem. It’s an internet-era problem. “I can’t think of an event — shooting, school shooting, terrorist attack, war atrocity — that didn’t have a conspiracy theory attached to it within a few days,” University of Central Florida historian David Head emailed us. Now it takes minutes, but the steps are the same.

But it’s a problem today, so: Do Democrats need to go hard against the WHCD truthers?

The argument for no: “There was and still is a contingent who believes the moon landing was on a sound stage in LA. The audience isn’t any bigger and doesn’t need to be taken any more seriously,” one prominent Democratic strategist told us.

The argument for yes: “Just as it’s repugnant and dangerous to gaslight about Jan. 6, the assassination of Minnesota lawmakers or the attack on Paul Pelosi, the same is true for lies about violence against people with whom we disagree,” former Biden White House comms strategist Andrew Bates told Jasmine.

The argument for playing chess instead of checkers: “Democrats already have a strong upper hand with voters believing they are the party that is going to offer solutions to gun violence. This is a moment to show leadership,” Danielle Butterfield of Priorities USA, a group that has gained attention for pushing the party hard over a lack of social-media saviness, told us.

The White House argument: “Anyone who thinks President Trump staged his own assassination attempts is a complete moron,” spokesperson Davis Ingle told Violet.

Open tabs: Over 1,000 TSA officers have quit amid shutdown (Politico); What Happened to All the Lobster and Steak Never Served at the White House Correspondents Dinner? (Washingtonian); U.S. Mint Buys Drug Cartel Gold and Sells It as ‘American’ (NYT); Trump officials hire ‘deportation judges’ with less training, experience (WaPo)

From the Hill

Steve Scalise weighs in: “Some bad memories started coming back,” the House majority leader told NOTUS’ Reese Gorman of his Saturday night at the Washington Hilton. He was evacuated by security almost nine years after he was shot multiple times by a would-be assassin while practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game.

Many Republicans are calling for hearings in the wake of Saturday’s incident — but not all are sold on the idea, NOTUS’ Avani Kalra and Em Luetkemeyer report. “I don’t know that I need a briefing,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who was at the dinner when the shots rang out, said.

Ballroom blitz: Sens. Lindsey Graham, Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt last night announced their plan to authorize $400 million in taxpayer money to pay for the president’s proposed ballroom. In just a matter of days, the project has become a rallying cry for Republicans — after what Graham described as some serious behind-the-scenes lobbying from Trump.

“He talks about this all the time. ‘It’s like, ‘How are you? Where’s the ballroom?’” Graham said, impersonating the president. “It’s like he understands there’s something missing. As a nation, we’ve got a missing piece of the puzzle.”

As for what will happen to all those donations Trump has touted, “Private donations can still be used, but I think they should be used to buy china and stuff like that,” Graham added.

From the campaign trail

“That’s her decision” was about the strongest endorsement of another Kamala Harris bid for the Democratic presidential nomination that NOTUS’ Igor Bobic, Daniella Diaz and Kadia Goba could gather on the Hill recently. It came from Sen. Adam Schiff, Harris’ fellow Californian.

Democratic voters, or at least those engaged at this early date, appear far more enthusiastic (at least anecdotally). Harris has enjoyed excited crowd responses when she hints that she might go for it again, and leads a crowded field of potential candidates in several polls.

Partly behind the reticence from professionals is a far more urgent electoral problem: the chaotic race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom. “I would have been most enthusiastic had she looked at the governor’s race,” one anonymous Hill Democrat told NOTUS.

A spokesperson for Harris did not respond to a request for comment.

From the White House

Oh, beehave! The U.K.’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla touched down yesterday, their first trip to this side of the pond during Trump’s second term and a state visit meant to ironically celebrate the 250th anniversary of Britain losing the Revolutionary War. The “special relationship” has grown since then but is having a strained moment. Trump has repeatedly and publicly bashed Prime Minister Keir Starmer for not eagerly supporting the U.S.’s war with Iran. The Epstein files have also wreaked havoc both here and in merry ol’ England.

Trump showed the royals the hole in the ground where he wants his ballroom to go, according to reports from a foreign press pooler. Then came tea and a private viewing of the White House beehive.

Today, the royals return to the White House for a more serious conversation, including a Trump–Charles one-on-one and then, this evening, a lavish state dinner.

NEW ON NOTUS

Self-funders speak: NOTUS’ Mark Alfred talked to several wealthy candidates about why they’ve pumped their own fortunes into runs for office. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is a test.’ This is God testing me, saying, ‘Put your money where your mouth is.’ Literally, I am putting my money there,” Republican Marty O’Donnell, a multimillionaire who composed the music for the “Halo” franchise, said of what went through his mind when he decided to run for the House.

Who they are: Self-funders tend to be men and Republicans. Only a few Democrats have loaned their campaigns significant funds this cycle, Mark reports.

How they do: Last cycle, 65 people loaned $1 million or more to their federal campaigns. Only 10 of them won.

More: This Democrat Is Offering Trump a Blueprint to Land an Iran Nuclear Deal, by Joe Gould

NOT US

• Trump’s upcoming public events get a fresh security look, by Will Weissert for The Associated Press
  
• Sergey Brin Moves to the Right, With a ‘MAGA Girlfriend’ by His Side, by Theodore Schleifer and Kate Conger for The New York Times
  
• What We Learn About Trump in His Rare Moments of Self-Reflection, by Matt Viser and Jonathan Lemire for The Atlantic

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