Nikki Haley ranks high on the list of Republicans who don’t want to directly criticize Donald Trump. 

In fact, she deflects every question about the front-runner and insists only the media are asking her about this.

But she came up with a not-so-subtle method of taking a few swipes at her rivals. It’s called the confidential memo. And I can’t exactly say it has no fingerprints.

The Haley campaign simply leaked the memo to Axios – which touted it as a scoop. An Axios reporter confirmed it came from the campaign (duh). And a leaked memo is sexier to journalists than, say, a sitdown interview.

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Haley has raised $11 million in six weeks, and the memo from campaign manager Betsy Ankney says: "Donald Trump had a pretty good Q1, if you count being indicted as 'good.'"

Zing!

"Still, it’s increasingly clear that Trump’s candidacy is more consumed by the grievances of the past and the promise of more drama in the future, rather than a forward-looking vision for the American people." Perfectly fair shots – but why couldn’t Haley say these things herself? Who is she fooling? Perhaps she thinks she’s avoiding a Trump counterattack by laundering it through the press. The memo also says of Ron DeSantis that he’s "not ready for prime time." 

Still, the memo didn’t make much news, not in this environment. Sen. Tim Scott announced a presidential exploratory committee yesterday. Which means he’s running. 

The Senate’s only black Republican is an attractive candidate with a compelling life story, which he summarizes as "from cotton to Congress." 

In a video, Scott stressed his optimistic message: "I know America is a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression. I know it because I lived it." But given the nature of today’s GOP, Scott has to be regarded as a long shot. And as more Republicans jump in, they increase the chances of Trump cruising to the nomination as they divide the opposition vote.

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Both Haley and Scott got a sliver of the coverage that Trump attracted, not surprisingly, by sitting down with Fox’s Tucker Carlson.

The former president was full of provocative responses, such as saying he’ll stay in the race even if he’s convicted in the Stormy Daniels case. When he was brought in for the arraignment, "They were actually crying. They said ‘I'm sorry.’ They'd say ‘2024, sir, 2024.’ And tears are pouring down their eyes." 

Will Joe Biden stay in the race?

"Look, I watch him just like you do, and I think it's almost inappropriate for me to say it. But I deal with other people. I don't see – I don't see how it's possible.

And it's not an age thing."

Then what is it? 

Trump delivered his standard riff about the president being surrounded by "smart" but "vicious" left-wingers, as if Biden isn’t really in charge.

In a particularly strange series of exchanges, Trump said Biden "is not top of the line" and then proceeded to praise dictators around the globe.

Vladimir Putin? "Very smart," said Trump, despite the fact that he has decimated his military and committed countless war crimes by invading Ukraine.

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"People ask me, how smart is Xi? I say, top of the line. You've never met anybody smarter. How smart is Kim Jong-un? Top of the line."

But was Kim, who inherited his job, smart enough to make a nuclear deal with Trump? No.

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Whether you agree or disagree with Trump’s comments, they’re all designed to generate buzz and be replayed (and even denounced) on television. That leaves those with leaked memos and exploratory groups in the shadows, and it leaves the indicted former president even more of a front-runner than he was a week ago.

Fox News host Sean Hannity questioned President Biden's visit to Ireland in the wake of the domestic and foreign crises America faces, warning that a "new axis of evil" is forming. 

SEAN HANNITY: So Joe is enjoying his Irish vacation. The world, by the way, is now entering the most dangerous time, in my view, since World War II. My father fought in the Pacific for four years. And by the way, that includes the Cold War. A new axis of evil is now forming right before our eyes. And by the way, a new world order, it is taking shape, and it is not one that you should be happy about. All of this is a direct result of Joe Biden's glaring weakness on the world stage and under Biden's failed leadership. America has now abdicated its role as the world's leading superpower and China, they are racing in to fill the void. And just this week, the Chinese army released a video on state television showing what an attack on Taiwan would look like. By the way, this seems pretty imminent to me. And today, China issued even more warnings to the U.S.

 That seems to be a warning a day, at least not to interfere with their territorial ambition amid the joint Philippines and US military drills. But don't expect Joe to hold any of them accountable. They sent a spy balloon all across the continental U.S. and Alaska, and it relayed sensitive intelligence in real time back to China. Joe did nothing when they threatened, quote, serious consequences over a U.S. warship in the South China Sea, Joe did nothing again. They have unleashed COVID on the world. They construct blatantly unfair trade deals. They commit rampant intellectual property theft. But again, your president, Joe, does nothing. How many more threats is Biden going to take from China before he finally takes action?

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But it's not just China getting a free pass. Russia, they shoot down a drone out of the sky or they take one out. What did you do to respond? Nothing. What do both countries have in common? Millions and millions and millions of dollars in business dealings with the Biden family syndicate. Coincidence? I don't think so. With Biden giving up our position as the dominant leader in the world, this new axis of evil now is plotting to take over. 

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