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National

Greensboro, N.C. — In their first remarks since former president Donald Trump's federal indictment, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former vice president Mike Pence rushed to defend their rival. 

Why it matters: It foreshadows a tightrope that the other candidates running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination will walk through the primary season.

Trump gained momentum politically and raised over $4 million in the first 24 hours after news of his Manhattan indictment. 

What we're watching: Speaking at the North Carolina Republican Party convention on Friday, DeSantis wondered if there is "a different standard for a Democrat secretary of state versus a former Republican president?” in reference to Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. 

“There needs to be one standard of justice in this country. Let’s enforce it on everybody,” he said. 

"You can’t have one faction of society weaponizing the power of the state against factions that it doesn’t like.”

Pence, speaking to a smaller group at the same convention on Saturday, demanded that Attorney General Merrick Garland explain to the American people "why this indictment went forward." 

He went on to say that the former president is facing "an unprecedented indictment by a justice department run by the current president" in an effort to highlight what he sees as unequal treatment by the justice system. 

The big picture: They are among a crowded GOP field — including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) — who are unwilling to condemn Trump after a 37-count indictment over his handling of classified documents. 

Only former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have criticized Trump's conduct. 

Why Trump can legally run for president despite indictments

U.S. secrets were everywhere at Trump's club

Special counsel: "We have one set of laws in this country"

DeSantis and Pence circle the wagons around Trump after indictment

“There needs to be one standard of justice in this country."

Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivers remarks June 9, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis delivers remarks June 9, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images.

2024 elections

Elections 2024

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Former President Trump rolled out a new video on Truth Social on Saturday, in the wake of being indicted for 37 felony counts related to retaining classified information and obstruction of justice in a federal classified documents probe.

The big picture: The two-minute video uses actor Matt Damon's monologue from "Air" as narration.

Ben Affleck's biographical sports drama "Air" tells the story of Nike's rise to sneaker dominance.

Driving the news: A spokesperson from Artists Equity, Affleck and Damon's production company, said they did not consent to Trump's campaign using the dialogue. 

“We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from Air being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement."

Of note: Trump's post also includes a link to donate money.

What they're saying: "No matter how viciously they attack me, I will NEVER, EVER SURRENDER," Trump said in an accompanying statement. 

"With your support, we will once again surge even higher and prove that our America First movement truly is UNSTOPPABLE," he added. 

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Affleck and Damon's production company.

Trump post-indictment video uses Matt Damon’s voice from "Air"

The two-minute video uses actor Matt Damon's monologue from "Air" as narration.

 Former President Donald Trump greets supporters at a Team Trump volunteer leadership training event held at the Grimes Community Complex on June 01, 2023 in Grimes, Iowa.  (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Donald Trump

2028

Axios 2028

For Donald Trump, the 2024 campaign is more than a race to return to the White House — it's a fight to stay out of prison.

Legal experts say it's unlikely that Trump's criminal trial in federal court will be resolved before the November 2024 election. So whoever wins the presidency could be in position to influence Trump's case.

Why it matters: If Trump is the GOP nominee next year, he essentially could be campaigning for his freedom — an unprecedented scenario in the United States. Winning the presidency would give him a chance to install sympathetic Justice Department officials, or even try to pardon himself if he's convicted.

Such a pardon would be legally untested, but Trump, as president, was reported to have expressed interest in a self-pardon after his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election culminated in the riot at the Capitol.   

Even if Trump isn't the Republican nominee next year, some of his GOP rivals already are pledging to either pardon him or significantly restructure the Justice Department in ways that might help him if they win.  

Zoom in: Legal experts across the spectrum said the detailed, 49-page indictment unsealed Friday presents huge risks to the former president. 

It lays out 37 felony counts — including 31 charges of unauthorized retention of classified information about the nation's defense, a violation under the Espionage Act. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. 

Special counsel Jack Smith said Friday his office "will seek a speedy trial."

But many legal experts, even Trump critics, are skeptical Smith's team can complete a trial before the election — especially given Trump's long history of maneuvering to delay legal matters.

Ty Cobb, a former lawyer for Trump during his White House years who has become an outspoken critic, told Axios that "it will be very difficult to get this case tried before the general election, but not impossible."

"Trump will throw up a lot of motions and stuff, ask for delays each time and will definitely appeal" any guilty verdict, he added.

What they're saying: Some Trump allies' moods changed from confidence to concern after the indictment was revealed Friday. 

Before the indictment was unsealed, conservative lawyer Jonathan Turley told Fox News late Thursday: “Trump could run on pardoning himself…They may have given him a rather unique campaign slogan.”

After the indictment became public, Turley told Fox News: "It is an extremely damning indictment...This is not an indictment you can dismiss."

Tim Parlatore, a recently departed Trump attorney, told CNN on Friday that the indictment included "problematic" allegations if the government can support them. “This is some serious stuff,” he added. 

It's "an overwhelmingly strong indictment," Cobb said. "There isn’t a fact alleged that they don’t have a witness or document for."

Trump weighed in with more than two dozen Truth Social posts Friday. 

He has declared that he is an "INNOCENT MAN." A Trump aide said the campaign felt prepared for the indictment and is battle-tested from his previous political and legal fights.

Trump has other legal troubles pending — an earlier indictment in New York concerning an alleged hush money payment to an adult film star; a potential indictment in Georgia over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and an ongoing federal probe into his role in the violent riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Zoom out: Even before the indictment's details were public, several GOP presidential candidates expressed support for Trump.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy have rallied around their rival rather than criticize him. 

 DeSantis pledged to "bring accountability to the DOJ" and Ramaswamy promised to pardon Trump if he were elected.

President Biden has avoided commenting on Trump's case, other than to say he's never urged the Justice Department to charge or not charge the former president.

The Democratic National Committee has advised some Democratic members of Congress appearing on television this week to not comment on the indictment as the legal process plays out, people familiar with the conversations told Axios.

What's next: Trump is scheduled to make his first public remarks and a pair of speeches Saturday in Georgia and North Carolina.  

He is then expected to appear at his arraignment Tuesday afternoon in Miami. 

he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Now on the 2024 ballot: Trump's freedom

Whoever wins the presidency could be in position to influence Trump's criminal case.

Former President Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York City in May. Photo: James Devaney/GC Images

Former President Trump's indictment paints an astonishing picture: U.S. government secrets — about its nuclear program, military plans, intelligence briefings and more — were stuffed into cardboard boxes at Mar-a-Lago where "tens of thousands" of people might have come across them.

Why it matters: The 49-page indictment details how boxes were kept on a ballroom stage, in an office, a bedroom, a bathroom and even a shower at Trump's club. 

It also alleges he tried to hide documents and mislead federal investigators who sought to retrieve them.

"Wouldn't it be better if we just told them we don't have anything here?" Trump allegedly asked one of his attorneys, as they discussed a grand jury subpoena last May.

Zoom in: The 37-count indictment — roundly praised by legal analysts and former prosecutors Friday for its detail — uses photos, interview transcripts and detailed timelines to describe the haphazard ways the documents were moved from one room to another.

Secret documents alongside other papers and news clippings were photographed strewn across the floor of a basement storage room — documents marked "FVEY," for Five Eyes. 

That means they include intelligence meant to be shared only among U.S. officials and those from four close allies — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Dozens of boxes were shown stacked on a stage in Mar-a-Lago's White and Gold ballroom at one point; some later were moved to a business center and then a bathroom and shower, the indictment said.

With the help of Trump "body man" Walt Nauta — who also was charged in the case — papers that included classified information allegedly were shuffled between a Mar-a-Lago storage room, Trump's residence and even his summer home in Bedminster, N.J.

In Bedminster, the indictment alleges, Trump showed a writer a classified military attack plan and Trump showed a PAC official a classified map involving a country where the U.S. has ongoing military operations.

During that meeting — which was recorded — Trump said he could have declassified the document while he was president, but that "now, I can't." 

That recorded acknowledgement could help prosecutors seeking to show that Trump was showing documents that he knew were classified.

By the numbers: After leaving the White House, the indictment says, Trump held on to classified documents created by the departments of State and Defense, the CIA, the NSA, the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and others.

When asked to return them, Trump initially turned over 15 boxes to the National Archives, including 197 classified documents.

The rest were "confidential," except for some that had even higher levels of classifications than "top secret" — some of them meant to be viewed only in a secure setting.

After a grand jury subpoena, another 38 documents were handed over.

When the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago last August, an additional 102 classified documents were found in a storage room and Trump's office.

President Trump's indictment paints an astonishing picture of how he kept classified documents.

 In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, stacks of boxes can be observed in a bathroom and shower in The Mar-a-Lago Club’s Lake Room 

This handout photo provided by the Justice Department of Justice shows stacks of boxes in a bathroom and shower in Mar-a-Lago's Lake Room in Palm Beach, Fla. Photo: U.S. Department of Justice via Getty Images

Science

Axios Science

People around the world say kindness, respect, and honesty are declining but that may be a cognitive illusion, researchers reported this week.

Why it matters: People's beliefs can guide their behavior toward each other, shape policy and influence how resources are allocated.

Driving the news: Survey data from 60 countries shows most people around the world believe morality is declining — and they've thought that for at least 70 years, according to new research published this week in the journal Nature.

The study — by Adam Mastroianni, a postdoctoral research scholar at Columbia Business School and author of the blog Experimental History, and Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert — focuses on "everyday morality," the kindness, respect, and honesty that most people agree are a reflection of morality.

The researchers also surveyed people in January 2020 and asked them to compare whether people were "kind, honest, nice, and good" in 2020, 2010, and 2000, as well as at various times in the past, including when they turned 20 years old and the year they were born.

Young and old people, liberals and conservatives, people who had graduate degrees and those who hadn't finished high school, parents and non-parents all said morality was declining. The belief was seen across races and genders as well. (The decline was perceived to be greater between some groups — for example, conservatives said there was more decline compared to liberals.)

The researchers then compared surveys taken over time that asked respondents to rate the morality of people in the present time by answering questions like, "Would you say that most of the time people try to be helpful, or that they are mostly just looking out for themselves?" The 107 surveys of more than 4.4 million people were done between 1965 and 2020, and participants were asked at least twice and at least 10 years apart. 

"If, as people all over the world claim, morality has been declining steadily and precipitously for decades, then people's reports of current morality should also have declined over the years," they write. 

That suggests the perception of moral decline is an illusion, the researchers argue. (Mastroianni notes that just because morality is not worse, it doesn't mean it is good, and wars, climate change, racial injustices, and massive inequality remain.)

How it works: There are likely many ways the illusion is created, Mastroianni says.

One possibility is it arises from the combination of two psychological phenomena: our tendency to pay more attention to negative than positive information and for our negative memories to fade faster than positive ones.

Paying more attention to the negative behavior of people makes sense if you are to be aware of threats and to survive, Mastroianni adds.

And as time goes on, those past threats fade in our memory, says Norbert Schwarz, a professor of psychology at the University of Southern California who wasn't involved in the study. There are notable exceptions, he says, including memories involving racism or horrific events like the Holocaust.

What they're saying: The findings are a "powerful demonstration of this illusion," offers Richard Eibach, a professor of psychology at the University of Waterloo.

There are limitations to the study: The authors note that some of the surveys ask about perceptions of moral values without defining it or are vague about the time in the past people were asked to compare to the present.

The big picture: The finding echoes other studies that converge on people tending to be pessimistic about the present compared to the past. For example, researchers have found parents say the world has become more dangerous — usually starting right around when their first child was born.

"When you become a parent, you have to be aware of risks and dangers that you could previously safely ignore ... and so you're paying attention to more dangerous information in your world and that may lead to this illusory perception that danger is actually increasing," Einbach says.

In a recent survey, most respondents who were asked about trends over the past 20 years, such as the percentage of people living in poverty or average wages, said they'd gotten worse. But they hadn't.

"Across nations and time, [findings] suggest [pessimism] is a function of basic cognitive processes as opposed to something unique to current time or a certain party," says survey author Greg Mitchell, a law professor at the University of Virginia.

Lisa Libby, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University, says: "The past is very malleable and in ways that the present is not, so you can manage your impression of the present by changing the past easier than it is to sometimes change the present."

The intrigue: When people were asked about the morality of people close to them or who lived before they were born and they didn't know, "the perception of moral decline was attenuated, eliminated or reversed," Mastroianni writes.

Many people believe morality is declining — but it may be an illusion

A new study looks at people's views of kindness, respect and honesty around the world and over seven decades.

Axios

Saturday's top stories

DeSantis and Pence circle the wagons around Trump after indictment

Trump post-indictment video uses Matt Damon’s voice from "Air"

Now on the 2024 ballot: Trump's freedom

U.S. secrets were everywhere at Trump's club

Many people believe morality is declining — but it may be an illusion

Co-working spaces aren't going anywhere

States seek to bar Chinese citizens from buying homes

Tipping onslaught pushes some consumers to close their wallets

AI's hidden toll on our brains

Charted: Distance to dark skies