The Buzz | Potential Trump indictment shakes up 2024 dynamics

Plus: Clearwater mayor abruptly resigns in frustration

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View this on the Web Go to our home page Subscribe to the Times Thursday, March 23, 2023 Forward this to a friend Subscribe to more newsletters Good morning.   Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard dropped a bombshell earlier this week when he announced in the middle of a City Council budget meeting that he was resigning on the spot out of frustration with the direction of the city.    During the course of the three-hour meeting and several recesses, Hibbard called his wife and cleaned out his office.    Read more about the schisms on the council that led to the shocking moment. [GERALD HERBERT | Associated Press] Potential Trump indictment shakes up 2024 dynamics The Rundown: While former President Donald Trump's posted prediction that he could be arrested Tuesday on criminal charges out of New York did not come true, the prospect of a former president being indicted (which has never happened in U.S. history) is looming large over the nation's political psyche. As many Republicans come to Trump's defense, others have been forced to choose sides.   That's rejiggered the dynamics between Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, accelerating the timetable of both men taking public shots at each other.   DeSantis has threaded the needle of criticizing the legal case against Trump as partisan while also hitting Trump over the lewd nature of the case, which involves allegations of hush money payments to a porn star. It could be a sign of the balance DeSantis will have to strike if he launches an expected run for president and presents himself as an alternative version of his former kingmaker.   My colleague, Christopher Spata, visited Mar-a-Lago to see who gathered to show support for the former president, after Trump called for protests He found a small crowd outnumbered by journalists.   The potential indictment also highlighted distance between DeSantis and another former ally, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who suggested DeSantis should block any potential extradition of Trump from Florida to New York. (Florida law allows the governor only to delay extradition as part of a legal review, and Trump’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina has said that his team expects to “follow normal procedure” with Trump voluntarily turning himself in.)   Yesterday, Gaetz tweeted a clip of himself appearing on TV saying: "If I were governor of Florida, I would not allow any Floridian to be hauled before a Soros-backed prosecutor in a blue city over politics ... Ron DeSantis should be standing in the breach to stop any sort of extradition of President Trump from the state of Florida. The fact that he’s not doing so puts every Floridian at risk who could be the subject of a false allegation."   Gaetz has already endorsed Trump for president in 2024, even though he and DeSantis were colleagues in the U.S. House and Gaetz was once a close adviser to the governor during DeSantis' transition into office.   As DeSantis eyes the presidency, there is also chatter about who would run to be the next governor and top Republican of the state. Do Gaetz's comments signal his future intentions?  If you read nothing else this week ... Time is a flat circle. This year, Florida’s Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse came back with a detailed list of recommendations on how to fix Florida’s beleaguered mental health care system. The scary thing? More than 20 years ago, a commission by the same name recommended many of the same fixes. Will officials listen this time?  Get the latest coverage from the Times Subscribe to the Tampa Bay Times in print or online to get the full story on local, state and national politics from Emily L. Mahoney and the rest of the Buzz team. Subscribe now! What we're watching A travel advisory for people coming to Florida? The NAACP Florida Chapter is asking the national board to put out an advisory against traveling or moving to Florida. Here’s what the organization is taking issue with. (Plus, check out our dispatch from the historically Black Florida A&M University.)   The mouse bites back? Disney is hosting a major conference promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in the workplace in Central Florida. How will DeSantis respond? The legislative session rolls on. Abortion, the death penalty and more. Lawmakers continue to move forward on a series of controversial bills. For example, a Senate committee will hear a bill today that targets medical care for transgender kids in Florida. What we're buzzing about  [ANA CEBALLOS | Times/Herald] Drag shows. Our reporter was there to capture the tense scene inside a committee room where lawmakers debated a bill cracking down on drag shows. Meanwhile, a state investigation into a December drag show found nothing indecent happened there.   State funds for anti-abortion clinics. Taxpayer money doesn’t go to abortions in Florida except in extreme circumstances. Now, lawmakers want to dramatically increase taxpayer funding for anti-abortion pregnancy clinics.   Update on bill known as Don't Say Gay. DeSantis wants to expand the most controversial provision of last year’s Parental Rights in Education law.   Former bill sponsor. The ex-lawmaker who sponsored that bill in the House pleaded guilty to three federal crimes surrounding a scheme to obtain pandemic business loans. He resigned his seat in December.    5 Supreme Court appointments for DeSantis. Another member of the Florida Supreme Court is leaving, which means DeSantis will soon get to appoint a fifth (out of seven) justices on the state's highest court.   Farmworkers on the march. Advocating for better working conditions and higher pay, dozens of farmworkers and their allies marched 45 miles last week. Meanwhile, the Legislature continues to beef with unions.   Transgender kids in schools. A bill restricting schools from calling students by their preferred pronouns is moving through the Legislature. University of South Florida students aren’t happy about the direction the state is moving.    Changing tides. One notable thing about DeSantis's style compared to the typical Republican: He doesn't always believe in smaller government.   DeSantis wants to cut Social Security? Not so fast. PolitiFact dug into the claim that DeSantis wants to cut the popular federally funded program.   Your Thursday distraction A man from Tampa has done a truly outrageous number of push-ups in an hour. Like, a world record number.   3,264.   Read about his training methods here. He’s 60 years old by the way.  This newsletter was compiled by Times political editor Emily L. Mahoney and staff writer Kirby Wilson. Contact Emily L. Mahoney at emahoney@tampabay.com. Follow @mahoneysthename. Contact Kirby Wilson at kwilson@tampabay.com. Follow @KirbyWTweets. Did someone forward this to you? Get The Buzz in your own inbox next time. It's free to subscribe. Sign up here. Contact us Privacy policy Terms, Conditions & Copyright Standard of accuracy © 2023 • All Rights Reserved Tampa Bay Times • 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 To ensure this email is delivered to your inbox, add custserv@elist.tampabay.com to your address book. 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