INSIDE D.C. WITH JOHN GIZZI NEWSMAX WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT PRIMARY PASSION


• Whether or not Donald Trump is elected president again, sources close to him insist he will continue to be involved in primary campaigns for MAGA candidates he likes and to defeat incumbents he dislikes. Trump Republicans in South Carolina insist their hero will almost certainly endorse state Attorney General Alan Wilson in what is certain to be a crowded primary for governor. Never shy about slamming incumbent Republicans who break with him, Trump is certain to come out in 2026 against Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Both have run afoul of Trump, and Cassidy voted for his impeachment. Cassidy is a cinch to face a renomination challenge from Rep. Garret Graves, a strong MAGA Republican, and Tillis is sure to face at least


one primary opponent from the MAGA wing of the Tar Heel State GOP.


ARMY SHAKEUP


• Groups connected to both the Heritage and America First foundations are producing a list for Donald Trump of mid- level generals who might be potential U.S. Army commandants or even chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One source close to the process told Newsmax that “Trump will have to jump over many of the four-star generals now in place for the high command because they are primarily ‘woke’ generals who will accept the politically correct way of doing things in the service.” Among those mentioned for a major move up in a Trump administration is Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland, West Point superintendent since 2022.


NEW CIA HEAD CASSIDY GRAVES 56 NEWSMAX | OCTOBER 2024


• Regardless of whether the 47th president is Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, CIA Director William Burns will likely retire and thus pave the way for a new “chief spook.” If returned to the presidency, Trump will almost certainly name former House


NUNES NAKASONE


Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes to run the agency. Nunes, who left Congress to run Trump’s Truth Social platform, has the former president’s full confidence and has long made no secret of his desire to overhaul the intelligence


force. Harris will likely pick retired Gen. Paul Nakasone, former head of the U.S. Cyber Command and a past director of the National Security Agency. Nakasone has a


strong following among congressional Democrats. Noting the general’s expertise in cybersecurity, Virginia Democrat Sen. Mark Warner, chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, recently told reporters, “I’m a huge Paul Nakasone fan.”


Biden Plots Maduro Exit


• Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro remains defiant after claiming victory in an election most of the world believes was fraudulent, but sources say he knows it will be difficult to remain in power for long. The Marxist strongman is reportedly open to negotiations with the U.S. that will include safe conduct to a country that will take him and guarantee his private bank accounts and other assets will not be seized or frozen. The Biden administration reportedly is open to negotiating with Maduro through a back channel and hopes to have his exit from Caracas executed before the president leaves office in January. Among those said to be working on the “Maduro Maneuver” are Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols, and National Security Council staffer Daniel Erikson.


MADURO/AP IMAGES


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