ELECTION/GOP/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan continued to needle President Donald Trump Tuesday [4-23-19], derisively referring to him in a New Hampshire speech as ‘dear leader,’ the sycophantic title given to Kim Jong Il, the father of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Hogan, who’s weighing a challenge to Trump in the 2020 Republican primary, said he’s unafraid to stand up to the president but is in no rush to jump into the race. Contrasting himself with the nearly two dozen Democrats running for president, Hogan said he’s got plenty of time to decide on a 2020 bid. The deadline to get on the first-in-the-nation primary ballot in New Hampshire is in November…Hogan‘s New Hampshire visit comes on the heels of a March visit to Iowa, another early presidential voting state. And in February, Hogan slammed the Republican National Committee for trying to protect Trump from a primary challenge after the RNC passed a resolution giving the president its ‘undivided support’ ahead of the 2020 election. The White House has kept careful watch on Hogan’s moves for months as a result of his criticisms and heightened national profile.”
–Stephanie Murray, “Larry Hogan derides Trump as ‘dear leader’,” Politico, April 23, 2019 12:51 pm