presented by climate power. Hey, good morning. I'm Playbook co-author Rachel Bade. It's Thursday,

August 17th. Georgia prosecutors are seeking a March 4th, 2024 trial for Donald Trump and his

18 allies on racketeering charges. This is obviously connected to the former president's bid to

subvert the 2020 election. This timeline is noteworthy

because that combined with Trump's other proposed and scheduled criminal cases is basically

going to put Trump in the courtroom for most of the first six months of 2024. Not exactly

ideal for the former president. In other news, a campaign aid to indicted Congressman

George Santos was himself indicted by federal prosecutors yesterday for allegedly impersonating

a House leadership aide while soliciting contributions for Santos in his campaign. That fundraiser,

Samuel O'Meley, pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn's federal court on

Wednesday and was released on a $150,000 bond. But this morning, we are leading playbook with a look

at Nikki Haley in the gender card. When Haley launched her bid for president, the former South

Carolina governor proclaimed that it was time to put,

quote, a badass woman in the White House, and she boasted that kicking back at bullies

actually hurts more when you're wearing heels.

Of course, if she was a Democrat, that message combined with her Indian heritage would

actually be a major sell for voters.

I mean, Democrats have sort of routinely

sought to promote not only women, but women of color as they sort of prioritize diversifying their

ranks. But six months out from Haley's launch, it's pretty clear that the prospect of electing

the first female president is not exactly taintilizing to GOP voters.

Many of them sort of dismiss any gender talk as talking about and spreading woke ideology.

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