Trump is set to host his 85th campaign rally since winning the White House. Here’s why it’ll be more than a speech.

“These rallies draw 10,000 to 20,000 people from around the state and around the region,” he said. “They also draw local press from around the state and around the region. So in order to leverage that, they think they could eventually get as many as five days of local coverage from these campaign rallies.”

2. California dreaming

Meanwhile, the Democrats who want Trump’s job will be in California this week for the final Democratic presidential primary debate of the year. And they’re hoping to do more than just debate, Politico national political correspondent Laura Barron-Lopez said.

3. Who wants to be an impeachment manager?

“There’s one person who’s controlling this, and that’s (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi, who has controlled this every step of the way,” he said. “This is a significant position, a high-profile position. Something that can elevate the careers of some of these members.”

“One thing members don’t lack is ambition,” Raju said. “They’re making this case privately. Several members have told me specifically they’ve gone directly to Nancy Pelosi to make their case.”

4. Supreme Court takes up Trump tax cases

Get ready for a Supreme Court decision that could have a dramatic impact on the Trump presidency.

“These are things he’s gone to great lengths to keep hidden,” New York Times congressional editor Julie Hirschfeld Davis said. “And aside from the huge blockbuster nature of the substance of the ruling, it’s a big question of presidential powers and accountability.”

The court will likely hear arguments in the spring, and announce a ruling in June.

“The timing of this is going to be extraordinary, because unlike in the Clinton impeachment or even the Nixon impeachment, where there were big Supreme Court rulings that happened before the impeachment, this will be coming right after the President has been impeached and likely acquitted by the Senate,” Davis said. “And right in the middle of the critical period of the 2020 campaign.”

5. Guns and 2020

And from CNN chief national correspondent John King:

But President Barack Obama’s efforts at the time to get Congress to consider new gun controls stalled, and there has been a similar dynamic after the many mass shootings since, including the October 2017 Las Vegas massacre and the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Now, in his tweets and 2020 campaign rallies, the President casts himself as a proud defender of gun rights and the Democrats as a threat to the Second Amendment. So while House Democrats have advanced new gun control measures, there is little to no chance of any significant legislative agreement on the issue before the 2020 election.

The question, then, is whether there is a clear message from voters, one way or the other.

The President’s team believes his current position is critical to its strategy of maximizing base turnout, especially in rural areas critical to the Trump reelection map.

The leading 2020 Democrats, on the other hand, are for now showing a willingness to be aggressive in pushing an issue many Democrats have shied away from in the past — especially in national politics — believing it hurt more than it helped in key battleground states. That calculus has shifted in part because of the suburban revolt against Trump in recent years, giving Democrats an opening with voters who tend to be supportive of things like expanded background checks or a ban on assault-style weapons.

In their tweets marking the Newtown anniversary, the Democrats promised to take on the National Rifle Association and to push for new restrictions.

Which means the next big test of whether there will be any significant shift in the politics of guns is likely to be Election Day 2020, which comes six weeks before the eighth anniversary of the Newtown horror.