| Also on Wednesday: Need-to-know primary results and Melania's reappearance. |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Just two months ago, President Trump suggested executing drug dealers - an idea he stole from the Philippines, of all places. Countries killing drug dealers "have much less of a drug problem," Trump said. But that logic didn't stop him from giving a convicted drug trafficker a pass. | | Trump on Wednesday granted clemency to Alice Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother serving a life sentence for her first offense. The pardon came, not incidentally, after a visit last week from Kim Kardashian West, who learned of Johnson's plight through a video online. | | But major credit, per Kardashian West, goes to Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and adviser focused on prison policies who played an instrumental role in the commutation. | | This is OnPolitics Today: Subscribe here. | So what happened in those primaries? | | As political junkies nursed their hangovers Wednesday from the prior night's primaries, at least three things seemed clear: | | • | Loyalty to Trump matters: Incumbent GOP Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama was forced into a runoff against her opponent, Bobby Bright, who ran ads accusing Roby of turning "her back on President Trump" after Trump's comments bragging about sexual assault came to light in 2016. It's still Trump's Republican Party. In Alabama, at least.
| | • | Democratic women won big: And some, like Lujan Grisham, could make history. She could become the first Democratic Latina elected governor if she wins in New Mexico this November. Elsewhere, women in the party saw surprise wins in Kentucky, New Jersey and Nebraska.
| | • | California's open primary system is ehhh: Reforms in 2010 left California in a system where voters all get the same ballot, with the top two vote-getters advancing regardless of party. It was meant to encourage moderates, but it's not clear that's been the case. Instead, contests have become super crowded, with one party or the other risking getting shut out completely. | | Melania returns | | "The first lady turned up in front of cameras Wednesday looking like her usual self - tanned, rested and in towering heels - in her first public appearance in nearly a month and following a five-day hospital stay in May," USA TODAY's Maria Puente reported. Melania Trump had disappeared from the public eye for 20-plus days, per a CNN count. "She went through a little rough patch," said President Trump, who scolded journalists for noting her absence. "But she's doing great." | Elsewhere in politics | | | | | | | | | | MOST SHARED USA TODAY ARTICLES | | | | | | | |
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