A new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa finds Donald Trump barely ahead of Joe Biden in the presidential race, 48% to 47%.
In the U.S. Senate race, Theresa Greenfield (D) leads Sen. Joni Earnst (R), 45% to 43%.
Trump Loved ‘His Generals’ Until He Got To Know Them
Just Security: “‘We train our boys to be killing machines,’ President Trump declared on Twitter in October 2019. He meant it as a compliment—and, as Peter Bergen shows in his powerful new book, Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos, Trump’s sense of military men and women as ‘killing machines’ was what drew Trump to populate his cabinet early on with generals like Michael Flynn, John Kelly, James Mattis, and H.R. McMaster.”
“Yet, in some cases sooner and in some cases later, Trump soured on all of them—and they soured on Trump. (The possible exception is Flynn, but he at least soured enough to cooperate extensively with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.) So, what did Trump think he would get from these generals, and what went wrong?”
Earlier for members: Trump Loses ‘His’ Generals
Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Bergen, Peter (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 400 Pages - 12/10/2019 (Publication Date) - Penguin Press (Publisher)
The Story Behind Bill Barr’s Unmarked Federal Agents
“Few sights from the nation’s protests in recent days have seemed more dystopian than the appearance of rows of heavily armed riot police around Washington, D.C., in drab military-style uniforms with no insignia, identifying emblems or names badges. Many of the apparently federal agents have refused to identify which agency they work for,” Politico reports.
“To understand the police forces ringing Trump and the White House it helps to understand the dense and not-entirely-sensical thicket of agencies that make up the nation’s civilian federal law enforcement. With little public attention, notice and amid historically lax oversight, those ranks have surged since 9/11—growing by roughly 2,500 officers annually every year since 2000. To put it another way: Every year since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the federal government has added to its policing ranks a force larger than the entire Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).”
Black Lives Matter
A video of the protests over George Floyd’s killing in New Rochelle, NY shows what Barack Obama noted earlier this week: The protesters are far more diverse than they were in 1968.
This moment has really awakened more white people to the problem of racism in our country.
May Unemployment Comes In at 13.3%
“Employment unexpectedly rose by 2.5 million in May and the jobless rate declined to 13.3% according to data Friday from the Labor Department that was far better than economists had been expecting and indicated that an economic turnaround could be close at hand,” CNBC reports.
Elliot Engel In Danger of Losing His Primary
The Cook Political Report says Rep. Elliot Engel (D-NY) is in serious danger of losing his primary later this month.
“After 32 years in the House, despite the perks of seniority and a powerful committee chairmanship, Engel may be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a national crisis when Democratic primary voters – particularly those of color — are crying out for change, the spotlight has been on Engel’s absence from the district and his longtime incumbency is a liability. He’s at serious risk.”
GOP May Try Multi-City, Rolling Convention
“As Republicans scramble to reboot the GOP convention, one option gaining traction is a multistate affair with major speeches and rallies in a variety of cities,” NBC News reports.
“Part of the appeal of the roadshow approach is that it could allow President Trump to claim having commanded the highest-attended convention audience in history, they said, and to accept his renomination with all the fanfare he envisioned.”
Mayor Accused Korean Woman of Hiding Behind ‘Symbols’
Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert (R) apologized after writing a Facebook comment earlier in the week in which she called a Korean woman a “Facebook troll” who “hides behind symbols,” the Omaha World Herald reports.
The symbols to which Stothert was referring were actually letters of the Korean alphabet that spelled the name of her constituent.
Texas GOP Leaders Share Racist Facebook Posts
“Republican leaders in four Texas counties shared racist Facebook posts, some of which also floated conspiracy theories, leading Gov. Greg Abbott to call for two of them to resign,” the Texas Tribune reports.
“Abbott and other top Texas Republicans called for the resignation of the GOP chairs in Bexar and Nueces counties after they shared on social media a conspiracy theory that Floyd’s death was a ‘staged event,’ apparently to gin up opposition to President Trump.”
Trump Agrees to Send Home Troops From Washington
“President Trump agreed on Thursday to begin sending home 82nd Airborne Division troops he had ordered to Washington, temporarily easing a contentious standoff with the Pentagon over the role of the armed forces in quelling protests that have broken out across the nation,” the New York Times reports.
“Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper initially tried to send home a small portion of the 1,600 active-duty troops on Wednesday, only to have Mr. Trump order him to reverse course during an angry meeting.”
“What appeared on Thursday to be an uneasy truce between the White House and Pentagon did not mean that the conflict was over. While Mr. Trump’s advisers counseled him not to fire Mr. Esper, the president spent much of the day privately railing about the defense secretary.”
Margaret Carlson: Mark Esper showed a little backbone, so we know he’s cooked.
Very Few Approve of Trump’s Handling of Protesters
A new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds only 32% of Americans approve of President Trump’s reaction in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, which has sparked thousands and thousands of protesters in dozens of cities demanding racial justice, while 66% disapprove.
The poll also finds 74% believe Floyd’s death at the hands of a white police officer is a sign of an underlying racial injustice problem in the country.
GOP Is Just Moving Trump’s Speech from Charlotte
President Trump won’t accept his party’s nomination in North Carolina, but the Republican National Committee confirmed Thursday that it would still hold meetings in Charlotte, the AP reports.
From a statement: “The RNC’s Executive Committee has voted unanimously to allow the official business of the national convention to continue in Charlotte. Many other cities are eager to host the president’s acceptance of the nomination, and we are currently in talks with several of them to host that celebration.”
Biden Says 10% to 15% Are ‘Just Not Very Good People’
Joe Biden said that some Americans are “just not very good people,” but they account for a small minority in a country that is overwhelmingly virtuous, the Washington Post reports.
Said Biden: “Do we really think this is as good as we can be as a nation? I don’t think the vast majority of people think that. There are probably anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the people out there that are just not very good people. But that’s not who we are. The vast majority of people are decent. We have to appeal to that.”
Trump Attacks Murkowski
President Trump hit back at Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for saying she was “struggling” with whether to vote for his re-election, the Anchorage Daily News reports.
He said he would actively campaign against her when she is up for re-election in two years.
Said Trump: “Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!”
Trump Shares Letter Calling Protestors Terrorists
President Trump tweeted out a letter that referred to a group of protesters as “terrorists,” following their violent ouster from a park near the White House earlier this week, Politico reports.
The letter is signed by Trump’s former lawyer John Dowd and addressed to “Jim” in a probable reference to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
White House Turns Into a Fortress
“The security perimeter around the White House keeps expanding. Tall black fencing is going up seemingly by the hour. Armed guards and sharpshooters and combat troops are omnipresent,” the Washington Post reports.
“In the 72 hours since Monday’s melee at Lafayette Square, the White House has been transformed into a veritable fortress — the physical manifestation of President Trump’s vision of law-and-order “domination” over the millions of Americans who have taken the streets to protest racial injustice.”
“The White House is now so heavily fortified that it resembles the monarchical palaces or authoritarian compounds of regimes in faraway lands.”
Emotional Debate Rages as Paul Blocks Anti-Lynching Bill
“An anti-lynching bill that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has held up in the Senate for several months led to a heated and passionate battle on the Senate floor Thursday, pitting the Kentucky Republican at odds with two of the Senate’s three black members over changes to the bipartisan legislation,” USA Today reports.
“The emotional debate centered on the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act, which passed the House in a bipartisan 410-4 vote in February and would make lynching a federal crime.”
Flashback Quote of the Day
“When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength.”
— Donald Trump, in a 1990 Playboy interview.
