Quote of the Day
“I’m confident that we will keep the majority in the Senate. And I actually have long predicted the president will be reelected — I continue to think that’s the case.”
— Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), quoted by Politico.
Republicans Fear Trump Will Jeopardize Party
Washington Post: “But there is no sign yet of a mass exodus from the runaway Trump train. If anything, most elected Republicans see themselves as prisoners onboard, calculating that jumping off would lead to almost certain defeat.”
“Conversations at the highest ranks of the party have reached what one veteran operative called the ‘acceptance phase of grieving,’ where ‘there is an understanding that he’s president until at least November, and there is not much we can do about it.’ … Strategists over the past week have suggested myriad ways embattled incumbents could tiptoe around Trump’s rolling controversies, as opposed to embracing them.”
Trump Campaign Demands CNN Retract Poll
President Trump’s campaign is demanding CNN retract and apologize for a recent poll that showed him well behind Joe Biden, CNN reports.
The demand, coming in the form of a cease and desist letter to CNN President Jeff Zucker, was immediately rejected by the network.
White House Tells Bolton Book Still Has Classified Info
“The White House has told John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, that his memoir of working for the president, scheduled for publication in less than two weeks, contains classified information and could present a security threat,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump has repeatedly told advisers he wants to stop the publication of the book. He has wide latitude to determine what materials are classified.”
“Simon and Schuster, the book’s publisher, said the book had already been shipped to warehouses.”
- Non Fiction Political Science
- White House Politics
- President Trump's National Security Advisor
- John Bolton
Trump Will Push to Allow Drilling Off Florida Coast
“The Trump administration is preparing to open the door to oil and gas drilling off Florida’s coast — but will wait until after the November election to avoid blowback in a swing state whose waters both parties have long considered sacrosanct,” Politico reports.
“Drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico would fulfill a long-sought goal of energy companies… But even the possibility of drilling is a politically explosive topic for Floridians, who worry that oil spills would devastate their tourism-based economy in a reprise of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.”
Ex-Judge Says Push to Dismiss Flynn Case Is an Abuse
A former federal judge appointed to review the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss criminal charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn has found that the government’s request should be denied because there is “clear evidence of a gross abuse of prosecutorial power,” the AP reports.
Wrote ex-Judge John Gleeson: “There is ample evidence in the record that Flynn committed perjury in these proceedings, which would support the issuance of an Order to Show Cause to commence such a prosecution.”
Justice Department Alumni Call for Probe of Barr
“More than 1,250 former Justice Department workers on Wednesday called on the agency’s internal watchdog to investigate Attorney General William Barr’s involvement in law enforcement’s move last week to push a crowd of largely peaceful demonstrators back from Lafayette Square using horses and gas,” the Washington Post reports.
Cox and Huntsman Locked In Tight Primary Race
A new Salt Lake Tribune/Suffolk poll in Utah shows Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox (R) edging former Gov. Jon Hunstman (R) in the race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, 32% to 30%.
Fourteen percent said they’d get behind former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes (R), while 8% went for former Utah Republican Party Chairman Thomas Wright (R). Seventeen percent hadn’t made up their minds.
Meanwhile, Huntsman announced he tested positive for the coronavirus.
Texas Sets Record High for Virus Hospitalizations
“Texas health authorities said there are currently 2,153 patients sickened with Covid-19 across its hospitals, marking the third-straight day Wednesday of record-breaking coronavirus hospitalizations in the state,” CNBC reports.
“The steady rise in coronavirus hospitalizations in Texas will likely add to scrutiny from some U.S. lawmakers and infectious disease experts that some states opened businesses too early as the virus continues to spread throughout parts of the country.”
Trump Resumes Campaigning with Trip to Texas
President Trump plans to announce a plan for “holistic revitalization and recovery” during a trip to Dallas on Thursday built around a high-dollar fundraising dinner expected to bring in $10 million, the Dallas Morning News reports.
It’s his first campaign foray since the coronavirus pandemic began three months ago.
Watchdog Told Not to Probe Saudi Arms Sales
“The former State Department internal watchdog fired by President Trump told lawmakers that a senior department official discouraged him from probing U.S. arms sales to Gulf states before his ouster last month,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Aaron Blake: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that his recommendation to fire an inspector general who was investigating him couldn’t possibly have been retaliatory, because he did not even know about the investigation. But newly revealed testimony from the inspector general, Steve Linick, casts more serious doubt on that already dubious claim.”
World Economy Will Shrink 6% This Year
“The coronavirus pandemic is splintering the world economy, and the extraordinary action needed means policy makers cannot risk a premature withdrawal of lifelines to businesses and the most vulnerable people, the OECD warned,” Bloomberg reports.
“It made the grim assessment in its quarterly outlook, where it forecast a global slump of 6% this year, more than the World Bank earlier this week. That’s based on a scenario of the virus continuing to recede. A second wave, which the OECD said is an equally likely scenario, could mean a 7.6% contraction.”
Trump Approval Slides to 39%
A new Gallup poll finds President Trump’s approval rate dropping from 49% to 39% in just a month.
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll also shows Trump’s approval at 39%.
Prepare for an Election Week, Not an Election Night
Jonathan Bernstein: “Kudos to the NBC News political team for a very good item about counting ballots in November’s elections. As the team explains, it’s going to take a week or more to get a complete vote tally this year. That’s simply the system that has evolved, and it is now even more complicated thanks to an expected surge in absentee voting during the pandemic. As NBC puts it, we’re likely to have ‘Election Week’ rather than ‘Election Night.'”
“The one thing NBC doesn’t mention is that in most slow-count states, the normal pattern is for Democratic votes to come in late. There’s nothing nefarious about this; it’s just that different groups vote in different ways and in many states Democrats tend to vote late and by mail, meaning that their votes are often underestimated on Election Night. Arizona and Pennsylvania usually exhibit this pattern. Both could easily show a small Republican lead after the initial count that experts know will disappear, and it would boost confidence in the process if more people knew that ahead of time.”
Biden Pushes to End ‘Systemic Racism’
Joe Biden, writing in USA Today:
“We know the nation we want to be. Now we have to deliver on this moment to achieve fundamental changes that address racial inequalities and white supremacy in our country.”
“President Donald Trump’s hate-filled, conspiracy-laden rhetoric is inflaming the racial divides in our country, but just fixing the way the president talks won’t cut it. We need to root out systemic racism across our laws and institutions, and we need to make sure black Americans have a real shot to get ahead.”
Sanders Says He Has a Better Relationship with Biden
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told the New Yorker he has “a better relationship” with Joe Biden than he had with Hillary Clinton.
Said Sanders: “I think the difference now is that, between you and me, I have a better relationship with Joe Biden than I had with Hillary Clinton. And that Biden has been much more receptive to sitting down and talking with me and other progressives than we have seen in the past.”