Associated Press: “A Russian court sentenced an American to 16 years in prison on spying charges, a sentence he rejected as political. The Moscow City Court on Monday read out the conviction of Paul Whelan on charges of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in a maximum security prison colony. Whelan has insisted on his innocence, saying he was set up. The U.S. Embassy has denounced Whelan’s trial as unfair, pointing that no evidence has been provided.”
Ex-Defense Chief Joins Call to Rename Bases
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates joined the call to rename Army bases named after Confederate generals despite President Trump’s opposition, saying that it was time to rid the American military of symbols that represent “the dark side of our history,” the New York Times reports.
Trump’s Niece to Publish Tell-All This Summer
“Donald Trump’s niece, his deceased brother’s daughter, is set to publish a tell-all book this summer that will detail ‘harrowing and salacious’ stories about the president,” the Daily Beast reports.
“Mary Trump, the daughter of Fred Trump Jr. and Fred Trump Sr.’s eldest grandchild, is scheduled to release Too Much And Never Enough on August 11th, just weeks before the Republican National Convention.”
“One of the most explosive revelations Mary will detail in the book is how she played a critical role helping The New York Times print startling revelations about Trump’s taxes, including how he was involved in ‘fraudulent’ tax schemes and had received more than $400 million in today’s dollars from his father’s real-estate empire.”
Why Trump Is Right to Worry About Looking Frail
Jeff Greenfield: “The same man who ran for office by mocking the height and stamina of his rivals, who celebrates dominance as the cardinal virtue of leadership, whose 2016 campaign compiled similar slips by Hillary Clinton into a dark TV commercial accusing her of lacking the strength to serve as president, found himself looking like a longtime resident of Shady Grove Home For the Weary.”
“The images led to some elaborate online speculations and diagnoses, and for Trump, the attention clearly struck a nerve…”
“He might well be revealing his own insecurities. But he’s also right about one important thing: just how damaging such a picture of weakness can be. It may sound trivial, and it’s often unfair, but when a modern president, or even a candidate, exhibits physical weakness, it comes with a political cost.”
Trump’s Loyalty Enforcer
Jonathan Swan: “President Trump, in a highly unusual new effort, has begun making significant staffing changes inside top federal agencies without the consent — and, in at least one case, without even the knowledge — of the agency head, according to officials familiar with the effort.”
“This campaign — helmed by Trump’s loyalty enforcer, a 30-year-old former body man who now runs hiring for the government — is part of the systematic purging or reassigning of those deemed insufficiently supportive of Trump.”
John Bolton’s Big Mistake
George Conway: “Imagine the book Bolton could have written had he testified. Not only could he have told the story of Trump’s malfeasance, but he also could have depicted his own courage in coming forward, along with the possibly dramatic consequences. He might have changed history — and could have told that story firsthand. That would have been a blockbuster for the ages. John Dean’s Blind Ambition spent six months on the New York Times bestseller list, and copies of its 40th anniversary edition remain available for purchase. Had Bolton been motivated purely by profit or even simple self-aggrandizement, he could have maximized both by testifying…”
“The only way to make sense of Bolton’s behavior is to recognize that he actually did intend and expect to testify. He wanted to testify, but wanted to appear to be forced to do it. Perhaps he thought that, as a reluctant witness, he’d be less open to being caricatured as a disgruntled, discharged adviser, and his credibility would have been enhanced. So he insisted on a court order to appear before the House.”
“But Bolton made one fateful misjudgment. He overestimated the character, honor and patriotism of Senate Republicans.”
Democrats Preferred In 3 Iowa Congressional Districts
A new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll in Iowa finds likely voters prefer a Democrat over a Republican 47% to 42% for Congress — a reversal from March, when an Iowa Poll showed 49% support for Republicans and 42% for Democrats.
The full breakdown:
- IA-1: 48% Democrat, 42% Republican
- IA-2: 53% Democrat, 35% Republican
- IA-3: 52% Democrat, 36% Republican
- iA-4: 35% Democrat, 57% Republican
Trump’s Claim on Clearing Protesters Doesn’t Add Up
Washington Post: “The notion that the street-clearing offensive around Lafayette Square was already planned, and separate from Trump’s decision to visit a nearby church, has emerged as the administration’s central explanation for scenes of federal officers shoving protesters with shields and firing pepper balls, chemical grenades and smoke bombs at retreating crowds on June 1.”
“However, the accounts of more than a half-dozen officials from federal law enforcement, D.C. public safety agencies and the National Guard who were familiar with planning for protests outside the White House that day challenge that explanation. The officials told The Washington Post they had no warning that U.S. Park Police, the agency that commanded the operation, planned to move the perimeter — and protesters — before a 7 p.m. citywide curfew, or that force would be used.”
‘Dead, Racist Losers’
Jake Tapper: “It has been a rough period for President Trump and the military leaders with his former defense secretary, retired Marine General James Mattis, assailing him for dividing the country — a sentiment given an ‘Amen’ by Trump’s former chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly — not to mention criticisms from Gen. Colin Powell, Adm. Bill McRaven, Gen. Martin Dempsey, Gen. John Allen and Adm. Mike Mullen.”
“The President and his supporters have had plenty of nasty things to say about these men who have served our country, of course. No need for me to report them. You all have access to Twitter.”
“There is one group of generals, however, that the President is standing firm with, dead racist losers — more specifically, the Confederate commanders after whom 10 Army bases are currently named.”
Houston Weighs Another Lockdown
CBS News: “Houston opened to 75% capacity on Friday, but it may not last long. Officials are cautioning that they may need to order people back home and open a COVID-19 hospital at NRG Stadium, a football complex, as coronavirus cases surge in the nation’s fourth-largest city.”
Trump’s Halting Walk Raises New Health Questions
“President Trump faced new questions about his health on Sunday, after videos emerged of him gingerly walking down a ramp at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and having trouble bringing a glass of water to his mouth during a speech there,” the New York Times reports.
“The videos again raised questions about the health of Mr. Trump, whose advisers have never fully explained his abrupt visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in November, saying at the time only that it was intended to get a jump on his annual physical.”
Trump’s Low Approval Unlikely to Move
Harry Enten: “We’ve still got five months until the general election, which, in theory, is plenty of time for the race for president to change. Indeed, horserace polling has sometimes shifted considerably between this point and Election Day.”
“Presidential approval ratings, however, haven’t historically moved much from June of an election year to Election Day.”
“It seems quite likely at this point that Trump’s approval rating is going to be south of 50% and his net approval rating (approval – disapproval) to be negative when people vote. That should be deeply troubling to Trump, given the strong link between approval ratings and reelection chances.”
GOP Senator Won’t Commit to Wearing Mask at Rally
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) confirmed on Sunday that he’ll attend President Trump’s upcoming campaign rally in Oklahoma, adding that despite the state’s rising coronavirus cases he has yet to decide if he’ll wear a face mask during the event, the Daily Beast reports.
Said Lankford: “You see actually very few masks in Oklahoma now.”
Republicans Burn Absentee Ballot Applications
“People burned letters informing them that they can vote by absentee ballot in future elections during a protest near Grand Rapids,” WILX reports.
State Polls Show Clear Shift Towards Biden
Harry Enten: “The latest state polls imply that Biden has a double-digit advantage nationally given that Clinton won the popular vote by 2 points. These state polls are in sync with the national polls that show Biden’s lead at 10 points.”
“Importantly, many of these polls have been conducted across states that are the heart of the 2020 battleground. States like Arizona and Wisconsin are included in this group. Polls have also been conducted in states that Biden would like to win, but aren’t must wins for him, such as Ohio and Texas. Crucially, these are demographically distinct states in different regions of the country indicating that Trump is losing ground in a lot of different places.”
“All together, it’s the latest evidence that Trump cannot count on the electoral college to save him. The leads that Biden is earning right now are well outside any potential polling miscue like the one that occurred on the state level in 2016. The former vice president, simply put, is well ahead of Trump at this time.”
Trump Campaign Claims 800K Signed Up for Rally
Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale claimed that 800,000 have signed up for President Trump’s rally in Tulsa next weekend.
The arena holds 19,000.
Trump’s Explanation for Unsteady Walk Makes No Sense
The Washington Post isn’t buying President Trump’s explanation for walking down a ramp at West Point in an unsteady fashion.
“Elements of Trump’s explanation strained credulity. Trump’s claim that the ramp had been ‘very slippery’ was inconsistent with the weather, which on Saturday in West Point, N.Y., was sunny and clear-skied. The grass plain on which the commencement took place was dry.”
“In addition, Trump wrote that he ‘ran down’ the final stretch of the ramp. Video footage of the episode shows the president picking up his pace slightly for the final two steps, but that would hardly be considered a run or a jog by any standard definition.”
Jonathan Chait: Trump boasts of successful walk down shallow ramp without tripping.
Racial Justice Groups Flooded With Donations
“The killing of George Floyd and the ensuing nationwide wave of protests are generating a record-setting flood of donations to racial justice groups, bail funds and black-led advocacy organizations across America, remaking the financial landscape of black political activism in a matter of weeks,” the New York Times reports.
“Money has come in so fast and so unexpectedly that some groups even began to turn away and redirect donors elsewhere. Others said they still could not yet account for how much had arrived. A deluge of online donations has washed over organizations big and small — from legacy civil rights groups to self-declared abolitionists seeking to defund the police.”