Matthew Continetti: “Mr. Trump has two ways he could regain his standing among independents and win over undecided voters. He can pray that Democrats nominate a candidate whose personality and policies independents find more unappealing than his own. Or he can modify the way he comports himself in public. It is telling that the least likely option is the one within Mr. Trump’s control.”
Democratic Strategists Set Up $75 Million Digital Campaign
“A progressive organization is plunging itself into the presidential campaign, unveiling plans to spend $75 million on digital advertising to counter President Trump’s early spending advantage in key 2020 battleground states,” the New York Times reports.
“The effort, by a nonprofit group called Acronym and an affiliated political action committee, is an outgrowth of growing concern by some Democratic officials that Mr. Trump could build an insurmountable edge in those key states through massive early advertising efforts. Mr. Trump has spent more than $26 million so far nationally just on Facebook and Google, more than the four top-polling Democrats — Joseph R. Biden Jr., Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg — have spent in total on those platforms.”
Appeals Court Rules Trump Must Turn Tax Returns
“A federal appeals panel on Monday said President Trump’s accounting firm must turn over eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns to Manhattan prosecutors, a setback for the president’s attempt to keep his financial records private,” the New York Times reports.
“But the tax returns are not likely to be handed over soon. Mr. Trump has fought vigorously to shield his tax returns, and the case appears headed to the United States Supreme Court.”
House GOP Still Using CrowdStrike
“House Republicans’ campaign arm is still relying on CrowdStrike to protect its sensitive data, even as the cybersecurity firm has become embroiled in a bizarre conspiracy theory promoted by President Trump and his GOP allies,” the Washington Post reports.
“The California company, which Trump and some House Republicans have accused without evidence of conspiring with Democrats in the 2016 election, is still helping the National Republican Congressional Committee protect its networks.”
Republicans Try to Move the Goalposts on Impeachment
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Trump Distances Himself from Lobbyist
President Trump distanced himself from “a man named Michael Esposito” in a series of tweets this morning.
The Washington Post notes Esposito’s soaring rise as a lobbyist is due to his claims to be “close to centers of power in the Trump administration.”
Contract bids says Esposito has “an open line of communication to the President of the United States” and is in “regular” contact with the president. The same proposals say Esposito worked with the president’s son Eric Trump and son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner on real estate deals. And the firm’s website calls Esposito “an integral part of the senior-most leadership” of the Republican National Committee.
Stephen Miller Is Getting Married
White House adviser Stephen Miller got engaged over the weekend to Katie Waldman, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, Bloomberg reports.
Biden Campaign Says He Doesn’t Need to Win Iowa
Wall Street Journal: “The Biden team is playing down his prospects in Iowa, noting that his broad support among black voters in particular will help him in places like South Carolina, which votes at the end of February.”
Said Biden campaign manager Greg Schultz: “I think we’re the only ones who don’t have to win Iowa, honestly, because our strength is the fact that we have a broad and diverse coalition.”
White House Officials Not Expected to Show for Testimony
Four Trump administration officials who were scheduled to testify in front of the impeachment inquiry Monday will not appear for their depositions, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The officials are Robert Blair, a senior adviser to chief of staff Mick Mulvaney; John Eisenberg, deputy counsel to the president for national security affairs; Michael Ellis, Eisenberg’s deputy; and Brian McCormack, a director at the White House budget office.
They have all been told by the White House that they cannot testify.
Trump Consumed by Impeachment Fight
“President Trump doesn’t think House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry should get any media coverage,” Politico reports.
“Meanwhile, he’s ravenously consuming news about the subject — primarily through a friendly lens. From the Oval Office to the White House residence to Air Force One, he’s closely tracking how Republican members of Congress are digesting the latest revelations on his handling of Ukraine, and monitoring their statements for any sign of hesitation or perceived disloyalty.”
The Hill: GOP lawmakers fear Trump becoming too consumed by impeachment fight.
Unemployment Climbing In the Swing States
Washington Post: “In more than 1,000 counties, or about one in three, the unemployment rate is higher than it was a year ago. That includes all 72 counties in Wisconsin and all 10 in New Hampshire, as well as most in Michigan, Minnesota and North Carolina. The numbers can be volatile from month to month, but this trend remains even if you look at entire quarters or years.”
Trump Says No Witnesses Needed In Probe
President Trump tweeted that there is “no reason” to call witnesses in the impeachment inquiry.
Said Trump: “What I said on the phone call with the Ukrainian President is ‘perfectly’ stated. There is no reason to call witnesses to analyze my words and meaning.”
Democrats Tiptoe Around Trump’s Attacks
Politico: “To listen to 2020 Democrats, some of the most volatile critiques of the top three polling candidates aren’t worthy of public debate — even though Trump and GOP operatives have made clear they’d hammer them on those issues during the general election.”
“Some Democrats fear the crowded field is doing the eventual nominee a disservice by tiptoeing around their possible vulnerabilities while the GOP loads torpedoes into the tubes. It’s a dynamic reminiscent of the 2016 Democratic primary, when Democrats — including primary candidate Bernie Sanders — downplayed the controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton’s emails, only to confront a vicious general election onslaught on those very questions from Donald Trump.”
Trump Trails Biden but Leads Warren in Battlegrounds
“Despite low national approval ratings and the specter of impeachment, President Trump remains highly competitive in the battleground states likeliest to decide his re-election,” according to a set of new surveys from New York Times Upshot and Siena College.
“Across the six closest states that went Republican in 2016, he trails Joe Biden by an average of two points among registered voters but stays within the margin of error.”
“Mr. Trump leads Elizabeth Warren by two points among registered voters, the same margin as his win over Hillary Clinton in these states three years ago.”
Wall Street Sounds Alarm As Warren Rises
New York Times: “From corporate boardrooms to breakfast meetings, investor conferences to charity galas, Ms. Warren’s rise in the Democratic primary polls is rattling bankers, investors and their affluent clients, who see in the Massachusetts senator a formidable opponent who could damage not only their industry but their way of life.”
“Interviews with more than two dozen hedge-fund managers, private-equity and bank officials, analysts and lobbyists made clear that Ms. Warren has stirred more alarm than any other Democratic candidate. (Senator Bernie Sanders, who describes himself as a socialist, is also feared, but is considered less likely to capture the nomination.)”
Said Democratic donor Steven Rattner: “Everyone is nervous. What scares the hell out of me is the way she would fundamentally change our free-enterprise system.”
Top Democrats Trail In Texas
“None of the top Democrats seeking the presidential nomination would beat President Donald Trump in Texas in an election held today — and neither would either of the Texas candidates in that race,” according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
“Joe Biden is running 7 percentage points behind Trump in Texas, as is Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Sen. Bernie Sanders falls 5 percentage points short in a head-to-head with the president among Texas voters.”
Warren and Sanders Highlight Their Differences
“Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, rivals for the affections of the Democratic Party’s left wing, are increasingly making careful but unmistakable efforts to distinguish themselves from each other as the primary heads toward its first vote in three months,” the Washington Post reports.
Trump Suggests He Could Shut Down the Government
Playbook: “President Trump just made this month much more … interesting. Speaking on the South Lawn on Sunday, the president left the door open to a government shutdown in 17 days. First, he said ‘no, no, no’ when asked if he would shut down the government because he is being impeached. Then he said, ‘It depends on — it depends on what the negotiation — I wouldn’t commit to anything. It depends on what the negotiation is.'”
“The government shutdown date is Nov. 21 — Congress’ last day in session before the Thanksgiving break. Congress will revolt at the idea of a shutdown, and Democrats are never going to relent on impeachment because of a funding crisis. Some in the Capitol believe they can override the president’s veto of a spending bill. Needless to say, if the president is toying with a shutdown in his mind, this month might not be on autopilot as some may think.”