“I read a lot. You know, I read a lot. They like to say I don’t read. I read a lot. I comprehend extraordinarily well, probably better than anybody that you’ve interviewed in a long time. I read a lot.”
— President Trump, quoted by Politico.
“I read a lot. You know, I read a lot. They like to say I don’t read. I read a lot. I comprehend extraordinarily well, probably better than anybody that you’ve interviewed in a long time. I read a lot.”
— President Trump, quoted by Politico.
Nate Silver says national polling trends are more important than the lead itself.
“In other words, I don’t really care if Biden us up 8 nationally or whatever. I care about the numbers in Wisconsin, Florida, etc. But if Biden has gained 2 points in national polls, it’s likely that he’s also gained roughly 2 points in Wisconsin and Florida since they were last polled.”
“In theory, you can also impute these trends from state polls (i.e. if Biden is gaining in Michigan, he’s probably gaining in Wisconsin) and our model does do that too. But national polls give you a high volume of polls from a relatively constant set of pollsters—making trend detection easier.”
Reid Wilson notes that Kodak stock volume has ranged from 52,000 to 215,000 shares per day since July 1.
On Monday, the day before President Trump tapped the former film giant to make drug ingredients, 1,645,000 shares traded hands.
You're reading the free version of Political Wire.
An Access Hollywood video clip from 2004 has reemerged showing Donald Trump voting by mail, despite recently claiming it leads to fraud.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) told the American Independent that he probably contracted coronavirus because he wore a mask more frequently in recent days.
Said Gohmert: “I can’t help but think that if I hadn’t been wearing a mask so much in the last 10 days or so, I really wonder if I would have gotten it.”
Just after reports that Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) had tested positive for coronavirus, Politico got an email from one of his aides:
“Thank you for letting our office know Louie tested positive for the Coronavirus. When you write your story, can you include the fact that Louie requires full staff to be in the office, including three interns, so that ‘we could be an example to America on how to open up safely.’ When probing the office, you might want to ask how often were people berated for wearing masks.”
President Trump said that Senate Republicans who oppose using the next coronavirus stimulus package to fund a new $1.75 billion headquarters for the FBI “should go back to school,” Axios reports.
Said Trump: “So the FBI building, they’ve been trying to build a new building for many years, many many years… It’s the best piece of property in Washington. I’m very good at real estate. So I said, ‘We’ll build a new FBI building, let’s build a new FBI building.’ So we have that in the bill…”
He added: “Those Republicans should go back to school and learn. You need a new building. It’s a bad building, it’s a dangerous building … it’s not a good building from the inside, it’s a very expensive building.”
President Trump on Twitter:
“I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood… Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!”
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who tested positive for the coronavirus earlier today, spoke to Attorney General William Barr yesterday without a mask and for “a comment or two,” according to Olivia Beavers.
“Would say from memory, they were within arms length.”
Reuters reports Barr will now be tested.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) announced that federal agents will begin a “phased withdrawal” from Portland following clashes with protesters, the AP reports.
More than 150,000 people have died in the United States from the coronavirus, according to a New York Times database, as the rate of deaths continues to rise on the heels of ballooning infections and hospitalizations in many areas.
White House adviser Peter Navaro was interviewed on CNN by John Berman:
NAVARRO: The China virus. The CCP virus.
BERMAN: You know what? We let you say that once, Peter. Please don’t say that again on this show.
NAVARRO: The China virus.
BERMAN: Alright. Peter Navarro, we appreciate you being with us.
After testing positive for the coronavirus, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) went back to his Capitol Hill office, ABC News reports.
He told staff members he wanted to inform them in person instead of finding out from news reports.
I suspect this may be very hard to explain to future generations.
A new Monmouth poll in Georgia finds Joe Biden and Donald Trump tied in the presidential race at 47% each.
Said pollster Patrick Murray: “There is a lot of parity between the two candidates. Trump has a lock on his base but Biden is performing much better than Clinton did in key swing areas.”
In the regularly scheduled U.S. Senate race, Sen. David Perdue (R) leads challenger Jon Ossoff (D), 49% to 43%.
In the special U.S. Senate jungle primary, Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) leads the pack with 26% support, followed by Doug Collins (R) at 20%. Leading Democrats include Matt Lieberman at 14% and Raphael Warnock at 9%, but both could get shut out of the runoff if Loeffler and Collins take the top two spots.
Walter Shapiro: “In recent years, the press has gotten a jump on many vice presidential picks by deciphering the flight path of a private plane departing from the V.P. nominee’s home airport. That tactic may not work during a pandemic—since everything from interviews with Biden to the vice presidential rollout may be done on Zoom.”
Washington Post: “While any transition of power can be jarring — particularly between two presidents of opposite parties — the shift from President Trump to Biden would be among the most head-snapping in American history. There is still a long campaign to run, with scaled-back party conventions next month and three debates expected in the fall, but Biden more and more lately has talked about, strategized over and begun planning for what he would do on Day 1, according to his aides and a review of his public statements.”
“Presidential candidates have long made ‘Day 1’ pledges that don’t actually occur during the first 24 hours — and often instead guide their first 100 days. But Biden is stretching even the usual limits, with his growing list of far-reaching and wide-ranging commitments.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh sent a series of private memos to his fellow justices in an attempt to dissuade them from ruling on whether the president should be compelled to give his financial records to House investigators, CNN reports.
He reportedly argued that courts shouldn’t get involved in political questions, but the strategy could have left Trump with no legal route to stop his banks from handing over his tax returns to Congress.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.