Flashback Quote of the Day
“Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak and he’s ineffective. So the only way he figures that he’s going to get reelected — and as sure as you’re sitting there — is to start a war with Iran.”
— Donald Trump, in a video from Trump Tower on November 16, 2011.
Trump Needs to Coax More Votes from a Shrinking Base
“President Trump’s 2020 election strategy relies largely on the white, working-class base that he excited in 2016. But he faces a demographic challenge: The electorate has changed since he was last on the ballot in ways likely to benefit Democrats,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Working-class, white voters are projected to decline by 2.3 percentage points nationally as a share of eligible voters, compared with the last election, because they are older and therefore dying at a faster rate than are Democratic groups. As those voters pass on, they are most likely to be replaced by those from minority groups or young, white voters with college degrees—groups that lean Democratic.”
“That means Mr. Trump will have to coax more votes from a shrinking base—or else find more votes in other parts of the electorate.”
GOP Senator Will Move to Dismiss Impeachment Charges
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said on Twitter he will introduce a motion to dismiss the impeachment charges against President Trump.
Playbook: “Our sources tell us that moving legislation to dump the charges is not a realistic strategy at the moment — but it does show the potential perils of the hold-the-articles strategy. This wouldn’t pass at this point — it might not even make it to the floor — but in a few weeks if the articles don’t end up in the Senate, this could gain steam, our sources tell us.”
Trump Taunts Iran on Twitter
After ordering the assassination of a top Iran military commander, President Trump taunted Iran on Twitter: “Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!”
That suggests Trump thinks the action will somehow bring Iran back to the negotiating table.
Pompeo Claims Attack Was ‘Imminent’
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed on CNN that the targeted U.S. air strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was meant to disrupt an “imminent” attack against Americans in the Middle East.
Said Pompeo: “It was the time to take this action so that we could disrupt this plot, deter further aggression from Qasem Soleimani and the Iranian regime — as well as to attempt to de-escalate the situation. The risk of doing nothing was enormous. The intelligence community made that assessment, and President Trump acted decisively last night.”
It Is War
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
Warren’s Fundraising Dips Slightly
Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised $21.2 million for her presidential campaign in the fourth quarter of 2019, “a slight dip from the previous quarter and behind three of her top rivals for the Democratic nomination,” the New York Times reports.
Klobuchar Raised More Than $11 Million
Sen. Amy Klobuchar raised $11.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, “a sum that was more than twice what she collected during the prior three months but still left her no better than sixth in fund-raising for the last three months among Democrats running for president,” the New York Times reports.
Iran Vows Revenge After U.S. Kills Elite Commander
Iran vowed “severe revenge” in response to a U.S. airstrike that killed Tehran’s most powerful military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and dramatically sharpened tensions across the Middle East, the Washington Post reports.
“Soleimani was a towering figure in Iran’s power projection across the region, with close links to a network of paramilitary groups that stretches from Syria to Yemen. His death in the smoldering wreckage of a two-car convoy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, left U.S. outposts and personnel bracing for retaliatory attacks and oil prices shooting upward.”
The Hill reports the U.S. Embassy in Iraq warned its citizens to leave “immediately.”
Biden Calls U.S. Strike Reckless
Joe Biden said Thursday that President Donald Trump has “tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox” with the targeted killing of Iran’s top general in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport, the AP reports.
Most Think Trump Committed Impeachable Offense
A new Ipsos poll finds poll finds that 57% of Americans think President Trump has committed an impeachable offense, while 40% think he has not.
However, 51% say voters should ultimately determine Trump’s fate, while 47% say he should be removed from office by the Senate.
Strike Ordered by Trump Kills Iranian Military Leader
“President Trump authorized the Friday strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, leader of the foreign wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to thwart attacks planned against Americans,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Washington Post reports the strike was a “dramatic escalation of tensions between the two countries that could lead to widespread violence in the region and beyond.”
“Despite a long period of increasing tension between Iran and the Trump administration, which has vowed a tougher stance on Tehran’s support for proxy groups, the attack against such a key figure in Iran’s security establishment came as a surprise to many analysts, in part because it was seen as likely to ignite a significant Iranian response.”
Pentagon Officials Panicked Over Ukraine Aid Block
Unredacted emails show Pentagon officials descending into a panic about President Trump’s decision to withhold military aid to Ukraine and the potential legal consequences of the move, according to Just Security.
Williamson Lays Off Entire Staff
Marianne Williamson, who has been campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination on a message of love and has been urging voters to “join the evolution,” has laid off her entire staff in New Hampshire and nationally, WMUR reports.
Sanders Sharpens Attacks on Biden
“Bernie Sanders, who has reignited his presidential campaign in the weeks since a heart attack put his political future in doubt, is making a sharpened case against Joe Biden in the final stretch before the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses,” the Washington Post reports.
“Sanders said that Biden brings ‘a lot of baggage’ with his record and ties to the political establishment. And he argued that Biden is ill-suited to defeat President Trump. A possible long and bruising race against Biden has become central to Sanders’s planning, in part because his advisers see a fight for many of the same working-class voters.”
Fundraising Hauls Solidify Democratic Top Tier
“Large sums scooped up by Democrats in the final months of 2019 are solidifying a top tier of candidates heading into the early presidential voting season, with multiple contenders showing signs of strength in the battle for the party’s nomination,” the Washington Post reports.
“In all, the Democratic presidential candidates together raised at least $118 million in the last quarter — a sum that party strategists said points to the mounting energy and financial resources that will coalesce around the eventual nominee. Still, the figures underscored the unsettled nature of the Democratic primary fight, while highlighting Trump’s success in stockpiling tens of millions of dollars for his campaign and the Republican Party.”
New York Times: “A flood of money rushed into the presidential race in the last three months of 2019, producing an unusually large number of Democratic candidates with the resources to battle deep into the 2020 primary calendar, all vying for the right to face an incumbent president boasting his own enormous war chest.”
Castro Drops Presidential Bid
“Julián Castro, the former housing secretary who was the only Latino candidate in the Democratic primary, said Thursday he would end his bid for the presidency, capping a yearlong campaign where despite struggling in polls, he remained an enduring contender and policy pacesetter on immigration and fighting poverty,” the New York Times reports.