President Biden tested positive again this morning, according to the latest note from the White House physician.
USA Today: Biden’s “rebound” COVID not common but not serious, White House says.
Trump to Endorse In Missouri Senate Race
Former President Donald Trump announced he is preparing to endorse in the Missouri GOP Senate primary today.
Playbook: “He is very likely to back Eric Greitens, the scandal-plagued former governor, who has strong ties to Don Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle.”
Manchin to Talk to Sinema About Reconciliation Bill
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told CNN that he plans to talk to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) today and says he didn’t talk with her through negotiations of the new budget reconciliation legislation because he didn’t think deal would come to fruition.
Tim Scott Backs Away from His Own Book
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) “has denied preparing to run for president, despite writing a book which says he is,” The Guardian reports.
Eric Trump Teases 2024 Bid
Eric Trump used a golf bag featuring the lettering “Trump 2024” under an American flag patch at Donald Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, club, which was hosting a tournament of LIV Golf, the controversial pro tour backed by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund, CNBC reports.
Graham Challenges Subpoena in Georgia Election Probe
“As expected, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is challenging a subpoena to testify before a special grand jury that’s investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others broke any laws when they tried to overturn Joe Biden’s win in Georgia,” the AP reports.
“Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, received a subpoena that was issued on July 26 and orders him to appear before the special grand jury to testify on Aug. 23, his lawyers said in a court filing. Graham is seeking to have the challenge to the subpoena heard in federal court in Atlanta rather than before the Fulton County Superior Court judge who’s overseeing the special grand jury.”
Trump Supporters Think They’re in a Fight to the Death
Peter Wehner: “For all the defects Donald Trump has as a politician, he does possess certain skills, among them an almost preternatural ability to tap into the sensibilities—the id—of the American right. More than any other Republican candidate in 2016, Trump was in sync with the base of the party. He still is, as he prepares for what looks like another run for the presidency.”
Nicholas Kristof Returns to New York Times
Nicholas Kristof is returning to the New York Times after a failed Oregon gubernatorial bid, the newspaper announced.
Exxon and Chevron Report Record Profits
“Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the two largest energy companies in the United States, said on Friday that profits rose to record levels in the second quarter as they continued to reap the benefits of soaring oil and gas prices,” the New York Times reports.
Court Allows Abortion Ban to Take Effect in Michigan
The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that “a court order that sought to bar enforcement of a dormant law criminalizing most abortions in Michigan does not apply to county prosecutors,” the Detroit Free Press reports.
“The massively consequential ruling means the 1931 law banning all abortions except those done to protect the life of a pregnant person essentially takes effect immediately.”
Ever since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, Michigan’s Democratic officials have insisted that abortion remains legal there. Not anymore.
Trump Is Still Very Much In Control of the Republican Party
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Relatives of Politicians Win with Casino Shares
“A company profiting from a new North Carolina tribal casino gave shares to politicians’ family members and high-profile political figures as the casino’s backers were seeking federal approval for the project,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“One of the stakes is held by John B. Clyburn, a brother of Rep. James Clyburn, the powerful South Carolina Democratic congressman who introduced a bill in Congress last year that smoothed the way for the new Catawba Two Kings Casino.”
“Other stakes went to Michael Haley, husband of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican who served in the Trump administration as ambassador to the United Nations; Butch Bowers, a lawyer who has represented both Ms. Haley and former President Donald Trump; and Patti Solis Doyle, a Democratic political operative who helped manage campaigns in 2008 for Hillary Clinton and then-vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, according to the documents.”
When the President Gets Covid
“Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.”
— Joe Biden, on Oct 2, 2020.
“Joe Biden’s second bout of Covid, sometimes referred to as the China Virus, was sadly misdiagnosed by his doctors. He instead has Dementia, but is happily recovering well. Joe is thinking of moving, part time, to one of those beautiful Wisconsin Nursing Homes, where almost 100% of the residents miraculously, and for the first time in history, had the strength and energy to vote even if those votes were cast illegally. Get well soon, Joe!”
— Donald Trump, on July 31, 2022.
Trump Wanted to Endorse Netanyahu Rival
“Ahead of the Israeli election in March 2020, then-President Trump wanted to publicly endorse former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main political rival Benny Gantz, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and then-senior adviser at the White House, writes in his new book,” Axios reports.
“Kushner’s remarks are further evidence of how bad the relationship between the former U.S. president and the former Israeli prime minister was at the time.”
Biden’s Plan Does Not Raise Taxes on the Middle Class
Jonathan Chait: “Over the weekend, a congressional tax committee analyzed a portion of the tax Inflation Reduction Act Senator Joe Manchin struck with Senator Chuck Schumer and President Biden. Republicans inaccurately claimed the report shows the plan would increase taxes on the middle class.”
“The plan in fact raises taxes only on corporations with an income over $1 billion. It does not raise taxes on individual taxpayers at all.”
Trump’s Plans For Bedminster Mausoleum Were Rejected
“Donald Trump’s plans to build a grandiose family mausoleum with 19-foot stone obelisks on the grounds of his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, were shot down in 2007 by local officials who found the design garish and out of character with the area,” the HuffPost reports.
“Now there’s a single grave on the course — for Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of the former president and mother of his three oldest children. Following her July 20 funeral, she was buried not far from the clubhouse and behind the first tee in a bare plot with a spray of flowers and small granite plaque.”
Bolton Says Trump Followers Are Risking ‘Political Suicide’
Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton warned Republican primary candidates that they are “risking political suicide” if they align themselves too closely with the former president, the HuffPost reports.
Said Bolton: “Trump’s fixation on himself and the 2020 election are poisonous to independent and undecided voters.”
Biden Set to Deliver on Decades-Long Promise
“Democrats have been campaigning for 30 years on promises they’d let Medicare directly negotiate the cost of prescription drugs — and after all that time, they might finally be about to achieve it,” Axios reports.
“The Senate’s reconciliation bill would only open up negotiations for a small number of drugs, but even that is a threshold Democrats have never before been able to cross. And it opens the door to more aggressive policies in the future.”
