Political Wire

Trump Seeks Xi’s Approval On Ballroom Project

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“President Trump showed off some of the construction that he’s had done at the White House to President Xi Jinping of China during their summit on Thursday, and Mr. Trump had reasons to want the Chinese leader’s nod of approval,” the New York Times reports.

“Throughout the uproar over Mr. Trump’s demolition of the East Wing and construction of a grandiose ballroom on the site, the American president has repeatedly cited the Great Hall of the People in China as inspiration and competition with his own design.”

“On the first full day of Mr. Xi’s visit, Mr. Trump gave him a brief tour of the ballroom construction site, as well as the helipad project that was officially opened this week. Mr. Trump called the Chinese leader ‘an expert on stone’ who ‘loves good granite’ as Mr. Xi stood by without changing his expression.”

Mark Carney Has Prepared for a Possible U.S. Invasion

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“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a lengthy interview this week that he has prepared for the possibility, however unlikely, of a U.S. incursion onto Canadian soil,” the Washington Sun reports.

“The stunning remarks come as President Donald Trump has increased his provocations of America’s northern neighbor and embarked on a bitter trade war that has prompted a strong response from Carney.”

Xi Urges Trump to Oppose Taiwan Independence

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“Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged the U.S. to ‘oppose’ Taiwan independence, marking his most explicit call for President Donald Trump to change his stance on the self-ruled island,” Bloomberg reports.

CNN: Why the Trump and Xi summit will struggle to live up to its grand pageantry.

The Senate Won’t Tackle Affordability Before the Midterms

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“Gas and diesel prices are spiking due to the Iran war, making life hell for American farmers. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada is making consumer goods more expensive for everyone. Mortgage rates topped 7%. Tech leaders are sounding the alarm about artificial intelligence and its risk to humanity,” the Washington Sun reports.

“The Republican-controlled Congress is focused on college sports.”

“More than 70 senators have backed the Protect College Sports Act, which would establish a unified federal framework for intercollegiate athletics, including standards for player compensation, transfers and eligibility.”

“Typically, a rare bipartisan piece of legislation is something people celebrate. But the Senate is using up weeks of floor time ahead of the midterms, resulting in complaints from even some of the bill’s supporters who aren’t happy about the chamber’s priorities right now.”

Brown Just Ahead in Ohio Senate Race

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A new Quantus Insights poll in Ohio finds Sherrod Brown (D) leading Jon Husted (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 45%, with Greg Levy (I) at 2% and Bill Redpath (L) at 1%.

Ohio Senate Race
Sherrod Brown (D) 46%
 
Jon Husted (R) 45%
 
Quantus Insights poll · likely voters · ±4.2%

Republican Exaggerated Bronze Star for Valor

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“David Flippo, a Republican congressional candidate in Nevada, inflated his military record multiple times in recent years by claiming he received a Bronze Star ‘for valor’ during his two-decade Air Force career,” the Washington Post reports.

“Flippo received a Bronze Star in 2004 for his service, but not the Bronze Star with valor, a much rarer distinction that recognizes heroism in direct combat with an enemy. Experts on military awards say such exaggerations are tantamount to lying.”

U.S. Mortgage Rates Breach 7%

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“Interest rates on U.S. 30-year mortgages topped 7 percent for the first time in almost two years, as surging yields across the bond market escalate concerns over housing affordability just weeks before nationwide elections,” the Financial Times reports.

Reporters Allowed Back in the White House

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“Reporters for CNN and MS NOW were allowed to re-enter the White House grounds around noon on Thursday, the latest development in an ongoing standoff between President Trump and the press corps that covers him,” the New York Times reports.

“It was not initially clear if the administration had changed its stance on the judge’s order, or if the journalists were blocked because of confusion among security personnel.”

NSA Paying Billions to Test AI Models

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“The National Security Agency told lawmakers that it is spending billions of dollars in taxpayer funds this year evaluating and testing advanced artificial intelligence models,” the Washington Sun reports.

“The price tag — which is significantly greater than previously known — has led lawmakers to believe that a more comprehensive AI regulatory system could cost the government tens of billions of dollars per year.”

Trump’s Retribution Campaign to Face Supreme Court Test

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“Three federal appeals courts have rejected President Trump’s go-to move in trying to install allies as United States attorneys, the officials who lead the prosecutors’ offices in the nation’s 94 judicial districts. In each case, the courts said Trump had violated a law that limits who can run the offices when there are vacancies,” the New York Times reports.

“Those decisions have complicated Trump’s efforts to investigate and prosecute his political foes.”

“The administration this month asked the Supreme Court to review two of the decisions, warning that they ‘risk chaos’ and threaten ‘to inject mass confusion’ into thousands of ordinary cases.”

A Blue Wave Mostly in Red States?

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Nate Silver: “So if you take the polls at face value, we’re seeing a blue wave that’s… overwhelmingly concentrated in red states. As I wrote, there’s a coherent story behind it. And the evidence for it has been consistent enough that it probably has to count as the ‘base case.'”

“But there’s also some risk here for Democrats. Precisely those groups with whom they’re making the largest gains are those where polls have most overestimated Democrats in recent years.”

“There are also potentially huge, lopsided rewards. If the map is reverting more to something pre-Trump-like, that was a map where Barack Obama won Iowa and Ohio twice. Meanwhile, in the House, Republican gerrymanders in states like Florida and Texas were implicitly premised on the GOP having made permanent gains among Hispanics.”

News Outlets Request Emergency Hearing

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“CNN, MS NOW and Politico requested an emergency hearing after they were again blocked from accessing the White House on Thursday despite a federal judge’s early-morning ruling ordering the government to restore their credentials,” the Washington Post reports.

Axios: White House defies court order, doesn’t reinstate access for banned reporters.

Trump’s Claims of Illegal Voting in Nevada Fizzle

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New York Times: “When the Department of Homeland Security sent Nevada a list of 185 names last month that it claimed identified noncitizens who had been improperly allowed to register to vote, state election officials got to work.”

“On Tuesday, the state sent a strongly worded rebuke to the federal government: Every single person on the list was a lawful citizen.”

Jackson Tops Collins in Maine Senate Race

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A new UMass Lowell/YouGov poll in Maine finds Troy Jackson (D) leading Susan Collins (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 43%.

Maine Senate Race
Troy Jackson (D) 48%
 
Susan Collins (R) 43%
 
UMass Lowell/YouGov poll · likely voters · ±4.66%
Maine Governor’s Race
Hannah Pingree (D) 49%
 
Bobby Charles (R) 38%
 
UMass Lowell/YouGov poll · likely voters · ±4.66%

Texas Has Huge Backlog in Voter Registration Applications

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“County election offices throughout Texas are scrambling to process a massive backlog of voter registration applications stemming from an error at the state level, a headache that is hitting just as they are preparing for voting to begin in the midterm elections,” the Associated Press reports.

“The problem, which officials in the Republican-controlled state have not publicly defined, also could have disenfranchised people who wanted to vote in the state’s March primary but whose registration applications were never processed.”

Washington Post: Texas voter-registration backlog could affect midterms.

Another Bonus Quote of the Day

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“The conversations we have are not just those of a mayor and a president, but those of two New Yorkers — New Yorkers with many differences of opinion, but who love this city.”

— New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, quoted by Mother Jones, on why President Trump seems to like him so much.

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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