Political Wire

‘I Was Betrayed by President Trump’

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Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, writing in the New York Times:

“As one of the Capitol Police officers who defended the United States against the mob on Jan. 6, 2021, I felt it was important for me to be in the committee room on June 28 to hear the former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony. Along with three colleagues, I went, even though I knew it would be difficult to relive the horrors I witnessed. Although I experienced the brutal onslaught of the insurrectionists, I was shocked to hear Ms. Hutchinson explain the extent to which President Donald Trump incited the people who almost killed me…”

“The enabling of Mr. Trump needs to stop now. He should not only be barred from running for any other government office; he should never be allowed near the White House again. I believe he betrayed his oath to defend the Constitution, and it was to the detriment of me, my colleagues and all Americans, whom he was supposed to protect.”

Rusty Bowers Walks Back Support of Trump

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Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) told the Deseret News that he would not support Donald Trump, walking back a comment he made after his testimony to the January 6 Committee.

Said Bowers: “I will be supporting somebody in the primary other than Mr. Trump.”

He explained: “Because he doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represent the morals and the platform of my party. And I just see it more and more all the time. That guy is just — he’s his own party. It’s a party of intimidation and I don’t like it.”

Why Biden Is Re-Engaging in the Middle East

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Politico: “Biden sought to downgrade the importance of the Middle East so as not to wade into intractable problems like brokering a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians. In a sign that he was planning to conduct himself differently than his predecessors, he also pledged to end the customary coziness with Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident.”

“But over the past few months, the posture has changed, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Now Biden and his team have concluded they must ramp up Washington’s presence in the Middle East so China and Russia don’t fill an America-sized hole, so that Tehran can be kept at bay, so that a ceasefire in Yemen can hold, faster modernizations can happen in Saudi society, and maybe even better relations between officials in Jerusalem and Riyadh.”

“And then there’s that pesky matter of needing Saudi Arabia’s help to keep the oil flowing after the tap from Russia dwindled following the invasion of Ukraine.”

Dumping Biden Isn’t Likely to Help Democrats

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Jonathan Bernstein: “Unpopular presidents have lost re-election bids — Donald Trump, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford. The last two times an unpopular president who was eligible dropped out of a re-nomination fight, in 1952 and 1968, his party lost anyway. This is hardly surprising. If a president is unpopular, then his party will be unpopular. George W. Bush couldn’t run for a third term in 2008, but given his low approval ratings, Republicans never had a chance that year.”

“All of this suggests that if Biden remains unpopular, the Democrats are probably doomed whether they nominate him or not. Indeed, given partisan polarization, it’s unlikely that candidates matter much in most presidential elections.”

Last Chance to Blunt a Red Wave

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Ron Brownstein: “To avoid the worst-case scenario in November, Democrats must defy one of the most powerful trends shaping modern congressional elections. Recent polls have provided them a glimmer of optimism that they might do just that.”

“That trend is the tightening correlation between voters’ attitudes toward a president and their support for US House, Senate and even gubernatorial candidates from his party. With President Joe Biden’s approval ratings falling to the lowest levels of his presidency, that traditional pattern threatens Democrats with sweeping losses in November’s midterm elections.”

“But even as Biden has continued to sink, other Democrats running this year have stabilized or improved their positions in a spate of recent polls… The question is whether this ‘decoupling,’ as many political professionals call it, is a temporary blip in public opinion — or a reflection of enduring public doubts about the Donald Trump-era GOP that may override the typical reflex of voters unhappy with the president to vote for the other party.”

Fetterman Broke Fundraising Record

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“John Fetterman’s cash machine is still rolling — and gaining speed,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

“The lieutenant governor raised $8.3 million for his U.S. Senate campaign between his Democratic primary win and the end of June… That was part of a record-setting $11 million haul over April, May, and June, a period almost evenly split between the final stretch of the primary and the start of the general election campaign against Republican nominee Mehmet Oz. Fetterman, however, has already spent most of that money.”

Pat Cipollone Corroborated ‘Virtually Everything’

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Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told NBC News that Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone corroborated virtually all of the revelations from previous witnesses, including former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.

Said Raskin: “Cipollone has corroborated almost everything that we’ve learned from the prior hearings. I certainly did not hear him contradict Cassidy Hutchinson… He had the opportunity to say whatever he wanted to say, so I didn’t see any contradiction there.”

Jill Biden Compares Hispanics to Breakfast Tacos

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Jill Biden is facing backlash after comparing Hispanic people to tacos, the Daily Beast reports.

Said the First Lady: “The diversity of this community, as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio, is your strength.”

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists responded: “We are not tacos.”

Peter Navarro Accuses Mike Pence of Treason

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Peter Navarro told Newsmax that Mike Pence committed treason for refusing to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Said Navarro: “The reason why I think Pence is guilty of treason, to at least President Trump and perhaps to this country, is that he acted on the basis of a flawed legal opinion concocted by his own general counsel that he did not share with either the president or with the president’s White House legal counsel.”

He added: “Due process plus duty to the commander in chief required you to do that.”

Quote of the Day

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“I’m not walking away if anybody’s gonna threaten me or hold me hostage, if I can help the country. And if they want to play politics and play party politics, shame on ’em.”

— Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), quoted by CNN, dismissing Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) threat to derail the China competitiveness bill if Democrats push through a party-line reconciliation package.

Half of GOP Voters Ready to Leave Trump Behind

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“As Donald Trump weighs whether to open an unusually early White House campaign, a New York Times/Siena College poll shows that his post-presidential quest to consolidate his support within the Republican Party has instead left him weakened, with nearly half the party’s primary voters seeking someone different for president in 2024 and a significant number vowing to abandon him if he wins the nomination.”

“By focusing on political payback inside his party instead of tending to wounds opened by his alarming attempts to cling to power after his 2020 defeat, Mr. Trump appears to have only deepened fault lines among Republicans during his yearlong revenge tour.”

Wall Street Journal: “What does it say that Joe Biden, the least popular President in modern times, still beats Donald Trump?”

About Political Wire

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.

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