Donald Trump Jr., whose new book accuses his opponents of censorship and stifling open debate, stormed out of his own book launch Sunday after being heckled for refusing questions, The Guardian reports.
Republicans Used to Ignore Trump Resorts
Politico: “Between 2012 and 2014, campaigns and political groups spent a combined $69,000 at Trump businesses… But since June 2015, when Trump announced he was running for the White House, political spending at the president’s properties has topped $19 million.”
Bolivian Leader Steps Down
“President Evo Morales of Bolivia, who came to power more than a decade ago as part of a leftist wave sweeping Latin America, resigned on Sunday after unrelenting protests by an infuriated population that accused him of undermining democracy to extend his rule,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Morales’s reluctance to give up power — first bending the country’s laws to stand for a fourth election, then insisting that he won despite widespread concerns about fraud — left him besieged by protests, abandoned by allies and unable to count on the police and the armed forces, which sided with the protesters and demanded he resign.”
Bloomberg May Halt Buttigieg’s Momentum
“Pete Buttigieg was quickly locking down a solid lane in the Democratic primary: a young, vibrant, gay, midwestern, war veteran mayor with progressive ideas and plenty of money — but both feet planted in fiscal prudence,” Politico reports.
“Young Wall Street and tech-entrepreneur types were starting to fall in love — with his poll numbers and fundraising totals underscoring the Buttigieg boomlet. He was the ‘Parks and Recreation’ candidate in the Democratic field and an alternative to seventy-somethings Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders who are both looking to lock down the hyper-online progressive, anti-Wall Street crowd as well as blue collar workers across the Midwest.”
“But then a funny thing happened last week: Another 70-something candidate beloved on Wall Street — billionaire mogul Michael Bloomberg — made an unexpected splash by suggesting he may still enter the race.”
Hong Kong Police Shoot Protester
“A Hong Kong anti-government protester was shot by police Monday in a dramatic scene caught on video as demonstrators blocked train lines and roads in a day of spiraling violence fueled by demands for democratic reforms,” the AP reports.
Trump Aides Fear John Bolton’s Secret Notes
Jonathan Swan: “John Bolton is the impeachment inquiry’s biggest wildcard. People around the president say they are worried about what notes Trump’s former national security adviser has kept and when he might divulge them.”
“These sources, including both current and former senior administration officials, tell me that the former national security adviser was the most prolific note-taker at the top level of the White House and probably has more details than any impeachment inquiry witness, so far, about President Trump’s machinations on Ukraine.”
Democrats Prep for Public Impeachment Hearings
“Three key witnesses in the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry will testify this week in a series of nationally televised hearings that Democrats are hoping will shock Americans enough to convince them that President Trump must be removed from office,” Axios reports.
“This public phase of impeachment is arguably the most important part of Democrats’ efforts so far, as public sentiment will determine how this plays out.”
“First up on Wednesday is the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine Bill Taylor, whose explosive closed-door testimony last month has been described by many Democrats as the most damaging to Trump. State Department official George Kent will also appear on Wednesday. The committee will interview former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch on Friday.”
Axios: “Republicans plan to unleash their top attack dogs — including Rep. Jim Jordan, who was just made a member of the committee on Friday, and his general counsel Steve Castor, who will lead their interrogation.”
Klobuchar Hits Buttigieg’s Experience
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) told CNN that women in politics are held to a higher standard than men, arguing that a female candidate with Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s experience would not make it to the presidential debate stage.
Washington Post: “Klobuchar’s comments mark the latest instance of a 2020 presidential contender taking aim at Buttigieg, a newcomer on the national political stage whose ascent in the fundraising race and in polls for the Democratic nomination has taken many by surprise.”
Trump Offered to Pay Parents Whose Child Was Killed
While meeting with President Trump, the parents of a British teenager who was killed in a traffic collision with the wife of a U.S. diplomat were offered money from the Treasury by the president, which they refused, according to The Guardian.
Biden’s Attacks on Warren Turn Personal
New York Times: “In ways overt and subtle, Joseph Biden, his campaign and his allies have begun mounting personal attacks on his most formidable rival in the 2020 primary race, portraying her as embracing a rigid, condescending approach that befits a former Harvard professor with an ambitious policy agenda.”
“It is a politically risky case to make against a leading female candidate, especially to a Democratic primary electorate that has so far signaled little appetite for intraparty warfare. Women historically make up a majority of Democratic primary voters, and for many, memories of attacks against Hillary Clinton in 2016 are still fresh.”
“The aggressive approach is also new territory for Mr. Biden, the former vice president who served for decades as a decorous senator and typically tempers rebukes of opponents with mentions of their good character.”
Trump Tweets 82 Times In One Day
President Trump tweeted or retweeted 82 times on Saturday while flying to and from a collegiate football game in Alabama, Axios reports.
“Many of the president’s tweets were fighting back against the House’s impeachment inquiry into allegations that he withheld congressionally approved military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political opponents. The House will hold its first public impeachment hearings this week.”
Bonus Quote of Day
“You make your mind up about the phone call. I made my mind up. There’s nothing there.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in KCCI interview, arguing President Trump did nothing wrong in an attempt to force Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.
Haley Says Top Aides Wanted Her to Undermine Trump
“Two of President Trump’s senior advisers undermined and ignored him in what they claimed was an effort to ‘save the country,’ former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley claims in a new memoir,” the Washington Post reports.
“Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly sought to recruit her to work around and subvert Trump, but she refused, Haley writes in a new book, With All Due Respect, which also describes Tillerson as ‘exhausting’ and imperious and Kelly as suspicious of her access to Trump.”
Writes Haley: “Kelly and Tillerson confided in me that when they resisted the president, they weren’t being insubordinate, they were trying to save the country. It was their decisions, not the president’s, that were in the best interests of America, they said. The president didn’t know what he was doing.”
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Bloomberg Still Might Not Run
Sources close to Mike Bloomberg tell Axios that last week’s announcement was partly a trial balloon to gauge interest and preserve the former mayor’s options — but his own very extensive polling remains far from convincing.
“Polling being studied by Bloomberg shows big, perhaps insurmountable hurdles, particularly if Joe Biden stays in.”
Swalwell Sees Evidence of Trump ‘Extortion Scheme’
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) told CBS News that depositions in the House’s impeachment inquiry have already established an “extortion scheme” by the White House.
Said Swalwell: “We have enough evidence from the depositions that we’ve done to warrant bringing this forward, evidence of an extortion scheme using taxpayer dollars to ask a foreign government to investigate the president’s opponents.”
Stop Using ‘Quid Pro Quo’
A plea from 33 writers in the New York Times:
“Please stop using the Latin phrase ‘quid pro quo’ regarding the impeachment inquiry. Most people don’t understand what it means, and in any case it doesn’t refer only to a crime. Asking for a favor is not a criminal act; we frequently demand things from foreign countries before giving them aid, like asking them to improve their human rights record.”
“That is not a crime; the crime is President Trump’s demand for something that will benefit him personally. But using this neutral phrase — which means simply ‘this for that’ — as synonymous with criminality is confusing to the public. It makes the case more complicated, more open to question and more difficult to plead.”
“Please use words that refer only to criminal behavior here. Use ‘bribery’ or ‘extortion’ to describe Mr. Trump’s demand to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, making it very clear that this is a crime. The more we hear words that carry moral imputations, the more we understand the criminal nature of the act.”
Black Voters Turn Out Early In Louisiana
JMC Analytics notes that early voting in the Louisiana governor’s race, which ended last night, was the highest ever for a non-presidential election.
Key takeaway: “Whatever the turnout levels are from election cycle to election cycle, black voters (who are almost unanimously Democratic) tend to show up in greater numbers on the last day. But very rarely do they turn out to the extent that they did yesterday: a whopping 40% of the last day early voters were black (blacks represent 31% of Louisiana’s registered voters). As further illustration of how unprecedented black participation this strong is, in the 116 days of available data for in person early voting going all the way back to 2008, only four other times has the black early vote as a percentage of the total vote ever hit 40% (and three of those times were in 2008, when Barack Obama was first elected).”
U.S. Trying to Get North Korea to Resume Talks
The United States is “very actively” trying to persuade North Korea to come back to negotiations, South Korea’s national security adviser told Reuters, as a year-end North Korean deadline for U.S. flexibility approaches.
