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Why Evangelicals Are Delighted With Trump

August 13, 2019 at 6:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Trump enjoyed overwhelming support from white evangelicals in 2016, winning a higher percentage than George W. Bush, John McCain or Mitt Romney. That enthusiasm has scarcely dimmed. Almost 70 percent of white evangelicals approve of Trump’s performance in office, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center poll.”

“Interviews with 50 evangelical Christians in three battleground states — Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — help explain why. In conversation, evangelical voters paint the portrait of the Trump they see: a president who acts like a bully but is fighting for them. A president who sees America like they do, a menacing place where white Christians feel mocked and threatened for their beliefs. A president who’s against abortion and gay rights and who has the economy humming to boot.”

Team Biden Also Worried About Gaffes

August 13, 2019 at 6:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Mr. Biden has a long history of verbal flubs and gaffes, so much so that he is comfortable making light of these self-inflicted errors. But he is also a proud man who has often talked about his own brand of speaking plainly and off-the-cuff. In recent weeks, he has expressed frustration to allies that his candidacy will suffer if he is judged too harshly on the slip-ups, which he thinks he can do little to correct so long as he is being true to himself.”

“Some of his advisers said in interviews that they were privately nervous that his recent gaffe spree would become cemented into the larger narrative of the presidential race. They also say that Mr. Biden faces an unfair double standard.”

“Yet there is a real political risk for Mr. Biden. Some party activists have already been worried that, at 76, he may be too old to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Trump, who is 73, and win. If the accumulation of verbal missteps continues, some Democrats say, it will eventually sow doubts about what many primary voters believe is Mr. Biden’s biggest strength: that he is best positioned to beat Mr. Trump.”

Hong Kong Airport Suspends Check-Ins Again

August 13, 2019 at 6:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Hong Kong’s airport suspended check-ins for a second straight day on Tuesday as protesters again disrupted its operations, hours after the city’s embattled leader pleaded for order amid escalating chaos,” the New York Times reports.

“Hundreds of demonstrators occupied parts of Hong Kong International Airport’s departures and arrivals halls on Tuesday, and some used luggage trolleys to block travelers from reaching their departure gates. The Hong Kong Airport Authority closed check-in services in the late afternoon, saying in a statement that operations had been ‘seriously disrupted.'”

Trump Dials Up the Culture Wars

August 12, 2019 at 8:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “From straws to wind turbines to socially conservative issues, Trump is deliberately amplifying public tensions by seizing on divisive topics to energize his base, according to campaign aides and White House advisers. The president is following much the same strategy that he pursued in 2016 — inserting himself into the issues his supporters are already discussing, and using blunt us-against-them language without regard to nuance or political correctness.”

“As Democrats debate policy, Trump has sought to force his potential rivals to defend the most far-reaching cultural ideas circulating within their party.”

“While Trump’s campaign aides have proactively pushed his politically incorrect message with creative and at times tongue-in-cheek marketing, the president has caught some of his advisers off guard by crudely inflaming culture wars on heavier topics such as race, abortion and immigration.”

NRA Loses Another Board Member

August 12, 2019 at 8:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Julie Golob, a professional sport shooter and a strong public advocate for gun rights, announced Monday she was resigning from the National Rifle Association board before the end of her three-year term,” the Washington Post reports.

“She is the fourth member in the past two weeks to leave the board of the NRA in a sign of further upheaval within the nation’s most powerful gun rights group.”

Trump Worried Racist Label Will Stick

August 12, 2019 at 7:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump considers himself a branding wizard, but he is vexed by a branding crisis of his own: how to shed the label of ‘racist,'” the Washington Post reports.

“As the campaign takes shape about 15 months before voters render a verdict on his presidency, Trump’s Democratic challengers are marking him a racist, and a few have gone so far as to designate him a white supremacist.”

“Being called a racist has led Trump in recent days to lash out — in tweets and in public comments — behavior his advisers and allies explain as the natural reaction of anyone who does not consider himself a racist but is accused of being one.”

Evangelicals Suddenly Upset with Trump’s Mouth

August 12, 2019 at 7:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The nation was gripped after the North Carolina rally by the moment when a ‘send her back’ chant broke out as Trump went after Somali-born Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, an American citizen. But some Trump supporters were more fixated on the casual use of the word ‘goddamn’ — an off-limits term for many Christians — not to mention the numerous other profanities laced throughout the rest of the speech.”

“The issue has recently hit a nerve among those who have become some of the president’s most reliable supporters: white evangelicals … The group was key to Trump’s 2016 win, helping bolster his standing in critical swing states, and Trump likely needs to maintain that support if he wants to win a second term. But some are growing fatigued with the irreverent language that often seeps into Trump’s rallies and official events.”

Bolton Supports No Deal Brexit

August 12, 2019 at 7:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“National security adviser John Bolton voiced the Trump administration’s full-throated support of the new British prime minister’s push to leave the European Union, saying the US even supports a no-deal Brexit during a visit to London to fortify the once strained US-UK relationship,” CNN reports.

What Did Jeffrey Epstein Know?

August 12, 2019 at 7:12 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

James Stewart: “Almost exactly a year ago, on Aug. 16, 2018, I visited Jeffrey Epstein at his cavernous Manhattan mansion.”

“The overriding impression I took away from our roughly 90-minute conversation was that Mr. Epstein knew an astonishing number of rich, famous and powerful people, and had photos to prove it. He also claimed to know a great deal about these people, some of it potentially damaging or embarrassing, including details about their supposed sexual proclivities and recreational drug use.”

“So one of my first thoughts on hearing of Mr. Epstein’s suicide was that many prominent men and at least a few women must be breathing sighs of relief that whatever Mr. Epstein knew, he has taken it with him.”

How Democrats Plan to Use Gun Control to Beat Trump

August 12, 2019 at 6:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “A Democratic presidential field that has struggled to precisely define its general election indictment of Donald Trump appears to have finally found it. In the wake of mass shootings in Ohio and Texas — the latter of which was tied to a suspect whose anti-immigrant sentiments led to the killing of 22 people — candidates are road-testing a withering argument that draws a direct line between gun violence and the president’s racist rhetoric.”

Odds of Recession Next Year Just Shot Up

August 12, 2019 at 5:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bank of America sees a greater than 30% chance of a recession in the next year, based on recent data, CNBC reports.

Some economic indicators are “flashing yellow,” signaling a coming recession.

Trump Hits Back At Scaramucci

August 12, 2019 at 5:03 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump hit back at Anthony Scaramucci after the former aide suggested the GOP should consider replacing Trump atop the ticket in 2020.

Said Trump: “Scaramucci, who like so many others had nothing to do with my Election victory, is only upset that I didn’t want him back in the Administration (where he desperately wanted to be).”

He added: “Also, I seldom had time to return his many calls to me. He just wanted to be on TV!”

Oregon Governor Backs Bill to Require Tax Returns

August 12, 2019 at 5:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) told the HuffPost that she supports legislation that would require President Trump and other presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to appear on the state’s primary ballot.

Barr Sees ‘Irregularities’ In Epstein’s Death

August 12, 2019 at 4:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Attorney General William Barr on Monday sharply criticized the management of the federal jail in Manhattan where Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was long dogged by accusations of sexual abuse of girls, was found dead on Saturday morning after he had apparently hanged himself,” the New York Times reports.

Said Barr: “We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and demand a thorough investigation. We will get to the bottom of what happened. There will be accountability.”

Trump Significantly Weakens Endangered Species Act

August 12, 2019 at 4:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would change the way the Endangered Species Act is applied, significantly weakening the nation’s bedrock conservation law credited with rescuing the bald eagle, the grizzly bear and the American alligator from extinction,” the New York Times reports..

“The changes will make it harder to consider the effects of climate change on wildlife when deciding whether a given species warrants protection. They would most likely shrink critical habitats and, for the first time, would allow economic assessments to be conducted when making determinations.”

A Plea for Beto to ‘Come Home’

August 12, 2019 at 4:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A Houston Chronicle editorial says we saw the real Beto O’Rourke after the El Paso mass shooting last week.

“Frankly, it’s made us wish O’Rourke would shift gears, and rather than unpause his presidential campaign, we’d like to see him take a new direction.”

“So Beto, if you’re listening: Come home. Drop out of the race for president and come back to Texas to run for senator. The chances of winning the race you’re in now are vanishingly small. And Texas needs you.”

The Filibuster Is Suffocating the Will of Voters

August 12, 2019 at 4:38 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Harry Reid: “I am not an expert on all of government, but I do know something about the United States Senate. As the former majority leader, I know how tough it is to get anything through the chamber, which was designed to serve as the slower, more deliberative body of the United States Congress.”

“But what is happening today is a far cry from what the framers intended. They created the Senate as a majority-rule body, where both sides could have their say at length — but at the end of the day, bills would pass or fail on a simple majority vote. In their vision, debate was supposed to inform and enrich the process, not be exploited as a mechanism to grind it to a halt.”

“The Senate today, after years of abusing an arcane procedural rule known as the filibuster, has become an unworkable legislative graveyard.”

Gabbard to Report for Active Duty

August 12, 2019 at 4:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) told CBS News that she will be taking a two-week absence from her presidential campaign Monday to report for active duty with the Hawaiian Army National Guard in Indonesia.