Former Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn told the BBC that President Trump’s trade war with China is backfiring and hurting the U.S. economy.
Said Cohn: “When you build plant equipment, you’re buying steel, you’re buying aluminium, you’re buying imported products and then we put tariffs on those, so literally the tax incentive we gave you with one hand was taken away with the other hand.”
He added: “So we are not seeing the manufacturing job creation.”
Filmmaker Michael Moore told MSNBC that there is only one candidate up to the challenge to “crush” President Trump in 2020.
Said Moore: “In fact, it is Obama — Michelle Obama. Everybody watching this right now knows she is a beloved American and she would go in there and she would beat him.”
“The question is no longer whether the House should vote to proceed with a formal impeachment inquiry. The inquiry has already begun.”
— Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), announcing his support for an impeachment inquiry in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
First Read: “So if the first round of Dem debates underscored how far to the left the party has moved since Barack Obama left office, the second round highlighted how willing they are to attack one another, even when they agree on the vast majority of issues.”
“Of course, politics ain’t beanbag. And presidential debates are supposed to produce conflict and disagreement.”
“But play out seven or eight more months of these same kinds of debates, and you can see why an incumbent president — especially one who gets to avoid a real primary challenge — has a significant advantage.”
Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren suggested in a tweet that Sen. Kamala Harris “slept her way to the top” when she had a relationship in the mid-1990s with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
Daily Beast: “Lahren was swiftly condemned for invoking Harris’ personal relationship to dismiss the 2020 candidate’s long record in elected office, rising from San Francisco district attorney to California’s attorney general before being elected to the U.S. Senate. But while the tweet attracted its share of liberal critics, some of Lahren’s own colleagues at Fox News openly expressed disgust at her comments.”
Politico: “More than half of House Democrats say they would vote to launch impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, a crucial threshold that backers say will require Speaker Nancy Pelosi to reconsider her steadfast opposition.”
“Though Pelosi has given no indication that even a majority of Democrats embracing impeachment proceedings would shift her view, supporters of an inquiry argue that crossing the halfway mark among Democrats will be a symbolic boost that could shift the political dynamic.”
For members: The Five Realities of Impeachment
A former Trump Organization official said that President Trump lied about almost being on a helicopter that crashed in 1998, killing three company employees, the HuffPost reports.
From a UPI story at the time: “Sources said Trump himself was scheduled to be on the flight but decided at the last minute he was too busy to leave New York.”
But Barbara Res said that was a “total, total lie” promoted by Trump.
New York Times: “Candidates will need to have 130,000 unique donors and register at least 2 percent support in four polls. They have until Aug. 28 to reach those benchmarks.”
“These criteria could easily halve the field: The first two sets of debates included 20 of the 24 candidates, but a New York Times analysis of polls and donor numbers shows that only 10 to 12 candidates are likely to make the third round.”
“Seven candidates have already met both qualification thresholds and are guaranteed a spot on stage. They are: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.”
“President Trump wants a new deal with Iran to replace the nuclear agreement he pulled out of, and he’s turning to one of his most hawkish confidants to help do it,” the Daily Beast reports.
“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is working in close coordination with senior Trump administration officials who focus on Middle East policy to find an alternative to the Obama administration’s Iran deal… Part of that effort includes fielding ideas from outside actors, including foreign officials.”
Kyle Kondik: “According to the RealClearPolitics average, here was the national polling average for the Democratic presidential nomination battle on June 26, the day of the first debate: Joe Biden 32%, Bernie Sanders 17%, Elizabeth Warren 13%, Kamala Harris 7%, Pete Buttigieg 7%, Beto O’Rourke 3%, and Cory Booker 2%.”
“On Tuesday morning, the day of the start of the second round of debates, the average was: Biden 32%, Sanders 16%, Warren 14%, Harris 11%, Buttigieg 6%, O’Rourke 3%, Andrew Yang 2%, and Booker 2%.”
“So as we wait to see what effect Tuesday and Wednesday night’s debates have on the race for the Democratic nomination, don’t necessarily assume that changes we may see are permanent — if changes occur at all. To our eyes, we didn’t see much from the debates that seems likely to fundamentally alter the race.”
Tom Steyer is airing an ad centered around President Trump’s record as “failed” businessman during “Fox and Friends” and “The Sean Hannity Show” on Fox News, The Hill reports.
Said Steyer in the ad: “Unlike other candidates, I can go head to head with Donald Trump on the economy and expose him for what he is — a fraud and a failure.”
President Trump’s rally tonight in Ohio “will be a test for both candidate and crowd,” the AP reports.
“The Cincinnati gathering Thursday night will be Trump’s first since his audience chanted ‘Send her back!’ about a Somali-born congresswoman during a July rally in North Carolina , raising the prospect of a 2020 presidential campaign increasingly fought along racial lines.”
“All eyes will be watching both the Ohio crowd’s behavior — and how Trump reacts. Even his closest advisers seem uncertain as to what may transpire.”
UK chancellor Sajid Javid announced billions in extra funding “to prepare Britain for a no-deal exit on October 31, including a big outlay intended to stop Britain running out of vital medicines,” the Financial Times reports.
Said Javid: “With 92 days until the UK leaves the European Union it is vital that we intensify our planning to ensure we are ready. If we can’t get a good deal, we’ll have to leave without one.”
Matthew Yglesias: “When you’re setting the bar for policy success at ‘no shortages of critical medicines’ it seems like you’ve probably gone astray.”
“After two sets of Democratic presidential debates, it appears that Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, at least at the moment, are two high-speed trains on a collision course,” Reuters reports.
“Both nights made clear that the ideological divide that is fissuring the Democratic Party will not soon be closed – and that voters may soon have to choose a side as the field begins to narrow in the coming months.”
The Guardian: “Delivering what must have been one of the most cryptic gaffes of his career, Joe Biden caused mass confusion during the final moment of the latest Democratic debate, after he apparently urged viewers to visit a website that does not exist.”
“Biden laid out his 2020 vision before telling those watching: ‘If you agree with me, go to Joe 30330.’ He had in fact meant to refer them to a phone number.”
“It’s like there’s constant chaos.”
— Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), quoted by Politico, when asked to sum up the summer.
Politico: “Among those on the retirement watch list include older members, like Hal Rogers of Kentucky, Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin and Don Young of Alaska; moderates, like Fred Upton of Michigan and Greg Walden of Oregon; lawmakers facing tougher races, like Texans Michael McCaul and Kenny Marchant, and Ann Wagner of Missouri; and the two members under indictment, Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York.”
“RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel grew visibly emotional during a meeting with senior GOP officials on Wednesday, as she insisted that she isn’t personally profiting off a new, President Trump-endorsed small-donor platform,” Politico reports.
“The party chairwoman choked up as she kicked off a closed-door panel discussion on WinRed by addressing ongoing rumors that she and other RNC officials are poised to personally benefit from the new platform. At one point, McDaniel said the only money she is making is her RNC salary.”
“Republican leaders are determined to make WinRed the sole online donation platform for the party, and they are taking an uncompromising approach with those who’ve been reluctant to get on board with the new program — which has rankled segments of the party rank and file.”
Playbook: “Frustration and skepticism about WinRed, and questions about who is profiting from the GOP fundraising platform, are probably among the top things Republicans talk about on Capitol Hill.”
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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.