Bonus Quote of the Day
“He’s learning. I know his heart’s in the right place.”
— Speaker Paul Ryan, quoted by The Hill, on President Trump and racial issues.
Gun Stocks Rally After Mass Shooting
“Gun stocks rose Monday following the deadliest mass shooting in American history late Sunday night. A gunman in a hotel room at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas killed at least 58 people attending an outdoor concert and wounded over 500 more,” CNN reports.
“Shares of Sturm Ruger were up 6%, while American Outdoor Brands, the company formerly known as Smith & Wesson, gained nearly 7%. Both stocks have tended to rally in the immediate aftermath of mass killings, which sadly have become more routine.”
Most Americans Say Trump Is Wrong on NFL Protests
A new USA Today/Suffolk University Poll finds that 68% of Americans believe President Trump’s call for NFL owners to fire the players and fans to boycott their games is inappropriate. That includes a third of Republicans as well as nine of 10 Democrats.
By 51% to 42%, those surveyed say the players’ protests are appropriate.
Quote of the Day
“This must stop. It is positively infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic. There are, and the thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with legislative indifference. It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something.”
— Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), on Twitter, in response to the mass shooting in Las Vegas.
Trump Only Hurts Himself When He Tweets
Nate Silver finds that when President Trump stays away from Twitter, his approval rate ticks upward.
“If Trump never tweeted again, his approval rating would gradually rise to about 43 percent, the simulation estimates. Conversely, if he went on a Twitter bender and constantly tweeted at his maximum outrage level … it would eventually fall to 33 percent. Again, I wouldn’t take any of this too seriously. But Trump’s tweets often dictate news cycles and amplify controversies — and they can even help to spark diplomatic crises and put the president in legal jeopardy. It’s not crazy to think the tweets have had consequences — mostly negative ones — for Trump’s popularity.”
Trump’s Foreign Policy Splits the Republican Party
A new Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll finds that President Trump’s “most fervent supporters solidly support his foreign policy views, but Republicans with less favorable impressions of the president are far less enthusiastic and are more closely aligned in their attitudes with the overall population.”
“The survey also underscores the degree to which Trump, despite the bully pulpit of the White House, has been unable to shift public opinion in his direction on foreign policy issues. In fact, the opposite has occurred. Public attitudes have moved away from a number of the positions he espoused during his campaign and since.”
The U.S. Faces Yet Another Mass Shooting
Rick Klein: “This weekend would suggest that there is little or nothing exempt from the politics of division, as practiced by President Trump. Now comes a fresh test – the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, not to mention the Trump presidency, at a country-music festival in Las Vegas overnight. The ensuing days will test the president’s tone, and – depending on what’s learned about the shooter and his motivations – is very likely to involve the president’s name in some way. Can he resist the urge to punch – or counter-punch – in a time of national tragedy, compounded by an unfolding crisis in Puerto Rico?”
“These types of stories always wind up being political, whether it’s about gun control or the sources of the dark forces in a gunman’s life. There’s a numbing familiarity to it all. What’s new to the equation is Trump, whose instincts have rarely taken him in the direction of unity. The president spent the weekend being defiantly Trump, even down to his golf-course routine. This week will challenge him to recognize what this moment calls for.”
Attacks Hit U.S. Spy Network In Cuba
Associated Press: “It wasn’t until U.S. spies, posted to the embassy under diplomatic cover, reported hearing bizarre sounds and experiencing even stranger physical effects that the United States realized something was wrong, individuals familiar with the situation said.”
“To date, the Trump administration largely has described the 21 victims as U.S. embassy personnel or ‘members of the diplomatic community.’ That description suggested only bona fide diplomats and their family members were struck, with no logical motivation beyond disrupting U.S.-Cuban relations.”
“Behind the scenes, though, investigators immediately started searching for explanations in the darker, rougher world of spycraft and counterespionage, given that so many of the first reported cases involved intelligence workers posted to the U.S. embassy.”
Jared and Ivanka Shrink Roles to Shield Themselves
Mike Allen: “With increasing legal and practical questions about their presence in the West Wing, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are trying to remain viable by shrinking their purview and making more of an effort to ‘stay in their lane,’ associates tell us.”
“Both see themselves as under constant attack, as a way to get at the president.”
“In the chaotic early days of the administration, ‘Javanka’ — as Steve Bannon derisively called them — were involved in almost everything, from personnel to presidential statements. But now — with the departures of Bannon and Reince Priebus, and the stricter processes put in place by the new chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly — colleagues say they are sticking more closely to their formal portfolios.”
Corker Draws a Line on Tax Cuts
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who announced last week that he won’t seek re-election next year, told NBC News he will not vote for a tax reform package if “we’re adding one penny to the deficit.”
He added: “I am not going to be for it, OK. I’m sorry. It is the greatest threat to our nation.”
Budget Battles Ahead
“Republicans on Capitol Hill are focused on one thing this week: the budget. The House and Senate need to pass budgets — and sign off on a single product in conference — in order to get a bill ready to pass tax reform,” according to Jonathan Swan.
“House GOP leaders have the votes needed to pass their budget this week, according to sources throughout the conference.”
“The Senate will have a tougher time with its Budget, which is being marked up in committee this week. Senators Bob Corker and Pat Toomey struck a budget deal that pleasantly surprised tax reform advocates – but with 52 Republicans every vote is on a razor’s edge. Republicans are paying close attention to the perennially-challenging senators: John McCain, Susan Collins, and Rand Paul.”
Overload
Out today: Overload: Finding the Truth in Today’s Deluge of News by Bob Schieffer.
Schieffer explained the book’s premise on Face the Nation:
“We’ve never been through anything like this probably since the invention of the printing press. You know we talk about the invention of the printing press — how it improved literacy, it caused the reformation, the counter-reformation — but there was also 30 years of religious wars that followed the printing press and it took about three decades for the world to reach equilibrium. We’re at the very beginning of what’s going on now in this digital age that’s taken the place of print. It’s affected nothing more than the way we get the news.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“If the party can’t be fixed, I’m not going to be able to support the party. Period. That’s the end of it… But have I given up? No.”
— Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), in a CNN interview, saying a time could come when he no longer supports the Republican Party.
Johnson Says Health Care and Food Are ‘Privileges’
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told a group of high school students “that they don’t have a right to health care, food and shelter,” WISN reports.
Said Johnson: “I think it’s probably more of a privilege.”
He added: “Do you consider food a right? Do you consider clothing a right? Do you consider shelter a right? What we have as rights is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Past that point, we have the right to freedom. Past that point is a limited resource that we have to use our opportunities given to us to afford those things.”
Trump Undercuts Tillerson on North Korea
“President Trump signaled Sunday that he does not believe that attempts at direct communications with North Korea are worth the effort despite escalating tensions between Washington and Pyongyang,” the Washington Post reports.
“A day after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggested that the United States maintains ‘lines of communications’ with Kim Jong Un’s regime, Trump wrote on Twitter that Tillerson is ‘wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man’ — his nickname for Kim.”
Supreme Court Faces a Momentous Term
“The Supreme Court, which was shorthanded and slumbering for more than a year after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, is returning to the bench on Monday with a far-reaching docket that renews its central role in American life,” the New York Times reports.
“The new term is studded with major cases likely to provoke sharp conflicts. One of them, on political gerrymandering, has the potential to reshape American politics. Another may settle the question of whether businesses can turn away patrons like gay couples in the name of religious freedom.”
SNL Is Back
“I actually love football… People say I remind them of a football player because I’m combative, I like to win, and I might have a degenerative brain disease.”