“I think that any Jewish people who vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
— President Trump, quoted by Axios.
Trump Warns of ‘Slippery Slope’ of Gun Control
President Trump said that the United States already has “very strong background checks” for gun purchasers and that officials need to be wary of the prospect of a “slippery slope” where “everything gets taken away,” The Hill reports.
Trump’s comments provided more evidence that he is backtracking after initially expressing support for enhanced background checks following a pair of mass shootings that killed 31 people earlier this month.
GOP Candidate Calls Herself a ‘Former Illegal Immigrant’
Whittney Williams (R) announced her challenge to freshman Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), describing herself as a “pro-Trump Republican” and “former illegal immigrant” who spent 16 years “living in the shadows as an illegal immigrant before marrying the love of her life, Brian,” the Michigan Advance reports.
Trump Contradicts Aides on Possible Payroll Tax Cut
“President Trump on Tuesday confirmed that he is considering a temporary payroll tax cut amid mounting concerns about an economic slowdown,” the Washington Post reports.
“The White House had previously disputed that a payroll tax was under consideration.”
Elizabeth Warren Meets Her Lookalike
Sen. Elizabeth Warren was taking selfies at yesterday’s town hall meeting “when she came face to face with a familiar person,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The photo suggests they could be separated at birth.
Trump Inflated Scottish Resorts’ Value By $165 Million
“President Trump has filed financial disclosure statements that appear to misstate the value and profitability of his Scotland golf courses by $165 million, possibly violating federal laws that are punishable by jail time,” the HuffPost reports.
“Trump claimed in his 2018 U.S. filing that his Turnberry and Aberdeen resorts were each worth more than $50 million. For that same time period, he filed balance sheets with the United Kingdom government showing that their combined debt exceeded their assets by 47.9 million British pounds ― the equivalent of $64.8 million at the exchange rate on Dec. 31, 2017, the date of the last U.K. filing available.”
Trump Seeks to Assuage Farmer Unrest Over Biofuels
“President Trump ordered cabinet members on Monday to stem the tide of rising anger in Iowa and other Farm Belt states over his administration’s decision to allow numerous oil refiners to mix less ethanol into their gasoline,” Reuters reports.
“About a week ago, the administration granted 31 exemptions from the nation’s biofuel laws to 31 refineries.”
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Trump Will Name Pompeo’s Deputy to Russia Post
“President Trump is expected to name John Sullivan, the deputy secretary of state, to be the next ambassador to Russia, replacing Jon Huntsman Jr. as his liaison to Moscow,” the New York Times reports.
“The post of ambassador to Moscow is a prestigious diplomatic position that is challenging always, but even more so after a two-year federal investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to the Kremlin.”
White House Officials Work to Bolster Economy
“The White House is examining proposals to bolster the economy amid warning signs of a slowdown, even as President Trump and top officials project confidence that a recession isn’t on the horizon,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Officials are discussing a range of tax cuts to propose to Congress. Some in the White House briefly brought up the possibility of a payroll-tax cut, though two people familiar with the matter said they didn’t expect that idea to be pursued, and a White House official said Mr. Trump hadn’t endorsed the proposal.”
Trump’s Rollback of Auto Pollution Rules In Disarray
New York Times: “The White House, blindsided by a pact between California and four automakers to oppose President Trump’s auto emissions rollbacks, has mounted an effort to prevent any more from joining the other side… But even as the White House was working to do this, it was losing ground. Yet another company, Mercedes-Benz, is preparing to join the California agreement.”
“Mr. Trump, described by three people as ‘enraged’ by California’s deal, has also demanded that his staffers step up the pace to complete his plan. His proposal, however, is directly at odds with the wishes of many automakers… The administration’s efforts to weaken the Obama-era pollution rules could be rendered irrelevant if too many automakers join California in opposition before the Trump plan can be put into effect. That could imperil one of Mr. Trump’s most far-reaching rollbacks of climate-change policies.”
U.S. Won’t Provide Flu Vaccines for Migrant Families
“The U.S. won’t be vaccinating migrant families in holding centers ahead of this year’s flu season, despite calls from doctors to boost efforts to fight the infection that’s killed at least three children at detention facilities in the past year,” CNBC reports.
Trump’s Favorite Poll Falls in Line
The latest Rasmussen Reports poll — President Trump’s favorite, oft-cited poll — shows that just 44% of likely voters approve of his job performance, while 54% disapprove.
For comparison, the FiveThirtyEight polling average has Trump’s approval at 41.9% to 53.9%.
Trump’s Base Is Not Enough to Carry Him to Re-Election
Ron Brownstein: “The latest such evidence comes in a new study released today by Navigator Research… The report examines a group that many analysts in both parties believe could prove to be the key bloc of 2020 swing voters: Americans who say they approve of Trump’s management of the economy but still disapprove of his overall performance as president. And it shows Trump facing significant headwinds among that potentially critical group, partly because of the divisive language and behavior he’s taken to new heights, or lows.”
“This conflicted group looms so large over 2020 because about half (or even slightly more) of voters express support for Trump’s management of the economy, but only 40 to 45 percent of them give him positive marks on his overall performance. That difference could be the tipping point between a coalition that places Trump close to the comfort zone for presidents seeking reelection—support from about half of Americans—and one that leaves him trying to secure a second term with positive marks from a much smaller circle. The only presidents since 1952 who sought reelection with approval ratings below 50 percent—Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush—all lost.”
Quote of the Day
“I am going to vote for the candidate who I am absolutely certain has a brain that is functioning. And that narrows it down to exactly one.”
— Dr. Neal Kassell, who performed surgery on Joe Biden three decades ago following two brain aneurysms, quoted by Politico.
DNC Will Raise Money from Americans In Mexico
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez plans to hold party fundraising events with the American expatriate community in Mexico City next month, Bloomberg reports.
Warren Draws Massive Crowd In Minnesota
Sen. Elizabeth Warren drew what her campaign said was her largest crowd yet for a speech in Minnesota — estimated to be about 12,000 people.
Minneapolis Star Tribune: “A crowd of thousands gathered to hear from the U.S. senator from Massachusetts, who used her first campaign trail stop in the state to walk through her signature plans and share her family’s story. She did not touch on some of the Minnesota-specific environmental issues she had commented on ahead of the visit or address the mea culpa she had made at an event earlier in the day.”
Majority of Economists Predict Recession Before 2021
Washington Post: “The outlook reflects growing skepticism among economists and investors that the U.S. economy will be able to withstand a protracted trade war with China without serious harm amid a weakening global outlook.”
“The survey of 226 economists was conducted from July 14 to Aug. 1, before Trump announced the latest round of tariffs against China and before the last bout of market volatility. The report reinforced the pessimism seen earlier this year, illustrating that for many economists the question is not so much whether the U.S. economy will enter a recession but when.”
