Political Wire

Members should sign in for the full experience.

CNN Town Halls Have Been Disastrous for Ratings

May 15, 2019 at 11:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Since January, CNN has staged 20 town halls, featuring both well-known candidates like Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris (both twice) to long shots like businessman Andrew Yang and self-help book author Marianne Williamson… Only four candidates — Harris, Sanders, Warren and Buttigieg — have drawn more viewers than CNN averages on a typical weeknight, around 1.16 million people.”

“The rest, at least in television terms, have ranged anywhere from subpar to flaming disasters. Back-to-back town halls featuring Yang and Williamson drew about 310,000 viewers in April, far below the network’s modest 907,000 average for all the candidates. None of its town halls has surpassed regular programming on cable rivals Fox and MSNBC.”

Biden’s NAFTA Vote Still a Liability In Rust Belt

May 15, 2019 at 11:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Joshua Green: “Biden’s record on trade is already drawing attacks from the left and right. Besides Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a former House member, Biden is the only one of the 22 Democrats running for president who voted for NAFTA.”

Said pollster Stan Greenberg: “NAFTA still resonates in the industrial Midwest and Rust Belt. There’s still a lot of anger because it symbolizes, for many people, the indifference about the outsourcing of jobs and the favoring of elite economic interests in international trade agreements.”

Biden Leads Among Democrats Nationally

May 15, 2019 at 10:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Emerson national poll finds Joe Biden leading the Democratic presidential field with 33%, followed by Bernie Sanders at 25%, Kamala Harris at 10%, Elizabeth Warren at 10% and Pete Buttigieg at 8%.

No other candidate has more than 3% support in the poll.

Is Donald Trump An Aberration?

May 15, 2019 at 10:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

For nearly 50 years in public service, Joe Biden has reached across the aisle to work with Republicans. He did this both as a U.S. Senator and as Vice President.

Join now to continue reading.

Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.

If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

Trump Supporters Like Liberal Policies, But Not Liberals

May 15, 2019 at 9:03 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Some of President Trump’s supporters in Sioux City, Iowa love liberal populist proposals. They just don’t love the 2020 Democrats as the messengers,” Axios reports.

“A focus group of swing voters — all of whom voted for Trump in 2016 — strongly supported a student loan debt plan that would cancel up to $50,000 in student debt for people whose families make less than $100,000 per year. (That’s Elizabeth Warren’s proposal, though her name wasn’t mentioned in the question.) They also want to tax American corporations, specifically big banks, to pay for Trump’s infrastructure plans.”

“This was the main takeaway from the Engagious/FPG focus group of swing voters… which included 11 voters who supported Barack Obama and then Trump. All but one said they would re-elect Trump if it were him versus Hillary Clinton again.”

Does Red State Success Matter to Democrats?

May 15, 2019 at 8:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

First Read: “Electability means so many different things to different people — it’s difficult to gauge or define.”

“Still, it’s striking that none of the Top 5 2020 Democrats in the polls right now — Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg — has any past record of being able to win or even compete in a purple/red state in a general election.”

“By contrast, outside of the Top 5 in polling are Amy Klobuchar (who won 60 percent of the vote in Minnesota last fall), new entrant Steve Bullock (who’s won statewide for governor twice in Montana), Beto O’Rourke (who narrowly lost in Texas in ’18) and Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper (who’ve won multiple statewide bids in Colorado).”

White House Staff Regularly Ignores Trump’s Orders

May 15, 2019 at 8:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Atlantic: “In the Trump White House a month and a-half is more like a lifetime, meaning that many officials, voters, and reporters—not to mention Trump himself—have long since moved on from the momentary chaos.”

“This routine has both drawbacks and benefits for the president. But for American taxpayers and citizens of other countries, the effects can be devastating. By impulsively announcing a policy, Trump often harms his chances of actually seeing it brought to life, given a directive’s typical lack of vetting. But because so much of the news cycle is driven by Trump’s off-the-cuff statements and tweets—and not necessarily the follow-through—his supporters are often left with the image of a president who has, in fact, slashed aid to Central America, even if the money is still flowing into the three countries in question. (It is.) As one senior Trump-campaign official told me last week, the president’s appeal is about ‘the fight,’ not ‘the resolution.'”

“Since assuming office, Trump has issued many private demands to aides that have either been slow-walked or altogether ignored.”

Trump ‘Had It Out’ with Kudlow on Tariffs

May 15, 2019 at 8:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump was irritated on Sunday after National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow acknowledged in a Fox News interview that American consumers end up paying for the administration’s tariffs on Chinese imports, contradicting Trump’s claim that the Chinese foot the bill, the Washington Post reports.

Said a White House source: “Trump called Larry, and they had it out.”

Michael Wolff Sequel Coming Next Month

May 15, 2019 at 7:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michael Wolff — who enraged President Trump with his international bestseller Fire and Fury, about pandemonium in the first-year White House — will be out June 4 with a sequel, Siege: Trump Under Fire, Axios reports.

The book begins with Trump’s second year as president and ends with the delivery of the Mueller report: “Siege reveals an administration that is perpetually beleaguered by investigations and a president who is increasingly volatile, erratic, and exposed.”

The Big Problem for Democrats

May 15, 2019 at 7:21 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “They say the administration’s stonewalling amounts to a ‘constitutional crisis.’ But they have all-but ruled out impeachment — the process by which Congress deals with constitutional crises — because many atop the party believe it’s a political disaster in the making.”

“So now, the Democrats’ message has turned into this: Trump is a threat to democracy and our government, but… we won’t impeach him because it’s a battle we would lose, it might not be worth it and he’s impeaching himself each time he talks.”

“Compare that to Trump’s message: No collusion or obstruction. It fits on a bumper sticker. Never mind that it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

Almost 16 Million Removed from Voter Rolls

May 15, 2019 at 7:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Joe Davidson: “Among the worst practices are those that rob Americans of the franchise because of errors, overly aggressive attempts to clean voting lists and voting roll manipulation designed to influence elections and political power.”

“Between 2014 and 2016, states removed almost 16 million voters from the rolls. That’s almost 4 million more than between 2006 and 2008. And it should be obvious that that is a rate that outstrips the growth rate of total registered voters and the growth rate of total population.”

Most Still See Trump as Successful In Business

May 15, 2019 at 7:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds that 54% say they think President Trump has been successful in business, while 36% say he has been unsuccessful.

Party breakdown: “Fully 85% of Republican voters say Trump has been successful, while only 10% say he’s been unsuccessful. Democratic voters see Trump’s business career differently: 30%, say he’s been successful, while 61% say he’s been unsuccessful. Among independents, 49% say Trump has been successful, and 34% say he’s been unsuccessful.”

Troubles at Trump’s Doral Resort Grow

May 15, 2019 at 7:06 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Trump has entwined his office with his private company, drawing scrutiny from congressional Democrats interested in whether his company is benefiting from that relationship. At the same time, revenue has declined at some properties dependent on blue-state customers and politics-shy national brands.”

“The troubles at Trump Doral — detailed here for the first time, based on documents and video obtained under Florida’s public-records law — suggest the Trump Organization’s problems are bigger than previously known.”

“The decline at Doral is especially significant because the resort had seemed better insulated from political backlash than other Trump properties, protected by its place in golf’s history, by its recent renovations, and by its location in a booming state that Trump won in 2016.”

U.S. Orders Non-Essential Staff to Leave Iraq

May 15, 2019 at 7:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The U.S. Embassy in Iraq says the State Department has ordered all non-essential, non-emergency government staff to leave the country right away amid escalating tensions with Iran,” the AP reports.

“The alert, published on the embassy’s website on Wednesday, comes after Washington last week said it had detected new and urgent threats from Iran and its proxy forces in the region targeting Americans and American interests.”

Trump Open to Bipartisan Deal on Budget Cuts

May 15, 2019 at 6:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump left a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday morning seemingly open to a deal with Democrats to raise the budget caps that will cause strict spending cuts in the fall,” Politico reports.

“While Trump did not commit to anything, the president is notably warmer than some of his staff on the possibility of avoiding blunt budget cuts in the fall that will hit if there’s no new fiscal deal, the sources said. McConnell (R-KY) laid out the need to do a caps deal and the president seemed receptive.”

Playbook: “Will Democrats cut deals with Republicans this fall if the president continues to stonewall all of their investigations?”

Window to Consider Trade Deal Is Closing

May 15, 2019 at 6:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Speaker Nancy Pelosi will host President Trump’s top trade official on Wednesday, the meeting coming as the president faces backlash from lawmakers in both parties over his increasingly aggressive and controversial trade agenda,” Politico reports.

“Pelosi controls the fate of the trade deal — a successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement — which would need to be ratified by Congress. But the speaker has resisted pressure to move quickly on a vote, saying the pact won’t be considered in the House until several Democratic demands are met, including enforcement measures she wants written into the underlying deal.”

“The political window to consider the agreement is quickly closing, with lawmakers saying the deal must be ratified by the end of the summer or it won’t likely be done at all as Washington shifts to the 2020 presidential election.”

Alabama Passes Bill to Outlaw Abortion

May 14, 2019 at 9:51 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“After several hours of contentious debate, the Alabama Senate tonight voted 25-6 to pass what many say will be the strictest abortion ban in the nation,” the Birmingham News reports.

“The controversial abortion bill all but bans the procedure in the state. The bill would make it abortion a felony in Alabama, setting up what could be the country’s strictest anti-abortion law.

Reuters: “The bill was previously approved by the Alabama House of Representatives and will now go to Republican Governor Kay Ivey, who has withheld comment on whether she would sign it but generally is a strong opponent of abortion.”

The Guardian notes the bill was passed by “exclusively white, male politicians.”

Trump Can’t Stop Talking About Biden

May 14, 2019 at 9:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “It is just the sort of fight Mr. Biden has been spoiling for: a head-to-head contest with the incumbent on an issue that elevates Mr. Biden into a statesmanlike role, well above the Democratic primary fray and all the sniping candidates and liberal litmus tests therein.”

“For Mr. Trump’s advisers, it was one more example of the president’s inability to resist offering what amounts to an in-kind contribution to a Democrat who, according to their own polling, is positioned to soundly defeat them next year.”

“The president, though, has told advisers he believes he can portray Mr. Biden, a longtime Washington veteran, as representative of an ossified political class the same way he did Hillary Clinton, wounding him with enough attacks and put-downs that Mr. Biden will either stagger into the general election or collapse in the primary.”