President Trump said it would be a “mistake” for Stacey Abrams (D) to run for U.S. Senate, because Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) “will be very hard to beat,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Said Trump: “I think it’s a mistake for her to run against him because I don’t think she can win.”
President Trump “is holding his first campaign rally of the year next week in El Paso, Texas, a city he’s cited numerous times — including in his State of the Union address — in arguing for the wall he wants built along the U.S.-Mexico border,” the AP reports.
“The rally on Monday will be four days before a Feb. 15 deadline for congressional bargainers to come up with a compromise to fund large portions of the federal government to avoid another partial government shutdown.”
Vanessa Tyson, the professor who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) of sexually assaulting her in 2004, issued a detailed statement:
“With tremendous anguish, I am now sharing this information about my experience and setting the record straight. It has been extremely difficult to relive that traumatic experience from 2004. Mr. Fairfax has tried to brand me as a liar to a national audience, in service to his political ambitions, and has threatened litigation. Given his false assertions, I’m compelled to make clear what happened.”
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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced a broad investigation his committee would undertake “beyond Russia” into whether President Trump’s financial interests are driving his actions, CNN reports.
Schiff said the investigation would “allow us to investigate any credible allegation that financial interests or other interests are driving decision-making of the President or anyone in the administration. That pertains to any credible allegations of leverage by the Russians or the Saudis or anyone else.”
Schiff added that the investigation, which could involve additional congressional committees, would also look at whether Trump or his associates have “sought to influence US government policy in service of foreign interests” and any potential obstruction into the various investigations.
Trump denounced the investigation, according to The Hill: “He has no basis to do that. He’s just a political hack trying who’s trying to build a name for himself.”
Mark Berman of the Washington Post recaps:
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Saying that anything in the annals of American political history is ‘unique’ or ‘unprecedented’ is dangerous, for the simple fact that the past is filled with so many oddities from which we can draw parallels. That said, we’re struggling to come up with something equivalent to what we’ve seen in Virginia over the past week.”
The Washington Post notes that the following words were used for the first time in a State of the Union address last night: bloodthirsty, chilling, fentanyl, kissing, sadistic, and womb.
“The House Intelligence Committee voted on Wednesday to send dozens of witness interview transcripts from its Russia investigation to special counsel Robert Mueller, who could use them to prosecute potential instances of perjury,” Politico reports.
“It’s the first act of the intelligence panel under the leadership of Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), who has vowed to revive the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller has already prosecuted some Trump associates for lying to Congress.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) “had the best fundraising quarter of her life in 2018, boosted in part by her decision to support Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court,” the HuffPost reports.
“Collins raised $1.8 million in the last quarter of the year, but just $19,000 of that money came in itemized donations ― contributions of $200 or more ― from residents of Maine.”
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) “said he dressed in blackface during college, elevating the Capitol’s scandals to a new level that engulfed the entire executive branch of government,” the Washington Post reports.
“The acknowledgment comes as Gov. Ralph Northam (D) faces calls for his resignation after a photo emerged on his 1984 medical school yearbook page featuring someone in blackface standing next to someone in Ku Klux Klan robes.”
“And early Monday, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) denied the allegations of a woman who said he sexually assaulted her at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.”
“The scandals suggest a possible constitutional crisis. If Northam should step down, Fairfax would succeed him because of his position as lieutenant governor. Herring, as attorney general, would be next in line.”
Associated Press: “Herring, who plans to run for governor in 2021, is among those who have urged Northam to resign as governor.”
“President Trump, who doesn’t regularly read the daily intelligence summary prepared for him, is also participating in relatively few in-person briefings from his spy agencies, according to intelligence officials and a review of his schedules,” NBC News reports.
“It’s the latest indication that Trump does not consistently rely on the information and analysis provided to him by the $80 billion a year U.S. intelligence-gathering apparatus.”
Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu isn’t planning on running for president, Politico reports.
Said Landrieu: “I don’t think so. A lot of people have asked me that. I never say never, but at this point in time I don’t think I’m going to do it.”
The Guardian notes that when Howard Schultz asked by the New York Times whether he thought billionaires had become too powerful in American life, the coffee magnate complained that “the moniker billionaire now has become the catchphrase.”
Rather than using a word like billionaire to describe a person with billions of dollars, Schultz suggested it may be better to use expressions like “people of means” or “people of wealth.”
Washington Post: “Depending on whom you believe, the Enquirer‘s exposé on Jeff Bezos’s affair was a political hit inspired by President Trump’s allies, an inside job by people seeking to protect Bezos’s marriage, or no conspiracy at all, simply a juicy gossip story.”
President Trump went off-script in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night and said he wanted to see the “largest numbers ever” of legal immigrants entering the country, the Daily Beast reports.
Said Trump: “I want people to come into our country, in the largest numbers ever, but they have to come in legally.”
However, the speech as written said: “I want people to come into our country, but they have to come in legally.”
Playbook: “Trump said he wants legal immigration in the ‘largest numbers ever.’ Nevermind that Hill Republicans and his White House have dumped all over that, and have in fact called for cuts to legal immigration.”
First Read: “Overall, we’re not sure Trump’s collection of statements last night added up to a cohesive message at all. It felt mostly like a cleaned-up version of his Twitter feed.”
Former Gov. Chris Christie (R) is touting his wife as a potential challenger to Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) in New Jersey’s 11th district next year, the New Jersey Globe reports.
Christie launched the trial balloon at a book signing: “Listen, the state would be incredibly lucky if Mary Pat Christie would run for office. I’ve been trying to convince her that maybe she should run for Congress. I think she would be fabulous.”
Ann Coulter, who was once President Trump’s biggest cheerleader among conservative pundits, tore into his State of the Union address after the president tried unconvincingly to act like a unifying president.
Said Coulter: “This was the lamest, sappiest, most intentionally tear-jerking SOTU ever. Please fire your speechwriter.”
A new Mason-Dixon poll in Mississippi finds Jim Hood (D) holds a slim lead over Tate Reeves (R), 44% to 42%, in what currently appears to be the most likely gubernatorial general election match-up.
“There is speculation that retired state Supreme Court Justice Bill Waller, Jr. is considering a run for governor, possibly as an independent candidate. While Waller is a Republican, his father was elected to the governor’s office as a Democrat. He could generate cross-party appeal.”
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.
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