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Hollywood Stands Against New Abortion Laws

May 31, 2019 at 7:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Wrap: “Hollywood threw down the gauntlet on Thursday in lining up and threatening to pull their business out of states that have adopted severe anti-abortion laws.”

“Billions of dollars in production are at stake. States and countries alike vie for their slice of the current content boom. But apparently no one counted on political pushback from the dream machine.”

“As of Thursday, nine media companies – Netflix, Disney, WarnerMedia, Sony, AMC, NBCUniversal, STX Entertainment, CBS with its premium cable company Showtime and Viacom – have now warned that they might pull their productions out of states that pass bills banning abortion.”

New York Times Clamps Down on Cable News Hits

May 31, 2019 at 6:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Joe Pompeo: “It’s not just Maddow. The Times has come to ‘prefer,’ as sources put it, that its reporters steer clear of any cable-news shows that the masthead perceives as too partisan, and managers have lately been advising people not to go on what they see as highly opinionated programs. It’s not clear how many shows fall under that umbrella in the eyes of Times brass, but two others that definitely do are Lawrence O’Donnell’s and Don Lemon’s, according to people familiar with management’s thinking.”

“I’m told that over the past couple of months, executive editor Dean Baquet has felt that opinionated cable-news show are getting, well, even more opinionated. Baquet and other managers have become increasingly concerned that if a Times reporter were to go on one of these shows, his or her appearance could be perceived as being aligned with that show’s political leanings.”

Nikki Haley Begins to Look Past Trump

May 31, 2019 at 6:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Haley is emerging as a fundraiser and surrogate for 2020 Republican Senate candidates, and next month will begin zigzagging across the country to campaign for a trio of GOP senators…. The former South Carolina governor’s summer itinerary includes a June 15 stop in Boone, Iowa, where Haley will help Sen. Joni Ernst launch her reelection campaign at Ernst’s annual Roast ’n Ride event, where Iowans are slated to grill over 2,000 pounds of pork.”

“Given its location in a key presidential caucus state, the event is sure to spark murmurs about Haley’s own political ambitions, including the prospect of a 2024 presidential bid.”

How Trump Has Remade the Democratic Party

May 31, 2019 at 6:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “For years, a growing stripe of Democrats has argued that what their party needs is a leader willing to shatter old assumptions, a radical disrupter.”

“Well, Democrats already have found their transformational figure for the 2020 campaign. His name is Donald Trump.”

“No one could miss the obvious ways this president—despite his deviations from traditional conservative orthodoxy—has turned the Republican Party into the pro-Trump party. It could be easy to miss, however, some of the less-obvious ways Trump also has made himself the defining force of the anti-Trump party.”

Gillibrand’s Failure to Launch

May 31, 2019 at 6:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Her bigger problem is fundraising. To secure a spot in the first double-header of Democratic primary debates in late June, candidates must meet two thresholds: surpassing 1 percent in three recognized national polls and collecting 65,000 unique campaign contributions. Gillibrand has checked the first box, however unimpressively. Yet the second mission remains unaccomplished.”

“With the debates closing in—and with even quixotic candidates such as self-help guru Marianne Williamson hitting the 65,000-donor mark—Gillibrand is under the gun. The Democratic National Committee is limiting the total number of participants to 20. She could (and likely will) qualify by meeting the polling threshold only. But given the late gusher of contenders entering the fray, her place on stage can be guaranteed only by growing her donor ranks—and quickly.”

Inside Romney’s Trump Strategy

May 31, 2019 at 6:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “With both a pledge to be independent and membership in a party which demands support for President Donald Trump at every turn, the junior senator from Utah faces a squeeze on essentially every major vote he takes and each response to Trump’s controversies.”

“Romney has voted this year against Trump more than most other Senate Republicans, torpedoed Herman Cain’s chances on the Federal Reserve and even defended former President Barack Obama. Yet he still broadly supports Trump’s agenda and is with him far more often than not.”

New Hampshire Repeals Death Penalty

May 31, 2019 at 6:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“New Hampshire became the 21st state to ban capital punishment on Thursday as the state Senate voted 16-8 to override the governor’s veto of a death-penalty repeal,” the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.

Is Trump Bluffing on Tariffs?

May 31, 2019 at 6:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “Maybe, yeah. But honestly, we don’t know, and in the political and economic sphere, it would be irresponsible to believe he is bluffing — given what’s at risk. We are told he likes tariffs because they can be enacted unilaterally and pulled back on demand. The president has left himself wiggle room: He is the sole arbiter of the standard he set for imposing the new tariffs — whether Mexico is doing enough to curb illegal immigration.”

‘An Epidemic of Cowardice in the GOP’

May 30, 2019 at 8:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that Republican lawmakers had come up to him privately to “express their deep concerns and worries” about the Trump administration and offer bits of encouragement, Politico reports.

Said Schiff: “But I’m, frankly, exhausted by the private misgivings. People need to speak out.”

He added: “I think what we knew, implicitly, was that courage is contagious. But what we didn’t realize is that cowardice is also contagious. I think there’s been an epidemic of cowardice in the GOP. This president doesn’t stand for anything that the Republican Party said it stood for.”

Trump Will Hit Mexico with Tariffs

May 30, 2019 at 8:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump said that he planned to impose a 5% tariff on all imported goods from Mexico beginning June 10, a tax that he said would “gradually increase” until Mexico stopped the flow of undocumented immigrants across the border, the New York Times reports.

North Korea Envoy Executed Over Trump-Kim Summit

May 30, 2019 at 7:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A South Korean newspaper reports that Kim Hyok Chol, “who led working-level negotiations for the summit in Hanoi between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Trump in February, was executed with four other North Korean foreign ministry officials in March,” according to Bloomberg.

“Kim Jong Un’s top aide Kim Yong Chol is reportedly undergoing hard labor.”

Reuters: “The North Korean leader is believed to be carrying out a massive purge to divert attention away from internal turmoil and discontent.”

Liberal Democrats Surge In Brexit Wake

May 30, 2019 at 7:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new The Times/YouGov poll in the U.K. finds the Liberal Democrats leading with 24%, marginally ahead of the second-placed Brexit Party on 22% (whose ranking at any other time would have been a story in itself). Meanwhile the Conservatives and Labour are in joint third on 19% with the Greens at 8%.

Team Trump Now Wants Mueller to Testify

May 30, 2019 at 7:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump’s close advisers are increasingly pining for Robert Mueller to be dragged before Congress and subjected to conservative lawmakers’ questions about the conduct and outcome of his investigation,” the Daily Beast reports.

“Their embrace of such a hearing is a sharp reversal from where sentiment in the White House has been for weeks following the release of special counsel’s report… But those positions have softened, if not changed, significantly after Mueller’s public statement on Wednesday, in which he stated that he would have exonerated Trump if he could have and said that he was prohibited by Department of Justice guidelines from bringing charges against a sitting president.”

New Democratic Debate Rules Shock Campaigns

May 30, 2019 at 6:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Democratic Party’s new directive that candidates must have at least 130,000 donors to qualify for the third primary debate in September arrived virtually without warning on Wednesday morning, and immediately sent shock waves through presidential campaigns worried that it would distort their priorities and affect the way they operate,” the New York Times reports.

“Two-thirds of the sprawling field of 23 candidates are probably at risk of falling short of that threshold, and news of the more stringent rules set off a flurry of frustrated early-morning text messages, emails, calls and meetings as campaigns reassessed the path forward.”

Jarrett Says Obama Could Not Have Behaved Like Trump

May 30, 2019 at 6:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said that Barack Obama would have been impeached in “a nanosecond” if he behaved like President Trump, The Hill reports.

Said Jarrett: “I think that the standards have slipped dramatically and there’s no earthly way President Obama could have gotten away with any of this. Not just the words and the content, but just the policy reversals and what we’re doing to the fabric of our country.”

Hillary Clinton to Start Production Company

May 30, 2019 at 6:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea are forming a production company to pursue film and television projects, making a foray into Hollywood after decades in the public eye,” Bloomberg reports.

“The family hopes to use film and television to influence culture and society now that Hillary Clinton is out of politics. They plan to focus on stories by and about women. The production company is one of many potential business opportunities that Hillary Clinton, 71, is considering.”

DNC Will Require Female Debate Moderators

May 30, 2019 at 6:03 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

DNC senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill told Refinery29 that there will be at least one female moderator at each Democratic presidential debate.

Said Cahill: “The DNC is committed to an inclusive and fair debate process. That means that all 12 DNC sanctioned debates will feature a diverse group of moderators and panelists including women and people of color, ensuring that the conversations reflect the concerns of all Americans.”

Trump Prepares to Threaten Mexico with New Tariffs

May 30, 2019 at 5:05 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump is preparing to threaten Mexico with new tariffs as part of an attempt to force the country to crack down on a surge of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the United States,” the Washington Post reports.

“Trump is planning to make the announcement Friday but some White House aides are trying to talk him out of it, arguing that such a threat would rattle financial markets and potentially imperil passage of the USMCA trade agreement.”

“A senior White House official, however, said there is broad support across the administration to push Mexico further and that Trump’s announcement is likely to happen Friday.”