Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has claimed he was once gay but “cured” himself of homosexuality in controversial remarks made during a trip to Japan, Rappler reports.
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Trump’s Trade War Is a Challenge to the World Order
“President Trump on Thursday threatened to hit Mexico with new tariffs, escalating his immigration fight with America’s largest trading partner. And with that, he showed, once again, that he’s ready to employ trade as an all-purpose tool for his policy goals,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump is juggling multiple trade conflicts today, with allies and rivals alike. His demands, often first disclosed through Twitter, have caught trading partners off guard.”
“Of course, Mexico isn’t Mr. Trump’s only target. Far from it. In fact, what he’s taking on is broader than any particular country. He is challenging the post-World War II consensus that free trade enriches the world.”
Flashback Quote of the Day
“I am completely and utterly perplexed by those who argue that perjury and obstruction of justice are not high crimes and misdemeanors.”
— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by NBC News, on February 12, 1999.
Hickenlooper Changes Mind on Impeachment
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper described himself on CNN as an “extreme moderate” while arguing that special counsel Robert Mueller “laid the responsibility clearly at the doorstep of Congress.”
Said Hickenlooper: “I think we have to begin an impeachment inquiry. That doesn’t mean we’re going to impeach President Trump tomorrow, or maybe ever, but I think we do have an obligation to follow where the facts lead.”
Pelosi Says Trump Wants to Be Impeached
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that President Trump actually wants to be impeached because he believes the Republican-controlled Senate would bail him out, ABC News reports.
Said Pelosi: “I think the president wants us to impeach him. He knows it’s not a good idea to be impeached, but the silver lining for him is then, he believes, that he would be exonerated by the United States Senate.”
She added: “And, there is a school of thought that says, ‘If the Senate acquits you, why bring charges against him in the private sector when he’s no longer president?’ So when we go through with our case, it’s got to be ironclad. Ironclad.”
Stop Trump on Trade
Michael Bloomberg: “President Trump’s approach to trade policy had set new benchmarks of incoherence and irresponsibility even before his threat to impose escalating tariffs on imports from Mexico — but this latest maneuver takes the cake. The administration plans to harm businesses north and south of the border, and to impose additional new taxes on U.S. consumers, not to remedy a real or imagined trade grievance but to force Mexico to curb migration to the U.S.”
“This is a radical and disturbing development. The administration is invoking a law that allows it to impose emergency economic sanctions. It’s safe to say that Congress never envisaged that those powers would be used in a case like this.”
Warren Would Allow Indictment of Presidents
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said in a post that if elected president, she’ll push legislation to reverse the policy that a sitting president may not be charged with a crime.
Said Warren: “Congress should make it clear that presidents can be indicted for criminal activity, including obstruction of justice. And when I’m president, I’ll appoint justice department officials who will reverse flawed policies so no president is shielded from criminal accountability.”
Trump Has Ceded the Middle
Charlie Cook: “The age-old debate over whether it is better to nominate a candidate who can motivate the party base or one who reaches into the middle, appealing to independent and other swing voters, is presenting a choice of walking or chewing gum—you have to do both. Where these things come into conflict is that the issues that most motivate the base, whether within the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, are often ones that grate on the nonideological, or at least less ideology-driven, voters in the middle.”
“Trump has clearly picked the base-motivation model, effectively conceding the middle ground to Democrats—if they choose to take it.”
Right Battles Right In Israel’s New Election
“After the spectacular collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to build a coalition threw Israel into an unprecedented do-over election, Israeli public attention on Thursday was glued to two politicians,” the New York Times reports.
“One was Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister for the last 10 years, but the other was not Benny Gantz, his main challenger in the election last month. Instead, the first day of the new election campaign was dominated by Mr. Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of a small ultranationalist party and former coalition partner who has become anathema to Mr. Netanyahu.”
“That divide, between the ultrareligious right and the secular right, has for the moment eclipsed the old left-right divide in Israel. It proved to be Mr. Netanyahu’s undoing on Wednesday, his deadline to form a governing coalition, and could be critical in the next election, scheduled for Sept. 17.”
What Prompted Trump’s New Attacks on Mueller
The New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman told CNN that she doesn’t believe President Trump ever actually read the Mueller report and that seeing Robert Mueller discuss his findings on television “spooked him.”
Said Haberman: “When he hears Mueller say that on TV, again, him interpreting everything through the screen that is in front of him, I think that that had much more resonance than almost anything else that has happened.”
She added: “He saw Mueller in the box, and I think that that spooked him.”
She continued on Twitter: “It isn’t real to Trump unless there are tapes or photos. So Mueller speaking for the first time on the TV was significant.”
Fed Candidate Slams Central Bank’s ‘Soviet’ Power
Judy Shelton, a senior U.S. official who is being vetted for a job on the board of the Federal Reserve, told the Financial Times that the the central bank wields undemocratic, Soviet-style powers over markets.
Said Shelton: “How can a dozen, slightly less than a dozen, people meeting eight times a year, decide what the cost of capital should be versus some kind of organically, market supply determined rate? The Fed is not omniscient. They don’t know what the right rate should be. How could anyone?”
She added: “If the success of capitalism depends on someone being smart enough to know what the rate should be on everything… we’re doomed. We might as well resurrect Gosplan.”
Harvard Professor Calls McConnell a ‘Flagrant Dickhead’
Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe hit out at Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Twitter after the GOP Senate Majority Leader revealed he would seek to fill any Supreme Court vacancy in 2020, the HuffPost reports.
Said Tribe: “Hypocrisy is McTurtle’s middle name. And his first and last name too. What a flagrant dickhead!”
Quote of the Day
“I am at the end of my career. Everyone dies and I am not, you know, I don’t believe in the Homeric idea that you know, immortality comes by, you know, having odes sung about you over the centuries, you know?”
— Attorney General William Barr, in a CBS News interview, on whether his reputation is being damaged working for President Trump.
Behind Trump’s Mexico Tariff Surprise
Jonathan Swan: “As Trump announcements go, his planned tariffs on Mexican goods appeared more orchestrated than most with a tweet, a presidential statement from the press office and a background call with reporters.”
“But behind the scenes, it was an administration-wide scramble. As with many presidential ‘announcements,’ this once sprang from intense frustration and boiled over quickly with staff rushing to react. While the plan was hurried out the door to appease Trump, he has been privately talking about doing this for a while.”
“The White House has made a number of immigration demands of Mexico over the past several months, but Trump has not defined what they need to show him… The president’s next move may depend as much on his mood as anything else.”
Protesters to Greet Trump In U.K.
“Thousands of protesters are preparing to greet President Trump on his state visit to the U.K. next week, demonstrating against a range of his policies from immigration to climate change,” Bloomberg reports.
“The plan is for demonstrators to take over Trafalgar Square in central London, with the main Facebook page logging 7,600 attendees and 33,000 interested people as of Friday morning. Organizers are also trying to raise $38,000 to fly a giant balloon depicting Trump as a small-handed, diaper-clad infant — as they did during his visit last year.”
“Authorities will be mindful of at least one trend to have emerged at recent protests as the U.K. grapples with the impasse over Brexit: dousing — typically right-wing — politicians with milkshakes.”
Democrats Roll Out $90 Million Super PAC
“The nation’s largest super PAC devoted to grassroots Democratic turnout is launching its organizing efforts earlier than ever in seven swing states with a new campaign director and its largest budget to date: $80 million to $90 million,” Politico reports.
Hollywood Stands Against New Abortion Laws
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
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.”
