A new Gallup poll finds President Trump’s approval rate at 46%, the highest it’s been since he took office more than two years ago.
O’Rourke Backs Impeachment
Beto O’Rourke told the Dallas Morning News that he now supports impeaching President Trump.
Said O’Rourke: “We’re finally learning the truth about this president. And yes, there has to be consequences. Yes, there has to be accountability. Yes, I think there’s enough evidence now for the House of Representatives to move forward with impeachment. This is our country, and this is the one chance that we get to ensure that it remains a democracy and that no man, regardless of his position, is above the law.”
Backlash Brewing Over Trump’s Disregard of Norms
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Biden Expands Lead In the Early States
A new Firehouse Strategies poll finds Joe Biden has boosted his early lead in the first three states to vote in the Democratic race for president.
Biden’s best state is South Carolina, where he has 48% support (36% in February), followed by Iowa with 35% (25% in February), and New Hampshire at 34% (22% in February). This represents a double-digit boost in all three states over the past three months.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders in second in all three states, in the low double-digits. Pete Buttigieg, who was not included in the February survey, finished third in all three states with support ranging from 5% in South Carolina to 11% in Iowa. Elizabeth Warren comes in fourth and has not changed in her levels of support since February.
Kamala Harris, on the other hand, had a steep drop since February, and now comes in fifth place. Beto O’Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, and Cory Booker failed to break 5% in any of the three states.
Massachusetts GOP Moves to Protect Trump
“The Massachusetts Republican Party is aiming to protect President Trump from primary challengers such as former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld by approving a new winner-takes-all delegate plan,” Politico reports.
Putin Punches Above His Weight
Gerald Seib: “With relatively little investment, the Russian leader is expanding his toehold in the Western Hemisphere and potentially getting access to giant oil and uranium supplies by backing a dictator in Venezuela.”
“With relatively little investment, he has expanded his base of operations in the Middle East by propping up a dictator in Syria and by trying to send some sophisticated Russian military equipment into Turkey. (For the latter effort, he’d actually turn a profit.)”
“And with relatively little investment, and little notice from a distracted international community, he has kept up a low-level war against those fighting a Russian takeover in eastern Ukraine, holding on to a bargaining chip he might find useful someday.”
“He does all this while overseeing an economy roughly the size of South Korea’s, which produces little or nothing the world wants to buy, outside of oil and military gear.”
Barr Misses Deadline Set By House Judiciary Committee
“Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said they will vote Wednesday on whether to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress after Barr missed a deadline to produce a complete version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report,” the Washington Post reports.
“The panel had set a deadline of 9 a.m. Monday for Barr to provide the unredacted version of Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. It announced the planned vote in a statement Monday.”
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Georgia Mayor Under Fire Over Black Job Candidate
“The mayor of Hoschton, a nearly all-white community 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, allegedly withheld a job candidate from consideration for city administrator because he was black,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Mayor Theresa Kenerly told a member of the City Council she pulled the resume of Keith Henry from a packet of four finalists “because he is black, and the city isn’t ready for this.”
Councilman Jim Cleveland defended the mayor: “I have black friends, I hired black people. But when it comes to all this stuff you see on TV, when you see blacks and whites together, it makes my blood boil because that’s just not the way a Christian is supposed to live.”
Red Sox Manager Will Skip White House Visit
“Manager Alex Cora will not join the Red Sox on Thursday when the World Series champions are honored at the White House,” the Boston Globe reports.
“Cora said Sunday he would not be comfortable making the trip, given what he considers the Trump administration’s poor treatment of his native Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017.”
Running to Save Capitalism
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) writes in the Wall Street Journal that he is running for president “to save capitalism.”
“Capitalism is the only economic system that can support a strong middle class, a growing economy, and innovative entrepreneurs leading global technological advancements. Yet for too many Americans, capitalism simply isn’t working.”
Democrats Lose Their Enthusiasm Advantage
First Read: “In the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 75% of Republican registered voters say they have high interest in the 2020 presidential election – registering a 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale – versus 73 percent of Democratic voters who say the same thing.”
“That’s quite a change from the 2018 cycle, when Democrats held a double-digit lead on this question until the last two months before the election, when the GOP closed the gap but still trailed the Dems in enthusiasm.”
“Overall enthusiasm for 2020 is sky-high, with 69% of all voters expressing a high level of interest in the upcoming election. That’s just 3 points shy of the 72 percent who said the same thing in October 2016. And we are still more than 500 days away from the 2020 general election. So, yeah, turnout in 2020 is going to be through the roof.”
How Gender Bias Is Shaping the Democratic Primary
Amber Phillips: “Recent polling suggests Democratic primary voters, skittish about what happened to Clinton in 2016, are skeptical a woman can beat President Trump in 2020. It fits neatly into research that demonstrates female politicians are held by voters to a much higher standard than men, forcing women to work harder to prove everything from their policy chops to likability.”
“But gender bias is entrenched. A recent study from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce found that 13 percent of Americans still think men are more emotionally suited for politics than women. That’s way less than in decades past, but throw this stat on the pile of evidence that shows when it comes to gaining voters’ trust, women have more to overcome than men. Executive offices — as opposed to more collaborative legislative offices — in particular are difficult for women. That’s one reason the presidency has been, to date, unobtainable for women.”
Majority Supports Nixing Electoral College
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that “53% of Americans support a move to a popular vote, while 43% believe the country should continue to elect its presidents using the Electoral College.”
“But an overwhelming 78% of those who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 believe the country should adopt a national popular vote… And an equally overwhelming 74% of those who voted for Donald Trump say the existing system should stay in place.”
Michael Cohen Reports to Prison
Associated Press: “Once he gets to prison, Cohen will undergo medical and mental health screenings and be assigned a job, such as mowing the grounds or cleaning up the visiting room. He’ll also get sets of clothing, bedding and towels.”
“At the prison camp, about 115 inmates sleep in bunks lined up in barrack-style halls, instead of individual or two-man cells like in higher-security facilities. Recreational amenities include tennis courts, horseshoes and bocce ball.”
New York Times: “As Mr. Cohen heads to prison, the president is newly emboldened and the nation divided over whether the report let Mr. Trump off the hook. And unless the president or any of his family members face charges in the years to come, Mr. Cohen, a former personal-injury lawyer with a hangdog expression and a Long Island accent, may go down as an unlikely big fish caught in the net of Trump World investigations.”
One Million Species Face Extinction
Washington Post: “Up to 1 million plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction, with devastating implications for human survival, according to a United Nations report released Monday.”
“The report’s findings underscore the conclusions of numerous scientific studies that say human activity is wreaking havoc on the wild kingdom, threatening the existence of everything from giant whales to small flowers and insects that are almost impossible to see with the naked eye.”
When Will Democrats Make Trump Pay a Price?
Playbook: “Will Democrats start demanding testimony and document production before they consider partnering with the president on legislation like an infrastructure bill? Remember: Democrats have tons of leverage here. The president needs them to do anything, including keeping the government funded and lifting the debt limit, not to mention more lofty goals like some infrastructure package or a prescription drug bill.”
Mulvaney Seeks More Proactive Message
Politico: “Now four months into the job, Mulvaney — who has taken a light touch towards managing Trump himself — has made pumping up the White House’s communications machine a top priority. The communications and press strategy is something Mulvaney and President Trump talk about almost every day… and he believes that even a president who dominates the media on a daily basis needs more forceful messaging and more messengers, especially now that a hostile Democratic House and some two dozen Democratic candidates are blitzing him nonstop.”
Said Mulvaney: “We’ll spend a little more time being proactive, and a little less time being reactive.”
