America First Action, an outside group supporting President Trump, intends to spend $250 million in six battleground states as part of a major effort to boost his chances of being reelected in 2020, The Hill reports.
The states identified by America First are Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia.
Geoffrey Skelley: “Stacey Abrams. Joaquin Castro. Steve Bullock. Some potentially strong Democratic candidates have passed on runs for the Senate, dashing Democratic hopes in several GOP-leaning states, including Georgia, Texas and Montana.”
“However, it’s not that surprising that they and other Democrats don’t want to wage Senate campaigns in red states. And that’s because there’s a really good chance they might lose.”
“Remember that in 2016, for the first time, every Senate race was won by the same party that won the presidential vote in that state. In a polarized era full of straight-ticket voters, this is no doubt a prime consideration when potential candidates are deciding whether to run.”
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds the number of Americans who said President Trump should be impeached rose 5 percentage points to 45% since mid-April.
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President Trump intends to nominate Pat Shanahan to become his next secretary of defense, moving to formally fill the post that Mr. Shanahan has held in an acting capacity since January, the Wall Street Journal reports.
President Trump said former secretary of state John Kerry should be prosecuted for discussing the Iran nuclear deal with officials from that country after leaving office, the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “I’d like to see — with Iran, I’d like to see them call me. You know, John Kerry speaks to them a lot. John Kerry tells them not to call. That’s a violation of the Logan Act. And frankly, he should be prosecuted on that. But my people don’t want to do anything that’s — only the Democrats do that kind of stuff, you know? If it were the opposite way, they’d prosecute him under the Logan Act.”
Kerry responded on CNN: “Everything President Trump said today is simply wrong, end of story.”
“In a highly unusual move, National Security Adviser John Bolton convened a meeting at CIA headquarters last week with the Trump administration’s top intelligence, diplomatic and military advisers to discuss Iran,” NBC News reports.
“The meeting was held at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, April 29, and included CIA Director Gina Haspel, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joe Dunford, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.”
“National security meetings are typically held in the White House Situation Room… it is extremely rare for senior White House officials or cabinet members to attend a meeting at CIA headquarters.”
While complaining about the Russia probe, President Trump told reporters that special counsel Robert Mueller and former FBI director James Comey are “best friends.”
Said Trump: “They were supposedly best friends. You look at the picture file and you see hundreds of pictures of him and Comey.”
“An investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) will proceed, the Florida Bar said Wednesday, meaning the Panhandle Republican could face discipline for allegedly intimidating President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.
“If the Florida Bar had determined in its initial review that discipline was not warranted, then the case would have stopped. But it has not, meaning the Bar has decided that further investigation is needed.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said Donald Trump Jr. should go to jail if he doesn’t comply with a subpoena to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee, The Hill reports.
Said Blumenthal: “The subpoena should be enforced. If he refuses to obey it, he should be locked up.”
He added: “There are no privileges for Donald Trump Jr. The son of the president doesn’t have any of those privileges.”
President Trump seemed to hedge a bit on his months-long chant of “no obstruction, no collusion,” saying that the redacted Mueller report revealed “essentially no obstruction” during a bill signing, TPM reports.
Said Trump: “At the end of the testimony, no collusion. And essentially no obstruction.”
“Ahead of the second summit in Hanoi, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un requested as part of the agreement between the countries moving forward that the U.S. send ‘famous basketball players’ to normalize relations between the two countries,” ABC News reports.
“The request was made in writing, officials said, as part of the cultural exchange between the two countries, and at one point the North Koreans insisted that it be included in the joint statement on denuclearization. The North Koreans also made a request for the exchange of orchestras between the two countries.”
“The D.C. Court of Appeals on Thursday disbarred Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, because Manafort has been convicted of obstruction of justice and conspiracy,” the Washington Post reports.
“The relationship continues. We’ll see what happens. I know they want to negotiate. They are talking about negotiating, but I don’t think they are ready to negotiate.”
— President Trump, quoted by the Washington Post, on North Korea continuing weapons testing.
Time: “Warren’s policy proposals have become her brand. On the campaign trail, her off-the-cuff phrase ‘I have a plan for that!’ became so ubiquitous that it morphed into a viral applause line.”
“Voters tend to tell pollsters they prioritize policy over personality. But they said that in 2016 too, when Clinton’s detailed agenda was no match for Trump’s simple slogans and schoolyard nicknames. As her Democratic competitors offer enticing promises largely devoid of specifics, Warren insists on talking nuts and bolts.”
Members of President Trump’s inner circle are frustrated that the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr., CNN reports.
“Those close to Trump are exasperated that Republican Sen. Richard Burr, in their minds, just handed Democrats a talking point. Multiple Republicans had coalesced around Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s talking point of ‘case closed’ in recent days, but now Democrats can argue that even members of the President’s own party don’t agree that all Russia inquiries should end immediately.”
“The subpoena was issued more than two weeks ago… and it compelled Trump Jr. to testify before the committee.”
“U.S. authorities have seized a North Korean ship used to sell coal in alleged violation of international sanctions,” the Washington Post reports.
“Justice Department officials confirmed the ship, the ‘Wise Honest,’ is approaching U.S. territorial waters.”
The Des Moines Register looked at the questions asked of Democratic presidential candidates at events across Iowa last month.
“Health care, climate change and education were asked about most and accounted for roughly a quarter of all questions asked in April.”
“Cable news staple topics, like Russia and presidential impeachment, rarely were brought up — just a couple of times.”
“After a fight broke out, Alabama Senate on Thursday voted to table a controversial bill to criminalize abortions by making the act of performing a woman’s pregnancy a felony punishable by up to 99 years imprisonment,” the Washington Post reports.
“The bill, which appeared to pass by a vote of 23 to 6, was then tabled. Democrats shouted demands for a roll-call vote.”
“The vote was then tabled until next week. The bill would be the most restrictive in the country and would impose what is in effect a near-total abortion ban.”
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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