Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
Trump Didn’t Want Questions About McCain
President Trump apparently thought he had an agreement with Fox Business not to talk about his criticism of Sen. John McCain.
After Maria Bartiromo mentioned McCain, Trump said: “Actually I thought you weren’t supposed to bring it up, but that’s OK. You know, fake news every once in a while.”
Trump Calls Green New Deal ‘Preposterous’
President Trump ripped the Green New Deal as the “most preposterous thing” in an interview with Fox Business.
Said Trump: “I really hope they keep going forward with it… because I think it’s going to be very easy to beat.”
He added that Democrats are becoming “a far-left party. They are radicalized.”
Florida GOP Pushes to Make Ex-Felons Pay Fees to Vote
New York Times: “A Florida House panel this week approved a bill that would require former felons to pay fees and fines before having their voting rights restored, prompting criticism from those who say it would undermine a new amendment that allows more than a million former felons to vote again.”
“Supporters of the bill, approved by the Republican-controlled House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice on Tuesday, contend that it is meant merely to resolve questions over how to put Amendment 4, which voters approved in November, into practice.”
Most Republicans Say Diversity Will Weaken the U.S.
A new Pew Research poll finds that 59% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe that having a majority of the population made up of blacks, Asians, Hispanics and other racial minorities by the year 2050 will weaken American customs and values.
Just 13% of Republicans say the coming demographic milestone — which Census demographers have predicted — will strengthen the country.
First Read: “Don’t forget the ways that Trump has said the quiet thing out loud here. He’s referred to immigration at the southern border as an ‘invasion’; he’s supported a ban on Muslims entering the United States during his campaign; and he’s reportedly used slurs to describe immigration from Haiti and some African countries.”
Two Strategies for the Democratic Nomination
First Read: “One theory of the 2020 race for the Democratic nomination is that the delegate chase in the Super Tuesday states — California (Harris’ home state), Texas (O’Rourke’s), Massachusetts (Elizabeth Warren’s), Minnesota (Amy Klobuchar’s) and Vermont (Sanders’) — will go a long way in determining the eventual winner.”
“The logic: If you can rack up delegates in your state as well as the competition’s home states under the Democrats’ proportional allocation system, you’re going to be in good shape.”
“The other theory of the 2020 Dem race is that Iowa and New Hampshire are only more important than ever. How viable will Harris be on Super Tuesday if she can’t finish in the Top 2 or Top 3 in Iowa?”
Is There Life After Disgrace?
Former White House aide Rob Porter’s ex-wife, Jennie Willoughby, writes in the Washington Post:
“I don’t believe Rob should be forever barred from using his considerable professional skills and knowledge to make a contribution to our society. But Rob’s sudden return to the public eye is deeply troubling to me, because he has yet to candidly address the thing that should — that must — come first: his personal conduct during his two marriages.”
“Rob has yet to publicly show regret or contrition for his actions. Giving him a voice before he has done that critical work elevates his opinions above my and Colbie’s dignity.”
2020 Will Be a Real Test for Our Democracy
Amy Walter: “What makes our democracy work is that the players agree to the rules, both written and unwritten…”
“But, when politicians and voters believe that the system is inherently flawed or rigged — or that the people in charge of enforcing those rules are compromised – well, the whole thing falls apart. Americans don’t trust the political class, the media, the political parties, or almost any institution in this country. As such, even an attempt to discuss reform or change will be met with charges of malfeasance. Republicans accuse Democrats of being sore losers, while Democrats argue that Trump and Republicans are comfortable with a descent into ‘despotism.'”
“It’s unlikely that the 2020 campaign will do anything but widen distrust of our institutions and each other. The challenge of the 21st century is to understand and anticipate where this distrust and disruption lead. The tipping point has yet to be reached. But, it feels like we sit on its precipice more awkwardly than ever.”
Trump Wants Barr to Investigate Hillary Clinton
President Trump said that he hopes Attorney General William Barr will “do what’s fair” with regards to opening investigations to perceived crimes by his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton, Politico reports.
Said Trump: “So when I won, I made my opening speech, everyone’s shouting, ‘Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!’ I said, ‘No, no, no, let’s forget her. Let’s get on to the future.”
He added: “But they have treated me so viciously, and they have treated me so badly and we did nothing wrong — you look at the others — and all of these people you hear about, that had nothing to do with Russia, Russia collusion, nothing… Hopefully he’ll do what’s fair. All I can ask is what’s fair.”
How Mueller Kept a Lid on the Russia Probe
“When members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. election arrived for work each day, they placed their mobile phones in a locker outside of their office suite before entering,” Reuters reports.
“Operating in secrecy in a nondescript glass-and-concrete office, the team of prosecutors and investigators since May 2017 has unearthed secrets that have led to bombshell charges against several of President Donald Trump’s aides, including his former national security adviser, campaign chairman and personal lawyer, who have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury.”
“To protect those secrets from prying ears, the whole of the office suite in southwest Washington was designated a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), U.S. spy speak for an area that has restrictions to ensure secret information stays secure.”
Democrats Just Want to Win
A new USA Today/Suffolk poll finds that Democratic voters by double digits, 55% to 35%, say they are more interested in nominating a presidential candidate who can defeat President Trump than one they agree with most on the issues.
However, in a hypothetical match-up, Trump edges out an unnamed Democratic nominee, 39% to 36%, with 11% supporting an unnamed third party candidate and 15% undecided.
New Evidence of Feud Between Former First Ladies
“The chill between First Ladies Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush was no secret, but USA Today‘s D.C. bureau chief Susan Page found fascinating new evidence for a biography, The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty, out April 2,” Axios reports.
“The draft guest list for one of the biggest social events of the Reagan presidency — the White House dinner during a 1985 royal visit by Prince Charles and Lady Diana — shows that Nancy Reagan personally struck Vice President George H.W. Bush and his wife from the guest list.”
Exchange of the Day
President Trump was asked by Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business why he is still attacking the late Sen. John McCain:
BARTIROMO: But Mr. President, he’s dead, he can’t punch back. I know you punch back…
TRUMP: No.
BARTIROMO: …but he’s dead.
TRUMP: I don’t talk about it. People ask me the question.
The president went on to call McCain “horrible.”
Letter Suggests Mueller Won’t Say Much About Trump
ABC News: “The road map comes in the form of a little-noticed 12-page letter written by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last June to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley. The letter offers a brief history of special counsel investigations and actually quotes former and future Attorney General William Barr who appointed three special counsels during his time as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush.”
“In the letter, Rosenstein makes it clear he believes the Department of Justice will not – and cannot without violating long-standing Department of Justice policy – include disparaging or incriminating information about anybody who has not been charged with a crime.”
“Sources familiar with the investigation believe there are no more indictments coming from the special counsel. If Mueller follows the guidance of the man who appointed him and supervised his investigation, he cannot publicly disparage those who have not been charged with a crime.”
GOP Senators Mostly Silent as Trump Bashes McCain
New York Times: “Many Senate Republicans are as perplexed as they are perturbed about President Trump’s sustained attack on their colleague, John McCain. But few want to shout about it. Baffled as they may be over why Mr. Trump continues to vilify a man who devoted his life to his nation and suffered as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, that doesn’t mean that all of his former colleagues want to get caught in a feud between a president popular with Republican voters and a memory.”
“Most have not publicly commented on Mr. Trump’s continuing character and policy assault on a man whom many served with for years. Attempts to reach multiple senior senators for their views and reactions were unsuccessful.”
The Washington Post says attacking McCain is a way for Trump to appeal to his political base.
Democrats Not Expecting Much from Mueller Report
Playbook: “If you talk to Capitol Hill Democrats privately, you will hear something surprising about what they expect from Robert Mueller: Many of them expect absolutely nothing. Several top Democratic lawmakers and aides tell us privately that they are certain the report will be a dud.”
“If that’s the case, the White House will immediately make the argument that it’s time for Congress to shutter its investigations into the president. But Democratic probes into President Trump are going to drag on regardless of the Mueller report. The committees are looking into things that have nothing to do with Russian interference — the president’s company, security clearances, handling of classified information, decision-making in the White House and Cabinet scandals, for example.”
“Frankly, Democrats believe even if Mueller releases a report with nothing spectacular, that’s only the beginning for the Hill.”
Some Republicans Already Conceding Popular Vote
“Senior Republicans are resigned to President Trump losing the popular vote in 2020, conceding the limits of the flamboyant incumbent’s political appeal and revealing just how central the Electoral College has become to the party’s White House prospects,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“Some Republicans say the problem is Trump’s populist brand of partisan grievance. It’s an attitude tailor-made for the Electoral College in the current era of regionally Balkanized politics, but anathema to attracting a broad, national coalition that can win the most votes, as past presidents did when seeking re-election amid a booming economy. Others argue that neither Trump, nor possibly any Republican, could win the popular vote when most big states are overwhelmingly liberal.”
Test your own assumptions on my interactive Electoral Vote Map.
Biden Draws on Obama Donors to Jumpstart Bid
Politico: “The former vice president, whose fundraising lagged during his previous bids for the White House, would this time enter the race with a base of support from many of his party’s major givers, according to interviews with 20 top Obama fundraisers, who each raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help elect the former president.”
“Many of Obama’s backers say deciding which candidate or candidates to support in 2020 is difficult. But Biden, who a number of Obama’s funders count as a friend and former coworker in the administration, comes out of the gate with a crop of top-tier fundraisers ready to back his bid and other donors willing to cut personal checks to jump-start Biden’s campaign, though they might wait to throw the full power of their networks behind him.”
