‘Treason’ Enters the Political Lexicon
New York Times: “While the T-word has been thrown around on the fringes of the political debate about other presidents or politicians from time to time, never in the modern era has it become part of the national conversation in such a prominent way. Never in anyone’s lifetime has a president engendered such a wave of discussion about whether his real loyalty was to a foreign power over his own country.”
“To the president’s defenders, this all sounds like a sign of what they often call Trump Derangement Syndrome. That he drives his critics to such extremes, they argue, says more about them than it does about Mr. Trump. But the president has had fewer such defenders in the last 24 hours, with prominent Republicans and even some of Mr. Trump’s traditional allies lambasting his performance and distancing themselves from him.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Unfortunately, too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth. People just make stuff up… We see the utter loss of shame among political leaders where they’re caught in a lie and they just double down.”
— Barack Obama, delivering the 2018 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg.
Just Half Think U.S. Elections Are Fair
A new Center for Politics/Ipsos poll finds 51% of Americans believe elections are fair and open, and large majorities of Americans express skepticism about big money in politics and favor disclosure of donations.
Trump Was Unaware He Bombed Press Conference
CNN: “Immediately after his news conference, Trump’s mood was buoyant, people familiar with the matter said. He walked off stage in Helsinki with little inkling his remarks would cause the firestorm they did, and was instead enthusiastic about what he felt was a successful summit.”
“By the time he’d returned to the White House just before 10 p.m. ET on Monday, however, his mood had soured. Predictably, the President was upset when he saw negative coverage of the summit airing on television aboard Air Force One. It was clear he was getting little support, even from the usual places.”
State Election Systems Had Remote-Access Software
The nation’s top voting machine maker has admitted in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) that the company “installed remote-access software on election-management systems it sold over a period of six years, raising questions about the security of those systems and the integrity of elections that were conducted with them,” Motherboard reports.
“Election-management systems are not the voting terminals that voters use to cast their ballots, but are just as critical: they sit in county election offices and contain software that in some counties is used to program all the voting machines used in the county; the systems also tabulate final results aggregated from voting machines.”
Trump Declares Putin Meeting a Success
President Trump portrayed his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a great success, saying that it had gone “even better” than a meeting with NATO allies the week before, the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “Sadly, it is not being reported that way — the Fake News is going crazy!”
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Democrats Look for Another House Flip Next Month
The August 7th special election in central Ohio, which was called after longtime Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R-OH) resigned, “will be the last gut-check for both parties ahead of November’s midterms,” the Washington Post reports.
“Danny O’Connor, the Democratic nominee in a special congressional election here, has denounced both party leader Nancy Pelosi and the Republican-passed tax cut. Troy Balderson, a longtime Republican state legislator, has underwhelmed his party’s strategists and lagged in fundraising.”
“Republicans, who presided over a 2011 gerrymander that appeared to turn the district safely red, concede that Democrats have put it in play. A Republican super PAC has been on the air for five weeks; both Vice President Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan have flown in to help Balderson raise money and wake up voters.”
Ex-Republican Governor Calls on Trump to Resign
Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R) called on President Trump to resign after he refused to stand up to Russian president Vladimir Putin over election meddling.
Said Whitman: “Mr President, you should be ashamed. To deny your own country and government in favor of a foreign leader whose country has, for decades, tried to undermine the United States is irrational and dangerous. Please step down, you are not fit to lead this great nation.”
Europe and Japan Eliminate Tariffs in Landmark Deal
“The European Union and Japan signed a landmark deal on Tuesday that will eliminate nearly all tariffs on products they trade,” the AP reports.
“The ambitious pact signed in Tokyo runs counter to President Trump’s moves to hike tariffs on imports from many U.S. trading partners. It covers a third of the global economy and markets of more than 600 million people.”
When You’ve Lost Fox & Friends…
Fox & Friends addressed President Trump directly this morning — apparently knowing he watches — telling him he was wrong to embrace Russian president Vladimir Putin’s denial of interference in the 2016 presidential election over the findings of his own intelligence services.
RNC Tops $200 Million Ahead of Midterms
“The Republican National Committee has raised more than $200 million this election cycle… the fastest the committee has reached the milestone in a midterm period,” CNN reports.
“The RNC haul far eclipses the more than $101 million the Democratic National Committee has raised this cycle, giving the committee upwards of five times the amount of cash-on-hand as the Democrats.”
Huntsman Urged to Resign
The Salt Lake Tribune, which is owned by U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman’s brother Paul, has a column calling on Jon Huntsman to quit his post:
As Utahns, many of us were a bit stunned last year when you accepted the job as U.S. ambassador to Russia, but your explanation made sense: It was a role you took on, much like your tenure in China, out of a deep sense of duty.
But that duty is to your country and the best way now to serve your country is not by holding on to some title and being the emissary of a president who doesn’t share your values, or American values, for that matter.
It’s by resigning immediately and speaking out against a president who attacks our allies, gives comfort to our adversaries and undermines our moral standing, our commitment to democratic ideals and our interest in human rights every time he opens his gaping mouth.
‘The Worst-Case Scenario’
Rachel Maddow warned viewers of her show that it’s time for Americans to get ready to face the “worst case scenario” — the possibility that Trump has been compromised by Russia and that he’s in office to “serve the interests of another country rather than our own.”
Maddow said she recognized “it sounds nuts to say it even now, even tonight” but “there is a reason there is a big national freakout happening right now over what the president just did in public.”
Rohrabacher Trails In Re-Election Bid
A new Monmouth poll in California’s 48th congressional district finds challenger Harley Rouda (D) edging Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R), 46% to 43% among registered voters.
“The state of the race does not change much when applying two different likely voter models. A historical midterm model shows the race at 47% for Rouda and 45% for Rohrabacher, while a model that includes a turnout surge in Democratic precincts gives Rouda a statistically insignificant 48% to 44% edge.”
“Rohrabacher has consistently won the district by double digits, but higher levels of enthusiasm among Democratic voters are making this year’s contest close.”
Treasury Moves to Protect ‘Dark Money’ Donors
“The U.S. Treasury said on Monday that it will no longer require certain tax-exempt organizations including politically active nonprofit groups, such as the National Rifle Association and Planned Parenthood, to identify their financial donors to U.S. tax authorities,” Reuters reports.
Trump’s $250K Jerusalem Embassy Will Cost $21 Million
President Trump “has repeatedly boasted that he would save US taxpayers a bundle by negotiating a $250,000 price tag for a new embassy in Jerusalem. Turns out the final cost, just for a temporary facility, is almost 100 times more,” Al Monitor reports.
“Documents uploaded this week to the official database of federal spending show that Maryland-based joint venture Desbuild Limak D&K has been awarded a $21.2 million award to design and build ‘addition and compound security upgrades’ to the embassy in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood. That’s in addition to the $335,000 spent to get the facility, formerly a US consulate, ready for its ritzy grand opening as an embassy back in May.”
