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Trump Hates Autonomous Cars

March 17, 2019 at 7:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In President Trump’s view, self-driving cars are a menace to society. A skeptic of cutting-edge technology — as his tweets about Boeing’s ‘complex’ planes emphasized — Trump has privately said he thinks the autonomous vehicle revolution is ‘crazy’ and that he’d never let a computer drive him around,” Axios reports.

Said one source: “You know when he’s telling a story, and he does the hand motions. He says, ‘Can you imagine, you’re sitting in the back seat and all of a sudden this car is zig-zagging around the corner and you can’t stop the fucking thing?’”

Where’s Rudy?

March 17, 2019 at 6:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Swan: “Rudy Giuliani has vanished from your television. The last time the president’s once-ubiquitous attack dog did a major TV appearance was on Sunday, Jan. 20, when he went on NBC’s Meet the Press and CNN’s State of the Union.”

“Sources familiar with Giuliani’s thinking say he views a major part of his job as trying to undermine public confidence in the Mueller probe and harden the support of Republican voters for Trump to protect him against impeachment. So for Giuliani to stay off TV for an extended stretch is odd.”

“When I asked Giuliani about all of this, he texted that he has spent hours with Trump in the last month and hasn’t heard any complaints about his TV appearances from the president. Giuliani then called me to elaborate. He said his decision to stay off TV since Jan. 20 had nothing to do with his performances on those shows.”

Said Giuliani: “About a month to a month and a half ago we decided, because we thought the Mueller report was imminent in the next four or five days, that it would be better not to comment until the report was filed or made public. Obviously those days have now expanded way beyond four or five days.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

March 17, 2019 at 5:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I don’t intend to use the f-word going forward. Point taken, and very strongly made… We’re going to keep it clean.”

— Beto O’Rourke, quoted by the Associated Press.


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How Beto Got to Yes

March 17, 2019 at 4:34 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Interviews with some of those closest to him provide a window into a decision-making process that was organic and haphazard, one that involved a coterie of informal advisers and longtime friends and allowed thoughts to simmer before making a gut-level call. It is a process that informs how he will run his freewheeling and by-the-moment presidential campaign, as well as how his White House would operate if he were to get that far.”

RNC Hits O’Rourke for Drunk Driving Arrest

March 17, 2019 at 3:03 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Republican National Committee on Sunday sent out a tweet linking Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s Irish heritage to his 1998 drunken-driving arrest, the Washington Post reports.

“Republicans have previously sought to focus attention on O’Rourke’s DWI arrest, but the tweet by the RNC — which came on St. Patrick’s Day and described O’Rourke as a ‘noted Irishman’ — appeared to be the first time they have raised the topic of his ancestry.”

Quote of the Day

March 17, 2019 at 2:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I think everyone wants to fit you on an ideological spectrum which I think has never been less relevant. More and more people want to know what your ideas are and whether they make any sense.”

— Pete Buttigieg, in an interview on Fox News Sunday.

Trump’s Margin of Error Is Smaller In 2020

March 17, 2019 at 11:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mike Allen: “Based on demographic changes, Republicans for the first time have authentic worries about Arizona, Georgia, Texas and other states they once took for granted. Trump’s margin for error this time is much smaller, because he’s being squeezed from the north and the south.”

“From the north: Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are harder this time because Hillary Clinton, a turnoff for many working-class voters, won’t be on the ballot.”

“From the south: Demographics are making North Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Arizona more competitive, and realistically in play.”

Test your own 2020 assumptions with my interactive Electoral Vote Map.

Fox News Suspended Jeanine Pirro

March 17, 2019 at 11:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Jeanine Pirro, whose show did not air on Saturday night, was suspended by Fox News after her widely criticized commentary doubting Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s patriotism,” CNN reports.

“Fox did not announce the suspension publicly. The network declined to confirm or deny that Pirro has been suspended. There is no word on whether Pirro’s show will return next week.”

“At the same time, there is no indication that she has been fired from Fox.”

President Trump tweeted: “Bring back Jeanine Pirro. The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country. They have all out campaigns against Fox News hosts who are doing too well.”

Bharara Not Sure Mueller Is Done Yet

March 17, 2019 at 11:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara told CBS News that it doesn’t appear that special counsel Robert Mueller is preparing to conclude his investigation.

Said Bharara: “I’m an outsider now, and I don’t still run the Southern District of New York, and I’m not aware of what’s going on with various investigations that sometimes intersect with the special counsel’s investigation. But I think people should view with some skepticism the notion that gets breathlessly reported every week that the Mueller investigation is coming to an end.”

Mike Pompeo Opens Door to Future Run

March 17, 2019 at 11:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wichita Eagle: “He’s ruled out a U.S. Senate run in 2020. But on the eve of Pompeo’s first official visit to Kansas since his meteoric rise from congressman to secretary of state, the Wichita Republican propped open the door to a political future in his home state.”

Said Pompeo: “I try to just avoid ruling things out when there’s others who are in control. The Lord will get me to the right place.”

“Republicans in the state think that means one of two things — a bid for Senate or the governor’s mansion in 2022. That is, if Pompeo doesn’t decide to run for president in 2024 instead.”

Accidental Presidents

March 17, 2019 at 8:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Out next month: Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America by Jared Cohen.

“John Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison who died 30 days into his term. He was kicked out of his party and became the first president threatened with impeachment. Millard Fillmore succeeded esteemed General Zachary Taylor. He immediately sacked the entire cabinet and delayed an inevitable Civil War by standing with Henry Clay’s compromise of 1850. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded our greatest president, sided with remnants of the Confederacy in Reconstruction. Chester Arthur, the embodiment of the spoils system, was so reviled as James Garfield’s successor that he had to defend himself against plotting Garfield’s assassination; but he reformed the civil service.”

“Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts. Calvin Coolidge silently cooled down the Harding scandals and preserved the White House for the Republican Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression. Truman surprised everybody when he succeeded the great FDR and proved an able and accomplished president. Lyndon B. Johnson was named to deliver Texas electorally. He led the nation forward on Civil Rights but failed on Vietnam.”

O’Rourke Would Likely Pick a Woman for Veep

March 17, 2019 at 8:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Beto O’Rourke “said that he very likely would choose a female running mate if he manages to nab the Democratic presidential nomination next year,” the Dallas Morning News reports.

Said O’Rourke: “It would be very difficult not to select a woman with so many extraordinary women who are running right now. But first I would have to win and there’s– you know, this is as open as it has ever been.”

He added: “It’s presumptuous for me to think about who I would select as a vice president. Right now I’m seeking the nomination.”

Gillibrand Formally Announces Bid

March 17, 2019 at 7:49 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand “formally launched her presidential bid on Sunday morning, announcing she will deliver her first major speech next week in front of Trump International Hotel in New York City,” Reuters reports.

“Gillibrand, 52, had already been campaigning in key states that hold early primary contests. She has struggled to see her polling numbers increase in the wake of her initial announcement, a benefit some of her other opponents enjoyed after starting their campaigns. Gillibrand remains at 1 percent in most public opinion polls of the Democratic primary.”

Brexit Marks the End of Britain as a Great Power

March 16, 2019 at 11:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Fareed Zakaria: “One of the great strengths of democracy is that bad policies are often reversed. That’s a consolation when we look at the flurry of pandering programs being enacted as the populist wave works its way through the Western world. When a new government is elected, things can be undone. Except for Brexit, which, if it goes through, might prove to be the most profound legacy of this decade.”

“Britain, famous for its prudence, propriety and punctuality, is suddenly looking like a banana republic as it makes reckless decisions, misrepresents reality and now wants to change its own self-imposed deadline. But if it does leave the European Union, it would be bad news for Britain, Europe and the West.”

“The world order as we know it was built over two centuries, during the reigns of two liberal, Anglo superpowers — Britain and then the United States. Brexit would mark the end of Britain’s role as a great power, and I wonder whether it would also mark the day that the West, as a political and strategic entity, begins to crumble.”

Biden Gets Ahead of His Own Announcement

March 16, 2019 at 9:36 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Former vice president Joe Biden is expected to announce soon whether he will seek the White House in 2020. On Saturday night, he seemed — for a moment — to get ahead of himself,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Biden: “I have the most progressive record of anybody running for the United . . . anybody who would run.”

“The crowd at a ballroom at the Dover Downs casino complex began to cheer, as Biden laughed and crossed himself.”

Buttigieg Has Enough Donors to Make Debate Stage

March 16, 2019 at 8:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Pete Buttigieg (D) said that his campaign raised enough individual donors to guarantee a spot at the first Democratic Party debate of the 2020 cycle, The Hill reports.

“Buttigieg, who is exploring a White House bid but has not officially announced a campaign, announced Saturday that his team had received more than 76,000 individual donations, passing the 65,000 individual threshold set by the Democratic National Committee.”

GOP Lawmaker Wants to Mandate Gun Purchases

March 16, 2019 at 5:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Missouri state Rep. Andrew McDaniel (R) wants to require adults in his state to purchase handguns and AR-15 rifles, The Hill reports.

Two bills introduced by McDaniel would require residents to purchase firearms while providing $1 million worth of tax credits on a “first come, first served” basis to residents who fall under the law.

Bonus Quote of the Day

March 16, 2019 at 5:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Oh, that’s the Beto line. No, I will say that, you know, I have a lot of respect for Beto. And it’s great to have some Texas in this race. But no, I wasn’t born to run for office, just because growing up in the ’70s, in the middle of the country, I don’t think many people thought a girl could be president. I wasn’t born to run. But I am running.”

— Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), in an interview on Meet the Press, when asked if she was born to run for president.

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan 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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