A new Politico/AARP poll in Florida finds Gov. Rick Scott (R) is virtually tied with Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) among Florida voters in the U.S. Senate race, 40% to 39%, but the Republican is dominating the Democrat by 9 points among those nearing or at retirement age — a group that casts the majority of Florida’s votes.
Democratic Super PAC Buys Ad Time for Senate Races
“The top Senate Democratic super PAC plans to spend about $80 million to reserve fall airtime for television commercials in nine battleground states, a sizable early investment in pursuit of winning control of the Senate,” the Washington Post reports.
“Senate Majority PAC will soon secure post-Labor Day airtime in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia… The spending represents its first wave of fall reservations.”
Obama Has Been Meeting with Possible 2020 Contenders
“Barack Obama has in recent months met with at least nine prospective 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Deval Patrick, pulling them in for one-on-one sessions at his Washington office,” Politico reports.
“The meetings have been at Obama’s personal office on the third floor of the World Wildlife Fund building in D.C.’s West End neighborhood, and they show how a stream of ambitious, searching politicians are looking for guidance and support from the man who has remained the reluctant leader of the Democratic Party, eager to be involved, though not directly. He’s not making any promises of support, though, and is not expected to endorse in the 2020 race until after a nominee has emerged.”
China Gets Jittery About North Korea’s Intentions
“In the sudden rush of diplomacy involving North Korea, China has appeared to have the upper hand, hosting the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, twice before his long-anticipated Singapore summit meeting with President Trump even begins,” the New York Times reports.
“Yet as Mr. Kim prepares to finally meet Mr. Trump in Singapore on Tuesday, some analysts say Beijing appears to be getting a sudden case of the jitters. They say the Chinese leaders, who are unused to being on the outside looking in, are growing anxious about whether they can keep their Cold War-era ally firmly in its current orbit around China.”
“Leaders in Beijing are worried, experts say, that Mr. Kim might try to counterbalance China’s influence by embracing the United States, North Korea’s longtime enemy.”
Behind the Scenes at the G7
Toronto Star: “President Trump greeted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warmly Friday morning as he arrived at the G7. Although he’d tweeted grumpily the night before that Trudeau was ‘so indignant’ about American tariffs, Trump looked happy to see the prime minister. They shook hands and smiled for the cameras, as all eyes were on them. Hours later, they sat down together behind closed doors.”
“According to a source with knowledge of their discussions, Trump said: ‘People forget how close we are Justin, and I notice that they took a picture of us smiling and talking and the market went up 200 points.’ Trump would raise that anecdote a couple more times over the course of what was a pivotal meeting, according to an official. Asked what to make of that, the source said perhaps the American president liked to reflect on his power.”
Sanford Faces Tough Primary Challenge
Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) “has spent the past three years torching President Donald Trump, firmly establishing himself as a staunch critic of the commander-in-chief who, unlike so many others in his party, never came around,” Politico reports.
“Now he’s suddenly at risk of losing his job over it.”
”The once seemingly safe former South Carolina governor, who’s never lost a bid for political office, is sweating in the final days of his primary race against state Rep. Katie Arrington, a political newcomer who’s cast Sanford as a disloyal Never-Trumper.”
Canadians Rally Around Trudeau
New York Times: “It takes a lot to rile people in this decidedly courteous nation. But after President Trump’s parting shots against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the day he left the Group of 7 summit meeting in Quebec, the country reacted with uncharacteristic outrage and defiance at a best friend’s nastiness.”
”Canadians across the political spectrum said that while the world had grown used to Mr. Trump’s social media rants, the ferocity and personal tone of the insults against Mr. Trudeau had crossed a line. Some even asked whether Canadians should boycott United States products and stop travel south of the border.”
Should Democrats Find Their Own Outsider?
Washington Post: “So it has gone for months, as Democrats poke around at the possibility of finding a non-politician candidate to challenge Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in 2020. In theory, there is a real opportunity for an outsider to take over the party and challenge Trump, the first American to be elected president without political or military service, on his own terms. The problem has been finding the right person to do it, particularly in a party whose voter base is more inclined to favor government experience. The potential 2020 field already includes about two dozen traditional politicians, from mayors to governors to senators.”
”The political outsiders who have explored candidacies include some of the biggest names in the corporate world — Disney chief Bob Iger, mega-mogul Oprah Winfrey, Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg. But each of those people ultimately decided to give up the dream, at least for now, after feeling out Democratic strategists.”
Trump Regularly Tears Documents to Pieces
Politico: “Under the Presidential Records Act, the White House must preserve all memos, letters, emails and papers that the president touches, sending them to the National Archives for safekeeping as historical records.”
“But White House aides realized early on that they were unable to stop Trump from ripping up paper after he was done with it and throwing it in the trash or on the floor… Instead, they chose to clean it up for him, in order to make sure that the president wasn’t violating the law.”
“Staffers had the fragments of paper collected from the Oval Office as well as the private residence and send it over to records management across the street from the White House for Larkey and his colleagues to reassemble.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Regardless of what happens in that meeting between the two dictators, what we are seeing right now ― this is history.”
— “Fox & Friends” co-host Abby Huntsman, quoted by the HuffPost, on the summit meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.
Trump Tries to Destroy the West
David Leonhardt: “The alliance between the United States and Western Europe has accomplished great things. It won two world wars in the first half of the 20th century. Then it expanded to include its former enemies and went on to win the Cold War, help spread democracy and build the highest living standards the world has ever known.”
“President Trump is trying to destroy that alliance.”
“Is that how he thinks about it? Who knows. It’s impossible to get inside his head and divine his strategic goals, if he even has long-term goals. But put it this way: If a president of the United States were to sketch out a secret, detailed plan to break up the Atlantic alliance, that plan would bear a striking resemblance to Trump’s behavior.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“A miserable place to work.”
— White House chief of staff John Kelly, quoted by the New York Times, telling senators what it’s like to work in the White House.
Trump Aide Says There’s ‘Special Place In Hell’ for Trudeau
Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro escalated the White House’s rebuke of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him weak and dishonest, CNN reports.
Said Navarro: “There’s a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door.”
He added: “And that’s what bad faith Justin Trudeau did with that stunt press conference. That’s what weak, dishonest Justin Trudeau did, and that comes right from Air Force One.”
France Blasts ‘Incoherent’ Trump After G7 Fiasco
France pledged to stand by the G7 summit statement disowned by President Trump and took a swipe at him by declaring that international cooperation could not depend on “fits of anger” or “little words,” Politico reports.
Said the statement: “We spent two days to obtain a text and commitments. We will stand by them and anyone who would depart from them, once their back was turned, shows their incoherence and inconsistency.”
Romney Plans to Be Major Player in the Senate
“Mitt Romney is mapping out plans to become a major player in the Senate — positioning himself to be the spokesman of a listless Republican Party establishment that’s been steamrolled by President Trump,” Politico reports.
“The failed presidential candidate turned Utah Senate hopeful has made it clear to senior party officials that he intends to make a splash with his all-but-certain arrival on Capitol Hill next year… He’s conveyed a desire to be a loud voice on fiscal issues, railing against the ballooning federal deficit and how Congress approves last-minute spending bills. He’s expressed an interest in joining the foreign affairs committee, saying he wants to speak out on the importance of the country’s role abroad and the threat posed by Russia.”
“And his top aides have broached the prospect that Romney could tap into the expansive national fundraising network that he established during his 2012 presidential bid to bankroll GOP candidates.”
Isolated Kim Takes Big Gamble Leaving Home
“Spare a moment, as you anticipate one of the most unusual summits in modern history, to consider North Korea’s leader as he left the all-encompassing bubble of his locked-down stronghold of Pyongyang on Sunday and stepped off a jet onto Singapore soil for his planned sit-down with President Trump on Tuesday,” the AP reports.
“There’s just no recent precedent for the gamble Kim Jong Un is taking.”
“As far as we know, his despot father only traveled out of the country by train, and rarely at that, because of fears of assassination. Kim, up until his recent high-profile summit with South Korea’s president on the southern side of their shared border, has usually hunkered down behind his vast propaganda and security services, or made short trips to autocrat-friendly China.”
Blue States Find Ways to Undercut New Tax Law
“Residents of some blue states may get a surprisingly big tax cut thanks to workarounds state lawmakers are crafting to subvert a controversial new cap on deductions for state and local taxes,” Politico reports.
“It’s a little noticed and unexpected dynamic in the partisan battle over the recent tax overhaul. The new SALT cap has been one of the biggest flashpoints, with Democrats from high-tax states complaining they were targeted by congressional Republicans.”
“Now, months after the law passed, Republicans are having trouble convincing voters that they’re really going to benefit from the cuts the law enacted. Meanwhile, lawmakers in blue states are magnifying the cuts with their workarounds.”
Kudlow Says Trudeau Tried to Make Trump Look Weak
“President Trump’s top economic adviser said on Sunday that Mr. Trump had pulled out of a joint statement with allies at the Group of 7 meeting over the weekend because a ‘betrayal’ by the Canadian prime minister had threatened to make Mr. Trump appear weak before his summit meeting on Tuesday with North Korea’s leader,” the New York Times reports.
“The adviser, Larry Kudlow, said that Mr. Trump had no choice but to take the action after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a news conference that Canada would not be pushed around by the United States on trade.”
Said Kudlow: “He stabbed us in the back.”
