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Trump’s Surprise Iraq Trip Was No Secret on Twitter

December 26, 2018 at 5:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NBC News: “While the trip was shrouded in secrecy for security reasons, an airplane aficionado spotted the distinctive blue and white Boeing jet flying over England, and posted pictures of it on his Flickr account Wednesday morning.”

“When the president is on board, the VC-25A plane — a military version of the 747 — uses the call sign Air Force One. The plane spotted over England, however, was using the call sign RCH358.”

“Online detectives figured out the plane’s disguised call numbers, and tracked its movements — even sharing them on Twitter.”

Politico: “After tweeting more than three dozen times over the last four days, Trump ceased his rapid-fire online missives on Tuesday night. By Wednesday, the president was nowhere to be found, without any scheduled public events. There was no uniformed Marine standing outside the West Wing, normally an obvious signal that the president is in the Oval Office. White House officials went silent.”

Trump Plans ‘Groundbreaking’ for Border Wall

December 26, 2018 at 5:45 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump said that he wants to visit the U.S.–Mexico border wall before he gives his State of the Union address next month, The Hill reports.

Trump, speaking with reporters during an unannounced trip to Iraq, said he planned on “going to the wall” for a “groundbreaking” event before his State of the Union address, which will be held in late January.

Stocks Roar Back After Days of Losses

December 26, 2018 at 4:09 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Stocks on Wednesday climbed back from their epic Christmas Eve plunge as all three indexes posted big gains,” the Washington Post reports.

“The Dow Jones industrial average roared more than 1,050 points in late afternoon as stocks snapped a four-day losing streak that had placed the 10-year bull market on the edge of death on Monday.”

Trump Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq

December 26, 2018 at 4:06 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump visited American military forces in Iraq, “a surprise trip and the first visit to troops stationed abroad in a combat zone by a commander in chief who has made withdrawing the United States from foreign wars a signature issue,” the New York Times reports.

“The trip, shrouded in secrecy, came in the midst of a partial government shutdown and less than a week after Mr. Trump disrupted America’s military status quo and infuriated even some of his staunchest political allies by announcing plans to withdraw all troops from Syria and about half of those stationed in Afghanistan. The president’s decision on Syria, made over the objections of American military generals and civilian advisers, led to the resignation of Mr. Trump’s defense secretary, Jim Mattis, and fueled tensions within the national security establishment.”

Shutdown Impact May Now Be Felt

December 26, 2018 at 10:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Associated Press: “Wednesday brings the first full business day after several government departments and agencies closed up over the weekend due to a budgetary stalemate between President Donald Trump and Congress. And there is no end in sight.”

“So far, the public and federal workers have largely been spared inconvenience and hardship because government is closed on weekends and federal employees were excused from work on Christmas Eve and Christmas, a federal holiday.”

Ginsburg Discharged After Cancer Surgery

December 26, 2018 at 9:57 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been discharged from the hospital after cancer surgery, CBS News reports.

Ginsburg left New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on Tuesday and is now “recuperating at home.”

Note to Readers

December 26, 2018 at 9:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Folks, I’m exhausted. The crushing amount of political news over the last three years has just about worn me out. The next two years promises to be even crazier.

So for the next week or so, Political Wire will not be updated at the normal pace.

Thanks for your patience — and for reading!

How Trump Used Bone Spurs to Avoid Vietnam

December 26, 2018 at 9:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “For 50 years, the details of how the exemption came about, and who made the diagnosis, have remained a mystery, with Mr. Trump himself saying during the presidential campaign that he could not recall who had signed off on the medical documentation.”

“Now a possible explanation has emerged about the documentation. It involves a foot doctor in Queens who rented his office from Mr. Trump’s father, Fred C. Trump, and a suggestion that the diagnosis was granted as a courtesy to the elder Mr. Trump.”

Democrats Want Someone New In 2020, or Biden

December 26, 2018 at 7:29 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Asking voters their pick for president more than a year before the primaries begin typically doesn’t tell you much beyond name recognition. Instead of asking about support, a USA Today/Suffolk University Poll tested which candidates now seem intriguing to voters, and who turns them off, in an effort to get clues about the dynamic ahead.”

“Landing at the top of the list of 11 options was “someone entirely new” – perhaps a prospect not on the political radar screen yet. Nearly six in 10 of those surveyed – 59 percent – said they would be “excited” about a candidate like that; only 11 percent said they’d prefer that a new face not run.”

“That said, close behind was Joe Biden, the opposite of someone entirely new.”

Sherrod Brown Gears Up for Presidential Bid

December 26, 2018 at 7:07 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) “hasn’t decided whether he’s running for president — but he’s checking off a lot of the boxes that come along the way,” Politico reports.

“The Ohio Democrat is reaching out to fellow senators and party officials in early primary and caucus states. His team is collecting résumés for potential campaign workers in those states.”

“He is airing a broad campaign theme with a concise slogan — ‘the dignity of work’ — in a rising number of press interviews and TV appearances, and he wants to road-test the theme in speeches or town hall-style events.”

New York Times: “In an interview, Mr. Brown said those who characterize him as a politician for the ‘white working class’ are missing the point, because his message on the ‘dignity of work’ — which is inspired by a speech from Martin Luther King Jr. — specifically acknowledges the existence of discrimination and has support throughout Ohio’s minority communities.”

White House May Set Up Meeting with Fed Chair

December 26, 2018 at 7:02 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “With a view toward giving Mr. Trump a clearer idea of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s work and focus, administration aides have discussed setting up a private meeting between the two men early in the new year. The Treasury Department, headed by Steven Mnuchin, has looked into whether there was precedent for such a meeting, an administration official said. Presidents have met with Fed leaders in the past.”

Trump Claims Federal Workers Back Shutdown

December 26, 2018 at 6:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump claimed that ‘many’ federal workers want the government to stay closed: “Many of those workers have said to me, communicated, stay out until you get the funding for the wall. These federal workers want the wall.”

Playbook: “Put aside the obvious question — how are regular workers contacting the president? — it does not seem as if the president is getting itchy to end this. Remember: A vote is always at least 24 hours away, since members of Congress have to get back in town after a deal is cut. The Senate is not set to come back until tomorrow, and the House has announced no votes before tomorrow. Democrats feel as if their leverage increases with each passing day as they get closer to holding the House majority.”

Economy Set to Feel Delayed Trade War Pain

December 26, 2018 at 6:50 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“While 2018 was the year trade wars broke out, 2019 will be the year the global economy feels the pain. Bloomberg’s Global Trade Tracker is softening amid a fading rush to front-load export orders ahead of threatened tariffs. And volumes are tipped to slow further even as the U.S. and China seek to resolve their trade spat, with companies warning of ongoing disruption. Already there are casualties.”

“Recent data underscore concerns that trade will be a drag on American growth next year. U.S. consumers are feeling the least optimistic about the future economy in a year, while small business optimism about economic improvement fell to a two-year low and companies expect smaller profit gains in 2019.”

Washington Post: “A global economy that until recently was humming has broken down, a sharp contrast to the picture just a year ago when the world was experiencing its best growth since 2010 and seemed poised to do even better.”

Ivanka and Jared Vacation During Shutdown

December 26, 2018 at 6:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are vacationing in Florida during the federal government shutdown, the Daily Mail reports.

Black Voters May Be the Difference Makers

December 25, 2018 at 10:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “The first votes of the Democratic presidential primary remain more than a year away, but black voters are keenly aware of the prominent role they will play in choosing the next nominee. In 2016, Mr. Sanders’s ‘political revolution’ flamed out with black voters, and Hillary Clinton fell short of the robust black turnout she needed to defeat Donald Trump.”

“This time around, Democrats are weighing how to reach out to the black community in the primary without losing the ability to appeal to the suburban and working class whites who propelled Mr. Trump to victory. As the party searches for a candidate who can combine those messages — from a field likely to include several racial minorities — many black voters want to be engaged in a manner that reflects their electoral power, and not passed over in favor of a strategy that prioritizes Mr. Trump’s heavily white coalition.”

Trump’s Frustration with Mnuchin Rising

December 25, 2018 at 10:08 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump’s “frustration with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is ratcheting up further after markets suffered their worst Christmas Eve drop ever despite Mnuchin’s attempts to calm Wall Street,” CNN reports.

The source said that Mnuchin “could be in ‘serious jeopardy’ with Trump, who regularly rages at Cabinet members he feels have made mistakes, before he cools off.”

“Trump nevertheless vouched for Mnuchin publicly, shifting blame for the market volatility to the Federal Reserve instead.”

Trump Says Shutdown Will Continue Until He Gets Wall

December 25, 2018 at 5:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump says parts of the government will stay shut as long as Democrats refuse to build more barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, seemingly dashing hope for a Christmas miracle that would soon allow several departments to reopen and employees to return to work,” the AP reports.

Said Trump: “I can’t tell you when the government’s going to be open. I can tell you it’s not going to be open until we have a wall or fence, whatever they’d like to call it.”

He added: “I’ll call it whatever they want but it’s all the same thing.”

Trump Did Not Visit Troops at Christmastime

December 25, 2018 at 5:40 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“On Christmas Day, President Donald Trump took part in a long-running practice of presidents who called troops stationed around the country and the world,” NBC News reports.

LBut he broke from a recent tradition of actually visiting troops and wounded warriors. He did so in 2017, when he visited wounded troops at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 21 (and invited Coast Guard service members to play golf at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida).”

“By staying home on Tuesday, Trump became the first president since 2002 who didn’t visit military personnel around Christmastime.”