The New York Times reports that some White House aides “have sought to stoke the president’s fears about leaks, trying to identify people who could be disloyal: At least one senior aide is dropping inaccurate stories into the West Wing rumor mill to identify people who speak to reporters.”
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An ‘October Surprise’ That Won’t Be a Surprise
NBC News: “An array of state and national progressive groups are already laying the groundwork to attack Republicans for the expected premium increases. Democratic candidates are running ads on health care more than any other issue. And Senate Democrats recently announced plans to devote the month of August to a messaging campaign on health care costs.”
“In focus groups and polls, Democrats are honing a message that they say will link health care problems to voter skepticism of private insurers, the Republican tax bill and donor influence on policies.”
The ‘Winging It’ Presidency
James Hohmann: “Winging it has worked for Trump before. When it hasn’t, he’s been able to bluster his way through whatever problems it creates. He’s president, after all, and you’re not. So, as far as he’s concerned, he must be doing something right. Not to mention, the past three presidents tried and failed with more traditional approaches to curtail Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.”
“He didn’t really prepare for the presidential debates. Hillary Clinton won on points, but Trump got elected.”
“When filling his Cabinet, the president-elect went with gut instincts — not traditional vetting. One important criteria was whether a potential nominee ‘looked the part.'”
“The main reason the president’s lawyers don’t want him to sit down with special counsel Robert Mueller III’s team of prosecutors is that they don’t think they can get him to prepare sufficiently. That’s why they’ve publicly fretted that winging it will cause Trump to perjure himself.”
Trump Gave North Korea the Upper Hand
Foreign-policy expert Richard Haass points out that Kim Jong Un has all of the leverage heading into his summit with Donald Trump, because the U.S. president can’t afford to be seen as wrecking two foreign policy summits in a row.
Said Haass: “The unraveling of G-7 summit works in North Korea’s favor as Donald Trump will not want to bust up two summits in a row lest people conclude he is the problem. Increases incentive for Kim to up his asks and limit his compromises and for Trump to do the opposite. Hardly the ideal context.”
Most Democrats Approve of Hogan In Maryland
A new Baltimore Sun poll in Maryland finds that 60% of Democrats who say they’re likely to vote in their party‘s primary this month approve of the job Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is doing.
Worse for Democrats, nearly a fourth of likely voters in the Democratic primary plan to vote for Hogan in the November general election.
“In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1 in voter registration — and where Republican President Trump is deeply unpopular — Hogan has managed to persuade many in the state’s majority to consider crossing party lines for him.”
The Art of the Foreign Policy Deal
Ahead of the Trump-Kim meeting, the Wall Street Journal examined key foreign-policy moments, many previously undisclosed, from President Trump’s 16 months in office.
An example: In January, Mr. Trump sat in the Oval Office with foreign-policy aides, telling them he wouldn’t sign another extension of the Iran deal. An hour-long back-and-forth erupted. “Ah, fuck it,” Mr. Trump finally said. “I’ll give you one more extension.”
Democrats Test Liberal Messages for Midterm Elections
Associated Press: “It’s not one size fits all, with every candidate checking every box wanted by the activists driving the opposition to President Donald Trump and the GOP Congress, and Democratic voters typically aren’t tapping the most liberal choices in targeted districts. But, taken together, the crop of nominees is trending more liberal than many of the ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats swept away in Republicans’ 2010 midterm romp.”
“That means voters now represented by a Republican will be asked to consider some or all of the mainstream Democratic priorities that may have been considered ‘too liberal’ in the past: more government involvement in health insurance, tighter gun laws, a path to citizenship for people in the country illegally, reversing parts of the GOP tax law, support for LGBTQ rights.”
A Very Tight Florida Senate Race
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.”
