Mike Allen: “The biggest threat to the Trump presidency, the markets and our ability to deal with future crises is the coming staff exodus. We cannot stress enough how many essential staff and officials want out — if not this quarter, then soon after the new year.”
Trump’s Dr. Frankenstein
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Corker’s Comments Resonate with Other Republicans
“For nearly nine months, Senate Republicans have watched their new president with a mix of aggravation and alarm. But it took Sen. Bob Corker to take those concerns public and confront President Trump with his most serious challenge from within his own party,” the New York Times reports.
“In unloading on Mr. Trump, Mr. Corker, a two-term senator from Tennessee, said in public what many of his Republican colleagues say in private — that the president is dangerously erratic and unstable, that he treats his high post like a television show and that he is reckless enough to stumble the country into a nuclear war.”
For members: Trump Has Effectively Lost His Senate Majority
Trump Will Repeal Obama’s Signature Climate Policy
“The Trump administration announced that it would take formal steps to repeal President Obama’s signature policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, setting up a bitter fight over the future of America’s efforts to tackle global warming,” the New York Times reports.
“At an event in eastern Kentucky, Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said that his predecessors had departed from regulatory norms in crafting the Clean Power Plan, which was finalized in 2015 and would have pushed states to move away from coal in favor of sources of electricity that produce fewer carbon emissions.”
Said Pruitt: “The war on coal is over.”
Trump Has Effectively Lost His Senate Majority
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Most Disapprove of Trump’s Handling of NFL Protests
A new Economist/YouGov poll finds that just 30% of the public approves of President Trump’s handling of the NFL protests.
In addition, NFL fans (44% of the public) are more negative than the public at large about the President on this issue.
Feinstein Will Run Again
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced that she will run for reelection in 2018, The Hill reports.
Said Feinstein: “I am running for reelection to the Senate. Lots more to do: ending gun violence, combating climate change, access to healthcare. I’m all in!”
Quote of the Day
“I’ve come to the realization that Washington is not going to solve the debt problem, the deficit problem, through spending.”
— White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, quoted by Politico, explaining his change in position on federal budget deficits.
Trump Risks a Foreign Policy Mutiny
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Northam Maintains Solid Lead In Virginia
A new Wason Center poll in Virginia finds Ralph Northam (D) leading Ed Gillespie (R) in the race for governor by seven points, 49% to 42%.
Democrats Headed for a McGovern Redux?
Politico: “We’re a long, long way from 2020, but it’s abundantly evident that Trump will again run a Nixonian campaign, tearing down his opponent and presenting himself as the champion of an aggrieved coalition that Nixon called the ‘silent majority’ and Trump calls ‘the forgotten men and women’ of America.”
“Consumed by internecine battles and the idea of opposition, Democrats run the risk of again nominating someone like McGovern who pleases progressives but steers a course too far from the country’s center of political gravity to win, even as Trump continues his funhouse mirror impression of Nixon as the avatar of white cultural-grievance politics.”
At Least 5 Investigations Opened on Cabinet Travel
“The Trump administration, one of the wealthiest in modern U.S. history, is facing widening criticism over travel expenditures among some of the billionaires, budget hawks and business executives who head federal agencies,” the Washington Post reports.
“Inspectors general have opened at least five investigations into charter or military flights by Cabinet officials amounting to millions in federal spending. Their decisions to veer away from cheaper commercial flights have led to criticism from Democrats in Congress and government accountability groups about a culture of entitlement in Trump’s administration.”
Cohn and Mnuchin Risk Destroying Their Reputations
David Leonhardt: “Within the administration, there are real differences among how top officials have behaved and how they are perceived. Several — Tom Price, Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer and Rex Tillerson — have badly sullied their standing with virtually everyone outside the administration. After long careers, they have turned themselves into punch lines.”
“The clearest exception is Jim Mattis, the defense secretary. Mattis has done so partly by avoiding scandal and minimizing conflicts with Trump. But he has also been careful to set his own ethical boundaries. Can you recall a single time when Mattis has said something outright untrue? I can’t. That’s how he has retained his dignity in the eyes of so many people.”
“Cohn and Mnuchin have started to risk theirs. This column is a plea to them: Please stop, for everyone’s sake, including yours.”
Republicans Privately Admit Defeat on Obamacare Repeal
“For the first time, rank-and-file Republicans are acknowledging Obamacare may never be repealed,” Politico reports.
“After multiple failures to repeal the law, the White House and many GOP lawmakers are publicly promising to try again in early 2018. But privately, both House and Senate Republicans acknowledge they may never be able to deliver on their seven-year vow to scrap the law.”
“Even if Republicans try again next year, few House Republicans are confident the Senate would be successful without a change in the GOP lineup or someone flipping their vote.”
Sinatra Told Trump to ‘Go Fuck Himself’
A new book claims that Frank Sinatra told Donald Trump to “go fuck himself” after the now-President took issue with the singer’s financial demands, the Independent reports.
“Old Blue Eyes was due to perform at the opening of Mr Trump’s Atlantic City casino in 1990 when the magnate was said to have told him his costs were ‘a little rich.’ On hearing the news, Sinatra gave his manager Elliot Weisman – who has written the new book – two options, either to pass his message to Mr Trump or give him his number and he would do it himself.”
Trump Loses Support In Rural Areas
The Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll finds President Trump’s popularity is eroding in small towns and rural communities where 15 percent of the country’s population lives.
In September, 47% of people in non-metro areas approved of Trump while 47% disapproved. That is down from Trump’s first four weeks in office, when 55% said they approved of the president while 39% disapproved.
The Price Tag for Pence’s Indianapolis Stunt
CNN: “How much did Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to Indianapolis to watch — and then abruptly leave — a football game Sunday between the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers cost?”
“Here is an estimate of just the air costs (which does not include costs of advance personnel, Secret Service or support on the ground): According to the Air Force, flying a C-32, the model of plane used for Air Force 2, for one hour costs about $30,000. Pence’s flight from Las Vegas to Indianapolis Saturday took about three hours and 20 minutes, so it cost about $100,000. Pence then flew from Indianapolis to Los Angeles on Sunday, which took about four hours and 45 minutes, costing about $142,500.”
“The grand total: about $242,500.”
Google Uncovers Russian-Bought Ads
“Google for the first time has uncovered evidence that Russian operatives exploited the company’s platforms in an attempt to interfere in the 2016 election,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Silicon Valley giant has found that tens of thousands of dollars were spent on ads by Russian agents who aimed to spread disinformation across Google’s many products, which include YouTube, as well as advertising associated with Google search, Gmail, and the company’s DoubleClick ad network.”
“The discovery by Google is also significant because the ads do not appear to be from the same Kremlin-affiliated troll farm that bought ads on Facebook — a sign that the Russian effort to spread disinformation online may be a much broader problem than Silicon Valley companies have unearthed so far.”
