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Disney’s Bob Iger Mulling Run for President

March 1, 2017 at 11:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Disney CEO Bob Iger already runs the world’s most successful media company. But could his impeccable mogul credentials carry him to the Oval Office?,” the Hollywood Reporter asks.

“Sources say Iger has told friends he is considering their nudges that he make a run for president in 2020 as a Democrat. There’s a hitch. Any political future would hinge on Iger, 66, finding a Disney successor, of course… Sources add that he has since consulted with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg about making the leap from the board room to high office.”

An Amazing Moment of Political Theater

March 1, 2017 at 11:12 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Like many Americans, I was genuinely moved when President Trump pointed to Carryn Owens in the House balcony last night to honor her husband, Navy SEAL Ryan Owens, who was killed in Yemen several weeks ago. She received a 2-minute uninterrupted standing ovation. It was truly heartbreaking to see her tears.

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A Rudderless State Department

March 1, 2017 at 11:11 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Julia Ioffe: “In the last week, I’ve spoken with a dozen current and recently departed State Department employees, all of whom asked for anonymity either because they were not authorized to speak to the press and feared retribution by an administration on the prowl for leakers, or did not want to burn their former colleagues. None of these sources were political appointees. Rather, they were career foreign service officers or career civil servants, most of whom have served both Republican and Democratic administrations—and many of whom do not know each other. They painted a picture of a State Department adrift and listless.”

“With the State Department demonstratively shut out of meetings with foreign leaders, key State posts left unfilled, and the White House not soliciting many department staffers for their policy advice, there is little left to do… The seeming hostility from the White House, the decades of American foreign-policy tradition being turned on its head, and the days of listlessness are taking a toll on people who are used to channeling their ambition and idealism into the detail-oriented, highly regimented busywork that greases the infinite wheels of a massive bureaucracy.”


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Twitter Trump vs. TelePrompter Trump

March 1, 2017 at 10:26 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

James Hohmann: “The president has proven adept at reading from a script when the moment calls for some self-discipline. It is a very low bar but one that he’s learned to clear. In his maiden speech to a joint session of Congress, Teleprompter Trump delivered. Republicans who have been backing him up on the Hill breathed a sigh of relief.”

“Trump concerns himself primarily with the performance aspects of politics, which is why he can rise to the occasion during events like the one last night. The open question of his presidency is who will control the substance. And last night’s speech offered some important clues.”

“The preparation of any State of the Union style-address always involves a lot of cooks in the kitchen, no matter who the president is. Everyone in the White House and every cabinet secretary wants shot-outs for their priorities and pet projects, which is why these speeches often grow so long and usually turn into unmemorable exercises in box-checking. If you listened carefully as Trump spoke, you could hear the voices of a few of his top aides, but none more so than chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, as channeled by Stephen Miller, and Ivanka Trump.”

Trump’s Speech Filled with Inaccuracies

March 1, 2017 at 9:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “An address to Congress is such an important speech that presidents generally are careful not to stretch the truth. The ‘16 words‘ in George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address that falsely claimed Iraq’s Saddam Hussein sought uranium from Africa led to significant turmoil in the administration, including the criminal conviction of a top aide.”

“President Trump’s maiden address to Congress was notable because it was filled with numerous inaccuracies. In fact, many of the president’s false claims are old favorites that he trots out on a regular, almost daily basis.”

Politifact: “Beyond his soaring rhetoric were some exaggerations or misleading statements about the health of the Affordable Care Act, the cost of illegal immigration and the state of the economy. He also got a number of statistical claims correct, though he sometimes seemed to claim more credit than may be justified.”

A Quietly Radical Speech

March 1, 2017 at 9:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Ben Casselman: “Reviews of President Trump’s first address to Congress on Tuesday night seem to be converging around a single theme: It was Trump at his most subdued… And they’re right. In tone and style, Trump’s speech was relatively normal, at least judging it against his earlier efforts. He opened his address by condemning recent threats against Jewish community centers and the shooting last week of two Indian immigrants in Kansas City, something he had been criticized for not doing earlier. He called for unity and cross-party cooperation, and stayed away from attacks on the press or his political opponents. Apart from a few banal ad-libs, he largely stuck to his script.”

“But beneath the gentler tone, Trump’s speech — a State of the Union address in all but name — was quietly radical. He called for a complete overhaul of U.S. policy on taxes, trade, immigration and health care. He proposed spending billions more on defense and as much as $1 trillion on infrastructure. And he promised a new version of his controversial — and currently stalled — travel ban on visitors from seven majority Muslim countries.”

The Cost of Unity

March 1, 2017 at 8:29 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rick Klein and Shushannah Walshe: “It’s Republican unity, but it comes with a price. The laundry list has expensive items: paid family leave, health care tax credits, a sweeping tax cut, a big boost in military spending, and the trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. When Republican members of Congress were done applauding, those price tags started to make themselves known.”

“The ultimate cost may be the very unity the president was trying to purchase. Trump is still facing down a party with deep divisions on how to handle ‘repeal and replace’ Obamacare – something that was supposed to be the easy part of the Republican agenda. Trump has redefined what it means to be conservative, but only to an extent. Last night may be remembered as a high point for party unity, when it needs to be a starting point.”

Oprah for President?

March 1, 2017 at 8:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Oprah Winfrey told Bloomberg she’s rethinking if she could ever be president.

Said Winfrey: “I actually never considered the question, even the possibility. Now, I’m thinking, Oh!”

Trump Delays New Travel Ban Again

March 1, 2017 at 8:10 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “won’t sign a revised travel ban on Wednesday as had been anticipated,” Politico reports.

“One of the officials indicated that the delay was due to the busy news cycle, and that when Trump does sign the revised order, he wanted it to get plenty of attention.”

It’s Now Trump’s Party

March 1, 2017 at 7:25 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Susan Page: “President Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night underscored how he has redefined the Republicans’ political base and their policy message on issues from trade to immigration to deficits to international alliances. While he struck a sunnier tone than he did in his inaugural address six weeks ago, when he had talked darkly of ‘American carnage,’ he once again warned that the nation was threatened with decline at home and threats from abroad.”

“The hourlong speech was in many ways a conventional presidential address, with a laundry list of proposals, allusions to American history and tributes to American heroes. That’s notable in part because so much about Trump’s presidency has been unconventional — and because many of his populist, nationalist prescriptions that defy Republican orthodoxy are becoming part of the GOP mainstream.”

Make or Break Moment on Obamacare Repeal

March 1, 2017 at 7:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “After promising for years to upend the Democratic health care law the first chance they got — and with plans to hold a vote to repeal by early April — the party remains far from consensus. So far, in fact, that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called a special all-members caucus meeting Wednesday to try and get his rowdy caucus in line.”

“Two key House committee chairmen running point on the House’s Obamacare efforts will be on hand to explain why Republicans should support their proposal to roll back Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and replace insurance subsidies with tax credits, among other provisions. But a leaked blueprint of their plan is already taking heat from the GOP’s right flank, jeopardizing the repeal bid.”

David Nather: “President Trump laid out a pretty general blueprint for Obamacare replacement last night — mostly tracking with the draft House Republican plan, but with a few new twists, like lower drug costs and a hint of tort reform. But his real message to Congress was: Don’t screw this up.”

Majority Had Positive Reaction to Trump’s Speech

March 1, 2017 at 7:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A CNN instant poll last night found that 57% of those who watched President Trump’s address to Congress had a “very positive” reaction to Trump’s speech.

In contrast, 68% gave former President Obama a “very positive” reaction to his first joint session, compared to 66% for former president George W. Bush.

CBS News: “Overall, most watchers approved of the speech. Republicans did tune in to watch it in much greater numbers than Democrats (as a president’s party typically does) which bolstered those approval numbers. Forty percent of Democrats at least somewhat approved; 18 percent strongly approved.”

What Trump Still Hasn’t Learned

March 1, 2017 at 7:02 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “In terms of navigating Washington, the speech showed Trump has a lot to learn. He said he wants to work with Democrats and called on Washington to ditch ‘trivial fights,’ but, in the last 40 days, he has called Chuck Schumer a phony and, just this week, he said Nancy Pelosi is incompetent. He called for immigration reform, but is intent on building a ‘great wall’ along the U.S.-Mexico border — a major problem for Democrats. He implored Democrats to work with him on a health-care overhaul, but spent a good chunk of time calling the Affordable Care Act — which they spent lots of political capital on — a failure. He also appeared to motion at Pelosi when railing against the law.”

“Newsflash: Mr. President, you’re going to need Nancy Pelosi more than you realize (see: debt ceiling, government funding, infrastructure). Get to know her. We’re not passing judgement on what Trump said. Merely discussing the political realities about what it means for governing. It was a mixed message, to put it mildly.”

Reaction to President Trump’s Address to Congress

February 28, 2017 at 10:13 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump took a different approach with tonight’s speech than he did at his inaugural. But it was still a speech that stressed the “lawless chaos” that has crippled our country and can only be cured with his own hard-line policies.

Once again, Trump painted a picture of a country where factories are closing, undocumented immigrants are pouring across the border while taking away jobs of hardworking Americans and citizens are no longer safe due to rising crime rates and terrorism.

In his prepared remarks, Trump mentioned jobs 14 times, immigration 9 times and safety 8 times.

The overall theme was big solutions to big problems. The problem is that most of the problems Trump described aren’t real. By any measure, the economy has been growing for years, net illegal immigration is low, violent crime is down significantly and terrorism kills almost no one.

That said — and the bar is set quite low for this observation — Trump was relatively calm and “presidential.” The speech was well written and delivered reasonably well too.

For the first time since he was elected, Trump actually reached out to some citizens who are still afraid of him. From his denouncement of hate crimes at the beginning to his promise of a smooth transition for those currently enrolled in healthcare exchanges, Trump took a much softer approach than he has since taking office.

Trump also took the “heroes in the balcony” to a new level with the widow of slain Navy SEAL Ryan Owens. Even though Trump insists on re-litgating the facts behind the failed Yemen raid which caused Ryan’s death, it was a very powerful moment to see his widow with tears streaming down her face and clearly appreciative that her husband’s service was recognized by the commander in chief and the nation.

That moment sums up Trump’s speech. He uses “alternative facts” to create a reality he wants to exist. It creates a very jarring experience for anyone watching.

President Trump Speaks to Congress

February 28, 2017 at 8:45 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump will address a joint session of Congress at 9 p.m. ET.

Leave your reactions in the comments.

Trump Goes Off the Record After Complaining About It

February 28, 2017 at 7:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Donald Trump on Friday railed against the media’s use of anonymous sources in stories. Four days later, he was one,” BuzzFeed reports.

“In a private meeting with national news anchors ahead of his address to Congress Tuesday night, Trump went on background with reporters as a ‘senior administration official’ to discuss issues like immigration, telling attendees that it was time for a legislative compromise from both parties.”

Don’t Be Fooled By Trump’s Immigration Deal

February 28, 2017 at 7:35 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Reports that President Trump is suddenly open to a path to citizenship for some undocumented workers are stunning considering his campaign rhetoric and his actions over the first six weeks of his presidency.

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Trump Dines Out

February 28, 2017 at 6:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Benny Johnson: “The president was heading to his new flagship property in D.C., the Trump Hotel, for a private dinner at the BLT Steakhouse inside. Once the president arrived at the location, the reporter who was on assignment to cover him, Jordan Fabian of The Hill, was not let into the building and had to wait in the van outside for the remainder of the dinner, without a guest list or details of what was happening inside.”

“Inside the restaurant, I was seated at a table which I had booked hours earlier, directly next to where Trump would be dining. I made the booking based on a tip from a trusted source. I was ready to tell the story no one else would get to see and was personally fascinated to observe how a restaurant prepares for a president — and how Trump interacts when he believes no press are present.”

“The night was a wild one. Here is what happens when President Trump goes to dinner.”

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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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