“I didn’t want this job. I didn’t seek this job. My wife told me I’m supposed to do this.”
— Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in an interview with IJR.
Manafort Secretly Created Plan to Benefit Putin
Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort “secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin a decade ago and proposed an ambitious political strategy to undermine anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics,” the AP reports.
“The work appears to contradict assertions by the Trump administration and Manafort himself that he never worked for Russian interests.”
“Manafort pitched the plans to Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, a close Putin ally with whom Manafort eventually signed a $10 million annual contract beginning in 2006… Manafort and Deripaska maintained a business relationship until at least 2009, according to one person familiar with the work.”
Special Election Expectations Too High for Democrats?
“Money is flooding into Democrat Jon Ossoff’s campaign. The national party has started running focus groups on his behalf. Thousands of volunteers have flocked to his team to help him win his April special election for a vacant Atlanta-area congressional seat,” Politico reports.
“The race for Georgia’s 6th District has suddenly become a focal point, viewed as a chance to send Donald Trump a message by channeling the party’s grass-roots rage, energy and frustration into a single contest. But party leaders are growing increasingly frustrated by the nationalization of this race and another in Montana — and worried about unrealistic expectations in Republican-friendly seats where the Democrats are at a decided disadvantage.”
Support for GOP Health Care Bill Fades
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds just 40% of voters approve of the GOP health care bill, a 6-point drop since last week, while 37% disapprove.
Also interesting: 43% believe Republicans should slow down on repealing the healthcare law, while 17% believe they are operating at the right speed.
Trump’s Falsehoods Are Eroding His Credibility
A Wall Street Journal editorial:
If President Trump announces that North Korea launched a missile that landed within 100 miles of Hawaii, would most Americans believe him? Would the rest of the world? We’re not sure, which speaks to the damage that Mr. Trump is doing to his Presidency with his seemingly endless stream of exaggerations, evidence-free accusations, implausible denials and other falsehoods.
The latest example is Mr. Trump’s refusal to back off his Saturday morning tweet of three weeks ago that he had “found out that [Barack] Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory” on Election Day. He has offered no evidence for his claim, and a parade of intelligence officials, senior Republicans and Democrats have since said they have seen no such evidence.
Yet the President clings to his assertion like a drunk to an empty gin bottle, rolling out his press spokesman to make more dubious claims…
Two months into his Presidency, Gallup has Mr. Trump’s approval rating at 39%. No doubt Mr. Trump considers that fake news, but if he doesn’t show more respect for the truth most Americans may conclude he’s a fake President.
Colorado GOP Chair Charged with Voter Fraud
Former Colorado Republican Party chairman Steven Curtis “is charged with forgery and voter fraud for allegedly forging his wife’s mail-in ballot from last year’s election,” ABC Denver reports.
Curtis claimed in a pre-election interview that “virtually every case of voter fraud I can remember in my lifetime was committed by Democrats.”
However, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office says “this is the only voter fraud case that has ended in charges stemming from last year’s election.”
Why Can’t Trump Just Let It Go?
New York Times: “First, aides say that Mr. Trump, who often says, ‘I’m, like, a really smart person’ in public, is driven by a need to prove his legitimacy as president to the many critics who deem him an unworthy victor forever undercut by Hillary Clinton’s three-million-vote win in the popular vote.”
“Second, fighting back — in this case, against Mr. Obama, the F.B.I. director and members of his own party who say his claim about phone taps is false — is an important part of the president’s self-image. The two most influential role models in Mr. Trump’s youth were men who preached the twin philosophies of relentless self-promotion and the waging of total war against anyone perceived as a threat.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“There’s just never been any question in my mind about that. I’ve been inside a cover-up. I know how they look and feel. And every signal they’re sending is: ‘We’re covering this thing up.'”
— Ex-Nixon White House counsel John Dean, quoted by The Hill, on the Trump administration’s reaction to ongoing investigations of Russian ties and Trump’s wiretapping accusations.
GOP Leaders May Cave Again to Conservatives
Huffington Post: “Faced with the increasingly clear reality that House conservatives will vote down the Republican health care bill, GOP leaders may be moving toward reopening negotiations on their Affordable Care Act rewrite.”
“Or Republicans may be moving closer to an embarrassing floor defeat.”
Republicans can afford only 21 defections in the House and according to The Hill, 19 Republicans are firmly opposed to the bill.
Trump Won’t Forget If You Vote Against Him
Politico: “For a president with a penchant for vengeance – who named ‘an eye for an eye’ as his favorite biblical passage, who banned media outlets from campaign events when he didn’t approve of their coverage, who ousted a GOP state chairman after the election whom he viewed as disloyal, who reminded a GOP governor just last week who didn’t endorse him that ‘I never forget’ – the roll call vote on the Republican health care plan, expected Thursday, will be the first accounting of who’s with him and who’s against him on Capitol Hill.”
“Those close to Trump describe his largely binary world view: you’re either on Team Trump or against Team Trump. ‘Get even with people,’ Trump outlined his philosophy in a 2011 speech. ‘If they screw you, screw them back 10 times as hard. I really believe it.'”
Trump Business Partners Look to Cash In
Forbes: “Never has an American president taken office with such immense and complicated assets. Nor has one brought along a busload of rich partners who, by dint of previous deals and brand association, stand to reap profits in real time, as the president serves.”
“To better understand this global network, Forbes looked into each of these 36 partners, traveling to five countries to interview more than a dozen of them… But perhaps the most interesting tidbit comes in the aggregate. Trump’s network extends to at least 19 countries. And these guys (yes, they’re all men) share a set of consistent traits, even as property developers go. This group is uniformly rich–seven are members of the Forbes Billionaires list; many more claim centimillionaire status. They reflect their partner–a mélange of bombastic marketing, over-the-top style and political connections.”
“And all of them are trying to figure out, to various degrees, how to cash in on the 45th president.”
Most Can’t Name a Supreme Court Justice
A new new C-SPAN/PSB poll finds that while 90% of Americans believe that the Supreme Court has a big impact on their daily lives, just 43% could name at least a single justice.
No one surveyed could name Justice Stephen Breyer.
Let the Arm Twisting Begin
Assuming all Democrats vote against the Obamacare repeal-and-replace plan, House Republican leaders can afford no more than 21 defections from their own ranks to pass the bill.
NBC News reports there are 26 GOP lawmakers who are either opposed or “leaning strongly” against the bill.
CNN reports that House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows (R-NC) says there are “still more than 21 no votes in the group.”
For members: Why the GOP Health Care Bill Will Likely Pass the House
Trump Officials Still Talking on Background
Associated Press: “Trump administration officials briefed reporters on condition they not be identified publicly. That was despite President Donald Trump’s repeated insistence that anonymous sources should not be trusted.”
Trump Claimed to Have Met Putin 9 Times
CNN: “Since 2013 — when Trump’s Miss Universe pageant was held in Moscow — Trump has at least nine times claimed to have spoken to, met, or made contact with Putin. But as the 2016 campaign wore on and his statements on Putin began to attract more scrutiny, Trump changed course, denying having ever met the Russian president.”
Fake Fake News
“I am not trying to get ‘top level security clearance’ for my children. This was a typically false news story.”
— President-elect Donald Trump, quoted by Politico, on November 16, 2016.
“Ivanka Trump to get top security clearance and office, White House official says”
— CNN headline, March 21, 2017.
McConnell Warns Republicans on Health Bill
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warned fellow Republicans of political consequences if they oppose health care legislation coming up for a vote in the House this week, the AP reports.
Said McConnell: “I would hate to be a Republican whose vote prevented us from keeping the commitment we’ve made to the American people for almost 10 years now.”
He added: “I think the American people would be deeply disappointed that we were prevented from keeping our commitment by Republicans who in the end, in effect, voted for the status quo.”
Fewer Would Be Insured With GOP Plan Than With Repeal
“The CBO recently said that around 24 million fewer Americans would have health insurance in 2026 under the Republican repeal plan than if the current law stayed in place,” the New York Times reports.
“That loss was bigger than most experts anticipated… But one piece of context has gone little noticed: The Republican bill would actually result in more people being uninsured than if Obamacare were simply repealed. Getting rid of the major coverage provisions and regulations of Obamacare would cost 23 million Americans their health insurance, according to another recent C.B.O. report. In other words, 1 million more Americans would have health insurance with a clean repeal than with the Republican replacement plan, according to C.B.O. estimates.”
