A new report finds that 64 trade groups, foreign governments, Republican candidates and others stayed at or held events at properties linked to President Trump during Trump’s first year in office, CNBC reports.
“The arrangements represented ‘unprecedented conflicts of interest’ because Trump oversees the federal government and has not divested from properties he owns or that carry his name.”
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds 35% would give President Trump an “F” for his job performance — slightly more than the 34% of voters who would give Trump an “A” or “B” grade for his first year. The remaining voters give him a “C” (14%) or a barely-passing “D” (11%), and 5% have no opinion.
Politico: “Handicapping potential 2020 challengers — however premature the exercise is — has become a favorite pastime for the competitive president, who still regularly rehashes his shock win in the 2016 race.”
Said one Republican: “He’s always asking people, ‘Who do you think is going to run against me?”
“Despite a bumpy first year and historically low approval ratings, this Trump ally said: ‘I don’t think he sees anyone, right now, being a serious competitor.’ … Former Vice President Joe Biden, however, is seen as someone who could cut into Trump’s base.”
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
A senior GOP source familiar with the matter told CNN that instead of hearing President Trump refer to “shithole” countries in their immigration meeting, some Republicans heard the president say “shithouse” countries instead.
“U.S. counterintelligence officials in early 2017 warned Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, that Wendi Deng Murdoch, a prominent Chinese-American businesswoman, could be using her close friendship with Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to further the interests of the Chinese government,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
During a church service attended by Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, a pastor denounced the “shithole country” remarks made by President Trump, WUSA-TV reports.
Pastor Maurice Watson called the president’s comments “hurtful” and “dehumanizing” and called for the president to be held accountable for his words.
Pence reportedly became “visibly red-faced” at times throughout the speech.
Washington Examiner: “In just three days, the short video of reporters yelling questions to President Trump about whether he is a racist has become C-SPAN’s most-watched clip on YouTube involving the Trump White House.”
Washington Post: “From talks about the midterm elections at Camp David to a strategic interjection at a bipartisan immigration meeting, McCarthy, 52, has sought to position himself as Trump’s indispensable man in Congress, an easygoing Republican who gets him — and likes him.”
“Trump has showcased the relationship and appears to enjoy the fidelity of a high-ranking GOP leader. Before having dinner together Sunday… Trump took questions from reporters under the club portico’s ornate arches, with McCarthy standing beside him. McCarthy — who was in the Oval Office Thursday when Trump used a vulgarity to disparage immigrants — stood stone-faced and quiet as the president declared that he is ‘not a racist’ and asserted that those comments weren’t made.”
“McCarthy is aggressive but hardly alone in his embrace. Many Republicans once thought of Trump as a crude intruder but have since developed relationships with the president to try to guide and influence him.”
Sen. Linsdey Graham (R-SC) declined to directly confirm President Trump’s “shithole countries” comment last week but told the Charleston Post and Courier, “My memory hasn’t evolved. I know what was said and I know what I said.”
Graham privately told Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) that Trump made the comments.
Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade came down on President Trump for his reported “shithole” comments in an Oval Office meeting on immigration, according to Axios.
Said Kilmeade: “Bottom line is, unfortunate comments were exchanged.”
David Leonhardt and Ian Prasad Philbrick: “The media often falls back on euphemisms when describing Trump’s comments about race: racially loaded, racially charged, racially tinged, racially sensitive. And Trump himself has claimed that he is “the least racist person.” But here’s the truth: Donald Trump is a racist. He talks about and treats people differently based on their race. He has done so for years, and he is still doing so.”
“Here, we have attempted to compile a definitive list of his racist comments – or at least the publicly known ones.”
Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the Lincoln Journal Star that President Trump “an embarrassment” and said he “is doing great damage to our country internationally.”
Jonathan Swan: “Last year, the head of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Andrew Bremberg, told senior administration officials and Hill staff about an idea he had to tie the hands of future Democratic presidents. The idea would be for Trump to introduce a series of hardcore left-wing regulations — e.g. on climate change, the environment, labor and health care. Then, the Republican-controlled Congress would disapprove of these regulations using a law called the Congressional Review Act. That would bar future administrations introducing ‘substantially similar’ regulations.”
“Trump administration officials are no longer seriously entertaining this idea, largely because Bremberg and others have recognized that it’s politically infeasible. Republicans only have a one-vote margin in the Senate, and there’s no way Mitch McConnell would waste precious floor time on such a moonshot.”
David Frum: “The Trump presidency has been a disorienting moment in American political life. Imagine a time traveler starting in the year 1990. He steps forward 25 years to 2015. Who are the leading candidates for president? Bush and Clinton — again! What are the top issues? Iraq and healthcare — again! Now step backwards 25 years from 1965. The most powerful men in Washington are the head of the AFL-CIO, a federation of 55 unions across the US, and J. Edgar Hoover. There’s a draft and a telephone monopoly and urban riots and liberal Republicans. It’s a different world.”
“I sometimes feel that what Trump has done is restore motion to a political system that froze in place when the baby-boomers reached middle age. What’s coming next? Something radically different. The baby-boomers will keep ageing, and their dependence on government will grow. Trump discovered and confirmed that ethnocultural resentment mobilizes conservative voters better than economic issues ever did.”
“The Republicans seem to be heading for heavy losses in this year’s elections — making Trump even more important as a single remaining focal point for party identity and party loyalty. Voters who cannot stomach Trump, especially college-educated women, are quitting the GOP. What will be left is a party that no longer commands a national voting majority. Only one Republican has done that since 1988 — George W. Bush in 2004 — and then only barely. But what Republicans are also discovering is that with sufficiently ruthless methods, a national voting majority may not be needed to wield national power. That’s part of the meaning of Trumpocracy, and it’s more disturbing than Trump’s fast-food diet.”
“No, no, I’m not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you.”
— President Trump, quoted by Politico.
President Trump denies calling Haiti and African nations “shithole countries” in an Oval Office meeting with lawmakers but conservative radio host Erick Erickson reports Trump himself called friends to brag about it afterwards.
Said Erickson: “I spoke to one of those friends. The President thought it would play well with the base.”
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) “is planning to slam President Trump’s attacks on the press on the Senate floor this week in a speech that will compare the president’s use of the term ‘enemy of the people’ to describe the media to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin,” NBC News reports.
From excerpts: “When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn’t suit him ‘fake news,’ it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press.”
A new Minnesota Poll finds voters are sharply divided on President Trump’s job performance, 45% to 47%, even as a majority believe he lacks the right temperament for the office and is not always truthful.
“Just 36% said he has the right temperament for the presidency while 58% said he does not, slightly higher than what the Minnesota poll found last April. Meanwhile, 53% of voters said they don’t think Trump generally speaks the truth.”
Taegan 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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.