memeorandum: RE: New Poll & Messaging Guidance: Russia, Immigration and Trade War Sticking to Trump (Matt Lopez/Priorities USA)

1:40 PM ET, August 5, 2018

Top Items:

If Mueller subpoenas Trump to testify, legal fight would go to Supreme Court: Trump lawyer — A member of President Trump's legal team said that if special counsel Robert Mueller were to subpoena Trump to testify in the Russia investigation, it would spark a legal battle that would go to the Supreme Court

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, Axios, Political Wire, CNN, Law & Crime, Jamie Dupree - AJC, Mediaite, JONATHAN TURLEY and Daily Kos

CNN:

Trump voicing concerns about son being entangled in Mueller probe — (CNN)President Donald Trump is concerned about whether his son Donald Trump Jr. might have exposure in the special counsel's Russia investigation, leading to his increasingly frenzied public agitation over Robert Mueller, sources close to the White House tell CNN.

Discussion: Politico, HuffPost, The Guardian, POLITICUSUSA, Shareblue Media, The Week, Hill Reporter and Political Wire

emptywheel:
Trump Tweets a Confession, Then Sekulow Admits His Client Has Been Lying about His Involvement

Discussion: New Republic, HuffPost, Politico, Shareblue Media, Political Wire and Balloon Juice

CNN:

Venezuelan President survives apparent drone assassination attempt — (CNN)Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro survived an apparent assassination attempt Saturday after several drones armed with explosives flew toward him during a speech at a military parade.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Home Page Rotator, Conservative News Today, The Week, TheBlaze, WTOP and Political Wire

Alex Green / Daily Mail:
Venezuelan president survives a drone assassination attempt then claims ex-pats exiled …

Discussion: Associated Press, ABC, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:
Venezuelan President Targeted by Drone Attack, Officials Say

Discussion: Hot Air, The Verge, Washington Free Beacon, Outside the Beltway, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, NPR and Mediaite

BBC:
Venezuela President Maduro ‘survives drone attack’

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Engadget and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »

Jack Torry / The Columbus Dispatch:

Kasich claims Balderson did not invite Trump to central Ohio — WASHINGTON — Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Republican congressional candidate Troy Balderson told him he did not invite President Donald Trump to campaign for him at a rousing rally Delaware County Saturday on the eve of Tuesday's special election.

Mike Allen / Axios:

“Red wave”: Inside Trump's frenetic rally schedule — Republican officials have started calling the midterms the “Barbell Election.” — The big picture: A House Republican aide explains that Trump's approval ratings are like barbells: bulging favorables and unfavorables on each end …

Discussion: Associated Press, Reuters and Washington Monthly

Martin Chulov / The Guardian:

Hamza bin Laden has married daughter of lead 9/11 hijacker, say family — Exclusive: union confirmed by Osama bin Laden's family during interview with the Guardian — Hamza bin Laden, the son of the late al-Qaida leader, has married the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker in the 9/11 terror attacks, according to his family.

New York Times:

White Nationalists Love Corey Stewart. He Keeps Them Close. — The Republican nominee for Senate in Virginia likes to engage the racial fringes of his party, creating a dilemma for mainstream G.O.P. leaders wary of his views. — WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Corey Stewart stands at the end …

Discussion: Politico

Washington Post:

Metro no longer considering separate trains for white nationalists attending ‘Unite the Right’ rally — Metro is no longer considering running separate trains for protesters participating in the Aug. 12 “Unite the Right” white nationalists rally in the District, the transit agency's board chairman said Saturday.

Discussion: Fortune, NBC4 Washington, Outside the Beltway and WTOP

Erin Corbett / Fortune:
Transit Union Refuses to Bring White Nationalists to ‘Unite the Right’ Rally

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Law & Crime, Outside the Beltway and Washington Post

Emily Zogbi / Newsweek:

Russia Appointed Steven Seagal to Improve Relations with America — Russia's Foreign Ministry has made U.S. actor Steven Seagal its special representative for Russian-U.S. humanitarian ties. The role is meant to deepen cultural, art, and youth ties between the two countries.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNN, CBS Philly and Daily Wire

Maria Kiselyova / Reuters: Russia tasks Hollywood actor Seagal with improving U.S. ties

Martin Matishak / Politico:

Rubio signals changes to election meddling bill — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Sunday signaled he is willing to alter bipartisan legislation that would automatically sanction Russia, or any other country, for any future election meddling in order to get is passed.

Discussion: Breitbart

Jazz Shaw / Hot Air:

Get Ready For Elementary School Drag Queen Reading Hour! (Video) — Rob Shimshock at the Daily Caller has an indoctrination alert for all of you parents of K-12 students, particularly those with kids in elementary school. There's a (relatively) new reading program being deployed around the country over the past couple of years.

Steven Hayward / Power Line:

No Straw Man Here: The Mask Slips in Santa Barbara — A little noticed detail in Santa Barbara's recent drive to criminalize plastic straws, which culminated in the Santa Barbara city council taking testimony from a nine-year-old about the planetary menace, has come to light in recent days.

Washington Post:

Melania Trump issues statement in support of LeBron James after president insults him — First lady Melania Trump issued a statement Saturday in support of LeBron James, after President Trump posted a late-night tweet attacking the basketball star. — The president took to his favorite medium …

Discussion: Roll Call, Breitbart, HuffPost and Political Wire

The Hill:
Melania backs LeBron after Trump insult: He's ‘working to do good things’

Discussion: Associated Press, DownWithTyranny!, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller and The Week

Washington Post:
Trump criticizes Democrats, ‘Russian witch hunt,’ and coastal elites at Ohio rally

Discussion: The Mahablog, Politico and The Week

Elaine Godfrey / The Atlantic:

The Progressives' Plan to Win in 2018 — NEW ORLEANS - The first Netroots Nation conference in a Trump-era election year opened with not one, not two, but five keynote speakers of color, all of whom underlined the potential of a “multiracial coalition” of voters made up of African Americans …

Jennifer Senior / New York Times:

The High School We Can't Log Off From — Twitter rewards us for our mistakes. It isn't designed to let us grow up. — Ms. Senior will be joining Opinion as an audio columnist in September. — It appears we're in the midst of yet another Twitter backlash.

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:

Judge's ruling invalidates FEC regulation allowing anonymous donations to ‘dark money’ groups — A U.S. District Court judge on Friday issued a ruling invalidating a Federal Election Commission regulation that has allowed donors to so-called dark-money groups to remain anonymous …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Axios

Jordan Libowitz / CREW:
CREW Scores Major Court Victory Against Dark Money

Discussion: Common Dreams

New York Times:

The Age That Women Have Babies: How a Gap Divides America — Becoming a mother used to be seen as a unifying milestone for women in the United States. But a new analysis of four decades of births shows that the age that women become mothers varies significantly by geography and education.