memeorandum: Trump has drawn much of the media into a distortion of their traditional roles (Ted Koppel/Washington Post)

5:55 PM ET, September 4, 2018

Top Items:

Bob Woodward's new book reveals a ‘nervous breakdown’ of Trump's presidency — John Dowd was convinced that President Trump would commit perjury if he talked to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. So, on Jan. 27, the president's then-personal attorney staged a practice session to try to make his point.

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Transcript: Phone call between President Trump and journalist Bob Woodward — Bob Woodward, an associate editor at The Washington Post, sought an interview with President Trump as he was writing “Fear,” a book about Trump's presidency. Trump called Woodward in early August …

Discussion: CNN, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Townhall, The Root, Breitbart, The Week, Raw Story, Mediaite, Political Wire and The Daily Caller

Saagar Enjeti / The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Says Bob Woodward Has ‘A Lot Of Credibility Problems’ — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump addressed newly released excerpts from Bob Woodward's book on his administration, denying some specific allegations and accusing the author of credibility issues, in an exclusive Oval Office interview with The Daily Caller.

Discussion: Politico, BuzzFeed News, The Atlantic, CNBC, Raw Story, Mediaite and Mother Jones

CNN:

Bob Woodward: Trump's aides stole his papers ‘to protect the country’ — (CNN)WARNING: This story contains graphic language. — President Donald Trump's closest aides have taken extraordinary measures in the White House to try to stop what they saw as his most dangerous impulses …

Discussion: CNNMoney, Washington Post, Vox, The Daily Beast, Axios, IJR, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, NPR, twitchy.com, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Rudy Giuliani to Trump advisors ripping the president in Bob Woodward's new book: Find another job — “If they said it, they should be questioning why they are there. Why don't they go get another job? That's the kind of disloyalty that leads to you leaving, not staying and undermining the president …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, CNN, Hullabaloo, Washington Post, Raw Story and Axios

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Report: Everybody in the White House Considers Trump an Idiot — It is relatively easy to get White House staffers to leak mind-blowing anecdotes about President Trump's various derangements, and for that very reason, it is hard to find new anecdotes that register on the crazy-Trump scale.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, CNBC and Raw Story

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Trump irritated he wasn't interviewed by Woodward for upcoming book

Discussion: Raw Story

Kate Riga / Talking Points Memo:
The Most Shocking Excerpts From Woodward's White House Memoir

Discussion: CNN and Washington Post

CNBC:
‘Nasty stuff’: Trump blasts ‘bad book’ on dysfunctional White House by famed reporter Bob Woodward

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Wire, CNN and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Exclusive: Phone call between President Trump and Bob Woodward

Discussion: Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Arizona Republic:

Ducey: ‘No one in Arizona more prepared’ than Kyl — “There is no one in Arizona more prepared to represent our state in the U.S. Senate than Jon Kyl,” Ducey said in a statement. “He understands how the Senate functions and will make an immediate and positive impact benefiting all Arizonans.

Discussion: Power Line, New Republic, Media Matters for America, JNS.org, CNN, RedState, Townhall, Outside the Beltway, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Sludge, Splinter, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, Washington Free Beacon, The Root, Axios, Political Wire and Daily Wire

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Jon Kyl, Former Senator, Is Said to Be Choice to Replace McCain — WASHINGTON — Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona on Tuesday will appoint Former Senator Jon Kyl to the seat left open by John McCain's death, according to multiple Arizona Republican officials, elevating a well-liked former Republican lawmaker …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Vox, CNN, Shareblue Media, Arizona Republic, The Week, twitchy.com and Conservative Review

Politico:
Former Sen. Jon Kyl to replace McCain

Discussion: Hit & Run and Fox News

The Daily Beast:
John McCain's Replacement Jon Kyl Goes From Lobbying the Senate to Being a Senator

Discussion: Weekly Standard and MSNBC

The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Critical, But Says Nike's Kaepernick Deal ‘Is What This Country Is All About’ — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Nike sent a “terrible message” this week by making former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick one of the faces representing the 30th anniversary of the company's “Just Do It” campaign.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Sports Illustrated, BloombergQuint, NPR, The Daily Signal, CBS Boston, IJR, CNBC, MarketWatch, Daily Wire, Fox News Insider, Big League Politics, New York Times, myajc, Tennessean.com, Breitbart and Mediaite

Josh Barro / Business Insider:

Here's why more brands, like Nike with Colin Kaepernick, are openly liberal — Nike will gain a lot more than it will lose from making Colin Kaepernick the face of an ad campaign. — Wading into politics can still alienate customers. What's new is it can do a lot to attract them, too.

Discussion: AOL

Tyler Durden / zerohedge.com:
Nike's Kaepernick Ad Has Cost The Company Over $4 Billion So Far

Discussion: National Review, CNN, Vox and The Gateway Pundit

NBC News:

FBI Director Christopher Wray becomes the latest target for Trump's ire — Wray is the latest in a growing list of Justice Department officials who have angered the president, NBC News has learned. — WASHINGTON — In recent conversations with confidants, President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, MSNBC and Media Matters for America

Washington Post:

Hours before Kavanaugh nomination hearings, Bush lawyer releases 42,000 pages of documents to Judiciary Committee — Hours before the start of hearings on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, the lawyer for former president George W. Bush turned over 42,000 pages of documents …

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:
Kavanaugh's daughters rushed out of chaotic, ‘hot’ hearing

Discussion: The Last Refuge, LifeNews.com, Daily Wire and The Gateway Pundit

Paul Farrell / Heavy.com:
Zina Bash Is the Woman Sitting Behind Brett Kavanaugh

Discussion: National Review, CNN, News One, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, Washington Free Beacon and Breitbart

CNN:
The Kavanaugh hearing … GO DEEPER — The Trump administration …

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, Townhall, Hot Air, Breitbart, ThinkProgress, Mashable, New York Times, ABC News, Refinery29, National Review and IJR

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Blogging the Brett Kavanaugh hearing

Discussion: Reason and Instapundit

Washington Post:

Poll: Democrats regain clear advantage in midterms shaping up as referendum on President Trump — Two months ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats hold a clear advantage over Republicans in congressional vote support, with antipathy toward President Trump fueling Democratic enthusiasm …

Discussion: NPR, Spectator USA, Vox, The Mahablog, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Daily Kos and Shareblue Media

Gary Langer / ABC News:
Public split on Kavanaugh, views on abortion access shift

Discussion: Shareblue Media, VTDigger, The Week and MSNBC

Gary Langer / ABC News:
Democrats open up biggest lead in midterms since 2006

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Post and Axios

Washington Post:
Democrats lead Republicans in generic ballot ahead of midterms

Discussion: Mother Jones, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Splinter and NPR

Bill Ruthhart / Chicago Tribune:

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he won't run for re-election next year — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Sept. 4, 2018, that he will not seek a third term in office. — Privacy Policy — In a stunning decision, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday morning that he will no longer seek …

Discussion: Associated Press, NBC Chicago, Mother Jones, Vox, Washington Post, Fox News, Politico, Chicago Sun-Times, Outside the Beltway, New York Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hit & Run, Breitbart, Hot Air, The Week, Daily Wire, The Root and The Guardian

Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Rahm Emanuel won't seek third term as Chicago mayor

Discussion: RedState and ABC News

Hunter Woodall / Kansas City Star:

Former GOP governor of Kansas endorses Democrat Laura Kelly over Kris Kobach — Republicans in Kansas further splintered Tuesday as the last moderate member of the party to hold the governor's office in Kansas endorsed a Democrat for governor over Kris Kobach, the GOP nominee.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Political Wire

Saagar Enjeti / The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Prepped Lawsuit Against NBC Over ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attacked NBC's journalistic credibility and called into question the authenticity and legality of the “Access Hollywood” tape leaked during the 2016 election …

Discussion: Vox, Mediaite, Raw Story, Law & Crime, The Week and Washington Times, more at Mediagazer »

BuzzFeed News:

In A New Email, Elon Musk Accused A Cave Rescuer Of Being A “Child Rapist” And Said He “Hopes” There's A Lawsuit — In an email to BuzzFeed News, Tesla CEO Elon Musk accused a Thai cave rescuer of moving to Thailand to take a child bride. The rescuer denied all the claims.

Discussion: Mediaite

CBS Miami:

‘There Are No Tints On The Window’: Miami Beach Police After Two Priests Caught Performing Sex Act In Car — MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) — Two Chicago-area priests were charged Monday with Lewd and Lascivious behavior and Indecent Exposure after being caught performing a sexual act inside a car parked on a Miami Beach street.

Discussion: The American Conservative, The Daily Caller and CBS Chicago

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Winning The Race For Congress? — An updating estimate of the generic ballot, based on polls that ask people which party they would support in a congressional election.

Chuck Todd / The Atlantic:

It's Time for the Press to Stop Complaining—And to Start Fighting Back — I've devoted much of my professional life to the study of political campaigns, not as a historian or an academic but as a reporter and an analyst. I thought I'd seen it all, from the bizarre upset that handed …

Discussion: National Review, NewsBusters, Washington Post, IJR, The Daily Caller and Erick on the Radio, more at Mediagazer »

Politico:

Twitter says Trump not immune from getting kicked off — Twitter said Tuesday that not even President Donald Trump is immune from being kicked off the platform if his tweets cross a line with abusive behavior. — The social media company's rules against vitriolic tweets offer leeway …

Discussion: Mashable, Daily Wire and The Week, more at Techmeme »

Brad Reed / Raw Story:

Fox & Friends hosts visibly deflated after legal analyst says Trump's latest tweet gives ‘fodder’ for Mueller's probe — The hosts of “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday appeared visibly deflated after legal analyst Andrew Napolitano told them that President Donald Trump's latest tweets attacking …

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News and CNN

Stephanie Ebbs / ABC News:

EPA watchdog accuses agency of failing to justify Scott Pruitt's security spending — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not justify increased spending on former Administrator Scott Pruitt's 24-hour security detail, which grew by almost $2 million in less than a year, the EPA's watchdog said.

Discussion: US EPA, The Daily Caller, Politico and New York Times

Economist:

The Open Future Festival and Steve Bannon — Why our invitation to Steve Bannon will stand — IN LIGHT of the criticism of my decision to interview Steve Bannon on stage as part of The Economist's Open Future festival on September 15th, I would like to explain why we invited him.

more at Mediagazer »

Aída Chávez / The Intercept:

There Is No Grassroots Energy Rallying for Brett Kavanaugh. None. — Last Sunday, several hundred protestors rallied in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado, against President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh. Local reporters were on hand, and the protest earned …

Discussion: RedState, Vox, TIME and The Nation