memeorandum: Trump campaign makes a radical break from 2016 (Gabby Orr/Politico)

12:40 PM ET, June 16, 2019

Top Items:

Trump campaign cutting ties with pollsters after internal numbers leaked — The president's re-election campaign says series of polls showing Joe Biden ahead in key states are “ancient” news. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's re-election campaign is cutting ties with some of its own pollsters …

Discussion: Splinter, Political Wire and Outside the Beltway

Andy Shain / Post and Courier:

Warren, Buttigieg surge in SC 2020 Democratic presidential poll as Biden still leads — Former Vice President Joe Biden holds a commanding 20-point lead in the 2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, but his post-announcement advantage is shrinking — and he has a surprising new set of top challengers.

Discussion: Axios, POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire

CBS News:

CBS News Battleground Tracker poll: Biden leads, with Warren, Harris, Sanders close behind — The belief that he could fare best against President Trump is currently propelling Joe Biden in the early Democratic nomination race by two measures — vote preference, and the delegates that would come with them.

Discussion: Washington Times and Political Wire

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Democrats want a steady leader, Biden leads Trump by 10 points — Former Vice President Joe Biden is still, by far, the leader in the Democratic Party's presidential nomination race. His lead reflects the mood of the party, as Democratic primary voters want someone who will unite Americans …

Discussion: Political Wire, New York Post and Washington Times

Andrew Ferguson / The Atlantic:

Tyranny of the 70-Somethings — Why have national Democrats and not national Republicans fallen under the tyranny of the 70-somethings? It seems so contrary to common expectation. Democrats are, as they often remind us, the party of progress and the future.

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump cites lessons from Nixon, says he ‘was never going to fire Mueller’ — President Donald Trump told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos that he did not fire special counsel Robert Mueller because “that didn't work out too well” for former President Richard Nixon.

Discussion: Axios and twitchy.com

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

‘Every day that passes, the pressure to impeach grows’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday that with every passing day “the pressure to impeach (President Donald Trump) grows.” — She added that Democrats need to start an impeachment inquiry …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Axios, Breitbart and New York Post

John Cassidy / New Yorker: The Stephanopoulos Interview Is Another Fine Mess for Trump

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Support for beginning impeachment hearings grows among Democrats in new NBC News/WSJ poll — Americans overall remain divided over beginning impeachment hearings but Democratic support has surged since last month. — WASHINGTON — More Democratic voters believe Congress should begin impeachment hearings …

Discussion: Fox News, TheStreet, Rolling Stone and Political Wire

Joshua Jamerson / Wall Street Journal: Nearly Half of Democrats Back Impeachment Hearings Against Trump

Gabby Orr / Politico:

Trump campaign makes a radical break from 2016 — President Donald Trump is sitting on a war chest topping $40 million, boots on the ground spread across nine regions crucial to his 2020 map and a sprawling network of volunteers who've been rigorously trained for the months ahead.

Discussion: Althouse

Washington Post:

Pompeo says there is more evidence that Iran attacked tankers — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that more evidence will be released soon to prove the administration's assertion that Iran was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week.

Discussion: Axios, Consortiumnews.com and Newsweek

Fox News: Judith Miller and William Tobey: To protect against Iranian attacks, US should be ready to escort oil tankers

Siobhán O'Grady / Washington Post:
The Taliban claimed an attack on U.S. forces. Pompeo blamed Iran.

Discussion: Informed Comment and The American Conservative

Louisa Lim / The Guardian:

Hong Kong is not China yet, but that feared day is coming ever nearer — The extradition law was delayed after a million people took to the streets, but the fight for the territory's values is far from over — Hong Kong has become a place whose present is unresolved and whose future is unimaginable.

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:

The One Percent Got $21 Trillion Richer Since 1989. The Bottom 50 Got Poorer. — Some Democratic presidential candidates say that America's economic system is badly broken and in need of sweeping, structural change. Others say that the existing order is fundamentally sound, even if it could use a few modest renovations.

Discussion: Jacobin and Common Dreams

Maggie Severns / Politico:

Dems prepare 9-figure ad onslaught to blunt Trump's head start — Democrats are preparing to kick off a campaign totaling hundreds of millions of dollars to blunt Donald Trump's head start in the 2020 campaign as their party's candidates slug it out for the right to take him on.

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

Trump says supporters might ‘demand’ that he serve more than two terms as president — President Trump on Sunday floated the possibility of staying in office longer than two terms, suggesting in a morning tweet that his supporters might “demand that I stay longer.”

Discussion: Political Wire, Deadline, TheBlaze and Mediaite