memeorandum: Far-right AfD fails to win east German mayoral vote (Zia Weise/Politico)

3:45 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: ABC News, Hullabaloo, Daily Wire, Splinter, Outside the Beltway and The Gateway Pundit

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: POLITICUSUSA, Axios and Political Wire

New York Times:

Trump Campaign to Purge Pollsters After Leak of Dismal Results — President Trump's campaign has decided to purge some of its pollsters after a leak of dismal internal polls for the president that he denied existed. — Just two days before the president is set to kick off his bid for re-election …

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: Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, New York Post, Washington Times 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: No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Washington Times and Political Wire

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: Vox, The Hill, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, Axios and New York Post

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

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: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Consortiumnews.com

Ursula Perano / Axios:
U.S. doubles down as more nations point fingers at Iran for oil tanker attacks

Discussion: Daily Kos, PJ Media Home, Newsweek and New York Times

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

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: Rolling Stone, TheStreet, Fox News and Political Wire

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

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.

Michael Sainato / The Guardian:

Bosses pocket Trump tax windfall as workers see job promises vanish — AT&T, General Motors and Wells Fargo vowed to use tax cuts to create jobs. In fact, they did the opposite — Stephen Smith worked at an AT&T call center in Meriden, Connecticut, for over 20 years …

Gabby Orr / Politico:

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

Discussion: Althouse

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Chief justice assures the Supreme Court is apolitical. He's facing his next big test. — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. began the Supreme Court's term last fall seeking to assure the American public that his court does not “serve one party or one interest.”

Discussion: Slate

Zia Weise / Politico:

Far-right AfD fails to win east German mayoral vote — The party missed its chance to take control of a German city for the first time. — The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Sunday narrowly missed its chance to take control of a city for the first time.

Discussion: One America News Network

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

Wall Street Donors Are Swooning for Mayor Pete. (They Like Biden and Harris, Too.) — The behind-the-scenes competition for Wall Street money in the 2020 presidential race is reaching a fevered peak this week as no less than nine Democrats are holding New York fund-raisers in a span of nine days …

Discussion: Axios