memeorandum: Israel's Netanyahu inaugurates non-existent ‘Trump Heights’ town in the Golan (Ursula Perano/Axios)

6:15 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: Politico, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Mother Jones, ABC News, Rolling Stone, The Hill, Hullabaloo, Daily Wire, Splinter, Outside the Beltway and The Gateway Pundit

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 …

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

Ursula Perano / Axios:

Israel's Netanyahu inaugurates non-existent ‘Trump Heights’ town in the Golan — Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman hosted a special ceremony Sunday to dedicate a new town in the Golan Heights called “Ramat Trump,” or “Trump Heights” in English.

Julio Rosas / Washington Examiner:

Max Boot: ‘Reality’ is pushing for impeachment, not the media — Washington Post opinion columnist Max Boot said the press are not pushing for impeachment and warned the media against taking at face value what the Trump administration says on anything. — CNN “Reliable Sources” …

Discussion: Townhall

Washington Post:
Pompeo says there is more evidence that Iran attacked tankers

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 and Newsweek

Associated Press:

Ex-pastor in Texas accused of sexually abusing teen relative — HOUSTON (AP) — A former Southern Baptist pastor who supported legislation in Texas that would have criminalized abortions has been arrested on charges of child sex abuse, accused of repeatedly molesting a teenage relative over the course of two years.

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Political Wire

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Joe Biden and the ‘electability’ delusion — and why the media keep making the same mistake — As Iowa journalist Robert Leonard talks to voters around his state, he finds himself baffled at the national portrayal of Joe Biden's dominance in the presidential campaign.

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, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, Axios, Breitbart and New York Post

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:
‘Every day that passes, the pressure to impeach grows’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Discussion: Inquirer.com, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Axios, Breitbart and New York Post

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

Jamie Ehrlich / CNN:

Jon Stewart takes aim at McConnell in continued fight for 9/11 victim compensation fund — 9/11 responder: Zero tolerance for members of Congress — Washington (CNN)Former late night host and 9/11 first responders advocate Jon Stewart said Sunday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Discussion: WSVN-TV

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

Albert Hunt / The Hill:

Democrats' 2020 Achilles heel: The Senate — The Democrats' dream team of Senate candidates — popular Governors and 2018 super stars — to challenge beatable Republican incumbents isn't going to happen. Party strategists hope their plan B might be sufficient to pick up the handful of seats needed for control.

Hailey Waller / Bloomberg:

Trump Has Gone Too Far on Immigration, Voters Say in Fox Poll — Majority favor increasing security measures other than wall — Voters' optimism about U.S. economy has slipped so far in 2019 — Half of American voters say the Trump administration has gone too far on immigration enforcement …

Discussion: Political Wire

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

This Isn't Going According to Plan for Kirsten Gillibrand — The senator from New York is a battle-tested campaigner who thrives as the underdog. But 2020 is proving to be a much tougher challenge than she thought. — DES MOINES—Isaac Rosenberg is stumped.

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 …

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.

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

Mehdi Hasan / The Intercept:

Saudi Arabia May Execute Teenager for His Protests — Including When He Was 10 — In 2011, as Arab Spring protests swept across the Middle East, demonstrations also kicked off in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Province. Members of the kingdom's repressed Shiite minority took to the streets …

Noa Landau / Haaretz:

U.S. Mideast Envoy Greenblatt: We May Postpone Publication of Peace Plan to November — Jason Greenblatt also backs remarks made by U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, who said Israel has a right to annex parts of the West Bank — U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt …