memeorandum: Dems prepare 9-figure ad onslaught to blunt Trump's head start (Maggie Severns/Politico)

9:50 AM ET, June 16, 2019

Top Items:

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 and Political Wire

Joshua Jamerson / Wall Street Journal:

Nearly Half of Democrats Back Impeachment Hearings Against Trump — Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll also finds voters' views on Democratic presidential candidates are in flux, with support for former Vice President Joe Biden slipping — WASHINGTON—Support is growing among Democrats …

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.

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 …

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.

John Cassidy / New Yorker:

The Stephanopoulos Interview Is Another Fine Mess for Trump — Some weeks the Trump Presidency is a horror show; some weeks it is slapstick. This week it was both. In the Middle East, tensions with Iran rose alarmingly, while, on the domestic front, Donald Trump got himself into yet another political mess.

Matthew Choi / Politico:

‘Enjoy the show!’: Trump hypes controversial Stephanopoulos interview — President Donald Trump on Saturday hyped his forthcoming full interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, excerpts of which shook allies and opponents alike this week when the president revealed he would take foreign help …

Discussion: Breitbart

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.

Washington Post:

GOP in disarray as budget impasse threatens shutdown, deep cuts — and default — Senate Republicans and the Trump administration are struggling to reach an agreement on a path forward on critical budget and spending issues, threatening not only another government shutdown and deep spending cuts …

Katy Tur / MSNBC: Why is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocking election security bills?

Adam Bienkov / Business Insider:

Trump says London Mayor Sadiq Khan is a ‘disaster’ but homicide rates in US cities are much higher … - Donald Trump labels Sadiq Khan a “disaster” over his handling of violent crime in London. — Trump quotes a tweet referring to the city as “Londonistan” following spate of stabbings in the city.

Discussion: BBC, Politico and Sputnik International

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: Political Wire

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.

Sarah Stillman / New Yorker:

How Families Separated at the Border Could Make the Government Pay — Suny Rodríguez, an asylum seeker from Honduras, sued the government over abuses suffered in family detention, launching a new legal movement. — If you've ever borrowed a ruffled cocktail dress or a sequinned jumpsuit …

NBC News:

Catherine Buni and Soraya Chemaly This Father's Day, dads need listen to why their daughters are so angry — and join the fight — Fathers are often mystified by their daughters' displays of frustration. But when they challenge their own biases, girls benefit — and so does everyone else.