memeorandum: Biden's Struggles Create an Opening for a Moderate Alternative (Josh Kraushaar/National Journal)

8:20 AM ET, June 30, 2019

Top Items:

Biden's Struggles Create an Opening for a Moderate Alternative — Amy Klobuchar or Michael Bennet may get a second look, if Biden fails to live up to expectations. — Joe Biden's unsteady debate performance Thursday night created the likelihood of a wide-open Democratic presidential contest.

Tim Alberta / Politico:

Unhappy with Their 2016 Coronation, the Democrats Start a 2020 Circus — MIAMI—Marianne Williamson narrowed her eyes and gazed into my soul, channeling some of the same telekinetic lifeforce she'd used minutes earlier to cast a spell on Donald Trump in her closing statement of Thursday's Democratic presidential debate.

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:

2020 Democrats defend Kamala Harris after Donald Trump Jr. tweet about her race — Sen. Kamala Harris, one of only two black candidates in a field of two dozen, had a history-making moment on the debate stage Thursday night when she challenged former vice president Joe Biden over racial issues.

Discussion: New York Times

NewsHound Ellen / Latest from Crooks and Liars: Fox News ‘Democrat’ Helps Network Attack Kamala Harris

CNN:
Kamala Harris raises $2 million in 24 hours after breakout debate

Discussion: CNBC, Townhall and Politico

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Kamala Harris Raises $2 Million in 24 Hours After Debate

Discussion: Breitbart, Axios and HuffPost

Rod Dreher / The American Conservative:
Kamala Harris: The Racial Strife Candidate

Discussion: Mother Jones, PJ Media Home and Breitbart

Evan Real / Hollywood Reporter:
Kamala Harris Campaign Selling T-Shirts Inspired by Viral Joe Biden Moment

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Vox and The Daily Caller

Manuel Roig-Franzia / Washington Post: Biden's spin doctors, Beto's flop, a sea of sweat: The madness after the Miami debates.

Washington Post:

Trump becomes first sitting president to set foot into North Korea — PANMUNJOM, South Korea — President Trump met Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea on Sunday, and briefly crossed into North Korea, marking the first time a sitting U.S. president has ever done so.

Discussion: Politico, Axios, Breitbart, ABC News and One America News Network

New York Times:

Trump Steps Into North Korea and Agrees With Kim Jong-un to Resume Talks — SEOUL, South Korea — President Trump became the first sitting American commander in chief to set foot in North Korea on Sunday as he greeted Kim Jong-un, the country's leader, at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone …

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, Political Wire, UPI and NPR

Associated Press:

The Latest: Trump ‘was proud’ to cross into North Korea — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump's visit to Asia. (all times local): — President Donald Trump says he “was proud” to step over the demarcation line between North and South Korea, becoming the first U.S. president to enter North Korea.

Discussion: Conservative News Today and Axios

NBC News:

Trump meets Kim Jong Un, becomes first sitting U.S. president to step into North Korea — “Stepping across that line was a great honor,” Trump said, later adding that it was “something incredible.” — SEOUL, South Korea — Taking an unprecedented step onto North Korean soil …

Discussion: Townhall and Slate

Dom Calicchio / Fox News:

Trump, Kim meet at Demilitarized Zone, face-to-face for first time since Hanoi — After days of speculation — and optimistic statements by the two leaders — President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met and shook hands Sunday at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

Discussion: RedState and Conservative News Today

Associated Press: Analysis: Trump's diplomacy puts relationships over results

Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:

Trump Consultant Is Trolling Democrats With Biden Site That Isn't Biden's — AUSTIN, Tex. — For much of the last three months, the most popular Joseph R. Biden Jr. website has been a slick little piece of disinformation that is designed to look like the former vice president's official campaign page …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Deadline, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Robby Soave / Reason:

Antifa Mob Viciously Assaults Journalist Andy Ngo at Portland Rally — Andy Ngo, a photojournalist and editor at Quillette, landed in the emergency room after a mob of antifa activists attacked him on the streets of Portland during a Saturday afternoon demonstration.

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Mediaite, Washington Times, Human Events, Breitbart and Instapundit

Keith Bradsher / New York Times:

A China-U.S. Trade Truce Could Enshrine a Global Economic Shift — OSAKA, Japan — The spin from President Trump and China's propaganda machines on Saturday portrayed a truce in a trade war that has shaken economies and markets around the world. Tariffs won't rise further, at least not yet.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Slate and Axios

Rebekah Entralg / ThinkProgress:

Trump just publicly proved he couldn't pass a middle-school civics test — President Donald Trump embarrassed the country yet again on the international stage this past week during the G20 summit. Speaking to reporters in Osaka, Japan where the summit was held, Trump displayed a complete lack …

Summer Concepcion / Talking Points Memo: Trump Says He Found Census ‘Shocking’ Because Of The Price Tag

Sam Roberts / New York Times:

Luis Alvarez, Champion of 9/11 Responders, Dies at 53 — Luis G. Alvarez, a former New York City detective who pleaded with Congress this month to extend health benefits to police officers, firefighters and other emergency workers who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks …

Discussion: ABC News, Matt McCauley and CNN

Robert Gearty / Fox News:
Hero 9/11 first responder with cancer dies at 53; testified to Congress with Jon Stewart

Discussion: Breitbart

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

NYT Op-Ed Calls For Public Shaming Of Border Protection Agents — A New York Times op-ed calls for the public shaming of U.S. government employees working in migrant detention facilities. — “These agents' actions should be publicized, particularly in their home communities,” writes Kate Cronin-Furman.

Miriam Jordan / New York Times:
Judge Orders Swift Action to Improve Conditions for Migrant Children in Texas

Discussion: Axios and UPI

Kate Cronin-Furman / New York Times:
The Treatment of Migrants Likely ‘Meets the Definition of a Mass Atrocity’

Discussion: RedState, PJ Media Home, Hot Air, twitchy.com, Instapundit, Big League Politics and The American Conservative

Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:

U.S. judge expands ban on constructing sections of Trump's border wall in Calif., Ariz., while also clearing way for quick appeal — A federal judge on Friday expanded a ban on construction of President Trump's signature southern border wall that would have used money secured under his declaration …

Discussion: Axios and Associated Press

Gabriela Resto-Montero / Vox: Federal judge blocks new stretch of the US-Mexico border wall

Paul Dallison / Politico:

Boris Johnson: UK's main parties face ‘political extinction’ without Brexit — Boris Johnson, the likely next U.K. prime minister, said if the U.K. doesn't leave the European Union on October 31, the two main British parties will face “political extinction.”

Discussion: One America News Network and Telegraph

Doree Lewak / New York Post:

‘Nobel Prize in stupidity’: Holocaust survivor wants AOC out of Congress — There are few remaining survivors of concentration camps. Ed Mosberg is one of them. — And the 93-year-old from Morris Plains, NJ, has no time for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's statements last week …

Discussion: Big League Politics, The Daily Caller, Conservative News Today and Liberty Unyielding