Top Items:
Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Trump's Electoral College Edge Could Grow in 2020, Rewarding Polarizing Campaign — Re-election looks plausible, with an even bigger loss in the national popular vote. — President Trump's approval ratings are under water in national polls. His position for re-election, on the other hand, might not be quite so bleak.
Discussion:
Althouse, Outside the Beltway and twitchy.com
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David Wasserman / NBC News:
How Trump could lose by 5 million votes and still win in 2020 — Analysis: The nation's two most populous states, California and Texas, are at the heart of Democrats' geography problem. — In the wake of President Donald Trump's tweets suggesting several nonwhite progressive congresswomen …
Discussion:
Townhall and twitchy.com
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Defenders of a Racist President Use Jews as Human Shields — Trump's bigoted attack on four congresswomen of color has nothing to do with fighting anti-Semitism. — Sebastian Gorka, a onetime adviser to Donald Trump, wore a medal from the Vitezi Rend, a Hungarian group historically aligned with Nazism …
Discussion:
The Federalist
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Daniel Dale / CNN:
Fact check: Trump falsely accuses Ocasio-Cortez of calling Americans ‘garbage’
Fact check: Trump falsely accuses Ocasio-Cortez of calling Americans ‘garbage’
Discussion:
Slate
Andrew Rice / New York Magazine:
Alan Dershowitz Cannot Stop Talking Accused of a slew of terrible things, the defense has no intention of resting. — One morning in July, days after his onetime client Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on sex-trafficking charges, the famed attorney Alan Dershowitz was reminiscing as he drove the winding roads of Martha's Vineyard.
Discussion:
Mediaite and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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Devoun Cetoute / Miami Herald:
Palm Beach sheriff opens internal affairs investigation into handling of Jeffrey Epstein
Palm Beach sheriff opens internal affairs investigation into handling of Jeffrey Epstein
Discussion:
Big League Politics and The Daily Caller
Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
George Nader, Witness in Mueller Probe, Hit With New Charges of Sex Trafficking — The key cooperator faces additional child-porn charges in a new indictment to be unsealed Friday. — George Nader, who was a key witness in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Politico, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Law & Crime and Boing Boing
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Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
George Nader indicted on child sex transportation charges
George Nader indicted on child sex transportation charges
Discussion:
CNN
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
How the Ilhan Omar Marriage Smear Went From Fever Swamp to Trump — The curious journey of the unproven rumor that Omar married her brother to get him citizenship—from an obscure Somali diaspora forum to the president. — When Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday that Rep. Ilhan Omar …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit, Power Line, New York Times, twitchy.com, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Media Matters for America, Geller Report News, The Stream, PolitiFact, PJ Media Home, Daily Wire, Daily Mail, The Last Refuge, Alpha News, RedState, Front Page Magazine and The New Neo
CNN:
Trump campaign and RNC spend more than $600,000 on law firm representing Hope Hicks — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee have paid more than $600,000 in legal fees to the law firm that represents Hope Hicks, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Political Wire
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Andrew Sullivan / New York Magazine:
Trump Is Betting That Indecency Can Win in America — In the deeply disturbing moments after Donald Trump invoked a three-minutes-of-hate session toward Congresswoman Ilhan Omar Wednesday night, and the crowd erupted with chants of “Send Her Back! Send Her Back!”, a protester yelled something inaudible, and caused a commotion.
Discussion:
The Intercept, The Week, Bloomberg and Summit News
Leana S. Wen / New York Times:
Why I Left Planned Parenthood — I believe abortion is about health care, not politics. Many of my colleagues disagreed. — Dr. Wen is an emergency physician. — This week, I left my position as the president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood.
Discussion:
Fox News
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
Trump Can't Just Walk Away From ‘Send Her Back’ — There's a reason the president can't bring himself to condemn a bigoted chant. — Last Sunday, President Donald Trump suggested that four Democratic congresswomen of color, three of whom were born in the U.S., “go back” to their ancestors' countries.
RELATED:
Cabot Phillips / Campus Reform:
VIDEO: Students say Obama immigration quote racist...when they think it's from Trump
VIDEO: Students say Obama immigration quote racist...when they think it's from Trump
Discussion:
Breitbart and Daily Wire
Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Judge halts Democrats' subpoenas of Trump Org docs in emoluments case — Washington (CNN)A federal judge Friday paused congressional Democrats' subpoenas of Trump Organization financial records, 10 days before the records were due in a lawsuit over whether President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution.
Discussion:
UPI and Daily Wire
Brianne Pfannenstiel / Des Moines Register:
Bernie Sanders defends staff compensation after complaints his campaign isn't paying $15 an hour — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders defended his campaign's compensation package Friday after a Washington Post story highlighted concerns among staffers that they were not receiving the $15-an-hour wages Sanders champions on the campaign trail.
Discussion:
Washington Post, RedState, twitchy.com, CNN, Reason, Wall Street Journal, The Rush Limbaugh Show, VICE, VTDigger and Breitbart
James Comey / Lawfare:
What I Would Ask Robert Mueller — If I were a member of Congress with five minutes to question Robert Mueller, I would ask short questions drawn from the report's executive summaries. — Volume One: Russia — Did you find that there were a series of contacts between the Trump campaign …
Discussion:
Law & Crime and Political Wire
James Queally / Los Angeles Times:
LAPD informant infiltrated left-wing activists during Trump protests, records show — The Los Angeles Police Department ordered a confidential informant to monitor and record meetings held by a political group that staged protests against President Trump in 2017, a move that has drawn concern …
Discussion:
The Guardian
Paul Schwartzman / Washington Post:
'We won't go back': Ocasio-Cortez answers Trump's rallying cry with one of her own — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a crowd of Democratic activists Thursday that it has taken the United States more than two centuries to elect an outspoken group of minority women to Congress and that “we will not go back.”
Discussion:
Breitbart, Politico, Mother Jones and The Hill
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David Marchese / New York Times:
Graydon Carter on Vanity Fair, Jeffrey Epstein and an Editor's Power — “I didn't invent the system. I just lived by the system.” — Graydon Carter on Vanity Fair, Jeffrey Epstein and an editor's power. — During his 25-year run as editor in chief of Vanity Fair …
Associated Press:
The Latest: UK foreign secretary: 2 vessels seized by Iran — TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Latest on developments related to tensions between the U.S and Iran (all times local): — British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says two vessels have been seized by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz.
Discussion:
Forbes, BBC, The Guardian, Common Dreams and Patterico's Pontifications
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Rafael Carranza / Arizona Republic:
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pushes program to streamline removal of migrant families without valid asylum claims — TUCSON — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is pushing for the implementation of a pilot program along the U.S.-Mexico border that aims to more quickly screen and remove migrant families without valid legal claims …
Discussion:
National Review, Daily Wire and The Daily Caller
New York Times:
16,000 Readers Shared Their Experiences of Being Told to ‘Go Back.’ Here Are Some of Their Stories. — “Go back to where you came from.” — These seven words are seared into the minds of countless Americans — a reminder that they haven't always been welcome in the country where they were born …
Discussion:
Boing Boing
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
“I'm Winning”: Donald Trump's Calculated Racism — On Tuesday, President Trump convened his Cabinet in the White House. First to speak after a long, rambling, and inaccuracy-filled monologue by Trump himself was Ben Carson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Meghan McCain / New York Times:
What I Learned From My Miscarriage — I loved my baby, and I always will. — Ms. McCain is a co-host of “The View.” — A few weeks ago, I was part of the photo shoot for The New York Times Magazine's cover story about ABC's “The View.” It should have been a moment of triumph …
Tucker Higgins / CNBC:
Pete Buttigieg hires former Goldman Sachs executive as national policy director — KEY POINTS — Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg has hired a former Goldman Sachs vice president and Google executive to run his policy shop, his campaign announced Thursday.
Washington Post:
FTC approves settlement with Google over YouTube kids privacy violations — The company is expected to pay a multi-million-dollar fine as part of findings it inadequately protected kids who used its video-streaming service. — The Federal Trade Commission has finalized a settlement …
Discussion:
CNN and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »
HuffPost:
Trump Puts More GOP Money In His Own Pocket During Another Million-Dollar Golf Trip — An RNC fundraiser could put hundreds of thousands of dollars into his own business, while the getaway will bring his taxpayer-paid golf tab to $109.2 million. — WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump …
Jim Treacher / Trending:
After 50 Years, the Press Is Still Whitewashing Chappaquiddick — Fifty years ago this week, two major events in American history occurred within 48 hours of each other. The second one, an American astronaut walking on the Moon, drew focus away from the first one: Chappaquiddick.
Discussion:
RedState, Townhall, Hot Air and twitchy.com
Weijia Jiang / CBS News:
Trump took heat from Melania and Ivanka over racist chants at rally — Washington — CBS News has learned President Trump took a lot of heat from his family over the racist chants at a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday. He heard from first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka and Vice President Mike Pence.
MJ Lee / CNN:
Donald Trump's accusers: ‘The forgotten’ women of the #MeToo movement — Donald Trump's accusers say they feel forgotten — Watch CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper at 4 p.m. ET to see the full interviews. — (CNN)Each woman remembers without a shadow of a doubt exactly what they were wearing …
Emma Fantuzzo / NB Blog:
MSNBC's Chris Hayes: Trump Supporters Must Be ‘Confronted and Destroyed’ — Several days later, the liberal media still hasn't moved past President Trump's controversial tweets, but are instead rallying around them in opposition. MSNBC's All In host, Chris Hayes, took a leading position Thursday night …
U.S. Department of Justice:
Three Members of California-Based White Supremacist Group Sentenced on Riots Charges Related to August 2017 “Unite the Right” Rally in Charlottesville — Charlottesville, VIRGINIA - Benjamin Daley, Michael Miselis, and Thomas Gillen, members of the white-supremacist organization formerly known …
Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed News:
There's A New Movement Trying To Create An Intellectual Strain Of Trumpism. It Just Doesn't Know What Exactly That Means. — WASHINGTON — Amy Wax, a law professor whose hard-right pronouncements have made her an object of outrage among students and led to censure at the University of Pennsylvania …
Alexi McCammond / Axios:
Scoop: John Delaney's staffers have asked him to drop out — On July 9, John Delaney's senior team sat him down and told him to drop out of the presidential race by mid-August, according to three sources close to the campaign. — Why it matters: He's been running for president for 721 days.
Discussion:
PJ Media Home, The Week, Vanity Fair, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Splinter and Politico
Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Anxious Democratic Governors Urge 2020 Field Not to Veer Too Far Left — WASHINGTON — After claiming governorships from Republicans in seven states last year, including in crucial presidential battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Michigan, Democratic governors should have good reason to celebrate.
Discussion:
Splinter, Washington Free Beacon, CNN, PJ Media Home, The Daily Caller, Fox News and Politico
Sam Stein / The Daily Beast:
Tulsi Gabbard Raised Negative $20 for Her House Campaign — The number raises questions about whether Gabbard will return to Congress should her presidential campaign come to an end. — As she runs for the Democratic nominee for president, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) also faces a primary challenge for her seat in the House.
Discussion:
New York Post
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
The Joy of Hatred — Trump and “his people” reach deep into the violent history of public spectacle in America. — The chanting was disturbing and the anger was frightening, but what I noticed most about the president's rally in Greenville, N.C., on Wednesday night was the pleasure of the crowd.
Connor O'Brien / Politico:
500 U.S. troops to headed to Saudi Arabia — Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Defense is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Defense subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 5:30 a.m. Learn more about POLITICO Pro's comprehensive policy intelligence coverage …
Discussion:
One America News Network and UPI