memeorandum: Trump Targets Biden Again as Democratic Race Hits Critical Stage (New York Times)

7:25 AM ET, March 3, 2020

Top Items:

In a Texas chicken joint, Biden and onetime rival Buttigieg unite to stop Sanders — DALLAS (Reuters) - It was a scene that was hard to imagine just one week ago. — Joe Biden, 77, and until Sunday his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination Pete Buttigieg, 38 …

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:

On Super Tuesday eve, Biden gets boost from 2 former rivals — Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg are uniting behind Joe Biden's presidential bid as the Democratic Party's moderate wing scrambles to boost the former vice president just hours before Super Tuesday — STEVE PEOPLES, BRIAN SLODYSKO and JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press

Discussion: Politico, Slate, PJ Media Home, The Hill and Associated Press

New York Times:

How the Democratic Establishment Stumbled as Sanders Surged — Mr. Sanders is making the case that his urgent message is the best match for a trying political moment, and moderates are scrambling ahead of Super Tuesday to stop his momentum. — Late last year a group of first-term House Democrats …

Discussion: NBC News

Sam Radwany / KGUN-TV:

Senate candidate Mark Kelly endorses Joe Biden in Arizona primary — TUCSON, Ariz. — Democratic Senate candidate Mark Kelly says he's voting for Joe Biden in the upcoming Arizona Presidential Preference election. — Kelly is running for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Arizona.

HuffPost:
Buttigieg, Klobuchar, O'Rourke Endorsing Biden In Triad Of Moderate Support

Discussion: Washington Post, CBS News and Spectator USA

Brett T. / Twitchy:
‘You know ... you know the thing’: Watch Joe Biden try to quote the Declaration of Independence and cringe

Discussion: Washington Times

Ginger Gibson / Reuters:
Pete Buttigieg plans to endorse Joe Biden in Democratic primary

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox News, USA Today, Mediaite and National Review

Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times:
Harry Reid endorses Joe Biden for president; Amy Klobuchar also plans to back him

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, The Hill, FiveThirtyEight, BuzzFeed News, Daily Kos, Townhall, HuffPost and New York Post

Justine Coleman / The Hill:
Obama spoke with Buttigieg after he dropped out of 2020 race: report

Discussion: Big League Politics, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Breitbart and Associated Press

New York Times:
Amy Klobuchar Drops Out of Presidential Race and Plans to Endorse Biden

San Diego Union-Tribune:
Vote Joe Biden for president to unite America

Discussion: The Hill

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Democratic Primary Voters Flock Back to Biden After South Carolina Victory

Discussion: NBC News, POLITICUSUSA, FiveThirtyEight, Inside The Newsroom, New York Post, OpenSecrets.org, National Review, The B|E note, The Guardian, The Hill, Slate and The Nation

Elie Mystal / The Nation:
Black Voters Didn't Vote for Biden in South Carolina Because They ‘Lack Information’

Discussion: NPR, National Review and The Guardian

Amy Wang / Washington Post:
Amy Klobuchar drops out of presidential race, will endorse Joe Biden

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, NBC News, VICE, The Week, HuffPost, Associated Press, IMPORTANTVILLE, Washington Free Beacon, The Moderate Voice, Rolling Stone and Breitbart

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Chris Matthews Out at MSNBC — Mr. Matthews's show, “Hardball,” has been on the air since 1997. — Chris Matthews, the veteran political anchor and voluble host of the long-running MSNBC talk show “Hardball,” resigned his position at the network on Monday night, an abrupt departure …

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, TalkLeft, The Federalist, Althouse and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Jason Abbruzzese / NBC News:

Chris Matthews announces retirement, mutually parts ways with MSNBC — Matthews was due to retire in the near future with the events of the past week playing a factor in the timing of the move, an MSNBC spokesperson said. — Chris Matthews announces retirement

Discussion: Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, Big League Politics, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, National Review, The Lid, Raw Story, HuffPost, Balloon Juice, The Verge and Politico

The Daily Beast:
MSNBC Host Chris Matthews Resigns After Accusations of Sexism and Harassment

Discussion: Washington Examiner, One America News Network, PJ Media Home, The Hill, Jezebel and The Guardian

Robby Soave / Reason:
Chris Matthews, MSNBC's Least Woke Host, Retires Amid #MeToo Allegations

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, Slate and WGN-TV

Associated Press:
Chris Matthews retires from MSNBC, cites comments to women

Discussion: The Week, ABC News and Vanity Fair

FBI.gov — FBI:

Joint Statement from DOS, DOJ, DOD, DHS, ODNI, FBI, NSA, and CISA on Preparations for Super Tuesday — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Acting Director of National Intelligence …

Discussion: Associated Press, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Connor O'Brien / Politico:

White House withdraws nomination of Defense official who questioned Ukraine aid freeze — The White House is withdrawing the nominee for a top Pentagon post, according to two Senate aides, following reports that she questioned the legality of the administration's efforts to freeze military aid to Ukraine.

Discussion: New York Post, The Hill, ABC News, Raw Story and CNN

Bernard Condon / Associated Press: Kushner sells stake in firm using tax breaks he lobbied for

Dan Cobb / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

BREAKING: Officials confirm Georgia's first 2 cases of coronavirus — Two people who live in the same household in Atlanta's Fulton County are the first in Georgia to test positive for the new coronavirus, Gov. Brian Kemp and state officials announced Monday evening at a hastily arranged press conference.

Discussion: The Hill

Carla K. Johnson / Associated Press:

More testing sheds light on how virus is spreading in US — SEATTLE (AP) — An increase in testing for the coronavirus began shedding light Monday on how the illness has spread in the United States, including among nursing home residents in one Washington state facility.

Discussion: The Daily Beast

CNN:

Key Republican senator says he'll back Trump's controversial pick for intel chief — Washington (CNN)Sen. Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN Monday that he will back the nomination of President Donald Trump's controversial pick to be the country's next intelligence chief.

Politico:
Republicans tepid on Trump's pick for intelligence post — again

Discussion: Fox News

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
President Trump appears to have boxed in the Senate by nominating Ratcliffe as intel chief

Discussion: MSNBC

Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:

Defense Intelligence Agency Bans Some Domestic Travel, Sources Say — It was one of the surest signs yet that the highest levels of the U.S. intelligence community were treating the coronavirus outbreak like a significant operational concern. — Vice President Mike Pence said Monday evening …

Discussion: Raw Story

Joe Concha / The Hill:

CNN's Begala: Trump will ‘dump Pence’ for Haley on day of Democratic nominee's acceptance speech — Longtime CNN political analyst Paul Begala predicted on Monday that President Trump is “gonna dump [Vice President] Mike Pence in favor of former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley” …

Sean McElwee / Memos:

Memo: Final Super Tuesday Polling — Authors: Sean McElwee, Executive Director of Data for Progress, Jason Ganz, CTO of Data for Progress — The three days between South Carolina and Super Tuesday have been perhaps the most eventful of the race. Billionaire Tom Steyer …

Politico:

CDC abruptly postpones coronavirus press briefing — The postponement comes after a number of states reported new cases over the weekend. — The Center for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta. — The CDC today abruptly postponed a press briefing on the coronavirus response.

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

Major airlines, U.S. officials clash over passenger tracking related to coronavirus cases — The impasse has dragged on despite the growing number of cases in the United States — U.S. officials are pressuring airline executives to turn over the email addresses and phone numbers …

Discussion: The Week

Kate Irby / Fresno Bee:

Devin Nunes sues Washington Post. It's his 7th lawsuit in 12 months — California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes on Monday filed his seventh lawsuit in 12 months alleging that he was the victim of defamation or conspiracy, this time suing The Washington Post.

Discussion: Raw Story

Arit John / Los Angeles Times:

Why does it take so long to get election results in California? — Last month, the delayed results of the Iowa caucuses caused a crisis within the political world. Fundraising boosts were lost. Momentum was not enjoyed. It did not seem like democracy's best week.

Carol Morello / Washington Post:

Trump administration orders four Chinese news outlets in U.S. to reduce staffs — In a major escalation of a media war between Beijing and Washington, the Trump administration on Monday ordered four Chinese news outlets operating in the United States to reduce the number of Chinese nationals working …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Axios, United States Department …, National Review, Committee to Protect … and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Jason Leopold / BuzzFeed News:

Mueller Memos Part 6: What Witnesses Told Investigators About Trump And Russia — BuzzFeed News sued the US government under the Freedom of Information Act for the right to see all the work that Robert Mueller's team kept secret. Today we are publishing the sixth installment of the FBI's summaries of interviews with witnesses.

Edmund DeMarche / Fox News:

Trump attacks Federal Reserve's Powell over coronavirus response — President Trump took aim early Tuesday at the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell over the central bank's refusal to cut interest rates similar to other countries to defend against any looming financial downturns threatening …

New York Times:

Trump Targets Biden Again as Democratic Race Hits Critical Stage — On the eve of Super Tuesday, the president traveled to North Carolina to once again stage a rally in a state about to hold a Democratic nominating contest and eagerly mocked the candidates.

Alex Griswold / Washington Free Beacon:

Journalist Who Defended Katie Hill Failed to Disclose He Dated Her — A Playboy journalist who went to bat for disgraced former representative Katie Hill (D., Calif.) after her resignation failed to disclose that they were dating at the time her scandal became public.

Discussion: Redstate, Spectator USA and Page Six