memeorandum: Mattis's Rebuke of Trump Is a Big Deal (Jonathan Bernstein/Bloomberg)

10:20 AM ET, June 4, 2020

Top Items:

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:

James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution — James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump's Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump's performance as president.

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

Senator's ‘Send In the Troops’ Op-Ed in The Times Draws Online Ire — Staff members at the newspaper, including a Pulitzer winner, denounced an opinion essay by Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, calling for a military response to protests. — “Country Braces for a 9th Straight Night of Unrest …

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Post, Townhall and Raw Story

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:

Mattis's Rebuke of Trump Is a Big Deal — Rarely has a former defense secretary publicly criticized a president he once served — and never in such harsh terms. — It's hard to get across what a big deal it is that former Defense Secretary James Mattis has not only publicly criticized …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Defense One and Axios

Tom Cotton / New York Times:

Send In the Troops — The nation must restore order. The military stands ready. — Mr. Cotton, a Republican, is a United States senator from Arkansas. — This week, rioters have plunged many American cities into anarchy, recalling the widespread violence of the 1960s.

Elahe Izadi / Washington Post:

New York Times staffers denounce newspaper for Tom Cotton's op-ed urging military incursion into U.S. cities — Staff members at the New York Times are publicly rebuking their newspaper for publishing an opinion piece by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that called for military intervention …

Discussion: The Federalist, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Digby's Hullabaloo and New York Times

NBC News:
Mattis, other military leaders close ranks against Trump

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post and Politico

Oliver Darcy / CNN:
New York Times staffers revolt over publication of Tom Cotton op-ed

Discussion: The Wrap and Balloon Juice

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
New York Times Staffers in Open Revolt Over Tom Cotton's ‘Send in the Troops’ Column

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, Deadline and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Trump Campaign Looks at Electoral Map and Doesn't Like What It Sees — As polls show President Trump significantly trailing his rival, Joseph R. Biden Jr., his campaign is spending heavily in states, like Ohio, that it had hoped would not be competitive at all this year.

Discussion: Raw Story, KTVZ-TV and Washington Post

Public Policy Polling:

Democrats Lead Key NC Races — PPP's newest North Carolina poll finds that Joe Biden leads Donald Trump 49-45, the largest lead PPP has found for Biden in the state so far in 2020. Only 45% of voters approve of the job Trump is doing to 50% who disapprove.

Vicky Prodeline / Polls:
More Voters Trust Biden on Race Relations

Discussion: The Guardian, The Daily Caller, The Hill, CNBC, KTVZ-TV, NBC News, Fox News and Politico

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Biden ahead in Arizona, Kelly trouncing McSally in Senate race

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill and Bloomberg

Reuters: A triple whammy of crises tests Trump's support ahead of November's election

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Biden leads Trump in Wisconsin

Discussion: Axios and Washington Times

HuffPost:

William Barr's Vast, Nameless Army Is Being Brought To Bear On D.C. Protesters — Federal law enforcement officers are operating on American streets without identification, which experts say breeds a culture of impunity. — WASHINGTON ― Just a few hundred feet north of the White House …

Discussion: The Hill, Mother Jones, Defense One and The Daily Beast

Quint Forgey / Politico:

Trump promises Stone won't serve prison time: ‘He can sleep well at night!’ — President Donald Trump on Thursday promised his longtime informal political adviser Roger Stone would not serve time in prison, revealing the convicted Republican provocateur “can sleep well at night” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The American Independent and Mediaite

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump strongly hints at pardon of political adviser Roger Stone, saying he should ‘sleep well at night’

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

John Allen / Foreign Policy:

A Moment of National Shame and Peril—and Hope — We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of American democracy, but there is still a way to stop the descent. — The slide of the United States into illiberalism may well have begun on June 1, 2020. Remember the date.

Discussion: Mediaite, Fox News and Task & Purpose

Calvin Woodward / Associated Press:

AP FACT CHECK: Trump denies tear gas use despite evidence — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and some of his supporters are claiming authorities did not use tear gas against people in a crackdown outside the White House this week. There's evidence they did.

Tim Miller / The Bulwark:

The ‘Tear Gas Hoax’ Hoax — Trump apologists deny and distort the tactics used on the Lafayette Square protesters. — By now, everyone reading this is aware that on Monday night President Trump committed a grotesque and unconstitutional abuse of power: To show that he was “reclaiming the territory” …

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Washington Post and Breitbart

Sabato's Crystal Ball:

The Veepstakes: Handicapping Biden's Choices — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — Joe Biden should not be in a rush to name his vice presidential pick. Circumstances may change his list of contenders — and probably already have. — A predictable name leads our list, but a not-so predictable name is second.

Discussion: Political Wire

ABC News:
Renewed skepticism of law enforcement dims Klobuchar, Harris, Demings VP nod

Discussion: Politico and Florida Phoenix

Tim Stelloh / NBC News:

U.S. Park Police officers placed on administrative duty over assault on Australian journalists — Two U.S. Park Police officers who were seen clubbing and punching Australian journalists in video footage from a demonstration outside the White House have been placed on administrative duty, officials said Wednesday.

Discussion: Bloomberg

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
A dangerous new factor in an uneasy moment: Unidentified law enforcement officers

Discussion: The Crime Report and Daily Kos

The Hill:
Un-identified military personnel extend perimeter around the White House

Discussion: DCist and Daily Kos

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Republicans face looming unemployment dilemma — Forty million Americans are unemployed and extra unemployment benefits expire at the end of next month. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are grappling with deep ideological divisions over what to do with the popular program in the middle of a pandemic and an election year.

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:
Trump Uses the Military to Prove His Manhood

Discussion: Washington Post, TIME, MSNBC and Reason

Politico:
Republicans urge Trump to keep Esper

Discussion: Raw Story, Associated Press, Breitbart, NBC News and The New Civil Rights Movement

Mike Baker / New York Times:

Another Man Who Said 'I Can't Breathe' Died in Custody. An Autopsy Calls It Homicide. — Manuel Ellis of Tacoma, Wash., died in part as a result of how he was restrained, according to the medical examiner, who concluded that his death was a homicide. — SEATTLE — A black man who called out …

Discussion: The Crime Report and VICE

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

Jobless claims, total unemployment level worse than expected — Weekly jobless claims totaled 1.877 million last week vs. the Dow Jones estimate of 1.775 million. — Continuing claims rose sharply, hitting nearly 21.5 million in a sign that workers are being called back to work slowly.

Michele Munz / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

No new COVID-19 cases from Lake of the Ozarks crowds, Missouri health director says — ST. LOUIS — The large crowds of people at the Lake of the Ozarks over Memorial Day weekend have not led to any more reported cases of COVID-19, Missouri's top health official health department said Wednesday.

Discussion: Fox News

New York Post:

Two NYPD cops shot, one stabbed during ‘cowardly’ attack in Brooklyn — Two police officers were shot and a third was stabbed in a confrontation with a suspect in Brooklyn late Wednesday night, police and sources said. — The melee unfolded when a suspect approached a cop …

Discussion: Townhall, National Review, Fox News, Disrn, American Greatness and The Daily Caller

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Facebook runs ad from Congressional candidate urging people to shoot “looting hoards” — This is the online edition of the Popular Information newsletter. Sign up to get independent accountability journalism in your inbox: — Facebook is facing an internal revolt over CEO Mark Zuckerberg's handling …

Discussion: Gizmodo, The Wrap and Vox, more at Techmeme »

Masha Gessen / New Yorker:

Donald Trump's Fascist Performance — Donald Trump thinks power looks like masked men in combat uniforms lined up in front of the marble columns of the Lincoln Memorial. He thinks it looks like Black Hawk helicopters hovering so low over protesters that they chop off the tops of trees.

Washington Post:

Earth's carbon dioxide levels hit record high, despite coronavirus-related emissions drop — There is likely more carbon dioxide in the air now than at anytime in 3 million years. — The coronavirus-related economic downturn may have set off a sudden plunge in global greenhouse gas emissions …

Eric Felten / RealClearInvestigations:

Covid vs. Climate Modeling: Cloudy With a Chance of Politics — Above, from “The Crystal Ball” (1904) by John William Waterhouse. Predictions are a fraught enterprise. With computer models too. — COVID-19 has proved to be a crisis not only for public health but for public policy.

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

BunkerBoy's Photo-Op War — Is this an authoritarian crackdown by Donald Trump or just another politicized spectacle? — On Tuesday morning, a day after Donald Trump crossed Lafayette Square for an awkward photo op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church, I met an outraged Lutheran pastor there …

Discussion: Raw Story

Associated Press:

Virginia governor to announce removal of Lee statue — RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to announce plans Thursday to remove one of the country's most iconic monuments to the Confederacy, a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee along Richmond's prominent Monument Avenue …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Virginia Mercury, CNBC, Blue Virginia, KTVZ-TV, Lawyers, Guns & Money, DCist and Richmond Times-Dispatch

Edward Luce / Financial Times:

How things could go very wrong in America — It Can't Happen Here was the title of a 1930s novel about America. Fascism never came to America — nor is it likely to. But martial law, or something close to the militarisation of America's cities, is plausible.

Discussion: Raw Story

CBS News:

Americans' views shift on racial discrimination - CBS News poll — As thousands protest, their message is getting across. Comparing views at this moment to decades of CBS News polling, today we see more people — both white and black — saying racial discrimination affects both treatment by police and chances of getting ahead.

Clare Foran / CNN:

Rep. Eliot Engel caught on hot mic: 'If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care' — (CNN)Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel was caught on a hot mic at a news conference on Tuesday following civil unrest in New York City, appearing to tell another speaker that he only wanted to speak because of his primary race.

Discussion: The Riverdale Press, Disrn and NBC News