memeorandum: Trump Retreats to His Hannity Bunker (Susan B. Glasser/New Yorker)

12:10 PM ET, June 26, 2020

Top Items:

The Week It Went South for Trump — He hasn't been equal to the crises. He never makes anything better. And everyone kind of knows. — Something shifted this month. Donald Trump's hold on history loosened, and may be breaking. In some new way his limitations are being seen and acknowledged …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Raw Story

Wall Street Journal:

The Trump Referendum — He still has no second term message beyond his own grievances. — By The Editorial Board — President Trump may soon need a new nickname for “Sleepy Joe” Biden. How does President-elect sound? On present trend that's exactly what Mr. Biden will be on Nov. 4 …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Raw Story

Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:

Trump Is in a Deep Hole. Can He Dig Himself Out Before November? — Every single poll that has come out in these last two weeks has painted a dire picture for President Donald Trump's chances at re-election. His overall job approval rating sits somewhere around 41 percent.

Associated Press:
Trump zeroes in on base to overcome reelection obstacles

Discussion: Washington Post, Progress Pond, Alternet.org, Breitbart, Fox News, One America News Network, NBC News and MSNBC

David A. Hopkins / Honest Graft:
Will 2020 Dim the Myth of the Campaign Guru? Let's Hope So

Discussion: Bloomberg, Fox News, Outside the Beltway and Los Angeles Times

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Biden leads in Florida as Trump lags among seniors

Discussion: Mediaite, One America News Network, The Hill, TheBlaze, New York Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Noah Higgins-Dunn / CNBC:

Texas rolls back its reopening a day after pausing plans, as coronavirus cases rise — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Friday that he will roll back some of the state's reopening as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to rise. — “As I said from the start …

Discussion: The Hill and Disrn

Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:

Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texas bars to close again and restaurants to reduce to 50% occupancy as coronavirus spreads — The moves, announced Friday morning, represent Abbott's most dramatic action yet in response a surge in cases after he allowed businesses to reopen in the state.

Brianna Abbott / Wall Street Journal:

Daily Coronavirus Infections in U.S. Hit Record — India reports another record daily increase, with more than 17,000 new cases — The U.S. saw a daily record of nearly 40,000 new coronavirus cases as a surge of infections continues to spread, surpassing an earlier peak in April following the initial outbreak.

Discussion: Associated Press and Defense One

Joanna Walters / The Guardian: US coronavirus cases hit new one-day high as states backtrack on reopening

New York Times:

Inside Barr's Effort to Undermine Prosecutors in N.Y. — The firing of the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan was foreshadowed by a disagreement over a case linked to President Trump. — Shortly after he became attorney general last year, William P. Barr set out to challenge …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Raw Story, NPR, Politico, JONATHAN TURLEY, POLITICUSUSA, Alternet.org and The Daily Beast

Joshua Geltzer / Washington Post:

Four ways William Barr is already subverting the 2020 elections — Safeguarding the vote would be the top priority of a normal attorney general. It's the opposite now. — A normal attorney general of the United States right now would be focused on protecting the integrity of the fast-approaching November elections.

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

NPR:
Transcript: NPR's Full Interview With Attorney General William Barr

Discussion: Law & Crime, Washington Times and The Hill

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Barr claims voting by mail will lead to fraud, ‘counterfeiting.’ Admits he has zero evidence.

Discussion: Breitbart

Washington Post:

How Arizona ‘lost control of the epidemic’ — PHOENIX — A drive-up testing site equipped for several hundred people in West Phoenix was swarmed on Saturday by about 1,000 people, leaving some baking in their cars for hours. — A nearby testing station has already reached capacity for this weekend …

Discussion: policylab.chop.edu, Daily Kos, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money and WGN-TV

New York Times:

Biden Is Getting a Lot of Advice on His V.P. Here's What Voters Think. — A large majority of voters say race should not be a factor in his decision, and none of the best-known candidates has emerged as a favorite. — Joseph R. Biden Jr. appears to face limited political pressure from voters …

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:
Kamala Harris's Very Open Secret

Discussion: Breitbart

Joe Cunningham / Redstate:
Joe Biden Will Soon Choose His Running Mate, and He Has Three Good Options

Discussion: Washington Post and CNN

Brittany Renee Mayes / Washington Post:
Who do you think Joe Biden should choose for VP?

Discussion: The Hill and Breitbart

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Affordable Care Act — If successful, the move would permanently end the health insurance program popularly known as Obamacare and wipe out coverage for as many as 23 million Americans. — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked …

Discussion: Vox, National Review, Marketplace, Slate, NPR, SCOTUSblog, Daily Kos and Arizona Democratic Party

Washington Post:
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

CNN:
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to invalidate Obamacare

Discussion: Raw Story and Alternet.org

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare amid pandemic, recession

Discussion: Associated Press, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast and The Hill

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Trump Retreats to His Hannity Bunker — Beaten by the pandemic and down in the polls, a President and his propagandist create an alternate reality. — June began poorly for President Trump, and it's ending worse. Despite his optimistic pronouncements about the coronavirus …

Joe Berkowitz / Fast Company:
Exposure to Sean Hannity may be lethal, studies on COVID-19 suggest

Discussion: Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA and Twitchy, more at Mediagazer »

Louis Casiano / Fox News:
Green Bay mayor warns Trump before visit that hospitality ‘has its limits’

Discussion: Associated Press

Michael Kranish / Washington Post:

Mary Trump once stood up to her uncle Donald. Now her book describes a ‘nightmare’ of family dysfunction. — Mary L. Trump was embroiled in a feud over her inheritance two decades ago when her uncle Donald Trump and his siblings punched back in classic style.

Discussion: The Sun, Fox News, Politico, Political Wire, Sputnik News, The Guardian and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

Caroline Randall Williams / New York Times:

You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument — The black people I come from were owned and raped by the white people I come from. Who dares to tell me to celebrate them? — Ms. Williams is a poet. — NASHVILLE — I have rape-colored skin.

Ryan Goodman / Just Security:

10 Top Antitrust Experts Alarmed by Whistleblower Complaint Against A.G. Barr—and Office of Professional Responsibility's Opinion — On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee heard from a whistleblower inside the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division alleging serious abuses committed by Attorney General William Barr.

Discussion: CNN

Washington Post:

Protesters denounce Abraham Lincoln statue in D.C., urge removal of Emancipation Memorial — Police in the nation's capital were bracing Thursday night for protesters who planned to denounce and urge the removal of a statue of Abraham Lincoln, paid for by people who had been enslaved …

Discussion: Althouse

David W. Blight / Washington Post:
Yes, the Freedmen's Memorial uses racist imagery. But don't tear it down.

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Free Beacon, American Greatness, Redstate, Fox News and Wall Street Journal

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

America Didn't Give Up on Covid-19. Republicans Did. — Partisanship has crippled our response. — Earlier this year much of America went through hell as the nation struggled to deal with Covid-19. More than 120,000 Americans have now died; more than 20 million have lost their jobs.

Benjy Sarlin / NBC News:

The future of the coronavirus recovery runs through the classroom — WASHINGTON — Will your children be back at school this fall? — If you're having trouble answering that question, you're not alone — across the country, state and local officials are still struggling to develop plans …

Discussion: Washington Post and Daily Kos

New York Times:

Florida Smirked at New York's Virus Crisis. Now It Has Its Own. — With infections surging in Florida while they retreat in New York, the two states and their governors reflect the shifting course of the pandemic. — In late April, as new coronavirus cases in Florida were steadily decreasing …

Stuart Stevens / The Bulwark:

My Confederate Past — Everyone who grew up in Mississippi was steeped in the Confederacy. Even if they didn't realize it. — On Friday, the Mississippi legislature is scheduled to vote on changing the Mississippi state flag. As I write this, I have no idea what the outcome will be.

Washington Post:

Almost one-third of black Americans know someone who died of covid-19, survey shows — Nearly 1 in 3 black Americans know someone personally who has died of covid-19, far exceeding their white counterparts, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll that underscores the coronavirus pandemic's profoundly disparate impact.

Discussion: Raw Story

Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:

Black Lives Matter fundraising handled by group with convicted terrorist on its board — The co-founder of Black Lives Matter names a convicted cop killer as one of her heroes, and the BLM national organization is fiscally sponsored through a leftist group whose board of directors includes a convicted terrorist.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Aaron Morrison / Associated Press:
Black Lives Matter network debunks Trump Twitter post

Discussion: Breitbart

The Bulwark:

The Gross Hellscape That Awaits Ted Cruz on Parler — Note: This article includes offensive screenshots from Parler users. — As incendiary Twitter accounts have increasingly been held accountable by the enforcement of Twitter's terms of service, some right-wing users have taken to crying censorship.

Discussion: Twitchy, Protocol and Right Wing Watch

Chelsea Tatham / wtsp.com:

Florida adds another 8,942 new COVID-19 cases, breaking single-day record again — Friday's report of nearly 9,000 new cases caps weeks of record-high jumps with 8,942 being the highest ever. — The state of Florida has reported record high spikes in the number of new COVID-19 cases …

Discussion: Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Susan Crabtree / Real Clear Politics:

As Critics Rage, Pack Aims to Pierce China's Info Firewall — Even by Trump-era standards, the long saga to install conservative documentary filmmaker Michael Pack as head of the U.S. government's tax-funded global media agency has been a particularly tortured gauntlet-running test of wills.

Discussion: GovExec.com

McSweeney's:

Lest We Forget the Horrors: A Catalog of Trump's Worst Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions, and Crimes: The Complete Listing (So Far): Atrocities 1-759 — To be read before the 2020 Presidential Election. — Register to vote here. — Early in President Trump's term …

Fox News:

House to vote on DC statehood, as effort faces Republican opposition — This marks the second time the House has voted on such a measure in the nearly 230 years since the district was established — The House of Representatives on Friday will vote on whether to make Washington D.C. a state …

Discussion: Associated Press, NPR and Washington Post

Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast:

Biden Says He'd Use Federal Power to Require All Americans to Wear Masks in Public — ‘I WOULD INSIST’ — Joe Biden would use federal powers to require all Americans to wear masks in public to fight the coronavirus pandemic if he was president. In contrast to President Trump …