memeorandum: With Trump, invective obscures his policy messages (Los Angeles Times)

3:30 PM ET, July 15, 2020

Top Items:

Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:

Fauci: ‘Bizarre’ White House Behavior Only Hurts the President — Anthony Fauci isn't about to quit, despite the White House's clumsy attempts to stain his public image. More so now than at any other point in their uneasy partnership, it seems that if President Donald Trump wants to be rid of Fauci, he'll need to fire him.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Axios, The Hill, Mediaite, ABC News, IJR, NPR, Associated Press, Politico, New York Post, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »

USA Today:

Anthony Fauci has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on: Peter Navarro — Dr. Anthony Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public, but he has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on. — In late January, when I was making the case on behalf …

Jenna Grande / CREW:

CREW Files Hatch Act Complaint Against Mark Meadows — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Washington—President Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows appears to have violated the Hatch Act twice during separate interviews with Fox News, according to a complaint sent today to the Office of Special Counsel …

Discussion: The Hill

Los Angeles Times:

With Trump, invective obscures his policy messages — Throughout American history, incumbent presidents have typically run for a second term by highlighting policy accomplishments. But President Trump is far from typical — uniquely disinterested in most policy matters and, instead …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, IJR, The Hill and Political Wire

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump offers denial and delusion as pandemic crisis overtakes his presidency

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, IJR and Axios

Monmouth University Polling Institute:

Biden Leads But Many Anticipate Secret Trump Vote — Democrat strong in swing counties; close House ballot — West Long Branch, NJ - Joe Biden holds a 13 point lead over Donald Trump among all registered voters in Pennsylvania according to the Monmouth ("Mon-muth") University Poll.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Times, POLITICUSUSA, Politico and CBS Pittsburgh

Michael Tesler / FiveThirtyEight:

Why Trump — Not Biden — Might Have An Enthusiasm Problem — The Trump campaign has found its silver lining in an avalanche of awful polling numbers: Voters who support Donald Trump are enthusiastic about his candidacy. — Polls consistently show that Trump's supporters are more excited …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, POLITICUSUSA, CANNONFIRE, Raw Story and HillReporter.com

Gabby Orr / Politico:

Threat of a Trump without rallies triggers fears across GOP — In the days after President Donald Trump's poorly attended rally in Tulsa, Okla., senior campaign aides repeatedly assured their optics-obsessed boss it was a one-off debacle. — They demoted a longtime staffer who had managed logistics for the failed campaign comeback.

Discussion: Raw Story and Vanity Fair

Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:
Biden maintains lead over Trump in 2020 swing states, new CNBC/Change Research poll says

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Tulsa World:

Kevin Stitt ‘pretty shocked’ to be first governor to test positive for COVID-19 … OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt has tested positive for COVID-19, he confirmed Wednesday. — The news comes after the state recently reopened but is seeing record spikes in cases.

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, IJR and The Daily Caller

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Oklahoma governor tests positive for coronavirus after hosting Trump rally

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NPR and One America News Network

CNN: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announces he has tested positive for coronavirus

Sean Murphy / Associated Press:
Oklahoma's governor says he has tested positive for COVID-19

Discussion: Raw Story

The Frontier:
Oklahoma governor tests positive for the coronavirus

Discussion: New York Post

Fadel Allassan / Axios:
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt tests positive for coronavirus

Discussion: BuzzFeed News

Marc Caputo / Politico:

Florida GOP doctors Trump tweet to solve mail-in voting problem — MIAMI — President Donald Trump's harsh rhetoric against mail-in voting is causing a big problem for Florida Republicans, who once dominated the practice here. — So the state GOP came up with a solution …

Discussion: HillReporter.com, Alternet.org, New York Post and The American Independent

Iowa:
New Poll Shows 50+ Iowa Voters Broadly Support Option to Vote Absentee

Discussion: Iowa Starting Line and Iowa Capital Dispatch

Caitlin Huey-Burns / CBS News: Election Day could turn into “Election Week” with rise in mail ballots

George Will / Washington Post:

The nation is in a downward spiral. Worse is still to come. — Because of his incontinent use of it, the rhetorical mustard that the president slathers on every subject has lost its tang. The entertainer has become a bore, and foretelling his defeat no longer involves peering into a distant future …

Peter Baker / New York Times:

The White House Called a News Conference. Trump Turned It Into a Meandering Monologue. — The president spoke in the Rose Garden for 63 minutes. He spent only six of those minutes answering questions from reporters. — WASHINGTON — In theory, President Trump summoned television cameras …

Discussion: Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA, CNN, Politico, The Daily Caller, The Week, Mediaite, The Wrap, The Slot, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, The Hill, Fox News and NBC News

Stanley Kurtz / National Review:
Will Biden's War on the Suburbs Become a Campaign Issue?

Discussion: Power Line

The White House:
Remarks by President Trump in Press Conference

Discussion: Breitbart and Vanity Fair

John McWhorter / The Atlantic:

The Dehumanizing Condescension of White Fragility — I must admit that I had not gotten around to actually reading Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility until recently. But it was time to jump in. DiAngelo is an education professor and—most prominently today—a diversity consultant who argues …

Discussion: Althouse

Mark Hemingway / The Federalist: What To Read Instead Of ‘White Fragility’

Raphael Satter / Reuters:

Deepfake used to attack activist couple shows new disinformation frontier — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Oliver Taylor, a student at England's University of Birmingham, is a twenty-something with brown eyes, light stubble, and a slightly stiff smile. — Online profiles describe him as a coffee lover …

more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:

White House officials sent document to Pentagon criticizing Vindman after impeachment testimony … WASHINGTON — The National Security Council sent a list of allegations about Lt. Col. Alex Vindman to the Pentagon after he testified before the House in impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

montgomeryadvertiser:

Alabama Gov. Ivey issues statewide mask mandate in public spaces, beginning Thursday — After days of an “alarming” upward climb in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced Wednesday she will enforce a statewide mask order. — The move was an about-face …

Discussion: National Review and WBRC-TV

Lori Jhons / Office of the Governor of Alabama:
Governor Ivey Issues Amended Safer at Home Order

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Twitchy

Allison McCann / New York Times:

64 Videos Show the N.Y.P.D. Meeting Protesters With Fists, Clubs and Body Slams — The videos below contain scenes of graphic violence. Scroll to watch or skip ahead. — Punches, tackles, beatings and shoves. — At the height of the recent Black Lives Matter marches in New York City …

Discussion: Reason

Arden Farhi / CBS News:

Trump says he'd welcome Michael Flynn back to the White House — Washington — Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn lasted less than a month on the job as President Trump's first national security adviser before being fired in February 2017 for lying to the vice president about his interactions with Russia's ambassador to the U.S.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, IJR, New York Post, Political Wire, The Hill and Vanity Fair

Max Cohen / Politico: Trump says he would welcome Michael Flynn back to his administration

New York Times:

Trump Raises New Objections to Subpoena Seeking His Tax Returns — The effort came less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Manhattan district attorney to demand the records. — Days after the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a defeat to President Trump …

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:

Two crimes benefited Trump's campaign in 2016. Ever since, the president has worked to block scrutiny of those schemes. — A porn star was paid to keep silent about her alleged dalliance years earlier with a presidential candidate, which a judge has agreed was an illegal violation of campaign finance laws.

Nicholas Grossman / Arc Digital:

Free Speech Defenders Don't Understand the Critique Against Them — On cancel culture, the Harper's letter, the counter letter, Thomas Chatterton Williams, Bari Weiss, hypocrisy, and more — A few days after spearheading a open letter in Harper's defending free speech and denouncing cancel culture …

Discussion: Redstate, Real Clear Politics and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

MSNBC Host Joy Reid Faces Revived Libel Claim Upon Big Appellate Decision — MSNBC's Joy Reid, who just a week ago earned a promotion to nightly news anchor, is on the losing end of a big appellate decision that will shape the rules of many cases involving free speech.

Discussion: TVNewser and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Trump wants the CIA to cooperate with Russia. We tried that. It was a disaster. — Putin doesn't want a constructive relationship with the United States. He just wants to beat us. — There has been justifiable outrage after news reports surfaced about Russian intelligence services paying the Taliban …

Discussion: Business Insider and Defense One

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

GOP congressman faces felony charges over alleged voter fraud — The first sign of trouble came in December 2019, when the Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Rep. Steve Watkins (R-Kan.) listed a UPS Store on his election documents and voter-registration form as his residential address.

Discussion: Washington Post, The American Independent, The Guardian and Law & Crime

Mike Levine / ABC News:

President Trump's ‘dysfunctional’ upbringing created ‘dangerous situation’ for America, niece claims — Mary Trump says Donald and siblings were taught to view people as “expendable.” — President Donald Trump grew up in a “dysfunctional” family that believed “money stood in” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Sun and Washington Times

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:

The rise and humiliating fall of Jeff Sessions, a cautionary tale for other Republicans — If there was one establishment figure in Washington who understood Trumpism, it was Jeff Sessions. But Sessions is also the Washington figure who most clearly paid a political price for not seeming loyal enough to President Trump.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill and Reuters

Yahoo News:

Exclusive: Secret Trump order gives CIA more powers to launch cyberattacks — The Central Intelligence Agency has conducted a series of covert cyber operations against Iran and other targets since winning a secret victory in 2018 when President Trump signed what amounts to a sweeping authorization …

Discussion: National Review, The Daily Caller, Axios and Political Wire, more at Techmeme »

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar / Hollywood Reporter:

Where Is the Outrage Over Anti-Semitism in Sports and Hollywood? — The Hollywood Reporter columnist calls out the hateful outbursts against Jews by Ice Cube, DeSean Jackson and others and explains how the muted response “perpetuates racism” and contributes to an overall “Apatholypse.”

Discussion: New York Post, Mediaite, NPR and Rolling Stone

Nathaniel Meyersohn / CNN:

Walmart will start requiring all customers to wear masks — New York (CNN Business)Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is the latest national chain to require all customers to wear masks. — The change will start next week. Starbucks (SBUX)said last week that it will require customers …

Discussion: Walmart Inc., Oklahoma Watch, Gizmodo, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice and The Week

Jordan Moreau / Variety:

Nick Cannon Dropped by ViacomCBS After Making Anti-Semitic Comments … In the June 30 episode of “Cannon's Class,” the actor and TV host interviewed Professor Griff, a rapper who was a part of Public Enemy before leaving the group after making anti-Semitic remarks.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, The Federalist, The Hill, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Vanity Fair, Page Six, Mediaite, The Root, The Sun and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Yeganeh Torbati / ProPublica:

Trump Is Donating Ventilators to Countries That Don't Need or Can't Use Them — Nearly 8,000 ventilators are destined for foreign countries as part of Trump's plan to make the U.S. “king of ventilators.” But public health experts worry the machines are crowding out more urgently needed aid.