Evening summary
This is Lois Beckett, wrapping up tonight’s live politics coverage with an updated recap of the day’s key political events:
- Trump renewed his attacks on representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib after they were barred from entering Israel by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government; in highly controversial comments, the president went on to suggest any Jewish person who votes for Democrats “shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty”.
- In the two weeks since a gunman killed 22 people in El Paso, law enforcement officials say they have thwarted six separate mass shootings or white supremacist attacks across the US. The suspects in these recent cases targeted LGBTQ people, Jewish people, black Americans, Latinos and Muslims, according to law enforcement and media reports. Four of the suspects were white men in their 20s, and all but one of them were believed to be armed, some with extensive weaponry.
- Donald Trump has walked further away from legislation to expand background checks on gun sales in the wake of a series of mass shootings, telling reporters he was elected by strong supporters of the second amendment; without Trump’s backing, there’s virtually no gun reforms that would pass a divided Congress. According to one report, the president personally called NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre today to tell him that background check legislation is off the table. LaPierre confirmed, via a tweet, that he had spoken with Trump, and called him “strong” on gun rights.
- President Trump also tweeted on Tuesday evening that he was canceling a visit to Denmark and postponing a visit with the Danish prime minister over the prime minister’s remarks that Greenland, which Trump said he wanted the United States to buy, was “not for sale.”
Law enforcement say they have prevented at least 6 mass shooting plots over 2 weeks
In the two weeks since a gunman killed 22 people in El Paso, law enforcement officials say they have thwarted six separate mass shootings or white supremacist attacks across the US.
In online posts and in their alleged planned massacres, the suspects in these recent cases targeted LGBTQ people, Jewish people, black Americans, Latinos and Muslims, according to law enforcement and media reports. Four of the suspects were white men in their 20s, and all but one of them were believed to be armed, some with extensive weaponry, my colleague Sam Levin reports. Read more:
National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre confirmed, via a tweet, that he spoke with President Trump today about gun laws, and called him a “strong” president.
The Atlantic reported earlier this afternoon that Trump had called LaPierre to reassure him that any background check legislation was now off the table.
I spoke to the president today. We discussed the best ways to prevent these types of tragedies. @realDonaldTrump is a strong #2A President and supports our Right to Keep and Bear Arms! – Wayne LaPierre
— NRA (@NRA) August 20, 2019
Donald Trump said on Tuesday evening that he is postponing a scheduled meeting with the Danish prime minister over her comments on his proposal for the US to buy the island.
Denmark owns Greenland, and the country has said the island is not for sale. Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, said on Sunday: “Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously.”
A White House official confirmed that Trump had canceled a scheduled visit to Denmark, according to Reuters.
....The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
Updated
We’ve seen this entire news cycle before:
like clockwork pic.twitter.com/5e28guRA3F
— Mark Berman (@markberman) August 20, 2019
A good question from Los Angeles Times 2020 correspondent Matt Pearce: The National Rifle Association is in total disarray. It’s struggling financially, ensnared in legal battles, shedding board members, and with its second-in-command, chief lobbyist Chris Cox, exiled from the group after allegations that he participated in an attempted coup against executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre. So why does it appear that LaPierre was still able to get the president to back away from his public endorsement of passing new background check legislation?
What are we supposed to read into the fact that the NRA has been having financial cuts and a leadership meltdown and yet LaPierre was *still* able to get Trump to back off background checks? https://t.co/mb5KEDPBfu
— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) August 20, 2019
My answer: If you believe that the real barriers to passing gun control are NRA dollars and the political savvy of NRA leadership, you would expect Republican politicians to start breaking with the NRA right about now. But if you believe the real barrier to passing gun control is a dedicated minority of pro-gun Republican primary voters--organized, reliable, single-issue voters who could be a decisive margin in any close race--then you’d expect little GOP movement right now, despite the NRA’s woes.
It doesn’t matter much to you, as a Republican politician, if 90%+ of voters overall vaguely support expanding background checks, if the tiny percentage of people who oppose them will definitely be turning up to the polls, in your district, in a close race, to vote against you.
If you believe the real barrier to passing gun control is a dedicated minority of pro-gun Republican primary voters--organized, reliable, single-issue voters who could be a decisive margin in any close race--then you'd expect little GOP movement right now, despite the NRA's woes.
— Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) August 20, 2019
Report: Trump calls the NRA to pledge that background checks are off the table
The Atlantic’s Elaina Plott is reporting that Donald Trump called the National Rifle Association CEO, Wayne LaPierre, this afternoon to tell him that any push for legislation to expand requirements for background checks on gun sales was off the table.
Two weeks ago, after the United States saw two major mass shootings in two cities in less than 24 hours, leaving a total of 31 people dead, Trump had suggested publicly that he would support significant legislation to expand federal requirements for background checks on gun sales, a policy with overwhelming public support.
But the president’s public rhetoric embracing the idea of passing background check legislation had already cooled after a previous phone conversation with Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice-president and CEO.
The NRA spent more than $30m to back Donald Trump’s 2016 White House bid, more than any other outside group.
In a phone call today, Plott reported, citing an unnamed source briefed on the call, Trump told LaPierre that he did not want to pursue background check legislation, and that he would focus instead on mental health funding and tougher prosecution of gun crimes.
Earlier today, Trump publicly echoed the NRA’s talking points, telling White House reporters, “We have very, very strong background checks right now,” and adding, “A lot of the people who put me where I am are strong supporters of the second amendment.”
Currently, private American citizens in most states can sell firearms to each other without any legal requirement to conduct a background check of criminal and mental health records, although licensed firearms dealers are required to conduct a background check.
The major goal of the American gun control movement for the past decade has simply been to pass a law requiring a background check before every gun sale.
Scoop: Trump called NRA chief Wayne LaPierre this afternoon to tell him universal background checks are off the table: https://t.co/GQ00JiyjUV
— Elaina Plott (@elainaplott) August 20, 2019
Updated
This is Lois Beckett, in the Guardian’s west coast office, picking up the politics blog for the evening.
The Sunrise Movement, the new, youth-led environmental activist group, is celebrating the announcement from Kamala Harris’ campaign that she will be attending CNN’s climate change summit. The campaign had previously said she would not attend, citing a scheduling conflict.
But one of the group’s founders said that the Democratic party itself still needs to hold its own climate debate for 2020 presidential candidates, and pledged that “hundreds of us will turn up” this week to pressure the Democratic National Committee to host its own debate.
“A climate debate would show which politicians are ready to take this crisis seriously and give millions of young people a sense of hope and possibility unlike anything we’ve felt in years,” Varshini Prakash said in a statement.
.@KamalaHarris will now be attending the @CNN climate town hall instead of holding a big dollar fundraiser as planned.
— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) August 20, 2019
We're glad she made the right choice here. Choosing big donors over our futures is what got us into this mess. We need a leader ready to change course. https://t.co/Ec1E2ozM1U
Updated
It is time for me to hand the blog over to my trusted colleagues on the west coast, so that’s it from me, Sabrina Siddiqui. But before I go, here’s a recap of the day’s events so far:
- Donald Trump has walked further away from legislation to expand background checks in the wake of a series of mass shootings, telling reporters he was elected by strong supporters of the second amendment; without Trump’s backing, there’s virtually no gun reforms that would pass a divided Congress.
- Trump also renewed his attacks on representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib after they were barred from entering Israel by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government; in highly controversial comments, the president went on to suggest any Jewish person who votes for Democrats “shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty”.
- Also from Trump’s wide-ranging comments at the White House on Tuesday: the president is renewing his call for Russia to rejoin the G-7 ahead of the group’s annual meeting in France next week.
- Joe Biden continues to hold a commanding lead over his 2020 Democratic rivals, with a new poll showing the former vice-president ahead of other contenders by double-digits. The same survey found California senator Kamala Harris drop back to single digits after experiencing a brief surge stemming from her performance in the first Democratic presidential debate in June.
- 2020 presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand stood by her decision to lead the calls for former US senator Al Franken’s resignation after he was accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct; Gillibrand, who has been struggling to gain traction in the Democratic primaries, forcefully rejected the notion that Franken was not given due process when the allegations were made, stating it was ultimately his decision to retire.
- The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, acknowledged Islamic State militants are regaining strength in certain areas; Pompeo’s comments contradict Trump’s repeated claims that he has “totally defeated ISIS”.
Over to Lois Beckett on the west coast for more. Watch this space!
Updated
Trump: Jewish people who vote Democrat show 'great disloyalty'
Donald Trump defended Israel’s controversial decision to bar Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country.
The president also denied having any involvement in the matter, despite publicly pressuring the Israeli government not to let Omar and Tlaib, the first two Muslim women elected to the US Congress, visit the country.
“That’s a decision of Israel. They can let them in if they want,” Trump said at the White House.
Omar and Tlaib had planned to travel to Israel last week but were banned by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The Israeli prime minister cited the two Democratic lawmakers’ support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in justifying his actions.
Siding with the Israeli government over US elected officials, Trump told reporters: “It was all going to be a propaganda tour against Israel, so I don’t blame Israel for doing what they did.”
President Donald Trump blasts anti-Semitic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) pic.twitter.com/cIhfLgJr6X
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) August 20, 2019
The president also doubled down on his criticism of Tlaib for becoming emotional during a press conference on Monday when speaking about her grandmother, who lives in the occupied West Bank.
“All of a sudden, she starts the tears, and I don’t buy it for a second,” Trump said of Tlaib, who is the first Palestinian American to serve in Congress.
“I’ve seen her in a very vicious mood. I saw a woman that was violent and vicious and out of control,” he added. “And all of a sudden I see this person who’s crying because she can’t see her grandmother.”
In one particularly jarring statement, Trump went on the criticize any Jewish American who supports the Democratic Party.
“I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty,” the president said.
Oh my 🤦🏽♀️ https://t.co/hChOjPAzHV
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 20, 2019
Trump also addressed negotiations with China and insisted his trade war with Beijing was working, despite fears of a potential economic recession.
“China’s been grifting off this country for 25 years,” Trump said. “The fact is, somebody had to take China on.”
He added: “My life would be a lot easier if I didn’t take China on. But I like doing it, because I have to do it.”
Last week, Trump delayed the implementation of proposed tariffs on a host of Chinese imports until December in a bid to prevent US consumers from incurring higher prices during the holiday season.
“I am doing this whether it’s good or bad,” Trump added of his aggressive trade practices.
Trump renews call for Russia to rejoin G7
Donald Trump addressed a wide range of issues in his comments to reporters from the Oval Office, including trade talks with China, Russia and the G7 and Israel’s ban on Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
Here are the top-lines:
Russia and Vladimir Putin
The president reiterated his view that Russia should be allowed to rejoin the G7, stating: “I think it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in.”
“A lot of the things we talk about have to do with Russia,” Trump said of the group that includes the world’s most advanced economies. “I could certainly see it being the G8 again. If someone would make that motion, i would be disposed to think about it favorably.”
Trump’s made the comments days days before he is poised to attend the annual G7 meeting in France. Russia was suspended from the group by the US and allied countries in 2014 in response to its annexation of Crimea.
Trump claimed Barack Obama led the charge “because Putin outsmarted him”.
Boris Johnson
Trump lavished praise on the new UK prime minister, telling reporters Johnson was going to be “far superior” in a thinly-veiled shot at Theresa May.
“I think he’s going to do a fantastic job,” Trump said of Johnson. “I’ve known him. A lot of people know we have a good relationship.”
US presence in Afghanistan
Trump once again signaled he was looking to wrap up US military involvement in Afghanistan, stating that negotiations were ongoing with the Afghan government and the Taliban.
“We’ve been there for 18 years, we’ve taken it down a notch,” Trump said. “We’re not really fighting, we’re almost more of a police force over there.”
The president, who has been warned against abruptly withdrawing US troops from the region, nonetheless said Afghanistan was “a dangerous place”, while adding: “We always have to keep an eye on it.”
Stay tuned for more ...
Updated
Trump moves further away from background checks legislation
Donald Trump has once again moved away from supporting stricter background checks legislation, telling reporters at the White House the US already has strong laws on the books.
“We have very, very strong background checks right now,” Trump said while taking questions from the press in the Oval Office. “A lot of the people who put me where I am are strong supporters of the second amendment.”
Echoing talking points from the National Rifle Association, the president said expanding background checks was a “slippery slope” that could lead to a situation where “everything gets taken away”.
“They think you approve one thing, and that leads to a lot of bad things. I don’t agree with that,” Trump said.
The president declined to comment on gun control measures being pushed by House Democrats.
A recent spate of mass shootings revived the debate over US gun laws but has yet to produce a breakthrough. After initially suggesting he was open to enhancing background checks, Trump has in recent days backed down from embracing any new measures that would close loopholes or tighten gun laws.
Polling has consistently shown that nearly 90% of the American public supports universal background checks.
Trump inflating value of Scottish golf resorts by $165m: Report
Donald Trump has apparently misstated the value and profitability of his Scotland golf courses by $165m, according to a report published Tuesday.
Citing US financial disclosure statements filed by Trump for 2018, HuffPost reported that Trump claimed his resorts in Turnberry and Aberdeen were each worth more than $50m. At the same time, the website found that balance sheets Trump filed with the United Kingdom showed the combined debt for the two properties exceeded their assets by 47.9m British pounds, which at the time of the filing would amount to the rough equivalent of $64.8m.
More from HuffPost below:
His 2018 “public financial disclosure” filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics also claims those two resorts earned him “income” of $23.8 million. His filings with the U.K. Companies House office in Edinburgh for that period showed the resorts had actually lost 4.6 million pounds ― equal to $6.3 million.
His U.S. disclosure statement also fails to mention $199.5 million in loans Trump has made to those resorts: $54.9 million from him personally to Trump International, Scotland in Aberdeenshire; $144.6 million from his trust to Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire.”
The website points out that knowingly providing false or incomplete information on US financial disclosure forms is a violation of federal law. Signing a form containing false information can also amount to making a false statement, which is punishable by up to five years in jail.
Board member resigns from conservative LGBTQ group over Trump endorsement
A longtime Republican operative has resigned from the board of a conservative LGBTQ group following its endorsement of Donald Trump in 2020.
In a resignation letter to the leadership of the Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBTQ advocacy group aligned with the GOP, Jennifer Horn wrote: “I could never endorse him for President of the United States and still look my children in the eye.”
“In order to maintain favor with this unprincipled, unscrupulous President, too many in our party are fast abandoning the moral high ground,” she added, “and I fear that in this endorsement, the Log Cabin Republicans have damaged our ability to effectively advocate for equal rights for all.”
“In order to maintain favor with this unprincipled, unscrupulous President, too many in our party are fast abandoning the moral high ground and I fear that in this endorsement, the Log Cabin Republicans have damaged our ability to effectively advocate for equal rights for all.” https://t.co/eNQqXWIMtQ
— Steve Peoples (@sppeoples) August 20, 2019
Horn served as the chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican Party in 2016. That year, the board of the Log Cabin Republicans voted against endorsing Trump, despite backing previous Republican presidential nominees Mitt Romney and John McCain.
In a major reversal, the group publicly threw its support behind Trump’s re-election on Friday.
“While we do not agree with every policy or platform position presented by the White House or the Republican Party, we share a commitment to individual responsibility, personal freedom and a strong national defense,” Log Cabin Republicans Chairman Robert Kabel and Vice Chairwoman Jill Homan wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.
That did not sit well with Horn, who said she made a decision long ago that she would not support Trump’s candidacy in 2020.
In her letter, she condemned the president’s “regular verbal assaults against women, immigrants, elected members of Congress, party members who do not agree with him on policy or principle and his willingness to stoke racial anger and unrest in order to advance his own political ambitions”.
Defending its endorsement, Log Cabin Republicans pointed to the Trump administration’s push to decriminalize homosexuality around the world and the president’s appointment of Richard Grenell, who is openly gay, as the ambassador to Germany. The group also touted a proposal by Trump to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.
But Trump has drawn a great deal of criticism for his actions against LGBTQ rights, which include imposing a ban on transgender people in the military and rolling back Obama-era protections for LGBTQ federal workers.
Kirsten Gillibrand stands by calling for Al Franken's resignation
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand has faced consistent scrutiny over her role in calling for the resignation of former US Senator Al Franken after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
But Gillibrand said she has no regrets in a new interview with The New York Times’ podcast ‘The Daily’, which revisits the 2017 controversy surrounding Franken and renewed debate over whether he was treated unfairly.
Recounting her decision to call for Franken to resign, Gillibrand said: “With each allegation, as it grew, it created more and more concern in my mind.”
“I couldn’t defend him. I couldn’t carry his water, and my silence was doing exactly that,” she added. “So I got to the point where I wanted to say, very clearly, that I didn’t think it was acceptable and that I felt that he really needed to resign.”
Gillibrand was not alone in calling for Franken to resign after eight women accused him of inappropriate behavior that included forcible kissing and groping them without their consent. Several Senate Democrats followed suit, including other 2020 contenders such as Senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren.
But Gillibrand’s move was widely viewed as what kicked off the calls for Franken’s resignation, earning her the scorn of some within the Democratic party’s donor class. The New York senator has often been asked to defend her decision while competing in the 2020 Democratic primaries, where she has struggled to break through and continues to poll in single digits.
A recent profile of Franken in the New Yorker revived the issue by looking back at the moment from the former senator’s point of view. In the long-form story, Franken poked holes in the account of his first and most prominent accuser, TV host Leeann Tweeden, and said he “absolutely” regretted his decision to resign from the Senate.
Gillibrand pushed back on the efforts to downplay the allegations, stating: “I think just picking apart one allegation is really harmful. I think it’s harmful to the larger moment that we’re in.”
She went on to say Franken was entitled to “any measure of investigation that he wanted” and that it was his ultimately his own decision to step down.
“What he’s not entitled to -- and I want to be clearly on this -- is my silence,” Gillibrand said. “He’s not entitled to the Democratic party being in his corner.”
Gillibrand, who has spent much of her career combating sexual assault, did suggest there was room for forgiveness “for anyone who wants it”:
It just is a matter of having the humility and grace to take responsibility, to know that you need to say you’re sorry and move on from there.”
Updated
Not all Fox News anchors are willing to do Donald Trump’s bidding.
Bret Baier, a longtime host at the network, took issue with the president for criticizing Fox News after its polling found Trump trailing several 2020 Democratic candidates.
After the Fox News survey was released, Trump said there was “something going on” at his preferred network, while adding: “I’ll tell you right now, and I’m not happy with it.”
During his Monday evening broadcast, Baier hit back at Trump for questioning the legitimacy of the poll and sought to draw a distinction between the network’s news and opinion programming.
“Fox has not changed. The opinion folks express their opinions,” Baier said. “We do polls. Our latest poll had the Democratic candidates, head-to-head, several of them ahead of President Trump.”
“This poll matches what we are seeing out there, Mr. President,” he added.
Baier proceeded to invite Trump to appear on his show, noting that he was among the anchors at Fox News who “cover it fair, balanced and unafraid”.
Updated
Trump lashes out at Rashida Tlaib
Donald Trump has lashed out at Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib for getting visibly emotional in a press conference after she was barred from entering Israel alongside Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar.
“Sorry, I don’t buy Rep. Tlaib’s tears. I have watched her violence, craziness and, most importantly, WORDS, for far too long. Now tears?” Trump tweeted.
“She hates Israel and all Jewish people. She is an anti-Semite. She and her 3 friends are the new face of the Democrat Party. Live with it!”
Sorry, I don’t buy Rep. Tlaib’s tears. I have watched her violence, craziness and, most importantly, WORDS, for far too long. Now tears? She hates Israel and all Jewish people. She is an anti-Semite. She and her 3 friends are the new face of the Democrat Party. Live with it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
Trump’s tweet came one day after Tlaib and Omar held a joint press conference denouncing the travel restrictions imposed upon them by the Israeli government. Last week, the two Muslim congresswomen were controversially denied permission to visit Israel -- forcing them to suspend a planned trip -- after Trump pressured Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to let them in.
The Israeli government later said Tlaib, the only Palestinian American to serve in Congress, could visit her grandmother in the occupied West Bank if she applied on humanitarian grounds and vowed not to criticize Israel’s actions.
Addressing reporters on Monday, Tlaib said she would not travel under “oppressive conditions meant to humiliate me”.
She broke down when explaining her decision to decline a visit to her 90-year-old grandmother, stating: “We all decided as a family that I could not go until I was a free, American, United States congresswoman.”
“She said I’m her dream manifested. I am her free bird,” Tlaib added of her grandmother, holding back tears. “So why would I come back and be caged and bow down when my election rose her head up high?”
Updated
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer is taking on an expanded role in the 2020 election, leading the Republican party’s fundraising efforts.
The Washington Examiner reported on Tuesday that Spicer, whose tenure as Donald Trump’s top spokesman was repeatedly beset by controversy, will focus specifically on helping Republican win back the House majority.
Spicer has remained in the public eye since departing the White House, often appearing on Fox News to defend the president. He also penned a memoir on his stint as press secretary, but it did not go quite as planned. Turns out, the American public is not particularly interested in the guy who lied about Trump’s crowd sizes and once referred to concentration camps as “Holocaust centers”.
Many will perhaps best associate Spicer with Melissa McCarthy’s brutal portrayal of the former White House spokesman on Saturday Night Live. (In case you want to take a trip down memory lane, here’s the spoof that Spicer joked cost him “a lot of money in therapy”.)
Updated
Harry Reid cautions 2020 Democrats on Medicare-for-All, border crossings
Add former Senate majority leader Harry Reid to the list of prominent Democrats cautioning the party against taking too leftward a turn.
In an interview with VICE News, Reid specifically took aim at the single-payer healthcare plan Medicare-for-All and embrace by some Democrats of decriminalizing border crossings.
Asked if support for Medicare-for-All, which was introduced by Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, could prove challenging in the 2020 general election, Reid responded: “Of course it would be. How are you going to get it passed?”
“I think that we should focus on improving Obamacare. We can do that — without bringing something that would be much harder to sell,” Reid added. “Improving Obamacare: People understand that. They would appreciate that. It locks in many important things.”
The interview, which was published on Tuesday, is not the first time Reid has weighed in on the 2020 Democratic primaries. Earlier this year, the former Nevada senator said Democrats should spend more time talking about issues and devote less time to Donald Trump.
But Reid’s comments to VICE News reflect a sharper tone toward the sprawling Democratic field and the ongoing debate between the party’s moderate and progressive wings.
Immigration ranks among the issues that has split 2020 Democrats as the party grapples with how to best push back against the Trump administration’s draconian policies. Some candidates have called for decriminalizing the act of crossing the border unauthorized.
Reid questioned the prominence of the debate, stating: “There are so many more important things to do.”
“Decriminalizing border crossings is not something that should be at the top of the list,” he said. “It should be way, way down at the bottom of the list.”
Reid has pledged not to endorse a presidential candidate before the influential Nevada caucuses in his home state. He has lavished praise on all of the US senators seeking the Democratic party’s nomination, as well as former vice president Joe Biden.
Reid told VICE News he thinks “the world” of Biden and also singled out Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren.
“I’m not going to endorse anyone until after the caucuses but everyone has to be impressed with what she’s doing,” he said.
Updated
Tucker Carlson returns to Fox News with fewer advertisers
Fox News host Tucker Carlson returned to his primetime show on Monday for the first time since he was widely criticized for dismissing the threat of white supremacy as a “hoax”.
But many of Carlson’s advertisers did not return with him, according to the liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America.
Earlier this month, Carlson abruptly declared he was embarking on a weeklong trip “to the wilderness” with his son amid an uproar over the host downplaying white nationalism in the wake of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.
Media Matters nonetheless found that Carlson’s absence from Fox News has done little to stop advertisers from fleeing the embattled host.
The group found that at least five advertisers -- including brand names such as Nestle and HelloFresh -- ditched Carlson’s show over the last 11 days.
Fox News sent Tucker Carlson on vacation in hopes of stemming the tide of advertiser losses. Instead, advertisers have only increased the drop rate in order to get off the show (and some off Fox News entirely) before Tucker is schwduled to return.
— Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) August 14, 2019
Media Matters further estimated that Carlson, one of Donald Trump’s biggest boosters, has lost a staggering 70 paid advertisers since December. While several advertisers continue to feature on Fox News, at least one -- fast-food chain Long John Silver’s -- pulled itself from the network entirely.
Fox News downplayed any issues with its advertisers in a statement.
“Fox News is on track to deliver another record year in advertising revenue,” Jeff Collins, the network’s executive vice president of advertising sales, said in a statement.
“Advertising budgets that were impacted have been re-expressed into other programs across the network.”
Carlson has been a controversial figure at the network, which has largely worked in concert with the Trump White House. The initial drop in advertisers in December came after Carlson claimed immigrants had “plundered” America’s wealth and suggested they made the country “poorer and dirtier”.
“Fox News sent Tucker Carlson on vacation in hopes of stemming the tide of advertiser losses,” Media Matters president Angelo Carusone tweeted.
“Instead, advertisers have only increased the drop rate in order to get off the show (and some off Fox News entirely) before Tucker is [scheduled] to return.”
Updated
Kirsten Gillibrand releases mental health plan
Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to expand mental health services, dubbing the issue as a “growing crisis” in America.
Gillibrand’s mental health plan would direct federal funds toward community health centers and behavioral clinics, as well as invest in training for healthcare professionals to reduce bias against people of color and other vulnerable populations.
“Transcending race, gender, age, religion, or life experience, mental health is a growing crisis in our country — and it has gone without sufficient attention, care or resources for too long,” Gillibrand wrote.
“Antiquated stigma and systemic failures have kept millions of Americans from sharing their suffering with others, forcing them to struggle quietly.”
Gillibrand has struggled to gain traction in the Democratic field and has yet to qualify for next month’s presidential debate in Houston, Texas. The New York senator is nonetheless continuing to press forward with her campaign in the hopes of creating momentum.
Trump hits back as Anthony Scaramucci escalates feud in blistering op-ed
In case you’re wondering what Donald Trump is up to this morning, he is ... wait for it ... tweeting.
And the president clearly still has Anthony Scaramucci – aka “The Mooch” – on his mind, dismissing the ex-White House communications director as a “disgruntled former employee who got fired for gross incompetence”.
Just another disgruntled former employee who got fired for gross incompetence! https://t.co/63VhfqQwhx
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
What is this all about, you ask? Well, it all began when Scaramucci publicly withdrew his support for Trump after the two men traded barbs over the president’s rhetoric on race and immigration in the wake of the mass shooting in El Paso. Scaramucci went on to say he was assembling a coalition to stop Trump in the 2020 election.
Scaramucci-who? Republicans have criticized the media for giving Scaramucci airtime, given his record short tenure in the White House. Scaramucci served as Trump’s communications director for a mere 11 days before he was fired for delivering a profanity-laced tirade against other White House aides in an interview with the New Yorker.
Of course, Trump has spent several days directing his ire at Scaramucci over social media.
The latest: In an op-ed published by the Washington Post late Monday, Scaramucci deepened his criticism of the president and pushed back against criticisms that he only turned on his former boss because Trump first turned on him:
I broke from Trump because not only has his behavior become more erratic and his rhetoric more inflammatory, but also because, like all demagogues, he is incapable of handling constructive criticism. As we lie on the bed of nails Trump has made, it’s often difficult to see how much the paradigm of acceptable conduct has shifted. For the Republican Party, it’s now a question of whether we want to start cleaning up the mess or continue papering over the cracks.”
Updated
Joe Biden may have a hold over the frontrunner mantle, but Elizabeth Warren appears to have the momentum.
The Massachusetts senator and progressive icon drew a mammoth crowd of roughly 12,000 at her first campaign event in Minnesota on Monday. According to Warren’s campaign, it was the largest crowd she has seen while barnstorming the country over the past eight months.
.@ewarren and 12,000 (!!!) friends in the Twin Cities. Biggest crowd of the campaign. pic.twitter.com/Ku34Ix06qY
— Kristen Orthman (@KristenOrthman) August 19, 2019
Warren has steadily gained traction in the crowded Democratic field by introducing herself to voters one policy at a time. She has largely stayed out of the back-and-forth between other candidates, focusing instead on an agenda rooted in tackling corruption, restructuring the economy and expanding access to education while reducing student loan debt.
“If you want to get something done, you ought to have a plan for it,” Warren told the crowd in Minnesota. “Believe me, I plan to get something done.”
Joe Biden tops 2020 rivals by double digits in new poll
Joe Biden continues to hold a commanding lead over other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, according to a new poll released by CNN on Tuesday.
The survey found that 29% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters support the former vice president, as no other contender in the sprawling field made substantive gains.
Biden’s numbers, by contrast, rose seven points from a CNN poll conducted in late June following his widely panned appearance in the first Democratic presidential debate. California senator Kamala Harris, whose saw a post-debate bounce due to her fiery confrontation with Biden on race and segregation, has meanwhile dropped by a 12-point margin in the latest poll.
Progressive favorites Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are running neck-in-neck, at 15% and 14%, respectively, but still trailing Biden by double digits.
Why this matters: Biden’s uneven performances in the debates, coupled with fresh scrutiny over his gaffes, has had little tangible impact on his political standing thus far. Whereas other candidates have been boosted by moments, Biden has proven a durable frontrunner in the early stages of the primary.
Between the numbers: Biden’s position is bolstered by approval from moderate and conservative Democrats, as well as older voters. He also ranks highly on electability, with voters seemingly buying into Biden’s argument that he is best positioned to defeat Donald Trump. But among liberal voters, the race is effectively a three-way tie between Biden, Sanders and Warren, proving there is room yet for one of Biden’s rivals to topple his lead.
A word of caution: There are still more than five months remaining until Democratic voters cast their ballots in the primaries. A lot can change before the crucial Iowa caucuses and early voting contests in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. It remains to be seen if Biden can hold onto his lead as the field narrows.
Mike Pompeo: Islamic State is gaining strength
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Tuesday that Islamic State militants are gaining strength, contradicting Donald Trump’s claims that he had defeated Isis.
“It’s complicated. There are certainly places where Isis is more powerful today than they were three or four years ago,” Pompeo said in an interview with CBS This Morning, while adding: “But the caliphate is gone and their capacity to conduct external attacks has been made much more difficult.”
Pompeo’s comments echo a report released by the Department of Defense earlier this month, which found that Isis militants were regaining strength due in part to the Trump administration’s withdrawal of US troops from Syria and other policy shifts in Iraq. Although the report stated the group had lost its strongholds in both countries, it warned that Isis was “rebuilding its capabilities”.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he defeated Isis in the Middle East.
Pompeo also conceded negotiations between the US and North Korea had stalled, stating the Trump administration knew there would be “bumps on the road” as the two countries looked to reach a deal on denuclearization.
A profile published in the New Yorker on Monday cast Pompeo as the “last survivor” of Trump’s original national security team and the president’s most influential voice on foreign policy. The profile, which charts Pompeo’s rise from a rank-and-file US congressman to America’s top diplomat, also revived the secretary of state’s previous criticisms of his now-boss.
During the 2016 Republican primaries, Pompeo warned voters that Trump would be “an authoritarian president”. Pompeo was backing Florida senator Marco Rubio at the time.
Updated
Good morning everyone! Sabrina Siddiqui here, manning the politics live blog out of Washington.
Famous last words, but a relatively quiet day is expected at the White House where Donald Trump is poised to meet with the president of Romania. Trump, for his part, rounded out his Monday night be reviving his attacks on former aide Anthony Scaramucci and teasing his potential purchase of Greenland.
We’ll keep an eye on any other developments from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and break down the latest in the 2020 Democratic primaries, where Joe Biden remains a formidable contender. New polling has good news for the former vice-president, and not so good news for California senator Kamala Harris after her breakout moment in the first presidential debate.
Stay tuned and watch this space!
