Thursday 26 May 2016

The Daily 202: Trump ousts his political director. Here’s what that says about him and his campaign.

   
  Share on Twitter   Share on Facebook
Trump ousts his political director. Here's what that says about him and his campaign.
Donald Trump refers to Mitt Romney as a &quot;choker&quot; during a rally in Anaheim, California, yesterday. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)</p>

Donald Trump refers to Mitt Romney as a "choker" during a rally in Anaheim, California, yesterday. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

THE BIG IDEA:

Rick Wiley only lasted six weeks as Donald Trump's national political director. Hired with  great fanfare in mid-April, the campaign released a statement late last night saying that it has parted ways with Scott Walker's former campaign manager.

Politico reports that Wiley got fired after clashing with Karen Giorno, who ran Florida for Trump ahead of his big win there on March  15. "For weeks, Wiley made appointments and had discussions with Florida Republicans and appeared to be building a new campaign from scratch," Ken Vogel and Marc Caputo report. "Sources say he refused, at times, to return Giorno's calls or take them. Giorno then began calling other Trump campaign officials to ask them whether Wiley had it out for her or for everyone. On Thursday, word leaked back to Trump. He phoned Giorno, concerned … 'Tell me what's wrong?' Trump asked her, according to one person familiar with the call. 'Karen unloaded on Wiley,' the source said. 'Mr. Trump is loyal. He believed her. … Rick picked a fight with the wrong person.' At that point, Trump ordered Wiley to stay away from Giorno and to neither call nor email her. 'Donald is loyal. And she's loyal,' a source said."

According to  Reuters, The Donald thought Wiley negotiated a bad fundraising deal with the RNC: "Trump told staffers and supporters gathered backstage before a campaign rally in California on Wednesday that Wiley 'should be fired' for his handling of a fundraising deal with the Republican National Committee … The RNC fundraising agreement included 11 states but not Nevada … Three sources confirmed Trump said Wiley should be fired after Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald told Trump that Wiley was responsible for leaving Nevada out of the deal."

CNN says campaign chairman Paul Manafort called Wiley yesterday to tell him Trump wanted to fire him: "Two campaign sources said Wiley was fired. Wiley had been working in the last week to fill state director roles in battleground states by next month and was making it clear that state directors would report to him, three Republican sources said." From a source close to the campaign: "It's been in the works for a while. Trump was getting calls from people saying that Wiley wasn't returning their calls."

Wiley has not responded to requests for comment.

Rick Wiley&nbsp;(Michael P. King/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)</p>

Rick Wiley (Michael P. King/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

-- Here are six takeaways from Wiley's ouster:

1. There is a raging internal turf war between the old guard and the new guard.

When Wiley got the job last month, Trump's national field director Stuart Jolly resigned in protest. He wrote an open letter urging Trump to "continue to listen to those who have propelled you to victory." There are a lot of operative types close to Trump who were there at the beginning and don't feel like they get enough credit for winning the nomination. It rubs them raw that new, higher-priced strategists from the establishment wing of the party – who have run a lot of losing campaigns – have been brought in over them.

This broader struggle has been typified in the battle between manager Corey Lewandowski and chairman Paul Manafort, a longtime friend of Trump's. Both are said to be constantly angling for Trump's favor.  Wiley came on as a Manafort guy, not a Lewandowski guy. But the former tired of him and felt like he was causing too many headaches, Politico reports.

Manafort—a longtime lobbyist who has worked with foreign governments—isn't getting paid, which is one way for him to show he's more of a peer to Trump than an employee like Lewandowski. He refers to Trump as "Donald" while Lewandowski, even privately, calls him "Mr. Trump."

Is Wiley's ouster akin to the Thermidorian Reaction in the Trump Revolution? It's hard to say, largely because we don't know how this ends.

2. Wiley's departure shows that Trump does not think he actually needs to run a modern campaign to win.

Trump said last week that he plans to win the White House largely on the strength of his personality, not by leaning heavily on complex voter data operations. Data is "overrated," he told the AP in an interview. The "candidate is by far the most important thing."

Trump said he will only use data in a "limited" way and argued that Barack Obama's success at micro-targeting was way overrated. "Obama got the votes much more so than his data processing machine, and I think the same is true with me," Trump said, emphasizing the importance of rallies.

What was most interesting in the AP's write-up of that comment is that Wiley called the reporters up afterward to clarify that Trump would indeed tap the RNC's voter database. Now Wiley is gone, and so is his voice.

Trump really is his own manager and chief strategist. He's a micromanager. It's why he used to pretend to be his own publicist when he spoke with reporters on the phone. And it's one of the reasons that the campaign has struggled to scale up. Trump believes that he's better at communications than his communications people, and that his gut instincts are more important than any poll.

3. Trump is not playing nice with the consultants favored by the establishment. Wiley was supposed to be the campaign's bridge to Reince Priebus and the RNC. He was Priebus's political director during the 2012 cycle, overseeing a $178 million budget and helped guide Mitt Romney's ground game that fall. Wiley worked in a consulting role for both the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican Governors Association in 2014. Then he went to run Walker's ill-fated effort soon after. He was deputy national political director for Rudy Giuliani in 2008.

It's not just the consultants. After going off on Susana Martinez Monday night, yesterday Trump attacked Romney at length, along with "low energy" Jeb Bush and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (for endorsing Marco Rubio).

"Poor Mitt Romney," Trump said. "Poor Mitt … I mean, I have a store that's worth more money than he is. … He choked like a dog … Once a choker, always a choker." He also called Romney "stupid" and joked that he walks "like a penguin." (More choice quotes from the speech are in Jose A. DelReal and Jenna Johnson's write-up.

Trump practices saying &quot;you&#39;re fired&quot; at a January 2015 event hosted by NBC.&nbsp;(Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)</p>

Trump practices saying "you're fired" at a January 2015 event hosted by NBC. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

4. In one big way, Trump is becoming much more like a regular politician.

The guy who famously told people "You're fired" – over and over again – put out a carefully-written statement that avoided using the word fired. That's what traditional politicians do: they talk about how so and so wants to spend more time with his or her family or pretend like discussions were "cordial" when they were anything but.

What made last night's statement from the Trump campaign, which went out at 8:30 p.m., so funny is the ludicrous claim that "Wiley was hired on a short-term basis as a consultant until the campaign was running full steam."

"We would like to thank Rick for helping us during this transition period," the one-paragraph email read.

This is exactly the kind of silly language most normal campaigns use when there is a shake-up.

Clinton campaigns yesterday&nbsp;in Salinas, California.&nbsp;(Melina Mara/The Washington Post)</p>

Clinton campaigns yesterday in Salinas, California. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

5. Trump's shop is beginning to feel more and more like Hillary Clinton's operation … circa 2008! That's when a revolving coterie of staffers fell in and out of favor, bickered publicly and contributed to the disarray in her campaign.

As Josh Green put it in his memorable autopsy of that effort, "Her advisers couldn't execute strategy; they routinely attacked and undermined each other, and Clinton never forced a resolution," Green wrote for The Atlantic. "Major decisions would be put off for weeks until suddenly she would erupt, driving her staff to panic and misfire."

Though there have been rumors of staff shake ups in Hillaryland – including a breaking news alert from Politico on the eve of the New Hampshire primary -- so far none have actually happened. Even after embarrassing losses to a septuagenarian socialist from Vermont.

What's perhaps most remarkable about the Clinton campaign in 2016 is the dearth of drama (at least in public). There have been shockingly few big leaks, considering how many more people work on Clinton's campaign than Trump's. (Candidates and elected officials are smart to remember this truism: Angry staff are chatty staff.)

In 2008, the staff could not agree on a strategy for HRC. This now bedevils Trump's campaign. More from Josh's old story: "Mark Penn and Bill Clinton pressed for aggressive confrontation to tear Obama down, while senior advisers like Harold Ickes, Patti Solis Doyle, Mandy Grunwald, and Howard Wolfson counseled restraint and an emphasis on her softer side that would lift her up. The two strategies were directly at odds."

6. But, but, but: Trump is still more decisive than Clinton. One of the weaknesses that has defined Hillary's quarter century on the national stage is her tendency to put off hard choices as long as possible. Donald seem to enjoy being a decider—even if he's making the wrong decision—because he believes he can just change his mind again. Which he does a lot. Wiley is the latest data point.

Welcome to the Daily 202, PowerPost's morning newsletter.
With contributions from Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep) and Elise Viebeck (@eliseviebeck) Sign up to receive the newsletter.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:

-- Obama apologized for the brutal killing of a 20-year-old Okinawa woman, allegedly by a U.S. military contractor. The murder has shaken many residents, reigniting outrage over the large American military presence on the island. "This is an unforgivable crime … It has shocked not just the Okinawa people but also all the people of Japan," said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (David Nakamura and Anna Fifield)

-- R&B singer The Weeknd and rapper Belly cancelled their performances on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" last night after learning Trump was set to appear on the same episode. "I feel like the way I was raised was to be able to see through all the titles in this world - from religion to race," Belly said in a statement. "I just didn't want to feel like I was a part of a celebration for somebody who has beliefs that majority of us don't agree with." (LA Times)

-- Clinton is beating Trump among middle-income voters in the Rust Belt: The former secretary of State leads Trump by 7 points (46-39) in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to a new Bloomberg poll of working-class voters. "If he can't improve his performance among these voters, he may need to build a more conventional Republican coalition to win," pollster Doug Usher tells reporter John McCormick.

Those polled were most turned off by Trump's vulgarity: Sixty percent of voters said they're bothered "a lot" by Trump's use of words like "pig," "slob," "bimbo," and other lewd comments to describe women. Nearly as many—57 percent—were "deeply troubled" that Trump proposed tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year.

Meanwhile, more than half are bothered a by Clinton's response to the Benghazi attack, while 47 percent said they're turned off by Clinton's purported ties to Wall Street.

    GET SMART FAST:​​

    1. Nikki Haley signed legislation banning abortion after 20 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest. South Carolina is the 13th state to enact such a measure. (Charleston Post and Courier)
    2. Pregnant women infected with the Zika virus in their first trimester face as high as a 13 percent chance that their baby will develop a severe brain defect, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Lena H. Sun)
    3. Navy officials are examining a discrepancy over medals awarded to Chris Kyle, following reports that the late Navy SEAL claimed up to three combat valor awards that are not listed in his official military records. (Dan Lamothe)
    4. The new Taliban leader told commanders there will be no peace talks with the Afghan government, vowing to return to the "terror" of founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, who led the group at its inception in 1994. (CNN)
    5. A 33-year-old man was killed after gunfire broke out at a T.I. concert in Manhattan last night, leaving three others wounded. Before the shooting, a fight broke out backstage, which spilled onto the stage during the opening performances by Marino and Uncle Murda. (Travis M. Andrews)
    6. A Justice Department study finds 152 inmates were mistakenly held too long in federal prisons, with one man's sentence extending nearly three years past his scheduled release date. (Joe Davidson)
    7. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet backed a plan to better integrate migrants, hoping to stop the creation of ethnic ghettos and intensifying efforts to assimilate refugees by teaching them European values. (Anthony Faiola and Stephanie Kirchner)
    8. European regulators approved an $11.5 billion bailout loan for Greece, agreeing on several steps to ease the burden of the country's crippling debt. (AP)
    9. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) admitted to using medical marijuana while in office. (Christopher Ingraham)
    10. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) proposed a law to force presidential candidates to release at least three years of their tax returns within 15 days of securing their party's nomination. He cited Trump. (Karoun Demirjian)
    11. Foxconn, a major supplier of Apple and Samsung, reportedly replaced 60,000 factory workers in China with robots. (South China Morning Post)
    12. The former CEO of McDonalds criticized state proposals to raise the minimum wage by warning that companies will replace many workers with robots. (Matt McFarland)
    13. Dozens of cars were swallowed by a giant sinkhole in Florence, following the burst of an underground water main. (Elahe Izadi)
    14. New South Wales received emergency funds to combat its massive bat problem. More than 100,000 of the creatures gathered in one town, terrorizing residents and forcing them indoors. (Sarah Larimer)
    15. Hoping to eradicate an invasive species from its coast, Florida is offering a reward to the resident who can spear down the most lionfish by the end of the summer. (New York Times)
    16. …Rick Scott's not the only one trying to take a bite out of the harmful species: Whole Foods announced its Florida stores will begin selling lionfish – with their 18 venomous spines removed! -- as a seafood delicacy. (Sun Sentinel)
    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) arrives yesterday in Austin for&nbsp;a press conference to announce his state&#39;s&nbsp;lawsuit against Obama&#39;s transgender bathroom order.&nbsp;(Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)</p>

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) arrives yesterday in Austin for a press conference to announce his state's lawsuit against Obama's transgender bathroom order. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)


    CULTURE WAR UPDATE:

    -- Eleven states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its directive allowing transgender students to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identities. "The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, states that the guidance 'has no basis in law' and could cause 'seismic changes in the operations of the nation's school districts,'" Mark Berman and Moriah Balingit report.

    -- The LGBT fight is resurfacing in Congress, threatening to divide an already fractured GOP. Democrats won a significant opening salvo late last night, when the House approved a measure by Rep. Sean Maloney to deny payments to federal contractors who discriminate against LGBT employees, Kelsey Snell reports. "Maloney, who is openly gay, had proposed such language before, but it was defeated last week after Democrats accused Republican leaders of pressing members to switch votes at the last-minute. Maloney's victory does not mean that House conservatives — angry over what they view as overreaching by President Obama — will not continue to wage the fight."

    • Ryan has been cautioning GOP members that Democrats are trying to force them into uncomfortable show votes on LGBT discrimination. The Speaker has floated changing a House rule to restrict the number of amendments that could be offered on the floor, which would allow GOP leaders to avoid embarrassing floor fights.
    • GOP leadership is trying to "thread the needle" between conservatives itching to challenge Obama and those who think the transgender issue is best left to the states. But that is not an easy task since Republicans disagree on whether LGBT rights should be protected at all.

    -- Republican lawmakers in the states are being accused of using the transgender issue to distract voters from economic woes. Oklahoma is replacing Kansas as the hot new case study in this regard: "Some public schools are starting summer vacation several days early. Others are contemplating a four-day week to cut costs. And more than 200 teachers in Oklahoma City were handed pink slips in March. But instead of addressing a burgeoning budget crisis that threatens public education and other critical state services, Oklahoma lawmakers have been busy debating proposals to criminalize abortion, police students' access to public bathrooms and impeach President Obama," Bobby Ross Jr. reports from Oklahoma City. "With more painful cuts to come, Democrats are accusing the GOP-controlled legislature of creating a 'smokescreen' to distract the public from an estimated $1.3 billion shortfall caused by declining oil revenue and years of big tax cuts. 'You don't do all this craziness by accident,' said former governor David Walters … 'I think they're literally trying to create a smokescreen to cover what has to be one of the most irresponsible government periods in state history.'" 

    Clinton checks her Blackberry inside a C-17 in 2011. (AP Photo/Kevin Lamarque, Pool, File)</p>

    Clinton checks her Blackberry inside a C-17 in 2011. (AP Photo/Kevin Lamarque, Pool, File)

    STATE IG RIPS HRC ON EMAILS:

    -- The State Department's independent watchdog issued a highly critical analysis of Clinton's email practices while running the department, concluding that Clinton failed to seek legal approval for her use of a private server and that agency staff members would not have given their blessing if it had been sought because of 'security risks,'" Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger report. "The Inspector General's office concluded Clinton handled email in a way that was 'not an appropriate method' for preserving public records, and failed to comply with department policy. The 83-page report reviewed email practices under the past five secretaries of state and found persistent problems with ensuring that records are preserved in keeping with federal law. But the review was sparked by the controversy over Clinton's email setup and is particularly critical of her practices." (Read the full 83-page report for yourself.)

    -- Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said her use of email was consistent with other top officials at State, warning Clinton's political opponents will "surely misrepresent" the report: "The report shows that problems with the State Department's electronic record-keeping systems were long-standing," Fallon said, adding that "she took steps that went much further than others to appropriately preserve and release her records."

    -- The Post's Editorial Board says the report shows something much worse than merely "an error of judgment." It demonstrates "Clinton's inexcusable, willful disregard for the rules." From today's paper: "Ms. Clinton had plenty of warnings to use official government communications methods, so as to make sure that her records were properly preserved and to minimize cybersecurity risks. She ignored them. … Other staffers also used personal email, as did Secretary Colin Powell (2001-2005), without preserving the records. But there is no excuse for the way Ms. Clinton breezed through all the warnings and notifications. While not illegal behavior, it was disturbingly unmindful of the rules. In the middle of the presidential campaign, we urge the FBI to finish its own investigation soon, so all information about this troubling episode will be before the voters."

    -- "This is a bad day for Clinton's presidential campaign. Period," The Fix's Chris Cillizza writes in an analysis: "For a candidate already struggling to overcome a perception that she is neither honest nor trustworthy, the IG report makes that task significantly harder. No one will come out of this news cycle … believing she is a better bet for the presidency on May 25 than she was on May 23. … Trump's task of casting her as 'Crooked Hillary' just got easier."

    Bob Menendez&nbsp;at&nbsp;Newark airport on Monday&nbsp;(AP Photo/Mel Evans)</p>

    Bob Menendez at Newark airport on Monday (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

    -- Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), battling public corruption charges, endorses Clinton in an op-ed for Politicker NJ. Menendez was a national co-chair of Clinton's 2008 campaign, but he has not previously said who he would support as a super delegate. "Menendez was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for two years. He had to give up his spot as the committee's top-ranking Democrat when he was indicted in April 2015 on corruption charges, including bribery," The Bergen Record notes. "He is awaiting a ruling by a federal appeals court on his argument that some of the charges should be thrown out because the Constitution makes him immune from prosecution." New Jersey is one of four states with primaries on June 7.

    -- A lawyer for Terry McAuliffe, one of the Clintons' closest allies, told The Post that the Virginia governor has done "nothing wrong," maintaining the Justice Department will find "no evidence of wrongdoing" in their ongoing probe of McAuliffe's 2013 campaign. From Jenna Portnoy: Federal investigators "for whatever reason" became interested in McAuliffe's foreign sources of income from a period before he entered public office, attorney James Cooper said yesterday. "And that is the predicate for continuing their investigation," he said.

    McAuliffe invited the Chinese national at the center of the federal investigation to a 2013 fundraiser at Hillary's private Washington home, where he shook Clinton's hand -- one of "at least three" interactions between Wang Wenliang and McAuliffe, according to Time Magazine's Michael Scherer. McAuliffe initially told reporters this week he could not remember ever meeting Wang, though he later clarified that his staff had informed him of several likely meetings. "I did no deals," McAuliffe said Wednesday. "I would not know the man if he sat in the chair next to me."

    TWO STORIES THAT COULD IMPACT THE VEEPSTAKES:

    Elizabeth Warren&nbsp;questions witnesses during a Senate hearing.&nbsp;(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)</p>

    Elizabeth Warren questions witnesses during a Senate hearing. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

    -- Trump opened a new line of attack against Elizabeth Warren, accusing the senator of being a "total hypocrite" because she "bought foreclosed housing and made a quick killing." The Boston Globe's looks into this and finds some there there: "Trump … focused on a practice from Warren's past in which she bought or helped finance two dozen properties in Oklahoma for various family members over about two decades," Annie Linskey reports. "About half the homes were properties that Warren's older brother and nephew, both construction workers, either renovated themselves and sold at a profit or managed as rental units … Records show that at least two of the properties were purchased out of foreclosure. Warren's family held on to one of them for 13 years before selling it for $26,000 more than the purchase price. The other was lived in by the family for more than six years … before it was sold for $85,000 more than the purchase price. In the case of homes that Warren purchased or financed for her family, two were sold within a year." [Including one that was bought and sold within weeks]

    Bob Corker&nbsp;leaves Trump Tower on Monday&nbsp;after meeting with Trump. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)</p>

    Bob Corker leaves Trump Tower on Monday after meeting with Trump. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

    -- The Wall Street Journal reports that a real-estate firm that has been a favored investment of Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) is under investigation by federal officials for alleged accounting fraud. From Brody Mullins and Aruna Viswanatha: "Federal officials are focusing their examination of CBL & Associates Properties Inc. on whether officials at the Chattanooga company falsified information on financial statements to banks when applying for financing arrangements. Officials have also separately asked questions about the relationship between the company and Sen. Corker, who is close with senior executives at the firm and has made millions of dollars in profits trading the company's stock in recent years. Corker's stock trades in the company were large, with fifteen valued between $500,001 and $1 million; 30 valued between $1 million and $5 million; and three larger than $5 million, according to FEC filings." Authorities don't believe Corker was involved in the company's potential accounting issues, but said they are interested in "learning more" about the senator's trading in CBL's stock. Corker spokeswoman Micah Johnson said the investigation is "baseless." Corker met with Trump privately on Monday at Trump Tower.

    A woman waits to greet Bernie on the rope line after&nbsp;his rally at the Big League Dreams Sports Park yesterday in Cathedral City, Calif. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)</p>

    A woman waits to greet Bernie on the rope line after his rally at the Big League Dreams Sports Park yesterday in Cathedral City, Calif. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

    SANDERS IS NOT GROWING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: 

    -- California voters are turning out in record numbers to support Bernie – but they are making clear they want nothing to do with the party that's behind his bid. An important David Weigel dispatch: "Little about the 2016 primaries has been predictable, but one exception is Sanders's antiseptic approach to the party whose nomination he is still trying to win. The longest-serving independent member of Congress has declined to officially become a Democrat while insisting the party must change. Sanders and his supporters are reveling in an inside-outside game, trying to influence the party while building a force outside it … They have decried the 'disenfranchisement' of independents who have been unable to vote in closed primaries, arguing that they would not just make the party more open but improve it. [And] Sanders's massive California rallies are full of the skeptics, refuting the idea that independents are looking for a path between left and right …Patti Davis, 66, ran a weekend phone bank to nudge non-Democrats to switch parties and found many willing to back Sanders if it didn't mean a long-term commitment. 'We want to be able to pick individuals, not parties,' Laurie Kasparian said at Sanders's Irvine rally."

    THE BATTLE FOR CALIFORNIA:

    -- Both candidates continued barnstorming ahead of the June 7 primary. Clinton held rallies in Orange County, Northern California and Salinas, while he worked large crowds in two of Southern California's desert communities.

    -- The Clinton campaign has decided to advertise in the Golden State after all. A day after Sanders announced a new $1.5 million ad buy, Clinton announced an "about six-figure" buy of her own. "Ads featuring actor Morgan Freeman as well as labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta will air beginning on Friday in Fresno, Sacramento, and Los Angeles media markets. Some ads will also target Latino voters and Asian American voters," Abby Phillip reports.

    -- A new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found that in the last month the race between Sanders and Clinton has tightened. Clinton now leads 46-44 over Sanders compared to 48-41 in March.

    -- The San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board today slams Clinton for refusing to debate Sanders. "The Clinton campaign no doubt figured that whatever flak she might encounter for the broken promise would be preferable to the potential of a gaffe or awkward debate moment that might go viral," the board writes.

    -- Sanders maintained his hardline opposition to the death penalty, even in the case of accused Charleston gunman Dylann Roof: "Sen. Sanders opposes the death penalty," spokesman Michael Briggs reiterated. "He believes those who are convicted of the most horrible crimes should be imprisoned for the rest of their lives without the possibility of parole." Clinton and Obama are both staunchly opposed to capital punishment but have acknowledged concessions in "egregious circumstances." (HuffPost)

    -- Disney CEO Bob Iger blasted Sanders for holding an event right outside Disneyland to attack him and his company. "To Bernie Sanders: We created 11,000 new jobs at Disneyland in the past decade, and our company has created 18,000 in the US in the last five years," Iger wrote in a Facebook post. "How many jobs have you created? What have you contributed to the US economy?" (The Wrap)

    -- The United Auto Workers Union endorsed Clinton, praising the Democratic front-runner as the "best choice for our members and our nation in the November election."

    -- The nation's industrial labor unions, led by the AFL-CIO, are beginning a major grass-roots effort to target blue-collar, white union households who might be amenable to supporting Trump. From USA Today's Heidi M. Przybyla: "The nation's largest labor federation wants to be a bulwark against the real estate billionaire in Rust Belt battlegrounds … The campaign, which ramps up this week and next, will include digital ad buys, door knocking and phone banking and is expected to reach between 5 million and 6 million voters in key swing states." Many of Trump's target voters are among the federation's 12.5 million rank-and-file members.

    -- Would Hillary push another stimulus package in her first 100 days? "We now know two of the first policies Clinton would push in Congress if she wins the presidency," Jim Tankersley reports. "One is controversial politically and also crucial to the coalition she appears to need to win the November election. The other is probably the lowest ratio of 'sexiness' to 'economic importance' that you'll find in a political campaign. Taken together, they form part of her "pro-business" agenda for her first 100 days in office: According to those close to the campaign, Clinton would send Congress a bill to spend more federal money on infrastructure. ... Aides suggest the price tag will be more than $275 billion. The other, much sexier bill she's promised to put forth in that time frame would overhaul immigration policy. It would, among other things, allow millions of Americans who entered the country illegally to eventually earn citizenship here."


    THE DAILY DONALD:

    Trump speaks in&nbsp;Anaheim.&nbsp;(Spencer Platt/Getty)</p>

    Trump speaks in Anaheim. (Spencer Platt/Getty)

    -- Paul Ryan reiterated during a press conference yesterday that he is not ready to endorse Trump. The two spoke by phone last night. A Ryan spokesman said it was not about an endorsement. "Look, I don't have a timeline in my mind, and I have not made a decision," Ryan himself told reporters earlier in the day. The Speaker also defended Martinez's record, saying "She turned deficits into surpluses. She cut taxes. She's a friend of mine, and I think she's a good governor."

    -- Former Romney finance CFO Brad Crate was appointed as treasurer to two joint fundraising committees for Trump: Crate, who served as a top aide to Romney during his presidential bids and tenure as Massachusetts governor, will administer both the Trump Victory Committee and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee. (Politico)

    -- Hoping to preserve the House GOP majority this fall, Ryan is renewing his fundraising push to top donors – offering perks such as special access to the July convention and face time with party leaders. From Sean Sullivan and Matea Gold: "Those in the top bracket — people who donate or bundle $250,000 — will get a VIP package for [the convention], access to quarterly conference calls with key GOP leaders, two complimentary tickets to Ryan's holiday reception, invitations to retreats, and monthly policy briefings." Those at the $150,000 and $75,000 level will receive similar policy briefings and calls, as well as attendance at an annual donor dinner.  

    "The cash surge shows how quickly the parties – and party leaders -- have rushed to take advantage of their new freedom to raise large donations, a partial return to the so-called soft money era of the 1990s: Thanks to these changes, Ryan raised more than $23 million in his first five months on the job. By comparison, Boehner's finance committee – which could only receive up to $50,000 per donor annually, raised $35 million in the entire 2014 election cycle."

    -- A chorus of Republican leaders stuck up for Martinez:

    -- "Nearly three-quarters of the staffers on Trump's campaign payroll are men," the Huffington Post calculates, based on an analysis of his May financial disclosure report. "The New York real estate mogul is paying 70 staffers directly through his campaign. Fifty-two of them — about 75 percent of the staff — are men, while only 18 are women. Clinton's campaign, meanwhile, is roughly 10 times the size of Trump's, but has a near-even ratio of male to female staffers. Fifty-one percent of the 731 staffers on the Clinton campaign payroll are women. … Sanders has a male-heavy campaign. His camp's top 10 highest-paid employees are all men…"

    "Trump's campaign also appears to have a pay disparity between men and women in senior roles. Nearly all of Trump's highest-paid senior staffers are men: Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, deputy campaign manager Michael Glassner, chief policy adviser Sam Clovis, and director of social media Dan Scavino were each paid between $12,500 and $20,000 for April and May. The two female senior staffers — communications director Hope Hicks and national spokeswoman Katrina Pierson — were paid $7,700 and $10,486, respectively."

    -- Hicks, the Trump communications director, accidentally CC'd a Politico reporter on an internal email. It includes a request for the RNC to pull research on Whitewater.

    WAPO HIGHLIGHTS:

    민족통신, 미국인 조선공민과 특별대담 -54년전 3.8선 넘어온 미국 병사의 두자녀는 말한다-

    A screen grab from a North Korean propaganda film

    -- "An American GI defected to North Korea. Now his sons are propaganda stars," by Anna Fifield: "Their names are Ted and James, and they look like the kinds of men you might bump into on the streets of Richmond, Va., where their father was born. But they're speaking perfect North Korean and wearing badges of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the first two leaders of North Korea, over their hearts. Oh, and the younger one, James, is a captain in the North Korean army. They're the Pyongyang-born sons of James Joseph Dresnok, the former American GI who defected to North Korea in 1962 when he was stationed in South Korea after the war." And they've just appeared in an extraordinary video published online by a U.S.-based, pro-Pyongyang news service. The U.S. treats people's lives "as if they were as worthless as flies," says Ted. "I want to tell Americans to break away from their leaders' mindsets and begin peace negotiations with us. That's the only way to save yourselves."

    -- "Why the U.S. military turned a hipster tattoo parlor into a Special Operations lab," by Thomas Gibbons-Neff: "From the outside, U.S. Special Operations Command's latest attempt to find and test the best technology for its operators looks like one more downtown storefront here. Inside, 3-D printers and half-built drones litter the 10,000-square-foot space, which was converted from an old tattoo parlor and former telephone book factory. High stools, wood tables and flat screens give it the look of Silicon Valley. During a recent visit, a young intern was working on a device that uses radar to see through walls. This is SOFWERX — a stylized name that roughly translates to Special Operations Forces Works -- a technology incubator that opened its doors at the end of 2015. The easy-going vibe is meant to attract people who wouldn't ordinarily think to work with SOCOM ... A door next to an old cafe is a lot easier to walk into with an idea than, say, a base with armed sentries and a gate."

    • Speaking of much-needed technology upgrades: The Department of Defense is coordinating its nuclear force operations on 8-inch floppy disks, according to a new GAO report, using the long-outdated technology in projects related to intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers and tanker support aircraft. (CNBC)
    Obama bows as he visits the Jade Emperor Pagoda in&nbsp;Vietnam.&nbsp;(AP/Carolyn Kaster)</p>

    Obama bows as he visits the Jade Emperor Pagoda in Vietnam. (AP/Carolyn Kaster)

    -- "In Vietnam, Obama delivers subtle message on the role of women," by David Nakamura: "President Obama stopped in front of a gold Buddha statue inside the ornate Jade Emperor Pagoda, where a guide explained that Vietnamese often portray the symbol of enlightenment as a female. Still, he added, many Asian families prefer to give birth to a son." "I like daughters," Obama replied. For the father of two girls, the line was delivered with good humor. "But it also served as a subtle message from a president who has tried to promote a set of democratic values to developing nations that includes equality for women. In Vietnam, the effort was not overt … Instead, the message was weaved quietly into the symbolism at virtually each stop along the way." At a town-hall-style event in Ho Chi Minh City, Obama told the crowd he would field questions in alternating "girl, boy" fashion to ensure fairness. "We think gender equality is an important principle," Obama said during a speech at Vietnam's National Convention Center. "Strong, confident women have always moved Vietnam forward."

    SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:

    Elizabeth Warren went after Trump again on Twitter after he called her "Pocahontas." Some of her posts:

    Trump blasted the protesters at his New Mexico rally:

    Clinton was on Ellen:

    Bill Clinton signed a plate:

    The scene outside Trump's California rally:

    Claire McCaskill poked fun at Sanders' supporters complaining the process is "rigged":

    Ted Cruz called for V.A. Secretary Bob McDonald to resign:

    Cleveland is racing to finish construction before the Republican convention:

    Scott Kelly met with lawmakers:

    Al Franken wished Amy Klobuchar a happy birthday:

    Lisa Murkowski enjoyed some German chocolate cake:

    A staffer for Angus King snapped this photo of Cory Booker:

    Justin Amash posted this shot from Capitol Hill:

    Good weather has returned to D.C.:

    GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE:

    -- New York Times, "Peter Thiel, Tech Billionaire, Reveals Secret War With Gawker," by Andrew Ross Sorkin: "A 2007 article published by Gawker's Valleywag blog was headlined, 'Peter Thiel is totally gay, people.' That, and a series of articles about his friends and others that he said 'ruined people's lives for no reason' drove Mr. Thiel to mount a clandestine war against Gawker. He funded a team of lawyers to find and help 'victims' of the company's coverage mount cases against Gawker. 'It's less about revenge and more about specific deterrence,' he said … 'I saw Gawker pioneer a unique and incredibly damaging way of getting attention by bullying people, even when there was no connection with the public interest.' Mr. Thiel said that Gawker published articles that were 'very painful and paralyzing for people …' [saying,] 'I thought it was worth fighting back.' Mr. Thiel said that he had decided several years ago to set his plan in motion. 'I didn't really want to do anything,' he said. "[But] … one of my friends convinced me that if I didn't do something, nobody would.'"

    HOT ON THE LEFT:

    "Gay Student Told to Change Pro-LGBT Shirt," from KCEN-TV: "An eighth grade student in Copperas Cove, Texas, was told to change her pro-LGBT shirt because school officials said it violated the dress code. Ali Chaney, 13, wore the t-shirt, which had rainbow text that said 'Some people are gay. Get over it.' Near the beginning of the school day, Ali was summoned to the office … where she said school officials told her she had to change her shirt. Her mother, Cassie Watson, said Ali called her crying because she felt school leaders were discriminating against her for being gay. … [Ali] added that the dress code is not enforced equally among all students, showing a photo of her friend wearing a shirt that insinuated President Barack Obama was an Islamic Communist. That friend was not asked to change clothes, even though the shirt made a political statement, Ali said."

     

    HOT ON THE RIGHT:

    Obama Admin: U.S. Stopped Sanctioning Iranian Human Rights Abusers," from the Washington Free Beacon: "The Obama administration has not designated a single Iranian as a human rights abuser since finalizing last summer's comprehensive nuclear agreement, despite rising abuse in the Islamic Republic, including state-sanctioned killings and the imprisonment of opposition figures.  The administration's hesitance to use sanctions as a tool to confront Iranian human rights abuses, despite past promises made to Congress, has prompted outrage on Capitol Hill among lawmakers who were given assurances the administration would act … The disclosure calls into question further administration promises to continue using sanctions as a tool to pressure Iran."

    DAYBOOK:

    On the campaign trail: Here's the rundown:

    • Clinton: Las Vegas and San Jose
    • Sanders: Ventura and Pomona, Calif.
    • Trump: Billings, Mont.; Bismarck, N.D. (He's laying out an energy plan. The League of Conservation Voters and American Bridge 21st Century created a video with clips of Trump dismissing global warming as "a hoax" and, at one point, saying he wants more of it.)

    At the White House: President Obama is in Shima City, Japan, for the G7 Summit. Vice President Biden is in New York City to tour Memorial Sloan Kettering Rockefeller Research Lab, attend a fundraiser for Russ Feingold and speak at Intrepid's 25th Anniversary Salute to Freedom Gala.

    On Capitol Hill: The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. to resume consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act.

    QUOTE OF THE DAY: 

    "It was an insult." – Actor Tommy Chong was disinvited by the Sanders campaign from introducing the candidate just hours before a rally in East Los Angeles. "It's lip service to get the votes, but they don't want to endorse what I stand for and what I've stood for all my professional career," the outspoken marijuana advocate told The Hollywood Reporter.

    NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:

    -- Summer weather has officially kicked off, according to the Capital Weather Gang: "Sunshine is plentiful through the day but clouds puff up in the afternoon. The upturn in humidity along with highs in the mid-to-upper 80s are enough to set off at least some isolated thunderstorms. Light breezes from the south offer limited relief."

    -- The Nationals lost to the New York Mets 2-0.

    -- House lawmakers nullified a District measure allowing the city to spend local tax dollars without congressional approval, dealing another setback to D.C.'s continued battle for self-government. (Aaron C. Davis)

    -- Intruders got past fences and gates at Washington-area airports 10 times over the past decade, according to an AP tally. Nationally, the AP documented at least 345 perimeter security breaches at 31 of the nation's busiest airports between 2004 and 2016.

    -- Officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District have drafted legislation to establish a Metro oversight commission, with "robust" powers to investigate safety lapses within the region's troubled transit agency. (Paul Duggan and Jenna Portnoy)

    -- A Maryland woman was found guilty of animal cruelty after police discovered 66 dogs living in her home, which was described by officers as "filthy." (Justin Wm. Moyer and Dan Morse)

    VIDEOS OF THE DAY:

    Two armed robbers at a Silver Spring GameStop store met resistance from an elementary-aged boy shopping for stuffed animals, who punched one of them several times. Read Dan Morse's story. Then watch the surveillance camera footage, provided by Montgomery County police:

    Little boy tries to stop armed robbery at Md. GameStop store

    Clinton said she was "distracted" by shirtless men at her rally in Calif.:

    Clinton 'distracted' by shirtless men at rally

    Seth Meyers riffed on GOP congressional dysfunction:

    GOP Congressional Dysfunction: A Closer Look

    Is Kim Kardashian a spy? Peter King said she's definitely an "asset":

    Kim Kardashian -- Congressman Says This Could Get Me Killed, But She's a Spy!!!

    Watch Trump say Romney walks like a penguin:

    Trump: Romney walks like a penguin

    A fly landed on Trump's head during the Anaheim speech:

    Fly takes a break on Trump's hair during rally

    Conan O'Brien poked fun at Trump, Sanders, Marco Rubio and Mitch McConnell:

    Celebrity Income Breakdown, Vol. 4 - CONAN on TBS

    A camper in Botswana filmed lions licking water off the sides of her tent:

    This is what it's like to watch lions lick your tent, while you're inside it
       

    No comments:

    Post a Comment