News Reporter: Politics A.M.: Trump rejected plans for a White House statement praising McCain

Democracy Dies in Darkness

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Trump rejected plans for a White House statement praising McCain

The president opted instead for a short tweet that mentioned McCain's family rather than the Arizona senator, who died Saturday after a battle with brain cancer.

By Josh Dawsey • Read more »

In most of the country, McCain is being lauded as a hero. On Arizona's GOP campaign trail, he's a pariah.

The distance between McCain and the current candidates demonstrates President Trump's takeover of the Republican Party.

By Avi Selk • Read more »

Lawyer pulls back from claims about information Cohen has on Trump's knowledge of Russian efforts

Lanny Davis, a spokesman and attorney for President Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, expressed regret for not being clearer in assertions he made to reporters.

By Tom Hamburger and Rosalind S. Helderman • Read more »

N.Y. investigation, not Mueller, is 'greatest threat' to Trump, adviser says

"There are no constitutional defenses to what the Southern District is investigating," Alan Dershowitz, an informal Trump adviser, said.

By Felicia Sonmez • Read more »

One moment from McCain's 2008 run made clear his character and foretold Trump's rise

The presidential hopeful had wanted his campaign to be about the issues. It became something else.

By Greg Jaffe • Read more »

The Take • Analysis

The passing of John McCain also marks the passing of an era

McCain leaves behind a giant legacy and a challenge to a different generation.

By Dan Balz • Read more »

Senate candidate Kelli Ward suggests McCain timed pre-death announcement to hurt her campaign

Ward has made controversial comments about Sen. John McCain in the past.

By Kristine Phillips • Read more »

The Fix • Analysis

Whether he wanted to or not, John McCain played an outsized role in Trump's political narrative

In the last year of his life, McCain was leading the battle for the soul for the Republican Party.

By Amber Phillips • Read more »

Analysis

Trump, McCain and the waning of the 'liberal order'

McCain's neoconservative internationalism, reviled by the U.S. president, may be in its twilight.

By Ishaan Tharoor • Read more »

Fact Checker • Analysis

A misleading attack on a senatorial spouse's investments

Sen. Claire McCaskill's husband earns money from investments in low-income housing. A GOP attack ad uses big numbers to paint a misleading picture of swampy behavior.

By Glenn Kessler • Read more »

Too big to sanction? U.S. struggles with punishing large Russian businesses.

Attempted measures against an aluminum company caused so much market havoc the U.S. was forced to scale back.

By Jeanne Whalen and John Hudson • Read more »

Republicans do a delicate dance in states feeling the pinch from Trump's tariffs

In Tennessee and beyond, Republican Senate candidates have allied themselves with President Trump while trying to keep their distance from his trade policy.

By Erica Werner • Read more »