19 update

Fox News poll: Trump approval on…

International trade
38% approve
53% disapprove

Foreign policy
36% approve
54% disapprove

Guns
35% approve
56% disapprovehttps://t.co/TfdFWHIV9i
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 20, 2019

WH'2020 poll (Fox News):
Biden 52
Trump 38

Sanders 48
Trump 40

Warren 46
Trump 40

Harris 42
Trump 40https://t.co/7HXQMaGB2o
— Reid Wilson (@PoliticsReid) September 18, 2019

A new Fox News poll shows Donald Trump losing to every Democratic frontrunner in the 2020 election https://t.co/8wf5XCr9sy
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) September 19, 2019

Is Trump a racist?

– 46% of white voters said yes
– 80% of black voters said yes
– 55% of Hispanic voters said yes

(This is according to a Quinnipiac poll) pic.twitter.com/cCYzYkdlxB
— Bloomberg TicToc (@tictoc) September 15, 2019

A new poll finds Americans agree that taxpayer-funded stays at Trump hotels by government employees are a conflict of interest. Trump's failure to divest opened the door to this and other conflicts, and it's good that Congress is finally starting to act.https://t.co/GzxcCMJXAH
— Noah Bookbinder (@NoahBookbinder) September 18, 2019

91% of Republicans approve of the job Trump is doing

5% of Democrats feel the samehttps://t.co/Jg8zdMp1hY
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) September 20, 2019

Pres. Trump's job approval rating rose slightly in the latest @GallupNews poll, possibly in response to the Democratic debate on Sept 12. The polarization is stunning: 91% of Republicans approve of the job he's doing, along with just 5% of Democrats.
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) September 20, 2019

NEW POLL: Over one-third of Americans support beginning impeachment inquiry against Trump https://t.co/2dj4FBf98k pic.twitter.com/y21xN9Y7tI
— The Hill (@thehill) September 18, 2019

icymi

Do you definitely plan to vote for Trump for reelection as president or do you definitely plan to vote against him?
ALL
For Trump 38%
Against 52%
WOMEN
For 29%
Against 62%
MEN
For 49%
Against 42%
(NPR/PBS/Marist Poll, RV 9/5-8/19)
trend: https://t.co/HcOtBdvPmE
— PollingReport.com (@pollreport) September 14, 2019

The panel on @Hardball discusses the new ABC-Washington Post poll and a CNN poll, which shows that President Trump is heading into the fall with his approval rating slipping. https://t.co/UfSLdRNEuK
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 11, 2019

The Post-ABC News poll finds among registered voters:
Biden 55- Trump 40
Sanders 52 – Trump 43
Warren 51 – Trump 44
Harris 50 – Trump 43
Buttigieg 47 – Trump 43https://t.co/NtRRFZbmDd
— Terri Rupar (@terri_rupar) September 11, 2019

icymi

Do you support or oppose requiring political campaigns to report any information they receive from foreign governments to the FBI?
Support 87%
Oppose 7%
(Quinnipiac U. Poll, RV, 7/25-28/19)
more: https://t.co/219lgnboRD
— PollingReport.com (@pollreport) September 20, 2019

Trump’s bribing farmers who are losing out because of his tariffs

Trump is bribing farmers to make up for the damage he is doing with his tariffs. I wonder what Republicans would do if a Democratic president gave billions of dollars to primarily Democratic groups like women-owned businesses or HBCUs?

"At $28 billion so far, the farm rescue is more than twice as expensive as the 2009 bailout of Detroit’s Big Three automakers, which cost taxpayers $12 billion." https://t.co/nTsH1I6et9 via @BW
— Mike Dorning (@MikeDorning) September 19, 2019

Size matters. Big U.S. farms get even bigger amid China trade war https://t.co/gBepdToioR pic.twitter.com/ZB79guchvA
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) September 18, 2019

I told you: Farmers won’t blame Trump. https://t.co/hrG6u3ZSjx
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 10, 2019

Trump-loving farmers don’t blame him for the trade war — and instead think the ‘deep state’ is out to get them https://t.co/0cXPsZ4PRb
— Raw Story (@RawStory) September 10, 2019

Farmers are getting bribed with huge bailouts that compensate them for the destruction of their export markets. Businesses are being intimidated by the "exclusion" process that gives some of them a break from tariffs … 2/ pic.twitter.com/t9gVteuuYy
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) September 10, 2019

The vice president of the North Dakota Farmer's Union, Bob Kuylen, says he lost $400,000 because of Trump's trade war with China. Kuylen says farmers have "pretty much lost all of our markets since Trump took over." https://t.co/jamqfKbQ0H
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 31, 2019

It's heartbreaking to see farmers left behind by @realDonaldTrump. From expanding access to health & mental health care to combatting climate change, there's so much Dems can do to support them. We must make sure these communities are part of our platform https://t.co/kmHW0Ht9Ak
— Grace Meng (@Grace4NY) March 8, 2020

Trump’s war on blue states

Trump attacks blue states that didn’t vote for him but they are doing much better economically than states that support him.

A remarkable new study from @BrookingsInst shows that Red and Blue America are diverging economically way faster than you thought.

This is fertile ground for Trump's dual demagoguery: His combo of industrial virtue-signaling and hating on urban America:https://t.co/bIaWhB5Pjf
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 19, 2019

More dramatic evidence that the modern GOP, defined in hostility to social & demographic change, is being marginalized in the dynamic metros driving the economy: in 08, GOP House districts had greater median income than D seats. Now Dem seats have 8k more in $ than R seats. Wow. https://t.co/LyOCXVeYRb
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) September 19, 2019

Trump's push to revoke #californiawaiver on #climatechange follows his pattern on taxes, immigration, education, clean water: he's pursuing a "reverse federalism" to constrain and/or punish blue states. My take. https://t.co/Ob4HLjHV2T
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) September 19, 2019

New York is the latest blue state targeted by President Trump | Analysis https://t.co/up7zXxFU9r pic.twitter.com/7eU3Qp6Vcs
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 6, 2020

We must see the whistleblower’s complaint

It appears that the Trump administration is violating the law by not turning it over to Congress. Apparently, Trump wanted the Ukraine to investigate Biden’s son in return for military aid. How much corruption does Pelosi need to see. Impeachment was already justified and this just adds to its validity. As usual, Republicans try to confuse the issue. They will let Trump get away with anything as long as he appoints conservative judges.

Breaking News: President Trump’s desire for Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his family is said to be part of the secret whistle-blower complainthttps://t.co/4CmqwICl5B
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 20, 2019

The Trump Admin is clearly violating federal statute by blocking the head of US Intelligence from providing Congress with a whistleblower complaint described as being of "urgent concern & credible.” The stonewalling must end. What is the President hiding? https://t.co/Yg0LqT5HMd
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) September 20, 2019

Word https://t.co/nsYbqTr7LX
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) September 20, 2019

We confirm WSJ report that Trump pressed Ukrainian leader to investigate Biden’s son, and reveal WH Counsel Pat Cipollone's role in preventing whistleblower complaint from being sent to Congress. @gregpmiller @mattzap @carolleonnig and me https://t.co/2P4fnQQFXM
— Ellen Nakashima (@nakashimae) September 20, 2019

In fact, that July 25 conversation took place ONE DAY after Robert Mueller’s public testimony on Capitol Hill about the Russia investigation. https://t.co/J6JpTSMD02
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) September 20, 2019

Traitorous. Utterly traitorous. We have a president who is a traitor. https://t.co/ucMOYKIWUu
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) September 20, 2019

Why is this classified information?@realDonaldTrump demanding a foreign leader 8 times to get dirt on Trump's political opponent's son during a presidential campaign is not a classified issue, it's a crime. Cannot solicit anything of value from a foreign power to help campaign. https://t.co/cVGdmUubu6
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 20, 2019

This is very good from former DNI general counsel Bob Litt. https://t.co/Evu4CkTSNI
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) September 20, 2019

For those considering whether the whistle blower complaint relates to Trump-Giuliani pressure on Ukraine to create false dirt on Biden…

This is a great backgrounder

cc: @lrozen @gtconway3d @TheViewFromLL2 @brianbeutler @EricColumbus @sam_vinograd https://t.co/fPZCjdQXMA
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) September 19, 2019

FYI: Administration officials have shared at least some details of the accusations in the whistleblower complaint with the White House, to allow officials to weigh whether to assert executive privilege, an official tells NYT. https://t.co/H5RUvnG4GZ
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 20, 2019

This report is getting a lot closer to the worst-case scenario speculation https://t.co/KeJhVAhXjK
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) September 20, 2019

ZERO proof for this claim. None. https://t.co/pgx0sFWDlc
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) September 20, 2019

Is the House Minority Leader truly unaware that DOJ and ODNI are preventing the whistleblower from coming to Congress? https://t.co/lOLINmQdNR
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 20, 2019

Actually he couldn't have come to Congress, @GOPLeader, without potentially losing his job & his clearance. The law includes a workaround that allows whistleblowers to go straight to the intel committees, but once the DNI steps in—as he has—that clause is essentially nullified. https://t.co/wi8LIbK8to
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) September 20, 2019

Trump and his minions went to great lengths to benefit from foreign interference in our democracy, and engaged in extensive corruption to cover it up.

He got away with it.

So why wouldn't he try the same thing again?

My piece on the Ukraine connection:https://t.co/jbCdyaw36s
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 20, 2019

This story about Hunter Biden wound up being extremely prescient.

Especially this exchange, about the author of Clinton Cash/Breitbart editor Peter Schweitzer using the same funnel-to-the-New-York-Times playbook, and almost pulling it off once again.https://t.co/qhYbB4Ek5K pic.twitter.com/B4lvIdXDEP
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) September 20, 2019

There's the obvious problem everyone is discussing, the concern about a possible link to the aid to Ukraine. But a second problem is that you have the President of the United States telling a foreign leader to work on an official matter with a person in his private employ. https://t.co/zvDcAQXz6i
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 20, 2019

Note how the last line, Giuliani even concedes the interests of his client, Trump, differ from the interests of the U.S. government https://t.co/xRi5MIKnmc
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) September 20, 2019

Trump’s endless lies – update 9/18/19

There's no dishonesty off switch for Trump; he lies not only to average citizens but to audiences who know he's making most of this stuff up. He made 25 false claims at his NC rally last week — and, also, 22 in his speech to the House Republican Retreat. https://t.co/zuxdiLieBB
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 18, 2019

Trump made at least 26 false claims at his rally last night.

That’s 26 I can immediately call false without doing additional research, because he’s said them before or because they’re so obvious. https://t.co/0LRrYRx2rX
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 17, 2019

Committee Republicans and Corey Lewandowski have both claimed that Trump was never notified that Russia was interfering with the 2016 election.

This is not true.

Trump received his first intelligence briefing on 17 Aug. 2016. The hacking and theft of Dem emails was covered.
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) September 17, 2019

Eric Trump’s Four-Pinocchio claim that the Obamacare website cost more than Trump’s border barrier https://t.co/PBYmcw2YJC
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) September 16, 2019

it runs in the family

>> @ddale8's latest: "Trump criticizes the media for accurately reporting his comments on meeting with Iran"https://t.co/5ffgkiIISQ
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 16, 2019

Climate update 9/18/19

more bad news for the most part

This is alarming.

A major new study concludes that even if Dems win the White House and Congress, the conservative justices on the Supreme Court are very likely to strike down most climate legislation.

Unfortunately, i's a persuasive case.

New piece:https://t.co/zHi0JFyDAC
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 16, 2019

I have an awful suspicion that the climate crisis already has passed beyond the capabilities of our politics and our political institutions to handle. https://t.co/GzAmFEoPrf
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) September 18, 2019

Meet the 15 women leading the fight against climate change, from Greta Thunberg to Ellen Page https://t.co/iQBvuWmcMz
— TIME (@TIME) September 17, 2019

Remember when we said climate change would cause mass migration, & the right called us crazy?

Well, it’s happening. And walling ourselves off from the world isn’t a plan for our future.

It’s time to recognize climate refugees in our immigration policies. https://t.co/Oo0uyT65ti
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 16, 2019

“These fish have maybe four generations left before they are gone,” one scientist said of the Chinook salmon, whose disappearance is also threatening orcas and dozens of other species. https://t.co/jy53HEIZdx
— NYT Climate (@nytclimate) September 16, 2019

"Religious Christians are the key to America taking action on global warming — yet the way climate activists frame the issue often alienates the very people they most need to persuade — and talking about coral reefs won’t cut it" https://t.co/2o1Y4Nqol4
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 16, 2019

The Climate Crisis Is Poised to Make Huge Swaths of America Totally Uninsurable https://t.co/b4J2hTvDgf via @thedailybeast
— Thomas Edsall (@Edsall) September 15, 2019

The people affected first and worst by the climate crisis are often the least likely to have their stories told. With your help, Tipping Point aims to change that.https://t.co/Fd2s5yMCRN
— Emily Raboteau (@emilyraboteau) September 13, 2019

If there's one group on earth taking the climate crisis seriously, it's the graphics department at @nytimes. This analysis of the spring floods in the Midwest is stunning in its detail and powerhttps://t.co/uyym5iVokl
— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) September 12, 2019

Climate change: “We are running out of time. It’s an all-hands-on-deck situation. We desperately need the Hollywood community to take this issue seriously" https://t.co/sPwRzJ5vXz
— Variety (@Variety) September 10, 2019

Environmentalists cite mounting evidence that unburned gas leaking from pipes and compressor stations harms the climate more than carbon dioxide https://t.co/EPQEilK7Nq
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) September 9, 2019

Chao is being investigated

Trump sure has appointed a bunch of grifters.

The House Oversight Committee launched an ethics investigation into Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

Reports allege Chao used her position to benefit a shipping company owned by her sisters and father, among other accusations.https://t.co/M1pOgrbXLC
— Axios (@axios) September 17, 2019

The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Monday sought documents from Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao as it investigates what it calls “troubling questions” into whether the Trump appointee misused her position for personal and family benefit.https://t.co/ia8xy2q1gP
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) September 18, 2019

The House Oversight Committee has finally taken notice of the Transportation Secretary’s many alleged efforts to use her office for personal gain. https://t.co/EgCeD7cg6J
— Slate (@Slate) September 18, 2019

My thoughts on swamp creatures Chao and McConnell nicely reflected in this @MatthewRozsa post: https://t.co/o3sNFmDYgx
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) September 17, 2019

Trump lies about Representative Omar

Disgusting and dangerous

Trump used his Twitter account to boost a baseless smear claiming that @IlhanMN partied on the anniversary of 9/11, a claim that’s based on footage of her dancing that wasn’t actually taken from that day https://t.co/7Y5oBKZnkL
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 18, 2019

A Twitter spokesperson tells @donie that Terrence K. Williams deleted the tweet that smeared Omar — Twitter did not remove it. (Trump's tweet promoting the now-deleted smear remains active.)
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 18, 2019

Rep. Ilhan Omar said Trump's retweet of a video falsely claiming she celebrated the anniversary of 9/11 "puts [her] life at risk."

Twitter is currently looking into the matter.https://t.co/R7V0t7bGpv
— Axios (@axios) September 18, 2019

Since July, I've written stories on Trump falsely accusing Omar of calling Jews evil, Trump falsely accusing Omar of saying Al Qaeda makes her proud, and Trump sharing a tweet falsely accusing Omar of dancing on the anniversary of 9/11.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 18, 2019

1/ Anatomy of a smear: progressive activist @AdamGreen posts on Sept 13, at a reception for the Congressional Black Caucus annual legislative conference, video of @IlhanMN dancing:https://t.co/sYFKN76rto
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 18, 2019

If anyone is still wondering, this is the event where Rep. Ilhan Omar was dancing, on September 13. The president, who has repeatedly smeared Omar, promoted a video claiming she was dancing on the September 11 anniversary. pic.twitter.com/G20rzLHV3F
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 18, 2019

On the retweet Trump did, which falsely claimed she was dancing around 9/11 – this appears to be yet another in a four year effort to validate his debunked claim of seeing “thousands” of cheering Muslims in NJ that day. https://t.co/HuSxExLPGt
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 18, 2019

Trump administration denying information to the House

They’re hiding something or someone. They have no basis for denying the release of the information to the House.

There’s only one. https://t.co/zOeCplrl1J
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) September 15, 2019

This looks very troubling, even by Trump standards. I suspect this story is going to get worse. https://t.co/Fc2ZSQ3HsB
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) September 14, 2019

It’s now totally clear the Trump administration either doesn’t know the meaning of “shall” or doesn’t give a flying F about the law. https://t.co/O4TlwSudDZ
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) September 14, 2019

1/ It's been the longstanding view of the Executive branch–incl. in Democratic administrations–that this and similar statutes must be read to give the POTUS the final word on whether and how *classified* info will be provided to the HPSCI and SSCI.@just_security @lawfareblog https://t.co/fkY78ByxY2
— Marty Lederman (@marty_lederman) September 14, 2019

Hearing from whistleblowers is particularly important wrt the IC, where secrecy prevents the scrutiny normally facilitated by the press or civil society. That’s why the law requires notifying Congress. This is a big deal. https://t.co/3iVIJrJMZ8
— Suzanne Spaulding (@SpauldingSez) September 14, 2019

Complaint was filed 4 days after PDDNI submitted her resignation as demanded; her/DNI’s last day in office was 3 days after complaint filed but before IG referred it to Acting DNI. Whatever it was, I’m confident she would have sent it to Congress had she been appointed Acting DNI
— Carrie Cordero (@carriecordero) September 14, 2019

Good thread on whistleblower complaint being withheld from Congress👇🏽 https://t.co/bU4yxH60WL
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) September 14, 2019

This is why we can’t have a Cabinet of “Acting” officials. Even otherwise good people face tremendous pressure to protect the President, as they essentially audition every single day for the permanent nod. https://t.co/CL51LIJz7G
— Ned Price (@nedprice) September 14, 2019

Update on Trump’s lie about the hurricane

"The Secretary of Commerce threatened to fire top employees at NOAA on Friday after the agency’s Birmingham office contradicted President Trump’s claim that Hurricane Dorian might hit Alabama," @NYTimes reports.https://t.co/nzHml32iJx
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 9, 2019

They would fire people for telling the truth!

A top NOAA scientist is probing why NOAA put out bad info to back up Trump.

Worse, he flatly stated that the public now has reason not to have confidence in the agency's info.

Here are numerous other examples of the suppression of good data under Trump:https://t.co/102nyz9Wkd
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 9, 2019

As I said yesterday, the Trump-installed NOAA leaders who threw integrity out the window, endangered public safety, and stabbed our scientists in the back—must be held accountable for betraying the public trust and undermining faith in our institutions. They should resign now. https://t.co/E7D9WoOpcF
— Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) September 9, 2019

NWS director Louis Uccellini praised the staff from @NWSBirmingham – who corrected Trump's false claim – and asked them to stand, prompting "a standing ovation from hundreds of forecasters." https://t.co/SwZdyOMvvI
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 9, 2019

Contradicting the president's lies is apparently a firing offense in this administration. Probably because if you start doing it, you won't have time to do anything else.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) September 9, 2019

The use of the word "However," here is also unfortunate, since it suggests this anonymous Trump aide's claim deserves equal weight as an equally likely or plausible explanation for what happened. https://t.co/HUe2wzupYi
— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) September 9, 2019

New trove of NOAA FOIA emails from “Sharpiegate” illustrate the fickle nature of scientific credibility under Trump admin. Agency officials, public lamented loss of hard-earned trust https://t.co/vlRk9PXow5
— Andrew Freedman (@afreedma) February 29, 2020