“A video posted to Donald Trump’s account on his social media network Monday included references to a ‘unified Reich’ among hypothetical news headlines if he wins the election in November,” the AP reports.
“The word ‘Reich’ is often largely associated with Nazi Germany’s Third Reich, though the references in the video Trump shared appear to be a reference to the formation of the modern pan-German nation, unifying smaller states into a single Reich, or empire, in 1871.”
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) reacts to Donald Trump referring to a ‘unified Reich‘ in a social media post last night: “Please pardon my language, but there is no other thing to say than ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? This man is a stain, a Nazi, a pure a simple garbage of a human being. And ANYONE who supports him now will be ASHAMED to ever admit they did someday.”
“It is not the first time Trump has gone down this road. Folks, it can’t be any clearer. The threat Trump poses is greater the second time around than it was the first.”— President Biden, quoted by Politico, on Donald Trump posting the phrase “unified Reich” to his social media account.
The Biden campaign released a video of Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff calling Donald Trump a “known antisemite.”
“GOP senators on Tuesday largely pleaded ignorance about a social media post from former President Donald Trump that invoked a potential “unified reich” if he wins a second term, though several condemned his team for using language that suggests empire-building and carries a connection to Adolf Hitler’s control of Nazi Germany,” Politico reports.
“The former president ignored a question about the post outside a New York courtroom on Tuesday.”
“Since Donald Trump emerged on the national political scene in 2015, journalists and pundits have been debating whether it’s appropriate to compare him and the MAGA movement to the fascist movements of 20th-century Europe — and, more specifically, to the Nazism that gained traction in Germany throughout the 1920s,” Politico reports.
“Some of Trump’s critics — including Biden’s campaign — argue that Trump’s incendiary rhetoric and authoritarian behavior justify the comparison. Meanwhile, Trump’s defenders — and even some of his more historically-minded critics — argue that the comparison is ahistorical; that he’s not a true fascist.”
“Yet the ongoing ‘f-word debate’ seems to ignore one key dynamic: Trump and his campaign keep inviting the comparison themselves.”
Nearly three in five Americans wrongly believe the U.S. is in an economic recession, and the majority blame the Biden administration, according to a Harris poll conducted exclusively for The Guardian. The survey found persistent pessimism about the economy as election day draws closer.
A new Harris poll conducted for The Guardian highlighted many misconceptions people have about the economy.
Among the more baffling:
- 55% believe the economy is shrinking — and 56% think the U.S. is experiencing a recession — even though gross domestic product has been growing.
- 49% believe the stock market is down for the year, even though the S&P 500 index went up about 24% in 2023 and is up more than 12% this year.
- 49% believe that unemployment is at a 50-year high, even though unemployment rate is actually at a near 50-year low.
The political problem for President Biden is that a 58% majority put the blame on him — even though none of what they believe is actually true.
Presidential elections typically hinge on voters’ perceptions of the economy. That’s why the economy is a key variable in virtually every election forecasting model. But what happens when 72% of Americans say their own finances are “doing at least okay” but just 22% think the national economy is “good?”
And what happens when a majority in the seven key battleground states say their local economy is good but the national economy is bad?
What explains this major disconnect? Obviously, people have their own experiences as consumers and workers. But their views of the world around them mostly come from the news media — which Derek Thompson finds is getting more negative over time. What’s unclear is which economy — the one they experience or the one they see on television — will influence their vote in November?
A headline today from CNN shows how this phenomenon is amplified by the news media: “High inflation made finances worse for 65% of Americans last year.” This is the lede of the story:
“Inflation may have slowed last year, but it continued to deal heavy blows — some devastating — on Americans’ livelihoods: Nearly two-thirds of US adults were worse off because of it, and roughly 1 in 6 couldn’t pay all their monthly bills, new Federal Reserve data shows.”
But buried below is the fact that 72% of adults surveyed actually said they were “doing okay” financially. The entire story is filled with examples of how inflation has hurt some Americans despite the admittedly “remarkably resilient economy” in which “job growth has been stellar and pay gains have been strong.” It’s certainly true that inflation has been a problem since the pandemic — and subsequent relief measures — disrupted the global economy. But it’s hardly as dire as this story tries to suggest. In fact, a big majority of Americans say they’re doing just fine.
“The testimony in the trial of Donald Trump has been riveting and salacious, focusing on a tryst with a porn star and a hush-money payment that paved the road to the White House,” the New York Times reports.
“On Tuesday afternoon, the trial will take a decidedly less dramatic — but critically important — turn, as prosecutors and the defense dig into the dry legalities that will guide the jurors as they deliberate.”
“During the charge conference, the two sides are expected to lay out their dueling visions for how the judge should instruct the jury as it prepares to weigh the charges against Mr. Trump — 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.”
Rick Hasen: “Trump could well be convicted, depending on the jury instructions and how the jury reads the evidence. That conviction could well be overturned on legal grounds on appeal, eliminating the felony aspects of the charges (potentially for a new trial), leaving only misdemeanors. Given the normal pace of appeals, this is not likely to be resolved before the election.”
“But if Trump is convicted, watch him argue for a fast track appeal, even as he has slow walked the important election interference case against him in DC.”
“If Trump gets a reversal before the election, could that give him an electoral boost? And we know what Trump would say if he loses election and later gets a reversal on appeal: election interference.”
“We’ll be resting pretty quickly, meaning resting the case. I won’t be resting. I don’t rest. I’d like to rest sometimes, but I don’t get to rest.”— Donald Trump, speaking outside the courtroom before his criminal trial. That was a whole comedy skit there.
“The judge hates Donald Trump. Just take a look. Take a look at him. Take a look at where he comes from. He can’t stand Donald Trump. He’s doing everything in his power.”— Donald Trump, outside the courthouse yesterday, referring to Judge Juan Merchan who moved to Queens from Bogota, Colombia when he was six years old.
“Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that he is open to allowing states to restrict access to birth control and promised to release a ‘comprehensive policy’ on the issue soon,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “We’re looking at that, and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly, and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting. I think it’s a smart decision. But we’ll be releasing it very soon.”
He added: “Things really do have a lot to do with the states, and some states are going to have different policy than others.”
Playbook: “It was a classically Trumpian hand-waving answer that managed to avoid taking any actual stance — but more in line with how he’s addressed access to mifepristone, not birth control.”
After suggesting he would support state restrictions on contraception, Donald Trump walked backed his comments and insisted he would “never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control.”
According to Axios, it seems Trump likely confused birth control pills with mifepristone, one of the drugs used in medication-induced abortions. LOL. Obviously, look at trial balloon was launched and they are now panicking at the reaction, hence the walk back. But always remember, Trump and the Republicans want to take away birth control. When they show you who they are, believe them.
“The abortion rights position has won on the ballot in seven out of seven states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in mid-2022 — even in red-leaning ones such as Kansas, Kentucky, Montana and Ohio,” the Washington Post reports.
“And new polling suggests that in 2024, abortion rights measures could do even better than they did in those first seven states, as voters in states with severe GOP led-abortion bans weigh in.”
“The polling, from CBS News and YouGov, shows striking margins in Arizona and Florida for enshrining abortion rights into those states’ constitutions. That position leads 65 percent to 21 percent in Arizona and 60 percent to 20 percent in Florida.”
“The Louisiana House on Tuesday passed a bill that classifies the two drugs used to induce an abortion as ‘controlled dangerous substances,’” the Washington Post reports.
“Abortion opponents hope the measure, now on its way to Gov. Jeff Landry, will be a template for conservative states trying to end the procedure.”
An unsealed filing in Donald Trump’s classified documents case says there were two rounds of documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago after the FBI conducted its search.
“Special counsel Jack Smith appears to have suspected additional efforts by former President Donald Trump to obstruct the government’s investigation of his handling of classified documents, a newly unsealed court filing revealed Tuesday,” ABC News reports.
Politico: Lawyers found classified docs in Trump’s bedroom 4 months after Mar-a-Lago search.
New York Times: “From the moment Trump Media was founded in 2021, Mr. Trump has treated it as a low-cost, low-effort venture. While he once served as chief executive and owns nearly 65 percent of the company, he has been only marginally involved in its day-to-day operations, mostly posting on Truth Social and delegating the business to others. At times, he considered working on competing ventures.”
“Mr. Trump now finds himself in a strange position, with his financial future hinging on an endeavor that he sometimes seemed indifferent toward. Trump Media’s Wall Street debut in March turned Mr. Trump’s stake into a more than $5 billion bonanza. It has tripled his net worth, providing a potential monetary lifeline as he runs for president and grapples with steep legal bills tied to the civil and criminal cases against him.”
“Yet his newfound fortune is precarious.”
“The Biden administration said Tuesday that it is releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve established after Superstorm Sandy in a bid to lower prices at the pump this summer,” the AP reports.
“More than one in 10 Americans with federal student loans have been approved for some measure of debt relief under President Joe Biden, the White House said, as it announced a new round of forgiveness,” Bloomberg reports.
Associated Press: “The Education Department announced the latest round of cancellation on Wednesday, saying it will erase $7.7 billion in federal student loans. With the latest action, the administration said it has canceled $167 billion in student debt for nearly 5 million Americans through several programs.”
Politico: “Top officials are publicly calling Israel’s strategy in Gaza self-defeating and likely to open the door to Hamas’ return — a level of criticism of the Middle East ally not seen since the war began in October. The officials say Israel’s government has failed to hold parts of Gaza after clearing them, has turned the civilian population and the rest of the world against it with widespread bombing and inadequate humanitarian aid, and enabled Hamas to recruit more fighters.”
More from Politico: Netanyahu compares himself to FDR and Churchill.
“Norway will recognize an independent Palestinian state in the hope that this will help to bring peace with Israel,“ Reuters reports.
“Ireland and Spain will also announce the recognition of a Palestinian state.”
“Israeli officials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press in southern Israel on Tuesday, accusing the news organization of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera,” the AP reports.
Matthew Yglesias: “One of the dualities of Donald Trump is that while his opponents think he’s an authoritarian goon who doesn’t respect the rules, many of his fans also think that he’s an authoritarian goon who doesn’t respect the rules — but in a good way.”
“On the right, there is a widely held and poorly evidenced belief that Mitt Romney lost because he was too much of a nice guy and that part of what’s good about Trump is that he’s willing to fight dirty. You might not think it’s a good idea to cheat on your pregnant wife with a porn star. But conditional on having done so, playing fast an loose with campaign finance law in order to keep it covered up and win the election is better than behaving ethically and losing — because winning elections is really important. I think all partisans can sympathize, to an extent, with this logic…”
“But Trump takes this further than a standard politician, because a huge factor in Trump-era politics is a sense among those on the right that they are besieged, socially and culturally.”
“President Biden’s campaign appears to be adopting a ‘Mean Girls’-esque motto in trying to claw back some coverage from former President Trump’s hush money trial: On Wednesdays, we make news,” The Hill reports.
“Biden’s camp has utilized Wednesdays — the single weekday during which there’s a break in Trump’s New York City trial — to blanket the airwaves, throw some political punches and draw attention to the commander in chief’s reelection bid.”
“Last Wednesday, Biden released a video proposing a pair of debates with Trump.”
Donald Trump’s campaign says it will sue the filmmakers of “The Apprentice,” which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival this week, after it was reported the movie features a scene in which Trump rapes his first wife, the Daily Beast reports.
Ivana Trump accused Trump of rape in a divorce proceeding in 1989, though she later recanted.
David Leonhardt: “A defining quality of the new centrism is how much it differs from the centrism that guided Washington in the roughly quarter-century after the end of the Cold War, starting in the 1990s. That centrism — alternately called the Washington Consensus or neoliberalism — was based on the idea that market economics had triumphed.”
“The new centrism … is a recognition that neoliberalism failed to deliver.”
Associated Press: “Democratic incumbents and challengers running for the Senate this year say they want to restore a national right to abortion, and many… openly say they would support suspending the filibuster to do so.”
“It’s become a key talking point as they try to capitalize on the nationwide battle over abortion rights that has generally helped Democratic candidates since the Supreme Court overturned constitutional protections two years ago.”
“One theme ran throughout Joe Biden’s inaugural address in January 2021: ‘unity,’” NBC News reports.
“Biden spoke the word nearly a dozen times, signaling that his driving ambition would be to overcome partisan divisions so deep-rooted that his predecessor, Donald Trump, broke tradition and didn’t bother to show up at the Capitol for the swearing-in.”
“Four years on, the war still rages. As Biden faces re-election, the nation is locked in the same unrelenting tribal standoff that has been worsening in America for generations.”
“Georgia Republicans on Saturday elected to the Republican National Committee a conservative activist who helped organize the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rally that led to a mob storming the U.S. Capitol,” the AP reports.
Speaker Mike Johnson’s “plan to keep his GOP ranks united following the failed motion to vacate by dividing Democrats continues to play out remarkably well,” Politico reports.
“The U.S. opposes a proposed global wealth tax on billionaires, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, rejecting an idea floated by Brazil, France and other nations to tip the economic scales away from the megarich,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Tucker Carlson has launched his own show on a Russian state television channel, Newsweek reports.
Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) announced yesterday he’ll be out indefinitely for surgery to remove a brain tumor.
“Rudy Giuliani and 10 others pleaded not guilty in an Arizona court Tuesday to charges of allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election results,” CNN reports.
The Colorado Republican Party is issuing a call to its members to pull their children from public school, saying Democrats are using schools to “turn more kids trans,” KUSA reports.
“Donald Trump on Tuesday falsely claimed in a campaign fundraising email that President Biden was ‘locked & loaded ready to take me out’ during a 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents, an extraordinary distortion of a standard FBI policy on the use of deadly force during such operations,” the Washington Post reports.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) claimed the Department of Justice and FBI “were planning to assassinate President Trump and gave the green light.” Trump piled on in a fundraising email: “They were authorized to shoot me!”
Of course, it’s not actually true that Biden tried to assassinate Trump, but by Trump’s own logic wouldn’t he have the “absolute immunity” to do so?
“An aristocrat suspected of planning to overthrow the German government appeared in court on Tuesday, as part of a mammoth trial exposing an alleged far-right plan to storm the country’s parliament,” CNN reports. “Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, 72, is accused of leading the plot, which would have led to him becoming Germany’s head of state.”
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