Month: August 2019

James Mattis, who quit as U.S. Defense Secretary last year, highlights his sharp differences with President Donald Trump over NATO allies and the use of torture in a new and eagerly awaited memoir, The Guardian […]

Democrats Deny Creation of Rival Political Group

To this day, many Democratic Party officials still fume about Barack Obama’s decision to create his own political group outside of the Democratic National Committee, Organizing for Action, POLITICO writes. Now they’ve ensured it won’t […]

Facebook Toughens Rules for Political Advertisers ahead of 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

Facebook is tightening its political ad rules in the U.S., it said on Wednesday, requiring new disclosures for its site and photo-sharing platform Instagram ahead of the presidential election in November 2020, Reuters reported. The […]

Obama Gets Political again, Launches Initiative to Fight Gerrymandering

Former President Barack Obama returns in the political arena by announcing a new initiative to fight partisan gerrymandering, although Republicans say the efforts are really about helping Democrats, Fox News informed. The “Redistricting U” program, […]

Biden Aide Says Gaffes Are ‘Part of his Charm’

Joe Biden’s campaign communications director and deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, stood in defense of her boss Joe Biden amid controversy over some recent verbal gaffes, Fox News informed. Former Vice President Joe Biden stirred […]

Russia Denies Visa to Another U.S. Lawmaker ahead of Congressional Trip

Another U.S. lawmaker is claiming he was rejected for a visa to enter Russia for an upcoming bipartisan delegation trip, Fox News informed. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., stated Tuesday that the Russian government rejected his application for obtaining […]

Rep. Steve King Jokes about Imprisoned Muslims Being Forced to Eat Pork in China

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is faced with harsh criticism after he made a joke about forcing Muslims imprisoned in China to eat pork during a town hall event on Tuesday, Fox News informed. The Sioux […]

Trump Received Deutsche Bank Loans Thanks to Russian Oligarchs Close to Putin, Report Claims

German banking giant Deutsche Bank has documents that show U.S. President Donald Trump has received loans thanks to billionaire Russian oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin, The Inquisitr writes citing a report by MSNBC anchor Lawrence […]

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: Dueling Polls on Biden – Healthcare – North Carolina

August 27, 2019 John Ganjei

Your Daily Polling Update for Tuesday, August 27, 2019 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 44%Down 1 from yesterday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on five polls, ranging from 41% (Monmouth) to 48% (Rasmussen). Without these extremes, […]

Brazil Turned Down $20mn Amazon Aid Pledged at G-7

Brazil is rejecting an offer of $20mn that was pledged at the G-7 summit in France to help the country after the devastating Amazon fires, CNN reported. According to news site G1 Globo, the chief of […]

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Denied Visa by Russian Government for Congressional Trip

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said Monday that the Russian government has rejected his request for a visa to travel to the country as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation trip, as he criticized Russian President […]

U.S. Must Lift Sanctions Before Meeting for Direct Talks, Rouhani Says at G-7 Summit

President Hassan Rouhani seems to have abandoned the idea of meeting President Donald Trump, as he believes that the United States must first lift sanctions against Iran. Trump said that “if the circumstances were correct […]

Trump Misses G7 Climate Summit Due to Alleged Scheduling Conflict

President Donald Trump did not attend a climate change session at the G7 Summit in France, claiming that he had a scheduled meeting at the same time. All the other leaders had taken their seats […]

DOJ Gives Top Official Greater Authority over Immigration Court Decisions

The Department of Justice is giving more power to a top official to decide immigration cases, a move which comes at a time when the Trump administration is making efforts to exert greater influence over […]

DHS Moves Ahead with Program to Defend Voter Registration Databases from Ransomware

The Department of Homeland Security is working on a program aimed to prevent voter registration databases from falling prey to ransomware and thus avoid a catastrophic incident on Election Day where the systems used to verify […]

Resignation of FEC Vice Chair Matthew Petersen Leaves Agency Unable to Vote on Actions

The deputy head of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) resigned his letter of resignation to President Donald Trump on Monday, disabling the agency to vote on proposed actions as it needs four members for making […]

Obama Announces Efforts to Fight Gerrymandering

Former President Barack Obama announced Monday an extension to the All On The Line campaign, an initiative to help volunteers influence redistricting efforts in states all across the U.S. The extension, called Redistricting U, will […]

Clinton Makes Fun of Trump’s Idea to Nuke Hurricanes

Hillary Clinton on Monday bashed President Donald Trump after he said that he has an idea of dropping nuclear bombs into hurricanes in order to prevent them from reaching the United States. “We should not […]

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: Angry at Political System – Economic Satisfaction – British Politicians – Kentucky Ads

August 26, 2019 John Ganjei

Your Daily Polling Update for Monday, August 26, 2019 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 45%Up 1 from Friday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on five polls, ranging from 41% (Monmouth) to 50% (Rasmussen). Without these extremes, […]

Trump Admits He Isn’t Happy About North Korea’s Missile Tests

During the Group of 7 summit in France, President Donald Trump commented on the latest reports on North Korea’s missile tests, saying that he was not happy with the launches, dismissing at the same time […]

G-7 Summit an ‘Unmitigated Disaster’ for Trump, Said Scaramucci

Anthony Scaramucci, former communications director of the White House, described the G7 summit attendance of President Donald Trump as an “unmitigated disaster,” The Hill reported. “He’s more or less been isolated by the other leaders. […]

Macron Invites Zarif to G7 Summit, Confusing Allies

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif made an unexpected appearance at the Group of 7 summit in France over the weekend, surprising many, including President Donald Trump, who refused to meet with him. Zarif came to […]

Russia’s Participation in the Next G7 Summit Would Be Useful, Trump Said

President Donald Trump said he believes it is useful if Russia joins the next G7 summit, which will be held in the United States. “We’ll see. We talked about this topic, there was no vote […]

Graham Advises Against Withdrawing Troops from Afghanistan

Senator Lindsay Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies, said Sunday that it would be unwise to pull out of Afghanistan and warned that such a decision could have “disastrous” consequences. Graham noted that […]

Trump Says Serious Trade Talks with Beijing Will Begin Soon

President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. and China are set to kick off serious trade negotiations very soon, comments that came shortly after it was suggested that the global economic slowdown was partially […]

Joe Walsh to Challenge Trump in 2020

Former Illinois Representative, Republican Joe Walsh, on Sunday announced the launch of his presidential primary to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. “I’m going to run for president,” Walsh told ABC News’ George […]

August 25, 2019 Focus Washington

Trump Suggests Deal with Post-Brexit Britain Possible

President Donald Trump praised UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom he met during the G7 meeting in the French seaside town of Biarritz. “He needs no advice, he’s the right man for the job. This […]

August 25, 2019 Focus Washington

North Korea Tests New Rocket Launcher

North Korea confirmed on Sunday that the country’s leader Kim Jong-un had supervised the test-firing of a “newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher,” a move that is likely aimed at increasing leverage prior to continuing […]

August 25, 2019 Focus Washington

American Imprisoned in Russia Says He Was Injured by Guards

A Russian court on Friday extended the detention of American citizen Paul Whelan, who has already spent nine months in a prison in Moscow, despite continuous concerns about his wellbeing and the treatment at the […]

August 24, 2019 Focus Washington

Trump Threatens New Tariffs on China Ahead of G7 Summit

President Donald Trump said late Friday that the United States would slap China with increased tariffs, shortly after Beijing imposed retaliatory levies on Washington earlier in the day. Prior to departing for the summit in […]