Victoria Jones created and edits Quick Morning News. She is chief White House correspondent with Washington DC-based Talk Media News, where her insight and analysis are made available to over 400 news talk radio stations around the country and internationally.
Morning Jumpstart
Sen Susan Collins: No to Trump
50 GOP officials warn: No to Trump
Trump: “Americanism” not “Globalism”
Clinton slams Trump’s economic proposals
Taliban claim Pakistan hospital bombing
Delta computers crash: Why?
Rio: US v Russia drama – women’s breaststroke
Sen Susan Collins: No to Trump(WaPo, Hill, NYT, TMN, me)
• Senior Republican Sen Susan Collins (R-Maine) said in an op-ed in WaPo Monday: “I will not be voting for Donald Trump for president. This is not a decision I make lightly, for I am a lifelong Republican. But Donald Trump does not reflect historical Republican values nor the inclusive approach to governing that is crucial to healing the divisions in our country.”
• Collins cited Trump’s “compete disregard for common decency” evidenced by his insistence that a judge of Hispanic origin couldn’t be impartial and his criticism of Muslim parents whose son was killed in the Iraq war. She said she’s “increasingly dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comments and his inability to admit error or apologize.”
• Collins said that there will be “no ‘new’ Donald Trump.” She concluded that “Mr Trump lacks the temperament, self-discipline and judgment require to be president.” She also suggested she doesn’t “support” the other major party nominee, Democrat Hillary Clinton (fear he’s going to be so unpleasant to her – and she never harmed anyone in her life – dreading the viciousness)
• A new Monmouth University poll shows Hillary Clinton with the support of 50% of likely voters in a four-way race with Republican Donald Trump, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, a symbolically significant mark that suggests her post-convention bounce is solidifying (still early) (WSJ)
• Evan McMullin, a veteran of the CIA and former House Republican Conference policy adviser, officially launched his independent presidential bid Monday afternoon with swipes at Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. “Given his obvious personal instability, putting him in command of our military and nuclear arsenal would be deeply irresponsible,” McMullin said of Trump
• McMullin slammed Clinton as failing to meet “the basic tests of judgment and ethics any candidate for president must meet.” McMullin said Clinton and Trump represent “symbols of corruption and excess that provide no hope of basic competence in the federal govt.” (he’s not on the ballot in lots of states, he stands no chance – but see below – maybe a bit of a spoiler)
• McMullin, a Mormon, studied in Utah. Polling shows that Trump’s support in Utah is very low for a Republican presidential candidate. If McMullin is competitive nowhere else but Utah, he still could have an impact on the race. Trump cannot win the presidency without holding the state that Mitt Romney, a former Utah governor and Mormon, won, his aides have concluded
• Fifty of the nation’s most senior Republican national security officials, many of them former top aides or cabinet members for President George W. Bush, have signed a letter declaring that Donald Trump “lacks the character, values and experience” to be president and “would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.” “None of us will vote for Donald Trump.”
• Late Monday, Trump struck back. The signatories of the letter were “the ones the American people should look to for answers on why the world is a mess, and we thank them for coming forward so everyone in the country knows who deserves the blame for making the world such a dangerous place.” He blamed them for Benghazi – nearly all weren’t in office in 2012…
• Among the signatories are Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and NSA, John Negroponte, who served as first director of national intelligence and then deputy secretary of state, and two former secretaries of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff
• A number of those signing said recently that they decided once they heard Trump invite Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s email server – being sarcastic, he would claim later – and say that he would check to see how much NATO members contributed to the alliance before sending forces to help stave off a Russian attack (major freak out by GOPers across the board)
• “He is unable or unwilling to separate truth from falsehood,” the letter says. “He cannot tolerate personal criticism. He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior. All of these are dangerous qualities in an individual who aspires to be president and commander in chief, with command of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.” (many are not Clinton fans, either)
• The parents of two Americans killed in the 2012 Benghazi attack filed a lawsuit Monday against Hillary Clinton, saying that her “‘extreme carelessness’ in handling confidential and classified information” while secstate contributed to the conditions that led to their sons’ deaths. Both Patricia Woods and Charles Smith have spoken out against Clinton in the campaign (NYT)
Trump: “Americanism” Not “Globalism”(NYT, AP, TMN, me)
• In an address to the Detroit Economic Club on Monday, Donald Trump touted “Americanism not Globalism.” He also described an economic agenda that included many traditionally Republican policies that offer little to no direct benefit to working-class Americans, while giving a considerable financial boost to the wealthiest (and ideas that weren’t really new – cobbled together stuff)
• Trump called for ending what Republicans call the “death tax.” He didn’t mention that the estate tax currently exempts the first $5.45 million for an individual and $10.9 for a married couple – meaning that only the very wealthy pay even a dime. His (already rich) heirs would benefit, but a typical displaced steelworker would have nothing to gain
• Trump advocated “allowing parents to fully deduct the average cost of child-care spending from their taxes.” But the way the tax code works, that would confer the greatest advantage to upper middle-class and wealthier families, and little to no benefit for vast numbers of low-income families – details in NYT article (this is a bit of a scam – and a patronizing sop to appeal to women)
• Trump’s speech was repeatedly interrupted by protesters – all women – who may have been invited. He restrained himself during the interruptions, although at one point, he retorted, “The Bernie Sanders people had far more energy and spirit.” Trump trained much of his attention on Hillary Clinton: “the candidate of the past.”
• Trump’s touting of “Americanism not Globalism” is telling. He’s moving away from the direction the planet is moving in – which is towards inclusiveness and expansion. He’s going towards retraction, exclusiveness and nationalism: the kind of nationalism that implies something scary about “globalism” – a takeover by shadowy interests – who don’t actually exist – vj
• Trump said no business should pay more than 15% of its income in taxes, a big drop from the current 35% corporate tax rate. He said he wants to simplify the tax code, from seven brackets to three: 12%, 25% and 33% of income after deductions. His proposal from last year had envisioned four brackets: zero, 10%, 20% and 25% (it’s now in line with Republican Party)
• Trump said the proposal would reduce federal taxes across the board. But, again, the wealthy would benefit. The Tax Foundation found that it would increase after-tax income for middle income families – those in the 40th to 60th percentile – by 0.2%. It would increase after-tax income for the wealthiest 1% of Americans by 5.3%
• Democrats have touted the comeback of Detroit’s auto industry during the Obama admin as a mark of success for the types of policies Clinton is supporting. Clinton, on Thursday, plans to call for the largest investment in jobs since World War II, her campaign says, while questioning Trump’s own commitment to helping the middle class
• Her campaign issued a lengthy critique of his economic ideas along with a “Trumponomics” video about how he would create more debt, more outsourcing and more tax breaks for the wealthiest (if she’s smart, she’ll give the kind of speech she’s given before where she’s witty, scathing and pointed and not overly wonky. nobody wants in the weeds details)
Clinton Slams Trump’s Economic Proposals (Politico, WaPo, me)
• Hillary Clinton launched her counterattack at Donald Trump on Monday at a rally in St Petersburg, Fla. “He’s got – I don’t know – a dozen or so economic advisers he just named: hedge fund guys, billionaire guys, six guys named Steve, apparently,” Clinton said, deriding Trump’s recently announced all-male cast of economic advisers (true – there are six guys named Steve)
• “And so they wrote him a speech, and he delivered it in Detroit. Now, they tried to make his old, tired ideas sound new, but here’s what we all know, because we heard it again: His tax plans will give super big tax breaks to large corporations and the really wealthy, just like him and the guys who wrote the speech.” (and you and Bill)
• Clinton presented herself as an ally of small businesses and students with college debt, many of whom are aspiring small business owners, and boasted about the fact that she has released detailed plans, including how her proposals will be funded. But Trump, she said, would roll back Wall St regs and “basically just repackage trickle-down economics.”
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• “Trickle-down economics does not help our economy grow,” Clinton said. “It does not help the vast majority of Americans, but it does really well for people already at the top. Well we’re gonna turn that upside down. We’re going to make the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes for a change.” (she handed Trump a soundbite with that)
• “It’s clear – and a lot of the journalists have written this – that Trump is scrambling to do damage control,” she said. “That’s why he listed those dozen new economic advisers. … But this is from a guy who has said he knows more than the generals about ISIS. So he’s not only putting our national security at risk. Now he’s putting our economy at risk.” (she’ll use that again)
• “He is the same Donald Trump who refuses to pay his bills for small businesses and working people, and, in fact, he is the same person who can be provoke by a tweet and who takes apparent pleasure in tormenting protesters at his rallies, a reporter with a tough question, even a crying baby and a Gold Star family,” Clinton said (Trump now claims he wasn’t bothered by the baby…)
• “So just imagine Donald Trump in the Oval Office facing a real crisis. What happens when someone gets under his skin? I don’t know that the U.S. can afford that kind of risk.” “There is no other Donald Trump. What you see is what you get.” (she likes it when he launches broadsides – he underestimates her – she doesn’t have a thin skin – her problem is being straightforward)
• House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis) faces off against challenger Paul Nehlen – from further to the right – as the Badger State votes in its primary today. Donald Trump finally endorsed Ryan last Friday, after saying earlier in the week that he “wasn’t quite there yet”
• A faction of the Pakistan Taliban said Monday it had carried out a suicide bombing that killed at least 70 people at a hospital in the city of Quetta. The attacker targeted a crowd that had gathered as the body of a prominent lawyer murdered earlier Monday, Bilal Kasi, was being brought in (hideous on hideous)
• Lawyers and journalists were among the dead. About 120 people were injured. The Taliban faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, said it was behind both the hospital attack and the killing of Kasi. He was head of the Balochistan province bar association. He was shot while on his way to the court complex in Quetta
• Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has claimed a number of major attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed more than 70 people – including many children – at a park during Easter celebrations this year (that was hrorible). Balochistan, Pakistan’s poorest province, has long been plagued by insurgency. A number of people, including lawyers, have been murdered in Quetta in recent weeks
• Kasi had strongly condemned those attacks. After the hospital blast, PM Nawaz Sharif and chief of army staff Gen Raheel Sharif both went to Quetta for talks with security officials. Sharif expressed his “deep grief and anguish.” The Pakistan Bar Council has announced a nationwide strike by lawyers today
• More than 30 lawyers were murdered on Monday. Two journalists have so far been identified among the dead. Lawyers in Lahore staged a demonstration to condemn the attack. Some journalists also protested, demanding protection for freedom of expression
• Many hours after a power outage knocked out its computer systems worldwide, Delta Air Lines was struggling Monday to resume normal operations and clear backlogs of passengers stranded by canceled flights. Delta canceled more than 700 flights and had 2,600 others delayed, some for hours. The challenge today is to rebook passengers on already busy flights
• Delta reps said the airline was investigating the cause of the meltdown. They declined to describe whether the airline’s IT system had enough built-in redundancies to recover quickly from a hiccup like a power outage. A Delta spox said there were no indications of hacking. Many passengers were frustrated that they received no notice of a global disruption
• A power outage at an Atlanta facility at around 2:30 am local time initiated a cascading meltdown, according to the airline, which is based in Atlanta. A spox for Georgia Power said that the company believes a failure of Delta equipment caused the airline’s power outage. He said no other customers lost power
• Experts say the meltdown shouldn’t have happened, but airlines have been merging and consolidating their computer systems – which were already aging and patchworks to start with, in many cases. Even so, there should be backup power for at least 24 to 48 hours. So what happened? Unknown at this time
• The airline posted a video apology by CEO Ed Bastian, who stood in the airline’s technology center and assured customers that employees were working hard to resume normal operations. (that’s a lot of comfort – show up at an airport, I dare you) Delta will be handing out refunds and $200 in travel vouchers
Rio: US v Russia Drama – Women’s Swimming(Reuters, me)
• The women’s 100m breaststroke final at the Rio Olympics on Monday had already crackled with tension in a tight finish but it was nothing compared with what transpired afterwards. American Lilly King held off fast-finishing Russian Yulia Efimova to clinch the title, with fellow American Katie Meili winning bronze. King broke the Olympic record to win
• If the race itself was nail-biting, the aftermath was excruciating given King has stoked the flames beforehand, speaking out against the inclusion of Efimova after she successfully appealed a ban imposed for past doping suspensions
• After the victory ceremony, the two Americans wrapped themselves in the Stars and Stripes. Efimova, who had broken down in tears, stood awkwardly to one side (felt sorry for her). The three were then obliged to attend a joint presser that was dominated by the issue of doping, especially since King had criticized Efimova for raising her finger in victory after winning her semi-final
• Efimonva spoke in a trembling voice and struggled to keep her composure when asked about her opponents’ failure to congratulate her after the race. “I perfectly understand athletes who do this,” she said. Athletes used to be above politics, she said. “It’s really hurtful because now lots of athletes don’t understand that, they simply watch the television and believe everything.”
• King, who didn’t have headphones to hear the translation, rolled her eyes while Efimova was speaking. (really?) “If I had been in Yulia’s position, I would not have wanted to be congratulated by someone who was not speaking highly of me,” she said. “So if she was wishing to be congratulated, I apologize. I was really in the moment celebrating with Katie.” (gracious, always be gracious..)