Feb 1, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Trump says Kamala Harris has had best "opening act" out of 2020 Democrats

Donald Trump (L) and Kamala Harris (R) Photos: Mark Wilson; Mason Trinca via Getty Images

In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times Thursday, President Trump said Sen. Kamala Harris has had the best "opening act" out of the Democrats who have signaled they will run for president in 2020.

The big picture: Trump said the Democratic party as a whole has “really drifted far left” and claimed Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been "hurt very badly with the Pocahontas trap," referring to her effort last year to prove she has Native American heritage. When asked about speculation that he may not run for re-election in 2020, Trump told the Times that he loves being president and that he doesn't see any viable Republican candidates who could challenge him in a primary.

Other highlights:

  • On Roger Stone: Trump said he never spoke to his longtime associate Roger Stone about WikiLeaks, but that the way FBI agents raided Stone's house at 6 a.m. was "a very sad thing for our country."
  • On the Mueller investigation: Trump said that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told his attorneys that he is not a subject or target of the Russia probe. He said he "does not know" if that covers the investigation in the Southern District of New York as well.
  • On his intelligence chiefs: Trump said testimonies by CIA Director Gina Haspel and Director of National Intelligence — in which they contradicted him on their threat assessments of Russia, Iran and North Korea — were "mischaracterized."

Go deeper: Trump signals he'll call national emergency after "waste of time" border talks

Go deeper

Maria Arias
42 mins ago - World

"I stood up for that": Pope Francis voices support for same-sex civil unions

Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Photo: Vatican Pool - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Pope Francis voiced his support for same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope in the documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival, per the Catholic News Agency.

Why it matters: The pope’s remarks represent a break from the position of the Roman Catholic Church, which has long taught that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered" and contrary to natural law.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Barak Ravid, author of from Tel Aviv
2 hours ago - World

Countries waiting to see if Trump wins before moving on Israel normalization

The delegation lands at Israel's Ben Gurion airport. Photo: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty

The White House is attempting to leverage momentum from Israel's normalization deals with Bahrain and the UAE to get more Arab countries on board before the U.S. election.

Driving the news: President Trump wants Sudan's removal from the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list to be accompanied by a pre-election announcement on Israel.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Orion Rummler
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Poll: 92% of battleground state voters are "extremely motivated to vote"

Voters stand in line at the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 13. Photo: Mark Felix for The Washington Post via Getty Images

91% of likely voters nationally say they are "extremely motivated to vote," including 92% in battleground states Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to a Change Research/CNBC Poll.

Why it matters: The 2020 election could see record-breaking levels of voter turnout. Voters last week cast ballots at nearly five times the rate they did at this point in the 2016 election, per the U.S. Elections Project. Over 39 million ballots have been cast in early voting states as of Wednesday.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow