Aug 16, 2017

An awful day for Trump's presidency

President Donald Trump returns to the White House Monday after his vacation in Bedminster, NJ (Alex Brandon / AP).

According to an executive who was involved in today's decision to disband President Trump's top outside business board, the CEOs decided they "couldn't justify the capital they were spending, hoping that this guy can function in a somewhat mature and statesmanlike way."

Trump used a tweet to preemptively shut down his top two business councils as soon as word leaked about the coming snub by the members of the President's Strategic and Policy Forum, chaired by Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman.

The executive told me: "Everyone knew, going in, that this was the way the guy was. They were just hoping that if he got the right people and decisionmaking processes in place, he could grow into the job. He proved he has no capability to do that." Yesterday's presser about Charlottesville was the last straw.

Why it matters … Axios CEO Jim VandeHei just told Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC: "Today is an awful day for the presidency – an awful day. … Hedid have those business leaders, who he needs: He's about to do tax reform! He's about to ask them to spend money, to spend political capital, to spend time to go get tax reform done."

  • "Now he has a massive public rebuke, in a way that we have not seen at any point in the Trump reign. So there's no way for them to spin it. And I think it gets worse: These CEOs are under so much pressure – internally, at home – in their own households."

Go deeper: Full recap on Trump's councils shutting down.

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Axios
Updated 41 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 p.m. ET: 20,412,501 — Total deaths: 744,649— Total recoveries: 12,629,465 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 1:30 p.m. ET: 5,163,509 — Total deaths: 164,994 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
  3. Politics: Pelosi on state of coronavirus stimulus talks: "It's a chasm"
  4. Business: U.S. already feeling effects of ending unemployment benefits.
  5. Public health: America is flying blind on its coronavirus response.
  6. Education: Gallup: America's confidence in public school system jumps to highest level since 2004.
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Orion Rummler
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi on state of coronavirus stimulus talks: "It's a chasm"

Democrats and the Trump administration remain "miles apart" on negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday.

Driving the news, via Axios' Dion Rabouin: Congress' failure to renew enhanced unemployment measures for millions of Americans at the end of July is already affecting consumer spending patterns, holding down retail purchases and foot traffic, economists at Deutsche Bank say.

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Barak Ravid
3 hours ago - World

U.S. threatens to veto UN peacekeeping in Lebanon over Hezbollah concerns

Peacekeepers with Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon. Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty

The Trump administration is threatening to veto a resolution to extend the UN's long-standing peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon if its mandate isn't changed, Israeli and U.S. officials tell me.

Why it matters: The U.S. is the main funder of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has an annual budget of $250 million. The veto threat is a tactical move, and part of a broader effort to put pressure on Iran and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

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