Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Jun 5, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Trump to hit Biden as globalist on trade issues

Joe Biden in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Watch for Trump allies to begin framing Joe Biden as a free-trading globalist who would undo the president's trade agenda.

Why it matters: Trump will try to direct the conversation with his megaphone, and invite attacks on Biden from the left.

Trump allies say that when 2020 candidates to Biden’s left inevitably start hitting him on his free-trade past, Republicans will piggyback to try to undermine him ahead of a potential general election fight in the Rust Belt.
Expect them to begin asking questions like: What specifically will Biden do with China? Will he lift President Trump's tariffs? How does Biden defend his past advocacy for NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
This could be months away, but it's already a hot topic in Trumpworld.

The backdrop: Team Trump is worried about the former vice president.

Internal Trump polls have Biden substantially ahead in the Rust Belt.

The other side: "Trump’s trade war could hit his base of voters most," via CNBC.

Go deeper: Trump’s Biden obsession

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6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Kash Patel as CIA deputy

CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

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Updated 8 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Health: Coronavirus deaths reach 4,000 per day as hospitals remain in crisis mode — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
Politics: Biden says, "We will manage the hell out of" vaccine distribution — Biden taps ex-FDA chief to lead Operation Warp Speed amid rollout of COVID plan — Widow of GOP congressman-elect who died of COVID-19 will run to fill his seat.
Vaccine: Battling Black mistrust of the vaccines — "Pharmacy deserts" could become vaccine deserts — Instacart to give $25 to shoppers who get vaccine.
Economy: Unemployment filings explode again — Fed chair: No interest rate hike coming any time soon — Inflation rose more than expected in December.
World: WHO team arrives in China to investigate pandemic origins.

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8 hours ago - Politics & Policy

John Weaver, Lincoln Project co-founder, acknowledges “inappropriate” messages

John Weaver aboard John McCain's campaign plane in February 2000. Photo: Robert Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios on Friday that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.

“To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you,” Weaver said.
“The truth is that I'm gay,” he added. “And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place.”

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