May 31, 2018

Boehner: "There is no Republican party. There's a Trump party"

John Boehner. Photo: Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner said at a political conference in Michigan Thursday morning that the Republican party has lost its identity and is "taking a nap".

"There is no Republican party. There's a Trump party."

— Boehner

Highlights:

Trump is "most unusual person we've elected" as president, Boehner said.
Trump won the election fairly, Boehner said.
If all the "noise" surrounding the president is taken away, his policies are "by and large" good things from a Republican standpoint.
On the state of politics: "It's too divided. The left and the right are gnawing at each other" and the press is "throwing gasoline on it."
On foreign affairs: Boehner said foreign countries are "thrilled the U.S. is leading" again and that Trump is "doing the right thing" on foreign policy.
On a potential trade war: Boehner said he doesn't believe Trump is trying to start a trade war, but wants to get people to the negotiating table.

Go deeper: The cult of Trump

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WHO won't call coronavirus a pandemic as cases spread

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The World Health Organization will not yet call the coronavirus a pandemic, claiming that needs across affected countries are too varied and the classification would increase fear, per a briefing Monday.

The big picture: As South Korea and Italy stepped up emergency measures in efforts to thwart the spread of the virus, WHO expressed concern about infections with no clear link to China. COVID-19 has killed at least 2,620 people and infected almost 80,000 others, with all but 27 deaths occurring in mainland China.

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Vanessa Bryant delivers a tearful tribute to her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

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Democrats demand new Russia sanctions over 2020 election interference

Putin and Trump. Photo: Kremlin Press Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Senate Democratic leaders will send a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday afternoon demanding they sanction Russia — and potentially Russian President Vladimir Putin himself — for attempting to influence the 2020 presidential election.

Why it matters: The letter follows reports that a senior intelligence official briefed Congress that Russia is again interfering in the November election to help Trump. White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien repeatedly rejected that assessment on Sunday, and CNN later reported that the briefer may have overstated the intelligence community's evidence about Russia's goals.

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