None of the leading Democratic presidential contenders said they would immediately drop President Trump's tariffs on China if elected president, despite criticizing his moves against Beijing as reckless.
Driving the news: Axios asked each campaign whether they would get rid of the tariffs on day 1, and none gave a clear answer. The campaigns said they would either leave the existing tariffs in place or conduct a review of the tariff policy upon entering office.
On CNN's State of the Union Sunday, 2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders said he regrets voting for a controversial 1994 crime bill authored by former Vice President Joe Biden.
Why it matters: The bill has become a point of contention in the Democratic primaries, with certain elements of the legislation — such as the "three-strikes" provision — credited with contributing to mass incarceration among communities of color. Sen. Cory Booker is among those who have brought the bill and Biden's voting record to the forefront of the debate, condemning the 1994 legislation as "awful" despite his "love" for the former vice president.
They don't want to talk about it,but the struggling Kirsten Gillibrand campaign appears to have spent a lot of time Googling Joe Biden as of late. The New York senator has publicly —and cryptically — alluded to unnamed Democratic candidates who "do not believe necessarily that it's a good idea that women work outside the home." The remark, which she's declined to clarify, has generated fervid speculation.
The intrigue: Meanwhile, an account on the site newspapers.com that appears to be linked to her campaign has been gathering news articles about the former vice president's stance on the child tax credit in the '80s. (The newspaper.com account and related Twitter account appear to have been taken down after we approached the Gillibrand campaign for comment.)
2020 presidential candidate Julián Castro said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that President Trump's "racist" attacks on Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and other politicians of color are core to his strategy as the "biggest identity politician that we have seen in the last 50 years."
House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) declined to explicitly say on ABC's "This Week" whether Democrats are pursuing an official impeachment inquiry, but repeated to George Stephanopoulos what he wrote in a court filing last week: "We have impeachment resolutions before the committee."
Several2020 Democratic candidates have released policy proposals this week on topics that could help strengthen their positions when they head to Detroit for the second round of debates.
Why it matters: For many, these are politically motivated rollouts. And some Democratic strategists say these plans are one way candidates can try to shield themselves from potential attacks on the debate stage.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told reporters Saturday that President Trump's tweets about Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and the Baltimore-area district he represents are "ugly and racist."
The big picture: Trump doubled down on his earlier attacks on Cummings and the majority-black Baltimore-area district — which he called a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess" — retweeting fellow Republicans, who said "[t]his has nothing to do with race." Warren told Fox News that Trump's tweets were "part of his overall pattern of trying to stir up as much hatred and dissension in America as possible."
President Trump attacked Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Twitter Saturday morning, calling his congressional district "the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States."
The big picture: This is the second time this month that Trump has attacked a black member of Congress. He earlier told Rep. Ilhan Omar and 3 other congresswomen of color to "go back" to their countries. Trump is also attacking a majority black district when he calls Cummings' district one of the most dangerous places in the U.S.
Former President Barack Obama shared Saturday a Washington Post op-ed by his former staffers, which criticizes President Donald Trump for his treatment of minority groups and for derogatory comments about 4 congresswomen of color.
"We stand with [the] congresswomen ... as well as all those currently under attack by President Trump, along with his supporters and his enablers, who feel deputized to decide who belongs here — and who does not. ... We refuse to sit idly by as racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia are wielded by the president and any elected official complicit in the poisoning of our democracy."
President Trump said on Saturday he is considering labeling far-left anti-fascist groups — known as "antifa" — as terror organizations, alongside the violent street gang MS-13.
Reality check: MS-13, which originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s, is known for violently murdering their victims. The Anti-Defamation League describes "antifa" as "violent counter-protestors" who often doxx targets and throw heavy objects and biohazards at law enforcement, white supremacists and other targets — but they are not responsible for killing anyone.
International travel for most Americans requires the proper documents and a lot of patience to get to the front of the immigration line and back into the country. But if Customs and Border Protection pulls you off to the side for a secondary screening, here's what you need to know.
The big picture: The 4th Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, but it doesn't apply at the U.S. border, says Georgetown law professor M. Tia Johnson, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused President Trump of racism again on Saturday, after he described Rep. Elijah Cummings' congressional district as "the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States."
The big picture: This is the second time this month that Trump has publicly attacked a black member of Congress. He told Rep. Ayanna Pressley and 3 other congresswomen of color to "go back" to their countries earlier this month, which his rally-going supporters echoed in chants last week.
If Joe Biden wins the Democratic presidential nomination, it's clear that the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, will get a lot more scrutiny — especially his former position with Ukraine's biggest private gas company. The Washington Post had a good look this week at why.
Why it matters, per the Post: "Just as [President] Trump has faced repeated questions about whether his family has sought to benefit financially from his presidency, a similar focus is being given to Hunter Biden’s dealings."
The best way to keep Donald Trump’s presidency in perspective isn’t to go down the rabbit hole with every fight he picks, or with every statement that mangles reality. It’s to look at the total volume of how often he does it.
We looked through all of his public comments and tweets for this week, and found an avalanche of personal attacks, complaints, and statements at odds with reality. One came close to setting off a diplomatic crisis.
Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) announced her impending retirement on Friday, potentially leaving Republicans with as few as 11 women in the House after 2020.
Where it stands: Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) announced her departure from the House in June, and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is mulling a Senate run, per the Post. The current number of female GOP representatives is the lowest it's been since 1993, according to the Brookings Institution.
