In his Friday interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, President Trump let slip he's been talking to Bob Woodward for an upcoming book. But it was what he said about Woodward that caught my attention.
What he's saying: "I was interviewed by a very, very good writer, reporter," Trump told Ingraham. "I can say Bob Woodward. He said he's doing something and this time I said 'maybe I'll sit down.'"
Sen. Elizabeth Warren told reporters Sunday she was "disappointed" to hear about a volunteer script from fellow 2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign that criticizes her as a candidate of the elite.
Why it matters: The two progressive candidates have had a non-aggression pact throughout the 2020 campaign, but that could be changing with 22 days left until the Iowa caucuses.
President Trump argued in a tweet Sunday that the Senate holding an impeachment trial based on what he claims is "no evidence," rather than dismissing the trial altogether, "gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have."
The big picture: The White House has worked in close coordination with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in organizing the parameters of the Senate trial. Despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi withholding the articles of impeachment for three weeks in an attempt to get more "fair" trial terms, the proceedings are expected to be favorable to Trump, with no vote on witnesses until after opening arguments.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that President Trump "keeps getting policy that's not his policy" because he has surrounded himself with hawkish advisers who "disagree" with the president's instincts to withdraw the U.S. from the Middle East.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg shot back at criticisms that he's running a self-aggrandizing campaign for the Democratic nomination, telling Reuters in an interview: "Number one priority is to get rid of Donald Trump. I’m spending all my money to get rid of Trump."
Why it matters: The campaign finance debate has taken on new significance in 2020, creating a clear divide within the Democratic Party. Progressive candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have turned away big-dollar donations in favor of grassroots fundraising, rebuking moderates like Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden for soliciting donations from the wealthy.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that she does not regret waiting three weeks to transmit the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate, arguing that the tactic has "produced a very positive result."
Most U.S. presidential candidates identify China as a serious national security challenge, but they're short on details as to how they'd tackle the economic, technological and human rights threats posed by the world’s largest authoritarian power.
Why it matters: The Chinese Communist Party is seeking to reshape the world in its own image and amass enough power to marginalize the United States and Western allies regardless of whether China is contending with President Trump for another four years — or one of his Democratic rivals.
The Trump administration announced on Friday it completed the first 100 miles of barrier wall along the southwest border.
What he's saying: From Yuma, Arizona, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf touted the new 30-foot wall and responded to critics who claim it only replaces previously existing fencing. "We have replaced 1970s-era landing mat fence that was easy to compromise, or vehicle barriers that were easy to defeat, with state-of-the-art infrastructure and detection capabilities," Wolf said.
California's youth population dropped by more than 400,000 throughout the past 10 years to 8.9 million young people, attributed, in part, to a drop in immigrant inflows and the state’s lowest birth rate in history, Bloomberg reports, citing the latest Census data.
The big picture: The youth slump is a trend across the U.S., where 30 states noted a dip in the under-18 age group between 2010 and 2019, newly released data shows.
Democratic votersremain stubbornly divided on the top candidates in the four critical early states — and basically split in half between liberal and more centrist candidates.
Why it matters: A slew of new polls illuminates why many top Democrats think the 2020 race will be a long slog — and culminate with a fierce ideological battle between Sanders-style socialism and Biden-style tempered liberalism.
President Trump and other Republicans allies sound confident about his impeachment trial, but some key Republican senators plan to push for witnesses, which could result in a new chance for Democrats to sway public opinion.
The big picture: "There’s a growing sense among senators ... that there will be some witnesses," the New York Times reports.
White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien tells Axios that despite predictions to the contrary, he's convinced Iran is more likely to return to the negotiating table since the U.S. killed Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani.
What he's saying: The strike will "reset deterrence," O'Brien added.
Bernie Sanders' response to the Trump administration's strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani generated far more attention than his 2020 Democratic rivals, according to data from NewsWhip provided exclusively to Axios.
Why it matters: The numbers point to Sanders' elevated stature as an anti-interventionist voice in the race — one that has been sharpened nationally going back to his campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
