| | | | Donald Trump isn't worried about Russian meddling. At all. | | Asked Tuesday about the possibility of Russian meddling in the 2018 midterm elections, President Donald Trump had a ready answer: Don't you worry 'bout a thing.
"We'll counteract whatever they do," Trump said of Russia.
How, you ask? Paper.
"One of the things we're learning is, it's always good -- it's old-fashioned, but it's always good -- to have a paper back-up system of voting," Trump said. "It's called paper. Not highly complex computers. Paper."
OK, so, a few things. - What Trump seems to be addressing is the possibility of Russians seeking to hack into election voting systems and change results. Keeping paper records will solve that problem! The problem, of course, is that the challenge posed to our elections from foreign actors is not solely in trying to change ballots. Broad persuasion campaigns using social media and the purposeful promulgation of fake news are the future of election meddling. Not paper ballots. (Want to be terrified? Read this on the "Infocalypse" by BuzzFeed's Charlie Warzel.)
- The State Department has been allocated tens of millions of dollars by Congress to deal with the coming threat to US elections by Russia and other foreign countries. It has spent a total of $0 of that money.
- As of late last month, US Cyber Command chief Adm. Mike Rogers told Congress that President Trump, via the Defense Department, had not authorized him to deal with the cyber threat posed by Russia. "It has not changed the calculus or the behavior on behalf of the Russians," Rogers said. "They have not paid a price that is sufficient to change their behavior."
The Point: It's one thing for Trump to say that the United States will "counteract" whatever Russia tries to do to interfere in the 2018 election. It's another to actually counteract it. And there's little evidence Trump's administration is taking concrete steps to do that.
-- Chris | | | Read Chris' take on that "no chaos" comment here. | | | Speaking of "no chaos" -- President Trump's top economic adviser Gary Cohn is resigning, the White House confirmed Tuesday. "It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular the passage of historic tax reform," Cohn said in a statement. "I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the administration great success in the future." The news comes just days after the White House downplayed reports that Cohn was planning to leave the West Wing because of frustrations over the implementation of steel and aluminum tariffs.
Read more in CNN's story here. | | THE DECLINE, FALL AND RESIGNATION OF MAYOR BARRY | | Nashville Mayor Megan Barry resigned Tuesday, just over a month after news first broke of an extramarital affair between her and her former bodyguard. The scandal has engulfed the city and, with Barry's resignation, ended the career -- for the foreseeable future -- of a Democratic rising star.
Chris interiewed Erik Schelzig, the editor of The Tennessee Journal, to talk about the resignation and what it means. Read the Q&A here. | | | Childish Gambino announced a 2018 concert tour. In honor of that, listen to "Awaken, My Love!" | | CNN's Eric Bradner highlighted what to look for in tonight's Texas primary. Here's the basic lowdown, from his story: - Polls open at 8 a.m. EST and close at 8 p.m. EST for most of the state. In the El Paso area, the polls open at 9 a.m. EST and close at 9 p.m. EST.
- Democrats are running in all of Texas' 36 congressional districts for the first time in 25 years.
- Democrats have an edge in early voting, a notable, though limited, gauge of voter enthusiasm in what's been a reliably red state.
- Candidates must top 50% in their primary, or the top two finishers will head to a runoff election in six weeks.
- Incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke are likely to win their respective primaries. CNN recently moved the Texas Senate race from Solid Republican to Likely Republican.
| | Actress and activist Cynthia Nixon is reportedly gearing up to launch a progressive primary challenge against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The "Sex and the City" star is forming a team of alums of the New York political sphere, including Rebecca Katz and Bill Hyers -- who worked on Mayor Bill de Blasio's first campaign -- to help her ahead of the state's Democratic primary in September, NY1 reported.
"Many concerned New Yorkers have been encouraging Cynthia to run for office, and as she has said previously, she will continue to explore it," Rebecca Capellan, Nixon's publicist, said in an email statement to CNN. "If and when such a decision is made, Cynthia will be sure to make her plans public."
Read more in Saba's story here. | | TRUMP HIGHWAY OR 'STORMY DANIELS RAMPWAY?' | | Who knew the process of naming a highway could be so interesting? CNN's Maegan Vazquez reported Tuesday that "Republicans in Utah are working their way toward naming a highway after President Donald Trump in thanks of his decision to dramatically scale down national monuments in the state.
"State Democrats, however, have another idea: naming a rampway after Stormy Daniels, the porn star who has alleged a decade-old sexual encounter with the President (Trump's personal attorney has denied the affair)."
Read more here. | | | Click on CNN Politics' Instagram story every Monday through Friday afternoon for more #content, courtesy of Chris and CNN's Brenna Williams. | |  | | H/T Brenna | | | Shake it off! Tell everyone you know to subscribe to The Point. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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