| | | | Let's not crown Bob Corker just yet | | Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican, is the new hero of the anti-Trump movement after a series of comments over the last 48 hours blasting his party for its unwillingness to stand up to President Donald Trump.
"We're in a strange place," Corker told reporters Wednesday. "It's becoming a cultish thing, isn't it? It's not a good place for any party to have a cult-like situation as it relates to a President that happens to be purportedly of the same party."
Those comments came less than 24 hours after Corker drew headlines for his call to action from the Senate floor. "We might poke the bear!" said Corker sarcastically. "My gosh, if the President gets upset with us we might not be in the majority."
Finally! the anti-Trump crowd cried. A Republican speaking truth to power!
Eh. Here's the thing about Corker: He's retiring at the end of this year.
How is this not mentioned more?
And why is there little mention of the fact that Corker's feud with Trump -- which, in Corker's defense, was largely one-sided -- clearly hurt the Tennessee incumbent's chance of winning another term and played at least some role in his decision not to run again?
Or that when he reconsidered his retirement decision, it became clear that conservative Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn -- a Trump favorite -- was not only not dropping out, but might even be the front-runner in a primary against Corker?
Those facts don't invalidate Corker's past criticism of Trump or current scolding of his colleagues for not being willing to stand up to the President. But they do make clear that Corker isn't throwing caution -- and his political career -- to the wind to take a stand on principle.
At age 65 and having already served as the mayor of Chattanooga and a US senator, Corker is almost certainly done running for any more elected offices. Which means he is totally free to say what he really thinks, without fear or care of the consequences.
That's a very different place than most of Corker's soon-to-be former colleagues in Congress -- most of whom aren't planning to leave anytime soon.
The Point: Corker's outspokenness has to be leavened with the political reality that he isn't ever going to run for anything ever again. That makes his statements a little bit less noble than the anti-Trump forces would like to make them.
-- Chris | | "Just landed - a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea."
-President Donald Trump in a tweet Wednesday as he arrived back in Washington. | | | SANFORD, STEWART AND OTHER PRIMARY TAKEAWAYS | | Another week, another primary, another list of important takeaways as the midterm elections continue. CNN's Eric Bradner and Dan Merica report on four big things we learned: - Republican Rep. Mark Sanford became the latest proof point that fealty to President Donald Trump matters most in GOP politics. Sanford became the latest Republican punished by voters for criticizing Trump, losing narrowly to state Rep. Katie Arrington.
- Corey Stewart, the bombastic conservative who built his public image on championing the Confederate flag and monuments like Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue and has appeared with white nationalists, won the Republican Senate nomination. State and national Republicans admitted there's virtually no chance Stewart will defeat Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine in the fall.
- Women will represent Democrats in all four of Virginia's competitive House races in November, the latest example of the party turning to women to unseat vulnerable Republicans in the Trump era.
- Democrats notched another win in state legislative special elections on Tuesday, the party's 43rd red-to-blue flip since Trump stepped into the White House last year.
Read more in their full analysis here. | | | Today's topic: Mark Sanford's loss in South Carolina shows that the GOP is the party of Trump now. | | ⚽️ WORLD CUP BRINGING NORTH AMERICA TOGETHER? ⚽️ | | The United States, Canada and Mexico have won with their unity bid to host the 2026 World Cup together, FIFA announced Wednesday. And President Donald Trump has backed that bid.
CNN's Z. Byron Wolf notes: "Maybe soccer -- or fútbol or football or whatever you want to call it -- will bring North America together. Right now it feels pretty torn apart. President Donald Trump has long demonized Mexico, building his presidential campaign around a pledge to build a wall on the southern border. The outgoing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto this year canceled a plan to visit the White House.
"Trump has now turned his ire toward Canada, calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'meek,' 'mild,' 'dishonest' and 'weak' all in one tweet after Trudeau criticized Trump's imposition of new tariffs on Canada and Mexico, among other countries. The Canadian government has been united in backing Trudeau to combat Trump on the tariffs. Trump has also demanded a renegotiation of NAFTA. Those fears weigh heavily in both Mexico and Canada, whose economies are dwarfed by the United States."
Read more here. The 2018 World Cup, by the way, kicks off tomorrow. | | ZONING REGULATIONS FOR RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS | | CNN's Eli Watkins reports: "Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced an initiative on Wednesday aimed at boosting the Justice Department's role protecting religious institutions from cumbersome zoning rules.
" 'Under the laws of this country, government cannot discriminate against people based on their religion -- not in law enforcement, not in grant-making, not in hiring and not in local zoning laws,' Sessions said in a statement announcing the Place to Worship Initiative. The announcement said the Justice Department would expand awareness of a 2000 law to shield religious institutions from overly restrictive zoning regulations and would provide 'additional training and resources for federal prosecutors,' with an inaugural community outreach event in New Jersey later this month."
Read more here. | | Will there one day be three Golden States? Maybe. CNN reported Wednesday:
"An initiative that would divide California into three states qualified Tuesday to appear on the ballot in November's general election. Californians will vote whether to separate into three states: California, Northern California and Southern California -- subject to approval by the US Congress. The proposal, by venture capitalist Tim Draper, to break up California in a campaign called 'Cal 3,' received more than 402,468 valid signatures -- surpassing the amount required by state law. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla will certify the initiative as qualified for the November 6 ballot on June 28." Read more here. | | | From Brenna: "It's time for another not-so-subtle reminder to tell your friends about The Point by making my GIF of the day feature someone pointing. Pointing is a big part of Sen. Bernie Sanders' gesture oeuvre. Here he is, pointing/speaking at the We the People Summit earlier today." Happy Wednesday! Tell people 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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