| | | | Can Donald Trump handle the pressure? 😰 | | As President Donald Trump jetted to Montana on Thursday night to give a campaign speech at a rally for Matt Rosendale, here's what was on his plate:
*A book by Bob Woodward, which isn't even out until Tuesday, making the case that top aides to Trump belittle him in private and work to circumvent his decisions on major issues in order to protect the country
*An anonymous New York Times op-ed from a senior person in his administration that suggests there is an organized group aimed at resisting and defusing Trump's worst instincts.
*The ongoing probe by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, and the possibility that Russians colluded with members of the Trump campaign.
*A midterm election in which all signs point to a Republican washout and the loss of the party's majority -- a scenario that, if it comes to pass, would make the possibility of impeachment proceedings a very real thing.
That's not all that's on Trump's mind. But, man oh man, just those four things is A LOT.
Now, Trump has said throughout his life that he thrives under pressure. "You can't be successful if you can't handle pressure" is one of his most famous quotes.
But has Trump ever dealt with pressure like this? Making a business deal -- even a multi-billion dollar one -- is one thing. Dealing with a near-coup within the White House -- even as a former FBI director looks into various aspects of your life and business -- is another.
And Trump faces this unique pressure with deep distrust both toward and among his staff, and without the ability to change much of anything that is backing him into corner. He can't un-publish Woodward's book. He can't force the Times to tell him the name of the op-ed author. He can't make Mueller end his probe (although he could try).
If past is prologue, a cornered Trump is a dangerous one. Always impetuous and mercurial, those traits seem to be heightened when Trump feels constrained -- limited in the choices he can make or the people he can trust.
The Point: Look out. If you thought Trump tweeting "TREASON?" earlier this week was over the top, you might not have seen the extent of his unpredictability.
-- Chris | | TRUMP SCREENING NYT OP-ED PUSHBACK | | Several prominent Trump administration officials have come out with statements denying they wrote the scathing Wednesday New York Times op-ed by a senior administration official suggesting a resistance within the President's own team to undermine Trump's will.
A top White House official tells CNN's Jeff Zeleny that these denials are being printed and delivered to the President as they come in.
It's unclear who is behind the Times piece, and the pool of potential "senior" administration officials to sort through is large. CNN's Betsy Klein pointed out today that "the number of senior officials in the Trump administration is in the hundreds, and that's a conservative estimate." It includes members of the Cabinet, their deputies, senior staff to the vice president, ambassadors and presidential advisers.
Chris writes that the biggest clues to cracking the case of the rogue columnist are the way the Times described the author -- and understanding the Times' calculus in publishing the piece at all. | | | Today's musical interlude also appears to be a theme for Washington today. Here's "It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy. (h/t CNN chief photojournalist Jeff Kinney) | | Two potential 2020 presidential contenders, Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey, were in the spotlight during Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing.
Both Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have been pushing back to receive more records related to Kavanaugh's work in the George W. Bush White House. And both have sent Kavanaugh-themed fundraising emails.
Late Wednesday, Harris grilled Kavanaugh about whether he had discussed special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation with anyone, including any individuals at the law firm founded by the President's personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz.
CNN's Stephen Collison reported that Booker said he purposely broke the rules of the Senate on Thursday morning, saying he was ready to risk expulsion from the Senate to expose the "sham" confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh, as another bitter row erupted over crucial documents Democrats say are being withheld from the public.
Booker released 12 pages of emails sent by Kavanaugh dealing with racial inequality previously marked as "committee confidential," meaning they could only be accessed by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate's second-ranking Republican, said releasing the emails is "no different from the senator deciding to release classified information."
Despite Booker's fireworks, the office of Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said Booker knew the documents were already cleared for release.
Read Chris' analysis of Booker's move to publicize the emails here. | | MEANWHILE IN DELAWARE ... | | CNN's Greg Krieg reports that progressive insurgents are hoping to deliver another gut punch to the Democratic establishment on Thursday, this time in Delaware, where Sen. Tom Carper is facing a primary challenge from the left by first-time candidate Kerri Evelyn Harris.
Carper's Senate seniority and decades of experience are as much a burden as a selling point in the 2018 political landscape. Harris, a 38-year-old Air Force veteran and community organizer who is biracial and gay, has sought to cast Carper, 71, as an out-of-touch centrist who, for all his good intentions, is disconnected from current political urgency.
The state has mostly elected some combination of the same handful of leading politicians from both parties over the past few decades. But it has also seen one of them, former GOP governor, lieutenant governor and US Rep. Mike Castle, lose to an outsider who in turn squandered what had been viewed as a winnable Senate seat. That was in 2010, during the rise of the tea party.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons warned that a win for Harris could similarly imperil what's now considered a safe Democratic seat.
Read Krieg's piece about the race here. | | | From Brenna: "This was House Speaker Paul Ryan's reaction when a reporter asked if he'd heard that the Senate is considering bringing up the repeal of Obamacare (again). As if we need to pile on to this week's news cycle." | | | | | | |
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