It might be just the matchup President Donald Trump would design. The problem is deciding which matchup to focus on.
For the last time before November’s midterm elections, voters choose between Democrats and Republicans this week, in a special House election in a historically deep-red Ohio district on Tuesday.
Trump is positioning himself against Democrats in typically misleading ways. But he’s also squaring off against the news media, the special counsel, his own Justice Department and even LeBron James.
Paul Vernon/AP, FILEOhio Gov. John Kasich speaks during the Ohio State of the State address in the Fritsche Theater at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, March 6, 2018.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich let it be known on “This Week” Sunday that GOP House candidate Troy Balderson didn’t even invite Trump to the rally he headlined Saturday. Highlighting the other edge of the Trump campaign sword, Kasich sided with James (who is taking his talents away from Cleveland after a run that included capturing the 2016 NBA championship) – and against Trumpism.
“He’s a divider,” Kasich said of the president. “The party has shrunk because we don’t have this positive, growth-oriented, opportunity message.”
The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks
Members of Congress are home in their districts this week. Look out for some action in the states and fiery interactions with voters.
While the House is out for all of August, senators are only getting a short time away from the nation’s capital this summer. Their “skinny” recess is under two weeks.
The squeezed time at home means added pressure for organizers to make sure their voter voices are heard.
One of the major issues on the minds of Democrats: the Supreme Court nomination.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP, FILESupreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh meets with Sen. Marco Rubio on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Aug. 1, 2018.
Planned Parenthood says its state partners and local chapters will host more than 80 events around the country “to demand senators reject Trump’s nomination” of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the highest court.
They are also focused on getting letters to the editor, from women worried Kavanaugh would overturn Roe v. Wade, placed in local papers in key states like Alaska, Maine and West Virginia with possible swing votes.
The TIP with John Verhovek
If there was any doubt that the Democratic primary in the Michigan governor’s race is a referendum on the progressive agenda, Sen. Bernie Sanders ended that discussion Sunday.
Campaigning in and around the city of Detroit for Abdul El-Sayed, a 33-year-old Muslim doctor who embraced Sanders’ call for a “Medicare for All” healthcare system and tuition-free public colleges, the Vermont senator did not shy away from casting the race, and his 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton in the presidential primaries, as a vindication of the progressive policy platform.
Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via APSen. Bernie Sanders speaks in support of Abdul El-Sayed at a Get Out The Vote rally for Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed at Cobo Center in Detroit, Aug. 5, 2018.
“Because of the victory we won here in Michigan…those ideas which were once seen to be by the establishment as ‘fringe ideas’ or ‘radical ideas,’ they are now mainstream ideas,” Sanders told a crowd gathered in the town of Ypsilanti, 30 minutes west of Detroit.
But just how mainstream those ideas have become is still being constantly tested throughout the 2018 primaries, and will again on Tuesday, when Michiganders decide whether it is El-Sayed or former state Senator Gretchen Whitmer is their choice to advance to November and win back control of the governor’s mansion after eight years of GOP control.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If the recommendation was give the interview, you’re going to get 12 lawyers on there saying I can’t believe that Sekulow and Giuliani and the other lawyers allowed the president to do it. If we say no, we’re not going to do the interview, the same 12 lawyers are going to say, ‘Gee, what are they hiding?'” — Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow on ABC News’ “This Week” regarding the prospect of the president agreeing to be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller.
THE PLAYLIST
ABC News’ Podcast “Start Here.” Monday’s episode features ABC News’ Matt Gutman on the alleged assassination attempt against Venezuelan President Maduro, ABC News’ Jordyn Phelps on Trump admitting that the 2016 Trump Tower meeting was about getting info on Hillary Clinton, and ABC News’ Senior Investigative Producer James Gordon Meek on if Julian Assange will be extradited to the U.S. https://abcn.ws/2kY73dl
NEED TO READ
Four primaries, Ohio special election promise key midterm clues. Voters in five states head to the polls Tuesday, and both parties are looking for signs of strength and unity in their ranks less than three months until the first major U.S. election since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. (Roey Hadar, John Verhovek and Adam Kelsey) https://abcn.ws/2AHZEJZ
Trump says it’s a ‘complete fabrication’ he’s concerned his son is in legal trouble in Russia probe. President Trump took to Twitter Sunday to insist he is not concerned about potential legal questions surrounding his son Donald Trump Jr.’s involvement in a 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians. (Jordyn Phelps) https://abcn.ws/2LZ4N4Z
At Trump rallies, an uneasy mix of hate, friendliness toward the media: Reporter’s notebook. There was interest in digging into a curious phenomenon at the rallies – a layer of QAnon signs in the crowd. We were eager to speak to believers in this growing internet conspiracy that supports the Trump presidency through information leaked by an elusive government official named Q. (Tara Palmeri) https://abcn.ws/2viii5U
Bernie Sanders stumps in Michigan as progressives eye another upset. Bernie Sanders returned Sunday to the state of Michigan, the place that re-vamped his long-shot 2016 presidential campaign, hoping to boost 33-year-old Abdul El-Sayed, who is running an underdog campaign himself to capture the Democratic nomination in this year’s Michigan gubernatorial race. (John Verhovek) https://abcn.ws/2MlOSdL
Republicans should have ‘slam dunk’ in Ohio election, close race doesn’t bode well for GOP: Kasich. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican critic of President Trump, said a special election in his state that should be a “slam dunk” for the GOP is instead close, which “doesn’t bode well” for his party. (Kelsey Walsh) https://abcn.ws/2OcNGtG
Trump panel found no evidence of widespread voter fraud, sought ‘pre-ordained outcome’: Former member. A former Democratic member of the Trump administration’s now-disbanded election integrity commission says newly-released documents show no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and that “dissenting or even questioning voices” on the panel were unwelcome. (Lee Harris and Quinn Owen) https://abcn.ws/2M1SvZu
If Mueller subpoenas Trump to testify, legal fight would go to Supreme Court: Trump lawyer. A member of President Trump’s legal team said that if special counsel Robert Mueller subpoenas Trump to testify in the Russia investigation, it would spark a legal battle that would go to the Supreme Court. (Roey Hadar) https://abcn.ws/2Ml0ais
Muslim-American women hope to make history in midterm elections. Born and raised in Detroit, Fayrouz Saad has always been proud of her Lebanese heritage. And now, Saad hopes to become the nation’s first Muslim-American congresswoman. (Meena Venkataramanan) https://abcn.ws/2Kw9nCO
Ranchers feel heard by Trump on environmental rules, but some others sound alarms. Marty Smith, vice president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, told ABC News that ranchers feel they are being heard by the Trump administration. (Meena Venkataramanan) https://abcn.ws/2LT1A7y
US schools implement new safety measures in wake of recent mass shootings. As some school districts get ready to head back to school, officials continue to keep campus safety a priority in the wake of recent school shootings. From hiring additional personnel, digitally-mapping out schools or arming teachers, various measures have been taken to increase protection. (Karolina Rivas) https://abcn.ws/2AKoskC
Action-star Steven Seagal has been appointed by Russia as a special envoy to the United States, the New York Times reports. https://nyti.ms/2OI6G4i
According to The Atlantic, some socialists fear that candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could water-down their vision of the future. https://bit.ly/2M2EiLN
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
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