Politics

One of the most notable parts of last night’s state of the union address was when Trump said this: “An economic miracle is taking place in the United States and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations. If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. …

But there’s a catch. CBS News reports: Seventy-six percent of Americans who tuned in to President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night approved of the speech he gave. Just 24 percent disapproved. As is often the case in State of the Union addresses, the people who watched tonight’s speech leaned more towards the president’s own party, at least …

Minneapolis’s ABC affiliate reports: Senator Amy Klobuchar is scheduled to make a major announcement on Sunday at Boom Island Park in Minneapolis. It’s likely Minnesota’s senior senator will announce she’s running for president in 2020. In an interview on the cable network MSNBC shortly after President Trump’s ‘State of the Union’ address, Klobuchar said to “come to Boom Island on …

NPR reports: President Trump will deliver his second State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night. He’s expected to deliver a bipartisan message themed around “choosing greatness,” while outlining what the White House calls a “policy agenda both parties can rally behind.” Trump’s address will begin at 9 p.m. ET. His remarks will be followed by two responses: …

The Daily Beast reports: Oprah Winfrey almost got Beto O’Rourke to say it. During a taped interview for Winfrey’s SuperSoul Conversations, set to premiere Feb. 16, the Texas Democrat edged closer to becoming a 2020 presidential candidate. “I have been thinking about running for president,” O’Rourke revealed to Winfrey. An eruption of applause at the PlayStation Theater followed. Ever the …

Politico reports: Sen. Amy Klobuchar is heading to Iowa this month, another sign the Minnesota Democrat is closing in on a 2020 launch. Klobuchar is to headline the Feb. 21 Ankeny Area Democrats Winter Banquet in the first caucus state and her team is exploring events elsewhere in Iowa that are likely to be added to that itinerary, according to …

Via White House press release: Melania and I send our greetings to those celebrating the Lunar New Year. Today, people across the United States and around the world mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year with spectacular fireworks displays, joyful festivals, and family gatherings. This is a sacred time for many people of Asian descent, and it is an …

Republican House Rep. Steve King today conclusively demonstrated that he’s not a racist by announcing that either Diamond or Silk (we still don’t know which is which) will be his guest in the gallery at tonight’s state of the union address. Last month the GOP House leadership stripped King of all his committee assignments after a New York Times interview …

Talking Points Memo reports: Sen. Cory Booker says he’s boo’d up. The New Jersey Democrat and 2020 White House hopeful is confirming that he has a girlfriend. Booker was asked about his noted bachelordom by co-host Charlamagne tha God during a Tuesday interview on Power 105.1’s nationally-syndicated radio show, “The Breakfast Club.” “First of all, there’s two more years until …

Politico reports: They’re the outcasts of Capitol Hill, personae non gratae even in their own party. Duncan Hunter, Chris Collins and Steve King have been excommunicated from the House GOP conference in the most public way possible: stripped of their committee assignments and forced to watch the legislating from the sidelines. Now, while the rest of their colleagues work on …

During an interview with CNBC last night, former Starbucks CEO appeared to take exception with the term “billionaire” when asked if people like him have too much power. “The moniker ‘billionaire’ now has become the catchphrase. I would rephrase that and say that ‘people of means’ have been able to leverage their wealth and their interest in ways that are …

The Washington Post reports: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Monday night made her first public appearance since undergoing cancer surgery in December, attending a celebration of her life presented in song. The 85-year-old justice attended a production of “Notorious RBG in Song” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington. The program about Ginsburg’s life in the …

The Washington Post reports: The head of the medical school whose yearbook sparked controversy after racist photos surfaced on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s page in 1984 got rid of the annual after he found pictures of students in Confederate garb, according to a report on Monday. Shortly after Provost Richard Homan hired Mekbib Gemeda as vice president of diversity at …

The Hill reports: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will deliver his own response to President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday for the third year running. The senator’s office confirmed to The Hill that his response will follow Trump’s speech and be streamed on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Sanders, who is an independent but caucuses with Democrats, will be …

The Daily Beast reports: A group of Senate Democrats are aiming to block President Donald Trump from building his proposed border wall by declaring a national emergency—an announcement the president could make as soon as Tuesday during his State of the Union address. One of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), said that Congress must “assert its role as …

The Week reports: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, in yet another interview to promote his new book, was asked by radio host Hugh Hewitt whether running for president in 2024 is on the table, per CNN’s Betsy Klein. Christie’s response? “Yeah, listen, why not?” Christie went on to explain that he would not run simply “to go through the …

Politico reports: Democrats in the Montana state legislature put forward a bill Monday that would increase the penalty for assaulting a journalist from $500 to a maximum of $5,000 and up to a year in jail — a none-too-subtle slap at Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte and his infamous body slam of a reporter two years ago. “I feel pretty strongly …

“I think the law is very clear and I think the President has been advised of it that if he signs an executive order declaring a national emergency and directing the military to spend money that has not been expressly appropriated for the wall or that has not been expressly appropriated for eminent domain– since much of the real estate …

Raleigh’s WRAL reports: The new State Board of Elections will meet in two weeks to review evidence of alleged absentee ballot fraud in the 9th Congressional District. The five-member board, which Gov. Roy Cooper appointed last week, has set a hearing in the 9th District investigation for 10 a.m. Feb. 18. The hearing is expected to last two to three …

Splinter News reports: President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday might be nothing to look forward to, but there’s a silver lining regarding who will be in attendance. Ana Maria Archila, one of two women who was recorded in September confronting then-Republican Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator during the confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice …