The President prepares to deliver a not-very-anticipated State of the Union, Governor Ralph Northam refuses to resign after a racist photo of him surfaces, and Senator Cory Booker announces his campaign for president. Then Adam Serwer of The Atlantic talks to Jon Favreau about the Northam fallout, as well as race and politics in the Trump Era. Also – Pod Save America is going on tour! Get your tickets now: crooked.com/events.

Show Notes:

SOTU / Trump

• Washington Post: ‘A watershed moment’: Trump faces crossroads amid mounting threats on all sides
• CNN: Trump hints at border wall action around State of the Union
• CNBC: Trump’s State of the Union address will offer a ‘bipartisan way forward on immigration,’ White House official says
• Washington Post: Trump to offer ‘aspirational,’ ‘visionary’ path in State of the Union address
• New York Times: Trump, in Interview, Calls Wall Talks ‘Waste of Time’ and Dismisses Investigations
• New York Times: Before Trump’s State of the Union, a Look at How Last Year’s Promises Fared
• CBS News: Most oppose Trump declaring national emergency for wall funding, CBS News poll finds
• Politico: Trump could ‘be forced’ to declare national emergency, GOP border negotiator says
• Roll Call: Shutdown or national emergency? Trump plays coy in pre-Super Bowl interview
• CBS News: Transcript: President Trump on “Face the Nation,” February 3, 2019
• Washington Post: Trump refuses to comment on whether Mueller report should be made public
• New York Times: Trump Won’t Commit to Making Mueller Report Public
• Politico: Trump determined to ‘bring our folks back home’ from Syria, Afghanistan
• Axios: Scoop: Insider leaks Trump’s “Executive Time”-filled private schedules
• Washington Post: The Daily 202: Stacey Abrams isn’t the future of the Democratic Party. She’s the present
• Washington Post: ‘The contrast with Trump could not be more stark’: The message Democrats are sending by choosing Stacey Abrams to rebut Trump’s SOTU
• Mother Jones: Watch Stacey Abrams Star in a Super Bowl Ad
• Washington Post: Stacey Abrams lost the Georgia governor’s race. But her star is rising.
• Axios: Stacey Abrams previews her goals for State of the Union rebuttal
• Foreign Affairs: IDENTITY POLITICS STRENGTHENS DEMOCRACY
• Vox: Stacey Abrams’s new essay on identity politics reveals why she’s a rising star

Northam

• New York Times: Northam Clings to Office in Virginia, Defying Pressure From His Party
• Washington Post: Northam goes to church on the Eastern Shore as pressure mounts for his resignation
• Washington Post: Northam meets with senior staff and considers options, including resignation
• Washington Post: Pressure mounts for Northam to resign as allies press him on national TV
• Vox: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam refuses to resign: “I am not the person in that photo”
• Think Progress: Website that published Virginia governor’s racist yearbook photo has ties to Corey Stewart campaign
• New York Times: Democratic Unity Against Northam Shows Centrality of Race in Trump Era
• Vox: Here’s everyone calling on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to resign
• Washington Post: Anger and sadness as African Americans in Virginia consider Northam’s fate
• Washington Post: A tip from a ‘concerned citizen’ helps a reporter land the scoop of a lifetime
• New York Times: Ralph Northam Rose Quickly to Become Virginia Governor. He Could Fall Even Faster.
• Washington Post: Analysis: Northam struggles to escape Virginia’s troubled past — and his own
• New York Times: Who Is Justin Fairfax, Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor?
• Washington Post: Fairfax was preparing to be Va. governor. Then Northam said he was staying put.
• The Root: On Well-Intended White Folks: Thoughts on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and the Making of a Public Image
• The Atlantic: Ralph Northam’s Yearbook Page Speaks for Itself
• New York Times: The Governor Who Partied Like It’s 1884
• Washington Post: The Trailer: Why 2020 Democrats rushed to condemn Ralph Northam
• The Atlantic: Every Democrat Wants Ralph Northam Gone—Except Ralph Northam
• Washington Post: Northam controversy threatens to complicate Democrats’ bid to draw sharp contrast with Trump, GOP on race
• Slate: Trump Blasts “Unforgivable” Northam Photo, Targets GOP Opponent for Failing at Opposition Research
• Washington Post: Sorry, Republicans. You can’t call out Northam for racism and give Trump a pass. – Op-Ed
• Daily Press: Ralph Northam photo controversy: Could he be impeached? What if he resigns?
• Washington Post: Justin Fairfax would become Virginia’s 2nd black governor if Northam resigns

2020

• New York Times: Cory Booker Announces Presidential Bid, Joining Most Diverse Field Ever
• Washington Post: Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey joins the 2020 presidential race
• CNN: What Cory Booker’s rollout tells us about his 2020 campaign
• NJ.com: Cory Booker thinks his message of love can win back the White House. Will angry Dems listen?
• Vox: Sen. Cory Booker, a champion for marijuana legalization and criminal justice reform, is running for president
• Washington Post: Cory Booker’s 2020 policy agenda: ‘Baby bonds,’ criminal justice reform, action on climate change
• Vox: Cory Booker had a confusing answer about health care in his first 2020 press conference
• New York Times: Medicare for All Emerges as Early Policy Test for 2020 Democrats
• Vox: Cory Booker and Kamala Harris’s affordable housing plans, explained
• FiveThirtyEight: How Cory Booker Could Win The 2020 Democratic Nomination
• Washington Post: Plumline – Cory Booker is running for president. Here’s why it won’t be easy.
• Esquire: Cory Booker Has a Wall Street Problem, But the Democratic Primary Is Better With Him in It
• Center for Responsive Politics: Everything you need to know about where Cory Booker gets his money
• Huffington Post: Cory Booker Defends Progressive Cred In Presidential Announcement
• Vox: How Cory Booker went from progressive hero to traitor in under 2 days
• New York Times: Cory Booker – On the Issues – Where He Stands – Health Care
• The Hill: Booker tries to shake doubts about pharmaceutical ties ahead of 2020
• Center for Public Integrity: Nine Things to Know about Cory Booker
• New Yorker: Cory Booker’s No-Haters Presidential Proposition
• Politico: Is Cory Booker for Real? How an ambitious future presidential contender who grew up in a white suburb moved to the projects—and won over critics who thought he was a phony. Can he do it again?
• The Atlantic: Cory Booker Launched His Presidential Campaign in the Most Cory Booker Way Possible
• BuzzFeed: Cory Booker Is Building A 2020 Campaign That’s Just Like Him: Vegan, Hyperactive, And Unapologetically Unconventional
• CNN: In Cory Booker’s call for activism, context matters – Op-Ed
• Washington Post: Cory Booker was one of politics’ original social media stars. How much will it help in 2020?

Adam Serwer

• The Atlantic: The President’s Pursuit of White Power
• The Atlantic: America’s Problem Isn’t Tribalism—It’s Racism
• The Atlantic: What’s the Difference Between Steve King and Donald Trump?
• The Atlantic: The Terrorism That Doesn’t Spark a Panic
• USA Today: Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown calls Trump ‘a racist’ amid Northam controversy