Trump offers up a smorgasbord of delusional buffoonery over the weekend, his Administration saber-rattles with Iran, the Democratic debate lineup is set, and Elizabeth Warren surges to the top of the field. Then Senator Harry Reid talks to Jon F. about impeachment and the state of the Senate, and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar joins us for a game about student debt from our Minneapolis show on June 7th.

Show Notes

Iran

• WaPo: Trump’s consistent criticism of Iran pushes U.S. to point of potential conflict
• CNN:  Pompeo on Iran: US considering range of options including military
• Politico:  Drumbeat of Iran war grows louder as Trump ratchets up pressure
• NYT: The U.S. Has Turned Up Pressure on Iran. See the Timeline of Events.
• Vox: US releases video that it says shows Iran’s involvement in oil tanker attacks
• WaPo: Standoff with Iran exposes Trump’s credibility issue as some allies seek more proof of tanker attack
• NYT: As Trump Accuses Iran, He Has One Problem: His Own Credibility
• CNN: Op-ed by Samantha Vinograd – Trump’s Iran problem: he’s blown America’s credibility
• Axios: U.S. doubles down as more nations point fingers at Iran for oil tanker attacks –
• Foreign Policy: Some U.S. Allies Balk at Blaming Iran for Tanker Attack
• NYT: In Face-Off With Iran, Escalation May Depend on Who Prevails Inside Washington and Tehran
• NYT: After Placing Blame for Attacks, Trump Faces Difficult Choices on Confronting Iran
• The Hill: Schiff: Bolton, Pompeo undercutting Trump’s attempts to stay out of war
• USA Today: Trump says he doesn’t want war, but Sen. Cotton called for ‘retaliatory strikes’ on Iran
• Vox: How the Trump administration is using 9/11 to build a case for war with Iran
• WaPo: The Taliban claimed an attack on U.S. forces. Pompeo blamed Iran.
• The Intercept: MIKE POMPEO SAID CONGRESS DOESN’T NEED TO APPROVE WAR WITH IRAN. 2020 DEMOCRATS AREN’T HAVING IT.

NYT story on Russia cyberattacks

• NYT: U.S. Escalates Online Attacks on Russia’s Power Grid
• Politico: Trump smashed months of FBI work to thwart election interference
• New Yorker: Mitch McConnell is Making the 2020 Election Open Season for Hackers
• AP: Dems accelerate election security push after Trump comments
• Politico: Trump slams NYT report on U.S. cyberattacks against Russia
• Guardian: Trump accuses New York Times of ‘virtual treason’ over Russia cyber warfare report
• WaPo: Trump says supporters might ‘demand’ that he serve more than two terms as president
• WaPo: E.U.: Russians interfered in our elections, too

Stephanopolous interview

• ABC News: Transcript: ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos’ exclusive interview with President Trump
• ABC News: EXCLUSIVE: Top 5 takeaways of President Trump’s interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos
• ABC News:  ‘This Week’ Transcript 6-16-19: President Donald Trump and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
• Politico: Trump – I run the country
• NYT: Trump Wants to Neutralize Democrats on Health Care. Republicans Say Let It Go.
• New Yorker: The Stephanopoulos Interview Is Another Fine Mess for Trump
• The Hill: Trump: I didn’t fire Mueller since firings ‘didn’t work out too well’ for Nixon
• Daily Beast: Trump to Stephanopoulos: ‘I Like the Truth,’ I Didn’t Sit for Mueller Interview Because He’d ‘Get Us for Lies’
• Politico: ‘Enjoy the show!’: Trump hypes controversial Stephanopoulos interview
• Politico:  Trump goes on Fox to clean up his foreign interference comments
• Axios: The highlights from Trump’s 50-minute birthday “Fox & Friends” call
• Axios: The impeachment whip list – Where the House stands on impeachment
• WaPo: ‘There’s no accountability’: Trump, White House aides signal a willingness to act with impunity in drive for reelection
• NYT: Liberals Want Trump Impeached, but Centrist Freshmen May Have the Final Say
• Politico: Mike Pompeo: Trump will ‘do the right thing’ if offered foreign election help
• WaPo:  Trump says he won’t fire Kellyanne Conway over Hatch Act violations
• WaPo: Push to impeach Trump stalls amid Democrats’ deference to — and fear of — Pelosi
• WaPo: Here’s why Pelosi won’t allow the House to pursue impeachment — at least not yet
• Lawfare: Nancy Pelosi’s Argument Against Impeachment Doesn’t Make Sense

2020: Debate lineup

• NYT: The Democratic Debate Lineups Are Set. Here’s What to Expect.
• WaPo: Biden, Sanders to share debate stage after a lopsided drawing divides presidential candidates for two events this month
• FiveThirtyEight: The DNC Tried To Avoid A Lopsided Debate. It Got One Anyway.
• BuzzFeed: Here’s Who Will Be Debating Each Night Of The First 2020 Democratic Debate
• CNN: How Elizabeth Warren’s debate draw could help her or hurt her
• Vox: 7 winners and 8 losers of the 2020 Democratic debate lottery – Debate lineups don’t really matter, but let’s have some fun.
• Politico: The winners — and losers — of the Democratic debate draw
• Esquire: Night Two of the Democratic Debate Is the Group of Death
• WaPo:  Democrats delete from presidential debate stage a Montana governor, a Massachusetts congressman and a Florida mayor
• WaPo: Want to get noticed as a female candidate on the Democratic debate stage? Interrupt a man.
• Vanity Fair: By Peter Hamby – “WHAT CAN YOU SAY IN 60 SECONDS?”: AS THE FIRST DEBATE LOOMS, DEMOCRATS PREPARE TO FACE REALITY
• WaPo: 4 early takeaways from the Democratic debate lineups
• CNN: Does Democratic debate lineup matter? You bet it does
• NYT: Democratic Debates, Sanders on Socialism, New Polls: This Week in the 2020 Race

2020: Warren surges

• CBS: CBS News Battleground Tracker poll: Biden leads, with Warren, Harris, Sanders close behind
• CNBC: Joe Biden remains the front-runner for Democratic nomination, but his support is vulnerable: Poll
• WSJ: Nearly Half of Democrats Back Impeachment Hearings Against Trump
• Charleston Post & Courier: Warren, Buttigieg surge in SC 2020 Democratic presidential poll as Biden still leads 
• Star Tribune: Minnesota poll puts Klobuchar in fourth place
• WaPo: Poll Watch section of Weigel’s latest Trailer
• Politico: California poll: Warren surges to second, Harris falls to fourth
• Vox: Elizabeth Warren isn’t Hillary Clinton
• New Yorker: Can Elizabeth Warren Win It All?
• LA Times: How Elizabeth Warren has risen in a crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field
• Politico: Warren leapfrogs Sanders in pair of 2020 polls
• Mother Jones: Elizabeth Warren Has a Plan for Winning the White House, and Right Now It’s Working
• WaPo: Why Elizabeth Warren is surging – Plum Line
• NYT: How Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren Cracked the Code of the 2020 Race (June 13)
• Vox: Elizabeth Warren wants to level the playing field for entrepreneurs of color
• Politico: Trump campaign zeroes in on a new threat: Elizabeth Warren
• NBC News: Trump campaign cutting ties with pollsters after internal numbers leaked
• ABC News: Trump campaign parting ways with pollsters following internal numbers leak: Sources
• WaPo: Trump’s internal poll numbers are out. And both they and his team’s response paint a bleak picture.
• Bloomberg: Elizabeth Warren Downplays Rise in Polls: ‘It’s Way Too Early’

2020: On general election polls

• FiveThirtyEight: By Perry Bacon Jr. – Should We Take These Early General Election Polls Seriously? $#!% No!
• The Atlantic: Brace for a Voter-Turnout Tsunami
• The Atlantic: This Isn’t Going According to Plan for Kirsten Gillibrand
• WaPo: Joe Biden and the ‘electability’ delusion — and why the media keep making the same mistake
• WaPo: Workers’ protest, candidate forum put spotlight on race and economic inequality
• NYT: Democratic Candidates Promise to Close Wealth Gap Between Blacks and Whites
• Politico: Trump campaign makes a radical break from 2016
• Politico: Dems prepare 9-figure ad onslaught to blunt Trump’s head start
• NYT: Wall Street Donors Are Swooning for Mayor Pete. (They Like Biden and Harris, Too.)
• Vox: Black voters want 2020 candidates to talk about the economy. At the Black Economic Alliance Forum, they did just that.

Guest: Harry Reid

• USA Today: Harry Reid changes opinion, says Pelosi-led House should open Trump impeachment inquiry
• WaPo: House should begin Trump impeachment inquiry, Harry Reid says
• CNN: Harry Reid now backs Trump impeachment inquiry: ‘It’s not the right thing to do nothing’
• HuffPo: Harry Reid Swaps Sides, Says House Should Launch Impeachment Inquiry
• GQ:  The Political Costs of Not Impeaching Trump
• NYT: Harry Reid Remembers One Impeachment and Ponders a Second
• Vox: “The Republican Congress created Trump”: Harry Reid’s thoughts on a fallen Senate
• NYT Magazine: Harry Reid Has a Few Words for Washington
• WaPo: Harry Reid: Trump is ‘the worst president we’ve ever had’
• Newsweek: HARRY REID SAYS BETO O’ROURKE SHOULD HAVE RUN FOR SENATE IN 2020, BUT TEXAS DEMOCRAT DIDN’T LISTEN
• Politico: Trump says he was briefed on Navy sightings of UFOs