memeorandum: Inside Jared Kushner's two missions impossible (Eliana Johnson/Politico)

11:35 AM ET, May 13, 2019

Top Items:

Trump's trade approach under attack as China readies retaliation; markets poised for big sell-off — Beijing plans steep tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods in response to White House action … President Trump's efforts to calm investors while he launches a full-scale trade war …

Discussion: Political Wire and Bloomberg

Bloomberg:

China Announces Tariff Retaliation to Take Effect on June 1 — China announced that it will impose additional tariffs on some American goods in retaliation for the latest increase of U.S. duties on $200 billion of Chinese imports. — The tariffs will take effect on June 1 …

Discussion: Quartz, Slate, Fortune, Boston Magazine, shanghaiist, The Guardian and Politico

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
China to retaliate on $60B in U.S. goods, defying Trump's warning

Discussion: Bloomberg, Mercury News and Breitbart

Christopher Rugaber / Associated Press:
Kudlow's admission about who pays tariffs contradicts Trump

Discussion: HillReporter.com

Washington Post:
Trump's go-it-alone approach on trade, immigration poses economic risks

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Mercury News

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

What Joe Biden Is Teaching Democrats About Democrats — Over the past five years, the Democratic Party has seemed to race leftward so fast that its recent standard-bearers are considered no longer qualified to lead it. Bill Clinton? An embarrassment not welcome on the campaign trail. Barack Obama?

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
Peter Schweizer, Who Smeared Hillary Clinton, Is Back for Joe Biden. Don't Buy It.

Discussion: The Guardian

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Why Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden really need each other

Discussion: Vox

Victor Davis Hanson / American Greatness: Journalism is Dead—Long Live the Media!

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:

What's the Real Reason Trump Is Stonewalling Congress? — Maybe he wants to avoid more bad publicity. Or maybe it's something worse. — If President Donald Trump thinks he's been totally exonerated, as he says, why is he stonewalling Congress? Why wouldn't he want special counsel Robert Mueller …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Moderate Voice

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
An Imperial Presidency? — President Trump's free rein …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, The Stanford Daily and Raw Story

Mike Allen / Axios:

Democrats' fear: 2020 race killing chances to win Senate — Democrats have more than beating President Trump to fret in 2020: They face an uphill battle to win the Senate, and the possibility of losing House seats, too. — Reality check: The Senate looks tough to win back for Democrats …

Eleanor Clift / The Daily Beast: Democrats Don't Want to Run for the Senate—and It Will Screw Them

Alan Fram / Associated Press:
House GOP focusing on women, minorities for 2020 challengers

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Popular Information:

EXCLUSIVE: How money flows from Amazon to 8chan — Follow the money from the world's most valuable company to a racist troll haven — You may or may not know about the 8chan website—but you are familiar with its work. The rudimentary message board is a wellspring of racism, violence …

Tony Romm / Washington Post:

Supreme Court rules against Apple, allowing lawsuit targeting App Store to proceed — Apple suffered a significant defeat at the Supreme Court on Monday, when the justices ruled that consumers could forge ahead with a lawsuit against the iPhone giant over the way it manages its App Store.

Sherrilyn Ifill / Washington Post: If judicial nominees don't support ‘Brown v. Board,’ they don't support the rule of law

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

Iowa's Likely Outcome for 2020 Contenders: A Field of Broken Dreams — The nation's first presidential caucus is always important, but with more than 20 Democrats running this time, the need for a strong showing is far more urgent. — IOWA CITY — It may be nearly nine months until …

Discussion: Des Moines Register

Alexi McCammond / Axios:
Iowa Trump voters want Elizabeth Warren's ideas, focus group shows

Discussion: HillReporter.com and No More Mister Nice Blog

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Inside Jared Kushner's two missions impossible — As President Donald Trump launches his re-election bid, his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, is waging dual campaigns of his own, preparing to sell ambitious fixes to two of the most stubborn problems of the past 50 years.

Discussion: Raw Story

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

House Republicans criticize Rep. Tlaib over remarks on Holocaust, Israel — House Republican leaders took aim at Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on Sunday for a podcast interview in which she discussed her support for a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Discussion: The Hill, The Federalist, Politico, Fox News, IJR, twitchy.com, Breitbart, Yeshiva World News, Washington Examiner, RedState and Haaretz

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Many Democrats fear Trump is laying an impeachment trap — (CNN)It seems a crazy idea that any president would actually want to be impeached. — But Donald Trump has so subverted Washington logic with his wild, norm-crushing presidency that there is now a serious conversation …

Discussion: Front Page Magazine

Sam Stein / The Daily Beast:

One of the Most Effective Anti-Trump Groups in the Country Is Now Tackling Voter Suppression in the States — American Oversight uncovered Ivanka's private emails and Pruitt's calendars. Now it wants to use its investigative methods to unearth the motivations behind voter suppression laws.

Discussion: Raw Story

Allyson Chiu / Washington Post:

Mike Pence's advice to Christian college grads: Prepare to be ‘shunned or ridiculed for defending the teachings of the Bible’ — Vice President Pence had a message for Liberty University's graduating class of 2019: “Be ready.” — But as Pence looked out over the sea of people dressed …

Discussion: Raw Story and RedState

The Daily Beast:

One-Time #Resistance Hero Rod Rosenstein Was Trump's Leak-Hunter-in-Chief — The Trump administration is on pace for a record number of leak prosecutions—thanks in part to a man hailed by the president's fiercest critics. — Rod Rosenstein was a #Resistance hero—and one of Donald Trump's …

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review

Campbell Robertson / New York Times:

How a Newspaper War in New Orleans Ended: With a Baked Alaska and Layoffs — NEW ORLEANS — The announcement came via the baked alaska. — On May 2, senior staff members at The Advocate newspaper gathered in a room at Antoine's, one of the white-linen dining palaces in the French Quarter of New Orleans …

Elie Mystal / The Nation:

How Does Donald Trump Keep Getting Away with It? — Hint: From Congress to the courts, people keep treating Trump like a ‘normal’ president. It's time to stop. — Every day, President Donald Trump or his minions say something stupid, wrong, or demonstrably false.

Liz Sly / Washington Post:

Two Saudi oil tankers attacked in the Persian Gulf amid rising Iran tensions — BEIRUT — Two Saudi oil tankers have been attacked and damaged in coastal waters near the Persian Gulf, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said Monday, further heightening tensions with Iran.

Jackson Diehl / Washington Post:

The real reason Venezuela's Maduro survives: Dirty money — When asked to explain why their efforts to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have fallen short, Trump administration officials typically cite the sinister influence of Cuba and Russia, which they say has stiffened the regime's resistance.

Paul P. Murphy / CNN:

American Nazis protested a Holocaust remembrance event. A university's scholarship is part of the reason why. — (CNN)For the past five years, Joyce Griffis and Congregation Chaim B'Derech have held a Holocaust March for Remembrance in Russellville, Arkansas. It's always been solemn and peaceful.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Gregory Meyer / Financial Times:

Trump tariffs on China intensify pain for US soyabean farmers — In late February, with American and Chinese diplomats enmeshed in trade talks a week before a since-extended deadline, a top US agriculture official explained what he hoped would result from a deal.