| | | | Donald Trump has a massive woman problem | | If the 2020 election were held today, President Donald Trump would lose, convincingly, to three of the most-mentioned potential 2020 Democrats, according to a new CNN/SSRS poll.
While 2020 polling in 2018 is of relatively limited value, a deeper dive into Trump's head-to-head matchups with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, former Vice President Joe Biden and talk show host Oprah Winfrey reveals a major problem for Trump as he seeks to build a winning coalition in 2020: Women -- across virtually every age, education and racial range -- have moved against him in major numbers.
Biden holds an eye-popping 36-point edge over Trump among women, while Sanders leads Trump by 30 and Oprah bests him by 29. That's a very different result than in the 2016 election, when Hillary Clinton beat Trump by 13 points among women, according to exit polling. Orders of magnitude different.
There are a handful of other numbers in the poll detailing Trump's performance with various female subgroups that are even more eye-popping.
Among white women -- a group Trump carried over Clinton by 9 points in 2016 -- Biden crushes Trump by 23 points. Sanders beats the incumbent by 17 among white women, while Oprah's margin is 14.
Among women who identify as political independents, Biden leads Trump by 44 -- yes 44! -- points. Sanders has a 28 point lead while Oprah's edge is 26 points.
Among women 50 years old and younger, Sanders leads Trump by a startlingly large 49 points, as compared to a 47 bulge for Biden and a 41 point advantage for Oprah.
What these numbers suggest is that Trump's problem with female voters during the 2016 campaign has gotten considerably worse since he has been in office.
And that is a huge issue that Trump must find a way to resolve -- or, at least, mitigate -- if he wants to have any chance of winning a second term in 2020.
Women made up 53% of the electorate in 2016 and have cast a majority of the votes in every presidential election since 1984. The largest margin among women in a modern presidential election was Bill Clinton's 16-point win in his swamping of Bob Dole in 1996. Barack Obama won women by 13 points in 2008 and 11 points in 2012 -- roughly equivalent to the 13-point margin for Clinton in 2016.
The Point: If Trump loses women by double digits, it's very hard to make the math add up for him. VERY hard.
-- Chris | | MEEHAN ADDRESSES MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS | | CNN reported Monday that the House Ethics Committee is investigating Rep. Pat Meehan after a new report over the weekend said the Pennsylvania Republican had used thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to settle a sexual misconduct complaint against him by a former aide.
Now, Meehan is speaking out about the accusation. In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, he said he had developed a deep "affection" for a younger aide and told her that he saw her as "a soul mate."
A lawyer for Meehan's aide told CNN's Juana Summers that the lawmaker shouldn't be talking about this, given the fact that he signed a confidentiality agreement. "At this time, my client sees this as a continued breech of the confidentiality agreement. She continues to prize her privacy and is not going to breach. What she will do is cooperate with the Ethics Committee Investigation and provide any and all information she can. She's right now reviewing what legal actions and remedies are available to her."
The lawmaker told the Inquirer he is still planning on running for re-election in Pennsylvania's Seventh District. | | CNN's Ryan Struyk writes:
Here's the most important number in our new CNN poll on Russia: 59%. That's the percentage of Republicans who say Trump should testify under oath if Mueller asks. That's a pretty strong majority of Trump's own party -- which means this number for all Americans is even stronger at 78%. Trump will likely be asked about the potential for obstruction of justice -- and a bare majority of Americans, 51%, say they believe Trump has indeed attempted to interfere in the probe.
Read more in CNN's full story here. | | CNN reported Tuesday that special counsel Robert Mueller's office has interviewed both Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former FBI Director James Comey. CNN's Marshall Cohen writes:
Sessions is the third Cabinet or Cabinet-level official (current and former) known to be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to CNN's research. These are the Cabinet-level officials known to be interviewed by Mueller: - Sessions, who was interviewed on January 17, 2018.
- Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, who was interviewed on October 13, 2017.
- Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, who was interviewed in the week of June 12, 2017.
The Attorney General is part of the Cabinet. The White House chief of staff and the Director of National Intelligence are Cabinet-level positions. | | A reporter tweeted an AP news alert that read: "SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A fight in the Utah Legislature over what should be named the state fossil has been avoided with the introduction of an official state dinosaur."
To which the office of Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, who recently announced that he won't seek re-election, replied: "Thank you for this fitting tribute to my decades of service."
This isn't the first time the Republican lawmaker has joked on social media. In September, when introducing a Medical Marijuana Research Bill, the Republican lawmaker did not shy away from marijuana references in his statement. And in August, his colorful comment about how members of his party "shot their wad" on their efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare made headlines. As Hatch's comment began circulating on social media, the senator shared a "valuable" lesson on Civil War jargon. His office tweeted a link to the Oxford English Dictionary's definition of the expression. | | Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet reported Tuesday that Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois, is pregnant. She will be the first sitting US Senator to give birth while still in office. The baby girl -- Duckworth's second child -- is due in late April. CNN confirmed the news.
In a statement, Duckworth said: "Bryan and I are thrilled that our family is getting a little bit bigger, and Abigail is ecstatic to welcome her baby sister home this spring. As tough as juggling the demands of motherhood and being a senator can be, I'm hardly alone or unique as a working parent, and Abigail has only made me more committed to doing my job and standing up for hardworking families everywhere."
Duckworth is one of only 10 women who have given birth while serving in Congress. | | | Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Tuesday showed CNN's Chris Cuomo the "talking stick" that was used during government shutdown negotiations. That's right: A "talking stick." As CNN's Lauren Fox and Daniella Diaz reported Monday, "Whoever was holding the stick was the only senator allowed to talk -- to prevent cross-talking." Anyway, we hand you readers a virtual "talking stick" and request you tell everyone you know to subscribe to The Point. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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