| | | | Donald Trump's failing grade on ethics | | President Donald Trump loves to tout the fact that there has never been another president like him. When it comes to his ratings on ethics, he's right.
Gallup recently asked people to rate the ethical standards of Trump as compared to the seven men who held the office prior to him -- so, all the way back to Richard Nixon. The results were stark: Trump was rated as less ethical than each of his predecessors, often by overwhelming amounts.
Of the seven, Trump was judged by more than 50% of respondents to have lower ethical standards than six. The one outlier was, of course, Nixon, who was chased from office after the Watergate scandal was revealed. In spite of that, 43% said that Nixon had higher ethical standards than Trump, while 37% said Trump's ethics were higher than Tricky Dick's. So the current President is seen by the public as less ethical than the guy who resigned the presidency just ahead of a near-certain impeachment.
Here's the full chart, via Gallup: | | As you can see, ethical standards don't appear to be a purely partisan judgment. Nearly seven in 10 people said Ronald Reagan had higher ethical standards than Trump while almost six in 10 said the same of Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter.
The question -- and this is always the question with Trump -- is whether any of this means anything. While there's no "ethics" question on the 2016 exit poll, there is one on whether a candidate is honest and trustworthy. Just one in three voters said Trump was. And yet, he is President.
Ethics and trustworthiness are not the exact same thing. And what people said when they voted for candidate Trump versus how they feel about President Trump may well be two very different things.
The Point: Under the traditional rules of politics, a president who is regarded as unethical (particularly one who made a campaign promise to "drain the swamp" of Washington corruption) would pay a price for it. Or is this yet another example of how political gravity impacts -- or doesn't impact -- Trump?
-- Chris | | "The Secretary has underscored the need for appropriate use of commas."
-- From a State Department email obtained by CNN, highlighting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's penchant for proper punctuation. | | | TRUMP SURVEYS STORM DAMAGE | | President Donald Trump spent the day touring parts of the country affected by Hurricane Florence, praising relief efforts and promising a robust response will continue, while at the same time cautioning that recovery will be costly.
CNN's Kevin Liptak reports that the President "arrived in flood-ravaged North and South Carolina on Wednesday to assess the federal response to Hurricane Florence, which drenched the state last week."
In North Carolina, "Trump lauded emergency workers ... even as he predicted a costly clean-up. 'The job you've done has been incredible. They're talking about it all over the world,' Trump said. "We want to keep it going that way.'"
The President also visited Conway, South Carolina, "where floodwaters are expected to rise again as early as Friday. He surveyed flooding and received briefings from local officials. 'It's going to get rough for South Carolina,' Trump warned ahead of the expected flooding." | | 📹 THE POINT -- NOW ON YOUTUBE! 🎬 🎉 | | | Big news: The Point is heading to YouTube tomorrow! In each episode, Chris will delve a little deeper into the surreal world of politics. We'll have new videos each week, so make sure to subscribe to follow along. Here's a sneak peek of what's to come: | |  | Politics in the age of Trump: Welcome to The Point with Chris Cillizza | | | I never heard of Dessa before a few months ago. But I really like her new album. | | WILL KAVANAUGH'S ACCUSER TESTIFY? | | The big, late-breaking news last night was that Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, wants an FBI investigation into the alleged incident before the Senate convenes a hearing on it. Lawyers for Ford wrote that an investigation "should be the first step in addressing her allegations" in a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley.
There is currently no indication, however, that there will be any FBI investigation. Grassley sent a letter back to Ford's lawyers on Wednesday, saying that the Senate is working to investigate the matter and that "it is not the FBI's role to investigate a matter such as this."
More coverage: - Republican Senator Susan Collins, a key swing vote, told a local radio station, "I think it's not fair for Judge Kavanaugh for her not to come forward and testify." Read CNN's Manu Raju on what the senator had to say.
- Flashback: Watch this CNN video showing how senators grilled Anita Hill in 1991 when she came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Thomas denied the allegations and was subsequently confirmed to the high court.
- Keep up with the latest by following CNN's live coverage here.
| | CNN's Joshua Berlinger reports on the latest news from the Korean Peninsula: "North Korea said it would close a key missile test facility in the presence of 'international experts' and potentially destroy its primary nuclear complex if the United States agrees to corresponding measures, South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced in a joint press conference with Kim Jong Un Wednesday."
More from the story: "The two leaders made the announcement on the second day of a three-day summit, their third this year, as part of efforts with the United States to contain the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula ... 'The era of no war has started,' said Moon, the first South Korean president to visit Pyongyang since 2007." Here's what else the two countries pledged to do: - Submit a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics
- Create rail and road links between North/South Korea in the next year
- Stop military drills aimed at each other along the Military Demarcation Line by November 1.
| | Porn star Stormy Daniels has written a no-holds-barred book that includes descriptions of her alleged affair with President Donald Trump, which she says happened in 2006. (Trump denies that an affair ever took place.)
CNN's Sara Sidner reports that the book "reveals graphic details about the President's anatomy, in addition to narratives about her childhood and life."
Michael Avenatti, an attorney for Daniels, told CNN that "Stormy went into such graphic detail because she remains frustrated as to those who still question whether she is telling the truth."
More from Sara's story: "Trump has never admitted there was a sexual encounter, but his attorneys did admit to approving a $130,000 payment to Daniels to ensure her silence. ... The White House has not responded to a request for comment." | | | From Brenna: "'Can I have a hug?' -- this child in North Carolina, today (also me every day). Share The Point with your friends -- it's like a digital news hug." | | | | | | |
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