TRUMP AGENDA: Low marks
From our poll release on Sunday: “Nearly two-thirds of Americans give President Donald Trump poor or middling marks for his first 100 days in office, including a plurality who say he's off to a "poor start," according to results from a brand-new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Forty-five percent of respondents in the survey believe Trump is off to a poor start, with an additional 19 percent who say it's been "only a fair start." That's compared with a combined 35 percent who think the president's first three months in office have been either ‘good’ or ‘great.’”
And a record share of Americans say government “should do more” to help solve the nation’s problems.
NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell lays out the stakes this week: “Congress returns from a two-week break facing a deadline to keep the government operating while President Donald Trump presses harder for some legislative accomplishments as his first 100 days in office wind to a close. The week is shaping up to be a collision of needs between the two, and time is quickly running out on both. Passing funding to avoid a government shutdown appeared to be an easy task just weeks ago, but new stumbling blocks have arisen in recent days as Trump has added new demands on items like the border wall and increased military spending.”
And from the New York Times: “The standoff continues a Washington trend, as banal now as it is nonsensical to veterans of the Capitol: legislative cliff-jumping in the name of brinkmanship, frustration or some combination thereof, with no clear endgame.”
POLITICO: “White House officials and several senior House Republican sources say a short, one-week stopgap may be needed to buy more time to negotiate on a larger bill to fund the government through September.”
NBC’s Ari Melber on Trump’s promises so far: “According to an analysis by MSNBC, out of 35 public pledges Trump made since becoming president, he has made no major effort to follow through on 18, while he has taken some kind of action on 17 other pledges. The tabulation focuses on pledges Trump made since he was elected — separate from promises made during the campaign (which can be found on NBCNews.com's Promise Tracker).”
First Read alum Domenico Montanaro of NPR offers this assessment of Trump’s first 100 days.
The Washington Post, on Trump’s obsession with cable news: “For Trump — a reality TV star who parlayed his blustery-yet-knowing on-air persona into a winning political brand — television is often the guiding force of his day, both weapon and scalpel, megaphone and news feed. And the president’s obsession with the tube — as a governing tool, a metric for staff evaluation, and a two-way conduit with lawmakers and aides — has upended the traditional rhythms of the White House, influencing many spheres, including policy, his burgeoning relationship with Congress, and whether he taps out a late-night or early-morning tweet.”
AFP, on the French elections: “Pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron and anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen began a final duel for the French presidency Monday, after a first round of voting delivered a stunning blow to the traditional political class. Macron is the clear favourite to become France's youngest-ever president after topping Sunday's ballot with 23.75 percent of votes, slightly ahead of National Front (FN) leader Le Pen on 21.53 percent.”
OFF TO THE RACES: What’s Ossoff’s path to victory?
GA-06: From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “An ethics group is alleging that U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson improperly aided the campaign of his onetime aide, 6th District candidate Jon Ossoff, using his official House website.”
The AJC also offers a helpful map of Ossoff’s potential path to a win.
MT-AL: Donald Trump Jr. stumped for Greg Gianforte over the weekend.
SC-05: The Post and Courier sums up the state of the race to replace Mick Mulvaney.