Politico

Leading in most Iowa polls, Sanders is suddenly faced with the dilemma of how to respond to attack ads from all sides.

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN

01/30/2020 05:00 AM EST

DES MOINES, Iowa — Bernie Sanders is the frontrunner in Iowa — and now he’s being treated like it.

The Vermont senator is being pounded on television in the first-in-the-nation caucus state from both sides, with attack ads airing by a pro-Israel Democratic super PAC and a conservative dark-money group.

Faced with the dilemma of how to respond in the face of bombs dropped on him days away from the Iowa caucuses, the Sanders campaign is mostly sticking to pocketbook issues — for now.

Sanders’ TV ads in the state remain centered on “Medicare for All,” a major focus of his campaign, as well as women’s rights and his movement. That’s a different approach than that of Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, who are making more explicit appeals to electability in the final sprint before Iowa.

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Politico

Some advisers are salivating over running against a socialist. Others say they need to be careful what they wish for.

By ALEX ISENSTADT

01/28/2020 06:59 PM EST

President Donald Trump and his top political advisers were huddling in the Oval Office earlier this month discussing the state of the Democratic primary when they arrived at an increasingly pressing topic: What to do about Bernie Sanders?

Sanders was surging, and some of the Trump advisers were salivating at the thought of a self-described democratic socialist as their general election opponent. As the president listened, they argued for taking steps to elevate him in the primary to boost his prospects.

But others warned that Sanders wouldn’t necessarily be the pushover he might seem. They told the president, who was joined in the meeting by top officials including campaign manager Brad Parscale and pollster Tony Fabrizio, that the Vermont senator’s authenticity and populist appeal could draw some of the blue-collar voters who propelled the president to the White House.

With the Iowa caucuses less than a week away, Trump advisers and supporters are split over whether to wage an effort to bolster Sanders. While proponents think Sanders would be an ideal opponent, others are wary that the liberal firebrand could make for a dynamic challenger — with the ability to make inroads in the Rust Belt states likely to decide the outcome of the election.

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Mediaite

By Josh FeldmanJan 27th, 2020, 8:57 pm

The New York Times has dropped another big detail from John Bolton’s new book concerning the president’s interactions with foreign leaders.

Per the Times, in his book Bolton details how he spoke directly to Attorney General Bill Barr about his concerns that President Donald Trump was doing “personal favors” for the leaders of Turkey and China — Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Xi Jinping.

And Barr responded, apparently, “pointing to a pair of Justice Department investigations of companies in those countries and said he was worried that Mr. Trump had created the appearance that he had undue influence over what would typically be independent inquiries.”

Bolton’s book reportedly features details of what Barr laid out:

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