Progressive Breakfast: Donald Trump's Trick To Pose as a Populist

MORNING MESSAGE

Bill Scher

Donald Trump’s Trick To Pose as a Populist

Donald Trump has a trick he likes to use when he wants to communicate two different messages to two different constituencies: incoherence. It doesn’t take much to expose incoherence, yet it seems to flummox media headline writers who are itchy to summarize only one message.

TRUMP ALIENATES GOP DONORS

With Kochs sitting on their wallet, Trump turns to RNC. NYT:“Donald J. Trump took steps to appropriate much of the Republican National Committee’s financial and political infrastructure … Trump has no fund-raising apparatus to resort to … Mark Holden, chairman of … one of the Koch network’s main umbrella groups, signaled that it would require a significant change in tactics by Mr. Trump … for his group to open the spigot.”

Major GOP donor Paul Singer sits out. NYT quotes:“It’s essential that we — individually, collectively, and through our institutions — stand up for what we believe [which are not] embodied in either choice that will apparently be on the ballot this November.”

Trump tries tacking left. W. Post quotes:““Now, I’m no fan of Bernie Sanders, but he is 100 percent right … Hillary Clinton is totally controlled by the people that put up her money. She’s totally controlled by Wall Street … NAFTA has been one of the great economic disasters. Who signed it? Clinton. Clinton…”

Sen. Warren not buying it. NYT:“Ms. Warren is one of the few high-profile leaders in either party to repeatedly challenge Mr. Trump with clarity and directness, portraying him as both dangerous and a charlatan.”

BERNIE POISED FOR WV WIN

Sanders has edge in WV primary today. Reuters:“Clinton apologized in West Virginia last week after being confronted by angry voters for her remark in March that she would ‘put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business’ with her plans to increase renewable energy sources. She said her comment had been taken out of context and that she wanted to help retrain people who worked in the industry…”

Sanders not hurt by his environmental message. TNR’s Emma Foehringer Merchant:“…Sanders has been able to glide by on his union-friendly image and populist rhetoric … But Sanders’s actual proposals for coal country are similar to Clinton’s … a resounding defeat would mean that Clinton’s pitch to promote both environmentalism and jobs still needs some serious refinement.”

Clinton lays out ambitious child care plan. HuffPost:“Clinton will explain her vision, campaign aides told The Huffington Post, during an appearance in Kentucky … Clinton will say that the federal government should commit to making sure that no family ever pays more than 10 percent of its income on child-care expenses.”

BREAKFAST SIDES

Obama admin denies coal export permit. NYT:“The coal industry, shaken by dropping global demand and tighter air quality regulations, took another major hit on Monday when the United States Army Corps of Engineers said it would deny the permit for what could have been nation’s largest coal export terminal here in Washington [State].”

Investor rights attorneys Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher and Steven L. Groopman argue for SEC rule on “dark money,” in NYT oped:“When it comes to political spending, companies are often not as informed as one might think … By mandating disclosure, the rule would allow investors to serve as a potential check on risky political donations, and help investors determine whether a company’s political spending habits make its shares a good investment in the first place.”

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