On Politics: Trump Pivots on Trade War, Again

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/27/us/politics/trump-trade-war.html

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Good Tuesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today.

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• President Trump shifted his tone on his trade war with China, again. As the Group of 7 summit ended, Mr. Trump expressed confidence in reaching a trade deal and called President Xi Jinping a “great leader” three days after branding him an “enemy.” He added that Chinese officials had reached out by telephone to restart trade talks. Beijing did not immediately confirm any calls.

• The president says Americans must sever commercial dependence on China. He also says he wants powerful economic growth. The trade war threatens to force him to choose.

• Mr. Trump spent the weekend in France insisting that he was not having a debate with his fellow world leaders, but at times it seemed like he was having a debate with himself, leaving much of the world with geopolitical whiplash.

• At the end of the summit, Mr. Trump suggested his Miami resort as a “great place” for the next G7 meeting. Using one of his properties for the 2020 gathering would be the highest-profile example of Mr. Trump’s willingness to mingle his business and presidency.

• The N.R.A. has significantly fewer allies in Congress than it did a decade ago, a decline driven by the near-total fraying of the group’s ties to Democrats in the House and the Senate.

• The trial of a high-powered lawyer this month has painted a picture of Washington’s elite at it’s money-grubbing worst, illustrating how lawyers, lobbyists and public relations specialists leapt onto slippery ethical slopes to cash in on a foreign government’s papering over of its sordid reputation.

• With phone calls, texts and handwritten notes, Elizabeth Warren is continuing an unusually determined outreach effort to show Democratic Party officials that she is aligned with them.

• The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America endorsed Bernie Sanders on Monday. While the endorsement is somewhat symbolic, it comes as several Democratic candidates are jockeying for labor’s support.

• Ex-White House aide, Rob Porter, was subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee to testify about Mr. Trump’s efforts to impede the Russia investigation. Mr. Porter was a key witness to the president’s efforts to thwart the Russia investigation.

• Federal prosecutors in Washington appear to be in the final stages of deciding whether to seek an indictment of Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy F.B.I. director and a frequent target of Mr. Trump, on charges of lying to federal agents.

• Representative Sean P. Duffy, Republican of Wisconsin and one of the most recognizable faces of the Tea Party wave of 2010, announced Monday that he planned to resign from Congress next month, citing health complications of a baby he and his wife are expecting in October.

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Today’s On Politics briefing was compiled by Isabella Grullón Paz in New York.

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