The Morning Briefing: Violence at Nazi-less Trump Rally and Much, Much More

Good Wednesday Morning.

Here’s what is on the President’s agenda today:

In the morning, President Donald J. Trump will depart Phoenix, Arizona, en route to Reno, Nevada.
Later in the morning, the President will arrive in Reno, Nevada to give remarks to the National Convention of the American Legion and sign the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act.
The President will then return to Washington D.C.

Violence follows Nazi-less Phoenix Trump rally

There were no Nazis at the President’s Phoenix rally last night, but that didn’t stop the political violence as protesters clashed with law enforcement.

The New York Post reports, “Demonstrators began throwing things at cops around 8:30 p.m. local time — just as Trump ended an 80-minute speech — and police responded with pepper spray.”

According to a statement released by the Phoenix police, “People in the crowd began fighting and throwing rocks and bottles at police. They also dispersed some gas in the area. Police have responded with pepper balls and OC spray in an attempt to disperse the crowd and stop the assaults.”

The police arrested three people.

Prior to the president’s appearance, protestors clashed with Trump supporters waiting in line to enter the venue.

Protesters engaged in minor scuffles and shouting matches with President Donald Trump supporters on Tuesday as hundreds of people lined up to get inside a rally that marks his first political event since the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Fox 10 Phoenix described:

Trump fans wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats waited in line hours before the event. At one point, a Trump supporter and protester shoved each other. In another exchange, the two groups shouted at each other before moving on. Police officers later formed a line in the middle of a street separating the protesters and Trump supporters.

The threat of violence by these nomadic anarchists intimidates people from expressing their political views and it is intended to do so.

Kingman resident Diane Treon, who arrived for the event at 4 p.m. “I wished I had attended one of his campaign rallies before he became president and I wanted to go to the inauguration. And truthfully it was the protests that kept me away.”

Treon said she wishes protesters “would be a little more peaceful instead of violently rioting, which is happening in so many places” but isn’t overly worried.

“I don’t think the Phoenix Police are going to stand down and throw us out in the wind,” she said. “I really think they’re going to keep us safe.”

The president heads to Reno for another event today.

“Profane shouting match”

The New York Times reveals that:

The relationship between President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has disintegrated to the point that they have not spoken to each other in weeks, and Mr. McConnell has privately expressed uncertainty that Mr. Trump will be able to salvage his administration after a series of summer crises.

I’m glad that was kept private.

Trump has badgered McConnell about his failure to pass the garbage health care bill the House sent over for a vote. McConnell insists Trump doesn’t understand how government works. This may be true, but perhaps government “works” wrong? Trump has continued his fight against the Senate majority leader by going after senators like Jeff Flake and Dean Heller who are due for reelection.

One thing Trump seems to be learning is that the GOP machine (the RNC/NRCC/NRSC) has an interest in keeping elected GOP officials in office no matter what. (I should qualify that: they want elected officials who parrot the establishment line in office, the Freedom Caucus not so much.) And while traditionally the president is the leader of his party, in this case the party will be fighting to keep politicians in office who are opposed to and obstructing the agenda that got Trump elected. Expect to see more problems on this front as we approach 2018 elections.

Provocatively named ESPN sportscaster pulled off the air

ESPN has bravely pulled one “Robert Lee” off the air for fear those who bear witness to his sportscasting might confuse him for the similarly named Confederate general who died in 1870. “Robert Lee,” an Asian gentleman, was scheduled to cover the opening football game at the University of Virginia.

We collectively made the decision with Robert to switch games as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name. In that moment it felt right to all parties. It’s a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play by play for a football game has become an issue.

It’s an issue because ESPN made it an issue. This speaks more to the (shrinking) ESPN audience than anything else.

Historical Picture of the Day: