The TAKE with Rick Klein
A campaign that figures to be about President Donald Trump is first revolving around former President Barack Obama.
With the Supreme Court hearing arguments Tuesday in a case that could determine the fate of some 700,000 people, a signature Obama policy will again be in court under an immigration case brought by the Trump administration.
The need for an Obama-like unifying figure in the race is at least the implicit rationale for former Gov. Deval Patrick to get in the race. Sources tell ABC News that Patrick could get in the race as soon as Thursday — a full 11 months after he ruled out a 2020 run.
Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, efforts to define the Obama era — and to offer alternative visions about what should come next — are dominating the campaign discussion.
A misquote in the Los Angeles Times made that clear on Monday. Mayor Pete Buttigieg was incorrectly quoted as citing the “failures of the Obama era” as a factor in the rise of Trump.
By the time the quote was corrected to read the “failures of the old normal,” everyone from former Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Julian Castro to Sen. Kamala Harris’ niece had chided Buttigieg for a perceived insult of the last Democratic president.
Buttigieg said he appreciated the quick correction and used the opportunity to heap praise on Obama. He’s been trying to cast himself as an Obama-esque candidate, particularly in Iowa, where Obama broke through in 2008.
What Obama and his legacy mean to the party could be a theme that runs throughout this campaign year.
The RUNDOWN with Alisa Wiersema
Before public impeachment hearings take place this week, another historic milestone is set to unfold just across the street from the Capitol, as the Supreme Court hears arguments about whether or not to uphold Trump’s decision to cancel Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
The justices’ decision — expected next spring — will determine whether more than 700,000 young immigrants who came of age in the United States, but do not have permanent legal status, are allowed to continue to live and work in America. If the Supreme Court ultimately rules against DACA — the outcome backed by the Trump Administration — those young people could be subject to removal.
Tuesday’s arguments could ultimately result in immediate risks to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people living in the U.S., but the looming ruling also poses a serious policy question to the president — if you get your way, how will your administration handle the drastic aftereffects?
An ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted this past July found that 57% of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling immigration and the president’s Democratic rivals are likely tuning in to Tuesday’s proceedings with the hopes of bolstering their rhetoric against him on the campaign trail.
A little over a week after ordering an end to the program in 2017, Trump tweeted, “Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military?”
Tuesday, the president — and the entire nation — will get to see the answer to that question begin to play out.
The TIP with Kendall Karson
Between taking himself out of the 2020 contest earlier this year and filing on Friday to qualify for Alabama’s primary on the state’s deadline to declare, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is closer than ever to officially becoming a presidential contender.
Bloomberg’s possible entry comes, in part, due to concerns over the current field’s ability to defeat Trump, according to a top adviser. And while some of the more moderate Democratic hopefuls might be welcoming him into the race, his successor, Mayor Bill de Blasio — who bowed out of the presidential contest in September amid lackluster polling and dismal fundraising — skewered Bloomberg saying he should not be the nominee because, “there’s no way in the world we should nominate a billionaire who epitomizes the status quo.”
“I think he was absolutely tone deaf to what working people are going through in this city,” de Blasio told reporters Monday at a Veterans Day parade, echoing the sentiments of the leading progressive duo of Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “I can certainly prefer him over Donald Trump but does he represent today’s Democratic Party? Of course not. Not even close.”
In the meantime, Bloomberg appears to be exploring an unconventional path to victory, as his team plays coy about if he will seek to get on the early states’ ballots – noting he won’t “compete” in at least New Hampshire, where the deadline to file is this week. But while over one-third of likely Democratic voters in the first-in-the-nation primary state appear open to a Bloomberg bid, 54% have written him off, saying they would not vote for the billionaire in a new Quinnipiac poll.
ONE MORE THING
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney filed a notice of withdrawal of his motion to join an ongoing lawsuit filed last month. Charles Kupperman filed the original lawsuit in response to a subpoena he received from House Democrats seeking his testimony in the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump regarding Ukraine. Mulvaney’s withdrawal motion came after attorneys for House Democrats and the former deputy national security adviser jointly filed with a federal judge saying Mulvaney should not be able to join the lawsuit.
THE PLAYLIST
ABC News’ “The Investigation” Podcast. The impeachment process for a sitting president can be a daunting task. Just ask Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, formerly a congressman from Arkansas who served on the House Judiciary Committee during impeachment proceedings against former President Bill Clinton. Hutchinson, who was one of 13 “prosecutors” – referred to as House Managers — during Clinton’s impeachment trial in the Senate, sits down for an interview with “The Investigation” co-hosts Chris Vlasto and John Santucci. ABC News senior congressional correspondent Mary Bruce also joins the podcast. https://apple.co/2BlcX0N
ABC News’ “Start Here” Podcast.Tuesday morning’s episode features a preview of Tuesday’s oral arguments over Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals at the Supreme Court. Then, ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs tells us why the Trump administration’s soon-to-be unveiled vaping policy could have an impact on the president’s re-election campaign. http://apple.co/2HPocUL
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