The Note: Reality check? Trump’s contradictions on full display

FAN Editor

The TAKE with Rick Klein

There’s so much winning – but oh so much potential losing.

The Trump presidency’s many contradictions and contradictory impulses are on full display right now.

The tax bill is on the precipice of becoming law, but a potential government shutdown looms at the end of this week.

Republicans stand a good shot at keeping their Senate seat in Alabama, but that means rallying behind and sticking with a candidate accused of sexual assault.

Then there’s Russia, where the White House’s own lawyer is creating legal headaches – if you believe official accounts.

President Donald Trump’s reaction is to lash out at his own FBI and Hillary Clinton, noise that only builds a case by the special counsel, if he chooses to go there.

Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax and a Trump friend, summed up the stakes on “This Week”: “Robert Mueller poses an existential threat to the Trump presidency.

The president may control where things go from here, to an extent.

But other forces are crashing in from virtually every direction.

The RUNDOWN with John Verhovek

Eight days out from election day in Alabama, and the allegations of sexual misconduct that rocked the race last month and jolted it into the national spotlight have Alabama voters divided.

Two polls out this weekend, one from CBS News that has the Democrat Doug Jones up three points and one from the Washington Post and George Mason University that has Republican Roy Moore up six points, show how difficult it will be to gauge just how the allegations have affected Alabama voters.

According to the CBS poll just 17 percent of Alabama Republicans likely to vote say the allegations against Moore are true.

When it comes to who voters believe has a “higher standard of personal moral conduct”, voters chose Jones by a 53 to 34 margin according to the Washington Post/GMU poll. Jones will have to win a sizable portion of those voters — many Republicans — who have been driven away from Moore but are not your average Democratic voter.

One positive development for Moore heading into the final week of the campaign, national Republicans seem to have backed off their calls for him to step aside.

It remains unclear if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will continue to push for an ethics investigation into Moore if he’s elected. McConnell told George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” on Sunday that he’s leaving that decision up to the ethics committee.

McConnell said he’s leaving the decision on whether or not Roy Moore should be a U.S. senator up to the people of Alabama.

The TIP with Lucien Bruggeman

Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California on Saturday, CIA Director Mike Pompeo responded to reports that emerged last week about a possible move to the State Department to replace embattled Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Asked directly by moderator Bret Baier whether he has “had talks about another job” with President Trump, Pompeo said he’s “very focused” on his current job.

“Very focused on doing what I’m doing, Bret. It is – in spite of former [Director of Central Intelligence’s], who used to have all the [Intelligence Community], who tell me it should be a part time job now – it is all of that I’m in incredibly focused on. There is a lot of work to do. I’ve been privileged to do this for ten months and serve with the finest espionage service in the world, and I look forward to continuing to work at it,” Pompeo said.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’m going to let the people of Alabama make the call.” — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on ABC News’ “This Week” when asked whether or not he believes Roy Moore belongs in the Senate in the wake of numerous accusations of sexual misconduct against Moore.

NEED TO READ

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.

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