It’s Monday, Nov. 18, 2019. Here are the stories I’m following this morning. I’ll be breaking it all down with our team starting at 7 a.m. EST, on “Good Morning America.”
1. What will stand out in the second week of public impeachment hearings?
Eight additional witnesses will testify before the House Intelligence Committee this week, including U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who was in direct contact with President Donald Trump on military aid to Ukraine and the push for investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Jennifer Williams, Vice President Mike Pence’s special adviser for Europe and Russia, will also testify alongside Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman of the National Security Council.
My take: New witnesses over the weekend tied President Trump more clearly to the pressure campaign on Ukraine.
2. Will voters pay more attention to impeachment hearings?
An overwhelming 70% of Americans think President Trump’s request to a foreign leader to investigate his political rival, which sits at the heart of the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry, was wrong, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll. A slim majority of Americans, 51%, believe Trump’s actions were both wrong and he should be impeached and removed from office.
My take: One of the numbers we’re really going to be digging in on this morning is the 21% of Americans who are following the impeachment hearings closely. Terry Moran is going to bring us the latest on that.
3. What’s behind Pete Buttigieg’s surge in Iowa?
The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has risen 16 percentage points in the latest Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll and is now the front-runner 2020 Democratic presidential candidate in the state. The millennial candidate is tuning the message of his campaign to a vision towards the future, building on themes, such as, unity, belonging and to “launch the era that must come” after the Trump presidency.
My take: Pete Buttigieg has jumped to a big lead in the state of Iowa. The new Des Moines Register poll shows he’s got a 10-point lead now over Elizabeth Warren.
Tune into “Good Morning America” from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. EST, for full reporting on today’s biggest stories.
