1/26/2019

CONGRESS/ELECTION/GOP/ROBERT MUELLER/ROGER STONE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s defeat in his border-wall standoff with Congress has clouded his already perilous path to a second term in 2020, undercutting Mr. Trump’s cherished image as a forceful leader and deft negotiator, and emboldening alike his Democratic challengers and Republican dissenters who hope to block his re-election. The longest government shutdown in history inflicted severe political damage on the president, dragging down his poll numbers even among Republicans and stirring concern among party leaders about his ability to navigate the next two years of divided government. Mr. Trump, close associates acknowledge, appears without a plan for mounting a strong campaign in 2020, or for persuading the majority of Americans who view him negatively to give him another chance. Compounding the harm to Mr. Trump on Friday [1-25-19] was the indictment of Roger Stone, his political adviser for several decades, on charges of lying to investigators and obstructing the inquiry by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian interference in the 2016 election.”

Alexander Burns, Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman, “A Bruised Trump Faces Uncertain 2020 Prospects. His Team Fears a Primary Fight.,” The New York Times online, January 26, 2019