In a radio interview aired this morning, President Barack Obama said GOP frontrunner Donald Trump is "exploiting" blue-collar frustration, particularly among men. From the New York Times:
The interview was conducted before the president and his family left for a vacation in Hawaii. NPR has already posted it on YouTube. Obama's remarks were his most extensive yet on the billionaire who has reshaped the Republican presidential race. But the thought itself isn't wholly new. Consider this post from last month.
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The Donald has been preparing for his moment for a while. From the Daily Beast:
Records show that Donald Trump applied to trademark the phrase "Make America Great Again" six days after President Obama was elected to a second term.
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If you missed the "Saturday Night Live" take on the Republican debate, it's well worth your six minutes, Jeborah:
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We have two Georgia-themed takes on where the Republican presidential race stands. First, Newt Gingrich now gives Donald Trump a 30 percent chance of winning the GOP nomination. From The Hill:
"He is not a traditional politician. I always tell people in Washington, look, you need to go and read about Andrew Jackson and read about how totally disruptive Jackson was to begin to understand what Donald Trump would be like if he won," he said. "I mean, this is a guy who is outside of the regular system, he is totally prepared to be a unique figure, nothing intimidates him, he's independently wealthy on a great scale, and he achieved a lot in his lifetime."
Then we have, Erick Erickson, who says that those who want to stop Trump ought to rally behind a certain U.S. senator from Texas:
It is increasingly obvious that Ted Cruz is the last best chance to stop Donald Trump. It is more obvious that Cruz and Rubio are where the race will ultimately be. But between the two, I would give the edge to Ted Cruz right now. His campaign is lean, his ground game impressive, and his path forward is less crowded. Voting is still more than a month away, but Ted Cruz has been laying impressive groundwork to get to Iowa and I think it is going to pay off for him.
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Speaking of Ted Cruz, a new Super PAC digital effort is targeting Georgia for him, Politico reports:
"Who actually has stood up not just to Democrats, but to leaders in our own party?" Cruz says in the spot, clipped from a debate performance. That remark is followed by an image of Rubio's face, as well as that of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's, both colleagues with whom Cruz has directly clashed.
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The clock is ticking toward Georgia's early March qualifying deadline, and Sen. Johnny Isakson still doesn't have a Democratic challenger.
Late Friday, the latest Democrat to flirt with a run against the two-term Republican incumbent, Michael Sterling, a one-time adviser to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, ducked out. Isakson is using his time to fill his campaign chest. The incumbent held a fundraiser on Sunday at the Villa Christina in Brookhaven.
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One of the biggest boosters of the new city of Tucker is running to be its first mayor. Businessman Frank Auman, who has deep ties to the local GOP, announced he's a candidate for the March 1 elections.
“Having built and grown small businesses and seen them succeed, I’m uniquely qualified to help our city build the financial structure to fulfill the promise of cityhood without tying the hands of our future leaders,” said Auman.
This isn't Auman's first foray into politics. He unsuccessfully challenged state Sen. Steve Henson, now the chamber's top Democrat, in 2006.
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