John King, USA
Could The Gulf oil spill happen again?
CNN's Candy Crowley discusses the BP oil disaster with Adm. Thad Allen who issues a troubling warning.
Trump stumbles over abortion issue
(CNN) – Donald Trump appeared to stumble into a contradiction in an interview Tuesday – a misstep that could haunt the potential GOP presidential candidate amongst social conservatives.
In an interview with MSNBC, Trump was asked if he believed there was a right to privacy in the Constitution – a right that, while not explicitly stated in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has said can be inferred from the text.
He responded, "I guess there is, I guess there is."
Then his tone of voice changed and he followed up with, "And why, just out of curiosity, why do you ask that question?"
When NBC's Savannah Guthrie wondered how that line of legal theory "squares" with his pro-life stance, Trump said, "Well, that's a pretty strange way of getting to pro-life. I mean, it's a very unique way of asking about pro-life. What does that have to do with privacy? How are you equating pro-life with privacy?"
To answer Trump's question, the United States Supreme Court equated the right to privacy as grounds to legalize abortion in its controversial 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Be in the know: Today's political bullet points
Every day we ask influential politicos to send us their top three bullet points that are driving the day's conversation inside and outside Washington.
RedState.Com Editor Erick-Woods Erickson:
– Conservatives in the House of Representatives may be less accommodating to a debt ceiling increase now that S&P has proclaimed there to be problems.
– Barack Obama continues to make his sales pitch for his deficit reduction plan non-plan. Meanwhile, according to a Washington Post/ABC poll, 78% of Americans think inflation is getting worse. That'll be a problem for him.
– According to the same poll, more Americans really don't like Obama's handling of the economy.
Senior Political Columnist for TheDailyBeast.com John Avlon:
– S&P Downgrade of U.S. Debt: This is a big deal and a long-time coming – but it was spurred not just by the growth of U.S. deficits and debt, but S&P's concern that the hyper-partisan, polarized political environment in Washington is making dealing with the deficit and debt-ceiling more doubtful. Shut-down-the-government conservatives shouldn't feel vindicated by this – they are part of the problem.
– Trump-Mania: In both senses of the word 'mania', this is a media frenzy encouraged by a guy who is more than a little manic in his pursuit of self-promotion. His interview with Candy Crowley on State of the Union was, at times, unhinged. The fact that Birther claims and Bill Ayers conspiracies are providing a short-term pump in the polls should have responsible Republicans very concerned.
– Huck and Palin – In or Out?: They have been riding high in the polls for months despite doing nothing concrete to build a presidential campaign apparatus. Bachmann and Trump have stolen their thunder on the far right and Romney and Pawlenty are taking their money. But there have been some small signs that they are now considering a run, including a re-launch of the Sarah PAC website. The clock is ticking...
Editor’s Note: The blog is a place for a freewheeling exchange of ideas and opinions. CNN does not endorse anything said by its contributors
About this Show:
Your daily destination for political news. Join John each night as he pulls back the curtain on Washington, cuts through the partisan noise, and gets to the bottom of stories that affect you.
John King, USA aired weekdays at 6pm ET. The final show aired June 29, 2012.
Any questions for John? Tweet them to @JohnKingCNN and he'll answer them Tuesday's at noon ET on CNN.com/LIVE
On Twitter
